Saturday, February 7, 2015

2 year Sabbatical

Jared said to me last night, "Why don't you blog anymore? It was the only record of our life!"  It's true, I was pretty good at doing at least a monthly update, and I turned each year into a book.  So I need to start again.

What happens in two years?  With a family of 8, a lot.  Kids are all older and wiser, maybe Jared & I too.  Kelsey is employed and driving, and getting closer to graduation.  Emma is old enough for her learners permit, has taken/is taking voice and guitar lessons, and has braces.  Ashton also is in braces, became a deacon, and loves nothing more than to be with his friends.  Conner is 10, got a phone for Christmas, still loves soccer & teasing Mallory.  Mal was baptized last year, loves doing anything with Whitney (Jamie's girl) or her big sisters, and is excited to start playing soccer.  Sophie is 5 years old & full of random questions & remarks, can write her name and most of her numbers.  She LOVES school.  After a year on a wait list to see a geneticist at the UofU, we finally have an appointment for next week!

Jared is still the EQ president, I'm still in Young Womens.  We are busy as every with work & family.  I also started a second job at a place called Innoflations that my friend owns, some of which I can do from home.
 We spent Thanksgiving week in California for soccer, see friends & visit Disneyland

 We got a new dog in September!  She is a Boston Terrier (best dog!), her name is Pita.  It's sad to see these photos, she's so big now, bigger than Abbie.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Big post with lots of catching up!



So....I left of after Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately my Christmas pictures are on my old computer (got a new one beginning of Jan) and I don't have access to them....yet.  Christmas was different.  Kids all slept together like they always do, got up around 7:00am.  Around 8:00am our phone rang & it was a call from Wyoming.  One of Jared's properties there flooded.  A main water line broke underneath his Office Depot and flooded the store so badly that product had been pushed out into the parking lot.  So someone called the police & the police got ahold of Jared.  He went into his office & shut the door to take care of business.  It was really awful!  Jared's favorite day of the year was ruined.  And he's still dealing with this flood months later and will be for months to come.  The building has to be rebuilt basically.  


Anyway......


 Sophie's eyebrow met a doorknob hard (guilty parties = Conner & Mallory).  3 stitches.  Getting those 3 stitches in was DIFFICULT.  She wasn't having any of that & she let me, the doctor & nurses know it.  I took the stitches out myself!  They told me to come back in after 2 days for a "wound check" (I was pretty confident in my mom skills that I wasn't going to do that.  I think I can tell if it's infected or not AND save myself another copay thank you very much!) and then to come in 3 days after that to get the stitches out.  Then Monica told me taking stitches out is easy & she took hers out herself.  I figured if Monica can handle it I can too.  Save myself another copay and, more importantly, having to hold Soph down kicking and screaming while they snip them out.  So one day Sophie happened to fall asleep on the couch.  Saw my opportunity and took it! She slept through it all.  Yes!  Very, very easy.  (to take out, not put in!)
 Some of Ashton's teammates decided to participate in a futsal tournament at the Utah Sports Lodge.  They ended up taking 1st!  Their last game was AWESOME.  It was like they were playing with one brain.  They just kept slamming those shots in.  It was great.  Conner's team played too!  They took third and played their little hearts out.  It made for a very busy weekend!

 Emma was in Union Middle School's "High School Musical Jr." production.  She loved it!  She is our musical one!  Always sings in the shower.  Has her headphones on a lot.  Wants to learn piano, guitar, etc.  Even though she was in the ensemble cast, it's a lot of work & time!  Everyday after school for what felt like forever.  But she really enjoyed it and I'm sure she'll be in every play, every year until she graduates high school.  =]

 Kelsey & her friend Mariah earned second prize at Union's science fair.  Lost at district, but Kelsey didn't care.  They are two bright little ladies.  


 We went one weekend night to see my brother Neil's band play together at a place called Geppetto's.  I was really excited to go, and am biased & thought they were great.  We took Seth & Monica with us & Seth said they were awesome and they "could tour".  So, Neil, maybe you've found a new job after all?


Aren't Sunday naps the best!?!  I loved finding this duo asleep together on the recliner.  Sophie loves her Emma, and everyone loves Sophie!  
So, so cute.  


The next five pictures are from our trip to St. George over President's Day weekend.  Both Ashton & Conner's team were participating in the tournament there.  The kids were all excited to get away for a weekend & enjoy some nice weather.  It was such a fun trip, we didn't want to come home!  

 We stayed in a friends vacation home and had the place to ourselves.  It totally made the trip.  The kids loved the house, Conner & Mal kept asking if we could move there.  They had so much room to run around and could have had their own bedrooms if they wanted.  It also had a huge yard, so they were in heaven.  Soccer?  What soccer?  We just wanted to stay at the house the whole time.




 Jared's lawyer friend invited us to a ledge box at Rio Tinto to watch Real Salt Lake play the Colorado Rapids (or, as we like to call them, the Colorado Crapids=]).  We just happened to be right by Ashton & some of his friends who were there for a birthday party for one of his teammates.  Jared & I were getting a kick out of Ashton, Matt (the lawyer) too.  Ashton takes it all very seriously, watches intently and cheers loudly.  

In other news!!  I was called as 1st counselor in the Young Women's presidency of our ward.  I've never been in YW (as an adult anyway!).  I'm excited and & I think Kels & Emma are excited to have me at camp.  Jared & I have also been asked to go to Youth Conf. as a 'Lehi & Sariah'.  Also something new for us.  We're excited! Jared said, "We're going to have to bring a lot of Diet Coke."  

Kelsey's going to try out for the Hillcrest Volleyball team (who knew!?), so every Wednesday she goes from Union to Hillcrest to the volleyball teams open gym.  Well this week her phone was stolen out of her backpack while she was there.  Makes me so mad!! My mom keeps reminding me: "It's just a phone.  At least she didn't wreck your car or something".  Perspective, that's what Linda is good at.  =]

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Holiday times

We got to spend this year's Thanksgiving with my family at our house.  Jared absolutely LOVES gearing up for Thanksgiving and was collecting recipes for a month before, even trying some out to see if they were worthy of Thanksgiving meal.  I keep waiting for him to get tired of cooking, but it hasn't happened yet.

Here's our turkey brine.  Did that two days before I think?  You boil this mixture up, let it cool, then you put the turkey in a big bucket and pour this, apple cider, ice and water in with it.  It makes for such a yummy turkey!
 What's that Conner's eating?  A snake?  Jared used our apple peeler for the apple pies, well Conner was eating the apple peels all up.  Funny kid!
 Two Apple crumb pies done

 Chow time! We had turkey, ham, two kinds of stuffing, veggies, crackers & dip, potatoes, carrots, green beans, sweet potato souffle, rolls, salads....lots of desserts.  Lots and lots of grub!


 Dad brought these for the table, painted by Grandma Hibbert in 1981.
 My Mom made these name card goody bags for everyone.
 Kelsey ended up collecting the stickers to embellish her sweater. =]

 Dad brought slides to watch while we digested. 
 This is Sophie at about 7:00.  Turkey nap!
 Playing Just Dance with cousins


Before Thanksgiving we got a huge storm.  It just snowed & snowed for 2 days.  It's all long gone now.  Hoping we get more for Christmas!

 We went with Jamie & kids & Bergman's to watch Santa arrive at City Creek on Nov. 15th.

 For FHE on Dec. 3rd we took the kids down to see the lights at Temple Square and the candy windows at City Creek.  


Emma's a TEENAGER

 Emma turned 13 on Monday, Nov. 26th!  We let her have her gifts the Sunday before, and had the "grandparents" over for dinner that day too.  Her friends decorated her locker, and we went to our favorite place, La Costa, for dinner Monday night.  She is such a good girl - beautiful inside and out!










I love my girl!

Last Real game of the season

*sigh* Real Salt Lake's last game of the season.  We were hoping it wouldn't be.  It was a playoff game against the Seattle Sounders and we lost 1-0.  Oh well.  Many boys on Ashton's team go to each game, but we got tickets just for this game because I arranged for the team to go out on the field just before the match for the "Parade of Kings".  It was windy & cold!  This was just before we got that huge storm that dumped over a foot of snow. 

 Real's mascot, Leo the Lion

 The crazy south section threw streamers at the start of the match.  With the wind they all took off.  It was SO cool!
Flag getting passed along over head.