July 24, 2011

Minnesota Vacation 2011

Day 4
Today we reached the city of Cook, Minnesota. We were so happy!
We met grandma and grandpa Creswell at the Target in Virginia and gathered all our food for the cabin. Once we got our food and lunch, we headed for Elbow Lake where we would take a boat to the cabin. The last time we were here was 10 years ago and I still remember the mosquito that got trapped in my pants giving me 18 bites on my bum!
Once we got to the dock and loaded up the boat, we made our way across the lake to spend 4 days without cell phones, running water, electricity, and other modern conveniences.
It was so hot and humid that we broke a sweat just sitting in the shade. By evening we were all in the lake washing off the stink of the day and it sure felt good!
Adam loved fishing. Never ended up catching anything but got a couple of nibbles. Makinley enjoyed covering herself with mud from the lake and collecting slimy lily pads. Kennidy fell in love with the row boat and got really good at it by the end of the week. Ford and I got eatin alive from all the mosquitos. Thank goodness for grandma's Afterbite Itch Relief. Ford liked playing in the lake and giving grandma pinches.

Minnesota Vacation 2011

Day 3
We traveled across North Dakota to Moorehead, Minnesota.
We saw some really pretty land...green and simply beautiful but not without a price. We got out of the car for a bathroom break only to be smacked in the face with humidity! Blah! We were happy to get to Moorehead. The kids liked this pool the best. It had 2 big pool areas. A baby pool with a turtle and frog slide and a bigger pool with a ball hoop. We did laundry and had pizza for dinner. Very relaxing after a long day of travel.

Minnesota Vacation 2011

Day 2
Today we drove to Billings, Montana. But before we stopped there we went through Yellostone National Park.
Yellowstine was amazing! We stopped on the side of the road to take pics of a bald eagle perched in a tree, caribou grazing in a field, buffalo on the side of the road, and Old Faithful Geyser. We were all excited to see these animals up close and I think I took tons of pictures of buffalo! They are huge creatures. After lunch and experiencing a little part of Yellostone...we headed to Billings.
We got to our hotel and out came the swimsuits and towels! I have to say that this was the perfect way to end each day of our trip. All the kids looked forward to this!

Minnesota Vacation 2011

Day 1
Started out bright and early Sunday morning. We traveled 10 hours to Rexburg, Idaho. Brandon drove us around BYU - Idaho campus and showed us where he used to live. It was called Ricks College back in the day and much, much smaller. The entire town has grown so much since the '90s. The kids thought it was neat too see where dad went to college for a short while before moving to BYU - Provo. We also saw the temple that sits on a hill over looking Rexburg. It was really pretty and surprisingly bigger than expected.
The kids were happy to be out of the car and into the pool. The Springhill Suites in Rexburg were a favorite. They were totally groovy with their Retro designs.

July 01, 2011

Just the Girls...

I asked Lynda Thomassen, of Blue Lake Photos, if she would take me out for a photo lesson.  She takes amazing photos and was so great to help me.  I was just getting into photography when we moved from Utah, almost 4 years ago, and haven't done it since.  Just my family...dinkin around.  Lynda taught me some really interesting and useful tips!!!  Thanks so much, Lynda!




May 26, 2011

Math Olympics 2011

The end of the school years bring so many award ceremonies and events for the kids.  Today...was Math Olympics!  I was excited, once again, for Adam.  The first year we were here he wasn't all that excited about Math Olympics.  However, as the years have gone by his confidence in math has increased.  He is really good at math!  And Adam proved it today...getting 2nd place!  His friends, Ben and Timothy, got 1st and 3rd respectively.  Way to go, Adam.  Dad and I are so proud of you!


May 25, 2011

Super Students 2011

Last night we attended the Super Student Awards at DES.  Both Adam & Makinley were awarded Super Student of the Year...along with a bunch of other kids.  We are so proud of our children.  Every year they put all their efforts into making good choices and working hard.  We couldn't have asked for better kids that these.

May 01, 2011

Mammoth Anniversary Weekend

It's a good thing we had planned to go out of town for our anniversary because on our actual anniversary...we didn't even have time to go to dinner.  We didn't have time the evening after either!  But nothing was going to stand in our way this weekend.
We planned a Mammoth weekend with the Petersons and we were sooooooo excited!  We left Friday morning after dropping kids off at the Workmans (our kids may have been more excited to stay with the Workmans than we were to go to Mammoth.  They LOVE the Workmans and we are so glad they do because they are great friends).  
So we left (discovered a few things on the ride...our husbands want to get lost in the mountains somewhere as long as they have their bag of Cheetos, Tyler talks a lot because of Bridget, our kids do hilarious things, learn about kissing in kindergarten) and got into Mammoth about 1:30.  
We went to lunch.  Then to see if our hotel was available for early check in.  Our lucky day!  After dropping our luggage off, we decided a tour was in order.  We found some restaurants, over priced shops, and some outlet stores with some pretty good deals.  So we took advantage.  Brandon got a suit for $100.  Todd got some socks for $1.80.  I got my traditional magnet for $6.00 (not such a good deal).  And Bridget got some cool hiking/water shoes for 60% off!  I got locked out of the dressing room...with all my clothes on...and only the 4 of us know that story.  Todd found Brandon a t-shirt that read: Ski Naked.  It'll add color to your cheeks.  
When we were finished laughing, trying on clothes, and laughing some more...we headed to do some snow shoeing.  And laughed some more.  Full moons that could have been prevented if there was sun involved.  All that kind of good stuff.  






Snow Shoeing was soooooo fun.  We hiked straight up this steep hill that had a waterfall right in the middle of it.  It was so pretty.  The entire landscape was just so peaceful and gorgeous.
After our snow shoeing, Bridget was starving so we decided to go to Grumpy's Sports Bar.  The food was soooo good.  Bridget and I ordered the Cowgirl Steak.  It was the best steak I've had in a loooooooong time.  Medium rare and so tender.  Bridget and I were in steak heaven.  Don't even remember what the conversations were but I remember the steak!
We hurried back to the hotel because we wanted to get in the hot tubs!  It was so cold by the time we got back and I really didn't want to get into a bathing suit but it was totally worth it.  Almost too worth it.  Our bodies became so hot that none of us really slept well.  Now I'm not saying the hot tub was to blame...just maybe being in it too long was.
The next morning we got ready to brave the Mammoth Mountain!  SOOOoooo exciting!  And after purchasing our tickets and taking 30 mins to figure out our locker situation...we were finally on the slopes.  It was beautiful weather.  A bit windy in the morning but by 11 it was perfect.  I think we all took at least one good spill each.  I have a huge bruise on my knee cap to prove my wipeout.  But it was either wipeout or die!  Literally!  On one side of me was a cliff and on the other was an ice wall.  I chose to crash into the ice wall instead of going over the cliff!  I watched Todd wipeout!  It looked worse than he thought it was.  I didn't see Bridget or Brandon.  We had such a fun time and on the way home...we were quiet and sleeping.


Sunday morning I woke up with a sore neck.  But other than that I felt great.  Happy and content.  I really needed this get away.  Thanks, Petersons for going with us.  We had a great time.  

April 07, 2011

RuffledEdges Blog

My Shop blog, RuffledEdges, is up and running.  I am constantly adding new things.  Check it out and let me know what your reaction is.  
All orders are custom made.  Color and size choices are available.  Enjoy your visit!

April 06, 2011

Sweet Thank Yous

We used some of our tax return to buy some bigger bikes for 3 of our kids.  I love how they just seem to out grow everything at the same time.  
We needed to find new homes for their old bikes so I called Katy Gardner and asked if she knew anyone who could use them.  She said she did and so off they go to her garage.  It felt good to make some room in ours.
A few days later she came over with her kids and a yummy plate of chocolate dipped strawberries, marshmallows, pineapples, and graham crackers.  Travis, Trevor, and Kendra had drawn and written Thank You notes for the bikes!  They are soo sweet!  And so were those goodies!