Sarah's Photo Shoot

Sarah was given the opportunity to take some photos to help advertise a local photo studio.  We couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Here are a few of the results.  Does she really look like she's 10?

Hurricane Ike...Bring it on!

I guess my parents never watched television when I was a child, because we never packed up the car and headed north due to a hurricane or any other natural disaster.  I know Houston was hit hard by at least two hurricanes that I can remember growing up!  According to the most recent weather reports, Hurricane Ike should be heading directly for Tyler after it runs over Galveston and ransacks Houston tomorrow morning.  People here in Tyler are pretty much in a state of panic.  It's pretty fun to watch.  There is no more gas in certain parts of the city and according to reports there are no "D" batteries to be found.  YIKES!  Bryan came home early from work to hook up the sump pump in case our pool overflows and the back porch floods.  Don't worry he also found some bungee cords in the garage to secure other miscellaneous outdoor objects like the fence!!!  I just sat and rolled my eyes.  Poor Jacob has stored food and water in his closet in the event that IKE somehow takes off with our years supply of dehydrated delights in the storage room!  I'm trying not to make fun, but please folks, sit back, relax, and come get some wheat if you need some! 

School Has Started...My life is OVER!

No more sleepin in until 9am or watching the olympics until midnight! It's time to get up at the crack of dawn, make lunches, and sign my name 1000 times to the endless amounts of paper work the teachers send home! I am gearing up for my projects and book reports. Anyone have a good idea for science fair?

Soaking up the Sun in Destin

This will be our Christmas Card 2008...NOT!

As long as Emily was not in the ocean, off of the sand and eating treats, she didn't scream. She still cried A LOT and never did smile once. She pretty much hated the whole beach experience!
Jacob loved the water and got a good tan!
Emily loved the pool. Good thing we traveled so far to find one.
We had a great day at the water park.

The best part was that there were no jelly fish and Emily stayed happy the whole day!

We went boating one day to Crab Island. We had a great time. We found tons of hermit crabs.
Emily wasn't sure of the boat and she sure didn't like the life jacket!

We found lots of starfish.
Sarah even caught a jellyfish...YIKES!

The jelly fish were horrible this year! Luckily we had Jacob there to pee on all our stings.

At night time, we went down to the beach and searched for sandcrabs with flashlights.

The kids and Bryan caught a few.

We even caught a few blue crabs! This one is hanging onto one of the hermit crabs we caught.

To end our summer, we decided to take one last vacation. So... we packed up the car and loaded up the kids and drove all night long. After 10 very uncomfortable hours, we arrived in Destin. Our kids wasted no time, and quickly donned their suits and sprayed their sunscreen and were off to 5 days worth of fun in the sun with their friends. This is our second year to vacation in Destin. It is a huge hot spot for a lot of East Texans to vacation. When my three youngest kids were in kindergarten, their teacher, Mrs. Glover taught a beach unit. My kids had no idea what a beach even was. I was always apologetic to the teacher but would explain that I certainly was never impressed with the beach that I knew...Galveston. So, after a little bit of coaxing from friends, and as not to disappoint Mrs. Glover again, we decided to make sure Emily got to the beach before she started kindergarten. Destin is beautiful, nothing like Galveston. You can actually see your feet in the ocean. You don't have seaweed wrapped around your ankles or tar covering your body when you come out of the water. And most impressive, is the fact that the sand is white and soft. We all had a great time and enjoyed visiting with our friends and just relaxing. If Emily shapes up and decides to like sand, we may even return next year!

It is 100 degrees! I need to move!

When it's this hot, it's just easiest not to wear clothes!
I have no idea why I live in Texas (except for the fact that Bryan has a good job here and I really like all my friends here!) I hate the weather. I know that is strong language, but my feelings about the weather are strong! I went outside tonight at 10p.m. and it was still in the 90s. The humidity was so thick and the frogs were so loud that I felt like I was suffocating and going deaf at the same time. I would just like to say that I am thankful for my 3 air conditioners and my nicely insultated home. I must apologize to Bryan for the outrageous electric bill in July and August, but I refuse to sweat in my own house! I wonder if there is still snow on the mountains in Utah?

Fun Times in Utah

After our family reunion, we stayed at my brother's house for another week. We had so much fun. The kids played and hung out and I basically shopped. I would really recommend taking your 12 year old son on vacation with you because when you ask if he wants to go shopping with you or watch the kids he always picked the latter. Thanks Blake. You're great!

Our most beautiful stop was temple square. My flower beds look similar in my yard!!!
It's hard to believe Bryan and I stood in this same spot almost 17 years ago on our wedding day!
Emily just likes to be cute!

Jacob and Tyler spent every waking moment together. They never even fought, cried, or pouted. Obviously, they are boys!

Jet sking was so much fun but the water was freezing. That is why I put Sarah in front of me.
Tyler and Jacob loved soccer camp at BYU!

Of course the highlight of the week for Sarah was the Hannah Montana concert with her cousins! Strike a Pose Girls!

Aspen Grove

We are finally home from our fantastic vacation to Utah and Aspen Grove. We had such a great time.. It has taken a little while to adjust to temperatures and routines (or lack thereof) back home, but we are glad to be sleeping in our own beds again. After hours of sorting through literally hundreds of photos we pulled out a few to show some of the highlights of our trip.


These are just of a few of the mandatory family photos that had to be taken for Grandma. It wasn't nearly as painful as previous years!

Some of us hiked up to the falls on hike day. Going up was challenging, but coming down was a peice of cake, until Hannah suggested that we run. It was really fun until the next day, when I couldn't walk because my shins were destroyed!
Crossing this log was so scary. It was harder than the hike. Notice the snow still on the mountains.
We counted about 10 water falls. We only made it to the first two!

Jacob fished with his cousins. He never caught anything, but it wasn't due to lack of trying. Maybe the fish didn't like his leftover turkey and cheese sandwich!
Badmitton was a hit with Emily!
Sarah celebrated her 10th birtday at Aspen Grove. She received a very fancy BYU cake! It tasted just as good as it looks!

OK...here is a picture of the fearless adults that climbed the wall. Please notice that Jonathan and I are the only ones in our thirties(almost 40s). The rest of the babies are 20 or below!!!!

Blake climbed the wall like superman and then he walked the tight rope wires!
I know this wall dosen't look too challenging. You just had to be there. This is my first attempt. I had to make sure I could do it before I challenged everyone else!
One of my long term goals is to climb the wall again in 4 years. I know...I don't aspire to much!

Bryan, Jonathan, Chris, Jon, and Chad played paint ball. It looked fun but they said it was painful. They look kind of scary.
Aspen Folies...it took these kids like 25 tries to get these skies to move 10 feet! Pitiful!
Bryan and Jonathan won the horseshoe tournament. Dad would be proud!

Tyler and Jacob were inseperable. We all ate tons of ice-cream! At least one serving a day...sometimes two!
Emily loved eating candy wherever she could find it...even off the ground. YUM!
Bryan tried the double scoop of icecream. It was huge!. He had to throw half of it away! A first for him!