Thank You Julius :)

Once upon a time they started construction on a park across the street from Walmart.  I know that cause I go there several times a week!  We talked about it, but thought it would never come!  

But alas, IT DID!  

It's simply amazing!  Boise/Meridian has the best parks in the world!

  {mind you I am not exactly "world traveled".....}

There is play equipment, hills, ponds, statues, amphitheaters, sand volleyball, bocce ball, benches, swings, and a splash pad.  {and much more too}  WE cannot wait to show Grammy and G'ma and G'pa Blue!!

WE finally made it to this oasis!  

{we tried Saturday, but due to poor behavior, we circled back home}

It was SUPER windy when we went, but it was still so much fun! I think you'll be able to tell by these pictures!   

 {spinning and whirling}

 {resting, and flipping}

 {getting whipped with my hair}

 {hanging with Julius}

{making out with Julius.....uh.......}

And the nice lady walking that snapped a picture for us!  

It was a great FHE.  Natalie read a lesson from the Friend Magazine about Heber J. Grant and his coat. It was rather cute! 

Graden Graduates!

He is my heart and soul.

Ears are for Piercing

When I knew I was having girls I thought.......

"They will be darling babies with cute pierced ears!!!"

{Note to my single YW......that's a discussion you may want to have with Mr. Wonderful prior to having a baby girl....He may have other plans.  He may have a theory that they need to 1.  Be old enough to ask.  2.  Be old enough to take care of them themselves..... you catch my drift.  Hence the theories of MY Mr. Wonderful}

So I carefully pick my battles, and that one was not worth it.  I patiently waited EIGHT years.  After their birthday I started planting seeds about getting them done.  

HOOK....

LINE.....

SINKER!!!!!!!

We went to Claire's on Eagle Rd and had it done.  They did an amazing job.  And I will forgive who ever posted on FB that I should just have it done at Walmart.  I do have some standards people!  ;)

Natalie and I sat earlier in the day and watched YouTube videos of little girls getting it done.  

{Note to self.....may not have been a great idea in hind sight}

Taylor had gotten herself completely worked up over the whole thing.  She was crying before we got there.  

So as you can guess when the gal asked who was going first Taylor instinctively threw Natalie under the ear piercing bus.  

The pictures will tell the following events!  

They have been awesome about cleaning them everyday.  This was how they chose to spend their $20 in birthday money.  Daddy and I treated them to several pairs of earrings (Thank you 10 for $10 sale...), and an OWL earring holder.  In honor of their Mum. 

That is all she wrote......

Breaking.....

DAWN YA'LL!  

1.  I had no intention of going to the mid night showing.  It was pure peer pressure from one Tamra Lords.  The queen of Twilighters.  And all the shenanigans that follow.  

2.  I was being a brat cause I was not going with Candace.  WOMP.  So kill me.  

3.  As it turns out we were broke when the movie came out.  Go figure.  

4.  I go to buy a ticket with some spare change I scrounged together.  THEY ARE SOLD OUT.  Another go figure.  

5.  Text my friend Jared who is the manager of the Edward's in Nampa.  He hooked me up.  Saweet.  

So the night begins~

I had stake auxiliary training that night for YW's.  It was delightful.  But I begin to feel a scratch in my throat!  WOMP!  

I braved it anyway's and picked up my friend Julie, her daughter Maddie, another friend JaeCee and her cousin Nikki.  We ventured out to the theater.  

WHAT???  A line around the block????  Kill me.  :)  All was well.  Tamra was already there causing a ruckus, so we jumped in line with her!  It went really fast!  

We got in the theater and it was not even packed!  Saweet!  We chatted, laughed, checked out Pinterest, made fun of these 12-14 year old girls that were doing cheers on the floor.  All was good.  I was decked out in red, black and white!  And these killer earrings from my friend Cindy!!!  

This stunning picture I took and text to Cindy and Cherie at another theater.  I will be nice and not post the one they sent to me.  For it equals this one in beauty.....wink!!!  

Ok.  Here is the truth.  I have only read each Twilight book once.  Years ago at that.  So I knew the premise of Breaking Dawn, but had forgot a lot of the details.  I thought the honeymoon scene was done tastefully.  Although if I had a teenage daughter sitting by me, I would have rather died.  :)  

The most disturbing parts for me was when Bella became so ill with the baby.  I was totally NOT prepared for the graphic depiction of her.  I was so sad!  And kinda barfy!  Ugh!  

It was bad news when I woke up on Friday after 6 hours of sleep.  I was sicker than a dog!  TERRIBLE!  My sister Megan came and got my kids so I could nap.  I was down for the count till Sunday.  I was awake for 2 hours, slept for 2 hours.  I kept telling Jason I felt hollow.  Ugh.  Thankfully he was home and able to be Mr. Mom.  He did great!  

So this is the start of our Thanksgiving vacation!  

He is all business when we play.  Burke?  Not so much!  

All Hallows.....

We had another wonderful Halloween this year!  Also lucky enough to have Bailey with us to help with the carving on Sunday!  

A wonderful time was had by all!  My goal was to get the kids in bed by 8:30 and I did!  

{So I treated myself to a pedicure today!}

HOLLA!

Celebrate with me!!!

I decided that this was the year I was going to take the girls down to the Women's Fitness Celebration 5K Run/Walk.  

I threatened their lives that if they complained they could not come back with me till they turn 11!!!  I think that did the trick!  I got them some fairy wings and matching tutu's and they were in heaven!  We rode the shuttle bus to the park and had a really fun time.  

As I have gotten older my anxiety has increased 10 fold.  Especially if it is out of my normal routine.  I was doing really well until the Life Flight helicopter did a fly over.  It just hit my panic button!  I was just praying it did not crash.  (I know that is terrible and morbid.  I think I have a thing called "Bad Thoughts OCD")  

The girls griped a few times but it was legit.  We waited in the same spot at the starting line for over an hour.  And mostly in the shade.  So it was chilly!  

Once we got started they were awesome!  They received several comments of how cute they were.  I could not agree more!  

Cute huh?  

{Funner Summer}

Could somebody please tell me where the summer went? It will go down in the history books as a fun one, but a FAST one! Here are some funner things, and some not so much :)

I scored on a mess of clothes for the girls for B2S. (back to school) I have $48 in store credit at Kids Again and took more things in to consign and got another $14. So I had a tab of $68. I was able to get a dozen + shirts, 8 pairs of jeans and a denim jacket for $22. :) Most of the shirts were on summer clearance and I snatched them up! I also got the girls several pairs of shoes at Payless for $6 a piece. They are all set! Whew! We also got all their supplies! I am on top of it this year! Last year at this time I was prepping for 3 tonsillectomy's. Not cool.

Burke fell into a speaker on our living room floor on Monday. Another not cool. He was fine though. Did not even break the skin.
I thought this was cute. They are watching Shrek on my bed.
I got a new doo from September. I even have some spikies in the back! I like a funky hair style.
We took our YW boating to Black Canyon Reservoir last night. I had never been there before. It was amazing. I love how the docks are against grass, and they are not floating. I know the girls had a GREAT time! (As did their fearless leaders)

Here is my beautiful Stacy!

Here I am "trying" to knee surf.

BAILEY THE BEAST! She rocks with water sports!

Bronwyn having a blast!

Bailey dreaming of Nebraska.

Our fearless Bishop surfing.

Moi~

Some of the leaders taking a break!

Crazy tubbing girls!

I told the girls that if they are brave enough to steal my phone and take pictures, then dumb enough not to erase them, I will post them. This is Jamie and Claire. I told Jamie she looks like Sloth from Goonies. She did not know who that was..........Baby Ruth??????

I had to bring my arthritis stick. It takes the pain out of my shoulder. Stacy thought it may work on her jaw. I think it just cleared her nose. :)

I had a HUGE crash off the tube. I have no idea how it happened either. I guess I flipped on the water forever before I actually sunk in. I am sore today.

THE BEST PART???????? I was soooooo cold when I got home, but was equally as tired. Jason had poured me a super hot bath with Epsom salt. Ahhh......I sat in the tub and told him all about the trip and we ate watermelon. It was delightfulness.

The more tender your feet......

The more tender your spirit.

Those were words spoken by a teenage girl about Trek. I could not have said it better myself. It is so true. But not just your feet. Your body, your mind, your everything!!!

There were so many beautiful and marvelous things that happened on Trek. It is not for the weak in spirit. It was the hardest thing both physically and mentally I have ever done. And for that, the blessings I have received have been insurmountable.

For starters, I could not have done it without this man. He kept me going when I thought I could go no more. He took care of our kids and our camp with pride. He made sure everything was as easy as it could be under our circumstances. From setting up camp, to packing the handcart, he is a man's man. It was no easy task, and he did it without complaint. (Or at least none that our kids could hear! I may have....)

Thank you for allowing me to do this Jason. It changed my life forever. And I know it strengthened our marriage.

This is the last passage of water we went through. It was more a mixture of manure and mud really. We still had another day to trek and my feet were still fine, so I chose to jump the water. But I did not have to. The day prior we had heard a devotional about the crossing of the Platte River crossing. We were told of a 16 year old GIRL that carried 17 members of her company across a frozen river.

When I came to the place that the women were crossing, there was a girl, approximately the same age, with one foot in the muddy water, helping others across a thin log. She sacrificed her own dry shoes and socks for us to keep ours. We live amongst amazing youth.

MA & PA Blue in all their glory!

A tender moment within our sweet and loving little...cough...cough...10kids!

Rosalyn~ What a wonderful YW she is! She was so helpful and has such a wonderful spirit.

Marlon~ Ok, we are in the same ward as Marlon. But he did not know that! He was so funny and sweet. And occasionally bored.....(that was quickly fixed by making him go get water, or our food box)! His brother's Brando and Hyrum were on trek too. If we could not find Marlon, he was with his brothers. I thought it was sweet.

Bri~ What an interesting character. She was quiet, and then would say the funniest things. One of which is that she thought we should do the trek in Nebraska next time because it's flat.

Trenton~ He is 12. Need I say more? He was fun to have around. He loves candy and was always into some! To the point where I had to hide the Jolley Ranchers I brought for the kids to have while walking! Trenton also announced during a devotional that the spirit was telling him to go see Harry Potter. (It was the night it came out). I gave him the look. You know the one!

Chandler~ This boy pulled our handcart 99% of the time. We had to pull him off to take a break. But then he was right back on. I want my daughters to marry a guy like Chandler. He was the best son a Ma and Pa could ask for!

Nathan~ This guy is a wonderful person! He was delightful, and helpful, and just such a pleasure to be around. He is a spiritual giant! Another boy my girls to marry! He loved our rice baby David. He even fashioned several outfits, and slings for him to wear!

Bailey Rae~ Well, we all know how much I love this one! SO MUCH! She was thoughtful and kind. I needed her on Trek. She kept me sane, when I thought I may lose it!

Jared~ Our other 12 year old! What a sweet boy this one! His Mom was so worried about him going. Her prayers were answered! He was amazing to have! His hand was always on the cart! I miss this guy!

Megan~ Our mini ox. Megan pulled for 2 straight days! She was funny, and adorable! I thought it a pleasure to be her Ma!

Alex~ This guy got some serious blisters starting day 1. He NEVER complained. If we needed anything he was right there to help! I loved having all these awesome boys!

The last 1/4 mile we were given the chance to walk in barefoot. We heard the most amazing story of sacrifice. How could we not do it? We were the second to last handcart and actually walked closer to a mile barefoot. It was dirty, rocky, and there were lot's of little thorns. But Jason said that the Spirit was so strong you could not feel them.

(Megan's tootsies)

We had such a spiritually significant time that I am finding it difficult to blog about. They are tender and personal. I hope you understand. But in these words and pictures, I hope you get the feel of the love we had for this special adventure!

On a funny note. One night we played Mafia with the Barne's family. That is one hour of my life I will never get back. And I have no IDEA what happened. And I as the police! LOL!