Impromptu Party

Mick asked me late in the day on Monday if he could have a party on Tuesday night. I totally didn't act like myself and said that was fine. We hurried and made up little invitations and delivered them to kids around our neighborhood. Mick planned the party mostly by himself. He wanted to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, play basketball, and play spin the bottle (not the kissing kind.) I was afraid that on such short notice, not many kids would be able to come, but it turned out that only one friend was unable to attend and we had a nice sized group of excited kids at our house.

It turned out to be a super fun time. It was simple and easy and not stressful. Mick taught me that simple is good and any time is a good time to hang out with friends!!!

My Best Friend

This is my best friend. He is awesome. He sees me at my worst and loves me anyway. I can always be myself around him. He always listens to me. He worries about me and thinks about me and sends me nice emails or write me little notes telling me he loves me for no reason. When we have good times, we celebrate together. When we have bad times, we console each other.
On September 30th, it will be 9 years since he proposed to me. I thought I loved him then, but I had no idea how much more that love would grow. I am willing to bet it will keep growing even now for many more years.

Mini Triathalon

The scouts and young men from our ward and a couple other nearby wards put on a mini triathalon fundraiser a couple weeks ago. Adam, always a glutton for punishment, decided to participate. It started with a 300 meter swim, then on to a 8 mile bike ride, finishing with a 2 mile run. The exuberant take-off!! Little does he know at this point how hard the swim will be.
Adam did a lot of backstroking after that first lap. He was quickly realizing he wasn't going to finish the swim any other way.If you look close, you can see the agony on his face. He told me later that he was seriously worried he wouldn't be able to get out of the pool by himself. He was so tired. He was almost the slowest swimmer, but that's ok. He was on to other parts that he knew he was more ready for. I didn't get any pictures of him riding the bike due to a bathroom break Tori needed to make at the same time, but he did good on it and made up some time. Here he is at the end of the run where he made really good time. When all was said and done, I think he finished 5th overall (and he had gotten up at 4:30 that same morning to do an 11 mile run before the triathalon started.) Not that it mattered, it was just good times and not competitive.

Not sure what the look of disgust on Mick's face was for, but I thought it was a cute picture.

I am so thankful our family is healthy and active. I am glad Adam enjoys being active and takes good care of himself and is a good example to our kids. Good Job!!

The Tooth Fairy Has Arrived-FINALLY

Mick finally lost his first tooth on September 11. He is 7 now and he thought it would never happen. We were so excited. I love kids with their empty spaces in their cute little mouths. So adorable!!

Here Comes Trouble

I am not sure who has been told and who hasn't, but we are going to be having another baby.

Here is how we told my family http://bebbshall.blogspot.com/2009/08/surprise.html

Julie's due date is around the first part of March.

Tori has been telling everyone she meets. She is sure we are having a girl. She won't even consider it might be a boy. I have had a few ladies in the neighborhood ask me if Julie is pregnant cuz Tori told them she was. She has also told them it will be a girl.

As of right now if it is a boy he will be Cade and if it is a girl it will be Isabell. It will be fun to see how many times we change that up before the baby makes his/her appearance. Tori's name changed a dozen times over the course of the pregnancy.

Julie has not been sick with this pregnancy. I have been so impressed with her. She is still jogging several miles each day. Yesterday we did 7 miles and today we did 4. She is bummed she can't run 12 miles anymore and that her pace has slowed down to about 10 minutes per mile. Her determination is amazing. If everyone in the world had as much drive to accomplish something as she does there would be 10 times as much accomplished.

You are super mom and we love you lots. Thanks for getting us another little angel!!!

Our Girly Girl Starts Preschool (again)

This is Julie doing Tori's hair for her first day of preschool this year. She is going to Bright Ideas again. Her teacher is great and Tori was super excited to start school. She has been going for about a week now. This is the first time we have had an afternoon preschool class. Her big bro has been stopping by her school on his way home. He checks on her and makes sure she doesn't need him to walk home with her.
Tori hasn't met a camera she hasn't liked and she can't let the opprotunity to bust out an awesome pose go by. Here is her "I am going to preschool today" pose.
This is Miss Heather Mendonsa her preschool teacher.

Another "I am going to preschool pose"

This is a "I am going to the park because my mom is SUPER MOM" pose.

This is a "yes, I am at the park pose."

I love my girly little girl. She is such a girl. It just amazes me the fits she can throw and the sugar she can spread. She has no problem playing hard but she does it girl style. She spent the day at the park climbing on the climbing wall, playing tag and going down the slides with her purse on her arm and her Easter hat on her head. She is a gem.

Jones Hole and Ely Creek

Over the Labor Day weekend we went to Vernal. It was nice to get away and just relax for a while. We went to church with Julie's mom. There was a baby blessing that was most memorable I have ever heard. The dad blessed his little girl "she would be a good example to her family when she got past the crying age." The first thought that ran through my head was "she won't be much of an example from the graveyard." I was about done with that little side-trip in my head when I heard him say "and I bless you that you will marry a good man in the temple, but make dang sure he is the right one." When he got done Mick looked at me and said "Dad, he used 'dang' in a blessing"

On Labor Day Dad, Mick, Tori, and I went to Jones Hole. We got to look at the fish in the hatchery then went down the stream to the the Ely Creek Water Fall.

It was a fun hike. I am so proud of my kids. They both were great hikers. It is around 2 miles each way from the hatchery to the falls. Mick and Tori were climbing on rocks like Mtn Goats and having a great time.

All that climbing is pretty hard work. They were so happy to see a "bed" to lay down on.

After a good rest they were able to carry on to the falls. When we got there, they didn't waste any time getting in the water. Mick managed to stay pretty dry but his sister promptly got wet up to her waist. Here he is coming back down to help his little sis up to the top of the falls.

Tori is letting Granpa know how rough it is being 4 years old and falling in the stream.

I carried Tori a pretty good portion of the trip out but Mick just went like a tank the whole way. I was so proud of him. When we left the water fall Tori took off running and ran about half a mile or so before she got tired. It was so much fun. I love being outdoors and love that my kids like to be with me outside (Mom was getting a much deserved break). Here we are taking a break on the way back to the car.

I am so glad my dad is in good enough shape to do these sorts of things with us also. He is a great dad and grandpa. He always makes time for being with his kids and grandkids. I am so glad we all have a common interest in being outdoors. I couldn't ask for better parents. They are a great example of how to be. My mom loves to take our kids and tries to do so for a couple of weeks each year. We were the envy of the neighborhood this summer when we were childless for a whole week. It was great!

Future Basketball Star

Mick came home from school on about the 4th day and asked me to teach him how to play basketball. I was pretty surprised because Mick has not shown any interest in playing ball of any sort. Since my hand eye coordination didn't ever develop I haven't been much of an example for him. I played Jr Jazz for 4 years and made 2 points... Sad but true. But I could set a pretty good screen.

That is why I wrestled in high school and now I am a runner, it is pretty easy to keep my legs moving when I am not focusing on catching, throwing, or hitting a ball.

We had been thinking about getting a basketball stand for quite a while. (I grew up calling them basketball bankers. Everyone I asked about them in Utah County didn't have a clue what a banker was. I guess it is a Vernal word. Kind of like "ignernt", good luck finding it in the dictionary, but ask anyone from Vernal and they can tell you it means rude) But I digress...

I bought a basketball stand at Big 5 for $300 then on the way home I passed a vacant house that had the same one sitting in the front yard (no, I didn't steal it) but I did have the home owner's number due to my facination with vacant houses (http://www.peaceofmindhouses.com/) so I called him and asked if I could buy it. He said sure, for $50. I was pretty happy with the deal. Here are some pictures of our future basketball superstar and his poor old dad trying to act like a coach. The neighbor boy, Noah, was a natural. It was fun to watch him. He told us he played basketball with the big kids he was so good and his team was the Eagles. Noah is known for telling some big stories and I was guessing since the Eagles are a football team this was one of them.

Tori wanted to get in on the action too. She and I were a team and the two boys were a team. Here I am showing them how to set a screen. Noah was whining about me holding him or something but I wasn't really listening. Mick kept saying "Fowl" "Fowl" and I would tell him there weren't any chickens around. I don't know why he thought birds showed up every time I got near one the boys.