Triple Date!!

Nate and I enjoy going on dates together whenever we can. We aren't consistent and we usually just go out when it's convenient (or we have a free sitter!) But I did have the opportunity to have a back-to-back triple date with Nate the great! On Thursday night we had a fireside at the church for all the adults in the stake. It was highly recommended we go, and all the adults were encouraged to attend. It was on strengthening families. We both really enjoyed going the fireside and it was nice being together.

On Friday we went on a date with this little guy to Scruds Burgers. Ogden was having Restaurant week and the local businesses were having deals and promotions all week long. We went to lunch and had some pretty amazing stuffed burgers! Carder did great during the meal and he didn't even throw-up! (Like last time we tried going on a lunch date!!) It was fun going out to eat with Nate and seeing him mid day!

Then Saturday we went to a wedding of some old friends. It was a kid I used to babysit years and years ago! It was so fun seeing the family all grown up. Nate and I stopped at a furniture store along the way to look at new furniture. It was enjoyable seeing beautiful furniture to fill our house, we did end up buying on thing on a killer deal!! It was pleasant being the two of us and enjoying time together! 

I didn't get any pictures of Nate and I together, he's not really into that sort of thing! But I just wanted to remember good memories of us and the good times we had going out on our triple date! Hope it happens again some day! 

One Year Ago....

One year ago at this time we had our boxes packed and the truck loaded and we moved away from a little town we had learned to love! It was a hard move because we had such dear friends and neighbors. But we also looked forward to this new opportunity and adventure. Now that it's been a year I can say we made the right move! It has been an adjustment and we've had some ups and downs but I love where we live, I love our area, I love the new adventures and experiences we have here. I'm amazed at the beauty of our new town! I couldn't have imagined I would move to a place so beautiful! I love my views out my window! Over the past year I've taken some pretty pictures of ...

One year ago our little family at our cute house for the last time!

This is the view out my kitchen window! I don't mind doing the dishes when I can look out and see this!

Sometimes the sun is only shining on the mountain and it's awesome!

I love looking out my window and seeing friends playing in my yard! This is a great sight to see so many boys!

So cool! Every day the view is different!

Some days it's so cloudy I can't even see the mountain!

Sometimes the mountains are glowing!

I liked how the clouds were just resting on top of the mountain.

I love watching the sun hit the tops of the mountains first and then creep across the valley!

And some days the sky and peaks are pink! It's so pretty!

I love the sunrises and sunsets here. Always a pretty sight!

This was a sunset one night and I couldn't help but think of God's glorious creations.

The other thing I love about the area is the wildlife! Can you spot the deer?

One day we saw two deer come for a visit in our yard!

I guess they wanted to come play with the snowmen!

We've seen many deer tracks around our yard but never actually seen any deer.

I was tempted to close the gate and keep these two friends as pets!!

Another great sunrise!

 

The one thing I love so much about living where we do is being so close to the temple! I love being able to go when I can. One morning I went really early before my family had woke up. It was still dark when I went into the temple. When I came out the sun was just starting to rise over the temple. It was beautiful! I am grateful for the blessings the Lord has blessed me with and one of those blessings is living here in our new valley! I love it! Life is good. 

What a wacky kid!!

Sometimes I wonder how my kids can be so silly! (They must get it from their dad!)  The other day I put Carder down for his nap, I came back a minute later to check on him only to discover he had put a helmet on his head!

"That is so wacky!" I told him! "Why do you have a helmet on your head?!" I asked him! "Just because!" was his response! 

Then he pointed to his football helmet and said, "Now I need that helmet!" I guess you can't have enough protection for a nap! I sure love this cute boy no matter how silly or wacky he is!!

Snow?! Really!?!

Just when we thought spring had arrived....just when we had put away our winter clothes....just when we had put up our new trampoline....and just when we thought winter was over....it SNOWED!!!
Talk about crazy weather! Was this some sort of April fools joke half way through April?! I know we need the 'moisture' and the kids LOVED it! But come on! Snow?!!

I could not believe my eyes when I woke up and looked out the window and saw all this white stuff!

Caleb and Carder could hardly wait to put on their snow clothes! 

By the time I found all the snow gear, got him dressed, and took a few pictures Carder was ready to come inside! 

Caleb could have played outside all day long in the snow! He loved it!By the time he came home from school most of it had melted!

Day trip to Logan!!

"Utah State! Hey! Aggies all the way! Go Aggies! Go Aggies! Hey! Hey! Hey!!" 

I love Utah State! I love being an Aggie! The Utah State football team was having a Blue/White scrimmage one Saturday so we decided to go up and watch the game and see the campus! It was so great going back to our stomping grounds! So many great memories there! It was fun showing the kids where we used to live and where we went to school. We are definitely encouraging our kids to go to the true blue school!!

Maybe Caleb will be a future USU football player!?! 

 

 

Me & my buddy Ty enjoying a beautiful sunny day at the football stadium! 

 Carder didn't want to sit still and watch the game! He had more fun walking along the bleachers! 

Look at these cute future Aggies!!

 

Then we walked around campus and saw all the new sights that weren't there when we went to school! 

 Like this A! It's new! Carder thought it was sure cool!

Oh Old Main! It was good to see familiar sights! 

Go True Aggies! The kids couldn't believe Nate and I kissed on the A at midnight! They thought that was too silly! 

I hope the time goes by slowly for these boy to come to school!  Can't even think they will be that big some day! 

Mara loved doing cart-wheels and tricks on the Quad! I told her she would look back and remember doing her tumbling tricks on this lawn when she was a little girl!!

Finally we finished our Logan adventure with Aggie Ice-Cream

Our little dancer!

Mara is our little dancing girl! She loves her dance/tumbling class. She started her new dance class in November and really picked up on the routine fast! She performed at the high school during the basketball game.

Mara was a little nervous for her first performance with this group, but she sure did look beautiful! Her daddy hardly recognized her when she came down the stairs!!

 

Here she is at he the high school! 

 

Warm up time! Her daddy calls her "Mara Long Legs!" 

 Mara did an awesome job! She didn't forget any moves and she did a perfect job!

 

Mara loves  being with so many of her friends! 

   

She performed a really cute dance to one of the songs from Tangled. 

 

She did some really awesome tricks in her dance including a back bend kick over! She was so nervous she was going to fall on her head but she didn't! She did great! 

Hurray for Mara! I love watching her dance! She is always doing cart-wheels, and tumbling around the house! She just loves to dance!  

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park & Zion

We woke up Friday morning and brrrrrrr was it cold!! It must have been in the 20s because our water bottles in our tent were frozen and it was so chilly! I'm really surprised my kids a)slept through the night and b) weren't crying in the morning from the cold! They sure are good campers and tough kids! We jumped in the warm car and went for a drive until it got a little warmer. We made a stop at a gas station and bought doughnuts and hot chocolate to help us warm up! Then we drove to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

As soon as the kids went out on the sand they started rolling in it, and making sand angels! They thought this was the biggest sand box they had ever seen!

 

Nate, Caleb, & Ty hiked to top of this highest sand dune! 

Hello Ty! He didn't seem to mind all the sand, he thought it was great! 

 Here comes mama, Carder, and Mara! Mara was less than thrilled and thought this adventure was lame! Her attitude quickly changed when she saw how much fun her brothers were having rolling down the sand hill and playing in the sand! She started doing cartwheels down the hill! 

These boys had too much fun! They even said this was their favorite part of the camping trip!!

Caleb said "It was really hard to climb up the sand! It was more fun rolling and running down the hill!"

 It really felt like we were more in the Arabian Desert than in Utah (although we are a desert!)

 It was fun to explore a new place, the kids really had fun here!

 I can't even describe the amount of sand this kid had on him! Caluba was covered in red sand. He had so much sand in his hair that he actually looked like a red-head! It's a good thing we had showers at our campsite!

 We hiked quite a ways in the sand filled desert then it was time to go back to camp for lunch!

 After lunch we were ready for another hike! This time we went in Zion but stayed on the east side of the park and did our own bush-whacking hike!

 The hike was awesome! We had beautiful scenery, we hiked high and low, we went through a slot canyon! 

 

Along the hike we found several pools of water in the rocks and near the water were little frogs! 

 What a great hiking crew we have! Ty seems to always find a good hiking stick wherever we go! The kids get better and better with each hike we go on!

 I can still carry my little buddy on my back (and sometimes front!) I'll be so sad when I can't carry my hiking buddy with me! He really didn't want to get in the ergo and he cried and threw a fit when we strapped him in! He wanted to hike like the big kids, and he did pretty good! But he was also tired and as soon as he went in the pack he fell asleep and had a great nap!

I think Carder is one of the best hikers I know! He is willing to hike as long as we will let him!