Has it Really Been That Long...

It doesn't seem like it has been over a month since I last posted, but maybe that is because we have been very busy. Here is what we have been up to...

Nothing has changed in the past month with Kimball, he is still running. He ran a race last Saturday after it had snowed. It was only 31* outside and the wind in his face made it even more chilly. I guess when you are die hard you don't stop for anything.














Sophia turned 7 on November 17th. She counted down to her birthday for weeks and as the days passed her wish list got longer and longer. But it finally arrived and she got almost everything on her list. She was a very happy girl. She chose to go to Applebee's for her birthday dinner. She kept reminding us every time the waitress came NOT to tell them it was her birthday. But her hearts desire was that she could get free ice cream, so we told them and she was embarrassed and elated:) Happy Birthday Soda Pop!




Kate turned Kate turned 10 on November 15th. It was a happy day if you can't tell by the smile on her early morning face. She had been hoping we would get her a Kindle. She was more than happy to have that be about all she got. She has become a great reader and is loving it. She went to Olive Garden on her birthday and was also serenaded. Happy Birthday Bug!












Of course, who can forget the excitement of Halloween. Kate was a gypsy. Sophia was a vampire. Hope was a witch again. The had fun at our ward party the weekend before. Then on Halloween night they hit the streets. The weather was so nice they didn't even have to wear coats. They had a fun time with friends and, of course, ate to much candy.







The week before Halloween we had to make the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. As always, it takes some time to find the perfect pumpkin, but we did it once again. They had fun and we carved them a few days later only to find a couple of them rotten inside. Oops, I should have checked them closer before we bought them. Lesson learned for next year :)

Our Summer in a Nutshell

The First Day of School

I will add Kimball's picture when I get one.
(It obviously won't be the first day of school though.)

Kimball is headed off to the high school this morning. We are hoping for a good academic year along with lots of Cross Country meets and Track meets. If you remember, right now he is 15 and doesn't have a care in the world, everything will fall into place, right!

This is Nick's first day of Junior High. I don't know who is more nervous mom or Nick. Nick gets to go to a brand new junior high and each student gets a Netbook. It should be a fun year for Nick. He refused to take a serious picture, but Nick isn't a very serious kid.

Kate is very excited this year. She got the teacher she wanted and is with two of her very best buddies, Hailee and Rylie. What more could a girl ask for.

Sophia is going all day. Yep, first grade here we come. We have heard fabulous things about her teacher, Mrs. Redd and we are excited about this year.

This is our very sad Hope that doesn't get to go to school yet. She is very unhappy that preschool doesn't start for two weeks and thinks that it might take forever. So sad :(

Murray Farmer's Market

Last Saturday after Kimball's race some of the family went down to the farmer's market in Murray. When we lived in Kearns it was a Saturday morning tradition. With the weather being so cold at the beginning of the summer it slowed down the growing season and we were kind of disappointed, but it still brought back some fun memories. We were able to get a huge watermelon, some corn on the cob, and apples. We also tasted some homemade tamales. The favorite part is playing at the Murray Park when we are done.

I really don't know how the kids ride on these crazy spinning
toys. I seriously get dizzy just watching them.

Hope and Sophia just hanging out, it was kind of a hot day.

Happy 15th Birthday Kimball

Some months around here it feels like all we do is birthdays. Well this month is one of them. Last Wednesday was Kimball's birthday, he is 15 and really wishing he was 16. All summer he has been talking about how bad it is going to stink that he is barely turning 15 this month and he has to go all year without going to a dance and driving without his parents. Oh well, life sometimes kind of stinks. But we are excited that he is growing up and we are loving life with Kimball around. This is our cute 15 year old boy at his latest race. He ran the Dart Challenge 5k at Barnes Park this last weekend. We think something is wrong with him, he can't get enough of this running stuff :)

Some things you ought to know about Kimball are:

• He is a running fool, hmmm, I think I may have already mentioned that.
• He is a good friend and brother
• He loves to go to movies
• He has a fun sense of humor
• He talks about farting nonstop (do your really blog about that, yep, especially when it is true)
• He loves Nick's hamster, Jimmer, probably as much as Nick does!
• He tries to always do his best.

We love you Kimball Roni, Happy Birthday!!!

24th of July

On the 24th of July we had a great time. Alex our niece came and stayed with us because her parents were headed on trek. The girls love it when Alex comes to play with us. We went and saw Cars 2, it was cute. Then our friends, The Grows, came up to hang out with us. My sister and her family also joined us. We ate lots of yummy food (thanks Amy for the turkey and green beans). Then we went down the street to watch the "Jackson Street of Fire". Long before we were ever around our street started a tradition of gathering everyone's fireworks and setting them off together. We each bring a treat to share and watch the fireworks on the corner. This year was a little better than in the past because of the legal aerial fireworks.

Holly enjoying the fireworks.

Hope and Brooklyn sharing a chair at the fireworks. Hope kept being afraid of the fireworks and Brooklyn kept telling her to look into her popcorn bag. So every time they let one off you would look over and Hope had her face stuffed in her popcorn bag. It was pretty funny.

Kate and Sophia watching the fireworks.



Potter and Page Family Reunions

This year the Page Family Reunion and the Potter Family Reunion ended up both being on the 4th of July weekend in Scofield, which made it very easy for us to make it to everything. Like usual we went to the cabin Friday and spent the weekend. Mark's family were all together on Saturday, it was good to see them, many of them we hadn't seen for a few years.

Paul and Misty helped keep us cool. They brought a snow cone machine with lots of flavors. They kids thought this was the best. The best part is everyone had colored teeth and lips :)

Sisterly love, Hope and Sophia

Kate is all smiles.

Of course, Kimball doesn't no how to not be goofy!

We played minute to win it games one night, thanks to Misty.
This is Liam just as his stack of 6 dice tumble.

Nick had to reconstruct a cereal box in one minute.
It turned out to be harder than it looks.

We had to get grandpa in on the fun. He had to get 3
cotton balls from the table into the bowl by putting vaseline on his nose
and getting them to stick to his nose. We pretty funny.

Kate had to blow all the balls off except the pink one.
There were lots when she started.

At the Potter reunion they had horses to ride. Nick was loving it.

Hope really wanted to ride on the horses so Mark got on with her.
He would later pay for it later, he forgot how allergic he was to horses.

Nick and his cousin Don slept outside the last night. I think that
Nick could sleep through a tornado. He was dead to
the world and it was daylight out there.

If only I had pictures to show you of our last adventure while at the cabin. Mark and Paul went on a four wheeler ride early Monday morning. Mark still thinks he is sixteen and ended up going a little to fast down the cut backs and wrecked his dad's four wheeler. He ended up in the emergency room down at Castle Valley Hospital. They did lots of x-rays and put some stitches in his upper lip. He is very blessed to have walked away with out more serious injuries.

Happy #4 Hopey !

It is hard to believe that our baby turned 4 last week. She is definitely the youngest child and adds a little spice to our lives. We are so glad she is ours forever. Hope really only wanted two things for her birthday. She wanted a barbie and cake. When asked what she wanted for breakfast she said cake. When asked where she wanted to go for dinner she said she just wanted cake. So we made cupcakes and she was happy as could be.

This is Hope and her Belle doll, I am guessing by the end of the month this doll may not have any hair left. Oh well, it is well loved.

Hope blew out her 4 candles and now she is officially a big girl (no more whining aloud)!

Hope didn't have a party, but did have a play date with her friend.

Some of Hope's favorite things are:
1. She loves to play dress-ups and put on make-up.
2. She loves to play Barbies and polly pockets.
3. Her favorite colors are pink and purple dark (that is how she says dark pink and dark purple).
4. She likes to play with friends all the time and gets very upset when it is time to be done.
5. Her favorite food is chicken cordon bleu.
6. Her favorite treat is skittle pies (she likes to squish them between pages of a book and then they are skittle pies).
7. She likes to go to the zoo and her favorite animal is the giraffe.
8. She likes to go to the library and get books.

Happy Birthday Doogie!!!

Yes, my little man is growing up! Mark always tells the kids they are grounded until they stop growing up. Well its not working! So Nick turned 12 today. We were just going goo goo over him this morning. He was the absolute most beautiful baby and now he is just a handsome young man. Nick is really thoughtful and takes good care of his little sisters, especially Hope. Nick loves riding bikes, playing football, basketball, going to Jazz games, tinkering with his dad and working hard. He loves to be with his best buddies Tanner, Kade, and Alex. They are quite a crazy group of boys, they have lots of fun together and tend to stay out of trouble. He is so fun to be around and we love his sense of humor. Nick will be ordained on Sunday to be a deacon and we are so proud of him. We look forward to watching him grow into a honorable priesthood holder.

Soda Pop turned 6!

So this post is just a few days late! This year has been an exciting one for Sophia. She is finally in kindergarten and she is loving it. She is having her first friend birthday party this weekend and can hardly stand the wait. Sophia is such a fun girl to have around. She is so grown up and is going to be a fabulous mom someday. She likes to write and is learning how to sound out words. Sophia has lots of friends and is always orchestrating some type of game. She is a great big sister and really takes care of Hope. Our family would definitely have a hole without this little ball of energy. We love you Sophia and wish you a happy birthday.

Kate Bug ...they say its your birthday!

Where do I start! Lets just say I can't imagine life without our Kate Bug! She is so pretty, happy, loving, kind, caring, and considerate. She is definitely the middle child. She is a peacemaker in our home. It's really hard to believe that she turns 9 years old today. Kate loves to be with family and friends. She has been a singer since she could talk. Kate loves to read and excels in school. She loves to accessorize...yep, fancy hairdos, lots of hair flowers, headbands, etc. She loves to wear scarves and owns way to many pairs of shoes. She loves to listen to music. I feel so blessed to have such a fun daughter. We love you sooooo much. Happy Birthday to you!

Moments with my Mom

I can never let this day pass without being reminded that my mom is no longer here to celebrate with. However, a birthday is about happy thoughts, so happy thoughts it will be. Here are a couple of my favorite memories of my mom.

My mom made the most fabulous chicken noodle soup, homemade noodles and all. Whenever I make it I think of her. She always made it after Thanksgiving. I always remember thinking that she always was making to much, but rarely was there a time when there was leftovers.

As a teenager, when I would come home late at night she would stay up and we would have a midnight snack of chips and salsa followed up with a side order of chocolate chips. Yum...brings back so many memories!

When I was in high school me and one of my friends used to go walking at the college track at 5:30 every morning. Then my mom and her friend joined us. I loved walking with her. She used to help us study for tests and visit with us in those early morning hours as we walked. I really miss doing that.

I loved to feel her faith, if that makes sense. She was a believer in every sense of the word. She spoke of Christ, testified of Christ and had faith in Christ. She showed it by her words and deeds everyday of her life.

I am grateful everyday to be her daughter. Thank heavens we are an eternal family. I get all excited thinking about the day we will be together again. It will be amazing!

Seriously 14!

I can't believe it, Kimball turns 14 today. I look back and can't believe how fast the time has gone. He has always been such a cute kid. He is growing into a fine young man. He is a great big brother, and babysits for me a lot. He is fun to be around and has become quite the joker. His response to everything is "Sure, I guess" or "I'd say so". Sometimes these little comments get me a little crazy, but they just fit his personality. Kimball loves basketball, watching the Jazz, buying new shoes, running, and spending time with friends. He is working towards his eagle scout award and only has the project left. We love Kimball and he is a great example to his brothers and sisters.



Always a mischievous smile on his face!




This picture of the boys together makes me happy! Kimball really isn't being serious, its all part of the act.

Happy Birthday Hopey!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hope! I can't believe that three years ago today our little princess was born. She has kept us hopping ever since. She has become a very busy girl. She has taken voice lessons from her sister, she can sing like no one else. In fact, she frequently puts on concerts when requested. She loves friends, dress-ups, babies, and polly pockets especially the princess ones. She loves string cheese, popsicles, and chewing on ice cubes. She loves being with family and friends. If you ask her about who is in her family she says, "Mom, Dad, Nick, Kate, Sophia, and Brother". Kimball is affectionately known as Brother, he really is her favorite. I can't imagine our lives without our little princess. Happy Birthday Hopey!

Happy 11th Birthday

I think we are one of the luckiest families EVER!! We have a Nick, everyone should have a Nick. Nick is a fun, loving, happy, excitable, friendly, and a helpful boy. He is very tender at times, this is a very endearing quality. This is one of my favorite pictures of Nick, even though it is a couple of years old, this is how I think I will always remember Nick. Those big brown eyes have melted our hearts many times. Thanks Nick for being a great son, one that we love with all our hearts!!!

Happy Birthday Kate Bug!

My how time flies! Kate turned 8 years old yesterday. I can hardly believe how much she has grow in the last year. She has always been pretty, but has gotten even more beautiful inside and out. She is a wonderful big sister and is always trying to help someone. She loves her friends and is good to them. She loves to learn and read. She loves her brothers and sisters. We are so blessed to have such a special girl in our family. Most importantly she loves her Heavenly Father. She prays for help and has faith that he will help her. She is looking forward to getting baptized in a couple of weeks. We all love you Kate Bug. We hope you had a wonderful birthday.