Labor Day Hike

Hannah loved the backseat ride.
Kara and Ty were real troopers helpin carry the load and never complaining.

What better way to spend Labor Day than hiking to Stuart Falls near Aspen Grove. My neighbor, Andrea Leifson and I happened to meet outside Saturday morning both thinking that we needed to inspire a family activity that day. The problem was that we had little time to be inspirational because we had to work with a schedule. Neither one of our husbands were extremely excited at the prospect of going on a hike due to the fact that the BYU game and UTAH game were on that day. But Andrea and I used every trick we knew. We even convinced our neighbors, the Tanners, to come along. Ashlee Tanner and I had to promise Brad and Brent that we would be back in time for the 4:00pm kick-off. The trek is 2 miles there and of course 2 miles back. Jenna surprised us all by walking the whole way to the falls with the exception of a small rock slide area. Needless to say, trying to get her little short legs to hike back was another story. Good thing we brought dad along, however reluctant. He did the job and carried Jenna on the return trip. You see, he had motivation. The trip to the Falls took longer than expected which meant we were there long enough to snarf down our sandwiches and start back. Time was of the essence because the ever important kick-off to the opening BYU Football game was at stake. Dirty--yes. Hard--yes. Fun--YES!!! And we made it back in time for the kick-off with literally 30 seconds to spare. What a fun day.

Now for the Rest of US

Jenna fell asleep while waiting in line for this ride. They had to wait over an hour for this ride and Brent determined it was not quite worth the tears.
Jason, Corry, Bryant, Bubba, Carolyn and Kara on the "Rattlesnake Rapids"
Jenna and TyTy. She and Tyler have a very special bond.
Lunch Time at Lagoon or as Jenna says, "Da Goon"
Brent, Jenna, Hannah and I went for a ride on the ferris wheel. Who knew Brent was so terrified of heights. :-)
Jenna was quite the dare devil, riding everything she was tall enough to ride.
The Cute Girls--need I say more
Ty, Jenna, and Mom on the "freefall" for little kids. LOVE YOU!!!

Just so you know, there are other important members in this family besides Jenna. We had so much fun this summer having Kara and Ty here. Everything seemed to fall into place.

Princess Jenna and Princess Liberty

Playground fun

Monkeys through and through

Libby and Jenna at Thanksgiving Point

Ashley and Brad were kind enough to invite Jenna, Hannah, and me along for a visit to the beautiful Tulip gardens at Thanksgiving Point. We had a blast rolling down hills, smelling flowers and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Best Friends--Libby's Birthday party at Kangaroo Zoo

Libby Tanner and Jenna are best buds. They love to play with each other whether its "Princesses at a Tea Party", "Park Monkeys", or slip and slide outside. Here are a few pictures of their fun summer.

HERE IT IS

The Always Elusive Family Portrait

Two weeks ago Brent and I decided to try for the ultimate: a family portrait where everyone is smiling, happy, and looking at the camera. I planned the outfits, arranged the time for late evening, and everything was going as planned UNTIL two hours before the scheduled time, our 6 year old neighbor decided to play hair dresser with Jenna. With butchered bangs and random locks, I wasn't sure what to do. Brent wanted to cancel the whole thing, but I didn't want to wait another year. My friend, Ashley Tanner rushed home for work just in time to work miracles with Jenna's hair. All in all, it wasn't so bad. Hannah went first, as Jenna was a little grumpy, and did beautifully. She promptly fell asleep. Jenna finally warmed up with some smiles and Kara and Tyler were regular models. We had to wake Hannah up to finish our family pics, but it was all worth it. Love you guys.

Sliding Rock

My Favorite Place of all has turned into one of Kara and Ty's favorite places to visit. Sliding Rock is freezing Cold but full of fun.

My Trip

Thanks to Larry H. Miller, I was able to travel to Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland to visit many historical landmarks and learn from some very distinguished professors from Weber State University (Dr. Sessions and Dr. Sadler). It truly is an amazing experience to travel with people who share your passion for history and who love to experience it. It was a lot of fun but bittersweet. I would have loved to take my children and show them the sites and share my love of history. I feel indebted to Mr. Miller who values education and appreciates teachers and is willing to spend the money to allow us opportunities to improve our teaching in the classroom.

Thanks Kara

Wow! What a busy summer. Thank goodness for all of the help I received from Kara and Tyler while staying in Georgia. Kara even attempted to keep up the blog and help me out so that we stayed updated.