A few happenings in my life

1. Last week was the 24th of July celebration in Utah. I love being in Utah on the 24th and getting a holiday. When Ben and I first got married and I moved to Idaho it was strange to have to work on the 24th of July. I have loved the last three years being in Utah for the state holiday with a parade and family BBQ. My parents town has a 5K race that I have participated in the last three years. The good news is that each year my time gets better. This year I improved my time from last year by four minutes and ran the 5K in 26 minutes 39 seconds. I was pretty excited about that. Ben was upset that the T-shirt said fun run instead of 5K, according to Ben it was not a "fun" run. For the picture he would not hold up his T-shirt because he wanted everyone to see his racing number not a shirt that said fun run. That evening we had a BBQ with my aunt and uncle and then went to a firework show that was spectacular for a small town. I was glad I could be in Utah for on last 24th of July celebration.




2. Ben is done with the Bar!!!!!!
i just got off the phone with Ben and he is driving home from his second day of the Bar exam so now he is completely 100% done. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate and then off on a little vacation tommorow. I am so excited for Ben that he is finished.

3. A bit ago my mom and I hosted a baby shower for our neighbor and I thought the decorations turned out so cute. My sister-in-law Laurel helped me make these diaper cakes that we decorated with ribbon and flowers and a baby topper. The clothesline was also really cute, when we opened presents we hung the outfits on the clothesline for everyone to see. I had heard of this idea before but had never actually seen it done so I thought I would post this picture for all of you who might need some inspiration decorating for a baby shower.

I'm Done!!!

I have been taking an independent Study course through BYU for the last year called Residential Landscape Design. I have a secondary education degree and to keep my teaching certificate current I have to take six credits every five years. So, I thought independent study would be a good way to get the credits while being at home with my children. Of course I procrastinated a bit and didn't work on the class throughout the year as I should have so this summer I have had to cram a lot of work in. The class is due this Friday, I was planning on taking the final tomorrow but after studying a bit I felt ready and I just wanted to get it done so I went and took it and now I am 100% finished! Yeah! An added bonus is that I got an A on my project and an A- in the course plus my parents are implementing some of my design in their backyard and it looks really good. I will post pictures soon, I am just really happy to finally be done!

Memory Lane

Come on, play along!!!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Beautiful Brothers

I have often heard make-up experts say to either focus primarily on the eyes or the lips. Jacob and David took the advice and divided up the face, Jacob took care of the eyes, and David the lips. The picture of Jacob was taken two and a half years ago and the picture of David was taken tonight. Ahh how history repeats itself! (At first you may thing David's lips are pudding but it is most definitely grandma's lipstick:)

Playing Catch Up

I admit, I have a lot of catch up to do. After a while of not blogging it gets harder to start up again because there is so much to write about and it is hard to choose what to highlight. So I have decided to give a quick update in order to get me caught up and back into the blog habit. I am going to do it number style with pictures and a quick update, here we go!

1. FAMILY PICTURES
We went to goblin valley with my family and took family pictures while we were there. They turned out pretty well considering we put our own camera on a tripod and used a timer. First is a picture of the whole family and second is our own little family. The third picture is after hiking around goblin valley and playing sardines for a few hours. We had a great time!




We also went to Idaho and took family pictures with Ben's family. I hope they also turned out well but I have not seen them yet.

2. LANDSCAPE CLASS AND PROJECT
The most time consuming thing in my life right now is the landscape design class I am taking through independent study that is due in three weeks. The picture is a design that I drew that I know is not the best picture but you might be able to get an idea of what a design looks like. I am currently designing my parents yard and the exciting part is that they are following through with some of the plans in the back yard. We have added a sidewalk and flower beds around the perimeter of the yard. It looks really good even though it is still a work in progress!


3. HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!
On the 4th we went to the parade in the morning after having breakfast at my uncle's house. We spent the day swimming at my parents playing sharks and minnows and marco polo. Later we had a parade that was VERY exciting and well attended:) (In these pictures you can see the back yard and some of the landscaping in the back) The kids enjoyed throwing the salt water taffy Ben bought for the parade.





4. JUMPIN JACKS
We went on a family date to a place called jumpin jacks that is full of inflateable houses and slides. The boys had lots of fun. Ben and I enjoyed it as well but we got tired faster then they did.


Hopefully I will now be better at remaining current on my blog. I hope you are having a great summer!