Another Family Birthday

Today is my "big sister's" birthday. She's two years older than me, but a few inches smaller. Our relationship has changed many times in the years we've been together. Growing up we didn't like one another (but that isn't too abnormal with siblings). Over the years we grown to really appreciate one another. After our brother died and she divorced her husband we became especially close, but she has moved on and has found the love of her life and is extremely happy.

Happy Birthday Jen, I hope it's been a great day for you!This is me with my sister and our great grandmother.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday and all I can say is I'm thankful she is my mother. She's had her ups and downs but she is a devoted woman and she has been a great influence on me and my life.

My mom has been a teacher for many years - I don't know exactly how many, but it's close to 30 years. She teachers at West lake Junior High in a self-contained behavior disorder unit and has changed many students' lives in the process. She is firm with her boundaries and loves people despite their faults or the way they may treat her. I learned that from experience.

When I was in high school, I didn't agree with my mother on multiple occasions. I did many things to show her I didn't agree: I lied to her, I called her horrible names, I tried to run away - and with all my behaviors, she still loved me.

She's been such a help to me since becoming a mother myself. She loves her grandchildren and she doesn't offer her advice freely. She gives it when she may be concerned or when it's asked. While I don't plan on being just like my mom, I have definitely learned from her.

There were two defining moments in my life when my opinion of my mother changed. When I was 19, I was hospitalized for kidney stones. I spent a month in and out of the hospital, I had 3 surgeries, and lost 50 pounds. My mother was there for me every moment. She tried to find things I could eat, she was patient with all of my throwing up, and she slept at the hospital every night. I have never seen her so dedicated to me as I had when I truly needed her and it's something I've never forgotten.

The second defining moment was while I was on my mission. I served in Italy for a year and half and my mother is the only person from home who wrote me weekly. For those who have served a mission (before the email access), you know how important the mail is. It is a life source and can lift you after the hard days of rejection. My mother was there for me once again and it made a huge difference in my mission.

Thank you mom for being a great person. You've helped many people and left an imprint on their lives permanently. As Maya Angelou would say, you're a phenomenal woman, and I'm proud to call you Mom.

Happy Birthday.

Bear Lake . . . Again

As the title of this posts reads, we went to Bear Lake for the holiday weekend. It was great to spend time with my parents, my aunt Gretchen and uncle Dennis, and my cousin Ryan with his kids. My cousin has a son a year and a half older than Kyson and it was so cute to see them interact. The lake was too cold so the kids played in a little pool in the front yard.

My uncle gave Kyson ride on the tractor; well, Kyson liked it so little we basically got a picture and he wanted to get off. But hey, we got a picture, right? We haven't pulled out the tractor for so long, but because it is the end of the summer, they used it to pull in the anchors in the lake. We used to dock the boats with it, but because the lake is so far down, it's not safe any more.

This picture doesn't really show anything spectacular, but I like it. He looks like a tiny model the way he's holding onto the bar and looking away from the camera with a serious expression. It's so cliche. It reminds me of Ashton Kucher in "Cheaper by the Dozen."

Kyson and I went four wheeling on the beach. It was beautiful weather and a perfect dusk. I love four wheeling with Kyson on the beach, but apparently, our legislature has nothing more important to do with their time than pass a law that won't allow private land owners to ride four wheelers on the beach. The next day my dad got a ticket and he said he'll go to jail before he pays for that ticket just for the principle of it. I agree with him. I could go off on this subject, but I'll leave it with that.

Franni had it good this weekend. She played outside a lot and loved to run around on the beach. She chased a seagull so far once I had to get the four wheeler to catch her. I had to do it again when she chased a grasshopper down the beach. She ran around a lot, and it wiped her out!

As I mentioned earlier, Kyson played with my cousin's son, Aiden, the weekend. I got a small sample of the many activities they did together.


After the fun-filled weekend, Kyson slept on the way home. I know I'm the mom so I'm biased, but boy he's so cute - especially when he's laughing, happy, and sleeping.

The Kids

Well today was the first day of a new school year and I'm already exhausted. The first day is always so hectic. During my time off, I've been glued to the Olympics (going to bed late every night), and spending quality time with my husband and son. It's amazing how much you miss your family when you see them every day. Franni continues to keep us on our toes, and when we punish her by putting her outside, Kyson antagonizes her. It is funny to watch those two in action. They may get on each other's nerves, but they sure do like each other.

On morning, however, we left the door open so Franni could come back in when she wanted to. It was only a few minutes. I was doing the dishes and Kris was working on his computer in the same room. Well, Kyson escaped and we didn't notice until he was already outside in the mud. It was terrible. He enjoyed it, but me. . . well, not so much. I got over it though. At least he's adventurous right?

Cornucopia of Randomness

Kyson with my old stuffed animal, Ra, from when I grew up.

Kyson and Kris mowing the lawn.

Kyson reading his books (nothing unusal, I just like to see it).

Franni Faye taking a nap.

Shakespeare and More

Well I've been out of town again. I spent the last 6 days in Cedar City as a chaperone for 12 of my students at the Shakespearean Festival. We saw Taming of the Shrew, Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Fiddler on the Roof, a props seminar, literary seminar, costume seminar, backstage tour, and spent a day in Zion's. It's amazing how exausting it is chasing 12 teenage girls around for 6 days. It was a great trip, but I'm glad it's over. I'm in charge of planning this trip every year and it never gets easier. I'm proud to say my students understood the plays and really enjoyed them.

Since I've been back I've been overwhelmed with grades. I currently on break and don't have work at one of my schools, but I've spent 3 days so far grading papers to finish grades from summer school (because I was out of town the last week of the quarter). I should finish grades tomorrow.

Kyson and Kris, the loves of my life, have been so fun. It's apparent that my boys missed me. Kyson lights up when he sees me and just started crying when I walk out the door, even to take the garbage out. He definitely misses me. The night I got back we went to Red Robin for dinner and Kyson got a balloon. Boy Kyson and Franni Faye have been fighting over that thing, until Franni popped it.

Kyson has also been playing with my old stuffed animal from when I was little. it's Ra my lion. My grammy Tinsch made it for me and now Kyson plays with it.

I'm trying to attach pictures, but I keep getting errors. I'll try again in the morning and add pictures if it will work then.

Bear Lake

We've been out of town A LOT this summer, and I went away for a few days with Kyson. I'll be leaving again soon, but Kris will stay home. This time we went to Bear Lake, and it was so much fun. Kyson is such a spoiled kid. He's only one and he's had so many opportunities that many never get. It's funny because when we went to the beach in New Hampshire, he couldn't get enough of the ocean. However, for some reason, he needs coaxing to get into the lake. you'd think the frigid North Atlantic would be more intimidating than Bear Lake. While he doesn't take too well to the water, he loves the sand. He likes to dig and throw sand, and play in the mud.

Along with the beach, we also went on the wave-runner, four-wheeler, and my father's beautiful boat. Kyson seemed to enjoy the adventures, but I think that four0wheeling is his favorite because it's so relaxing for him. One night he even completely fell asleep on the ride - and it wasn't smooth. Last year he went tubing and this year we added wave-running. We didn't go very fast, we topped out at 17 mph.

I can't end this post without taking a moment to show off my dad's beauty. He took Kyson out on the lake and it was so cute. He took his fishing pole in hopes to catch a fish for Kyson. In my father's words, "He'd love it!" Well, he didn't get the fish, and Kyson didn't love it. But the gesture was sweet. Isn't that yacht just gorgeous?