Fall Fun!

Emma & Mia having a great time playing with the neighbors in the leaves. We love the fall!

New family pics!

What big girls - growin like weeds!

Happy Anniversary...35 Years!

My mom and dad celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on July 6th this year. I decided that it would be nice to invite a few of their friends over for a bar-b-q to help them celebrate. Miland and I worked hard on the house and the yard to get ready for the party. I had a fun time decorating the backyard for the event. Everything went off without a hitch and I think that a fun time was had by all.

Take me out to the Ball Game!

We went with some friends to see a Raptors baseball game in Ogden. We had a great time yelling and screaming, eating our baseball junk food, and watching the Raptors play a great game!

First Day of School

Emma looks too grown up in her new outfit for school. She started second grade two weeks ago. She loves her new teacher and has already gone on a field trip. She is working hard on her reading and math and is very excited to be in school again. (I am very excited to have her back in school again, we spent two weeks of summer doing as much as we possibly could while she was off and it is nice to get back into a routine again.)

Oh the fruits of our labor. Potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and peppers from our garden! Don't they look yummy!

Train ridin'

So.... I have been a little behind on getting some posts on here, the summer is busy, I am starting a new job and I have been planning a 35th wedding anniversary party for my parents. I thought that I would take a litte time to put a few things on here. Barbara, Em and Mimi went on the Front Runner down to Gateway. We had lunch and did some shopping. We had a good time. We walked Mimi's legs right off. This picture was taken while we were on the train, headed down there of course... they are all full of energy and excited to be going, the ride home was a little different, we were all tired and ready for a nap!

Mmmm! The sweet taste of summer!

We had a ton of beautiful ripe strawberries in our back yard. We picked them and Miland cleaned them up and cut them up to make this georgeous strawberry pie. He made the crust by scratch and everything. It was so yummy. Emma is the photographer on this, she does a pretty good job (minus cutting Miland's head off a bit, but I guess that it is hard to point the camera that tall when you are only 7). Thanks for the yummy pie!

Last weekend we packed up the whole family and went to Strawberry reservoir. We had a great time, but it was wet and a little cold. We went with the family of Emma's friend Mitchell. The girls had a great time hiking and going in the boat. I love spending time with the family.

Weight Watchers Update...

I started to write this post, and now it is July 4th and I have been doing Weight watchers for 5 weeks now and have lost 13.4 pounds... add that to the 15 I had lost since December and I have now lost 28.4 pounds! I am so excited. The last time that I had lost this much weight was my senior year in high school. I am going to keep on trucking... want to make my 15 lb mark by my next weigh in! Wish me luck... it is so hard not to eat all the fun BBQ foods!

Weight just a minute!

So... I finally decided, with the push from our health insurance,to work on being healthier. I joined Weight Watchers and have made a real effort to begin an exercise routine... however, while doing my first yoga class, I twisted funny and hurt my back once again. I feel so dumb and am frustrated with myself. I know that it will heal, as it already is starting to feel better, but it is difficult to have to cut back on my activity already. I lost 7 lbs my first week at Weight Watchers, injured myself the beginning of my second week and gained back .6 lb. I know that isn't that big of a deal, but the goal here is to go down each week. My dad has lost nearly 45 lbs in 16 months and I hope that I can do as well as he has. I had to write this all out so that I can get over myself and get on with it. Wish me luck!

My Goodbye to "Motorcycle Dave"

I am writing this post on my blog to say goodbye to my employer and friend of six years. My family and I left for vacation to Seaside Oregon to have fun on the beach for a week on Friday May 15th. I took in the payroll to Dave as we headed out of town, not knowing that it would be the last time I would see him. On Sunday, as we were looking at the beautiful Multnoma falls in Oregon, only an hour or so away from our destination, Josh, Dave's son called me and told me that his dad died Saturday night out at the Knolls while riding his ATV. Apparently, he was trying to go up an embankment too fast and rolled his Tyrex. The roll bar crushed in and according to the coroner, Dave died from "Extreme Whiplash" or I guess it is something just short of a broken neck. I was devastated. Dave made me crazy some days with his wacky finance strategies, but never failed to make me laugh. He told me things would be okay when I was stressing, and enjoyed seeing my girls twice a week. His shop was a huge part of my life for 6 years and I am having a hard time trying to come to the realization that my friend and my job are now gone. I am so grateful to have worked for Dave, he gave me the chance to stay at home to raise my girls while earning a paycheck. I missed his memorial service because we were in Oregon, and it was so hard for me, not being able to say goodbye. I had to pack up all of his files and take them to his son, sister and ex-wife for them to try to figure out what to do now. I see a lesson in this... be prepared. Dave had no life insurance, no co-signers on any of his bank accounts, no will or trust, no list of his debtors, he really left his family no clue where to start to close his business. Now it is going to take lawyers and time to get all of his things sorted out. If I can say anything to everyone out there it is: Please think of the future and your family and friends. Make sure that people know what you want and where your documents are. If you are not organized in any part of your life, make sure that you are in this one part. Nobody likes to think about their death, but it is so important that you do and prepare for it. I'll miss you Dave and I know that you went out the way you wanted to... having fun! Love ya!

Happy Birthday to my Big Girl!

My Emma was born 7 years ago today. I was kidding with her yesterday and told her that I was going to wake her up at 3:24 am to tell her happy birthday since that is the time that she was born. She did not like that idea very much. Funny thing is... Mia woke up at 3:30 this morning and had to come in to tell us that her diaper had leaked and she needed to be changed and her bed changed. Hilarious, we were all awake except Emma. I remember how long we had to wait to have this precious child come into our lives. I am grateful to her birthmother for making the decision to place Emma with us. We love her (stubborness and all) and are so happy to have her in our family. I can't believe how fast our kids grow. They always said that you blink and your children will be grown... but I never believed it, especially when you think that some days will never end, but it is the truth. I love you Emma and I am so happy that you are my daughter.

Emma's Learning to Ride a Big Bike

We have been trying to help Emma learn how to ride a big bike with no training wheels. Wow, I never knew how frustrating that could be! She is doing well though, she just has trouble getting started. Hopefully the whole family can go on some good bike rides this summer. Of course Mia will have to ride in the trunk.

Workin Hard in the Yard!

I have been working hard to make our yard look nice. I replaced our weed patch with some nice garden boxes and some bark. Hopefully there will be no more weeds, only yummy vegetables.

Scrap it!

I had a great weekend! I got to go up to Wolfcreek with my mom and grandma and spend Saturday and Sunday scrapbooking, watching chick flicks and just hangin' out. It was so nice to have that time to relax and just worry about me. I also have 15 new pages in my scrapbook, (I'm now up to Emma's first Halloween, she was 5 months old. Only 6 1/2 years left to catch up on. ) Miland took the girls to the zoo on Saturday. Emma has an animal report to do, so he calls the zoo visit "research". They said that they had a good time. Mia tells everyone that looks at her that they went to the zoo and saw the tigers.
I wanted to write a little about my cousin Philip. My aunt Peg (Philip's mom) was supposed to be with us this weekend, but had to go back to Alaska unexpectedly. My cousin Philip was having headaches and went to the Dr, and they found a brain tumor. He was flown down to Ancorage from Fairbanks and they put a shunt in his head to drain the fluid/swelling and relieve the pressure. He is back home in Fairbanks waiting for news from a Dr. in Seattle. They have some sort of Gamma Ray that can zap brain tumors with one treatment. I'm sure that the waiting is so hard. We think about Philip and his family alot and hope that he gets the very best treatment in Seattle. I also wanted to say congrats on the wedding! Our prayers are with him and all of his family.

Weekend in Idaho

We went up to Paul Idaho to visit my Grandma Renz (also known as Grandma Great). We took my niece Chloe with us, and we had a good time. We went to Twin Falls on Saturday. We watched the crazy guys base jump off of the bridge that takes you into town that goes over the Snake River Gorge. It is a beautiful canyon. It was windy, but fun to watch the dare-devils go nuts off of the bridge. We went shopping at the mall, had lunch at Applebees and then went to see the Shoshone Falls. (also known as the Niagra Falls of the West) They havn't opened the spillway, so the falls weren't all big and grand, but they were still pretty. I'm glad that we went to visist my grandma, this time is precious.

Oh so Wicked in San Francisco!

My sweet husband bought tickets for he and I to go to San Francisco and see Wicked. We went last weekend and saw it... and it was FABULOUS!! I had tears in my eyes nearly the whole 3 hours. If you ever get the chance to see a broadway show, with a broadway cast... you have to do it, there is no experience like it. We got to do a whole bunch of other fun things like go to fishermans warf, visit Alcatraz, go over the Golden Gate Bridge, visit China Town, walk (carefully) down Lomard Street, jump a ride on the Trolly Car and shop in the Famous Union Square area. We packed as much as we possibly could in our 3 days of bliss! We stayed at a nice local hotel called the Milano. It was on 5th and Jessie, right downtown in the thick of it. We were within walking distance to just about everything, and if we were not, we were only a block away from the transportation hub. It is a fun town, some very interesting people there... but fun! I enjoyed spending time with my husband, just being a couple. I am so lucky!

March for Babies

Hi Everyone!
It has been a while since I have posted anything. Linda usually does all of our blogging. It is that time of year again for the March of Dimes, March for Babies. On the right side of our blog you will find a link where you can donate. If that is not enough of a persuasion please read on.

Our family has been affected by prematurity and birth defects more than once. My sister Trudy was born with a lethal heart defect. My sister Emma was also born with a severe form of spina bifida with hydrocephalus which was also lethal. Our nephew Boston was born at 32 weeks and spent weeks in the NICU. Amelia also spent a few days in the NICU due to complications.

Needless to say, birth defects and prematurity can be devistating to a family and they can affect any family - even ours. The March of Dimes is one of the few advocacy groups out there fighting for birth defects and prematurity.

I know that times are hard, but I would ask you to please follow the link on the right and give to the March of Dimes this year. You don't need to give a lot. Every little bit helps.

Please let me know if you have any questions about birth defects or prematurity in Utah. I could go on for days.

Thanks for reading - and thank you for your donation!
Miland

The ROOT of all evil!

So I had to write my little "oh poor me" post. I had a tooth ache 2 weeks ago and thought that it was just sinus pressure ( as it has been before). So after 3 days I decided to call the dentist. I called and he told me that he thought that I needed to have a root canal done. I freaked out. Going to the dentist is one of those things that I can not handle well... so anyway. I made an appointment with and Endodontist (Dr. Chad Christensen, in Syracuse for anyone who need a great one) and had the root canal done one Thursday, 5 days after the initial pain started. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to have it done, but after, not so fun. The pain was not good, there are all kinds of bacteria that form in the tooth, and when exposed to air, they go nuts. So on Saturday, when I had been in tears for a few hours, Miland called the dentist and asked what to do. He said to come in and he would help. He had to drill my tooth down so that it wouldn't hit everytime I tried to close my mouth. He gave me some good drugs for a few days and and antibiotic. Well, I am alergic to everything and so of course this antibiotic made me sick. It was a slow build up of stomach discomfort and then turned into awful heartburn and indegestion. I finally realized (on the 6th day of taking it) that it was the antibiotic that was making me sick. I got sick and vomited so hard that I burst blood vessels in my eye and in my face around both eyes, on my forehead and on my cheeks. That is attractive. I am feeling much better now, only a fell blood vessels not healed up yet. All of this because of a little tooth. I still have to go back to get the root canal finished and have a cap put on! I am not looking forward to that.

Here fishy fishy fishy!

We decided to go ice fishing with mamas and papa on Sunday. We went to Farmington Pond. The ice was still really thick for February, (or else there is no way I was stepping foot out there) Mia was having a great time looking down the hole waiting to see a fish. Last time we went fishing the fish were up near the ice and if you looked down the hole you could see the fish swimming around. Emma had fun playing in the snow and the slush. She sat in the snow until it soaked her clean through. It was a very nice day outside, the sun was shining and we didn't have any snow. Papa caught a fish while we were there, which was fun for the girls to see... we kissed it and put it back. Papa won the first-fish dollar. When every the guys go fishing, whoever catches the first fish gets a dollar from everyone who is fishing. It makes it fun. I love to go do things with the girls and make memories. This was a fun thing to go and do that the kids love. We are outdoors people... so hopefully the girls will still like the outdoors when they get older. The Sunday before, mamas and papa took the girls out to Antelope Island and they got to see the buffalo and chickens and other various wild life out there. Mia did nothing but talk about the "buffalos and chickens on the island". She had to tell everyone about it. How lucky we are to have our parents close to spend time with our children.

Fresh Air

In the valley we experience a horrible thing during the winter months called an inversion. The high pressure in the upper atmosphere holds down all of the bad air until we have a lovely smog hanging around every day all day. The only way to get around the ick is to go up into the mountains and enjoy the fresh air. We have been pretty lucky to only have a week or so of the smog this winter, but it is still gross and makes it hard to breath. We decided to go for a drive up the canyon to get our clean air. It was georgeous up there. We love Snowbasin, so we went up there to watch people ski and enjoy the sunshine and blue sky. When we got there all the lots were full, but we managed to find a spot to park. They have a fun tubing hill. We sent Emma down just once to the tune of $5 each ride down. She had a great time though and we hope to go spend a day up there letting her go up and down the hill till she's ready to fall over. We had a great time there, looked into lessons for Emma, it costs about $65 for a 2 hour lesson and $15 to rent equipment. A little much for us to afford right now. A full day lift pass costs $68 dollars, we considered Miland getting a lift pass and teaching her himself, but they recomend getting the lessons.

Anyway, it was a good afternoon! We can't wait to go up there again!

Bubbles bubbles everywhere!!

Ever wonder how they get so may bubbles in the tubs to cover the actresses in the movies? I know one way. All you have to do is but a lid full of bubble bath in the tub and turn on your jets... before you know it you have 10 inches of bubbles on top of the water and children getting lost in them. The girls thought that it was a great thing and now want to take the super bubble bath all the time. (it takes forever to wash all the bubbles down, so I don't recomend it unless you have half an hour to wash the tub out after)

Ahh... a New Year!

We had a New Years party that was going to be a few people to play games and hang out (by few people... I mean Gary and Dana and fam, as well as my mom and dad). Well, turns out that a few others had no plans for the night so we just kept inviting and ended up with 22 people at our house! We had a blast! We ordered chinese food from Dragon hill and it was yummy! I was afraid that we would not have enough food, but we had so much left over that we have been eating it for four days. We played games ate tons of junk and had a great time. We still can't believe that 2008 is over. We are grateful for all that we have, for our jobs, for our health and for our family and friends. We are so glad that we were able to fill our house with so much love with our family and friends. We only hope that 2009 will be better than the last year!