My favorite time of year

I am waiting for the kids to come crashing through the door. Today is their last day of school before the holiday break. I have been out doing some last minute shopping and now I am wrapping presents on my living room floor. I love this time of year. I love my new Christmas tree that is filled with ornaments Ben and I have collected together from our vacations. I love to see all the presents we are giving that are placed under the tree. I love the sound of holiday music that is in my home. I love the candles that burn in my kitchen. I love the chaos amongst the peace.

This year I am especially happy because my family is all together. I really don't need anything beyond my family. My amazing husband that works hard everyday and then comes home to spend time with us. Emma who is so beautiful and caring. Bridger who keeps us laughing. My family is together. We may be small but our love for one another is huge.

I can't explain what it feels like to have Ben with me everyday. Of course there are ups and downs, but we do it together. I just got off the phone with him. I love that I am the person he calls when he has something new going on at work. I love that he sends me text messages just to say hi. My favorite part is when I get to cuddle with him at night. There may be less room in the bed (he takes up about 2/3rds) but I wouldn't changed it for anything.

This holiday season I hope everyone finds joy in the small things. Say thank you to the employees in retail, smile at the other customers in the store, be a curteous driver - wave someone on and smile. It is amazing what a smile will do for you and the people who see it. Okay so I have been rambling - there are lots of things going on in my head. One last thing to say: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Do You Know?

Yesterday I had a converstaion with a friend that really got me thinking. Being a profonund thinker is not something that I would call one of my strong points. I am a typical man, mainly focused on myself, my family, my immediate circumstances, or what game I watched on the tv last night. But today, I am still focused on the conversation I had yesterday with a co-worker.

She told me of a friend of hers that found out about the realities of Christmas as an 8 year old girl. Her mom was single, an alcolholic, and still is to this day. This friend of hers remembers Christmas Eve, without a Christmas tree, and mom passed out in her bedroom. She sat there praying that there really was a Santa Claus and that he would bring her just one present. She woke up the next morning running out to see if Santa had come. To her disappointment, the living room was baren. No tree, no presents, and no mom. She was still passed out from the night before.

That made me stop and think. How often do these kind of circumstances happen to children that I might know? What is there that I can do to help? What can I do to keep this from happening?

I don't even know who might be in this kind of situation.

But I want to help.

Joseph B Wirthlin

My great uncle Joseph past away last night in his sleep. He has now passed through the veil and is with his wife and other family members that have gone on before him.

Uncle Joseph is my grandmother's brother. He was also my grandfather's best friend. Yes my grandfather married his best friends sister! Thomas (my grandfather) and Uncle Joseph played football together for many years at East High school and then Joseph went to the University of Utah and my grandfather went to Westminster College.

As the family grew bigger I didn't get to see as much of the Wirthlin family but he was always so kind. Last September there was a gathering up Millcreek Canyon at the cabin and a slide show was shown with pictures of Joseph L Wirthlin. Uncle Joseph wanted EVERYONE in the family to have one. My copy will be cherished!

Last year as I was struggling in my personal life I was at the store, I happened to glance over and see his book titled, "Press On". I bought it that night and have turned to this book many times. His words are comforting and help me remember what is truly important. Just reading the chapter headings gives one a sense of who he was as a person.

He will be missed here on earth! I was on the phone with Ben's mom and I said, "sometimes I think the spirit has gone past what the body can do and needs to move on." There is so much work to be done here and in heaven. I know he is busy!

I know that I will see him again and that the truths of the gospel are a comfort to me everyday of my life.

'Nough Said

I just saw Beths last post.

It's almost game day baby!!

So tomorrow Ben and I will sit on opposite sides of the fence. He will be wearing red and I will be wearing blue. Only time will tell. . .

Mom and Heather - this is for you. . .

Okay-

It's been awhile! I got some grief from my mom and sister yesterday while we were at lunch that there have not been any new posts. Well I don't have any new pictures and I feel like my life is just the same boring thing. But maybe you want to read to boring things. Among the events in our life the most exciting one has to be when the kids came upstairs to tell me that there was water all over the floor in the basement. I went running downstairs and "all over" meant a puddle by the water heater. When Ben got come we showed him, he called one of his contacts from work and we realized that our plans for the evening were quickly changing. We were off to Sears, Sam's, and finally Lowes. We arrived home with a new water heater by 8:30pm. Ben began trading out the new one for the old one but didn't have everything he needed.

I had three options the next morning. Forget about a shower and pretend like I wasn't adding a second layer of sweat (gross!!), freeze to death taking a COLD shower (me - never! I'm cold without decreasing my body temperature at 5:45am), or my last choice - visit the gym! Of course there is no surprise to anyone that I went to the gym in the morning. Now you would think that if I'm going to make the effort to drive to the gym I would make a little effort to work out. Not a chance! I carried my "gym" bag in and 15 minutes later walked out feeling refreshed.

Well I hope you enjoyed reading about my boring life :-) I'm sure one day I will look back and be glad that my mom and sister asked me to write about the "boring" things! Love you both! And might I add that the tomato soup at Big City Soups is delicious!!

"The Highwayman"

Years ago I came across the following poem. Now most of you know that I am not a real fan of literature, and especially love stories. However for some reason this one has got me. I just can't seem to shake it from my memory; And I really don't mind this one being stuck in there. So without further delay, I will now share this with you. It is a little lengthy, but well worth the read.

The Highwayman
by Alfred Noyes

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh.
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like moldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say--

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement. His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching--
Marching--marching--
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side.
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest.
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast.
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the doomed man say--
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!

She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good.
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood.
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it. She strove no more for the rest.
Up, she stood up to attention, with the muzzle beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up, straight and still!

Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.

He turned; he spurred to the west; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood.
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew gray to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shouting a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding--
Riding--riding--
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard;
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Everyone Say Cheese!

So we spent last Friday night at the cabin up Millcreek canyon. We spent a nice quiet evening, just the 4 of us there. Sometimes it is great to escape there with only us 4 for a little rest and relaxation. It was beautiful weather up there. Cool crisp air. We even had to turn the heaters on during the night. The leaves are changing colors, and the scenery is absolutely stunning right now. We opted to not go for a morning hike like we will usually do, and take some family pictures instead. The problem is now we cannot decide which one we like most. So it's up for vote. Let us know what your favorite is.

#1

#2 #3 #4 #5

#6

#7 #8 #9
#10 #11
#12

Let's go for a walk

So the other day we all needed to get out of the house. I suggested that we take the dog, a kite, and go to the new school. So after it took a few minutes to get the dog, get the kite, tell the kids to go potty before we go, get the leash for the dog, then make Bridger go potty before we go, we were finally off for a walk. It sure seems like an awful lot of getting ready, considering the school is only about 100 yards from our house. We got to the school and after about 5 minutes, finally got the kite in the air. About 5 minutes after that both kids were done flying the kite and were taking each other for a walk.

Go Utes

Beth just saw what I'm putting on here and said, "I thought you were putting on a really cute blog, or something". I guess she still has a little blue in her. I keep trying to tell her that everyone bleeds red.

So it's official, we are now flying our flag every saturday, we have our season tix and are just waiting for another home game. It seems like it has been forever since we went to the UNLV game 2 weeks ago up at Rice-Eccles. Air Force here we come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICTORIA

It's a wonderful day in the Hansen house. Not my Hansen house, but my brother Joe and his wife Jenna's home. Jenna gave birth to Victoria Dawn this morning! This is J&J's first kid, making it 3 grandkids for mom and dad. Jenna and Tori are both doing great and looking fantastic. Tori was born around 8am this morning and everyone came HOME about 3pm for naps. I love the soft skin of a brand new baby. Tori was crying when we got there, having just taken a bath, and never cried again while we were there.

What a sweet baby.

The proud parents.

Just hangin' with the new babe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABYDOLL

That's right everyone. It is Beth's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, but on this day, back in 1977, our friend, wife and mother entered this world. I won't go into any details of that event, mainly because I don't know them, but I'm sure it was a wonderful day.

Beth is an inspiration to everyone she is around, and I love her for it. I am blessed to have her as my wife. I love and admire her. She has stood beside me in good times and bad. Thank you for never giving up. I love you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHTN0sSXDEQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeypOvsY91Q

Our Last Cabin Retreat

We went up to my parent's cabin in Millcreek this past weekend. We had a really nice time - especially because all the biting flies are gone now that it is colder! Ben, the kids, Whitney, and I went up Friday afternoon. We got settled in and baked papa murphy's pizza for dinner. My mom and Gabe showed up a little later and then my dad and Braxton came even later that evening. The funniest thing happened on Saturday morning. . .

Ben had gotten up really early to go golfing and I guess it woke Braxton up, which then woke Emma up and Grammie. They headed downstairs but it woke me up so I stumbled down the stairs and said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but you are too loud." Then I turned and fell into bed again. I was only asleep for a little bit and by now I believe it was only a dream. The next thing I remember is Bridger putting his boot in my face and asking me to tie it for him. I asked him where he was going and he said on a hike with Grammie. I thought oh good for me - I get to sleep a little longer, but then I realize I don't hear anybody in the cabin. I asked Bridger where Grammie was and he said, "I don't know, but I'm going to find her." WHAT!! I'm not sure what my 5 year old was thinking, going up on the trails of Millcreek canyon alone. Needless to say I dragged myself out of bed, pulled on my shoes and hit the trails with him. As we were heading out towards the road to look on the overlook trail I looked down and realized I was still in my pajamas. Oh well we eventually found my mom and Emma and Braxton and they did confirm that not only was I in my p.j.'s I did in fact tell them they were too loud.

Our weekend was nice. We relaxed a lot and enjoyed being together. Dave, Inga, and Gabe came up on Saturday and stayed until Sunday. We enjoyed watching the U of U football game in the upper cabin on Saturday night and today we hiked to church. There is nothing like church in the mountains with 4 kids and 3 dogs! It was a great retreat - the only thing that wasn't so great is that I arrived home with a full blown cold! My head feels like it is going to explode!

U of U Breaks the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Polls

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=254

Billions of Dollars

A friend of mine recently sent me an email. Here's what it said.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?

A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.
B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, CDL License Tax, Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Dog License Tax, Federal Income Tax, Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Fuel Perm it Tax, Gasoline Tax, Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax, Inventory Tax, IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax), IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service charge taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax (Truckers), Sales Taxes, Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Utility Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax.

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to 'press 1' for English.

Don't forget to vote!

School Has Started!!

Both Emma and Bridger have started school and we love our new school. The school is so close that the kids can walk!! We love not wasting 1 hr a day on the bus. We are finally getting used to our schedule. The kids go to daycare in the morning here in the neighborhood and then Emma walks over with the other kids in the morning. Bridger is in afternoon kindergarten so Tiffany takes him over after lunch. The part that I love is that Emma picks Bridger up at the end of school and then they WALK HOME together!! My schedule is working out well. I am home in the afternoon by the time the kids get home so that is really nice!! Here are some first day of school pics:


Wow!! Can you believe she is in the 3rd grade? She is doing great in school. Emma loves to read and write stories!!

Bridger has been awaiting this day for so long! He was ready with his new school clothes and he had his name flower ready to go. He wasn't very excited to go to school with his scraped cheek and black eye though. A couple of days before school Bridger and I went on a bike ride on the Jordan Parkway trail - he got going too fast and crashed into a concrete wall.

We are so proud of our kids! They are growing up so fast! We love you Emma and Bridger!

Add 'The MTN' to Satellite Channel Line-up Petition

Add 'The MTN' to Satellite Channel Line-up Petition

I'm tired of trying to find somewhere to go to watch the games that are broadcast on "The MTN". I want to watch the games in my underwear. If you do to, click the link above to sign the petition to get The MTN on Satellite.

Whoa - Summer is Over!!

Okay, so I haven't done very well posting. There has been so many things going on and yes I need to put pictures with some of the exciting events, like Emma's first day of school.

But tonight I said goodbye to my brother Mike and his wife Susan. They are moving to Seattle. It all happened really quickly. This is the first time he has moved out of the state of Utah and so I'm excited for him, but man am I going to miss them.

I have always felt that Mike is one of the most amazing people I know. Although he hasn't always agreed with, he has always respected my opinions, my beliefs, and my decisions. There have been many times we have talked late into the night. His wife, Susan has become really important to my kids lately. A couple of weeks ago I needed someone to watch my kids so I called Susan, she quickly agreed. Emma and Bridger has so much fun - she even took them to the zoo! It is weird having someone else in my family moving away, usually it is me who is leaving.

I will miss you both so much!! We will be up to visit - the kids are already planning the trip!

Sleeveless in Seattle

So we're sitting in the Seattle airport waiting to fly back to Salt Lake, and thought I'd pass some time. We have been here for the past 5 days and have had a great time. It was my first trip to Seattle, and it was full of activities and fun times. My Grandpa Hansen has been living here for about 8 years now and I have never been able to make it up here. We stayed with him and Emiko over in Gig Harbor. It is a beautiful little town with a small harbor full of boats. We spent all of our first day with Grandpa and Emiko seeing all of Gig Harbor. I think we saw 8 years in 1 day. Needless to say we were all extremely tired when we got back to Grandpa's. We slept well. The other days we were here were spent at Rob's wedding and seeing Pikes Place Market and other downtown attractions. I won't say much about that as I'm sure Beth will want to write as well. It has been absolutley amazing weather here. Everything is so green and pretty here. 75-80 degree highs and mid 50s at night. Too bad there is only a couple months a year like this here. Well we are about to board the plane so gotta go.

Happy 8th Birthday Emma!!

My Emma is turning 8 today! Wow I can't believe it! We had a birthday party for her last Saturday night. She really wanted a sleepover, but instead we had a p.j party with pizza, movie, and popcorn until 10pm and then they all went home. The best part was the pillow fight in the backward at 9:45pm. My neighbors loved the 10 screaming girls at that time of night! We really had a great time and Emma's friends are a lot of fun. I got to meet some of her friends from school and am pleased that she is choosing good friends.

Here is the group, just getting started. We had pizza and lemonade - man those girls sure drink a lot of lemonade!
Oh the story of Emma's cake: first she wanted me to make it. . .AHHHHH!! I love to bake, but frosting and me don't get along. I said maybe your friends would like to decorate their own cupcakes - no go. When we were at Sam's Club I just happened to stop and look at their cakes, lucky for me she picked one, I was off the hook. The day of her birthday party Ben and I went to pick it up and it had flowers on it - not at all what Emma had wanted. I looked at the order and in two places I had specified the celebration streamers. The lady who decorates the cakes was just finishing cleaning up, so we asked her about it. Ben said, "these are really nice flowers for my grandma, but not my 8 year old." He is too funny. Luckily the lady had another white cake in the freezer and quickly decorated it for us! That was a close call!

Here's every one watching the movie - Emma had picked out the Nancy Drew movie. It was fun to hear the girls scream when they saw the guy with two colored eyes!

We had a great time. Emma's b-day party was great. Now we get to relax because they don't get a friend party again until 2010! I'll put more pictures up of today after we go and celebrate!

What a relief . . . for now!

YEA!! We got Ben's results back about celiac disease and he doesn't have it!! He is a carrier of the gene and this makes him 2x more prone to gettting it then the rest of us, but for now I can keep baking every Sunday and not feel guilty! Of course if his tests had come back positive I would have changed the way we eat - it would be hard but could be done. I would have to become a meat and potato girl with Thai food thrown in. Probably a lot of Thai food :-)

As it is nice to know Ben doesn't have celiac I wish we could figure out why he is so tired all the time. I know why I am so tired all the time - we have been on the go non-stop this summer! I love it, but it is exhausting at times. Ben and I get to stay home this weekend! The kids are going with their Grammie and Grandaddy up to Heber to go camping. Although I will have a quiet and relaxing Friday night, Saturday night will be anything but quiet. We are having 10 of Emma's friends over for a birthday party. She really wanted a sleepover, but I wasn't up for it - (I have some opinions on sleepovers that we don't need to go into here), so instead the friends are coming in their p.j.'s with a pillow for pizza, games, cake, and watching a movie. The invitation says until 10pm. . .what have i done? :-) No, seriously I'm excited for Emma, she has been talking about this for so long!

The kids and I have a fun couple of days. Yesterday we went bowling, today we just got back from the zoo, tomorrow we are going for a bike ride, and friday we are picking their cousin up in the morning so we can have lunch and go swimming before I drop them off to Grammie's to go to Heber! Wow! These kids sure have a fun life. . .and so do I!

Bear Lake for the 4th of July!

We spent the 4th of July at Bear Lake. We had a great time! I haven't been there for so long. When I was a child I remember going there with my family and playing in the water and thinking it was so cold. Yes, the water was chilly, but not any colder then Rockport. We drove up Thursday night and set up camp and then went for a little walk before climbing into our sleeping bags.

Friday we drove to Aunt Heather's house in Logan for a 4th of July breakfast with Ben's side of the family. While we were driving Bridger fell asleep playing air guitar! He would start playing guitar in his sleep when a song came on! He is so cute!

It was great to be around family. Whitney and their dog, Maxwell, sure had a good time running around and scrounging for food! Bonnie was visiting from Texas and it was nice to see her. The kids had a great time playing with their second cousins, and Bridger spent a lot of time with his great grandma Campbell. After brunch we went back up to the lake and did a little boating. The water was really choppy and it was windy. We didn't spend much time boating. We gave Emma a knee board for her birthday and she really wanted to ride it, but was having a hard time staying on the board with the water being so choppy. This photo is of the kids trying to get warm after tubing in the lake. I do wonder why they cuddle up to me when I am covered in goose bumps and I didn't even go in the lake!!Luckily we knew we had more time on Saturday. When we got back to camp we roasted hot dogs over the fire and then went to play with the sand toys at the beach.

I love taking candid photos of the kids and this one is really cute of Emma. It captures Emma. She is quiet and observant. I don't know what caught her eye, but she notices the little things in life. She is so special to me!

Saturday we got up, had breakfast and were on the lake for a day full of fun in the sun! It was a beautiful day and we found a beach that was sandy instead of rocks. Both kids got up on the knee board and Ben and I wake boarded!

Emma loves to do "rock on" and Bridger is always trying to pull some new stunt in the tube. He likes to stand and "surf". We finally got them to go faster than 5 mph!

We had a great time - I jumped off the wake board tower and Ben just loves to be on the water! He works really hard to make our boating trips fun for everyone. He is always busy driving, hooking up the next toy, helping the kids in and out of the water, organizing, playing with the stereo (it wouldn't be a good boat if it didn't have a great sound system) and wake boarding. I did get a picture of him laying out in the sun, but he said he didn't want it on the blog - believe me you are missing out! We never seem to get photo's of us together. Here is one picture of me and one of Ben, pretend we are in the same photo.

I love how blue the water is! Bear Lake is so pretty. We really loved our time there. I don't think we will stay on the east side again because we were in the middle of a bunch of mexican family reunions. Don't get me wrong - I think it is great that they enjoy being with their family, I just don't need to spend my 4th of July listening to their music :-)

Boating at Rockport take 2

We spent the weekend up at Rockport again, this time it was much warmer! My brother Dave got the reservation so we could get together at the lake, the p's were driving to seattle for their cruise to Alaska, Dave and Inga were dog shopping, mike and susan were ?????, Heather, John, Braxton, and Nikki made it up on Saturday. We camped Friday night but came down Saturday night after dinner. We had planned on staying another night but changed our mind. Here are some pics:

Emma is enjoying a yummy breakfast of cheesy eggs and a muffin that has been warmed over the fire, and of course don't forget the hot chocolate. . .she is my daughter!

Bridger either loves to get his picture taken or hates it - depending on the time of day. Obviously he didn't mind at this time of day! He is such a little stud!

It is so great to see my family having fun together!! Boating at the lake has really been a great thing for us. I never thought thought I would enjoy it as much as I do. I just wish I had my own wakeboard - Ben's is just a little too big :-)

Well there never seems to be pictures of me, since I'm the one always taking the photos, but luckily my sister snapped this one! Oh how I love thes squinty eyes from the sun! No wonder I'm getting wrinkles!

It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to going to Bear Lake for the 4th of July! I am truly blessed to have my family. I love you Ben, Emma, and Bridger!!