Memory Monday- To Casper with Cody

2 years ago this weekend, the Wyoming State Wrestling Tournaments were held in Casper, Wyoming. Two of my cousins made the finals so I took Cody and rode with my mom and dad to watch.

Cody had the best time. He got to hang out with the boys and do boy things, like play Gameboys and drink pop.

The tournament was really intense for me. Five minutes after getting there, a kid got his arm broke. I get so tense watching the kids wrestle that I had to walk in the halls several times to work out the kinks in my neck. I can't imagine how my aunt Jody Lynne does it with 4 boys wrestling.

The weekend was really fun. It's not often I get to hang out one on one with my little man so this was a good trip for us.

Go Lovell Bulldogs!

Happy 9th Birthday Cody

Cody's birthday was last Friday. For his birthday he got to do one of his favorite things in the world right now-go snowboarding. I went to Logan and on the way home, I stopped and got his favorite dinner to bring home and surprise him - Ribs and rolls from Texas Roadhouse. We ate and then sat down and watched the movie Real Steel. He thought it was a pretty great day.
I decided to take a minute and interview Cody about some of his current favorites.

*What is your favorite color? Red
*What is your favorite toy? iPod and airsoft gun
*What is your favorite fruit? kiwi
*What is your favorite TV show? Sons of Guns
*What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? egg sandwhich
*What is your favorite outfit? jersey shorts and t-shirts
*What is your favorite game? 31 ( a card game)
*What is your favorite snack? Dorito's
*What is your favorite animal? my dog Pete and my horse Scoop
*What is your favorite song? Love Me Like My Dog by Billy Currington
*What is your favorite book? 39 Clues
*Who is your best friend? Emilio Veater
*What is you favorite cereal? Honey Comb
*What is your favorite thing to do outside? Airsoft gun war
*What is your favorite drink? Mountain Dew and Emilio's homemade drink ( made with     water, Bottlecaps, Sweetarts, Fun Dip powder, and a Fun Dip stick.)
*What is your favorite holiday? my birthday
*What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my blue blankie
*What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? egg sandwhiches
*What do want for dinner on your birthday? Ribs and rolls
*What do you want to be when you grow up? a mechanic like my dad-MATT cuz he's really awesome!

"If you don't believe in hero's, you haven't met my DAD MATT."

Happy Birthday Cody!!

Happy 15th Anniversary

 Matt and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on July 19, 1996. And seeing how thats kind of  a milestone, I wanted to do something special, like a trip. But not in July, I wanted to plan something for January, when Bear Lake is cold and yucky. Matt wasn't buying my plans for a Caribbean cruise so I called our friends, Taylor and Suzett in Las Vegas. We made arrangements back in October for Matt and I to fly down and see them this weekend. 

 It was a wonderful weekend full of not much. We ate lunch outside and played on the grass in the sunshine. We spent a couple of hours at the Las Vegas DMV which was a whole new experience of weirdness for me.
Matt's goal for the weekend was to make friends with Maggie who wasn't all that sure about these strangers who invaded her house.

 We did go to dinner out in Henderson and then went to Fremont Street on Saturday night. The girls loved looking at all the lights and I got brave and rode a zip line that they had there, but we didn't stay very late as there seemed to be a lot of strange people with strange ideas of normal.

 Monday was our big outing day. We drove out to the Blue Diamond wild horse/donkey range. There were several signs along the road that said something about a $500 fine for feeding the donkeys, or something like that. We didn't really pay attention. Suzett had brought pretzels and somehow coaxed them over to the car. Apparently they have been fed in the past because these guys weren't shy in the least. We toured all around out there and had a great time.

On Tuesday morning we got up and left for the airport with some extra time because of construction on the freeway. What we failed to consider was the big wreck that was adding to the mess. Suzett did some amazing driving through back roads and did her best to get us there but we didn't get to the airport until 9:09 for a 9:30 flight.
Matt and I grabbed our bags, ran through baggage claim, security, and to our terminal like we were starring in the newest Home Alone movie. As we slid into the gate, the last two passengers were boarding ahead of us. We didn't get to sit together but against all odds, we made our flight home.
It was a great weekend. I could really get used to the January weather there. Hopefully, it will be just as great when we go back in March with our kiddos for vacation.

Driving

Wow! I'm pretty sure I've lost some time somewhere because I was a little shocked when Jaycee came home and told me that she was signing up for Driver's Ed. It seems like last summer when I let her drive for the fist time. Instead, I found this picture in my vacation folder for 2008. We had gone to my grandparents ranch and I let her drive through a gate I had to open. She was on top of the world that day.
I suppose there's no help for it, I'm just gonna have to enjoy everyday that I can with these awesome kids as I don't think it's going to slow down anytime soon.
 And on the upside, Jaycee is a great driver already, so when she gets her permit, I'll put her to work running errands.

Ski School

 Our family isn't into skiing much. Strange, because we live in "winter", but since my first crash and burn, I haven't been so excited about skiing. Cody doesn't like it either, he's all about boarding.

 Last year we got him into lessons up at Beaver Mountain, where we took these pictures. He had a great time and wanted to go more often. So this year we signed him up for ski school at Pine Creek.

For 8 weeks, starting on the first Friday of January, we take turns running the kids to the high school where they get on a bus and ride to the resort. We go back and pick them up at 5 and for those hours, Cody is having a blast learning all about snowboarding. And he's loving every minute of it.

Memory Monday- Brit's CSI kit

 As a family we've been spending some time watching CSI:Miami on Netflix. The kids especially like watching how the characters study the clues to find out who the killer is.

 Britnee has really started taking things seriously. She asked grandma if she could have some of her old prescription bottles. She then went and got some old tweezers and started collecting samples of everyone's DNA.

 

 And it's just gotten bigger from there. She found a make up kit in a store and bought it to keep all of her gear in. We found an old spice rack at the DI that she has washed and made into beakers for her evidence. Her uncle Ben and aunt Kelly sent some syringes down to her. And if we can't find a q-tip in the bathroom, we know where there might be one.

It's been so fun to watch Brit use her imagination to create this kit. Who knows, maybe we have a little Caleigh Duqusene in the making.

Memory Monday- Jaycee's Bike-A-Thon

 The Middle School had a Bike-A-Thon this spring where the kids went out and got pledges to help their school secretary and her family. Then they rode their bikes from the State Park on the east side of the lake to St. Charles on the north end for a total of 13 miles.

I took Jaycee's bike over to her and because we live right there, she was able to just ride on home. It turned out to be a good day and Jaycee had a lot of fun.