Wishful thinking

I found these pictures of the kids playing in the snow two years ago. We had so much snow. I hope we get a ton more this year and get lots more fun pictures. They went outside twice yesterday and played in the snow which was the first snow of the season. However, Matt had my memory card at work and I could not get any pictures. Check out the fun these two had this day. Brings me back to the days where me and my friends would play outside for hours making igloos with giant buckets and having so much fun. I totally had a flash back the other day of me and my friend Jodi playing in my backyard. I remember it as if it were yesterday. It was almost dark outside and we were making a fort. I still remember the glow of the kitchen lights inside the house and my mom making dinner. She always made homemade chili the first time it snowed every year. She still does but I can't eat it anymore - stupid Celiac! Anyway, this memory made such an impression on me that I almost wished I could go back in time for that day and re-live that afternoon/evening. I remember being young and feeling like I couldn't wait to grow up. Now i wonder why I ever wished that. The moral of the story...take time to enjoy the moment! Make memories, take pictures, and enjoy the journey.

Veterans day

Caden did a really cute program at school for Veterans Day. The school invited a bunch of Veterans and they had them sit on the stage. They asked each of them to stand, share their name and where they served. It was amazing to see people that had been in World War 2 and people that had just barely been in for a year. They did a presentation about the flag and read the importance of why it is folded a certain way and what each fold means. They also had a new flag. One of the teachers there is serving in Afghanistan and she sent them a flag that had been flown in an F-16 during Iraqi freedom. They also sang a couple of songs and did sign language to one called "Thank a vet." I made a bunch of signs as part of my volunteer hours for the school and they were handed out to each of the vets along with a thank you note from a student attached to the back. We invited our neighbor Dana who is in the Air force to come and it was really a nice event and I hope all who came felt that they were honored and that we appreciate the sacrifices they have made in behalf of others. We need to all remember that freedom is not free and Thank a Vet.

Whatever happened to a thing called manners???

For some reason I have really been pondering this question lately. It seems as though no one possesses this rare quality anymore. We as parents need to be teaching our children this strange concept called "manners." I can't believe how many people don't have a common knowledge of this. For example: If you are walking through a door, and there is someone RIGHT behind you, do you hold the door open for that person to enter or simply let the door slam in that person's face? I see this happening more and more. The answer seems easy to me. There used to be time when a man would hold a door open for a woman - even if they didn't know them. What has happened? Do we really have so many feminists now that have put this message out there that "we can do things by ourselves" and we don't need these things? Well I think that is crap. My husband still holds doors for me or any other woman and we teach our boys to go up and open doors for women. A little common courtesy goes a long way. And whatever happened to saying "please and thank you?" Has it become taboo to use these phrases now? I cannot believe how many people don't do this, especially kids. Why are parents not teaching their kids to use good manners, be grateful for what you have, share with others, be kind? If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would love to hear them.

Days of our lives at the Love's

It has been a crazy, crazy month at the Love house. Where to start? My dad goes to see a kidney specialist on Tuesday to see what is going on with him. There is a chance that he may need a kidney biopsy to determine if he is in kidney failure. He has had a lot going on lately and we are trying to remain positive and take things one day at a time. My father-in-law had been sick throwing up and having high fevers. He thought he had the flu and decided he better get seen. He went down to the VA hospital and found that he did not have the flu but he had a severe infection in his foot. He has diabetes and cannot feel the bottom of his feet. I guess he injured it somehow and did not know it until the infection was so bad that they had to amputate his foot. The surgery went well. They amputated his leg from about 8 inches below the knee and down. He will need lot's of rehab but they are hopeful that he will adjust well to the prosthetic. My nephew was playing high school foot ball and got a concussion. He had an MRI and the doctor found out that he had a brain tumor. Good thing for the concussion! About a year ago he was kicked in the head by one of their horses and went to the doctor. They did an MRI then and the tumor was present but the radiologist missed it! It is a slow growing tumor and there is a good chance that it is not cancerous but it is still a serious surgery. He will have brain surgery on December 7th. My parents are going to fly to Oregon to be with them. They live about three hours from Portland where he will undergo this procedure. We have said lot's of prayers lately and would appreciate any thrown our way. We are trying to remain positive and know that when you get to the end of your rope, you just need to tie a knot and hold on!

Ten things I'm grateful for this week

1. An awesome date night with my hubby.
2. Twisted peppermint body cream from bath and body works.
3. The holidays - I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year.
4. A snowy day on Saturday - let it snow!
5. Doctors, medicine, and technology.
6. My nephews football concussion.
7. My father-in-law's surgery going well.
8. A family that supports each other during times of crisis.
9. Getting to celebrate Veterans day at Caden's school.
10. Gluten free foods in Layton - and their chicken noodle soup YUMMY!

Thought for the week

"Expectations are a down payment on resentment."

Caramel Apples

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. I love everything about it. I am very big on doing fall things. Hayrides, picking pumpkins, caramel apples, etc. Last Monday we made caramel apples. We unrapped the Kraft caramels one by one, and melted them on the stove, dipped the apples. The kids bought some sprinkles to put on them, but I did not think that they had to do it ASAP while they were still super hot or they wouldn't stick. So next time we will put on the decorations immediately. The kids had fun though and they were delicious!!!

Blue Diamonds

Caden is playing fall soccer this year. He is really good. He has played forward the entire season because he is so fast and just a little go getter. He is constantly trying to get control of the ball. He has scored 2 out of the 3 goals for his team this year. They haven't won any games yet but they have tied two and lost two. He is having fun and that's all that matters. He is lucky number 7.

The most amazing sight

The other night I was taking some clothes to Isaac's room. I walked passed the window and saw the most amazing sight. The moon was PINK! It was really hazy that day and I guess the smoke somehow made the moon look pink. It was absolutely incredible. I called the whole family outside and called my mom and some friends to go outside and look at it. The pictures do not do it justice.

Up, Up, and Away

I was home with Isaac the other day because his baby sitter Tonja was in Lake Powell. I walked by the window and happened to see a hot air balloon flying by the window. I yelled for Isaac to come see and we went out on the porch and took a picture. A couple minutes later, my friend Tara called. She had seen the balloon too and seen us on our porch looking at it. Her and her son chased it down and then called to see if we wanted to go get a closer look at it landing. She came and grabbed us (jammies and all) and we drove to where it was landing. We got there just as they were taking it down but still got some pictures of it. Isaac thought it was pretty cool.

My sweet Isaac

This picture pretty much sums up my sweet little Isaac. He has ALWAYS had a personality of his own and does things HIS way. I saw this shirt that says "Wanted for being a little rebel". I thought it was pretty funny when I saw that he had come home from Tonja's and he had this shirt on backwards. Proving that he is a little rebel. It was just so funny because he had no idea of the irony of the situation!

Happy birthday to me

I had an awesome birthday! We went out to dinner at Maddox with some friends and then took a road trip to Idaho to buy some lotto tickets. No luck on the power ball but it was still fun to wish and fun to just drive and talk. On the Friday before my birthday, Matt surprised me at work with a balloon bouquet and a dozen gluten free sugar cookies! It was a really nice surprise. Then, on my birthday morning which was Saturday, I had a present on my porch from my friend Jeralee. It was a cute box wrapped like a bed and it was a breakfast in bed. Inside was lot's of yummy gluten free treats for me. It was so nice of her. Around noon, the garage door opened. Matt had come home from work and surprised me again with a dozen chocolate covered strawberries that he had to special order for me. And then the whole family went out to Pier 49 for some awesome gluten free (at least mine was) pizza. It was so wonderful. In addition, I got a whole weekend to be lazy. That is what I asked for was to not do laundry or cook and just be lazy. Watched lots of chick flicks and laid around. Much needed, thanks honey!

Ten things I'm grateful for this week

1. My dad's health improving.
2. Having such a supportive husband when I have a "Celiac meltdown."
3. A new gluten free store opening in Layton!
4. Being able to take a hot shower everyday.
5. Having food in my pantry/fridge/freezer.
6. Caden being accepted to Syracuse Arts Academy.
7. Having enough energy to keep up with my household chores and working full time.
8. Fall on the horizon - it's my favorite time of year!
9. The awesome birthday that I had.
10. Caden surprising me by helping to clean the house.

Thought for the week

"What other people think of you is none of your business."

Fireworks and bar-b-que

A couple of weeks ago we had all my family over for a big bar-b-que. It was around the 24th and so we all pitched in and bought a bunch of fireworks. We had a lot of fun especially since my brother was visiting from Oregon. Matt had so much fun lighting the fireworks - little pyro. I think my sister-in-law had just as much fun as he did. We set off a gigantic grand finale. They lined up TONS of fireworks which took four people to light. Surprisingly no one got hurt and it will make for some good memories.

Conception park

Matt's brother is visiting from Arizona and they have been doing lots of activities. Today they went to Perception park and played in the river and had a picnic. Isaac told us last night that he was so excited to go to "conception park." Matt thinks there is probably more truth to that than we know!

The coolest invention EVER

We got a new sectional a couple weeks ago. We bought one last summer and had many problems with it and finally got a replacement one. It's a terribly long story but it for sure had a happy ending. Here is the short version: We bought it from RC Willey but we had to go through the manufacturer for warranty problems, which was Lane. Terrible customer service, terrible couch, terrible everything. Matt finally called RC and told them of the trouble we were having. They sent someone out to look at it and they had a whole list of repairs that should be done. Then they called us and said it would not be worth it because they would basically have to replace the whole thing and to come get a new one and they would match it penny for penny what we paid last summer. We picked one out. Read some consumer reviews and went back and got it. We had our old one gone, our new one delivered, and a check in the mail for the difference within one week! RC Willey gave us fabulous customer service and took care of us so well. They turned a horrible situation into one we couldn't be happier with. There are a few differences in the old and new couch but the main one is that this one has a hide-a-bed which my kids think is AMAZING! They want to sleep on it EVERY night and think it is the coolest thing EVER. Remember when simple things made us so happy?

Five a day

OK so I have decided to do something about all the negativity in the world. My solution is this. Start small. I am going to start a "five a day" program. I am going to start giving at least 5 compliments to 5 different people every day. How awesome is it when you're having a crappy day and someone compliments you? Nice shoes, cute hair, etc. Even a friendly "hello" can make someone's day. So my challenge is this: Start your five a day today! We've been told our whole lives to eat 5 frutis and veggies every day to keep our bodies healthy and strong. But what about our mental health? It is just as important. Be kind, try even complimenting people you may not necessarily like. Let's see what kind of a difference we can make in the lives of others. If any of you are willing to join me in this, please post your comments and let me know how good you feel making others feel good. Ready, set, go!

Ten things I'm grateful for this week

1. Having fun with family visiting this summer.
2. A comfortable bed to sleep in every night.
3. Soldiers fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others.
4. Summer fruits and veggies.
5. Pioneers for all their sacrifices.
6. Wal-mart for stocking a gluten free section - yeah!
7. The smell of fresh cut grass even though it makes me sneeze.
8. Good health.
9. Summer bar-b-ques with friends
10. The beauty of nature all around us.

Thought for the week

Life isn't tied with a bow but it's still a gift!

Sleeping beauties...

At this point in my life, I do not believe in sleepovers with friends. Call it my super paranoia or just my strong desire to protect my kids. Too many things can happen and so until I truly feel comfortable letting my kids sleep over at someone elses house or them having friends over here, we have late nights. The kids can have friends over, play, watch a movie, eat treats but then at 11:00 or bedtime, whichever comes first, friends all go home. However my kids like to have "sleepovers" in each others rooms and giggle and have fun. They think this is so fun and want to do this all the time. I went in to wake them up the other morning and this is what I found. Why are they always such angels when they are asleep?

Hair today gone tomorrow

Caden always wants us to buzz his hair. I happen to think it looks much cuter with a hair style. So, to compromise, I let him shave it the last day of school each year. This way it has a chance to grow back before school starts the next year. This year we decided to shave a little mohawk for fun. We sent him to the babysitters with it like that for kicks. When Caden came home I asked him what they said about his hair. He said "yeah they didn't like it so much." Tonja's daughter Kaitlin couldn't figure it out. She said it didn't even look good and she wanted to trim it for him. I laughed and said we just did it to see what people said and we were shaving it off that night. Caden was a little sad though :)

Happy Fathers Day

I wanted to take a second to say Happy Fathers Day to Matt. He is such an amazing dad. Both of my kids adore him and want to be just like him. From their mannerisms to their likes and dislikes, they want to be like daddy. Matt had such a hard life growing up and that is what makes it even more amazing that he is so great. He loves Caden and Isaac so much and would do anything for them. As we all know, there is a difference between being a father and being a daddy. He always has their best interest at heart. He teaches them things like mechanical stuff but also life lessons and cares about their education by giving them tools to help them learn. So much is uncertain in this world anymore but one thing is for sure and that is the fact that he is always there for the boys and he is always there for me. I truly do not know what I would do if he were ever not in my life and I thank God each day that I have him. He works hard to provide for them and does many things to create awesome memories that I hope they will never forget. I wish that every child had such a great Daddy. I want him to know just how much I appreciate all that he does for me because I don't always tell him. Happy Fathers Day Matt, I love you!

It's graduation day

Isaac had his pre-school graduation at the end of May. It was so cute and he did such a good job. Miss Tonja had a program and they had speaking parts and sang songs. It started with the pledge of allegiance. I think Isaac truly thinks that "please sit down" are the last three words! He won't believe me that it is not acually part of the pledge - oh well. He is really shy in front of people but did so good. He still has one more year of pre-school so this was more of an advancement program. Tonja's daughter Lindee made a really cute power point presentation with pictures of the kids throughout the year and it had music to it. Talk about bringing tears to your eyes. The first song on it was Let them be little by Billy Dean. I think that is what it's called. Anyway here are some pics of the big day.