THE PERKINS CLAN

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T14:25:00.001-06:00

It was a Happy Mother's Day...my Mom and Gordon came to visit and we enjoyed a great weekend. It went by way to fast. We went for a very yummy brunch this morning and are so full. My girls are getting too grown up. It was a great day!!!

Few Pics

2011-04-08T20:22:00.002-06:00

These are some pics just to quick update...I don't have many recent ones downloaded yet from my camera. I added our lovely April snow, Sophie and I made cupcakes for Valentine's in February, Samantha also was invited to participate in a Writer's Fest at USU and did an amazing job and then Sophie and I at Dr. Seuss Night...

Finally....an update

2011-04-08T19:23:00.004-06:00

Well I can't believe that it has been almost 3 months since I posted anything...where does the time go? One thing is for sure, we are MORE THAN READY for Spring to be here and to get rid of this awful snow. The girls have been on spring break this week, not that it has acted like spring at all. It has snowed almost the entire time and we have like 2-3 inches on the ground right now...I will post some pictures. The quarter just ended for the girls in school and they are doing awesome...Samantha got straight A's and is very proud of that...the entire year she has had straight A's and only 2 B's that she was only a point away from A's. Sophie is also doing really well and has a loved her new school. She has a male teacher this year that is "old school" and she has thrived with him. Sophie is also in soccer now and has her first game next week - let's hope the weather cooperates. Samantha loves her friends and spends lots of time with them and I can't believe she will be an "official" teenager this year. I had to laugh as in February, I decided for kicks and giggles to see how many texts that Samantha had as we have unlimited texting on our plan, but I was curious as she texts her friends all the time and they text her the same. To be fair, I text more than call myself so I was curious for myself as well. In February, Mark had like 250, I had like 1500 and yes, Samantha took it home with almost 6000 texts in one month...

I thought I would update you too that I am so excited, I have continued working out and doing Cross Fit and I absolutely love it...I am hooked! I started in January and am in my 4th month and I am finally seeing results...I guess I must be building muscle as I truly have not lost that much weight, but I measured yesterday and am proud to say I have lost 2-4 inches in the places that I wanted to....YEAH FOR ME!!! I have found my new love...it's awesome.

Most of you probably know, but I earned my Mediterranean Cruise with Cookie Lee and I leave in a month and can hardly wait...it is truly going to be a trip of a lifetime! We leave on May 18th and fly to Paris and will spend 3 days in Paris and then fly to Barcelona and get on the ship...we have stops in Florence, Rome and Naples where we hit Pompeii and Capri and then another Spanish port before returning to Barcelona where we will also have an extra day and then fly home on Monday, May 30th....I pretty much will have exhausted my vacation time so I will land if all goes well in SLC at 8:45 PM and then I have to drive back to Logan and then with time change, jet lag and exhaustion, I have to go back to work on Tuesday...YES, I WILL BE EXHAUSTED...

Anyway, life is always crazy busy, but we are all doing great and the girls are getting so big and growing way too fast. I will try and post some pictures soon.

Meeting my New Year's Resolution

2011-01-20T19:54:00.003-07:00

Well I finally reached my "icing on the cake" and had no more excuses, I just HAD to make exercising part of my daily routine no matter what. SO, starting the first week of January, I went for it and I am so proud of myself...I'm still doing it!!! I've made it 2 weeks straight...that may not seem like a lot, but I'm still doing it. I had a really tough time because prior to going back to work in Fall 2009, I had been walking 3 miles per day 3-4 times per week and was maintaining. Then, I started working 4-10's and that stopped as I was leaving my house at 6:30 in the morning and not getting home until 6:30 or 7:00 at night and there just was not time with the girls and school work, etc AND I found any excuse that was there. I needed something that was time effective that fit into my schedule. I FOUND IT...I heard about Cross Fit and I LOVE IT...it covers all my bases..cardio and strength building and toning and it's quick and my schedule, but I had to be committed. I get up at 4:50 in the morning and go to a 5:30 AM class and then drive home, get ready for work and get to work at 7:00 and my workout is done and I go about my day and I feels SO much better. It is kicking my butt and let's just say that I could hardly walk or move my arms the first week, but this 2nd week is better and I'm not as sore and it is becoming part of my routine. I'm doing it 3 days per week through tomorrow and then next week I go to 4 days per week. I'm slowly starting to see results and am so proud of myself for sticking with it!!! I'll keep you posted...

Samantha get Straight AAAA's

2011-01-20T19:39:00.002-07:00

We are so excited and proud of Samantha...where we live now, 6th grade is considered Middle School and a big transition from Elementary. Samantha has done great and we are so very proud of her with her grades. She came home today and had straight A's for the term...WOW..AWESOME JOB SAMANTHA!!!

Gingerbread Man

2011-01-01T20:22:00.003-07:00

We got a really fun gingerbread man kit for Christmas and the girls and I decided to make it. I thought I had all the ingredients to make gingerbread, but I didn't so we decided to make a big Sugar Bread Cookie and then decorated it...the girls had so much fun and now as you will see, he is a double amputee...YUMMY...Lots of fun...great gift!

Happy 1-1-11 Everyone...

2011-01-01T14:59:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that it's another year. Last night was a lot of fun...we spent the day relaxing in the house together as a family and made homemade pizzas for dinner and then watched "Knight and Day" (great movie) and then played scattergories. We had a great time and then we turned Dick Clark on and brought in the New Year all together as a family with some Sparkling Cider! It was great to bring in 2011 all together...I think it's the first year we have ALL stayed awake. Great Night...slept in this morning as none of us got to bed until about 1 in the morning so probably slept too long this morning, but felt good. I made homemade white bean chili for lunch (YUMMY if I do say so myself) and we are all stuffed now. The girls and I just finished some more scattergories and now are debating making some homemade chocolate chip cookies....very cold day out, but absolutely beautiful...I guess if we have to have cold below zero and single digit temperatures, having them with blue sky is the way to have it!!! 2010 brought our family many blessings and we are very thankful for that. We look forward to 2011 and what it will bring for our family....Happy New Year Everyone!

I figured it out!!!

2010-12-31T21:38:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty proud of myself and feel a little "techy"...I actually figured out how to change the font color...only took about an hour, but I did it!

Trying to figure out how to change font and text color...frustrating...

2010-12-31T13:15:00.002-07:00

I am trying to get the font and color to change...I used to know how to do this, but I had thought there were buttons to change it on the actual blog, but I can't figure it out!!

The cousins getting their dance moves on!!!

2010-12-27T21:18:00.003-07:00

The cousins all planned and choreographed their own dance moves for us and put on a presentation...it was very cute! Samantha played the music and my almost 9 year old nephew and almost 10 year old daughter Sophie danced and then we got an encore from my almost 6 year old niece and almost 3 year old nephew...so fun!

Katie in the Driver's Seat

2010-12-27T21:10:00.002-07:00

It was so funny today we were packing and getting the car ready to travel home and we went outside and Katie had gotten into the car and was sitting in the driver's seat ready to go...she was making sure she did not get left!!! It was very cute.

Visiting My Dad and Leanne

2010-12-27T21:05:00.003-07:00

I went to see my Dad and Leanne while I was in Boise and it was so nice to visit their graves....it had been since October and I am so glad that there was time to go and visit them. My Mom had taken Christmas wreathes out earlier in the month and the cemetery was beautiful...I miss you Dad and Leanne!!!

2010-12-27T21:02:00.002-07:00

2010-12-27T21:02:00.001-07:00

Goofy Pics with their Cousins

2010-12-27T20:56:00.002-07:00

More Pics of Family

2010-12-27T20:52:00.002-07:00

Christmas with Family

2010-12-27T20:46:00.002-07:00

We left Thursday AM to go to Boise to spend Christmas with my Mom and sisters. It was a lot of fun and a very quick trip...we got home tonight and have unpacked and I'm trying to prepare to go back to work tomorrow. We had a great time seeing everyone and the girls SO enjoyed playing with their cousins. It was so much fun for them. I still can't believe that Christmas is over and now New Year's is right around the corner. I am very thankful for decent roads as we traveled this year too.

Our Christmas before Christmas

2010-12-27T20:39:00.003-07:00

We left Thursday morning before Christmas so on Wednesday night, we decided to have our own Christmas so we did not have to hall even more than we already had. The girls had fun and Sophie's reaction to her Nintendo DS Lite was priceless...we had a good time.

Decorating our Tree

2010-12-27T20:34:00.002-07:00

I'm finally posting pics of our tree. I thought it turned out so fun...we have all homemade decorations...we all made the chains, snowflakes and then it was Sophie's year to make the star for the top. We added a few candy canes and OOOHHH the pine smell is so awesome!

Christmas Decorations...

2010-12-18T12:53:00.003-07:00

It's that time of year again...our Christmas decorations are still in storage so the girls and I made decorations again. We made chains for the tree, a bunch of snowflakes and once we have our LIVE tree (which was supposed to be today...BUT the weather has precluded us from doing that) we will decorate with candy canes as well and hang the snowflakes. It is pretty fun doing all homemade. Last year, we did popcorn strings as well, but since we have a cat now, we thought that might not be a good idea this year...I'll post a picture once we get our tree up...I know we are late, but we want our tree to survive through New Year's!

Snow, Snow and More Snow

2010-12-18T12:45:00.003-07:00

It started snowing last night and has continued snowing and it is really starting to accumulate! I would say we have gotten at least another 6-8 inches and they are predicting it is going to snow the rest of today, all day tomorrow and through Wednesday. It's be beautiful outside, but WOW...I hope it stops by Thursday as we are supposed to travel for Christmas.

Orchestra Concert Video - Jingle Bells

2010-12-11T21:12:00.002-07:00

Hopefully you will all be able to hear this...it was awesome!

Sophie's 1st Orchestra Concert

2010-12-11T21:02:00.002-07:00

We just got home and Sophie was amazing as were the other students. Sophie started playing the Viola this year and is really enjoying it and did an amazing job tonight. The Mountain West Strings Academy works with all the Elementary Schools in Cache County and they all came together tonight to play and it was AWESOME!!! They all played at the Concert Hall up at USU and I swear there had to have been at least 1000 people there watching, it was packed. Sophie was so nervous, but she did a great job and we were very proud of her. I will include some pictures as well as a video after. Enjoy...it was a lot of fun.

Sophie's Snowy Snoman Saturday...

2010-12-04T13:29:00.002-07:00

So, the temperatures have warmed up some and Sophie is loving that as she can go and play in the snow without freezing to death. Plus, we have had some rain in the past few days which have made the snow more managable. She was up and at it at 8:30 this morning and just came back in a few minutes ago...she has built forts, mini and big snowmen and just had a great time!

Samantha's 12th Birthday with her Friends

2010-12-04T13:17:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was Samantha's 12th Birthday and she had a couple of friends come over after school and stay the night. They had a great time. I can't believe that she is 12 already...a TWEEN...almost teen as she loves to tell me. She is a beautiful girl and we are so proud of her!

Samantha's Early Birthday Celebration with Grammie

2010-12-04T13:10:00.003-07:00

While Mom was here, we decided to celebrate Samantha's birthday. She turned 12 and is growing up too fast. She got family gifts from Grammie and Aunt Lori also sent her gift so Samantha loved what she got...THANK YOU EVERYONE...

Thanksgiving

2010-12-04T13:01:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone already. Mom came to visit and although we had a short visit because of the weather...it was great having her here. We got lots of snow and so she arrived around lunch on Thanksgiving and left on Saturday afternoon to beat the storm. I love turkey dinner and I don't know why I don't make it more...maybe if I did, I would be so STUFFED after ever Thanksgiving dinner. My Mom made homemade rolls when she got here and then I was proud of myself as I did a 20lb turkey and stuffed it with homemade stuffing (my best yet), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, green beans...YUM YUM...

Sophie's Mini-Orchestra Concert at the Lewiston Craft Fair

2010-12-04T12:54:00.002-07:00

Sophie had her first "practice" orchestra concert at a little craft fair prior to Thanksgiving and she did a great job!!

A visit from Uncle Duane and Aunt Ruthie

2010-12-04T12:47:00.002-07:00

Prior to Thanksgiving, my aunt and uncle came for a visit. My Uncle is the President for University of Idaho Vandals and they were playing the Utah State Aggies. He flew in for a quick visit and to watch the team play football and we were able to meet for breakfast beforehand. It was great getting to see them, even though it was quick...LOVE THEM.

Mark turn 52

2010-12-04T12:43:00.002-07:00

In November, Mark turned 52 and Sophie and Samantha really wanted to make him a layer cake. In our moves, I could not find the round cake pans so I thought...well, let's try the square ones...I thought it still turned out cute and it has lots of CHOCOLATE!!! Yummy...

Jacob getting a bath...it's true cat's hate the water!

2010-12-04T12:40:00.002-07:00

Jacob, our cat, was getting a bath and he was not enjoying it too much!

Halloween

2010-12-04T12:33:00.002-07:00

Mark and Sophie carved pumpkins this year and enjoyed it and then we trick or treated a little, but the girls wanted to go themselves...I can't believe they are growing up so fast.

Samantha and her friends on DRAMA play night

2010-12-04T12:25:00.002-07:00

This was the night of Samantha's first drama play night. She has a couple of friends that came with her and her best friend is on the right...she did a great job!

Trip to Park City over Labor Day

2010-12-04T12:18:00.003-07:00

We went to Park City over Labor Day and spent the day. Mom was there at her timeshare and we decided to go and enjoy the day with her. We had a lot of fun and it was beautiful there.

Guinea Pigs

2010-12-04T12:10:00.002-07:00

I thought I would show you all the girls' Guinea Pigs...YES, can you believe it, I have let my kids have them. They have actually had them for over a year now and they have grown on me. It took me almost a year to actually even touch one...but they are quite cute now and really know us...amazing. The 2 that we had are Bacon and then a long hair female, Oreo. The next you can probably figure out...they had babies! Cool experience for the girls too...Oreo had 4 babies...1 died and then we had 3. Their names carried on the tradition...Milky Way, BJ (Bacon Jr.) and Mo, which has been adopted out. They are fun and the girls enjoy them.

Samantha Being Cute

2010-12-04T12:08:00.001-07:00

Pigme Goats...???

2010-12-04T12:00:00.003-07:00

Well the girls thought they wanted to have pigme goats and there is a lady that lives near us that raises them. Before the fair, Samantha and Sophie decided they thought they wanted some goats to raise and they were going to show them at the fair. Well needless to say, they ended up being a bit more work for them than they had thought. We had them for 24hrs and they decided that they just were not ready for them so the trial period we had was enough for them and we gave them back. The girls liked them, but found out what hard work they really were....I personally found out that goats can jump or find their way out of anything!!!

Swimming at the Lake by our house

2010-12-04T11:51:00.002-07:00

This is a little lake by our house that we love to go to and the girls love swimming here. It's a beautiful spot and this was one of the days we were there in early August before school started!! Katie even decided to dip her feet a little.

Convention Pictures

2010-12-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

Cookie Lee Convention

2010-12-04T11:20:00.002-07:00

In August this year, I went to my Cookie Lee Convention in Las Vegas and had some great GIRL time with friends! We were there for 3 days in the hot 106 degree Vegas weather, but enjoyed convention and of course the new jewelry!

BBQ this summer

2010-12-04T11:14:00.002-07:00

We have really enjoyed our backyard this year and did many BBQ's and enjoyed the shade of several trees. This was some pics that we took during one of these in July.

Updates

2010-12-04T10:48:00.002-07:00

2010 was an eventful year and had much that we are thankful for. Early in the year, I was continuing to get used to working full time again...love my job so much. I began working as a temporary employee during H1N1 season at the Health Department and on December 18th 2009, was offered a full time job which was a blessing for us. I can honestly say this is the best job that I have ever had in my life. The people are phenomenal and I could be here the rest of my life. We were still living in Mendon and found out that the owners of the home we were renting decided to return so in May we began searching for a new place to live again. We absolutely love the rural area, but were faced with where we moved and whether or not we would have to change the kids and the school system they were in. Thanks to a great friend, we found an amazing place to rent in a little community called Newton and we absolutely LOVE it and it feels like home...I think we could stay here. We talked with the girls and made the committment that we would stay in this area at least through the time they graduated so they would not need to change schools again. We loved Mendon and were so sad to leave and were bummed that we had to leave, but so much good has come from this move. The girls have flourished in our new home and community and love their new schools as well. Sophie is now 9 1/2 years old and in the 4th grade and Samantha is now 12 and in Middle School, the 6th grade. The little community that we live in does not have a school system so the girls are bused to their schools and have an almost hour bus ride each day. They have made some great friends and are very involved in several things. Samantha has been involved in Drama and Sewing clubs and made a very close friend of one of my good friends daughter and they are inseperable. Sophie has taken up the Viola and is very good at this...doesn't love the practicing, but I think she is getting more used to it. She has her first concert coming up and I'm sure she will do great.

On July 10th, we had to have our oldest Newfie, TJ put to sleep and this was SO HARD. We loved him so much and he has been missed so much. He got spondalosa and got to a point that he could no longer walk. We have missed him a lot, he was only 6 years old. Katie, our other newfie has been depressed and still not quite the same since has has been gone. She does not like to be home alone once it is dark...it is sad as she will howl and she just sits and watches at the window.

We did get a new addition to our family in October, a little orange tabbie kitten, named Jacob and believe it or not, he is adorable and been a nice addition to our family. He and Katie do get along even better than one would expect...he is about 3-4 months old now and we really enjoy him.

I am continuing to sell Cookie Lee Jewelry and LOVE IT!!! I have done it now for almost 7 years and will never give it up. I learned to be creative with my business since I now work full time in addition, but it has been so fun as people are learning what I do and I love that. The Dream Getaway Trip this year was a Mediterranean Cruise and it has always been a "bucket list" item of mine to go and do that so I was all over this. I set my goals and got creative with my time and in September, I earned my Mediteranean Cruise and CAN NOT WAIT! I go in May next year and am so excited. We will fly into Barcelona and have a couple of Spanish ports and 3 in Italy...what an amazing experience and one that will help me celebrate my 40th birthday next year!!!

Mark's business continues to supplement our income and he has become Mr. Mom again and I am so thankful for that. He is an awesome husband and father and has made my transition back to work and easy thing. I swear I hardly ever cook or clean anymore as Mark has taken over all of that.

We have found in the past year that another move was in our plan and we have finally found a community that does feel like home and I have not had that for a long time. I thank God every day that we were led to this community and this area as it has been exactly what our family needed.

I will continue to post some pictures and update things, but I promise to be better about keeping this updated now. Until next time...

Pick Yourselves Up - I'm gonna try this again!!!

2010-12-04T10:06:00.002-07:00

Well it has been a year since I've posted and thanks to a friend's motivation, I am going to try and update it again. So much has happened in the past year...I'll try to see if I can catch up...today I am going to try and begin updating our blog so we'll see how it goes. #1 on the agenda is to simply figure out how to use it again...HA, it has been awhile. Stay tuned...(Dara...here you go)

Dusk

2009-12-19T16:59:00.002-07:00

We finished making decorations for the day and looked outside and the sun was hitting the mountains and dusk was beautiful...OH, how I love it here!!!

Christmas Prep

2009-12-19T16:54:00.002-07:00

This year since we moved all of our Christmas decorations, tree, etc are all in storage and we have no idea where so we decided this year that we would get a live tree and then make homemade decorations and have an old fashioned Christmas. It has been fun for the girls and I today to make decorations. It definitely takes longer this way, but is definitely cheaper as well than buying all new decorations. We got the tree last night, beautiful tree from a tree lot and it smells so good - I forgot how the fresh smell of pine is. We did the red and green construction paper chains and worked on that and got those finished and then went to stringing the popcorn...definitely NOT as easy as it looks - LOL. But, we got that all finished and decided that was good for the day. We heard lots of fun Christmas songs on the radio while we worked and decided we would finish the homemade star tree topper and the snowflake decorations tomorrow. SO, here is what we have so far, but I'm proud of us, I think it has been great and definitely a Christmas that the girls will not forget.

Beautiful Snowy Day

2009-12-19T11:49:00.003-07:00

Althought it is not snowing....YET...it is gorgeous outside with all the untouched snow and fog down in the valley and you can barely see the tips of the mountains from afar....I think it's beautiful outside!

Snow, Snow and More Snow...

2009-12-13T13:31:00.003-07:00

It started snowing yesterday when we woke up and really it has not stopped all weekend. We have accumulated probably a foot of snow and it's beautiful outside right now. The roads are definitely slick and we have decided to just stay put for the most part this weekend. Who knows how much more we'll get as it is still snowing out, but here is what it looks like so far.

Samantha Turns 11

2009-12-13T13:24:00.004-07:00

I can not believe that Samantha has now turned 11 years old. She is getting so big, I don't know where the time has gone. We let her have a party this year and had several girls over and let's just say that was an experience in itself - LOL. She had a great time and got some really nice things. We had a project that everyone did when they arrived and they all enjoyed that. They all got to make their own homemade pizza and cupcakes and a good time was had by all!

Family over Thanksgiving

2009-12-13T13:18:00.005-07:00

I did not have enough room in my other post so I wanted to post some other pics of me with Mom and my sisters....it was so good getting to see them and catch up. Also, I got some cute pics of my adorable niece and nephews...I wish we lived closer sometimes.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-13T13:10:00.002-07:00

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, but my computer was down again and I have it back now so I am trying to play catch up with some of my posts and pictures. Thanksgiving brought us good and bad...we went to Boise to spend it with my Mom and sisters and their families and that was awesome. We had a great time, lots of good food and so enjoyed getting to see everyone. Our trip was cut short on late Friday night with our girls getting the puking flu bad and we decided to head home early due to this. The flu bug hung around for another 2-3 days and then all was good. It's so wierd, it seems that every time we go to Boise for a holiday, someone ends up with the puking flu, except for Mom...Overall, the girls had so much fun playing with their cousins and we loved getting to see everyone and spend time together. We also had an early birthday celebration for Samantha who turned 11 on December 3rd. She loved getting to have another celebration.

Snowy & Cold, BUT Absolutely Beautiful!!!

2009-11-15T15:09:00.002-07:00

It has started to snow here and get very cold - it definitely feels like winter and the stove is sooo cozy! It snowed most of the day yesterday, but this is the morning we awoke to...just gorgeous. The girls have had so much fun sledding and playing in the snow. We just love it here.

Mark's Birthday

2009-11-12T20:45:00.002-07:00

Today was Mark's birthday and the girls had so much fun making him wait for his surprise dinner and gifts until tonight! We had homemade Lasagna and Chocolate Cake with Rocky Road Ice Cream and Neopolotin. It was so good and we are all STUFFED! But it was so yummy. I thought it was cute, it's hard to see, but the girls carved a message into Daddy's cake.

Having Fun in the Fall Leaves

2009-11-07T13:20:00.002-07:00

Samantha and Sophie went out to help Dad rake up all the leaves in the front yard and made a big pile! They decided to jump in it and I took some fun pics of them.

Beautiful Sunrise

2009-11-03T19:14:00.002-07:00

I can't complain about getting up early when I get up at 5:30 AM and get ready for work and head off at 6:30 AM and get to see this....isn't this absolutely amazing. I was in awe at how beautiful it was. It was a great way to start my crazy day. We got H1N1 in at work today, had 1000 doses and it was gone in 3 hours...talk about hustle!!! Anyway, I love it here so much and this is just even one more reason that I love it even more!

Lisa Makes the Front Page Today!

2009-11-01T14:16:00.002-07:00

I was out doing a clinic earlier in the week and the Herald Journal was there....never thought I'd end up being front page news - LOL...

http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2009/11/01/news/news01-11-01-09.txt

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T20:12:00.002-06:00

The girls had a great week. Earlier in the week they were invited to a Halloween party and had a great time. Last night, their school did a Witch's Brew Fall Festival and we all had such a great time - it was a fantastic fundraiser for their school - the girl's loved it! Tonight, it has become tradition that Mark and I go trick-or-treating with them for awhile and this year they wanted to go out on their own as well. We figured they are big enough now and we live in a pretty safe neighborhood now that they could go out with their friends and trick-or-treat the neighborhood. SO, we went out for about an hour and half with the girls, took them to the trunk-or-treat and then came home and they are out with their friends now and having so much fun. I can't even begin to imagine how much candy they are going to have...

Samantha's 1st Piano Recital...

2009-10-31T20:09:00.002-06:00

Samantha has been taking piano lessons since this summer and really seems to enjoy it. She had her first recital this week and had memorized her piece. She did a great job and we were so proud of her. She was so nervous and was not sure she could do it, but she did awesome!

Girl's Week in Park City...

2009-10-31T19:58:00.002-06:00

Well I know this is better late than never...My Mom, Sisters, Lori and Ris and I all met in mid-September for a week in Park City. My Mom has a timeshare and she traded for some time in Park City. We had a great time site seeing, shopping at the outlets, walking along main street, hiking and seeing the beautiful scenery. The Fall colors literally changed before our eyes the week we were there. It was such a relaxing week, just getting to sleep in, stay up late watching movies, sleeping in and doing whatever we wanted to. The week went way to fast, but we so enjoyed it. On the last day, one of my best friends, Marie came up for the day and spent with us and it was so great to see her and catch up. A great time was had by all and it was hard to come back to reality...

H1N1 - To Do or Not to Do???

2009-10-19T20:31:00.002-06:00

I'll admit, I was the first to have reservations about this vaccine when it was first released, but I have changed my mind and think it is a good idea. I work at the Health Dept now and even then I still was not sure; mist, injections, mmmm, do I get one or do I hope I don't get the swine flu...

So, we began receiving vaccine a few weeks ago and at first mist and then the injections and I have watched and waited to see what if anything would be reported for side effects and really have not heard anything. Much to my delight. I know they did research, but that still made me nervous, but after giving MANY doses of mist as well as injections in the past few weeks (well over 1000 doses at least myself) to many children and adults, I am confident that it is a good thing. I have also watched and listened to many people and families say how they have had someone they know or someone in their family get the swine flu and how sick they got and that they would not wish it on anyone. So, I took the plunge last week and had the H1N1 shot and did not have any problems at all, felt fine. Mark took his tonight (no complaining or crying...lol) and the girls are going to do Mist and they will have theirs later this week (they have to wait a few more days as they had their seasonal flu mist less than a month ago). Hopefully, we will all stay healthy and happy during this horrible flu season.

Anyway, if anyone is uncertain, I think it really is a good thing, especially if you have little ones or anyone in your family with an illness. Anyway, there is my two cents...

Girls and Friends

2009-10-16T18:59:00.002-06:00

I had to post this cute pic - not the greatest quality as it was taken on my cell phone, but Samantha and Sophie have a neighbor girl staying the night and they have gotten to be good friends with her. I love seeing them building friendships and getting to know what small town living is like and the freedom and space to experience that. They love the outdoors and always want to be out doing something, building forts, night games, etc and we love seeing that in our girls. Just one more thing that has made me fall in love with this community!

Amazing!!!

2009-10-16T14:41:00.003-06:00

I know I post a lot of pictures of where we live, but I absolutely LOVE it here and think it just can't get any more beautiful. This picture does not do it justice since so far away, but the mountains are beautiful with Fall colors right now and what snow we have left on the tips. It was National School Lunch Week so we went and had lunch with the girls today and this was the view of the mountains from their school. Mark and I feel so blessed to have been led to this amazingly beautiful community!

Beautiful Fall Morning

2009-10-16T08:50:00.002-06:00

I got up this morning and got the girls off to school and don't have to work today - YEAH!!! It was such a beautiful morning out, I had to share. There is a low level of fog hanging around the valley floor, but this was the view off of my deck this morning - gorgeous!

Fall and Almost Winter

2009-10-11T18:43:00.002-06:00

Here are a couple of pictures taken about a week apart. The Fall colors are here and quite beautiful - I'll try and get some more, but this Fall picture was taken as I was driving through the canyon about a week ago. Today was cooler and we had rain at our house, but it looks like the mountains definitely got more snow - the picture does not do it justice. Winter is coming whether we are ready or not - LOL.

Did you Miss Me????

2009-10-11T18:19:00.003-06:00

I know it has been forever since I've posted anything, but my computer crashed in early July and I just got it back and up and running again thanks to an awesome friend!!! I am trying to catch up on everything, but I'm going to try and start posting again. I am back working again so that takes up a lot of my time. Hope everyone is well - drop me a line when you have time.

Hawaii

2009-07-01T22:08:00.004-06:00

I made it back from Hawaii on Monday and it was such an amazing trip!!! Mom and I left on Monday, the 22nd really early in the morning and flew to Seattle first and then on to Honolulu. We arrived around 11:30 in the morning and received our lei and then reached the resort, the Hilton Hawaian Village on Wakaiki Beach. Our room was on the 24th floor and had just an amazing view. The temperatures were in the 80's the entire time we were there with a light breeze, just perfect. We enjoyed several days of relaxation sitting on the beach, by the pool, and on our patio soaking it all in. It was such a special time and it meant so much to us both. For those of you who did not know, this was a trip that I had earned last year with Cookie Lee Jewelry and Mark wanted my Mom to go with me so he stayed and watched the girls. This was a very special trip for us as my Mom and Dad were supposed to go to Hawaii last year the week after he passed away for their 40th wedding anniversary so it meant a lot to her to be able to go and I am so glad that she decided to go with me. We made a lot of special memories there and took a lot of pictures and just had a fabulous time. Our trip home was very exhausting as we had the red eye flight home and pulled quite the all-nighter. We were very exhausted to say the least and had some major jet lag for the first few days, but we feel like we have recouped and are back to reality again. Hawaii was amazing!

Father's Day

2009-07-01T22:02:00.002-06:00

Father's Day was so much fun. The girls were so excited to give Daddy their cards that they had made for him and show them the gift we got him. We all had a great day. We made a Breakfast Strauda for breakfast and spent the day together. Daddy loves a money clip and so we got him a very nice clip engraved for him and he really liked that. Too bad, we could not fill it with lots of money!

Prep for Father's Day

2009-06-14T11:11:00.002-06:00

Today we decided while Mark was working that we would get the craft stuff out and the girl's were going to make Father's Day cards. They had a lot of fun doing this and got creative. I bet Daddy will LOVE them.

Swimming Season has Begun!!!

2009-06-09T18:16:00.004-06:00

The girls are SO excited to finally be out of school and for the most part to have warmer weather or at least warm enough to them to be in their pool and they started swimming lessons this week also. The weather was so warm last week and this week it really has been cooler and raining, but that has not stopped them. They truly are like fish in the water - they absolutely love it and are so excited. We set their pool up over the weekend and they have been having their friends over and being as wet as possible. They both are enjoying their swim lessons. They are in different classes and just love their teachers. Summer ~ Here we Come!

The Girls' Last Day of School!

2009-06-04T13:03:00.003-06:00

It's officially over. The girls are so excited to be finished with school - they are officially done with 2nd and 4th grade. I can't believe come August that Sophie will be in 3rd grade and Samantha will be in the 5th grade. Where does the time go??? Here comes summer...

Friends

2009-06-04T12:58:00.002-06:00

It was so great coming off a weekend of having my Mom here and then my great friend, Marie came for a visit on Monday to see where I lived and spend the day. I loved having her here and showing her the beautiful area where we live. The time went so fast and it was great having her here.

Weekend with Mom

2009-05-31T15:41:00.003-06:00

I'm late getting this posted, but we had a great weekend. Mom came to visit on Wednesday last week and had to leave Sunday. It was the first time that she had been to our new home and she loved it and could not believe how beautiful it was here. She understands now what a healing place this is with all the beauty. Thursday, Sophie had a skit for all the parents and family and it was so cute to see them and all their hard work. Friday we went and showed Mom around some more. Saturday was a difficult day as that was the 1st anniversary since my Dad passed away - I still can not believe that it has been that long and that he is no longer with us. I miss him so much every day. We spent the day by going to Bear Lake as Mom had never been and it was just a beautiful day through Logan Canyon and in Bear Lake. We spent the day there walking along the beach, the girls played in the water and we had Rasberry Shakes before we went home - yummy. The entire weekend was so nice and we loved having Mom here.

The Beauty of our Surroundings!

2009-05-20T10:51:00.002-06:00

Mark and I went and drove around a bit yesterday and look at what we found just 5 minutes from our house. It is just beautiful and breathtaking - we LOVE it here!

Samantha Run's the Mile

2009-05-19T17:22:00.005-06:00

For the past few weeks, Samantha has been training for the Mile run here locally as her school to compete with 4 other Elementary's. They all met today in a nearby town for the race. It was the 4th and 5th grade girls from 5 elementary schools and they had so much fun. Out of 100's of girls, she placed 32nd for the 4th grade girls. We were really proud of her. She has always loved track and field and this just may be the beginning of her track career - you never know. She ran a 10 minute mile and honestly Mark and I laughed and thought, I bet we could not even do that. She did a great job and as you will see in the pics, it was hard to catch her in action with all the other girls, but she is the one with the ponytail and the yellow shirt. Our little "Track Star"!

Bear Lake Day Trip

2009-05-17T21:41:00.003-06:00

We had so much fun today! We decided the day was so beautiful and really was not worth wasting. We decided to go to Bear Lake which is about an hour for us now and the weather was in the upper 70's today. We packed a picnic and the girls really wanted to swim so they grabbed their suits and we thought the water would be way too cold, but as you will see in the pics, it was an awesome day!!! We got up there in the afternoon and decided to find a place to have our picnic and then go from there and we found this really fun area near Lakewood by the lake that had picnic tables and a great beach area and we had our lunch and then found that they also rented canoes so we rented one of those for an hour. This had the girls and Mark dumbfounded by my behavior as I had never been on a canoe before and it honestly made me really nervous. I know - Mark could not believe it. He thought I was afraid of falling in the water, but I just did not like the wobbliness of it and needed some time to adjust. We had a good time, but I just did not want it to tip and get all wet - I did not have plans of getting wet so was fully clothed and did not want to be wet - WRONG!!! Of course, Mark and I were in it and we tipped right by the shore and YES, I was all wet. OH well, the girls sure got a kick out of it...The girls had such a blast playing in the water and splashing around - it was an awesome day and really just what we needed. We realized it has been so long since we've just had a family day to go and have fun like this and enjoy all together. The last time we went to Bear Lake was almost 2 years ago. We also found some great campgrounds on the way up that we want to go back and camp at so it was an amazingly beautiful day and we had so much fun and loved living in this area so much.

Sophie turns 8!

2009-05-13T17:38:00.004-06:00

I can't believe that my youngest is 8 years old already. It really seems like she was just born..time flies! She celebrated this past weekend with her cousins and all of our family for her birthday and then since we just moved to a new area, she did not have a party, but we went to dinner last night and she had a great time. So grown up.

Rainbow!!!

2009-05-05T19:50:00.003-06:00

The never ending rain since we have gotten here brought this beautiful rainbow that was right off of our deck. If you look, it was actually a double rainbow and you can see the other one behind the bright one. Very vibrant colors, my girls were amazed.

We're finally in our Rental!

2009-05-03T16:47:00.004-06:00

We made it to our rental finally and are loving being more rural and can't wait for life to feel back to normal. We've been unpacking and trying to get things situated, just trying to take a little each day so that we are not so overwhelmed. The picture is a view off of our deck - we are LOVIN IT~!!! We miss everyone, but are so excited to be out of the BOX and living in a house again. The girls start school on Monday and can hardly wait to meet their teachers and meet some new friends.

Transitions!!!

2009-04-17T16:42:00.002-06:00

I thought I would update our blog and let everyone know what has been going on with us. We finally moved out of our home almost 2 weeks ago - such a hard day to drive away from our home of over 6 years, but we know it was for the best and we look forward to what our future holds for us. We will miss everyone so much. We then spent the next week in Boise with my family for Easter and then returned to Utah to our "BOX" that we will be living in until the end of April. We have a studio size hotel that Mark, I, both girls and YES, both dogs are staying in until our rental is available May 1st. It has been interesting to say the least, but we are dealing with it and know that this is only temporary! The first day here, we set off the fire alarm in our room as I was cooking sausage for breakfast and I guess you know the rest...thankfully, we did not set off all the fire alarms and water, etc...scared the front desk person though...needless to say, I have not cooked anymore sausage - LOL. SO - we can't wait to move up north and get into our rental and have some normalcy again. The girls are doing great with all the change and are finishing school here through April and then they will finish up the last month at their new school and can't wait to meet new friends that they can spend time with over the summer. Keep our family in your thoughts and prayers and we'll try to keep everyone updated.

Found a Rental - NOT!

2009-03-26T09:46:00.003-06:00

I've decided that I am no longer going to write about things that are happening as every time I do, something happens and it does not work out so we are working on something else, but I am not writing about it until it is set in stone - HA. Continue to pray for us and hopefully I'll know more news in another week or so. BUT, the sad and exciting news is that we closed on our house yesterday. We are very excited that it did indeed sell in this economy and market, but are very sad to see our home that we have put so much of our hearts and soul into be sold to someone else. It is the right decision and we know it, but it still does not make it any easier. Our comfort is that our home was bought by an amazing family that we know will LOVE it and take care of it as much as we did. We move out by May 1st. We'll miss everyone so much.

We Found a House!!!

2009-03-22T10:41:00.003-06:00

I'm trying to keep everyone updated on our move status as most of you know, we have to be moved out by May 1st. We drove North yesterday and looked around and had a very interesting day looking at rentals. I really thought with the way the economy is that there would be a TON of rentals - WRONG! I would say that 75% of what ended up being available were homes that someone said they wanted to rent, but it turned out to be "Lease to Own" OR we're in foreclosure - take over our payments. Needless to say, this is not what we wanted to do so our rental selection was decreased significantly. We saw some very interesting rentals yesterday, including those with cockroaches and they still wanted too much money. BUT, we were so excited as there was one that we really loved and it was in our price range and something that we could live in for a year. It is a brand new Victorian style home never been lived in that is 4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths and 2800 square feet. The only downfall that we had with it was that it was not fenced and this really was a deal breaker for us. We talked to the Landlord, which we love - she is so nice and she is going to put in a fence for us and she LOVES dogs to boot. We feel so fortunate to have found this and the girls are so excited. So, we now have one more important task crossed off of our lists and now we have to coordinate getting all of our stuff from (Boise in storage) and here all up to the new place. I know it will all work out, we're going to take it a day at a time, but WOW, what a lot of work ahead of us. Continue to pray for our family.

Plans have Changed YET one more time!!

2009-03-17T18:41:00.002-06:00

Well - I thought I would update everyone again on the status of our move as plans have changed yet again. Due to circumstances out of anyone's control, we will now be moving the weekend of May 1st! So we are scrambling to find a rental and figure out how to have the girls finish school without much interuption. It has come to our attention that their end of year testing is mostly taking place in the month of May and it is universal in the state of Utah so we are hopeful that their new school will not have done these tests yet before we get there. NOW, just finding a good rental that will work out. Continue to pray for our family. We know that God has a plan for us and we're really trying to follow it.

Mom's 60th Birthday

2009-03-12T16:31:00.002-06:00

My Mom's 60th birthday was on the 7th and the girls and I had driven to Boise over the weekend to visit Mark since we had not seen him for a few weeks and then for my Mom's 60th birthday. We had a great weekend, but certainly did not know what this week was going to bring for us (see below). Anyway, my Mom had an awesome birthday and absolutely loved having us all together. It was SO GOOD to see everyone.

Life has Thrown Us Yet Another Curve Ball!!!

2009-03-12T15:03:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, we had moved half of our house to Boise in storage and Mark had begun working there and living with my Mom about a month ago and we had plans to probably move up there over Easter. WRONG...Unbelievably, Mark was laid off of his position on Monday this week and he has moved back home. It was an extreme shock to us all, but they decided they needed to do budget cuts and since he was the last one hired, he was the first to go. We had terminated our insurance benefits in anticipation of his new benefits kicking in and I had given my resignation at work, etc so LIFE HAS BEEN NUTS this week. I have to say though that God is watching out for us as both of our insurance companies reinstated our insurance benefits due to the circumstances (thank goodness as Mark was not eligible for COBRA since he had not been there long enough) and I was able to rescind my resignation without problems at my work. We have sold our home to an amazing family that lives in our neighborhood already and are so thankful for that and that they will love our home as much as we have. With the new change in plans, they have decided to let us rent from them for a few more months to let the girls finish school and then we will move June 1st. We would still love to go to Boise, but the state of Idaho does not have an insurance plan like Utah does so due to my circumstances, we will need to stay in Utah for now. Mark has his business in Logan still and we are planning to go and live in Logan in June after the girls are out of school and rent and expand his business there. SO, we feel it is a win, win for everyone. We will still be close to all our great friends and family here in Salt Lake and we will be 2 hours closer to all my family in Boise as well. Continue to pray for us with all of this, but we are taking it a day at a time and getting through it.

Another Update on the Move...

2009-02-15T22:05:00.003-07:00

Well the past few weeks feel like a blur and it has been so crazy. Mark has been working like a crazy man trying to get as much packed as possible so that if we do sell our house quickly that we won't have much left other than just what we needed in the house and to make it easier on me. So essentially on his own for the most part, he packed a TON of stuff and completely filled a 24 foot truck and packed it one night by himself and then left the next morning at 4:15AM on the wee hours of the 11th to head to Boise with a load and put it in storage. My brother-in-laws were going to come and help him unload that night, but you know Mark, he got there about Noon and worked like a crazy man and had it all unloaded by 3PM. Needless to say, he was extremely exhausted and pushed himself to the max. He is still recuping, but at least we have a load up and in storage now. Our house looks pretty bare, but it will be SO nice once we actually move. He flew home on the 12th and we have been enjoying spending the last few days together before he has to head back to start his job. He leaves on Tuesday the 17th and will start on the 18th. He is going to live with my Mom and then will be commuting back to Logan a couple times a month on the weekends and then home when he can. He is really excited but nervous - it will be a huge transition for him as he has not had to work a 9-5 job in 10 years since Samantha was born so...you can only imagine. We are so thrilled though with the amazing benefits and it has been a blessing. We are still working on selling our house and the girls and I will stick around until we either sell the house or the girls get out of school, whichever comes first. It will be hard, but we'll manage and it will be so worth it in the end. We can hardly wait to be closer to family and see them whenever we want and the girls can hardly wait. So, pray for us that our house will sell and we will be able to move to Boise sooner than later and be all together again!!!

Life is Changing!!!

2009-02-01T21:03:00.004-07:00

I am trying to update the blog and let everyone know what has been going on. A couple of weeks ago, I went back to work part-time to make a little extra money. I forgot just how exhausting it can be along with everything else. I will now be working 24hrs per work, but the past 2 weeks, I have been doing orientation and have been full-time and let me tell you - it sucked!!! Anyway, I know, stop whining, but it was hard after being at home for 3 years and now I have to do everything else along with the work again. Anyway, I'm getting used to it.

OUR GREAT NEWS is that Mark got a job in Boise!!! We found out on Friday and we are so excited. We have been praying about it and hoping that something would work out and what a blessing! The benefits are great - FREE medical, dental and vision for Mark and a very minimal cost for the rest of us - we could not have asked for anything better. I know this is probably coming as a shock to some of you as the past few months we have made the decision to move to Boise to be closer to family and Mark has been interviewing. We are trying to sell our house right now and Mark will start his job on February 17th and will live with my Mom until we all get moved up. The girls and I will probably not move up there for at least a month or so as we have to try and get some other things in place first. We are still in shock...pray for us as we are going to have a lot going on in the next few months. YEAH - what an answer to prayer for us.

Cookie Lee Girl's Weekend!!

2009-01-18T18:00:00.002-07:00

Last weekend, I went to CA for a Leadership Conference and the Product Launch of our new Spring/Summer line and it was so amazing!!! It was 70 degrees while we were there and needless to say, we all had so much fun - I was quite sleep deprived by the end of the weekend. I posted some pictures from when we were there. Every time a new catalog comes out, I always say Cookie can't make it any better, but really this time, the new line is just phenominal. Check it out and let me know what you think: www.cookielee.biz/lisaperkins

Snow, Snow and More Snow!

2009-01-18T17:56:00.002-07:00

It seemed that there for awhile, we had SO MUCH SNOW that it just would not stop! It snowed a lot while the girls were off for Christmas break and they as well as the dogs really seemed to enjoy it. We did a lot of sledding and finally it has let up a little, but we still have a lot of snow on the ground.

Grammie Comes to Town!!!

2009-01-18T17:44:00.005-07:00

It was so fun for the holidays as my Mom/Grammie came for Christmas and New Year's and we had so much fun!!! She was here for almost 2 weeks and the girls loved having her here. We enjoyed lots of 'Hallmark' movies and after Christmas shopping and just getting in some good relaxation and family time. We really missed my Dad and it just was not quite the same, but we made it through. The holidays were definitely a difficult time and I thought of my Dad so much - it really makes you appreciate each and every day you have with those you love. The girls were in 7th Heaven as Santa brought them a Wii with Rockbank and Santa brought me Wii Fit so we all enjoyed that! We got lots of snow while Mom was here as well and with snow drifts at times, we even had up to 3-4 feet - it was ridiculous. WE LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Gingerbread House

2009-01-18T17:39:00.002-07:00

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post all of this, but I wanted to update you. For the first time, we decided to do a Gingerbread House this year and the girls were very excited about it and I think it turned out great!!! It was VERY FUN...

TURKEY...

2009-01-18T17:31:00.002-07:00

I really was not sure how to title this one. As many of you have probably seen, we have had turkey's for awhile and back in December they were eating so much and were SO BIG, we decided that it was time for "Christmas Dinner". I know...we never intended to keep them for good, but it was still very hard. It was quite the day as my Mom was here visiting and we made ourselves scarce and Mark had a few helpers and 'spectators' that decided to join in. The turkeys were huge ~ we had 2 'toms' and 1 'hen'. When all was said and done, each tom weighed in at 30-35 lbs and the hen was 25lbs. Quite an ordeal and one I'm not sure that Mark will ever undertake again, but it is definitely an experience that I'm sure he will NEVER forget!!!

FINALLY, my computer is fixed!

2009-01-06T12:48:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone - I wanted to let you know that my computer is finally fixed and I will be working to get it updated - so much as happened in the past month. Stay tuned...

Samantha's Late Night

2008-12-07T15:29:00.002-07:00

Samantha's 10th Birthday was Wednesday and she had a "late night" with 5 of her friends on Friday night. We had a lot of fun. When everyone arrived, the girls all made their own personal pizzas and then frosted their own cupcakes and had snacks and watched movies. There was lots of energy in our house, but Samantha had a great time and I still can't believe that she is 10. One of the gifts that she received was a messenger bag that she was able to decorate herself and do iron ons, etc...She had a lot of fun and we completed that today. She really loves to do any sort of craft projects.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2008-12-07T15:23:00.003-07:00

We decorated the Christmas Tree this week and the girls really enjoyed that alot. I took a few pictures and although they did not all turn out great - at least you can see. We also started a tradition a few years back as we could never find a tree topper that worked for our tree so we asked the girls to make a star for us. Every year the girls take turns and make a star for us and it has been fun. This year was Sophie's turn to make the star and Mark helped her put it on the top.

Our Turkeys...

2008-12-07T15:13:00.006-07:00

Yes, for those of you who do not already know, we do have Turkeys and are at a point that will probably be with us for only a few more weeks (if you know what I mean??) They are absolutely huge!!! Mark let them out to roam around the other day and it was quite funny how inquisitive they were - I took a few pictures and even a video as they actually came right up to our sliding glass door and were rubbing it into the dogs - HA. It really was quite hilarious.

Samantha Turns 10!

2008-12-03T19:12:00.003-07:00

Yes, 10 is what I said - I can hardly believe it! Samantha celebrated her 10th birthday and it seems just like yesterday that she was born. Time goes way too fast. She went to school today and after getting home, we all went as a family and celebrated at Red Robin - she loves that and she received an ENORMOUS piece of Mud Pie - boy was that delicious! We came home and she opened her presents and was very excited as she got a text messaging system to text with her friends, a latch hook kit and some gifts from Sophie. We are working on her birthday cupcakes for her party on Friday. She is having a "late night" with some friends and is really looking forward to that. She is so grown up!

Thanksgiving Week in Boise

2008-12-02T14:57:00.002-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I have updated the blog, but we returned from a very relaxing week up in Boise over Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see my Mom and sisters and family - it had been too long. We arrived in Boise on Sunday, November 23rd and left to come home this past Sunday, November 30th. It was a great week and filled with lots of good food, fun and relaxation! We stayed with my sister, Larissa and her husband Jim and my adorable nephew, Brenden. We took the kids to the park on a couple of occasions to play with their cousins and another day to celebrate Samantha's upcoming 10th birthday - the kids had so much fun and what a great park. Grammie wanted to take the grandkids to the Zoo while we were there so that was a lot of fun as well. It really was a great zoo, it sits on 11 acres and had some really amazing animals. I included some of the lions and tigers in my pictures - you were able to get very close, very cool. Thanksgiving Day was lots of fun and Mom made an awesome dinner with a huge turkey, homemade stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc and of course homemade pies (apple, pumpkin and huckleberry cheesecake) - needless to say - I was not hungry much while I was there. The day after Thanksgiving we avoided shopping and had no desire to be in the crowds of people. We visited my Dad's grave for the first time since he passed away as well as my sister Leanne's since she is now buried next to my Dad - the VA Cemetary really is beautiful and it was so nice to finally be there. The kids also got to frost Thanksgiving cookies with their cousins as well and they so enjoyed that. Saturday night, we decided to do a girls' night with all the sisters and Mom and we had so much fun - we all had dinner together at Larissa's and the guys all rotissieried a prime rib (YUM) and then we went to my Mom's for a movie and relaxation. FUN was had by all. Overall it was a great week that really seemed to just fly by and we miss them all already ~ it was so nice to be together with our family. We missed my Dad so much, but know that he was there with us in spirit and we know we will see him again someday. We are so thankful for our family!

Mark Turns 50!

2008-11-12T17:57:00.003-07:00

It's official. Mark turned the Big 50 today. He wanted it very low key and just wanted to spend time with us so we had a nice evening. Mark really wanted his famous "Portuguese Spaghetti", but unfortunately for him, mine never tastes as good so he wanted to cook it for all of us - IT WAS SO DELICIOUS!!! We're stuffed right now. Then we got him a chocolate and peanut butter cup ice cream cake and it was awesome as well!!! The girls each made him their own cards and gifts and it was a lot of fun. For Mark, it's just another day, but he is officially 50 now.

Bella's Lullaby from Twilight

2008-11-08T16:58:00.003-07:00

So I don't know how many of you are TWILIGHT fans out there, but the movie soundtrack was released on the 4th of this month and I can hardly wait for the movie to be released on the 21st. Anyway, I love the soundtrack, but I have to say I was a little disappointed with Bella's Lullaby thinking it was going to be all piano and it ended up hardly being any. Anyway, after a little more research, I found out that originally, it was supposed to be Robert Pattison's (the character that plays Edward) version, but he decided not to use it and I so wish he had as I love it. I finally found it on You Tube so for those of you who have listened to the soundtrack version, let me know what you think of this version in comparison.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72HsHfhxiUg

Halloween Pumpkins

2008-11-01T11:46:00.004-06:00

I wanted to add this to my blog this year as this is one of my highlights every year at Halloween. There is an older couple in our neighborhood that gets tons of pumpkins in early October and carves at least 20-30 pumpkins and has them on display for Halloween for everyone to see. This year, I talked to her when we trick-or-treated at their house and she said it is their family tradition and they have done it for the past 20 years. She said they have all their family come over and they carve all the pumpkins. This picture is from my cell so does not show all the detail, but it is truly an amazing site to see. She said this year that they even had someone come from the Deseret News and they were in last Wednesday's paper. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T10:52:00.003-06:00

Well another Halloween has come and gone. This is the 3rd time that Samantha has dressed up (you'll see her posts earlier on the blog) and then Sophie's 2nd time ~ they look a little different tonight as we were out of black hairspray! I attempted earlier in the week to get more, but no one had it and I was not going to try looking anymore after 3 stores, so they went with more natural haircolor, but they still looked so cute!!! They were Wednesday and Morticia Addams from the Addams Family. For better pics, scroll down further on the blog. Anyway, the entire week it has been absolutely beautiful with weather in the high 60's to low 70's and even higher on some days, no precip or anything. Then at 6:00 of course when it becomes time for trick-or-treating what does it do???? It begins to rain, luckily not a downpour, so we were still able to go and the temperature was good so we were a little wet and the wind was blowing, but the girls had a great time and got LOTS of candy!!! They love Halloween and we all went out together as a family - it has become tradition that we all go together as a family! I'm sure our neighbor kids probably don't as those that don't make it before we leave don't end up getting what we have, but our kids sure enjoy it and I guess that is what counts - right?