Catching up--Joseph turns 8 and Baptism

Happy Birthday Joseph!!!
Joseph wanted to go to A1 chinese Buffet. This would not have been my first choice, but Joseph loved it. Aunt Suz had taken him here in the summer and he was exited for the family to try it. Joseph loved the all you can eat jello and shrimp. I have never been to a chinese buffet before and I do not think I will go to one again. :)
It was so nice to have the whole family together for this special day.
John and Joseph before the baptism.
Cousin Abby was baptized the same day with Joseph. It was such a special day. We love Joseph and his sweet spirit and the good boy he tries to be. We are proud of his decision to be baptized.

Catching up --Cathy and Pete's Halloween Party

John, Doug and Nathan--Wow we have some great genes in our family--ha ha :)
Cathy scaring all the kids in the new spook alley.
Joseph loved "diving" for the apples.

Catching up--Fall

Jake and Austin

Pumpkin Patch!!!! Now that John does not travel as much he was able to join us in our annual pumpkin hunt.

Caroline Varsity #1 doubles!!!

Caroline just finished playing tennis for her junior high. This summer she decided she wanted to try out for the team in the fall. She took a couple of lessons and practiced with her friend, Rachel. Her goal was to make the jv team. She was put as the #1 seed doubles team for varsity with her friend. Yeah!!! They were undefeated during the season playing many 8th and 9th graders. Caroline is a natural and was fun to watch her in action at the net. In region they took third place among the 1st seed varsity double players. Way to go Caroline!!!!

Homecoming Dance 2010

Natalie had a fabulous time at homecoming. She loves getting dressed up and feeling like a princess and she loved going with a cute boy she likes. :)

For this dance I told her she needed to be ready on time. In the past her poor dates are always waiting about 5 minutes for her to come out. Well, she was right on schedule and putting her make up on in her sweats and listening to music when I glanced out the window and noticed her date driving up 15 minutes early. She screamed and frantically tried to finish her make up and get dressed. I guess they had a miscommunication about the time. Porter, her date had to sit in the living room for a long time as she rushed to finish getting ready. I think I might leave a nintendo ds in there for future dates to pass the time, since Natalie never is on time!!!

Also, her boutonniere was so thick that both Natalie and I could not get the pin through it. We finally got John to put it on after breaking a couple of pins in the process. I don't think Porter felt too comfortable with John putting the boutonniere on him. Ha-ha -- I should of got a picture of that!!!

Happy Birthday Johnny!!!

22!!!
Johnny came home for his birthday along with his roommates and friends for dinner. We had a big oriental buffet and it was fun to meet his new roommates and catch up with his friends who also just returned from their missions. It is very weird for me to think that I was Johnny's age when I gave birth to him.

We are so proud of Johnny and the great young man he is. He is very self driven and always trying new things. He is in the chemical engineering program at BYU. He has a great part time job doing research for one of his professors. He is a great example to the rest of his siblings and they all look forward to the times when he is home. He is just an all around nice guy!!! We love you Johnny--Happy Birthday!!!!

Camping Staycation

Josh carrying his sled down because he fell off the alpine slide--he didn't believe in using his brake.


This summer was so busy we were not able to go on a long camping trip, so the weekend before school started we took the family an hour away to camp in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful. I loved all the beautiful wild flowers in bloom. We spent one day at Snowbird ski resort and bought an all inclusive pass to all of their activities. The kids loved the alpine slide, bungee trampoline, and the rock wall. John and I loved riding the ski lifts up the mountain and back--I think we did this 3 different times that day. We also took the tram to the top of the mountain and went on a hike through meadows of wild flowers. The next day we went on another beautiful hike to secret lake. At the top of the hike, Johnny cut open his leg on a jagged rock. Jake sacrificed his shirt for a make shift bandage. We all helped supporting him as he went back down the mountain. Luckily Doug lives close to this canyon and he stitched him up with 3 stitches. We went back up to snowbird for their Octoberfest with Oma, Opa, Doug and his 3 boys. We ate bratwurst and listen to some yodeling. ha ha. We camped in a beautiful campsite, steps away from a beautiful mountain stream. Of course we had a great time around the campfire and playing games. It was wonderful to get away even if it was only for a couple of days.

Joshua starts school---BYU Idaho!!

Kids in front of Josh's apartment

On Labor day we took Josh to Rexburg, Idaho to get checked in and ready for college. He is living in a 6 man apartment. He knows one of the boys from our home town and the other boys seem really nice. We bought Josh the meal plan so he will not have to worry about cooking and will be able to focus on studying. He bought his books, got his ID card, and signed up for his freshman orientation. We are very proud of Josh. Josh was very excited and eager to get started. I shed a few tears as I hug him good-bye. I can't believe he is old enough to be on his own. :( I think it was harder for me to send Josh to college because he is 6 hours away compared to Johnny who is only 20 minutes away at BYU.

BYUI is a great campus, it reminds me of a mini BYU. Everyone was friendly and there were a lot of sharp students there. I know this is going to be a great experience for Josh. Our house feels very empty with just the four children left at home and my heart very heavy as I realize that now it will be rare to have all my children under the same roof together for long periods of time. Missing my 2 boys already!!!

The art of asking a girl to a dance. :)

Natalie came home to find chocolate kisses all over the floor of her room and roses with a note on her bed. She was so excited. She turned the kisses over to find the ones with letters on them to discover who her date was. She was extra happy because it was the boy she likes a lot, needless to say, she was all smiles the rest of the night. Now she is trying to figure out a cute way to answer. Any ideas?

First Day of School!!!

Because we had such fun and busy summer that I have not blogged in a long time. Hopefully I can post some of the highlights in the next few weeks.

The house is getting quieter. Johnny moved into his apartment last week and Josh goes up to BYUI this weekend. The remaining children are excited to all have their own rooms now. ha ha Joseph started 2nd grade, Caroline started 7th grade and now attending the junior high. Jake and Natalie are in High School in 10th and 11th grade. Jake and Natalie even have Chemistry together which will be nice for studying.

Cooling off in the Summer--Locks of Love!

Caroline decided to donate 10 1/2 inches of her hair to Locks of love, and organizations that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to medical reasons. I am very proud of her and thinks she looks all grown up with her new hairdo. Good Job Caroline!!!

Family Reunion

We celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary during our family reunion over 4th of July weekend. I loved seeing all my siblings and their families and watch everyone have such a good time together. I am sure my parents did not realize that 50 years later there would be 104 people in their family. I feel very blessed to part of this amazing family.

Happy 50th anniversary MOM and DAD!!!!
Everyone danced at the party!!! It was the best party--being in a room celebrating with all the people you are comfortable around and love. :)

Saturday everyone wore their reunion T-shirts and enjoyed carnival games, crafts,ice blocking, soccer game, and pizza at the park!!!

Opa and Oma with all the grand kids. It was a very memorable weekend.

Pioneer trek

AUGGGG!!! I couldn't get the movie to download-- to see a short video of this awesome trek I put it on my boys blog.

Last week I went on a pioneer trek with Josh, Natalie and Jake. It was a wonderful experience. It help us all gain a greater understanding of the faith and courage the pioneers had. I feel it helped my teenagers realize that they could do hard things too and that even though they do not have to pull handcarts across the country, that they have strength and courage to face their own challenges and trials. Before going, we read stories about a couple of our own pioneers ancestors-William Lobark Skidmore and Leopold Wirthlin.

Me trying a black powder rifle. :)
Natalie helping push
All dressed and ready to go----Natalie did not like the "grandma" clothes she had to wear.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho off to Topaz Mountain we Go!!!

On Memorial Day we went on a day trip to Topaz Mountain. Everyone had a great time searching for topaz. Joseph loved using his hammer and tools to break the rocks. We all came home with topaz. Josh broke open one large rock and found some really nice ones. This is a great family activity--better in the spring and fall when it is not so hot.

Girl's Camp--Moab

I helped with our wards girls camp last week. Natalie was a "kool-aid" and helped prepare and plan the camp. She did a great job!!! This was Carolines first time at camp--it was so fun to be with both my girls in this beautiful place. We went to Arches and camped for 3 nights right on the Colorado river. We went on hikes, played games, sang songs, waded in the river and had a fabulous time. The theme was "Born to be a queen...be strong"---the scripture was Joshua 1:9. The theme was inspired by President Utchdof's talk and Sister Dalton's talk given at Young Womens conference. Caroline favorite thing was the fiery furnace hike and Natalie's was the glow stick war she had with the other "kool-aids". Next month I will take 27 4th year girls from our stake on a hike through the Narrows at Zions National Park.

Joshua's Graduation

Picture of Joshua after graduating. We are so PROUD of him. He is heading to BYU Idaho in the fall and will be majoring in biology. He received a 4,000 scholarship. Way to go Josh!!!