Our comic relief

Gray is always doing something funny and making us laugh. Whether he is extending his leg, telling a joke, or doing the splits, he brings such joy to our family. I love this little picture of him. Seriously never a dull moment!!

44 and looking fine!!

Saturday was Joey's birthday and according to his wishes we kept it very low key! We went out to lunch on Friday to celebrate. Of course we went to Goodwood! Saturday was conference but as soon as the second session Joey took Nash, Harlee, and Gray to see the second Maze Runner movie. They all wanted to see it and had a fun time together. When they got back we opened presents and had his favorite german chocolate cake. I hope he felt loved and appreciated. He is such a blessing to our family. So glad he robbed the cradle!! Love him!

First Short Course Swim Meet of 2015 Season

On Friday Luke and Nash had their first short course swim meet of 2015 season. It was at the Lehi Legacy Center and they did amazingly! Nash swam a 50 freestyle. His fastest time was 1:17 and he swam it in 1:05. He shaved 12 seconds off his time! So happy for him! He gets really nervous about going to meets but I am thinking that this major progress might quiet a little of his anxiety. Luke swam three events and did awesome in all of them. His first race was a 50 freestyle. His fastest time was 45 seconds and he swam it in 42! He shaved off 3 seconds! His next race was the 50 butterfly. He does not have a time yet in this race and at the last second disqualified. He did not bring both arms up at the same time. Had he not dq'ed he would have gotten 1:03. So good for such a hard stroke. His last race was the 100 IM. He did such a great job. His fastest time was 2:02 and he beat it by 4 seconds. He got 1:58! So proud of both of them! They work so hard each week and it really shows. Love my little fish!!

Snuggle buddies

They are at it again! These two cute boys sleep the best when they are snuggled up next to each other. I took this picture at 8:22 am and they went on to sleep for another 20 minutes. I am going to document this so if ever they fight and can prove that they love to be by each other!

2015 School Pictures

I must have traumatized the kids last year because they all were a little apprehensive to show me their pictures this year. They all turned out so cute! I was especially surprised with Tag who never smiles on command! All of these cute pictures now occupy the frames on the photo wall in the basement. Seriously such cute kids and one blessed mom!

Trying out the pass....

Every year the kids beg me to go to Corn Belly's. It is a fun thing they set up for Halloween at Thanksgiving Point. This year they had a special for $24.99 you could go all month. Since it is about $15 to go once I thought we would give it a try. Joey supported me as long as we really use them. We got to go on Monday night for a pass holders. It was so much fun. Joey kept Tag home and I just took the four older kids. We went on the funnest slide, bounce houses, played games, and ended the night with a snow cone. I cannot wait to go back and to bring Tag. They had the best time.

Let the renovations continue...

I know I have mentioned it before but I will say it again, Joey is the hardest worker that I know. In an attempt to save money and to make his wife happy, Joey has taken on the project of painting all of the cabinets in the house. White cabinets is the trend right now and I have really wanted to brighten up the place. My goal is to get this house the way I love it to stay forever and I am sure Joey wants it to look current so that it sells faster! Either way it is looking amazing. He started with the downstairs bathroom and then Harlee's bathroom. He is currently working on the kitchen. It looks amazing. It is so much work but he never stops. He is such an example to me. Thank you Joey for all that you do to make our home beautiful. I seriously love it and completely LOVE you!!

One of my favs...

I have often said that it is such a blessing that Tag is the caboose. He has all of these amazing siblings to look up to and learn from. I love to watch them play with him and he thrives on their attention. Last night Harlee was giving him a piggy back ride and he was in heaven. The smiles on both of their faces are priceless. I just love my family!

Goodbye Cyst!

On Tuesday I was fortunate to have surgery to remove a cyst from my ovary. After a few ultrasounds over a couple months they realized that the cyst on my left ovary was not going to go away on it's own. It has been causing me pain and is bigger than a golf ball. So Tuesday afternoon they removed the cyst along with another one that they found on my right ovary. I am five days out from surgery and feeling pretty good. My stomach is super bloated but the pain is pretty minimal. So grateful for insurance and for all the the help that I have received over the last few days. Just praying that they can find a way to keep these cysts from coming back.

Trip to Texas for Tara's wedding

On Thursday morning Don, Jenna, and I took a flight to Texas to attend Tara's wedding that was on Friday. When we arrived in Texas we made a stop at a Texas BBQ restaurant. It was inside a gas station but we couldn't let the environment fool us. The food was delicious! After we ate we made our way to the hotel and got ready for dinner with Tara and her new family. Don went out with Grant, Nathan, and Kaydan to Dave and Buster's. Jenna and I went with Tara, Candice (her new sister in law) and Candice's mom Susan. We went to Z Tejas. I have to say that I love Susan. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Candice is a different story! After dinner we went home to rest up for the big day. We got up, worked out, and then made our way to the luncheon at the Grove. The food was delicious. After lunch we took Nathan and Kaydan to explore downtown Austin and have some Amy's ice cream. It was so fun to spend time with them. They are such good kids. After a little time together we went back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was held in Susan's backyard. Tara looked beautiful. I really hope that her and Grant have a great life together. He seems like such a great guy and I think that he will be a great thing for her boys. Congratulations Tara and Grant!

2015 Big Cottonwood Half

We did it again!! Our half marathon of choice this year was once again the Big Cottonwood Half. We trained a lot on Suncrest and felt really prepared for the race. Last year we finished at 2:13 and 2:15. I promised that I would stay with Joey this year and we set a goal of 2:10. We finished the race in 2:07 with an average mile pace of 9:36. I was so proud of us! I love that we do hard things together. Joey is such a motivation to me. This year I felt awesome up until mile 9 when we came out of the canyon. Joey did not stop and he quietly motivated me to keep going. So fun to do these races with my best friend.