The Barker's Journey

Raptor Awards Ceremony

2012-01-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

Today our school had a Raptor Awards Ceremony as our Finale for Faculty Appreciation Month. It was seriously so much fun. All of the faculty participated and it was a total hoot! We did the red carpet and every team won an award and received a Thunder Ridge Mug with the Thunder Ridge logo on the front of it. The teachers totally hammed it up and the acceptance speeches were totally over the top. I sure LOVE what I do and I am so grateful everyone had such a great time!

Piano Studio Recital

2012-01-21T19:28:00.003-07:00

Last night was my Piano Studio Recital at Piano Gallery in Orem and it was wonderful! I feel like all of my students played really well and I was super pleased! I spend so many hours of my life on these wonderful children, so the recital is definitely a payoff!

All four of us performed, and cute Amber did not want a picture afterward - she does not like the camera flash.

Corbyn and my Grandma Hall came to watch. Jason had to stay home because Landon had a temperature and I was bummed about that. My mom and my in-laws were also going to come, but my mom couldn't get a sub for the temple and Jason's parents had to go down to St. George at the last minute.

The Earls, Myers, and Williams gave me flowers after the recital and that was so thoughtful!

Amber and Brianna put their bows in my hair from the recital while we were having family scripture study - we had to get a picture of the lovliness . . . 'Go Bow or Go Home" ;)

Just Dance

2012-01-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

The kids got Just Dance for Kids this Christmas and were having a great time playing it the other day. To everyone's surprise, Amber was actually the big winner every time . . . she's good :)

First Turkey

2012-01-21T15:58:00.002-07:00

So, last Sunday, I decided to prepare and bake my first Turkey and it turned out awesome. I buttered the crud out of it and seasoned it pretty darn good, then I put it in a pillow case and slowly baked it all day. It turned out great and was super yummy! (The dark meat was SO good! It was very moist and just fell off the bone. The white meat was good too, but a little more dry than I would like. I soaked it in the juices though so it was more moist to serve.) It's funny how something so simple makes you feel so accomplished . . . silly me.

So I bet you are thinking now . . . Mindi's been married for 16 years and this was her first time preparing and baking a turkey? Sheesh. Well hey, that's what happens when you have awesome moms that always want to take care of the turkey each Thanksgiving.

16 Years and Counting!

2012-01-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

December 30th was our 16th Anniversary and we decided to go stay somewhere nice to celebrate. We had a great night: movie, dinner, and post Christmas shopping. I'm SO thankful for my wonderful Jason! He is my best friend on earth and I would not have picked anyone different to spend the rest of Eternity with. In honor of the man I love so much, I thought I would share with you:

"The Top 16 Things I LOVE About Jason!"

16. He’s stinkin’ good looking!

15. I don’t know anyone who bakes more cookies in a weekthan he does and consumes less cookies in a week than he does . . . HOW DOES HEDO IT?!

14. He LOVES the Food Network and “ANYTHING Impossible” (Dinner,Restaurant, Mission)

13. He does the laundry . . . yep, that’s right, HE does thelaundry! (At least, this year anyway)

12. He’s SUPER clean!

11. Nobody has more Hawaiian Shirts than he does

10. He's a really good dancer, tennis player, golfer, snow skier, water skier, and basketball player

9. He climbs thousands of stair steps a day without usinghis hands – hehehe!

8. You will often see him doing the dishes, sweeping thefloor, and just about everything ‘kitchen’ related, except for wiping thecounters – that’s for me ;)

7. You will often catch him with his Macbook in his lap, hisiPad in his hands, and his iPhone sitting right next to him. He's the poster child for Apple

6. He loves to embarrass me in the store by breaking out into song and dance

5. He loves what I cook and is always very complimentary

4. He's very romantic and enjoys watching "Chick Flicks" with me

3. He loves having his head scratched

2. He averages more miles of research on the computer in aday than I average running in a week.

And the Number One thing I LOVE about Jason is . . .

1. He's survived 16 years of being married to me and still wants to keep going! J

I had to show off my new BYU sweats, even though I totally have no makeup on ;) They are the best sweats ever and it just happened to be the BYU Bowl Game on our Anniversary - Sweet!!

Larson Extended Family Christmas Party

2012-01-16T09:27:00.003-07:00

Every year in between Christmas and New Years we have a big Larson party with all of my aunts/uncles/cousins and their children. It's SO much fun! We have a big dinner, then when dinner is done, all of the kids go to other parts of the Church building where activities and games are set up for them with older single adults hired to watch them. During that time all of the adults meet in the gym to play games. It's seriously a blast. This year Uncle Jerry and Aunt Jan were in charge of the games and split everyone into teams. My team was a hoot and when you get to the picture that shows the scoreboard . . . my team was number 4 - booya! :)

The following picture is of the last game we played and it was really funny! My uncle read a series of questions and if you had done what he asked you had to move a certain number of spaces to the right or left. If someone was already sitting in the seat you landed on, you had to sit on their lap. There were a couple times that 5 people were sitting on someone's lap. Super entertaining!

On the very last question, I landed on the chair Jason was sitting in, so I hopped right up on his lap. I sure LOVE this man!!

Christmas Day

2011-12-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

Jason's mom has the most amazing Christmas brunch prepared for us every Christmas morning. This year was no exception. YUM!

My sweet father-in-law gave me this autographed BYU Bowl Game football from last year's Bowl Game. It is signed by every member of that team and even the coaches. Our PTA auctioned off that ball at our auction in October and I wanted it SO bad! I bid up to $75 then I just felt like I couldn't go any higher. Another man bid $80 and I had to let it go. At the very last second, a man in the back yelled out $85 and won the ball - I was so disappointed until I turned around and saw that it was my father-in-law. I was VERY touched! I know that is something my own dad would have done had he still been alive, so I was really moved by my father-in-law's gesture. I had forgotten about the ball until I was given a bag on Christmas morning that said, "To Mindi From: U of U" - I knew right then what it was and I was thrilled!

I love Jason's pose - you're so funny honey!

Jason's mom made all of her boys these awesome blankets. Everyone's blanket was red, black, and white, except for Jason's - it was BYU colors of course!! :) She is an amazing seamstress!

We did karaoke for awhile and it was very enjoyable!

May I just say, hello Punky Brewster! Amber came home from Church and put on these socks with her light up tennis shoes.

Gotta have our annual Christmas brunch picture ;)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

2011-12-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Eve we always go to two different parties: one at my Grandma Hall's and one and Jason's Uncle Danny's house. We had a great time at both parties!

Yep, my children like to put the whole candy in their mouth at one time! I don't know where they get that from ;)

Corbyn was having a blast jumping in the air having me take pictures of how high he could go.

These pictures were taken when we got home - I love Christmas Eve!

Yes, I asked Jason to pose for the camera right before we went to bed - "he's so hot right now, so hot"

We were very blessed this year by the kindness of others and by a very inspired Stake Toy Exchange. Our children had a wonderful Christmas and their needs and wants were met. :)

So stinkin' cute!

Flat Tire

2011-12-24T13:10:00.001-07:00

So, Jason went to pick up some groceries this morning and on his way there, his tire blew. He pulled into the Walmart parking lot and could tell there was no chance of repairing the tire. I think it is wonderful that whenever things like this happen to us, we always have the money to pay for it, it always happens in a place that we can take care of it easily, and it's always better than it could have been. Yes, it stinks that the tire was bought, brand new, only a few months ago and we didn't pay extra for the insurance, but man, the Walmart car automotive department changed the tire for free while Jason finished his shopping and the place that we bought our tires happened to be open for another hour, so got Jason right in, and $60 later we're free from worry and able to head to our Christmas Eve parties. We are blessed! Even in afflictions, we are blessed!

It's about Time!

2011-12-23T15:04:00.002-07:00

Well, it's about time I finally updated our blog and boy did I do it justice. I have spent all morning posting blog entries and I hope you enjoy them! There are 17 new posts as of 2:48 p.m. on this the 23rd Day of December 2011 - wow I sound so judicial ;) This year has been so different for our family because of me working at the school and Jason preparing for his Doctorate. There are just not enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs to be done, so updating our online journal has taken a back seat to the more important ventures we have undertaken. It's very important, though, that our children have a family history of their lives growing up, so I decided it was not okay to quit posting entries just because I am too busy. Thank goodness for the holiday break and for the opportunity to stay in my pjs all day working on my blog! I'm so thankful for all that I have learned this year and for coming to appreciate all of the things I have taken for granted in years' past. Our little family is very happy and very excited for the future. Life is wonderful, life is beautiful, and life is filled with the Joy that WE bring it through the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ and our understanding that Life is Eternal. "All is Well! All is Well!"

Christmas Caroling

2011-12-23T14:48:00.001-07:00

My awesome next door neighbor arranged for a few of us families to go Christmas caroling for Family Night and we had such a great time. Jason was super light and funny - he found great joy in dancing and singing in the background at each house that we went to. I used to love going caroling growing up and I am so glad that we went this year!! I hope it becomes a tradition! Thanks Andrea!!

Keira's poor little fingers were ice cold, even though we had gloves on them, and it took awhile for them to thaw out. She cried and cried when we got to the Durrants for hot chocolate.

The Compromise

2011-12-23T14:37:00.001-07:00

We've been having devotionals, by the fire, each night, and the kids have had a hard time deciding who gets to be closest to the fire. I told them we would just turn off the fire if they didn't get along and this is what I walked into the room to find . . . the compromise! :) They were all very happy and we had a great devotional :)

Screen Time

2011-12-23T14:33:00.001-07:00

Too much screen time for the 2 year old! Yikes!

La Posada

2011-12-23T14:25:00.002-07:00

As many of you know, Kelsea has been in the Spanish Immersion program for the past 5 years and she just performed in her last La Posada at Harvest. They did a very good job with everything. She was an angel in the play and was part of the stage crew that built and painted the set - they spent hours making it great! We brought the entire family and had a great time.

Christmas Clogging Show

2011-12-23T14:11:00.001-07:00

Corbyn, Brianna, and Amber had their Christmas Clogging Show and it was awesome! Brianna has performed before, but this was Corbyn and Amber's first time - they did a GREAT job! We brought the entire family to the show and I was amazed that the younger children made it through two full hours of clogging. It was super entertaining, because the studio they clog at has teams and individuals that are National Champions and in the Clogging Hall of Fame! It brings back memories of my days as a clogger. I LOVED competing and performing in front of people - no surprise, huh?! :)

Laundry

2011-12-23T13:54:00.002-07:00

I'm tired of not being able to get all of the laundry done this year!! I have always been so on top of it in years past, but not being home has been a problem. Jason has asked many times if I would like him to take care of it, but I have always said No because I want to still feel like I am fulfilling my normal responsibilities . . . well, I gave in! One day I came home and took all of the clothes that were clean and dumped them on the family room floor. I told all of the children to come in and help fold them. It ended up being a lot of fun and we finished in pretty good time. I'm so grateful for my sweet family and for all of the help they give me! I still want to do what I am used to doing, but I must accept the fact that there just are not enough hours in the day right now and it is okay to ask for help.

Whoppers

2011-12-23T13:45:00.003-07:00

Someone's in First Grade Math :)

Christmas Tree Lighting

2011-12-23T13:43:00.001-07:00

Our city has a Christmas Tree Lighting each year and Brianna's Choir sung at it. It was FREEZING!!

Yep, the tree is puny, but it will grow . . . someday! ;)

Thanksgiving with the Barkers in St. George

2011-12-23T13:19:00.001-07:00

We went to St. George with the Barkers for Thanksgiving and it was a MUCH needed vacation! I woke up with a nasty sinus infection the first day and finally decided to give in and go to the doctor. Thanks to Jason's mom for talking me into that, because they put me on an antibiotic and I felt much better.

We had a lot of fun hiking, eating out, lounging around, and attending the live nativity at Tuacahn. I did NOT want to come home :) I went running 4 miles each morning and LOVED the scenery! I even ran up the canyon, 2 miles up hill and 2 miles back down - it was tiring, but awesome!

School Dedication

2011-12-23T12:17:00.001-07:00

Because our Elementary school is brand new, it was dedicated in November and we had the opportunity to take part in the dedication. Our principal said the District wanted the PTA President to speak, so yep, I had the opportunity to address those same administrators and our school public. Now, those of you that know me, know that I love public speaking, but it's super easy to speak 'churchy,' it's an entirely different thing to speak educationally. I spent a lot of time preparing for it and since I didn't know if we would have a podium or not, I made sure the entire thing was memorized. I think it went pretty well and I actually really enjoyed it! Brianna was in the school choir "Voices of Thunder" that performed and Corbyn led the scouts in the Flag Ceremony. It was awesome!

Not the best view, but at least you get to see the lovely booger yellow curtain behind me - seriously, that is the worst curtain EVER! :)

Halloween

2011-12-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

Since I am an Aide at the school, I decided to dress up this year. I made an iPhone costume for Kelsea last year, so I told her I had dibs this year :) I really do love Halloween! I always have. I think it is fun and festive and I love seeing how happy the kids are to dress up!

Our Principal is an avid BYU fan, but we lost a Box Tops competition with another Elementary school so they got to pick what he dressed up as - of course they picked a U of U Cheerleader. He was a very good sport about it, but he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was only doing it because of the competition, so I got up and announced it at the beginning of the school parade - it was funny!

Barker Halloween Party

2011-12-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

We went to Jason's parent's Ward Halloween Party and it was a lot of fun! I love Halloween!

Larson Halloween Party

2011-12-23T11:28:00.003-07:00

My mom has a Halloween Party at her house every year and this year she went all out. We had a lot of fun! Thanks Mom!

Guess who won the Pie Eating Contest? :)

Kelsea's 12th Birthday

2011-12-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

Kelsea turned 12 this year and was beyond excited to enter Young Women's!! I surprised her and took her to lunch with some of her friends. The next day we went to the temple with her cousins and it was really neat for me to see my oldest child in the temple. Thanks for being such a good girl, Kelsea! Mom loves you more than you will ever know!!

Corbyn's Guitar Recital

2011-12-23T10:44:00.004-07:00

Corbyn's Guitar Recital with his good friends, Kyle and Sam. They are quite the Guitarists! :)

Ward Pumpkin Patch Party

2011-12-23T10:36:00.004-07:00

We had a great time at our Ward Pumpkin Patch Party! The kids were excited to pick out their own pumpkins. Super fun!

School Auction

2011-12-23T10:31:00.001-07:00

I forgot to take my camera to our school auction, but my kids were super excited that we won the Principal's basket! I was shocked at all that I bid on - oops! I kind of spent a lot :) I guess when you are so fully vested, you don't mind bidding on a ton because all the money goes to programs for the kids. The auction was AMAZING and super fun!

Keira's 2nd Birthday

2011-11-28T00:26:00.001-07:00

Keira turned 2 in October and it was a darling day. She's so stinkin' adorable!!

Family Skate Night

2011-11-27T23:44:00.001-07:00

Our kids' school had its first Family Skate Night in September and we took the kids. It was a lot of fun and even though Keira was a handful, we still had a great time. (Amber was beyond excited that her teacher, Mrs. Beck, was there! What a fun thing.)

Amber's Short Hair

2011-11-27T23:06:00.001-07:00

It's been over two months, but I'm still posting in order, so here is a picture of Amber's hair cut. Her hair was almost down to her behind and it was getting to be a pain to do. I asked her quite a few times if we could cut it and she always said NO! One morning, out of nowhere, she came into my room and asked if I would cut her hair before school . . . so I did. :) So cute!

Family Pictures 2011

2011-11-17T16:28:00.001-07:00

We went and had family pictures taken in September with Aaron Despain Photography. He was a lot of fun and the pictures turned out great!

Back to School Fashion Show and First Day of School

2011-11-16T00:35:00.001-07:00

The night before school started the kids wanted to have a fashion show because they couldn't wait to wear their new clothes. They had a blast!

The first day of school was equally as fun!

Hot Dog Hello

2011-11-14T23:15:00.001-07:00

This is totally late in coming, but we had a wonderful "Hot Dog Hello" Open House for Thunder Ridge the Friday before school started. It was attended well and we had a lot of fun. Ask me how many women it takes to put a money envelope in the night deposit box at the bank? FUNNY story!

Updates Coming!

2011-11-10T23:38:00.001-07:00

It's time for me to update my blog, but it is going to take awhile since I am so far behind. I'm just going to start right where I left off. These pictures are of an awesome day at the Orem Fire Station with our neighborhood friends. We had such a blast!! Thanks for Jason and Jenny Earl for making it happen! :)

Technology

2011-10-23T00:16:00.002-06:00

I thought this was adorable of Kelsea and Landon!

I love technology, but seriously??? This is how I found my 3 and 1 year old the other day. Goodness!

Brianna's Baptism

2011-08-14T11:10:00.004-06:00

Our darling Brianna turned 8 years old at the end of June and made the decision to be baptized a member of the Church - Jason performed the baptism and confirmation. We had a lot of family and friends come to the baptism and then we hosted a luncheon at our house afterward. What a beautiful day for our sweet girl.

Brianna's Primary teacher, Bro. Nelson

Brianna's closest little friend - they are inseparable!

Bro. Funk - Second Counselor in the Bishopric

My awesome next door neighbor - LOVE her!

Popcorn

2011-08-14T11:05:00.001-06:00

Jason and I went to see a movie (which is a rarity) and we brought home our extra popcorn - a few minutes later, we found a very happy little girl.

Bear Lake 2011

2011-08-13T22:02:00.010-06:00

We had a blast at Bear Lake this year and the weather was AWESOME! The water level was up as high as I can remember and although it took away most of our beach, it was still fabulous!

I didn't get any pictures of the first day that we were there, but within an hour of arriving at the lake, Landon fell off the slide at the pool and landed face first on the cement. He had the biggest bump on his head and his eye started filling with blood. He threw up a few times so we took him to the Instacare. The doctor was so nice and worked really well with my scared little Landon. He said Landon had a level two concussion and should heal just fine. It was so sad to see him look so awful as he healed, but he was happy as can be and did great for the rest of the week.

Poor guy!

Jason had an interview during our vacation, so he left on Wednesday night and took Landon and Keira home with him. I stayed with the older four children and we had a great time. It was SO weird not having Jason, K, and L, but it was very relaxing not having to chase the little kids around. I LOVE Bear Lake. I had a blast skiing and had great water. I have a picture to prove that I still got some skiin' skillz, but it is on my mom's camera and I haven't downloaded it yet. :)

Reeder Family Reunion

2011-08-13T21:41:00.005-06:00

We had a great time at the Reeder Family Reunion this year. At the end of it, Jason's Grandpa Reeder (95 years old) became unresponsive and was having a hard time breathing, so they called the ambulance and had him checked. He ended up being okay, but it just reminded us how precious life is and how grateful we are for family.

Lagoon Day 2011

2011-08-07T18:45:00.004-06:00

This year the Larson's decided not to have a Lagoon day (for the first time in forever!), because my younger brother just had a baby, my older brother's family had too many things going on this summer, and the rest of us were okay. Well, I had already set aside the cash to go, so thankfully the Barker family chose to come with us and also our great friends, the Blomquists. We had such a fun time!! We brought Keira and Landon this year and they were both really good. Landon rode a couple rides, but Keira mostly stayed in her stroller and watched everything going on around her. Jason took Landon, Keira, and Amber home early and I stayed with the older kids and the Blomquist's. We were tired at the end of the day, but everyone was happy! I love it!!

I love how Ben and Eric joined our picture in such a calm/pleasant manner ;)

I'm not sure how I missed getting a picture of the Blomquists, but I promise they were there and they had a great time, too . . . right, Tal? :)

Brianna's 8th Birthday Party

2011-08-07T16:55:00.005-06:00

Brianna turned 8 this year and celebrated with her friends. We had pizza and cake at our house then we went to Jungle Jim's playland for some fun. The girls had a blast and Brianna was as happy as could be!

Tootsie Wrapper

2011-08-02T15:21:00.001-06:00

I guess someone should tell Keira that you have to take the wrapper off before you eat the tootsie roll ;)

Pokemon Heaven

2011-08-02T15:17:00.001-06:00

Corbyn and a couple of his friends had a late night a few weeks ago and I came up to the playroom to find this. Pokemon heaven :)

Oops

2011-08-02T15:13:00.002-06:00

Oops! I turned on the tub water and walked into the other room. I came back in to find it almost overflowing. Landon was happy as could be and I was mortified. I hurried and drained half the water and stayed in there the rest of the time.

BBQ . . . at last!

2011-08-02T15:03:00.002-06:00

Funny as it may seem, we've been married 15 1/2 years and this was the first time we ever barbequed at our own home. We have had a grill for years, but we never remember to fill the propane tank. Wow! I can't believe how much I love grilling! We are going to become regulars now!! :)

Brianna's Baptism Invitation

2011-08-01T20:35:00.003-06:00

I found this cool website that made it so easy for me to make a cute invitation for Brianna's Baptism. I sent it to my family and a couple of Brianna's close friends and it is was super easy. Check out Smilebox.com - it's awesome!

This invitation made with Smilebox

1st Place - Really?! :)

2011-06-23T23:13:00.003-06:00

Caution: This post contains bragging! :)

Corbyn participated in his second Pinewood Derby a couple weeks ago and much to our surprise, he came in First place!

We think it is pretty funny because we are not big competitors in this area. Kelsea gave Corbyn a great idea for the shape of his car, then Corbyn did all the paint work and made the car his own. We finished his car just moments before it was to be officially weighed in and we were very excited to have it done. We told Corbyn to be grateful no matter how well his car did and when it cruised down the track the first race he was in we were blown away! The look on Corbyn's face was priceless!! Corbyn's car stayed on top of the leader board the entire night, except after one race. Immediately following that race he went back to the top and stayed there until the end.

I am SO happy that Corbyn's car did so well! What a fun memory for him to have :)

Saying Goodbye

2011-06-21T23:15:00.006-06:00

10 years ago, this August, Jason started working for the LDS Church. He has been a Business Analyst for the Family History Department and has been a major part of getting Family History images available for all the world, online.

Last month we found out that Jason's job was being dissolved because he finished what he was hired to do and his work load has diminished so much that the department cannot justify keeping his position. His boss was very sad about letting Jason go, because Jason has been an ideal employee, but the economy has made it difficult for his department to do otherwise.

It was bittersweet when Jason got the news, but we both felt very peaceful. We have known for a few years that Jason was supposed to be doing something different, but we keep not making the move because it is so safe working for the Church. We have six kids and it is daunting thinking of leaving security - we feel blessed that Heavenly Father helped us out with this decision. It should be scary that Jason is now out of work, but surprisingly it's not.

Jason wants to get his Doctorate and is looking into every Doctorate known to man. Most programs don't start until 2012, so he is trying to find a job between now and then. He has his MBA and is awesome, but it is hard to get a job in this economy. We have a nice home with a not so nice mortgage, but we are fine and are perfectly willing to leave all that we have so that we can do what we are supposed to be doing. It's going to be a wild ride, but I am ready and we are both excited!

Jason's department threw him a going away party and I showed up with all of the kids to surprise Jason - it was great. When the party was over, Jason came with us and we took the kids around Temple Square and to the Church Museum.

Life is Beautiful and everything is going to be okay!!

Amber's Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-19T22:36:00.003-06:00

Amber graduated from Kindergarten and the graduation program was excellent - I was very impressed! Here's some pictures from the event:

I love that Amber kept yawning during the program - it was adorable . . . and I admit, a little funny.

She covered her face when others were taking pictures with the teacher, because she did not want to be in their pictures - she's so funny!

Mrs. Ashworth was an amazing teacher for Amber - I am so grateful Amber had her!

My First Half Marathon

2011-05-28T21:06:00.002-06:00

I ran my first Half Marathon this morning, but I don't have anything to show for it (t-shirt, bib number, cool pictures). It was actually by accident that I ran the half. My friend and I started our run this morning and decided to try a new 10 mile route that our neighbor runs. As we were starting his route from the backward side, we took a wrong road and ended up going much farther West than what the route was supposed to be. As we got to the main road and started heading toward home we tried to calculate how far we had run by our time and by my friend's pedometer. We knew we would be close to 13.1 miles, so we decided to run past our homes for awhile and make sure that we finished a full 13.1. We had no idea what point we needed to stop, so when we were at our end point, we ran 50 yards more.

I am not gonna lie - it hurt! I was not that tired, but my body ached! We had not planned running that far, so we did not have any water, protein, or anything to give us energy during the run. It was a long recovery walk back to our homes and we had to stop at the park to get a drink.

After we got home, my friend calculated our distance by google maps - we couldn't believe what the end distance was . . . 13.1007 . . . can you believe it?! If we had not run that extra 50 yards we would not have made it. Now I know I can do it!! Yeah!!!

Hope of America

2011-05-18T21:09:00.001-06:00

Kelsea performed in Hope of America this year and it was AMAZING!

BYU Women's Conference

2011-05-18T20:52:00.003-06:00

I had a chance to go to BYU Women's Conference again this year and once again, it was wonderful. I loved all of my classes and I sure love the women I went with. (Hopefully even more women will join us next year.) My mom surprised me and came down the first day and we spent the day together going to classes - I LOVED having her there. I also had the privilege of talking to Mike Middleton (Cougar Club Director) for quite awhile and he was telling my mom and me all about the BYU sports programs, which I LOVE. (I have since talked to him about getting an athlete assembly at our new elementary school and he told me that I should seriously consider being on the Cougar Club Board of Directors!!! What??!!! I WOULD LOVE THAT!!!)

Jennie LOVES her cricut and made cute door thingies this year. Darling!!

Gotta have Cafe Rio . . . especially when they don't ever give you time to eat!

Kristie and I got a picture with Kirby Heyborne (The RM, Single's Ward, The Best Two Years, etc.) after Kristie was MIA when we got our group photo with him. Kirby has been a great friend of mine since 9th Grade and is married to one of my best friends in the whole world. It was really fun to see him and he did a great job as MC of the Thursday night concert.

2nd Grade Performance

2011-05-18T20:38:00.002-06:00

I'm so sad that I don't have more pictures of this, but Brianna performed in a little trio at her 2nd grade school program and she did such an amazing job! She has phenomenal pitch. So fun to see :)

Classic Fun Center

2011-05-18T19:50:00.002-06:00

My sister and her family came into town to take her oldest son to the MTC - while they were here, we decided to take all of our kids and go to Classic Fun Center for the day. It was a lot of fun, but kind of hard because of how busy my little ones are :)

Ice Skating

2011-05-18T19:42:00.001-06:00

I took Kelsea and Brianna ice skating awhile ago and they had a lot of fun. We went to the Olympic Oval and it was beyond amazing!

Basketball Game with Grandma

2011-05-18T19:40:00.001-06:00

Basketball game with Grandma Larson - we had a blast watching Jimmer!

Surprise Dance

2011-05-18T19:36:00.002-06:00

Awhile back, Brianna was invited to a 'dance' birthday party. Brianna has never taken dance and part of the party was for all the girls to make up a dance and perform for the parents at the end of the party. I had no idea Brianna could dance so well. Shortly after the party, we signed her up for clogging! SO exciting, especially since Jason and I were both competition cloggers! :)

Snack Time

2011-05-18T19:32:00.002-06:00

I had a great time tending my nephew and niece while my little sister had doctor's appointments toward the end of her pregnancy - it always involved snack time :)

I forgot

2011-05-14T19:02:00.002-06:00

I totally forgot to post this, but Kelsea went to a basketball camp with the Utah Flash players and she won the free throw contest in front of everyone. Proud mommy moment :) I remember when I went to the BYU Basketball Camp and won the One-on-one competition when I was a Junior in High School. I was SO surprised that I won and really excited about the plaque they gave me!

South Riding

2011-05-11T12:56:00.002-06:00

The new Masterpiece Theater movie, South Riding, is garbage - which is too bad because I love the cast. I will not be finishing the movie and the bad taste I have in my mouth with all the casual infidelity has made it so I don't even care how it ends. The world is TOO casual about sacred things - I'm disgusted!!

Funny Sayings

2011-05-09T10:38:00.004-06:00

I don't know why these strike me as funny, but they do.

I sang with Corbyn at his guitar recital on Friday and after it was over, I watched the video Jason took. As I watched it I made the comment, "Oh, man, Jason, I look so chubby - why didn't you tell me I'm so chubby?" Corbyn then quickly responded, "It's okay that you look chubby mom. At least you have your red coat." (I have a red jacket that Corbyn loves because he said it makes me look skinny.) Thanks Corbyn ;)

Yesterday, at my inlaws house, Corbyn came up to me and said, "Mom, I need to let a stinker because I'm full of air." I was talking to my sister-in-law at the time and we both giggled when Corbyn came back and said, "Okay, I'm done." He cracks me up!

Easter 2011

2011-05-04T11:23:00.005-06:00

Easter was a lot of fun this year. We decorated Easter Eggs for Family Night, then that Saturday morning we celebrated "Easter Bunny" Easter. (We like to ask the Easter Bunny to come on Friday night instead of Saturday night, so that we can focus more on the Savior's Resurrection Sunday morning. The kids love it because they get their baskets on Saturday and can go out and play with friends after - Candy Heaven!!). We stayed over night at my mom's and had a fun Easter egg hunt with all of my brothers and sisters and their families on Saturday. What a great time!

The Easter Bunny must shop at Old Navy ;)

Amber put these on in the morning and was like this the rest of the day - it was so darling!

Amber's Crash

2011-05-04T11:19:00.003-06:00

Amber taught herself how to ride a bike without training wheels and does really well. Brianna asked Amber if she wanted to ride down to the Church and Amber crashed. It was a sad moment for Amber, but she got over it quickly and was out riding her bike again in no time.