on a saturday afternoon...

saturday mornings = cleaning...

saturday nights = movies...

but saturday afternoons are perfect for a good project...so here is what we did today...

...now i am on the hunt for 4 more kinds of mis-matched upholstry fabric. yay!!!!

fun times in Montana!

Whitefish! i geuss it was our turn to sleep up in the loft...i switched between a bunk and an air mattress...they were equally terrible! i just need my own bed- end of story.

here's the famous loft...

we went to BIGFORK (my favorite place) to see Happy Days...it was a fun play...maybe a little slow...and the kids didn't get lots of the jokes because they've never SEEN Happy Days! But i like any play in the 50's time period. They are doing it in cardston this summer too...however in Cardston, i think the actors will be MUCH more modest...
for some reason we just HAVE to pose with these Bigfork statues!

In front of the playhouse...i love the guy in the background!!! hehe


Other things we did? Swim, shop, swim, shop, swim, and SHOP. We also saw Harry Potter...the last HP movie EVER!!!! it was sad...we have invested many many years being faithful followers of the series! I LOVED the ending...we all did!! other than maybe Ben...but honestly it was a very VERY good movie.

Tess and I sent the boys to captain america too...so that we could do extra girl-shopping. a smart choice...but we were exhausted after!!!!

and then on the way home we stopped for huckleberry ice cream...and for the first time EVER...the HOUSE OF MYSTERY. I always want to stop there...and so finally we did. It was Ayden who was the most excited about it...so here are some of our fun times with the VORTEX! Whether you believe it's real ...or not... it was fun!!!

Ayden taller...
Ayden shorter...is it level??
In the vortex shack...trying to keep our balance!


me...i think waiting to be healed by the powers of the vortex. :o)




i dont' know why- but there was a giant rocker outside. is that mysterious for some reason? not sure i get that one. haha...
and so other than the 45 minute wait at the border, we really did have a fun few days.

going...going....

...summer goes FAST. it hardly seems like any time goes by, and we're back to school!!!

crazy...

-the weather has been so nice! the mosquitoes are for the most part gone...so being outside is heavenly.

-we've been busy juggling 1 regular job and 4 part time jobs. life is crazy.

-waterton was nice this week...sitting by the falls felt so good on a hot day!

-i have to get my leg pulled every day...there is an upslip on one side of my pelvis, and especially during prolotherapy- i have to keep it down where it belongs! things seem to be improving all the time..

-drives me crazy when people say they're too busy for something. we are ALL busy. all of us.

-next year we must install an air conditioner. we are all hooked up...just need the unit.

-i keep thinking about friends that have large trials and problems. i feel for them. my life seems so easy in comparison. why would i ever complain. (and yet i do)

-people frustrate me. i don't know why they make such ridiculous choices in life. what a waste.

-i remember a time when my mom said to me "why don't you all call me FRED" after a day of "mom this and mom that"...and i have also adopted that from her. i ask my kids to call me FRED...especially during the summer. thanks mom. :)

-i am increasingly frustrated with the stupidity of facebook. i learn things about people that either traumatize me- or i don't care about. i don't care if you are going to the gym...and i don't care what song you're listening to. OKAY!!??

-we are anxiously awaiting HP7 part 2 this week. bring it on!!!

-i finally got a new blender. i am so proud of myself.

-tessa at this moment is very loud.

-i am going to eat a brownie.

Near the end of his life, one father looked back on how he had spent his time on earth. An acclaimed, respected author of numerous scholarly works, he said, ‘I wish I had written one less book and taken my children fishing more often.’ Time passes quickly. Many parents say that it seems like yesterday that their children were born. Now those children are grown, perhaps with children of their own. ‘Where did the years go?’ they ask. We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present.”

hi my name is ayden and i like to be anoying i dont know why it is fun.

summer continues...

we are enjoying the slower pace of summer. we are all working...but at least there is none of the extra stuff....

we have a real garden! so exciting...

...i am still sewing...
check out this spinach...it will go great in my smoothies!




...and Ayd jumping in front of the camera...
in about 10 days we will go to Whitefish for a few days. after that, we have a little getaway to Waterton...and that will be about it for us this summer....

now that's hail!!!

yesterday afternoon Tessa looked out the window and said "mom, what's that!" ...it was a big sheet of white heading towards us. she thought it was snow! but no, it was "just" ice cube sized hail!!! it was SUPER loud and a bit scary as it pounded on the windows and roof. luckily Pete had gone to pick up Ben from the dentist, and was just driving home when it hit...they drove under a tree for shelter...amazingly huge!

ben all suited up to play in the rain

no! not these again!

it's been over a year since i had these...having one now. i have dreaded getting these again. the last thing my opthomologist said to me was "well, figure out what's causing them...and then avoid that" huh? i have no clue.

occular migraines = upsetting and not fun.

small taste of camp

here we are making our jar lanterns. we later used them at night for an activity where the girls had to find the bishop in the dark, and he lit their lanterns...it was neat watching them walk down the hill in the dark with their lanterns glowing...

all 15 girls on the waterslide! we were impressed with the slide...it was a good one!

here are the shirts...we bleached around the torch symbol...and then peeled of freezer paper...the symbol stayed.
everyone had matching pj bottoms!

last week

Ayden bbqueing up a storm!

love the green!!
i took a plethura of items to camp. this is just a small sampling. it was rather insane! i am still recovering...

girl's camp

pics coming soon...
what i learned this time...

1- an easy comfy camp is GREAT for just bonding and spending time together. activities can be more effective also...
2- i cannot sleep in a large room with 20 other people no matter how hard i try, what i take, or how comfy i am. it just DOESN"T HAPPEN ...bleh
3- working with amazing women makes a world of difference
4- we have the BEST young women EVER
5- girls are more snackers than full meal-eaters.

our camp theme was "light keepers". i found a good song called Light Keepers, and suggested it as a theme, and the pres (Betsy) was kind enough to accept it! it turned out really good. We had Sarah Beril come and talk about music and how it can bring light...
Our bishop gave a great morningside about light...and our RS pres came out and gave another really great fireside about lightkeepers. what their jobs are...relating it to us. it was quite impressive...
we made lanterns...t-shirts with the torch symbol put onto it...lots of friendship bracelets and other crafts...and we all had matching PJ bottoms! so fun...
it was really a success...and now on to the rest of summer!!!
and PS...the weather was just incredible for us.

update...

hmmm...since my prolotherapy shots...a few things have changed! I wasn't actually thinking it would the first time around...and the doctor said not to expect a big difference.
BUT...I HAVE noticed that I am not taking many painkillers...at least half or less of what I took before. That is HUGE for me!!!!! I went to go for one of my classic "wussy walks" last night...and suddenly I noticed I was walking fast! That is also HUGE for me!!!! I have already noticed less pain. SO...this is great!!! My next shot is this friday and I dread the actual shots, but look forward to even better results afterward!
I have also been doing pilates daily. At first I thought it was kind of a wimpy useless program. However...after you keep going and learn how to engage the core muscles better...it can be quite intense! SO...I have noticed more strength in that area too. Which is also HUGE for me.
I would love to totally get off painkillers...and for the first time in what feels like forever...I see that as an actual possibility!!
THEN...after my back is fixed...I can move on to fixing TMJ...and possibly one or two other things. why not!!!