Lovell Land

2011

2011-01-05T12:50:00.001-08:00

I never have the time (or patience honestly) to blog anymore. I feel guilty about that because I really do want to keep my family and friends up to date about what's going on with us.

So, here's to New Year's Resolutions!!

I figure if nothing else I can at least post pictures! (Now that I have found my camera after it being MIA for the last 6 months.)

I took these pictures of the kids on a very foggy, Cache Valley day. We had about 45 minutes to get them done. I told the kids, "Just smile when I say smile, pose when I say pose and DON'T give me any attitude!" They did a great job!

Christopher - Sophomore

Shannon - 7th grader

Ellie - 2nd grade

Shelby - almost 3 years old.

The kids all made a haul this Christmas. Mostly clothes, a few gadgets and gizmo's, girlie stuff and snow apparel - which is essential when you live in Logan, although the folks at home are getting way more snow than us this year.

Matt got himself a new suit for work and church. He got a new calling a few months ago - Assistant Executive Secretary to the Stake Presidency. He is enjoying it, mostly because it's a ton of computer work, phone calls and scheduling verses having to be to a million meetings! He also has been hard at work managing Lovell Studios. He has done so much to help me stay organized and made my life SO MUCH EASIER! He takes care of all the stuff I hate doing or am not good at and keeps track of all the business aspects of what we do. I love it! He is at every performance setting up the equipment, doing sound control and taking down equipment afterwards. He is such an amazing support and help to me, I am so grateful. I couldn't do it without him and I'm so happy that he WANTS to do this with me!

Christopher has settled back in here nicely. Although he misses his Payson friends a lot... He is a great kid with a good attitude and is trying his best to keep good grades in school so when he gets his driver's license in February he can DRIVE the car. I don't know how I feel about that. Nervous..., but yet won't it be nice to have someone ELSE run all my errands???

Shannon is growing up a little too fast for my liking. What happened to my little 12 year old? She turns 13 on Monday. THIRTEEN. Just saying that out loud freaks me out! As much as we kid her about officially being a teenager, she knows it's true. She prefers to keep to herself and we have to DRAG not only information but a SMILE out of her. The eye rolling kills me. But she is still my sweet Shanny Paige. She is responsible, works hard at school, helps around the house and has a ton of friends.

Ellie-bellie is my little ray of sunshine. She is turning 8 next week and is so excited to get baptized! She is always happy and positive and cheerfully singing and skipping her way through life. She is an excellent student and does all her homework and reading without being reminded or asked. She mother's her little sister to death, makes friends wherever she goes and is currently in rehearsal for the "Wizard of Oz" (playing a cute little munchkin). She got a scooter for Christmas and rides it all over the house (wood floors are great for inside play). She has to contend with Shelby over her possessions and usually looses... but sacrifices for the good of the family. She and Christopher are in competition for the messiest rooms in the house.

Shelby is turning 3 at the end of this month. She is the most active little kid I have EVER had. She's in to EVERYTHING. Nothing is safe around here unless it is locked up. In fact, it's so quiet at the moment my mommy instincts are telling me that she is in to something. (Brb).... Whew. Just innocently watching TV. I don't know what I would do with out the Mickey Mouse ClubHouse TV show. That is the only program she likes to watch. It is on from 9 am to 10:30am and I get a lot done during those hours. Shelby loves to sing and dance. She knows what buttons to push on my piano to get certain songs to play. She will spend hours in the music room either playing the piano or singing and dancing along with her favorite songs. She loves candy and lippy (lippy = anything that goes on your lips. Chapstick, lipgloss, lipstick, vasaline, ANYTHING). She doesn't just put it on, she puts it on, layer by layer by layer until it.is.all.gone. So, if you leave your "lippy" laying around (or even if you don't, she will usually find it and take it) Shelby will have her hands on it and it will be consumed by her. She counter acts her naughty-ness by being too adorable to stay mad at. If she thinks she is in trouble, she will say, "Mommy, I love you!!"

Works every time.

I have been staying busy teaching and singing. A.LOT. The group that I sing with, Lilium was booked a ton during the holidays. We sang ALL OVER the valley from rest homes, to retirement places, Walmart, to the Tabernacle, work parties and ward Christmas parties. I absolutely loved every single minute! Getting paid for some of these gigs wasn't too bad either! I took a nice and much needed break once the kids got out of school and just spent it at home being LAZY. It was heaven.

Now it's back to school, back to teaching, back to WORK. It's going to be a busy month with all the birthdays and such. Matt is taking me to Florida in a few weeks and I can.not.WAIT!!

When you want to make a difference...

2010-04-02T05:29:00.000-07:00

Upstage Theatre for Youth is an organization that is totally dedicated to the youth of Payson (where I'm from peeps)and its surrounding areas. The board members are not paid and everything is run entirely by volunteers.

I was involved with several productions in the early developing stages (music director) and I cannot believe how totally AWESOME Upstage has become over the years!! The plays are so well done, you can't help but sit back and say to yourself...

"These are just little kids!? They totally ROCK!!!"

Every part of Upstage Theatre is a way for kids to learn and grow (participating youth are between the ages of 5-18 years old). The directors are often youth who started as cast members. When the kids are 18, they are encouraged to try directing or assist in directing. The backstage is also run by the youth. The crew behind the scenes, including those in charge of props consist of youth who learned the ropes from the crew before them. They are given opportunities to help in the building, designing and painting of the sets under the supervision of the directors. Costumes are usually provided by parent volunteers of the cast, but the youth have often been employed to help with this task as well. Cast and crew members are responsible for tickets sales and also help with concessions during intermission.

At present, there is only one aspect of Upstage Theatre that they must hire someone to do and that is SOUND. For several years, Upstage has been trying to purchase their own sound equipment but because they don’t make enough profit off of their productions (and with the economy the way it has been) they have been unable to reach this goal.

Chad Hymas

and Jason Hewlett

are both donating their time along with their amazing talents and abilities to bring Upstage Theatre's goal to fruition! Please support this wonderful cause by coming to "OF SOUND DREAMS" on May 1st 2010!! Help support an organization that gives back to the community, that offers the chance for children to learn and grow, to use their talents and build their self esteem!

OF SOUND DREAMS

May 1st 2010
Payson High School Auditorium
1050 South Main Street
Payson, Utah

Tickets are $10 each
Group passes (of 4) can be purchased for $32 (A STEAL PEOPLE!!!)

Advanced tickets can be purchased at:

Family First Credit Union in Payson (inside Walmart),
Payson Market,
Stadium Cinema's in Payson,
Boothe Brother's in Spanish Fork
or you can go HERE and purchase your tickets online through Paypal.

It's COMING.....

2010-02-08T08:45:00.000-08:00

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"
at The Old Barn

March 5, 6, 8, 12, 13*, 15, 19, 20*, 22, 26, 27

Shows are at 7:30pm
*Matinée and Evening performance on these days. Matinee's are at 2:30pm

I am playing the part of the "Narrator" in this production and HAVING A BLAST!! Shannon and Ellie are in it as well, playing the children I am narrating to at various times through out the show. The cast is full of awesome, amazing and talented people and I am SO happy that I get to work with them all!!!

So.

Family, friends, random google searchers and blog stalkers....

You've GOT to come!!

Seriously, last year this show SOLD OUT every night but ONE.

It is limited seating (200). So if you wait until the last minute...

You'll be S.O.L. ("Sorry Out of Luck")

You can reserve your tickets ONLINE

OR

by calling in your reservation (435-458-2276). A certain number of tickets are reserved for online purchasing, as well as phone reservations. (Meaning: if you try online to get tickets and they are sold out you can still call and probably get tickets.)

BUT DO IT NOW!!!

Please??

end self-promotion blog post.

Happy Anniversary!

2009-12-22T05:54:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today I drove through a snowstorm to marry this guy. To say that I am a lucky girl, is an understatement. To say that I'm grateful for him, isn't enough. To explain how my life has changed would take... awhile.

Let me put it this way:

I went from this

:(

to this

=)

when he came into my life!

It has been a great three years!! I love him so much and I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father blessed me with such a wonderful guy. He is my best friend. His love and support means everything to me. In everything I do, he is right by my side and I couldn't ask for more.

Thank you Matt for all that you do for me, I love you!!

The Graduate

2009-12-15T11:39:00.001-08:00

Last Friday was the official day of reckoning for the last two years of our lives. Matt received his Master's of Business Degree from Utah State University!

My husband the MBA Graduate.

I'm so proud of him!!

Matt's sister Connie and his mom and dad on the front row and my parents on the back row.

New radio jingles as promised

2009-11-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here are two of the jingles that we've been working on for my friends' store Sugar n'Spice. Go to the Lovell-Studios website (http://lovell-studios.com/b2evolution/blog5.php). You will have to click on the individual attachments to hear each jingle. Let me know what you think!

Still here just not much time to blog

2009-11-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

I know what you're all thinking,

"A new blog post from the Lovell's!!! It's about DANG TIME."

What can I say?? Life is BIIIIIZZZZZYYYYY!!!

(Ahem, that is an understatement at the moment.)

I didn't think it was possible to have so much going on and still remain standing at the end of the day (albeit swaying back and forth from exhaustion).

I'll give you a sampling of my day yesterday:

5:50am wake up, get Shannon up, eat breakfast, get dressed and semi presentable

6:30 say goodbye to Shannon, teach lessons

7:30 get Ellie up and ready for school

7:45 finish typing up information flyer for Piano Gallery (I'm coordinating the Clavinova Fun Fest for them. Me and my big mouth.)

8:00 get in shower

8:30 ask Matt to take Ellie to school because I am running behind schedule

9:00 meet with Piano Gallery contact to discuss out going flyer

9:30 go Visiting Teaching

11:30 home and lunch for Shelby, read stories and put her down for nap

12pm work on Sugar n'Spice jingles (four of them, music and lyrics)

1:30 realize I have to teach in about an hour and I haven't prepped yet.

1:31 start prepping for lessons

2:30 Shelby is up from nap so I rehearse for my up coming performances. This Saturday I'm doing a performance for a Stake Social event and next Saturday "Lilium" is performing for Smithfield's Chamber of Commerce "Night of Giving". It is a BIG deal!! I'm so excited for both of these performances but extremely anxious about doing not doing well!

3:00 teach

6:00 done teaching, fix dinner, eat, immediately set up for recording "Sugar n'Spice" jingles and put final touches on all the music and lyrics.

8:00 Sugar n'Spice owner arrives. (She's one of my BFF's and so this is where things got really, REALLY FUN!!!!) Begin recording sale jingles.*

10:30pm done recording. B.L.A.S.T. Funnest thing I have done for two weeks (or more). The jingles will go on air this weekend and I can't wait to hear them because they turned out awesome!

*HUGE SHOUT OUT to my amazing husband, Matt. He is the guy that is behind the scenes doing all the recording work and editing. I couldn't do any of this with out him. I will post the jingles for everyone to check out as soon as he finishes the editing. (If I know him he will have them done by tonight!)

11pm get a text message from one of my wonderful students letting me know she got a part in Sky View High Schools play "Oklahoma!". How cool is THAT?! Made my day. : )

11:15 in bed

Just a day in the life that is mine (ours) right now.

I auditioned for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat" last month and was given the part of NARRATOR! I'm so excited (and nervous) about this! The production will be in March and YES I will let you all know when, where it is and I hope that you all will come!! OH! And cool news! The directors have asked Shannon and Ellie to be in the show - at the beginning (no children were cast in this production) and they are THRILLED!!

I have also started a class (Well Prepared Pianist) that is once a month that is helping me learn all the things I don't know, how to be a better teacher and ugh! TECHNIC! I felt like such a beginner at my first lesson. My teacher is great and I know I am going to love it (I already do!).

Matt finished his last class in October... his MBA is in the BAG!!!!! I'm so proud of him for all the hard work he put in to accomplish this goal. He will graduate with his Masters of Business early next month (December 11, let me know if you can come!). Way to go honey!!!!

There is so much else going on that I haven't even mentioned!! Matt has been working hours every day getting our website up and running. Please check us out!! Lovell Studios is keeping us all busy with lessons, teaching, performances and recordings... Matt is the business man behind it all and I just let him run with it. He does a great job and I am so thankful for all that he does to help me!

I love this stage

2009-08-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

I love when babies learn to talk. This was at my mom and dad's this past weekend. On the way down to Payson we taught Shelby to say, "Oh dear!". This is her showing off her skills to everyone. Thanks mom for capturing this on video!!!

Now everything that comes out of her mouth is of course, "oh dear". It's still cute. Even after the 100th time. =)

The Sister Pact

2009-07-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

For all of my reader friends and family out there I have a new book for you...

"The Sister Pact" was written by one of my very good friends, Cami Checketts and it is being released on Saturday August 1st.

I finished reading it yesterday (got my copy early - the perks of being a friend of the author!) and I LOVED IT! It has all the elements of a good suspense novel: Heroism, romance, danger, mystery and did I mention ROMANCE?? :) Cami is a terrific writer and you'll find yourself unable to put it down.

Here's a brief description of what you're getting with "The Sister Pact":

Savannah Compton is devastated when her sister and best friend, Allison, falls into a coma after a tragic accident. Or was it an accident? Even with a charming and handsome detective at her side, it seems Savannah may never discover the truth. But if she doesn’t her family could be in even more danger. And Savannah’s past holds its own secrets that could change everything.

Now she must prove her innocence to the one person who is beginning to matter most. Join Savannah as she struggles to summon faith and rely on hope, even in the darkest of circumstances, and learn how the bond between sisters can overcome anything.

If you'd like a chance to win your own copy of "The Sister Pact", go to Cami's website. The book will also be available at Barnes & Noble, Deseret Book, Seagull Book, Wal-Mart, and Costco. And no, you can't borrow my copy. GO GET YER OWN!

Updates on everyone...

2009-06-26T07:10:00.001-07:00

The first summer month is almost over. Yikes!! We haven't even set up our pool yet! But of course, with all this rain it hasn't even been an OPTION.

We are trying to stay busy - so I, wait... I mean THE KIDS don't get board. Shannon joined a competitive soccer team out in Richmond and is loving it. They have 2 hour practices twice a week and she is required to practice AT LEAST 30 minutes every day but Sunday. She is thrilled!! We did find out (after spring soccer season ended) that she has a knee problem called Osgood Slaughter Disease: inflammation of the patellar tendon where the knee meets the top of the tibia (shinbone). The condition is caused by stress on the tendon that attaches the muscle at the front of the thigh to the tibia. She gets pretty sore after practice but with the help of ice packs and Ibprofen she is good. She is just growing up way too fast and her body can't keep up! The symptoms (swelling and tenderness) subside after treatment and rest and should go away after she stops growing.

Ellie is counting down the days to when the pool is finally up. She is quite the little swimmer and wants to see if she has graduated out of having to wear a life jacket (yes, I'm THAT paranoid). She is one of my biggest helpers around here and as of this week, has asked me to start calling her "Cinderella". I'm not quite sure what she means by that...

As for Shelby, where to begin?? We have little "incidences" every day. Multiple incidences actually... I think I just threw away all the markers in the house due to the last one.

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

She has learned to climb, which means I have had to do a mandatory re-decorating that involves all chairs, stools and benches. This added to all the dowels, locks, gates and other baby proofing items makes my house quite the Safety Zone. She is talking more and more every day (though I confess I can't always understand WHAT she is saying). We are at 17 months now and you know what that means... NURSERY is just around the corner!!

Christopher is still living at his dad's house in Payson. I see him every time I go down there. He loves hanging out with his friends and is the typical teenager: Texting, xbox, movies, friends, late nights, computer games... His voice is so low now that I don't recognize it when he answers the phone. KIDS GROW UP SO FAST. =(

Matt is still busy with school. Only two more classes to go!!!! We try to make the most of the weekends he does have off and the nights that he doesn't have to study. He works so hard and is doing really well. I'm so proud of him!!

I am busy with teaching, though the summer months are not quite as hectic as the school ones. I feel a more laid back pace lately, which I really am grateful for. Young Women's keeps me busy as well. We are getting ready to go to camp in two weeks and I don't have to take Shelby with me this year. YEAH!!! I'm speaking with the YW presidency in sacrament meeting this Sunday (I should be writing my TALK instead of updating the BLOG. Can you say, "PROCRASTINATION"?).

I found out this week that my foot is broken =( It's a long story... Back on May 1st when I was down at BYU's Women's Conference I rolled my foot off a curb as I was running to get to my first class. DUMB. It hurt like crazy and almost made me cry. ALMOST. But I limped my way through the day and the next and the next... It took a couple of weeks before the pain went away and I thought that I was better. But then I'd step on it wrong and it was like I was starting all over again. After awhile the aching and pain was so constant I couldn't stand it, so I finally drug myself to the Podiatrist. Apparently I was born with an "extra" bone in my foot called he accessory navicular. The way that I rolled my foot when I hurt it caused the accessory navicular to break off of where it had fused to the normal navicular bone. I'll have to wear a cast for 6 weeks and then see where the healing process is. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid surgery (they will have to remove the extra bone completely and reattach the tendon if the cast doesn't work). The cast itself isn't that bad - that is to say, it's annoying but it isn't slowing me down. : )

I'm off... it's Friday and after teaching 1 lesson (YES ONLY ONE) I'm playing with the kids for the rest of the day.

First summer camping trip

2009-06-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we loaded up the camper and went SOUTH. Not too far though, just down past Delta to the land of DESERET. We stopped at the old Fort and there, we stayed. I don't know what the appeal was?? It could have been the big mud puddles...

Madi and Ellie taking a "mud bath" in the big mud puddle that developed after the first cloud burst. After this, they of course needed to take a dip in the canal that was close by.

Shannon cooling off/washing off the mud in the canal.

Shelby REALLY wanted to go swimming too. The water was pretty clean. No visible floaties. That means it's safe, right?

We went on multiple exploring trips with the 4-wheelers.

Shannon at the Great Stone Face which is said to resemble the profile of the prophet Joseph Smith.

Shelby was constantly climbing up on the pink 4 wheeler. I think she's trying to claim ownership....

One day we took a long ride out to an old volcano. We found a really cool trail that took us all the way up to the top.

Matt and Shelby going up the trail at Pahvant Butte.

Cool and very LARGE lizard that scurried under Matt's machine.

Inside a really cool abandoned cement building on top of Pahvant Butte. We later found out that it was originally constructed to be a windmill plant (back in the 1920's) that was to supply electricity to the local residents. It was never completed.

On the top of Pahvant Butte. This volcano erupted about 15,500 years ago. The explosion produced this crater on the south face of the mountain.

Matt and I on top of Pahvant Butte.

Shannon spent much of her time exploring and looking for lizards.

On our way home we stopped to tour through the museum in Delta (yes, museums are COOL). We also stopped to see the Morrison Charcoal ovens just outside of Leamington.

Inside the ovens.

We sort of got rained out which sent us in the direction of my sister's house in Santaquin. We stopped over there for a visit and they took us on a beautiful ride up Santaquin Canyon.

Chris, Brenda Matt and Shelby up Santaquin Canyon.

Shelby always falls fast asleep on these rides.

We had a great trip!! Went by way too fast, but I'm sure glad we were able to go.

Relay For Life

2009-06-15T07:42:00.001-07:00

The Relay For Life (cancer fundraiser) was this past Friday. This was the night that I've been working towards for the last 5 months and it was AWESOME!!

"Lilium" Carey Heaton, Me and Dawn Garrett. My dad (the botanist) helped us choose our group name. Lilium is the Latin name for Lily - a 3 petal flower.

My brother-in-law asked me clear back in Jan/Feb if I would be willing to sing as part of the entertainment in the park for Relay's festivities. Heck, YES I said! I called up my girls, Dawn and Carey (my singing partners) and they were totally on board. Every time I went to Payson we rehearsed, we discussed song possibilites, parts, wrote parts and practiced-practiced-practiced. They came up here and we played... ahem, I mean practiced. We even got another gig to sing at The Peteetneet 2 weeks before the Relay (but I've been to busy and LAME to blog about it. Sorry. I really am gonna try to do better.)

In Front of the marque at The Peteetneet. We were pretty excited to see "Lilium in Concert". Made us feel special...

This shot made my thighs burn...

The Peteetneet concert was a good run-through for the real deal. We had everything covered, ready and under control for the Relay except... the weather.

Anyone living in Utah for the past 3 weeks can tell you, it has rained pretty much every day. EVERY DAY!!

Friday night was noooooooo different. We were supposed to go on stage at 8pm. But as luck would have it, they were running 30 minutes behind schedule. Kelly V (the performer right before us) got drenched when it started pouring rain right at 8 o'clock.

Dawn, Carey and I huddled under a canopy making some last minute costume adjustments... BLACK UMBRELLA'S. Oh yeah, we were going on NO. MATTER. WHAT.

Just as Kelly V finished up her last song it stopped raining. We got up there, wiped the water off our stools and music stands and away we went! It was so much fun!! I don't remember what song we were on (maybe Loathing from WICKED) when I thought to myself, "I love being up here!!! This is such a BLAST!!" It helped that the audience seemed to enjoy each of our songs and there were a few sweet fans (little girls on the front row) that kept our spirits up by saying things like, "YOU ROCK!!!!" or "I LOVE YOU!" or "YOU'RE THE BEST SINGERS IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!". (I might have just imagined that last one.)

It was an amazing time. The crowd grew and grew (no, I'm NOT making that up!). In fact my brother-in-law later told me that they have never had such a big crowd stick around for the music before. (Insert BIG SMILE here) I loved every minute!! We weren't able to do our slide show due to the weather, but everything else went off without a hitch. It didn't rain a single drop our entire performance (PRAYER WORKS). 10 minutes after we left the stage... it was a DOWN POUR.

My dad (who is fighting Multiple Myeloma) holding Shelby in the audience.

The Relay was a HUGE success!! They raised over $34,000 dollars (last year it was onlt $14,000)!! I am so grateful that I got to be a part of it!!!

KEANE

2009-05-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

I waited for four years and they finally came back.

My favorite band. Tim, Tom and Richard. I love these guys!

I became a huge fan of KEANE when they exploded onto 101.9 with "Somewhere Only We Know." I bought their fist album "Hopes and Fears" and fell in love with their music! They have since released two more albums - Under The Iron Sea and Perfect Symmetry. Both awesome!

At the concert. The ushers were so very nice at showing us to our seats but kept telling us that we couldn't take pictures. (Seriously, what was up with THAT?!) I slyly took this picture when no one was looking...

Actually, there were sooooo many people taking pics and videos with cameras and phones the ushers finally gave up. But this is the best I could do in the low light and my little camera. Sadly, shortly after this shot, it (camera) pooped out on me. :(

I wish I had been this close.

Me and Matt at the concert. Matt Kearney was one of the bands who opened for Keane. He was incredible! I think I have added a new favorite to my list. He sounds so much like Cold Play...

My friend, Rochelle and I. I tried to get her to go with me four years ago and she couldn't. I'm so glad that she was able to go this time!

What a great night and AMAZING concert!!!!

A huge, HUGE thank you to my sweet sister-in-law, Lori and brother-in-law, Scott who watched the girls for us so that Matt and I could go. The girls had an absolute BALL with them!!!! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!! Love you!

I am a happy girl

2009-04-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Two of my very good friends from Payson came up to spend the weekend with us. It was a "working" visit and YES, we WORKED until our little voices were RAW (not really, but we did work hard).

I am singing with Carey Heaton and Dawn Garret, two amazing voices and wonderful friends of mine, at the Relay For Life in Payson on June 12th. We have been working over the last few months to get our songs ready and have been trying to practice as much as possible. But when you live 150 miles apart that is difficult to do. Having them come up here this weekend was a BIG HELP to our progress not to mention a total BLAST!!! Oooohhhhh, I LOVE having friends and family visit us! (hint, hint, hint....). We were able to get all of our songs recorded, rough versions of them at least and we practiced our guts out. It was so much fun - I just love these guys! We got a little wild and crazy with the Karaoke singing one night (Carey - s'okay if I post your ABBA dance? Lol!) Dawn's daughter, Meg also came up which was fun as well! I thought she would be totally bored, but she wasn't! She sat there and listened, watched or practiced right along with us!

On Saturday everybody took a break to go and support Shannon and Ellie at their very first soccer games! Shannon has never played until this year but has caught on quick and is loving it.

Shannon playing Goalie

Ellie was really excited about her game, but didn't know what to expect (all her practices have been rained out so far)! At half time she came up to me and said, "Mom, soccer is HARD." Yep.

Because the weather has been so horrible lately the field was still pretty mushy and she got her pink soccer socks dirty... she was NOT happy about THAT.

We all got a sunburn... it was awesome. FINALLY Spring is here.

After the soccer games we came back to the house and got to work... after that is, we went to lunch and did some necessary shopping. Matt was home from school and was anxious to help us do some recording. He waited and waited and waited... so patiently until we were ready to lay down some tracks!! We worked until MIDNIGHT. It was exhausting but also so rewarding to be able to hear our hard work pay off.

Matt at the controls...

It's been a great weekend. I am so grateful for these two girls - they are such wonderful examples to me and are both so talented!! Thanks to their families who sacrificed in order for them to be able to come up here this weekend (Brandon and Kirk - you guys are SUPER-DUPER!) Thanks girls for making the drive and sacrificing YOUR time and energy to do this with me!

We always have to do a "crazy face" picture. It's tradition.

Growing...up?

2009-04-03T18:03:00.001-07:00

This was an actual conversation between me, Shannon and Christopher on our way home from Layton this afternoon.

Christopher: "Mom, I've got armpit hair!"

Me: I look at him in the rear view mirror, with a "huh?" expression on my face.

Christopher: "No, REALLY mom. I've got armpit hair. A BLACK one." He says this proudly like it's been his life long wish.

Me: "Wow." I say with little enthusiasm. I'm not quite sure where this is going...

Christopher: Throwing off his seat belt and jumping up on the console between the two front seats. "See look!!!" He proceeds to pull up his t-shirt to reveal a bare armpit...

Me: "Christopher, I am DRIVING. I can't look."

Christopher: "LOOK! See!!"

Shannon: "That's just peach fuzz."

Christopher: "It is NOT! It's armpit hair! Look, you can see it, it's BLACK.
Look mom!!" Now he is pinching the skin to make it easier for me to view.

Me: I steal a quick glance. I don't see anything. I look one more time and see a patch of peach fuzz.

Shannon: "There's nothing there! It's just fuzz!" She is giggling now.

Christopher: "There is too you can see it! What would you know anyway?!"

Shannon: "That's nothin." She pulls up her sleeve to reveal....

Christopher: "Oh!! OOOHHHHH!!!!! YUCK!! THAT'S SOOOO GROSSSSSS!!!!!"

Shannon: "Now THAT is armpit hair."

The End.

Ouchie

2009-04-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

We spent the better part of our evening last night in the ER with Shelby.

SHE'S OKAY.

But... has an injured right arm. Possibly broken, but they can't see a fracture on the x-ray so they think it might be on the growth plate.

Let me back up.

Matt has been working hard to put together an awesome recording studio for me over the last few weeks. (Another post for another time.) He had just got a few new components hooked up and had asked me to come back to the office/"recording studio" to try it out. Shelby and Ellie were trying to sit "quietly" on the couch in the room with us while Matt and I did some testing. Anyway, at some point Shelby got restless and started trying to stand up and Ellie's big-sister-wanna-be-helpful switch kicked in. Somehow in trying to prevent Shelby from toppling off the couch head first, Ellie twisted Shelby's arm and it "popped" (according to Ellie).

This is where the crying (the kind you KNOW is not good) started and didn't stop. It wasn't long before we knew we needed to have her checked. Matt jumped on the phone to see what the after-hours dispatch said and we got the biggest run around! We finally just decided to take her to the ER.

The doctors (yes, multiple doctors checked her out. It must have been a slow evening in the ER) looked her over and suggested that her elbow might have been yanked out of socket. (Nurse-maid elbow) So they did the painful adjustment to fix it. Supposedly if that is the problem, the patient generally responds well after they adjust it (10-15 minutes and they begin to use the arm again.) Shelby did not. She cried harder and still would not use her arm (even after multiple efforts using suckers and popsicles). So then we headed to radiology. Let me tell you how much fun THAT was. The one good thing, she didn't move her arm while they were doing all the x-rays.

The x-rays came back okay. No visible fracture, but with her still in a lot of pain (they tried ANOTHER elbow adjustment. No cigar.) they concluded that there could be a fracture on the growth plate which would not show up on the x-ray. So they put her arm in a fiberglass splint, added a cute little sling, some IBP and orders to make an appointment to see an orthopedic doctor. She will remain in the splint until Monday when we see the orthopedic doctor for a follow up and probably another set of x-rays.

She had a pretty good night, considering. (I however, slept very little. Perks of being a worry-wart.) She is doing well this morning, still favoring her sore arm, trying to rip off the sling and the splint. Never a dull moment!

Update on the situation

2009-03-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

It was like Christmas morning when the girls got up today.

They rushed out at the crack of dawn to see if Rosie/Pepper/Bell/Jazzy/Trixie (they haven't quite decided which one yet) was still there.

They were ELATED to see her curled up on the pillow they put out for her. It was an answer to their prayers!! (Seriously, they said several prayers about this last night.) A confirmation that RPBJT now belongs with us!!

I will say she seems to be a good dog. She doesn't bark much, sits when she's told, doesn't nip, isn't hyper-active and she's kinda cute-looking...

Crap.

Trouble

2009-03-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Remember this post??

Matt found a stray puppy in the storage units tonight. Shannon has been on cloud 9 ever since. She has named her, fed her, made a bed for her, played with her NON STOP and is begging, BEGGING to keep her. I'm in trouble. My NO PETS ALLOWED rule is starting to crumble...

A few kid updates

2009-03-18T08:50:00.001-07:00

This guy turned 14 last month. Don't you just love the look?? He's sure grown up a lot in the last year. Every time I talk to him his voice has dropped another pitch or two...

Shannon participated in the Solo Music Festival this year for the first time. She earned a "Superior" rating from all three judges and was nominated for the Honor Recital!! She is so talented and writes a lot of her own music. Did I mention she's only 11??

Such a classic "Ellie smile"! She is such a wonderful helper and loves to take care of Shelby.

This little girl has learned to walk, run and climb, she has sprouted three teeth, can say "gink, doo doo (thank you), uh oh, ssssat (what's that), yes, da-da, mommmma, ya-ya and a few other words that I haven't figured out yet.

Time to make a come back

2009-03-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

Oh the guilt.

I've been in a funk lately and haven't wanted to blog. I just kept going back and forth as to what to blog about all the time?? Do I just blog about what we as a family have been doing? Do I blog about what's on my mind? And trying to make it readable/funny/interesting can be SO MUCH WORK... UGH.

I gave it up for awhile just to see if I could, just to see if I missed it.

I did, and I didn't.

BUT. I feel so guilty reading the blogs of my family and friends - KNOWING how much effort it takes (please tell me it takes effort for you to blog a post or is it post on your blog?) to write and here I am all hungry and getting fed and not giving back to the blogosphere. (I also noticed that my stats have dropped quite a lot during this "lull". Not liking that much either.)

So here I go again!!

One of my good friends turned 40 last week and we celebrated it with style! (Next time you want to have some fun, put on a wig and go out to dinner and then go play laser tag.) Here we are getting ready to go kidnap Kerri (the beloved b-day girl).

Surprising her at her house. She is donned with a wig, glasses and "40 is FOXY" t-shirt courtesy of her lovely friends.

In our limo-van!! Amber (driving) DeAnna (front seat), Janna (brown fro) and Amy (purple bob)

Leslie and Sarah are channeling Sunny and Cher.

Cami and Tara... I have nothing funny to say about this picture.

Tour-guide Barbie... I mean DeAnna

Kerri is the oldest out of our little group, but you'd never guess. Not only does she NOT look it... she doesn't act it either!!!

At dinner. (We had a lot of fro's going on that night!)

This is the secret of how she stays so young looking.

Playing laser-tag after dinner. AWESOME. Except that I should have taken off my high-heeled boots. They made running around and dodging laser beams tricky.

Wigs + Friends + B-days = FUN TIMES

It's a good thing.

2009-02-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing one year-olds are so cute.

They need to draw upon that cuteness when Mom has to get up with them in the middle of the night because they won't stop screaming and are waking up the entire house hold. They need that sweetness appeal for when they want to snuggle up to you in your bed but refuse to sleep anywhere but on top of your head.

The story:

Christopher is up with us this weekend and decided to sleep on the top bunk in Shelby's room last night (since the girls are gone).

I gave him the warning:

"You may be awakened by a baby in the middle of the night". "You sleep in there at your own risk!"

I don't think he actually believed that Shelby would scream for an hour straight. (I'm not entirely sure how long she did scream, both my door and her door were shut and so the sound was muffled and I slept through most of it.) He did croaked out a dry, "thank you" when I finally came in and got Shelby out of her crib.

From then on, I was kicked, head-butted, crowded, pushed, shoved, laid on, tugged at and generally mauled until 6 am this morning. Am I a little groggy this morning?? A little on the cranky side?? A little sleep-deprived and bruised?

Like I said before, good thing these babes are so dang cute.

A funny for your Friday

2009-02-06T07:57:00.001-08:00

This is a video of a little boy taken AFTER he had an extra tooth pulled... Enjoy!

That's why they call it laughing gas

2009-01-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

I hate the dentist.

No wait, let me rephrase that:

I hate GOING to the dentist.

MY dentist is actually a really nice guy and is very good at what he does. But still... I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST.

Bad experiences (PAIN)are all that I have (TORTURE) to motivate me and thus I am not very good at making appointments for such things as root canals or any other follow up procedures that lead to UNENDING AGONY. So when I chipped a molar a month ago I just dealt with it. Even when the filling that WAS in said tooth fell out because well, the tooth was CRACKED I did nothing.

Finally the gaping HOLE in my tooth started to hurt so bad and Ibuprofen was not doing the trick and I couldn't even COMPLAIN about it because every time I DID Matt would say, "Have you called the dentist yet?".

So this last week when I couldn't tough it out any longer I called and made the appointment.

Last night as I was lamenting the foreboding events that laid before me today, Matt suggested I ask for the laughing gas.

Me: I've never had it before.

Him: You haven't!? You should!

Me: But it costs extra.

Him: It's worth it! It's so nice, you'll love it!

Hmmmmmm...

(So ladies and gentlemen, I give you my first ever experience with laughing gas.)

A few minutes after they placed the "nose" on I began to feel all tingahleeee... and HEAVayee. My senses changed and I was introduced to what I like to call,

"DELAYED REACTION WORLD"

I'd hear something, feel something, SMELL something and it would take a second or two before it would hit my brain what it was! It was like what it would be like to live as a cartoon! You know, where the character runs off the edge of a cliff and doesn't know it until he looks down and sees the earth is no longer below him? THEN he falls!! I totally get that now!! It IS POSSIBLE!! It was like, DUH! Why didn't I ever understand this before!! It was all soooooooo interesting and new and sTRangE and...

funny.

I smiled to myself. Wow! So this is what every one's been talking about! Sooooooo cooOOOOOOL and niiiiiiiieeeEEEEsssssssssss...

Then I giggled. Outloud.

I couldn't help it.

It was like a switch that I couldn't turn off, I couldn't stop the giggling! I realized I was probably making a fool out of myself so I tried to explain...

"I see now why...hmmmeeee hee hee hee, they call hihiiitt... haaa hee haa hoo lllaaahhhfffing gggaasS!!"

Dentist and nurse politely exchange knowing glances and smiles.

"It rrReellLee gives you ah.... heeheehee hooo, hee hummmmm... ah uNiQue perrrspectiiihhhv on things!!!"

(Uncontrolled laughter at this point.)

He turned the mixture down after that.

Another reason why January is the best month of the year

2009-01-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

My baby turned one on Saturday. I was going through all her little pictures reminiscing her birth, this past year, all the mile-stones and JeeeZzz lAhWeeez!

That went by quick.

January 24th 2008

Shelby - January 2009

We celebrated the day by going to McDonald's with some friends and and letting all the girls play. Later on we did the traditional cake and ice cream and Ellie made sure that Shelby opened ALL of her presents.

I know this "cake" seems awful small, but we've been overrun with b-day cake lately. These are actually brownies and only half-way frosted. (Some didn't WANT frosting on their piece! I don't get that- frosting makes everything taste GOOD.)

Last weekend for my birthday, Matt stole us away to St. George for some warm weather riding. We did a lot of looking for some fun trails and came across this really neat spot.

Little Black Mountain

5000 year old petroglyphs

I just want to say how lucky I feel to have these sweet little girls in my life (all born in January!)!! I love being a mom and I am so grateful for such a wonderful, loving, patient husband that takes care of us all!

Stay tuned for the next b-day kid in line: Christopher is my little Valentine's Day Boy!

At our house, it's okay to play with your food

2009-01-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

Enjoy!

You have to throw them parties

2009-01-16T06:24:00.000-08:00

January is a busy month for us in the birthday department. Last week we celebrated Shannon and Ellie's birthday - each with their own friend-party.

Shannon chose to invite her friends over for a pizza-ice skating-sleepover-party.

Pizza party

Shannon and her friends

Cheesey-Ellie

Opening some presents.

On the way to the ice-center we noticed an incredible amount of traffic, all heading in the same direction.

"Hmmmmm, wonder where these people are all going?? Wonder if they are having a super-sale at the Dodge dealership?"

Turns out that I should have called ahead of time. There was a hockey game that night (against BYU I think) and a gazillion people were attending.

So we went to plan B.

Roller blading at the Fun Park.

Guess how many hours 11-year old girls can roller blade without getting tired?

3

The next day at Ellie's party:

(This is minute-by-minute account of her party for your enjoyment/use/guideline of what-to-do-or-what-not-to-do.)

1:30 pm Guests arrive

1:31 While waiting for all guests to arrive have children do this:

Draw and color themselves on a long roll of paper.

1:42 Make sure they are all coloring on the PAPER (not the floor, each other, or the couch.)

1:50 They are still coloring?? Offer positive reinforcement,

"Wow! That's so good!! You draw so well!! I LOVE your pink hair!! That looks just like you!!"

1:55 "Time to finish it up everyone! We have games to play! Yeah!! Cause this is a PaR-taY!! Okay?? You have 20 seconds to finish and put the markers away!!"

1:55 "10-9-8-7... Hurry!! Get all the markers put away!! 6-5-4... Oh dear almost out of time!!! 3-2-1! Markers DOWN!"

1:56 Roll up humongous paper roll and put it away (probably never to be seen again).

1:57 Play "Throw the Smile".

2:00 This game is boring.

2:02 Decide to play a new game.

2:04 YEAH! This one is much better!!

2:06 Pause game. Everyone is thirsty.

2:06-2:10 Get cups and drinks for thirsty kids

2:11 Resume game.

2:14 Mental dialog: "I still have 4 other things planned and I am running out of time! We need to get things movin!"

2:15 "Okay we have a winner!!! Time to make crafts!!"

2:15 Kids don't want to make crafts at this time. They want to open PRESENTS.

2:16 "Okay kids! Let's open presents! Yeah!! Whoo-hoo!" (It's important to keep the energy up.)

2:17-2:25 Ellie opens her presents. I run to a fro gathering up wrapping paper, ribbon and tissue, keep track of who gave what and make sure that Ellie says "Thank you".

2:26 "NOW it's time for crafts!! We are making snowmen!!"

2:26 Gather the kids around the kitchen table.

2:27 Instructions are given.

2:28 Everyone needs help AT THE SAME TIME.

2:29 Mental note: Don't make crafts with 5-6 year olds that require them to put small dried beans into a very small sock. They drop 9-10 of them on the floor.

2:38 I am a frantic blur of, "Who needs a scarf? Who needs their sock tied? Who needs more beans? Who is ready for glue? Can someone please help me because I am going crazy?"

I didn't really say that last one. Out loud.

2:50 Only ten minutes before parents arrive!! Crap!! We haven't sung happy birthday yet! We haven't even had cake and ice cream!!

2:51 I multi-task by hot gluing snowmen and lighting the candles and singing happy birthday and YES I burned my fingers several times.

Did I say I lit the candles? I guess Shannon did.

See. I told you I was frantic.

2:52 Shannon dishes out the ice cream and cupcakes, I am a hot-gluing as fast as my poor burnt fingers will allow and Matt is picking up the beans that are all over the floor before Shelby puts them in her mouth. I have no recollection of anything else at this time.

2:56 The first parent arrives to pick up their child.

"NO!!! I'm not done yet! Hurry, gimme your snowman! Where's his eyes?? What color of buttons do you want?? Where's his hat??"

The kid is eating ice cream. She doesn't care.

2:57 My sweet visiting teaching partner arrives to pick up her granddaughter. She doesn't say a word and dives right in to help.

3:06 "Wait!!! Don't leave yet!! I have goodie sacks!! Don't forget your goodie sack!

3:15 I am grateful for parents who were late picking up their kids. I am grateful that I only have 3 more snowmen to finish.

3:20 Last kid is out the door. With Matt and Shannon's help we clean up. It isn't too bad. Cake crumbs, beans and string. Phish, easy.

3:41 Reflecting back, I feel the party went well. We didn't do everything that I had planned. But no one cried, no one said they were bored, nothing got broken, no one got lost or forgotten, everyone liked the cupcakes and...

Ellie was happy.

Sigh. The things we do for our kids.

Fun to do

2009-01-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready to celebrate Shannon and Ellie's birthdays this weekend. A package arrived in the mail yesterday for the two b-girls and since we have no restraint or patience in this house we opened it right away.

This is what was inside.

A mid the squeals of delight I had to ask, "What the heck ARE those?"

Response: BENDAROOS!!

Me: What are Bendaroos?

Response: Haven't you ever seen the commercials mom? They are soooooooooo COOL!!!

Apparently I am not up on all the commercials that entice little children to beg things from their parents.

But I have to say, these are pretty dang cool. We played with them for the rest of the night and part of this morning. They are not messy or toxic, no little parts, reusable and kids can be creative. LOVE IT.

Ellie and I built this.

This is a duck. A DUCK! Cute huh? And how talented are Ellie and I that WE MADE HIM.

BENDAROOS

My new favorite thing.

Go out and buy them for your kids today.

In other news we have reached another milestone in Shelby's life. Earlier this week, Shannon was able to get Shelby to walk across the room unassisted. (You all know how much fun it is when a baby takes their first steps, so I don't need to tell you how much cheering and clapping and "yeah-ing" has been going on at our house.) Shelby would still rather crawl than walk, but she is getting better. Tonight we tried to see if she would walk better with shoes on her feet.

Not so much.

She looked like a cat with tape on her paws.

Now lets try taking the shoes off...

Much better!!

Our last night of the year

2009-01-01T07:34:00.000-08:00

For New Years Eve we hooked up with our friends and went out to the Barlow's (Sr) in Lewiston. We took our toys and lots of warm clothing to play in the snow.

Getting ready to go outside.

This is the best little hat because she isn't able to yank it off due to the strap. I love Velcro. Thanks Janna for getting such a sweet smile out of her!

Shelby's first time in her snow suit. She didn't quite know what to make of it and just laid there...

The snow ended up being too deep for the wheelers so our friend, Todd brought out the good stuff.

Our Ride for the night.

Matt and Shelby all bundled up.

We drove all over the place and stayed warm and toasty inside the Argo. It was AWESOME.

Besides driving around having fun we were also playing videographers for these two

Todd and Tyler, as they attempted to tube off of a humble looking jump.

Not as easy as it looks folks.

It came and went...

2008-12-29T06:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went in under 20 minutes this year (I kept track). At our house, Christmas doesn't start until after 7 am. It's torture really but that's the rule. So at precisely that time I went downstairs to collect the kids (who were already awake of course and excitedly whispering amongst themselves). I made them shut their eyes as we walked through the kitchen "NO PEAKING!!" and sent them down the hall to wait so that I could go check to see if Santa had come.

I turned on the lights and saw that, yes indeed - Santa had come to our house! I almost forgot about the children as I noticed some lovely gifts with MY name on them...

Then I remembered that these people were anxiously awaiting the view as well. Don't you love the sleepy-excited look on their faces?

Searching all the presents for a "To: Christopher" tag on them.

Shanny

Ellie wearing her favorite hat that Grandma gave her and showing off her new things.

Shelby was mostly interested in bows and discarded candy canes.

Christopher models his new riding clothes.

Hat, earrings, scarf, shirt, bracelets, and toe socks.

Ellie is showing Shelby how to work her new toy. It was funny to watch Shelby try and figure this out. The first time she pushed it and it started rolling she didn't know how to control it. It kept going faster and faster and her poor little legs couldn't keep up. NOW she is an expert! She will push it along at her speed, moving to the side of the basket when she wants to stop. Aren't babies smart?

Cute legs honey! I think those are Shannon's slippers though...
(Matt thinks it's unconstitutional for me to post this picture. Says that I need his permission or something. Doesn't he know by now that "If you pose, it WILL be posted"?)

After all the presents were opened Matt and the kids layered up to go outside and play in the new snow.

Matt pulling Christopher and Shannon on the tube.

Matt, Shannon and Ellie just in from playing in the snow. They were soaking wet - head to toe but with smiles on their faces!

Ellie telling how she "hit her brain" while riding on the tube.

Family Christmas

2008-12-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

We braved the snow and traffic and went down to see my family for a few days this past weekend. We had our Christmas party and opened lots of presents. Grandma and Grandpa spoiled all of us AGAIN!

The Furniss Family

Just so you know, my camera hates me lately. So ignore all the blurriness, red eyes and general lack-of-light in most of these pics.

Ellie and Madi in their new pj's

My mom's gift to Matt. It says, "My finger may be tiny but I can still wrap my daddy around it." Ain't THAT the truth!!

Me and Shelby. (Notice the football game on in the background? Thus, we did not get a lot of participation out of the menfolk.)

Ellie wearing the hat that Grandma and Grandpa gave her. The smile says it all!

Christopher, looking cool as always.

Shannon in her pj's AND the hoodie she got.

I was able to see some of my good friends on the way down.
Lunch at Macaroni Grill. Yumm, yummm, yummmmmmmmm.

Mishy, Dawn, Carey, Me and Ro. (**EDITED TO ADD: Thanks Michelle for fixing this! It looks TONS better now!!)(Oh, and BTW we were all supposed to pull a funny face for this photo... obviously Carey is the only cool one here. The rest of us are dorks!)

Dawn, Carey and I got together on Sunday night to sing some tunes. We used to sing together every week... I miss that so much!!!!

We drove home Monday in the worst snow storm!! But thanks to Matt (and 4-wheel drive) we made it home safe and sound. The girls jumped right into their snow suits and Matt pulled them on the tubes with the raptor. They had so much fun!! After a dose of hot chocolate, Shannon and Ellie went out again and built this....

Reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes snowman.

Christmas Party - Ugly Style

2008-12-23T08:20:00.001-08:00

The gaggle (what you would call a group of girl friends who cackle alot) got together last week for a Christmas Party. Someone decided it would be fun to have everyone wear their ugliest sweater. Here are the samplings....

Left to Right: Amy - Christmas tree explosion, Amber - I think those were poinsettia leaves (it was all pretty and sparkly), Leslie - Ahoy-there-sweater (note the embroidered SEA HORSES on pockets), Kerri - Orange Puff.

Here we have Sarah - who ISN'T wearing her lovely sweater-vest at the moment (I have another one of her I'll put below), Deanna - you can't see it but this isn't just a sweater, it's a sweater-skirt and goes all the way to the floor (she won the ugliest sweater award btw.), and Cami - wearing a nice chocolate brown 80's flashback.

Here is Sarah (in the red) with her sweet and festive vest and Janna in her homemade blue snugly which we found was a nice substitute for a...

Flannel Board

And me(holding Richelle's babe).

I got hassled by my choice of attire. Apparently it wasn't ugly ENOUGH.

Babys can flirt too

2008-12-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, Matt, Shelby and I went to see our nephew, Brady get sealed in the Logan Temple. Afterwards the wedding party went to The Coppermill for lunch. Shelby was absolutely ENTRANCED with one of the groomsmen who sat across from us. She couldn't take her eyes off of him!! He in turn did everything he could to entertain her. It was so SWEET! This is a video (poor quality picture - SORRY!!!) of the two of them. So cute!

All she wants for Christmas this year

2008-12-10T10:25:00.000-08:00

My oldest daughter, who is an absolute angel and never asks for anything EVER, said to me last night...

"Mom I know what I really want for Christmas."

I'm thinking, YEAH!! This is good! I have been inquiring, quizzing and interrogating her for the last 3 weeks and all I've gotten out of her is SNOW PANTS.

"Instead of snow pants or anything else all I want is just one thing."

"Yes?"

I can hardly wait to hear it! Seriously all she ever asks for is art stuff and I've just about exhausted my search for paints, pencils and paper.

"Well, all I really want is...."

Yes?? What would you like?? Hmmmmm?? My darling, sweet child???

(I didn't really say that, but I did turn to her and smile while I waited for her answer.)

"All I want for Christmas is a puppy."

My smile freezes. My shoulders drop. Uhhhh, oh.

"PuhLeeEEEze???" (accompanied by this EXACT LOOK)

Crap.

My mind races no, no, No, NO! Don't ask for the one thing I CAN'T give!!!

You see, we have a "NO PETS ALLOWED" rule at our house. I'm allergic to cats and over time I have managed to convince my kids that I'm now allergic to ALL animals including fish. Matt goes along with this because even though he is a cat lover, he doesn't like having to deal with the mess that a pet can create. I just don't have time for a pet and I KNOW that after the novelty of a new pet wears off - I will be the one who has to take care of it.

"Shannon, we can't get a puppy."

"Pleeeze mom?! I'll take care of it! Pleeeeeze????" (still with the puppy dog eyes)

"I'm sorry but the answer is no." (I'm not exactly sure what I said but this sounds good.)

"But mommmmm.... why not??" (tears are ACTUALLY pooling up in her eyes!)

What do I do? What do I say? She's so sweet and good and nice and she DESERVES A PUPPY!!!!

"Because."

That's the best I could come up with.

I feel bad, but rules are RULES, right?? We don't break them um, ever, right?? Because that would be bad and set a precedence and then Ellie would want a hamster and a turtle and Christopher would want a snake or something really stinky and Shelby would surely want a cat and then we would have PROBLEMS. Right??

Giving in to puppy request = bad idea. Yes?? (Nod your heads if you agree with me.)

So what do you get a great kid that will be just as good as a puppy??

Nothin cuter

2008-12-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

There's nothing cuter than watching your baby fall asleep while she's eating.

Things you want to know but are too shy to ask

2008-12-05T06:05:00.000-08:00

I took a little Blogcation for awhile...(did you notice?) We had a fun Thanksgiving down in Payson with my family (it has been just tooooo much effort to get my memory card out of my camera and upload the pictures - thus the continued non-blogging. But I am working on that TODAY. At this VERY MOMENT.)

But anyway, in the mean time, whilst we wait for my wonderful pictures to upload, I decided to copy a fellow blogger friend's post (well, not really COPY, but steal the idea) of answering questions about her husband!

What's your husband's name?
Matthew Ferrin Lovell

How long have you guys been married?
It will be 2 years on December 22nd! (Happy almost Anniversary sweetie!)

How long did you date?
We met the first of March 2006....calculating....9 months! (yes, I actually went through each month and counted on my fingers to figure it out.)

How old is he?
He just turned 36 on Halloween

Who eats more sweets?
Um, that would probably (definitely) be me. I am a sweetaholic. He can out eat me with Reece's peanut butter cups and rice crispies though.

Who said "I love you" first?
He did. I made sure of that. (I wanted to but I was stubborn. I ALWAYS say it first!)

Who is taller?
Matt is. (How tall are you honey??)

I'm 5'6". I think He is 5'9".

Who is the better singer?
He would say that I am... but can I just tell you that Matt has quite the voice? Yep. In fact, he sang "Lonely Day" for me on our second date. We were sitting in his truck in front of my house after our date (it was probably midnight and the poor guy still had to drive 2 1/2 hours back to Logan that night) and this song came on. He turned it up and just belted it out. I was BLOWN AWAY. Seriously, it was one of the reasons I fell in love with him.

Who does the laundry?
I do. Matt would do it if he had time to. But I've seen how he does laundry (Bachelor style: it all goes in the same batch - undies, socks, jeans, towels, shirts...) and I'm a leeettle more picky about colds, warms, whites. You know?? I like white things to stay white and not turn...gray.

Who pays the bills?
Matt does the bills I do all the rest.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Matt does. Unless we are at my parents house, then he lets me sleep on the right next to the light so that I don't konk my head or stub my toe when I have to get up with Shelby.

Who mows the lawn?
When Christopher isn't available, Matt does. It takes 2 hours. Big lot = lots of grass.

Who cooks dinner?
I do. Matt grills the meat and will cook the crepes (rolo's) if I mix up a batch.

Who drives?
It depends. If we are in the truck, Matt does. If we are hauling the camper, trailer or jet skis, Matt does. If we are hauling kids in the Durango, I do. Matt loves to drive and I prefer to be the passenger.

Who's the first to admit they are wrong?
I don't understand the question?? We're both perfect and thus are never wrong.

Just kidding (stop rolling your eyes). Neither one of us has too much of a problem admitting if we are wrong. We aren't big disagree-ers though.

Who kissed who first?
I kissed him.

We had been dating about a month and were watching King Kong one night, sitting kinda close (*WARNING* ICKY ROMANTICAL STUFF AHEAD!!) and looking at each other... longingly. I knew that at any moment, he would reach over and kiss me.

I waited.

Patiently.

And. Nothing. Happened.

I couldn't take the suspense any more so I finally asked,

"Are you EVER going to kiss me?"

He looked shocked, surprised, nervous and said,

"NO!"

Wuh?

He stuttered his excuse,

"It's been a long time since I've kissed somebody!"

Okay then.

It's not that he didn't WANT to kiss me, just that he was a tiny bit scared to.

So I took matters into my own hands and kissed him.

Just for the record, he kissed me back.

A lot.

(*End Icky, Sappy Stuff*)

Who asked out who first?
We were set up on a blind date by mutual friends. But, Matt asked for the second date (a few days later).

Who wears the pants?
We share our clothes. (I have to wear a belt though and roll up the sleeves.)

Something to blog about

2008-11-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

Guess what I did yesterday....

Come on, just try and guess.

No, I didn't get all my Christmas shopping done.

And no I didn't stay up until midnight to see Twilight. (Ha! Stay up til midnight to see Twilight that's funny! Isn't it?? Well, I thought so.)

Okay, you'll never guess. So I will just tell you......

I auditioned for..... KURT BESTOR.

I sang for him - a capella.

Scary huh?? But how cool is THAT??!!

So here's the story. Yesterday, Matt sent me this. For those of you who are to LAZY to click on the link I will just tell you that Kurt is, well WAS holding his Best Singer Search 2008. He's been all over the state this past month listening to people sing. The winner will be asked to perform with him at his Christmas concert in front of 50,000 people. AND will get to fly to LA to record a song that he will write JUST FOR YOU, AND... wait for it.... stay in a LUXURIOUS HOTEL. (It's that last part that had me swooning.)

Matt had me come pick him up for lunch and we walked over to watch the auditions being held in the student center (USU campus). It was kind of fun to walk in and see Kurt sitting there in the middle of the auditorium listening to each audition. (I guess I thought that he'd have his "people" doing it for him!)

We watched a bunch of people get up and sing this song or that. All the while Matt is whispering to me, "You should audition!" or "You should sing for him!" or "Come on, you should just do it!". I just kept telling him, "No", "No thanks", "That's okay, I'm good..."

After awhile there was a lull - no one waiting to audition. Matt whispered again to me, "Come on, you should do this! You could blog about it!"

And so I caved.

I signed my name to the roster and Kurt himself, called out my name. I hadn't practiced or even psyched myself up (or out) to do it, but I sang for him.

Matt secretly recorded it and played it back for me last night. I was expecting to cringe through the whole recording but I was pleasantly surprised... it wasn't that bad! It wasn't that great either, but hey! For being put on the spot like that and singing for an EMMY AWARD WINNING COMPOSER - not too shabby.

And I get to blog about it.

The Clown - Act II

2008-11-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

I went to another Murder Mystery Dinner Friday night. It was with the same group of friends as the last time and we were all assigned the same characters - supposedly as a continuation of the last mystery dinner. Our good friend, Stan wrote the story this time an there were a lot more twists and turns, along with some new characters. Anyway just for fun I decided to step things up a notch with my character.

Upgraded look

Now THIS is red hair

I love the bow. Makes me look so.... innocent!

Close up - just to keep you up at night

Matt couldn't go this time because of school, so I was a solo act. It was fun and I even won best costume!

Jingles to brighten your day!

2008-11-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

I recorded a couple of Christmas jingles for my friends' store, SUGAR N SPICE and they hit the airwaves this week! So for all of you up here in Cache Valley tune in to 1390KLGN (AM) or Q92.9 FM, or Kix 96 baby! For those of you who aren't privileged to live in the area, I shall sing it for you....

(la,la,la,la laaaaaa)

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Here at Sugar n Spice!
We've got garlands and wreaths and trees,
Pretty nativities,
The perfect gifts at just the perfect price!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Come find something nice!
And I'm willing to make a bet,
That the PERFECT gift you'll get,
Will be found at Sugar n Spice!"

Awesome huh?!

Here's the other one. It won't actually run until this Friday.

(Mememmmeee mee meeEeEee)

Ahem.... Sung to the tune of "Up on the Housetop"

"It's time for the party of the year,
Grab your list and get in gear!

Wear your pajamas and don't be late!
Girls Night Out - It's a DATE!

Sugar n Spice - November 21st
Sugar n Spice - November 21st

Holiday Pajama Party - mark the time,
Loads of fun from 6 to 9!"

What do you think?? Didn't I do a great job?? I mean, wasn't I articulate and expressive??Singing "November 21st" WAS quite a mouthful and trying to stay with the rhythm was kinda tricky AND I had to do it TWICE in a row. You gotta admit, that takes TALENT.

Anyway, don't miss the big Holiday Pajama Party!! Seriously, Janna (my friend/owner of Sugar n Spice) goes ALL OUT. You will get free stuff just for showing up, and more free stuff for wearing your pj's and free food and prizes and YEAH! It's always a blast and I get a ton of Christmas shopping done. I know that my sisters are anxiously awaiting to see what I will score for them this year!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2008-11-11T05:49:00.001-08:00

On Sunday, Christopher's Young Men leader challenged all the YM to get a missionary hair cut.

(crickets chirping.....)

The leader then added that whoever would go with him on Monday after school to get a missionary hair cut, he would take them out to DINNER.

Helpful tip: You get a better response from boys (and men for that matter) when it involves FOOD.

Christopher's leader came over yesterday afternoon to pick him up. He had his suburban full of boys who were all excited about going to get a missionary do (or maybe it was for the free meal?).

As a mom, I was excited too - I haven't seen Christopher with short hair since he was 9. That was 4 years ago!

This is him, heading out the door. (His mouth was numb and lips were puffy. We had just gotten back from the dentist and he had to have a tooth pulled. Ouch.)

The new look. Handsome huh?!

Can you spot the missing tooth??

I'm proud of him. Out of all the boys that went, only one other boy besides Christopher actually went through with it. Apparently some boys are just as picky about their hair as girls.

If you have a minute or hour to spare....

2008-11-05T12:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice blogromance story. If you aren't reading it yet, well you should be! But make sure that you start from the very beginning - it's worth it! Reminds me of all my hopeless crushes back in the day.... sigh. Have a great Monday!!

The best Halloween EVER

2008-11-02T05:57:00.000-08:00

We had such an awesome Halloween! It was Matt's 36th birthday (Happy b-day sweetie!), Brenda and Chris and their kids came up and we had all of our friends over for our annual chili dinner before our trick-or-treating adventures.

It was a massive rush on the bathrooms to get in costumes and makeup. Trevor was a hairy cheerleader, Shannon was a vampire, and Christopher was just interested in looking like his face was charred off.

Christopher and Chris fixing themselves up.

I stepped in to help Joe Dirt out with his sideburns.

Love the tube socks and the head band, man.

Brenda and Joe, I mean Chris.

Ra Ra Trevor!

This is Brandon. I think he ditched the mask pretty early on.

Madison the witch. She really, REALLY wanted that nose on and her face painted green to be an ugly witch.

Lauren and Trevor

Birthday boy!

Dave and Chris - separated at birth??

Me and Brenda

All the kids - they are READY to GO!

Instead of climbing into our cars, we jump on our ATV's! (Perks of living in a smaller, farming town!)
Our rides for the night!

Our little Lady Bug and her dad.

What does this face say to you?

The caravan swarms...

Ellie, Trevor and Madi

Shelby and I did a little trick-or-treating too! I couldn't believe how nice the weather was! PERFECT!

Who's having more fun here??

Everyone all lined up. I think we had 4 rinos, 1 Kabota, 2 scoot coupes, 2 four wheelers and a couple of mini vans in our little caravan.

These guys look like they are having way too much fun.

Bruce took the whole door-to-door thing seriously. Good thing he knows these people!!

Matt, me and some of the kids

"Rock on!"
Chris riding in one of the scoot-coupes and Todd Barlow in the Red one.

Christopher and Chris tootling around.

All the rino's and scoot-coupes were provided by Todd and MOTORSPORTS UNLEASHED. Thanks Todd!!!

After a couple of hours we headed back to our place. All the kids went downstairs to eat their candy and to watch a movie. Mom's and dad's hung out upstairs eating doughnuts, treats and visiting.
Thanks to everyone who came - we had a blast!!! Same time, same place next year!!

Havin fun with make-up!

2008-10-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

So as I said in my last post, all my friends went berserk over my make-up job at Saturday's party. My friend Janna has some major appearances that she has to make as a wicked haggy witch this week and she asked me to do her make-up for it. I LOVE that kind of stuff!! Here was the "trial run" that we did yesterday.

Sorry the picture is so bad. I only had my camera phone with me.

I love how the nose and the chin turned out!

Today with full costume! What do you think?

I think she looks awesome!!! (If I do say so myself!)

Murder Mystery

2008-10-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, Matt and I went to a Murder Mystery dinner with all of our friends. Earlier in the week we were each assigned a character to dress up as. Matt was Count Mernoff - a real life VAMPIRE. You know, for as long as I can remember I've had this thing for vampires/Dracula. No, not because of THAT certain BOOK and all the hype behind THOSE characters. It was from a movie that I saw when I was young. Dracula appears and with his hypnotic eyes weakens all of the damsels abilities to fight him off. She simply turns her neck to allow him to BITE. Ohhhhhhh, soooooo romantic!! I loved it! So I was quite thrilled to see Matt in the Count Mernoff get-up.

My character was... a clown. I KNOW. How non exciting can that be?? When I saw what I was supposed to be I was so disappointed. A clown?? Wuh?? So I took matters into my own hands and created this look.

My sister, Brenda told me that I looked like "IT"'s girlfriend. I guess that might be close...

All ready to go!

Crazy-Clown-Girl and my friend Janna, AKA Poison Pen

Poison Pen and her hubby Darren Dirk (Todd)

Kerrie was Miss Scarlet. Her husband Dave, was supposed to be Don Juan - a very suave lady's man. But Dave did his own thing and came as Don Juan's brother - Doug.

Stan - Black Jack poker man, and his lOveLY wife - Nurse Ratchett (Cami)

Mad Bomber - Charlie Erickson our YM president!

Amber and Graham - The Cowgirl was a suspect and Cyclops totally ratted her out!

Leslie, our TOP GUN executive starts things off by giving us details of the "murder". Who are the suspects?? Well in a room full of assassins - we ALL were!

This was a fun evening!! Everyone oohed and aahhhed over my makeup job (compared to my "CATS" makeup this was easy!). My friend, Janna wants me to do her makeup for her witch costume this coming week. I will post some pictures of that later.

UEA weekend get-a-way

2008-10-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

We totally took advantage of the kids having Thursday and Friday off and Matt having no school (YES!) this weekend. We loaded the camper and wheelers up and went WEST. Last spring, Matt went exploring out by Tooele and discovered Delle and the Knolls. It's a pretty neat place to go riding and exploring. Brenda, Chris and their kids came out Thursday night and stayed until Friday afternoon. Our kids could only stay until Friday as well so we made the most of it until then. For even more pics go here , here and here to Brenda's blog.

This is a really neat abandoned cement plant that we explored. It was HUGE. Too many deep drop offs inside though for my liking. I'm not good with heights or edges or death by falling or anyone else being near the edge or something really, REALLY high. Just about makes me pass out.

Lauren, Shannon and Trevor going in to the elevator that went to no where...

Matt laughing at my inability to go anywhere near this total drop off. It was deep and scary, trust me.

This was what looked to be a giant oven. Something the witch in Hansel and Gretel might have used. Christopher did not want to climb in either.

Madison and Ellie working the controls

These stairs led to a dark dungeon. It was creepy.

Brenda and Chris. This was taken down in the dungeon. I think that they were overtaken by spirits, you can see it in their eyes! Spooky!

Big mixing drum thing. Are those blotches in this picture from dust particles, or could they possibly be... ghosts? The spirits of dead cement workers that are haunting this place?? Is that why it's been abandoned?? Whooooooooooo

Outside! In the fresh and unhaunted air. It was such a nice day - perfect weather!

My niece, Lauren. And just for the record, this was already there. Promise.

Back at camp and getting ready for a ride!

An old abandoned bus we found. It's probably not that old, but everything rusts quickly with this much salt around.

On a side note: Madison had a loose tooth. She wrapped some dental floss around it and let me yank it out. She wasn't even scared. It wasn't until after I pulled it out that I realized her mom should have had the honor of pulling Madi's first tooth. My bad. Sorry sis! You can pull Ellie's first tooth. (Does it count that the dentist already pulled the first one?? Sorry, um you can have the second tooth then!)

Those who have weak stomachs look away.

Shelby and I at the Salt Flats. It wasn't what I expected. I just thought that there would be... less water.

Matt and Shelby

Matt giving her some salt to taste.

On Saturday it was just Matt, Shelby and I. We spent most of the day riding and exploring the Mountains to the north of us. This is looking out towards Willard Peak.

The Great Salt Lake. Antelope Island is behind this first mountain I believe.

This is my new favorite picture of Matt and Shelby. We stopped to eat some lunch and these two were just in their own little world. I took a couple of pictures while they were unsuspecting.

Eating a rock.

With my guy!! This was such a fun trip and just what we both needed!

White belt

2008-10-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Christopher had his first Tae Kwon Do test on Friday night to get his white belt. It was really cool to watch him go through all of his basics and then his forms.

I'm going to apologize now for the picture quality. I had to turn my flash off in order to get any picture at all. And I was standing in the back hold Shelby who was a little squirmy that night!

Master Goonan said that he is a very good student! He did such a good job and we are so proud of him!

Transplant

2008-10-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

My dad had his second stem-cell transplant on Friday at the Huntsman Center in SLC. I got to be there this time and it was really neat. Due to a fever spike the week before and the day of we weren't sure if he was going to stay on schedule. But they gave the okay.

In the waiting room.

My sister Jana, Noel (Amy's boyfriend), sister Amy and my mom.

BMT Clinic at Huntsman

He was so sick from the chemo and he slept through most of the transplant

Pulling out the frozen stem-cells. I think they were at a minus 320 degrees.

Dr. Tricot gives the okay for the transplant. He is such a wonderful man.

They gave my dad lollipops to suck on during the transplant. The DMSO (preservative that they combine with his stem-cells so that they don't break down) is quite powerful. It not only smells bad but puts a horrid taste in my dad's mouth. So they combat that with some sugary goodness!

My dad's stem-cells

These little guys have been on ice since they were harvested from my dad back in June. They originally collected 30+ million stem-cells. He received 4 million stem-cells for his first transplant in July. This time he is getting two bags for a total of 7 million stem-cells.

Getting things hooked up

If you looked close you could see clumps of the stem-cells through the IV. It was really neat. I tried to get a close-up, but the camera had a hard time focusing on the IV tube. So this is the best I could do.

This was a really neat experience... It is amazing to me what these doctors and nurses do to save the lives of their patients. I am so grateful to them for their knowledge and compassion. It is hard to watch my dad be so sick - but he and my mom have such positive attitudes. I'm so very proud to be their daughter!

I learned this lesson the hard way

2008-09-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

I was over at Navel Gazing yesterday and she was lamenting a recent hair cut. Apparently she got some mixed reactions from the fam and she's feeling mighty poorly about it all.

You know that anticipation you feel about going to the salon? You're looking forward to it because you're sick and tired of the same old "do" and you just want a CHANGE. You want to be a BLOND or a RED head! Or you've been thinking about cutting the length or maybe going with something a little more EDGY. The possibilities are exciting enough and we can't wait to see the new us! And then... hmmmmmm not so good... Sometimes it's just that the color change wasn't as dramatic as we thought it would be. Other times it's too dramatic... to the point of being TRAUMATIC. It just doesn't turn out exactly the way we were hoping or expecting or wanting.

Anyway it got me thinking about some of my hair horror stories and well, there are just a few things that I won't do anymore when it comes to my hair.

1- No Drastic Color Changes

This is especially important not to do before any big event such as a wedding/sealing.

Not long ago I wanted to be a lovely strawberry blond and instead what I got was carrot-top ORANGE. No lie and I'm not exaggerating.

Here are the scary pictures to prove it.

Nope that's not just the camera folks. It really is that Orange

Pretty horrid huh?

You don't know desperation until you've met a woman who doesn't even recognize herself in the mirror and realizes that pictures WILL be taken of her at the wedding/sealing and these pictures will last almost as long as ETERNITY and that her children will wonder who that lady with the orange hair was and that ORANGE AND WHITE DO NOT LOOK GOOD TOGETHER and you can't wear a baseball hat forever and your family that's traveling to be there isn't going to recognize you and your husband is trying to convince you that it's not THAT ORANGE but you KNOW that he's lying to try and make you feel better AHHHRRGG!!!! What are you going to do?? How are you going to FIX THIS?!

Answer: Go directly to another salon and explain (in a very desperate manner) what has occurred and could they please, please, PLEASE DO SOMETHING to fix it?

"Anything is better than this." You say to them accompanied by a crazy-like giggle.

"My hair's not going to fall out after this... is it?" As they apply a heavy layer of bleach to cover the hideous color (this would be the 4th time now that your hair has been processed in the last 24 hours.)

Just to recap my first rule: NO DRASTIC COLOR CHANGES.

2- No Drastic Cuts Either Especially If It's Trendy Like the Jennifer Aniston Hair Era Or You Are Trying To Look Like A Certain Celebrity

I have naturally curly hair. After my first born came along it started falling out like crazy. So I thought, "Hey let's try a new look." (Famous last words.) It was around about the time the movie "Sabrina" was remade. Remember when she chops her long locks off in Europe and she comes home so super cute?? Well that's TOTALLY what I envisioned I would look like. Funny thing... it didn't turn out that way. My curls that looked so cute and all when my hair was long, weren't so cute and curly anymore. They were like gnarly twigs half straight/half not so straight but not really curly and there was no product on this EARTH that could get them to look decent. So I had to round-brush my spriglets out everyday. This took forever and made it look like I had helmet hair or just a really bad version of the trendy hair that a certain celebrity started. It was ugly and I've never cut my hair short again.

3- Don't Let The Stylist Style Your Hair When She's Done

I love having my hair washed, colored and cut. But I'll take it from there, thanks! Seriously. It just seems like stylists don't know what to do with my naturally curly hair. They put a little of this product on it and then a little of that. Then they diffuse it for a while and then spray some more of this and that and scrunch it a bit and diffuse some more and OH MY HOLY HECK. I end up looking like I stuck my hand in a light socket and my hair is all wirery and crunchy and I poke holes in my pillow case when I go to sleep that night.
*Edited to add: I do love my stylists though. I seriously couldn't live with out them and I LOVE it when they straighten my hair!
4- This is just a recommendation: Don't live vicariously through some friend, neighbor, sister and encourage them to GO FOR DRASTIC and then have no backup plan when it doesn't turn out so great.

Um yeah. Sorry Brenda for that one time. And sorry that the back up plan made it even worse. And sorry that you had family pictures right after that.

What I always wanted...

2008-09-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted dimples.

When I was a kid I used to stand in front of the mirror for hours scrunching up my face, twisting it this way and that searching for that cute little indentation that signified sweetness. I never found one. (At least not on my face.)

And how I wished for long hair. Long, flowing, beautiful hair that I could put into piggy-tails or a sweet side-pony or just leave it down and flip it over my shoulder.

To me, long hair said, "You're pretty and beautiful and gorgeous because your hair is long and flowy!"

One summer when I was at the commodity center (a small town thrift store that my grandma used to take us to when we were little) I spotted a WIG. It was divine. It was long, straight, brown and luscious and I wanted it more than anything. I imagined going back to school that fall wearing that wig and EVERYONE would say, "Oh my heck! Your hair is soooooo long!!! We didn't realize how beautiful you were until just now! Will you be my best friend because you have such awesome hair??"

But I didn't buy the wig.

It was a combination of only having a dollar to spend (and it was more) and the fear of revealing my secret wish to my sisters who would never understand my secret wish and would tease me RELENTLESSLY.

I was also cursed with straight teeth, so my hope of having cute braces or even an awesome retainer was snuffed out.

I just KNEW I could be cute with braces though.

I discovered that tinfoil was a nice substitute. I would fold it around my teeth to make it look like I had braces. (I probably looked like "JAWS" on that one James Bond movie.)

Sometimes I would forgo the tinfoil and take a paper clip and shape it into a "retainer". This was more convincing I believe. Except that the only way I could keep the "retainer" in my mouth was to hold the ends down between my back teeth which probably made it look like my jaw was wired shut. I didn't think of that at the time. I just thought that when I smiled I was cuter than anything with my "retainer" in my mouth.

Another thing that I always wanted was GLASSES.

Again, I just knew that I would look beautiful WITH glasses. At school I would ask to try on my friends glasses and they would say, "Oh, you look so cute with glasses!" Or, "They make you look really smart." Curse these 20/20 eyes of mine!!!

In high school I actually borrowed a friends glasses for the day. No matter that I couldn't really see through the prescription. I felt like I had a spotlight following me around. Everyone noticed me and it was AMAZING.

In my junior year I convinced my mom that things were getting a little "fuzzy". She took me to the eye doctor and low and behold.... I NEEDED GLASSES. You don't know how my heart fluttered at this wonderful news! My life was FINALLY going to have MEANING.

The first day I wore my glasses to school I felt the spotlight again. It was everything I had hoped! I did look smart. I WAS cute! Who would have guessed that a pair of glasses had such POWER to transform?? I now had friends (glasses-less friends) asking ME if they could try on MY glasses. I loved, loved, LOVED my glasses. They opened doors for me. Not just because I could see. No, it was much more than that. I could now be SEEN. And life was good.

Fast forward 15 years....

"Oh Lasik why do you cost so much!!!!"

It really sucks that my eyes are so bad. With out glasses or contacts I can't tell if that's one of my kids or a chair... wait, nope it's a plant.

Husband fixing the drain in the shower (again) pulls out a gross-out mess of slimy, icky-looking-and-smelling wad of... long hair. I know it's mine yet I'm still repulsed.

I hate, hate, HATE going to the dentist. He always says the same thing, "We're going to have to do a root canal on that one and crown it."

I have more stinkin crowns than Queen Elizabeth. I just want to have nice teeth that don't get cavities, that don't have to have fillings and root canals and crowns.

I still want dimples though.

But only on my face.

And please not in my chin either because that's not cute. How about just on my left cheek and ONLY when I smile and not too deep a crevice and...

For a Limited Time Only!

2008-09-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

Today's post is a B-Fomercial (B=Blog) for SALT CITY CANDLES.

As I mentioned in my last post, my friend Michelle is having a super-duper give-away over at her blog. She is also hosting a SSC Open House on Sept. 30th. Guys. Don't miss this awesome opportunity to see what's new and stock up for the holidays!! Michelley is a certified Rep. She knows what she's doing and can get it ALL. She is an EXPERT at smells (good ones) and has something (candles, warmers, accessories, etc) for everyone. I posted on her blog the other day 8 things that I LOVE about Salt City Candles. It made me so excited about them that I decided to spread the love to all of you. So here is some of what I wrote on her blog:

1- I Love the smell of SSC. They are strong enough to carry through the whole house with out being overwhelming. Plus you can do smell combinations: Cedarwood Vanilla in one room and Baked Apple in another.

2- Options, options, options! So many scents to choose from you gotta smell coffee beans in between. So many different colors, shapes and sizes too~

3- Burn baby, burn. I'm not a pyro, I just love the soft flicker of the flame. And they burn for hours!!

4- They burn evenly too. (As long as you don't let them freeze before you burn them. That happens if you leave it in your car during the winter. Never do that.)

5- More options: Don't want to have an open flame?? Get a warmer! And it's not just candles anymore!! But you gotta go to the OPEN HOUSE ON SEPT 30th to see for yourself!

6- Accessories!!!! Not only can you have a sweet smelling candle but you can decorate with them too!

7- There's a candle for every occasion! Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day... Want your house to smell like a spa? SSC has just the thing!

8- It's your "Get out of ___________ (insert appropriate word here) free" card.

For example:

Your house is old. It smells like mothballs all the time no matter that you've cleaned and disinfected and gutted everything out. What to do?! Grab your self a Mountain Vineyard and in about 20 minutes all will be right again.

You've got company coming over and you want your house to smell like you've been baking all day?? Try burning one of these babies: Golden Apple, Frosted Cinnamon Roll, Gingerbread, or Pumpkin Spice. YUMMY.

It's Christmas and you have just put up your fake tree(s). You long for that wonderful "just-chopped-down-my-evergreen-Christmas-tree" scent. Try one of these: Christmas Tree, Christmas Eve, Christmas Trimmings, Pepperberry Wreath (one of my FAVS!), or Victorian Christmas (NOT even Christmas with out this one burning). Better yet. Put a different one in every room and burn them all at the same time. People will think they are in Christmas Heaven.

That was the original 8 reasons, but I totally forgot one of the BEST!

9- They are AFFORDABLE. Please don't buy your candles at the grocery store. What a waste!!! Even if you are buying SSC you are spending too, too much. Buy them straight from Michelle and you will get SUCH a DEAL. You'll even get a better deal if you have your own party (which let's face it - THIS is the best time of the year for candle parties!!) But you gotta go to the OPEN HOUSE on Sept. 30th. If you can't make it to the open house, you can contact Mishee by leaving a comment and she will make sure you get a chance to order.

Thanks for tuning in to my first ever B-Fomercial!!

Links make the world go round

2008-09-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to a couple of fellow blogger friends that need a shout out today!

First of all my wonderful friend, Michelle is having an awesome give-away! For any of you that love Salt City Candles (only the BEST there is) you won't want to miss it. Check out her blog for details and on how to be included. But hurry, you only have until Sept. 30th!!!

Another shout out goes to Sue over at Navel Gazing. Okay guys, if you aren't familiar with this blog you are missing out!! You will be rolling on the floor, gasping for air and losing control of some bodily functions because you are laughing so hard. Don't believe me? Read this. Laughing yet?? Recognizing yourself a little bit in that post? Now go and read this. Heehee heee Haaahaa haa HOO HOOO OHHHHH!!! Just a minute......

Gasp - whew!! That was funny! Okay, sorry I'm back now. What was I talking about? Oh yeah my shout out!

Sue is putting together a blog book and needs your help. The proceeds go towards the NieNie fund. This is such a worthy cause! Check out the link to see how you can support/submit to the Blog Book. Again the deadline is SEPTEMBER 30th!! So get your post submitted ASAP!

Now, because I haven't reached my minimum link quota in this post here is one more. Go read this and have a great Saturday!

Can I blame it on the weather?

2008-09-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I KNOW.

It's been like 3 weeks since my last post and I'm sure that you are all wondering, "What the heck happened to the Lovell's?"

Well we're still here. I just haven't been blogging too much lately. (Well, that's not true. I've been blogging, just not on our blog.) I feel bad that I've been such a slacker (OK, that's not exactly true either).

Anywho, I am finally ready to post about LAST WEEKS activities...

Last Friday there was a Family and Children's Festival up on campus for all the university families. Each college department put together a booth with activities and "SWAG" (a term Matt used to describe the cool stuff they hand out) for the kids. It was REALLY cool! The engineering department had these awesome robotic arms that the kids could manipulate using syringes. The Chemistry department did some cool experiments using liquid nitrogen and also set a gummy bear on fire. (You had to be there, but it was DANG awesome.)

The girls are being "Archeologist's" and searching for... buried stuff.

Ellie was the lucky one and found a button. She won a really cool magnet with a hieroglyphic on it.

Christopher eating the cookie he frosted ALL BY HIMSELF

Shannon and Ellie making popcorn balls. They weren't too sure about eating green popcorn though.

I can't remember what department this was, but they had the kids make super hero masks and capes.
Who is this masked man?

Ellie making a collage (sorry about the shadow-girl)

Matt and Shelby just watched and kept track of the slow-pokes (Ellie)

The Blue Aggie Cow.

We also took a trip up to Cub River last weekend. Fall is fast approaching and we wanted to fit in another camping trip before it was too late.

Collecting firewood

Shelby was too tired to help

Matt - studying by the campfire

The kids rode the 4-wheelers around camp while Matt studied and I... where was I? Oh yeah. I got an attack of allergies about 20 minutes after we got there. It was bad enough that I had to take an allergy pill which knocked me out for most of the trip.

Fire-watching

Who needs xbox when you've got MANCALA?

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend with my family down in Payson for the Labor Day celebration. Friday night we all went to see "Beauty and the Beast" put on by Payson Community Theater. It was fantastic! I got to see a lot of my theater friends from previous shows that I have been in and it was so much fun! I have met some of the most wonderful people through PCT!

Saturday morning we got up bright and early to help my parents do some MAJOR yard work (a chainsaw was involved). There were some trees that needed to go, some bushes that were out of control and other things that just didn't look too good anymore. In a short period of time (with the many hands that were helping!) we had it all done!

Dad cutting down one of the apple trees

These kids know how to work!

It took 3 trips to the dump to clear everything out

Look at this beautiful picture! It's of my mom's grape arbor in her backyard.

That afternoon we went over to my friend, Carey's house to visit. She made one of my favorites - Thai Food!! Ooh, ah, yumm!! She is an excellent cook and how awesome is it that she made it all from SCRATCH!? Thanks so much Carey! We also played around on the piano and sang together - one of my favorite pastimes. Thanks to both of our husbands who wrestled with the kids so that she and I could visit and play!

Saturday evening (yes, we were just running from one thing to the next - but how else can you fit everything in?) we had a friend reunion out at the Trout Farm in Spring Lake. This is a group of friends I've been close to since high school. Somehow we've managed to stay in touch and actually get together 2-3 times a year. It was fun to see everyone again. (And no, I didn't eat any fish. Blech!)

Me, Matt and Shelby out at the Trout Farm

My friend Kate. It's been years since I've seen her and we had a great visit!

Brenda and I

Madi gets her pole ready!

Derek and his catch. I think he let this one go...

Monday we braved the weather to go to the big parade. We wore our jackets and packed our umbrellas. We thought that it would be enough.

But when we took a good long look at what was coming...

Shelby wasn't too sure that she wanted to see a wet parade

We made a dash for the car and just barely made it!

I can't remember the last time it rained on Labor Day. By the time the parade reached us, people were running for cover. Too bad. I was really hoping to get some candy...

We really had a great visit with my family. And as always, it was hard to leave.

Here are a couple of other fun pics from our trip.

Mom and Dad swinging in the backyard

Grandpa was playing with Shelby and she was pulling the funniest faces!

Grandpa and Shelby - they hung out a lot!

Ellie's first day of Kindergarten

2008-09-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ellie had her first day of school last Thursday!

We live across a very busy 4 lane highway, but not quite 1 1/2 miles away from Ellie's school. The district has a courtesy bus to "pick-up/drop-off all of the kids that live on the west side of the highway. Unfortunately they haven't put Ellie on their route yet. So she only got to ride the bus home on the first day of school. I was out on the corner waiting for her for 45 minutes before the bus finally dropped her off. (Whew, I was starting to freak out because it was 20 minutes late!)

She had a great day and when I asked her what her favorite part about kindergarten?? "The Bus Ride!" Of course.

Mt Logan

2008-08-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Matt, Shelby and I went on a 4-wheeling trip up to Mount Logan. The trail head starts up Right Fork Canyon and is 28 miles round trip. I googled Mount Logan to see how high the elevation was and I found this description: "For the expert, is an assault of Mount Logan. It involves a terribly challenging climb of 5,700 feet over dirt roads." (It wasn't really that terrible - so don't worry mom!)
The first half of the trail was pretty easy - a little rocky and a lot of twists and turns. I got to lead for a while and so I was able to snap this shot of Matt and Shelby as they came up to this over look.

Matt straps Shelby into the Snugly and she just loves it!

The hum of the engine and bumpy road usually puts her to sleep.

After this point the trail gets a little harder. It involves boulders. Lots and lots of boulders. Good thing 4-wheelers are made for things like that. (My back side isn't though.)

We stopped at this neat little place that's about 2 miles from the top. It's a warming hut for snowmobiler's. You can go inside, build a fire, make some hot chocolate, and snuggle down into a sleeping bag. You can read/write journal entries of those that have been there.

Trying out the self-timer

At the top! Smithfield and Logan at 9,710 feet.

Instead of heading right back, Matt took me to see this um, (swallowing hard) cliff. I uh, don't do heights very well. So I wasn't to hip on how close to the edge we were (I just didn't look). Notice I'M holding Shelby? I got a little crazy and protective about people falling off the edge and dying...

We really weren't THAT close to the edge. (Even though looking at this picture that Matt took my heart starts pounding because it LOOKS like I'm right on the edge.) It took me awhile before I warmed up to the idea that we weren't going to tragically fall over the edge and die. Once I relaxed I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery. It was breathtaking! We watch two bald eagles flying back and forth to a nest that was cradled into the side of the cliff. You don't get to see that everyday. Thanks so much Matt for taking me on another awesome adventure!!

My Bionic Friends

2008-08-24T10:08:00.001-07:00

Some friends of mine have been in training over the last few months for Cache Valley's half-marathon. A few of us went to cheer them on as they approached the finish line yesterday.

Cami (on the right)

She is our exercise guru. She is also training for a full marathon (26 miles) in October. So after she finished this race (13 miles) she went on to run another 5 miles. CRAZY!

Leslie

Sarah and her husband Matt

These girls are just AWESOME!!

On the first day of school... I slept in

2008-08-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I was thinking, not setting my alarm clock that day. Here's the thing: I set it EVERY day for 6:30am. Guess how many times out of 10 I wake up BEFORE it even goes off?? Yep, all 10. So I must have assumed that I would have no trouble getting up before the kids and fixing them a lovely breakfast and snapping photo's of our cheery, happy morning... BUT it didn't turn out that way. I woke up with a start 10 minutes before Christopher's bus came. (Probably because I was awake all night with my little girl who acts like she is STARVING every 1 1/2.) I rushed out to the kitchen where Christopher and Shannon were already dressed and ready for school. I fumbled around (still half-asleep) for pots and pans and threw together some french toast. Christopher wolfed it down just moments before his bus arrived.

My 8th grader

Shannon didn't have to be to school until 8:45 am so we had more picture taking opportunities.

My Fifth Grader

Shannon with her best friend, Hailey

Poor Ellie doesn't start until next week. That is forever away to a 5 year-old! But she is excited and I will blog about her big day when it arrives.

And The Dirtiest Face Award Goes To....

2008-08-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

Matt took the day off Friday in honor of it being "The Last Weekend Before School Starts". We loaded up the 4-wheelers and went up Mantua (pronounced Man-a-way) canyon. We were going to ride all the way up to Willard Peak (12 miles), but we ran short on time so we rode out to the beaver ponds instead. Here are a couple pics from our trip in riding order:

Leading the way - Matt and his trusty navigator...

Shelby

followed by "the kick-start King" Christopher

then slow and steady Shannon

and finally, bringing up the rear is Ellie-bell

and me

Did anyone notice my dirty face? No? Let me take my glasses off...

See it now?? I'm always last which means I get the dirtiest - Yeah!

Ellie was STARVING and couldn't wait to even wipe her face off before she dug into her sandwich

Shannon - playing in the trees

Cardboard and Duct Tape

2008-08-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

We had a fun activity this week for Young Women. We were divided into three teams and each team was given the same materials - Cardboard box, Styrofoam pieces and a roll of Duct Tape - with instructions that we had 30 minutes to construct a boat that could float a person down the canal.

Each team came up with their own boat designs. On the left you can see a canoe cardboard construction, ours is in the middle (the BEST) and on the right was your basic box-all-sealed-up-with-duct-tape-so-it-won't-sink construction.

My Team! Ashley, Renee and Heidi. What do you think of this unique design? We even used the PLASTIC BAG that all the stuff came in. Pretty smart, eh?

Here is team 3 with their box. Will it float?

With a person inside it?? Hmmmm....

Box-all-sealed-up isn't lookin so good.

Going under

This is where the pictures get kinda fuzzy - sorry. I was using my cell phone and I was laughing so hard I couldn't hold the camera still.

Mayday!

She's taking on water - but she's still AFLOAT!!

Okay, so we had some minor design flaws.

The girls were all troupers and still raced each other (albeit underwater) for 3 blocks.

No one is dry.

Tips for cardboard boat construction:
Duct tape works really well.
Styrofoam will only keep your boat afloat as long as no one is IN it.
Build a deeper boat, because even a tiny 85 lb girl will sink it.

Newton Dam

2008-08-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of Matt's "no school" weekend by pulling the camper out to Newton Dam. We thought that it would be a good idea if we took it out Thursday night so that we would have a nice spot reserved before the weekend rush took over. It was a good thing we did too! As we pulled in Friday evening we found ourselves surrounded not by a sea of water, but a sea of TENTS. One family decided to pitch their tent literally 1 foot away from our camper. It was a little strange... but didn't stop us from having a fun time! Since the three older kids were with their dad again, it was just Matt, me and Shelby.

We invited our niece, Jamie to come jet skiing with us on Saturday. She and I had a lot of fun cruising up and down the lake together and she only fell in once! I make it a point NOT to fall in - especially when we are at Newton. I have seen the monsters (Tiger Muskee's) that live in this lake - they are beyond CREEPY.

Saturday evening we were joined by some more friends and their kids. They all jumped in the water to swim and ride the jet skis. Tyler (the acrobat) got Laci up on his shoulders and that started a round of "Me Next!" from all the kiddo's.

Todd and Tyler then started up their stunts and recreated their signature move of Tyler climbing up on Todd's shoulders. This isn't an easy task. Take a look at what kind of jet ski they are on. Yeah, the kind that's hard to get up on with just ONE person. So Tyler starts out UNDERNEATH the steering bar. Once Todd gets it moving Tyler crawls under Todd's legs and then Todd crouches down. Tyler then climbs up on his back and on to his shoulders. Todd then has to stand up while steering and maintaining his speed. Pretty cool?! They are masters of these kinds of crazy stunts!

In between swimming and standing by the fire to keep warm the kids had fun on the rope swing. The water was too low for them to actually swing into the water, but they still had fun seeing how far out they could swing!

We did have one mishap though - Laci went on the rope swing after dark and missed her landing, running smack into the tree. We thought that she might have to get stitches but she didn't. She was a little bruised at church yesterday - but all smiles as usual.

Couple cute shots of Shelby

2008-08-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Finally sitting up!

Her new favorite toy

When my sisters were here

2008-08-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Brenda and Jana and all their kids came up last week for a few days and we packed in as much fun as we could!

I was just finishing up the last pint of Apricot Jam when they arrived. Look at this beautiful tribute to my father-in-law's apricot trees!

On Monday we went to Willow Park - Logan's version of a Zoo. It's a fun place to take the kids and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

Brandon feeding fish food to the ducks

Tuesday we hit Bear Lake again. It was a BLAST even without the jet-skii's. The mom's just sat in the shade eating treats and visiting (the best past-time EVER) while the kids played in the water.

Trevor

Madison

Lauren and Shelby

Isaiah was more interested in chasing the seagulls (with his aquired saftey tube) than he was in swimming in the lake.

Isabella. Just to clarify, those are not cookie crumbs on her face. It is sand.

Brenda and Shelby and the rest of the gang

Sweet Isabella. She cannot bear to be out of sight from her mom right now (you all know the age that hits - right BEFORE they are 18 months and can FINALLY go to nursery). But I gotta say, mom took a distant 2nd to the water in Isabella's eyes. Once she got her feet wet, she couldn't have cared less where Jana was. She just wanted to be in that water!

Lauren gets Isaiah in the WATER? How'd she do it?? The whole day we begged and pleaded, bribed and sweet-talked this kid to try and get him in the water. All I can say is, Lauren, you are a GENIOUS.

Me and Shelby having way too much fun

Everyone but the photographer (Brenda)

I'm Back, Baby!

2008-08-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Oh it's so good to be back! Did anyone miss me?? Yes?? Hello?... anyone? Did you um, even realize I was gone??

I guess the separation anxiety was more acute on my end of the line. You see, my computer got a (I suspect it was more than one, but I can't prove it) virus and crashed. It ended up in the computer hospital to be rebuilt and even though it got well and came home yesterday (THANK YOU MATT), it still has AMNESIA. It doesn't remember much from our previous life together. So it is going to take some time to fully recover. It could have been worse though. Much, much worse. I find myself changed by all this. I feel like I'm going through some sort of PTSD. I am so afraid! Afraid that any link I click on might crash my computer again. That every pop-up box is really a disguise for an evil virus that wants to eat away my hard drive. I don't dare do ANYTHING. Has anyone else experienced this?? (BTW I believe I got the virus from trying to download a program that was supposed to help me make my - OUR - blog look cuter. So be aware that this is probably about as good as it's gonna get for awhile.)

So, since I haven't had a computer these last few days I was able to devote the extra time to reading THE BOOK. I finished it yesterday. I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it yet, so I will keep my comments for a future post. Anyone else reading it?

2008-07-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

We took Lauren out jet skiing again before she had to go home. This time Matt took us out to ski on the Bear River and to Cutler Dam. We invited Heidi, a YW in our ward, to come along with us (she and Lauren became good friends up at camp). They had a blast riding up and down the river, catching the waves and swimming.

Troubles

2008-07-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

ARGH

Ok. Bear with me. I am trying to redesign my - I mean our- family blog and I am having... troubles. I KNOW I can do this, it's just FRUSTRATING when my computer tells me I have done something WRONG when I KNOW that I've done it RIGHT for the 50th time. Then it freezes up and I have to start ALL OVER AGAIN.

(1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..) taking a deep breath...

I WILL figure this out. (Notice how controlled I am? I'm not even using exclamation points even though I am really, REALLY FRUSTRATED.)

Any who -

Check back later for I have a lot to post once I get past this tiny little problem.

Twin Lakes

2008-07-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon we drove up to Twin Lakes (up in Idaho) and met up with some of our friends - the Adams' and the Storey's. We played on the jet ski's and enjoyed the cool evening. Lauren was a natural on the jet ski! I gave her a quick tutorial and before long she was zipping around and flying over the waves!

Here is a little video clip of her riding.

Shelby gets comfortable in Lauren's chair

Elsie and Shelby

Garrett tries things out

Thanks to the Adams' for letting us crash their family reunion! We had a great time and can't wait to go again!

Girls Camp

2008-07-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

I did it. I made it through Girls Camp as a leader and not only survived, but had a terrific time!! I knew that it would be great because we have such wonderful girls in our ward. But it was even better because my niece, Lauren came with us! We did a kid swap and exchanged Madi, for Lauren last weekend. My kids are with their dad for the next few weeks (sniff) and so having Lauren come up was the perfect distraction for me! I was also able to bring Shelby to Girl's Camp - she is now officially certified as a 1st year!

We left early Monday morning and everyone drove to the DI where we all shopped for "Cruise Clothes".

Lauren helping to set up camp.

Shelby was a big help too. Here she is inspecting the inside of my tent.

All the girls up at camp - in Hawaii

Heading out on our 5 mile hike up to Rosie's mine. Look closely... it's POURING RAIN.

Where's Waldo? I mean, can you spot 11 girls in this picture??

All the girls and the leaders

I'm so glad that Lauren came with us! Everyone just loved her (leaders included!) and thought she was the sweetest, kindest, and cutest girl. She fit right in with the girls and made some really good friends.

Downata Hot Springs

2008-07-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

We're not done having fun yet! We took another quick trip - this time to Downata Hot Springs up in Idaho!

We packed up our camper and headed out late Monday afternoon along with our friends the Barlow's and the Coat's. Downata (pronounced Don-etta) is not what you would call a major water park, but they have a huge pool, hot tub, kiddie pool and 5 different slides. The best part?? NO LINES! In fact there was only about 4 other families there the whole time! How great is that?? We also got a discount on our tickets because we came during the week - SWEET!! The first night we swam the twilight hours and then hit the sack. The next day it was all the kids could do to have to wait until things opened up at noon. Luckily there were some fun things to do and see - beach volleyball, play in the sand, swings, play with the other camping kids - to keep them occupied.

The kids had an absolute BLAST swimming, playing and riding on the slides! Shelby and I even got in the water, which by the way was sooooo lovely and WARM!!! My least favorite part about swimming is trying to get used to the cold water. I know, I know it's summer and the cool water feels nice and all, but this was just awesome and I didn't have to worry about Shelby being cold. Shannon and Madison were constantly riding the two biggest slides. Christopher played the shark most of the time to all the little kids and Ellie was brave enough (finally!) to go down one of the kiddie slides (I didn't even have to bribe her!).

Today we went swimming (again - you would think the kids would be waterlogged by now!) at my friend, Cami's house. This is just as much fun for me as the kids because I get to sit and visit with my friends!

Fun times at Bear Lake

2008-07-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

We are just having way too much fun around here! Yesterday, as soon as Matt got home from school we headed over to Bear Lake. There, we met up with our friends, John and Marie and their two kids. Lucky for us, they arrived early enough to save us a perfect spot (perfect = within walking distance to the potty). It was such a beautiful day. A slight breeze kept the air cool and for a Saturday at Bear Lake it wasn't even crowded! Matt unloaded the jet ski's and made sure every kid got a ride that wanted one. Shannon and Christopher went out a couple of times on the tube, but mostly they all just swam and played on the beach. The girls collected every single sea shell that they could find. Shannon even planned ahead and brought zip lock baggies to bring them home in (she probably knew that I would say no to a stinky bucket of shells in the truck.) We cooked steaks and hamburgers and ate lots of junk food. It was fun to just sit there on the beach and visit and watch the kids play. Very relaxing! We decided to prolong the adventure by going for shakes afterwards at Le beau's. Yum, yum, yummy! You just can't go to Bear Lake with out stopping there. Only thing is - everything they make is delicious! It's hard to decide what to get. We sure had fun and I'm so glad that Madi was here to go with us!

Here are some videos I took of each of the kids.

Shannon and her MASSIVE collection of sea shells just spilled into the lake.

Christoper wore himself out trying to get the perfect run and slide on the boogie board! He did about 50 takes and this was one of his best attempts.

Ellie and Madi looking for "She-shells".

Sugar n Spice

2008-07-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

My friend Janna, who owns Sugar 'n Spice (a home decorating store up here in Cache Valley) is having her HUGE anniversary sale. It started yesterday and will end this evening. A couple of weeks ago she asked me to help her advertise for the sale. So I found some music from the Beach Boys, "Surfin Safari" and our friend, Leslie re-wrote the lyrics. We then recorded the vocals in my studio (thanks to my new toy, CD-2e it was soooooo much fun!). I ended up doing a solo on one of the takes and anyway, long story short - I'm on the radio!! It's been playing all week on a few different local stations. Kind of cool - but they tweaked it a little at the stations and I sound sort of like a chipmunk. But oh well!!

Be sure to check out the sale today if you are up here. She has a TON of stuff outside in the tent that is 50% off! I had to go twice yesterday and plan to go again this morning just to make sure I don't miss anything! It's a Hawaiian Luau, so if you dress up (put a lai of flowers around your neck) you will get a 40% off coupon as well. She always goes all out for these sales and has free snow cones, bottled water, cake, lai's, and prizes for everyone that comes!

Paris Ice Caves

2008-07-11T06:18:00.000-07:00

Matt and I took the kids on a 4-wheeling trip yesterday to see the Ice Caves up in Idaho. We drove up to Cub River where we unloaded the wheelers. Christopher invited two of his friends to come along, Tyler and Buff Bus (his name is also Tyler, but everyone calls him by his nickname). My sweet little niece, Madison came with us too. The big kids were all on their own machines and were excited to be going on such a long ride. Matt and I have been on this trail many times and we knew that there were a couple of challenging spots. So we took those sections slowly and the kids did really well.

The older boys got tired of waiting for the slow pokes so we met them up at the German Dugway turnoff (except they missed seeing the BIG SIGN that was posted and I had to go find them because they went the wrong way). We all met up again at the top of the mountain and took a break together. Once everyone took their helmets off we all started laughing! Every one's faces where COVERED in dirt! Matt thought that my eyelashes looked cool - lightly dusted! I tried to get a photo of everyone so we could see who had the dirtiest face! After a brief rest we headed out again. We were now on top of the mountain between Preston and Paris and it was gorgeous! Ellie was riding with me and we kept a count of how many different colors of flowers we could see. She spotted: dark purple, light purple, light blue, two different types of yellow flowers, white, and red/orange flowers. When we reached Paris flats and the turn off to go to Bloomington lake, we saw a beautiful meadow full of these flowers! It was sooooo neat!

I don't know about anyone else, but Ellie and I had several near collisions with some monarch butterflies not to mention the direct "hits" from the many, many bugs and flies along the way. It took us about two hours of riding before we finally reached the ice caves (about 20 miles). The boys were out exploring and the girls could hardly wait long enough to get their helmets off. The caves have ice in them year round. As you come to the opening to walk into the first cave you can feel the temperature drop as you get closer and closer. There is still a big snow drift at the opening that you have to climb over to enter the caves. Once inside, it gets even colder. The entire floor of the cave is thick ice. As you work your way through the first cave, it opens up to a grotto where we found a scout group learning how to repel. That was fun to watch!

The kids explored and climbed and got wet as they slipped on the snow and ice. But soon the hunger pains took over, so we found a nice shady spot and ate our lunch. After we ate the kids did a little more exploring and then it was time to go. But we hit a snag. Tyler couldn't find the key to his dirt bike. Where did you put it? In your pocket?? (I cringed as I looked at the many, MANY holes in his jeans.) Did you put it in your pack?? The contents were dumped on the ground and every inch searched. Nothing. We looked and looked but still no key. What do you do when you are 20 miles up in the mountains?? Well, here were some of the boy's suggestions:

"Hey, let's find a stick and see if we poke it in there it will start."

"Maybe you can just tow the bike back."

"Let's leave it here and we can come back for it later."

"How about if we strap it to the back of the 4-wheeler?"

All really, really good suggestions (be sure to cast your vote for your favorite). Fortunately Matt was there to save the day. He is always prepared for the worst and was able to uh, re-wire the bike to get it to start. Whew, what a relief!

We took it easy on the ride back. I was a little worried about how Shannon would do coming down the rocky section - but she did great! When we got down to the bottom she had this huge smile on her face that said, "I did it!". Matt and I were so proud of all the kids - it really was a long, hard ride. We logged at least 40 miles and tons of experience. It was a really fun trip!!

Oh and I have to tell this cute little story about Ellie. She and I were talking as we were riding on our way back to the truck. She would ask me something and I would answer and she couldn't hear me, so she would say, "What?". I would repeat my answer louder, and she would say, "what?" again. I repeated my answer again and she finally said, "Oh!". She then giggled and said, "Guess how I turned my ears up louder." How? I asked. "I yawned!". I thought that was just the cutest thing!

2008-07-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

The kids had so much fun swimming at Brenda's house this past weekend we decided it would be fun to get our own pool! It was torture for the kids to have to wait until the chemicals had regulated. As soon as Matt gave the okay last night, they all jumped in!

Ellie, Madison and Shannon cooling off

Christopher and his friends jump in too

Ellie came in to play with Shelby and I could hear her giggling in the family room. I went to check it out and this is what I saw...

Eliie had put her teddy bear's glasses on Shelby!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

Every summer for as long as I can remember, my parents have gone up to Montana to visit the ranch where my dad grew up. Some of my fondest childhood memories are connected to the trips we took to Montana. I learned how to milk cows and goats, how to chase chickens and collect their eggs (and sadly I learned how they are a part of the food chain when it came time to slaughter them), also how to bridle, saddle and ride a horse. Swimming was in creeks and lakes, and exploring took all day to do, mud pies were actually made of mud and everything was "old fashioned"! This is truly a place where a kid can be a kid! For the last several years Brenda, Jana and I have taken our families up there to join our parents. There is now a pond close to my parents cabin that we swim, canoe and fish in, but the main place we like to cool off in the summer heat is Lake Como. This is a beautiful lake about 6 miles up the road. It provides all sorts of recreation, whether it's swimming, boating, riding our 4-wheelers, or hiking the 3 miles back to see the spectacular waterfall that feeds the lake. Trips into Hamilton provide fun for the kiddies who love to browse the thrift stores in search of treasures! There is always something fun for the kids to do and the adults just enjoy the leisure time together.

But going to Montana is no fun without the ones you love, and since my parents couldn't go this year due to my dad's cancer treatment we all stayed home to be with them. We enjoyed a fun family get together over the 4th of July holiday and decided it's not where you are, but who you are with. My dad's sister, Connie came up from Arizona to visit as well. She is writing about my dad's childhood on the ranch and it was so fun to sit and listen to all of the stories! The kids played and swam at Brenda and Chris' house almost the entire time. My camera battery died after the first day so I didn't get many pictures! I will have to be better prepared next time!

My dad is doing really well. He had one bad day while we were there (doing too, TOO much!). Most days he is able to go for a bike ride up the canyon early in the morning and putter around his office and workshop in the backyard. It is wonderful to see him look so much better - and he is still so handsome even without hair! Next week he will begin phase 2 of his treatment. He will be given a massive dose of chemo that will knock his white count down to zero again. Then the doctors will give him an infusion of his stem cells. This whole process will take a couple of weeks, but his recovery should be quick as long as the transplant goes well. He will then get about a 2 month break before he goes back up to Huntsman to do it all again for the 2nd transplant.

I thought that I would post some pictures from last years trip to Montana

Shopping for treasures with the kids

Visiting with the family

The old Ranch House

4-Wheeling trip up above Lake Como

Looking up towards the top of Lake Como

Chris fishing on the Bitteroot River

My dad's brother and sisters
Connie, Arlo, Blaine, Irene and Eunice

Dad and Grandma Furniss

Afton, Grandma Furniss and Aunt Eunice

Ellie and Madi making mud pies

It's Pool Time!

2008-06-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

We went over to my friend, Cami's house this afternoon to take a break from the heat and swim in her pool. It was the perfect thing to cool everyone off and we had a blast!!

The Working Man

2008-06-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have to brag today. Christopher started his first real, official JOB! There is a family in our ward that owns a horse farm. We heard through the grapevine a few weeks ago that they hire teenagers to come and work in their barn cleaning out stables and such. So we gave them a call to see if Christopher could come and help out. They didn't need any help at the time. But they called us last week to see if Christopher was still interested in working for them. He was, so they had him start this morning. He has to be there before 7am each morning to clean out the horse stables, feed and water the horses. He came home today a little worn out, smelling like manure but with a huge smile on his face. "They want me to come back tomorrow, and the day after that!" he said. Whoohoo!! I'm just as excited as he is! He cleaned out 5 stalls today and watered all of the horses (around 30). He said that it was a lot of work but that he actually had a fun time doing it. Imagine that!

Trip to Delta

2008-06-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

We took the kids 4-wheeling out by Cherry Creek this weekend. This is a really neat place just past Little Sahara (sand dunes) where we usually go. We camped where there were tons of trails to follow and lots of jumps and tracks for the kids to play around on. The kids got some good practicing in. We went on a long family ride and saw a lot of pretty country!
On Saturday we went to Matt's family reunion in Oak City. Matt and Christopher got to go on a tour of the IPP Plant that morning. Afterwards, we drove out to Topaz Mountain but didn't have enough time to really find anything. We made it back to Oak City just in time for the family luncheon and program. Matt got to see a lot of his cousins and distant relatives - most of whom he has never met. We never knew there were so many Lovells!!
After the reunion we packed up and headed home. We stopped in Payson for about an hour to visit with my parents and had a nice visit with them.

This is a video of Christopher showing off what he can do on his 4-wheeler.

Temple Fork Hike

2008-06-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night the YM/YW went on a hike up to Temple Fork in Logan Canyon. This is the area where the church got the lumber to build the Logan Temple. It was a beautiful hike which followed the creek the entire way! When we finally reached the site of the old saw mill we built a fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and listened to stories about when the saw mill was in use and about the construction of the Logan Temple. On the way back the kids all wanted to run (energized by the sugar rush thanks to the marshmallows I think...). I'm just glad that it was all pretty much down hill otherwise I don't think I could have kept up with them. Whew! With girls camp a month away I'm beginning to think I need to do some serious preparation in order to keep up with these little hyper balls of energy!

Surprise!

2008-06-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I drove down to Salt Lake to meet Brenda and Jana and their kids. We decided to surprise my mom and dad with a visit!! We all met in the underground parking garage of the place that they are staying and took the elevator up to the third floor where there is a really nice patio area just below their window. We got ourselves all lined up holding a special poster that the kids had made...

When we were ready, Brenda called my mom and asked her if she could see the beautiful rainbow outside. My mom said, "Huh, what rainbow? Has it been raining?" Brenda told her to just look out her window! She pulled the curtains back and there were we all were!

She called to my dad to come and see and they were both sooooo surprised to see us!!

My mom came down to the courtyard to visit while my dad sat at the window with the speaker phone on and we all took turns visiting with him. (He couldn't come down because he has been so sick and we don't want him to end up in the hospital AGAIN!)

Lauren, Shannon and Savannah talking to Grandpa

Jana and Isabella talking to Grandpa

We had a nice little picnic lunch (thanks Brenda!) and before we knew it 2 hours had passed!

It was so wonderful to be able to see my parents and sisters - even for a short while! I think it really boosted all of our spirits!

Go Wild Hogs!!

2008-06-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday evening Matt and I got together with our friends for a fun motorcycle ride over to Brigham City to eat dinner at Maddox. We all met up at Janna and Todd's and those who had them, wore their "leathers". Janna, Cami, Tara and Kerri were seriously "Biker Babes" with all their get-up on! Leslie and Justin, Amy and Andy rode over in the van, so Shelby was able to hitch a ride with them. Matt and I haven't had a chance to ride together for such a long time - so that was really fun for us! We rode in a pack over to Brigham City, turning heads all along the way. It was cold, but the sun was still shining and the roads were dry. We had a great dinner and everyone had a fun visit! On the way home the ride was a little bit nippy - I felt like I was in the scene from "Dumb and Dumber" when Harry and Lloyd arrived in Aspen on their little scooter! But I'm glad we got the chance to go!

The fight begins

2008-06-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

My dad is just finishing his first week of treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Center in SLC. On Monday, he had surgery to put in the Port-a-Cath (double lumen) in his chest. He will have these for the next few years. It will make it easier for the dr. and nurses to administer the chemo and meds (less pokes!). My parents also received some great news from Doctor Tricot (my dad's amazing doctor). His tests results show that he has the treatable chromosome #11 - not #13 (which is very resistant to treatment). We are so grateful for these small little miracles!!

On Tuesday my dad was fitted with his chemo packs - two of them - DePace. He basically is wearing a back pack full of chemicals. The nurses told them that if they were to spill, HASMAT would have to come clean it up! (Yeah, this is the stuff they are pumping into my dads body!). He has received a continuous dose of chemo for the last 4 days. Today they will remove the pumps and tomorrow he will get the injection that will stimulate his stem cells to reproduce.

All in all it has been a pretty good week. My dad has had some bad days fighting the nausea and pain and not being able to sleep due to the steroids injections. But his spirits are good. My mom is an excellent nurse and is taking care of every detail. She was nervous about the shots that she has to give him in his belly everyday. But she said she was amazed at how easy it was!

Port-a-Cath with double lumen

Ironman!!

My mom showing off her new kitchen! She was very happy that everything fit!

My parents in their new home for next few weeks. It's such a nice place and very close to Huntsman.

World Sportbike Fun!!

2008-06-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

The weekend was so fun - I wished I would have taken more pictures but didn't have time.

Here is a Ford GT40 I believe

Here is a Shelby!

Troy Corsers bike that went down just before our turn (only about 100 yards away.)

The damage!

Winners Circle!

Our corner! It is "Pit In" if you know what that is - it is right before the long straight.

You couldn't get me to stop smiling!

Troy Baliss' bike - the other side is completely smashed with dirt and rocks embedded and the frame and foot pegs busted up really bad! This is the bike that I ran for and when I got there it was on its side idling and the rear tire was spinning - it was pretty close to the track so we hurried so that we wouldn't get ran over.

40 years together

2008-05-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

Today my parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary!!

My parents met while they were going to BYU. My mom asked my dad to a girls choice dance - and things went from there! They were married on May 31st, 1968 in the Salt Lake Temple. They had four girls, Amy, Afton, Brenda and Jana and have been blessed with 11 grandchildren so far! Mom and dad, you are such wonderful parents and grandparents! Thank you for your wonderful example of love and devotion! We love you so much and hope that you have a great day!

The Graduate

2008-05-31T09:24:00.000-07:00

Ellie graduated from Jumpstart Preschool on Thursday! We are so proud of her and she can't wait to start kindergarten this fall!

Ellie and Teacher Shawna

The Graduate!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-30T07:01:00.001-07:00

We had a really nice holiday weekend with my family. We were able to help my dad get his office cleaned out at BYU, Brenda and Chris worked hard all weekend laying sod at their house, Grandpa stayed busy putting things away in his shop/office, Grandma worked on her errands and was able to cross a lot off her list, and the grandkids did what they do best - PLAYED! On Memorial Day we had a yummy BBQ and celebrated Jana's 29th bday!

After 38 years...

2008-05-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

With the onset of my dad's cancer and subsequent treatment, we've been faced with the reality that he would not be returning to teach again at BYU this fall. Retirement is coming about 8 months sooner than he thought! My dad has been slowly trying to clean out his office this last week. Brenda and Amy were able to get all his books moved out and then we got the rest of his office files and furniture taken care of over the holiday weekend.

Girls Night Out

2008-05-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

For our girls night out we all went to our friend Sherisse's house for a hair cutting session. (Sherisse own's The Kutting Edge here in Logan and also has her own salon in her house. We all go to her when we need to be beautified!) Leslie, Sarah and Cami were all on the uh, chopping block so to speak! Cami went for a basic thin and trim, but the other two went for something a little more dramatic! We had so much fun and they all looked gorgeous when they were done!

2008-05-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Matt, Shelby and I went out to Newton Dam for a quick getaway. Matt wanted to take the jet skiis out for a spin and also wanted to try out the muzzle loader that my dad gave him.

Getting everything ready to shoot.

He was so excited to try it out that I could hardly get him to pose for this picture. (Actually, it was because he couldn't hear me telling him to turn around because of his ear protection!)

Shelby didn't seem that impressed...

But Matt was! He had a great time!!

More Pictures

2008-05-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

My mom sent me the photo's that she took the weekend they were up here for our sealing so I thought that I would post them! Thanks mom!!

2008-05-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

I just got tagged again, but don't worry this one's easy and with no real questions to answer. It goes like this....

A) Pick up the nearest book
B) turn to page 123
C) find the 5th sentence
D) post the 5th sentence
E) tag 5 (or more) people

I didn't pick up the nearest book because the nearest ones were all kiddie books that Ellie has been reading - compliments of Grandpa Lovell! But the one I did choose was close by since I just borrowed it from the library yesterday.

"Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson. Turning to page 123 and scrolling down to the 5th sentence it says, "But still, they that lets the devil in cannot count themselves blameless." (Ohhhhh..... doesn't that just make you want to read this book?! I will hopefully get to read it today. It has won a Newbery Award and is supposed to be really good!)

I TAG - - - Brenda, Jana, Michelle F, Michelle C, Shelley, Kate, Katie U, and Kami (yes, I know that's eight but this is an EASY one!)

2008-05-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday when my mom was here we realized that my odometer was about to turn over, so I took a picture!

Whoohoo!! It's really been a great car! (Go Honda!) I'm hoping we can keep it running for another 100,000!

2008-05-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Shelby won't take a binki, but she loves to suck on her hands. We were laughing so hard last night as we watched her try to cram her whole fist into her mouth.

It's funny because she will gag when I put the little tiny binki in her mouth, but she's just fine with her big old fist!

Families are Forever

2008-05-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a very special time for our family. Matt and I were able to be sealed together and to our little Shelby for time and all eternity in the Logan Temple! We have been waiting for this day for a long time!! For the past several weeks we have been preparing the 3 older kids for this unique opportunity. We've been talking about the purpose of temples, being worthy to go to the temple and what they might expect when they go inside. Everyone was so excited on Saturday and anxiously awaited the hour when we would travel to the temple. Once there, at the appropriate time, Christopher, Shannon and Ellie were brought in to witness Shelby being sealed to Matt and I. It was such a wonderful and emotional experience for all of us. We are so grateful to all of those family members and dear friends that were able to come and share the day with us. We love all of you so much and are so thankful that you are a part of our lives! Our love also goes out to those that wanted to come but were unable to - you were there with us in spirit! It was such a wonderful day and we feel so blessed to know that our family will be together forever!

My parents, Brenda, Chris and their kids were able to stay until Sunday afternoon, so we were able to celebrate Mother's Day together as well. That was really fun!! Sunday morning, as we were walking into church Christopher suddenly remembered that he was supposed to speak in sacrament meeting. Uh, oh. This was the first I had heard of it, and thought "Well, he'll have to tell the bishop that he can't do it." But as the first hour ended I felt impressed that he should at least try to put a talk together. So, during Sunday School I went and got Christopher out of class. I asked him what he wanted to do and he told me that he really wanted to do it. Since our sacrament meeting is (fortunately) last, he was able to put some thoughts together before the meeting began. He spoke about why our Heavenly Father gave us our mothers (um, to help them prepare talks at the last minute?), some things that he had learned from his mom and then shared his feelings about our temple experience the day before. He concluded with his testimony and it was so sweet! He did such a good job and I was so proud of him!

After church we all came back to the house for a bbq. It was such a beautiful day the kids just played and played. We had a great time eating and visiting before everyone had to go. That afternoon I got one of the best Mother's Day presents ever... a NAP!! It was unusually quiet, and I was so wiped out I just zonked!! Matt took the kids on a bike ride a little later and I was able to enjoy the quiet even longer. We ended the day with a trip to Brigham City to visit Matt's mom and two sisters. It was a terrific weekend!

I will be adding more pictures later so be sure to check back again!!

A good weekend...

2008-05-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Thursday the kids and I headed down to Payson to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa. They are getting everything cleaned and ready so to speak, for when my dad starts his chemo treatments. (For those of you who do not know, my dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in March. In layman's terms he has bone cancer. He is being treated by the top doctors at The Huntsman Cancer Center in SLC. He will be undergoing chemo and stem-cell transplants over the next few months. We are very optimistic about his treatment options and are praying for his remission.) They ripped out the old carpet and we helped re-paint their living room. Because we (my dad, Chris and I) were so good and efficient it took no time at all. So we decided to paint the front hall as well. This is where things got a little tricky and we learned that 1) door jams are harder to paint, and 2) in confined spaces you WILL get paint on your clothes. Oh well! We had fun and it turned out great!! That night Shelby entertained Grandma and Grandpa as she showed off her newly discovered voice! It was so cute to watch her get all excited and gurgle, giggle and coo! She is such a sweetheart!!

Saturday Matt, Shelby and I headed down to Manti for Matt's nieces wedding. It was a beautiful day and so neat to share that with them!! We drove to Richfield for their luncheon afterwards and had such a nice visit with everyone. We drove back to my parents that evening and made it just in time for a chili dinner in the backyard with the entire family. It was a wonderful weekend and I was so sad to have to leave!! I can't wait to see everyone again next weekend as Matt and I look forward to our sealing in the Logan temple!

Matt and Shelby

2008-04-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

This was so cute I had to post it! Matt was playing with Shelby and she was just talking away!! She got herself so excited towards the end she got the hiccups!!

Warm weather!!!

2008-04-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Finally some sunshine!! Just two days ago, it was snowing!

Matt put up the trampoline and the girls have been enjoying it all day. Ellie keeps asking if she can put the sprinklers underneath. Uh, it's not THAT warm!!

Matt got the lawn mowed and burned all the debris that built up over the winter. The yard looks great now!

Spring Break

2008-04-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

We had an absolute blast over Spring Break this last week!! We left last Thursday morning and headed to Payson to visit with my family. Shelby spent her first night in the camper and it was COLD!! Good thing we have a great heater! The next morning we loaded up and went to the Sand Dunes down by Delta. There we met up with some of our really good friends the Barlow's, the Anthon's and the Coat's. They had come down a day earlier and had saved us a spot which was a good thing because there were a TON of people there! Friday was still a little bit chilly, but the kids didn't care. The second Matt unloaded the 4-wheelers they were off. We had an awesome dutch-oven dinner that night with everyone - Ribs, Potatoes, Baked Beans and of course Cobbler!! It was so yummy!! Later on Brad and Jen Ericksen rolled in with their camper and we added even more kids to the mix. That night the guys took care of the kids in one camper and the moms played games in another. We loved not having to have kids crawl all over us while we were strategizing our next move!!

All weekend long the weather was so beautiful and warm, it felt like June and we all got a sunburn! (Reminder: pack sunscreen in the camper.) The kids played and played on the 4-wheelers (Ellie rode so much she ran out of gas three times), in the "fort" that they made, dune jumping, and digging. They even came up with "Camper Idol" complete with judges and performers! The mom's got to go on a fun ride all the way to Sand Mountain, play games, and even went on a long walk to burn off some of the calories we were consuming due to all the good junk food! The dad's got a lot of guy rides in and were always willing to take the kiddies for rides in the Rhino's. My sister, Brenda and her family were able to make it out for a day as well! One afternoon we all piled in our trucks and drove out to Porter Rockwell's old ranch. That was fun and the kids loved exploring all the old ruins and even found a lizard! We had such a great time with everyone!!! No one really wanted to leave. But when the wind kicked up on Monday we knew that it was time to head home. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family!! We had so much fun and are so grateful that we were able to be together!!

2 1/2 months

2008-04-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

She is still learning how to pose for the camera

That's better!! A smile AND a wave!

Watching General Conference

A bad hair day

FHE Fun

2008-04-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

For FHE last night we decided to head over to the Rec Center to swim!!

Ellie loves it because the water is always warm!

Shannon is a great swimmer! She even goes off the diving board!

Christopher swam with us for a little bit before heading to his Tae Kwon Do class down the hall.

Lovell Land

2011

When you want to make a difference...

It's COMING.....

Happy Anniversary!

The Graduate

New radio jingles as promised

Still here just not much time to blog

I love this stage

The Sister Pact

Updates on everyone...

First summer camping trip

Relay For Life

KEANE

I am a happy girl

Growing...up?

Ouchie

Update on the situation

Trouble

A few kid updates

Time to make a come back

It's a good thing.

A funny for your Friday

That's why they call it laughing gas

Another reason why January is the best month of the year

At our house, it's okay to play with your food

You have to throw them parties

Fun to do

Our last night of the year

It came and went...

Family Christmas

Christmas Party - Ugly Style

Babys can flirt too

All she wants for Christmas this year

Nothin cuter

Things you want to know but are too shy to ask

Something to blog about

The Clown - Act II

Jingles to brighten your day!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

If you have a minute or hour to spare....

The best Halloween EVER

Havin fun with make-up!

Murder Mystery

UEA weekend get-a-way

White belt

Transplant

I learned this lesson the hard way

What I always wanted...

For a Limited Time Only!

Links make the world go round

Can I blame it on the weather?

Labor Day Weekend

Ellie's first day of Kindergarten

Mt Logan

My Bionic Friends

On the first day of school... I slept in

And The Dirtiest Face Award Goes To....

Cardboard and Duct Tape

Newton Dam

Couple cute shots of Shelby

When my sisters were here

I'm Back, Baby!

Troubles

Twin Lakes

Girls Camp

Downata Hot Springs

Fun times at Bear Lake

Sugar n Spice

Paris Ice Caves

Happy 4th of July!

It's Pool Time!

The Working Man

More Videos

Trip to Delta

Temple Fork Hike

Surprise!

Go Wild Hogs!!

The fight begins

World Sportbike Fun!!