Lazy Dog Days of Summer are Behind Us

Summer 2009 was fabulous. Can't believe we didn't go to Veterans Pool one time seems how we lived there last year. We did however have a lot of sleep overs with friends and cousins, traveled to St George to see mom and spent 12 days in California. I love California! All this and more highlighted in the pictures to follow. While in Cali we went to Santa Cruz with Paula and family where we stayed late and had a bonfire on the beach. We then went to San Diego and stayed at a wonderful resort named Paradise Point were we swam in the pool and played in the ocean. We went to Sea World and San Diego Zoo and toured the Midway aircraft carrier. We slept in everyday and ate lots of good food. The boys favorite was In-N-Out, of course! We were able to take Cal Wardell with us and enjoyed every minute of his company as I'm sure he did us. We also did some major remodeling this summer; new roof, new windows, new kitchen counters, new air conditioners. We've had lots of barbecues, Shandi turned 22 and Brettly turned 18!!!!! Brett got a new girlfriend, a 2008 Chevy Silverado and I got a new kitchen table. Shad went to Camp Big Springs, earned some scout merit badges and saw Transformers 5 times. Wow, I can't believe summer is nearly over. Now we'll get ready for school to start and count down the months until next summer vacation but until them we'll enjoy the memories of this summer.

Oh Those EYEs..

A few days ago Shad's teacher Mr Z asked if he could barrow Shad for a few pictures and I of course said "Sure, why not". Unbeknownst to me just how lucky I would come out on this little deal. First off, I know, I know he had a great subject to photograph, but he also is a very talented photographer. I just love how he captured Shad's personality in every picture and the style of photographs he took are just fantastic. Close up, candid shots are my favorite. You must go check out his work on his web site alongthebackroads.com and if you have any family photo shots planned for the spring or anytime for that matter or perhaps any weddings coming up, I would highly recommend his services. Not only is he a talented photographer, he is also just plain fun to be around. I couldn't be more grateful to him for these treasured pictures.
This is just like Shad to stop in the middle of a photo session to pick up a rock. I love it!
Making Cool look easy..
For some reason the picture above breaks my mommy heart, I guess because I know that it won't be much longer before he's not a little boy anymore.
Why do they have to grow up?

Stripped Pajamas

One of the benefits of working at a school is access to the library. I was walking through one day and this book caught my eye, I knew there was a movie coming out so I thought maybe I would read the book and see what it was all about. Let me just say...this is one of the best stories I've read. It really makes you think about the innocent minds of children, the cruelty in the world of adults and prejudices against others. Even though it is a really sad story I enjoyed it very much and think it is a book that everyone should take the time to read. After I finished it I suggested to Brett that he read it and he also really liked it. So, if you're looking for a good book to read head to your local library and check this one out.

Because we should all have the opportunity to view this...

I'd like to thank Mr. Z for my first encounter with John Williams...hilarious!

VaLeNtInEs!

I first should show Shad's awesome Shark valentine box he made for school. Didn't he do a great job! He is so creative! I love it that his friends had to put their hands in the sharks mouth to deliver him a valentine!

We had a really fun valentines dinner with Uncle Lynn and my Great Uncle and Aunt, Sherm and Gwen. We had a wonderful seafood dinner with lobster, crab legs and shrimp and a little filet mignon on the side for me as I am not a sea food eater.
Aunt Gwen made these wonderful cookies! They were so yummy! She also made some homemade hot fudge to go on some ice cream and yes we ate that too.
After dinner we spent 4 hours playing "Hands and Feet" a card game that uses 7 decks of cards just to start but by the last round we were up to 11 decks of cards. It was so much fun and we had such a good time just laughing and joking with each other.

Uncle Lynn made these handy-dandy card holders which were a life saver considering the amount of cards we had to hold and keep track of. At the beginning of the game every slot is full of cards until you collect enough points and can lay them all down. See all those cards on the table...they were in the card holder right before I snapped the picture.

I just love these guys so much and I'm so grateful for them.


I'm totally in LOVE with this guy too! We had a romantic little get away Sunday night because we didn't have to work Monday due to Presidents Day. We checked into the Courtyard Marriot on 106th south and enjoyed a quite few hours in a wonderful suite with a jacuzzi tub, big screen TV and comfy King size bed.

We went to dinner at Market Street Grill where Brett enjoyed crab stuffed shrimp and I ordered filet mignon, we took a piece of cheesecake back to the hotel with us to enjoy later after our dinner had time to settle. The food was all delicious even if we had to put a second mortgage on our house to pay for it.


We got a good nights sleep without interruptions from cats that want out at 3 am to eat or a dog that wants to go out a 5 am to pee. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel before checking out and going to a movie. We went to see Taken with Liam Neelson and it was AWESOME! Talk about an intense movie. I highly recommend it.

Shad was able to go to Grandma and Grandpa Roberts house while we went away and got so spoiled! (which he loved) He came home with this little treasure that he and grandma spent several hours putting together. It is now his most prized prossession, so much so that mom and dad are not allowed to even touch it. Every time we try to move something or see what something does on it he swats our hands away...What's Up With That!

Groundhog Day

Per Wikipedia...Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated in United States and Canada on February 2.
In weather lore, if a groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, or marmot emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If on the other hand, it is sunny and the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for 6 more weeks.

Please Mr. Groundhog don't see your shadow, I don't know how much more of this cold weather I can take...

I'm ready to see my crocus blooming and know that spring in on its way!

Birthday Fun

On Shad's birthday we had a pizza party at our house with all the Roberts family. Shad is hard to buy for right after Christmas so everyone usually gives him cash. He loves it. On Friday he had some friends over and we went to Laser Tag. He had a blast and enjoyed hanging out with all of his friends all night. We had pizza when we got home then they all just hung out and played games and watched movies until 2 am. Check out the fun..