The Cook Family

Thanksgiving #1 with the Cook Family

2009-11-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

This year, we get to have Thanksgiving twice. We had a Cook Family Thanksgiving yesterday in West Jordan. It was fun. The kids always have so much fun with their cousins. We left Saturday evening to head out to Salt Lake. We stayed at Lisa and Wayne's house. Everyone stayed up way too late! But it was too fun visiting to get to bed any earlier.

Sunday is when we had our Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws house. Kristen and Terry came and brought their girls. I was so glad to see them, since we had not seen Crystal and Sadie for a couple of years. The only ones missing were Dan and Wendy and their four kids. Sometimes Oregon is too far away!

There are alot of pictures....and I didn't even put them all on here!

Cook Cousins

Grandpa Cook

Grandma Cook, Crystal and Sadie

Aunt Kristie

Sadie and Makayla

The Boys

Preston, Logan and Spencer

Dinner was great. Makayla's birthday is on the 29th of November and Lisa's is on the 23rd, so we celebrated their birthday's a little bit too.

Now we get to do it all over again with the Burdick Family on Thursday.

MVP

2009-10-20T07:25:00.001-07:00

It seems like lately all of my blog posts have been about Spencer. This one is too. Last week the Football League held an awards night to wrap up the season. Each team votes on an MVP for their team. Spencer received the MVP for his team. Usually a lineman doesn't get the MVP, so he was especially surprised. The coach had told me about it a few weeks before, so his Grandpa Pete, Grandma Sherrie and Grandma Cook were all able to attend. He thought it was a little strange that all three of them just happened to show up at our house and decided to go with us to the awards night. But he didn't even suspect the reason why. When they announced his name he was completely surprised. I loved it.
Here are some pictures from that night:

Spence and Coach Hanks

Football Buddies

Spencer, Dylan, Caleb, Louis

Also worth mentioning, in fact more importantly, Spencer got ordained to be a Teacher in church Sunday. His Grandpa and Grandma Cook and Aunt Kristie were able to be here for that. Now Logan and Spencer will both be in the Teachers Quorum together until May when Logan becomes a Priest.

FOOTBALL

2009-10-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

Football!! It is our life around here every fall. This year Logan started out on the UHS Sophomore team, but went to the JV team when the Sophomore team dwindled because of kids with bad grades.
Spencer played in the Vernal Youth Football League on the Raider's Team. Since Spencer is in 8th grade, this was our last season in Youth Football

Logan's season is still going on. Spencer's season ended Saturday. His team had a great season. They only lost one game all season until they got to the SUPERBOWL. What a game. Unfortunately, they lost to the Vikings 6 to 8. Those boys sure played hard.

Before the Superbowl the Raiders had a tailgate party, complete with the fire truck there. It was awesome. The did have a dummy of a viking hanging by his feet from the firetruck ladder, but someone from the league made them take it down. C'mon people...it was all in fun!
Even though they lost, Coach Hanks still got the Gatorade dumped on him. Hanks has been Spencer's coach for the past four years. There isn't a better coach out there. He doesn't just teach the kids football, he teaches them respect, sportsmanship, and to believe in themselves. I only wish he could go to the High School and coach there. He has done so much for Spencer. Thanks, John!!!

I am a little sad to see Spencer done with this team. He has met some good kids and become friends with alot of them. But next year will be exciting to see him play on the Freshman team.

Good job, Logan and Spencer.

Happy Birthday to Spencer!

2009-10-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

Look at my little bald headed baby!! And to think he is 14 today. He had a tough time getting to this earth, but he has been such a blessing to us ever since.

Since Spencer is 14 here are 14 things you may or may not know about him:

14. He make us laugh every single day.

13. He will always look out for the "underdog" (The only time I ever got a call from a principal was because Spencer got in a fight defending one of his friends.)

12. He is one of the most "random" people I know. He says whatever happens to pop into his head. No matter how absurd it may be.

11. He will stand up for what he believes in and not back down easily.

10. He LOVES ketchup. We have a running joke about that in our family.

9. He loves football and has evolved into a good player. It didn't come easily for him but he has worked hard at it over the years.

8. He is a big teaser. It is tough to know when to take him seriously.

7. He is a 49'ers fan!

6. He likes to go hunting.....but not so much fishing.

5. He likes to play the Wii and Playstation waaaay too much.

4. He has decided he likes driving....and begs me to let him drive all of the time. (It's going to be a long year until he can get his learner's permit).

3. Most people would not know this about Spencer but he is tender hearted and can have alot of compassion. (He probably won't like me saying this).

2. He is not too old to still give his mom a giant bear hug, and have a wrestling match with his dad.

1. He is alot of fun to be around.

I am so glad that Spencer is my son.

Happy Birthday, Spencer!!

I just remembered I had a blog!

2009-10-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I know I have neglected to blog all summer. And, yes, I have felt guilty about it. But apparently not guilty enough to actually do something about it. It has been a little stressful around here for the last few months, and so I will put the blame of not blogging on that. Enough said!

I don't even know if I can even catch everything up, so I am just going to post things randomly that have been going on all summer. My family had a reunion this summer. We had some pictures taken, so I am going to post those pictures. Our little family didn't get a family picture done because Logan was not there. He was river rafting at Zion's National Park with his scout group.

The whole family. I think we had everyone there put seven people, which I think are pretty good odds with a family this size.

My Mom and Dad. They are the best ever!!

The guys.....aren't they sooo cool?

Cris, Dean, Bill, Dad, Kelly, David

The gals.

Leisa, Susan, Natalie, Becky, Carol

The siblings.

Leisa, Susan, David, Becky, Carol

A few of the granddaughters.

Me and my girls.

Me and Dean

Maybe I will get ambitious and post some more things. We'll see.....

Manti Pageant

2009-06-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we loaded up the kids and went to Manti for the Manti Pageant. I had not seen the Manti Pageant since I was in high school. Dean and the kids had never seen it.

Dean's parents and his sister Kristie and another sister, Lisa and her kids were going to meet us there. My in-laws had rented a house just blocks from the temple that we all stayed in. It was the cutest house. Very old and decorated so adorable. Surprisingly there were enough beds there for everyone. That was nice.

Our family arrived there first. It was nice for a little quiet time before all the rest arrived. We went to a Church that was serving turkey dinner to eat that night. It was just like going to a ward dinner! Since we were staying only about 6 blocks from the Pageant, we walked to it. We had gone earlier and put blankets on some chairs to save a spot for us. We had great seats.

Dean and his Dad

Aubrie, Baylie (twins!!) and Caitlin

The boys -- Logan, Preston and Spencer

(They even managed to get some girls' phone numbers before the pageant started! They are the reason my hair is turning grey!!)

Makayla, Keira, Lisa and Kristie

Of course we HAD to get pictures with Brigham Young

Judy and Kristie and Brigham

Brigham with Baylie, Keira, Makayla, Aubrie and Caitlin

Curtis and Brigham

Makayla and her Daddy

The Pageant was wonderful and was a lot different than I had remembered. It was late before we all got to bed that night.

This was the "Girls Room". Aunt Kristie and 5 girls all slept in here!!

We had to get up early and get back to Vernal so that Logan could go to Youth Conference our Stake. We are all tired and dragging today, but it was worth it. It was a fun (much needed) little get away!!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

2009-06-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house in South Jordan. Spencer, Caitlin, Makayla and I went. Logan was helping staff the Timberline Camp for scouting and Dean was working. So, the three kids and I went to Duchesne on Thursday night and stayed overnight at Grandpa and Grandmas. Friday morning we got up early and rode out to Salt Lake with my parents. They had some things to do, so the kids and I went to visit their Grandpa and Grandma Cook and Aunt Kristie for a bit. (and even Preston for a few minutes). I forgot to bring my camera, but Caitlin brought hers. All the pictures here were taken by Caitlin!

Preston

Kristie

After that we went to David and Natalie's house for a BB-Q. The Dastrups and Aunt Susan met us there. They live right next to a park, so it was nice the kids could play there too. After that we got ready and went to the Open House. David and Natalie live just minutes from the Temple. It was beautiful. I love that the kids can get a chance to go through the Temple and get to see what it is like inside before it is dedicated. My twelve year old niece Stacia was so cute because she was in awe of everything.

We spent the night at David and Natalie's that night. They were so nice of them to have us all there. THANK YOU!! It is so nice to be able to just visit with family.....we don't do it nearly enough.

Here are some more pictures from the weekend:

David, Mom and Dad

Sydney, Caitlin, Makayla and Stacia

Caitlin

Spencer and Ike....everybody loves Ike!!

Makayla

Oquirrh Temple

David and Natalie

Spencer, Braden, Stacia, Caitlin, Sydney and Makayla

Braden, Caitlin, Stacia, Spencer, Bryson, Sydney, Makayla

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

2009-05-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 21, was my dad's birthday. He turned 77 years old. I love my dad. He is so awesome! That morning, my mom called after the kids had walked out the door to school, and said that my dad wanted to drive up to Flaming Gorge for his birthday. They invited me to ride along. After a quick canceling of visiting teaching (sorry ladies--I mean how often does your dad turn 77?) I got ready to go. They invited Becky too, but she had too many things going on that day.

They picked me up and we drove to Flaming Gorge. My niece Kelly has a little girl, Madeline. She has the same birthday as my dad. Madeline turned two that day. (Cool, huh, that his first great-grandchild was born on his birthday). We called them (in Ohio) on our drive and had fun visiting with Kelly and Madeline.

We got to Flaming Gorge Dam and took the tour. I hadn't done the tour since my three oldest kids were quite little. After that we drove to Dutch John and looked around a little bit. We had a picnic lunch and then some more driving looking at scenery. It was gorgeous. It was fun to spend time with my Mom and Dad without my kids. It was good just to visit with them.

When we got back to Vernal, Becky and invited us to her house for a birthday barbeque at her house. I am mad I didn't take my camera over to her house to get a picture of Grandpa Pete and his birthday cake.

I am so blessed to have such good parents, and my kids such wonderful grandparents.

I hope you had a Happy Birthday Dad!!

My Mom and Dad

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN

2009-05-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

PLEASE...someone tell me.

How do we get from here....

to here....

in such a short time?

Has it really been 15 years?

When our kids were little and my life just seemed like it was diapers and bottles, people told me to enjoy it because they would be teenagers before I knew it. I really doubted it. But surprisingly they were right. Where did the time go? Logan can finally get his driver's learner's permit. He has been anticipating this for a long time!

Logan has been such a good son. He is a hard worker and always the one we call on to help us. Being the oldest, he has always had a of of responsibilty and was able to handle it. He is a good example to his younger brother and sisters. He is funny!! Not many people know that about him. He keeps it well hidden, but he is actually hilarious. He makes our family laugh every day. Logan is a great blessing to our family.

Now I am getting worried about how fast the next few years will fly by until he is graduated and on a mission. I KNOW it will go by fast.

We love you Logan!!

The Tea Party

2009-04-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, our family went to the "Tax Day Tea Party" this evening. It was awesome. The kids actually enjoyed themselves. We decided this would be a good way to teach our kids that if people want to make a difference, then you have to get involved and not sit back and wait for others to take action. I was a bit amazed at how many people showed up at the courthouse steps to be involved. I did not expect that big of a turn out.

I don't want this post to be a political rant. I don't consider myself an activist. I just feel like we can't sit on the sidelines anymore. The way this country is headed just scares me. I feel it is time for the people to get involved and not depend on the government to solve all the problems.

The kids had fun holding their signs up and got lots of honks, waves and thumbs up by passing cars. Needless to say, they also got a couple thumbs down and "the finger" once. But that didn't damper their enthusiasm. Even my Dad and Mom came over from Duchesne to attend. Becky and her kids were there too.

Bryson made this sign. I love it! (FYI--it is a picture of a monster....not Obama)

We joked that this was our "First Family Protest". I just hope that my kids learned that is it okay to stand up for you believe in. Also, that if you want to make something happen you have to get involved.

Susan, my sister, is the chairperson over all the Tea Parties in Utah. I am anxious to hear how the Tea Parties in the rest of the state turned out.

A good day.

2009-03-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today I spent the whole day with my two girls and my Dad and Mom. It was a good day. The girls and I went to Duchesne last night and spent the night at Grandpa and Grandma's house. The girls really like doing that. I need to do it more often. This morning we got up early and drove out to the Draper Temple open house. We met Susan, Bill, Brooke, Madison and one of their friends there.

My girls really loved seeing the Temple. This is the first temple open house they have been able to attend. They both really loved the celestial room. It really was beautiful. Makayla and her older cousins got separated from the rest of us for part of the tour. I was a little stressed but kept thinking if your child is going to get lost, at least the temple isn't the worst place they can get lost in. Brooke and Madison took good care of her. (Thank you).

After the Open House, Susan rode to Provo with us and we went to my Aunt Renae's house. Kit and Tenna and Shauna came over to visit. My cute BYU coed nieces, Maren and Jesslyn came over too. We had pizza for lunch and a good time visiting.

My boys were a little disappointed they didn't get to go. They had a scouting merit badge thing they have been working on and couldn't miss it. I promised to take them to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House in June. It is amazing how fast these Temples are being built. I am glad we have the oppurtunity to let our kids see inside them before they are dedicated.

It was just a good day.

Happy Birthday to Caitlin!

2009-02-18T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today my little girl turned 12. I can hardly believe it. We were so excited to get a little girl after two boys. It does not seem like it has been 12 years since she was born.

Tonight she and I actually went to Young Women together. She has been waiting and waiting to be able to go. She had a good time. There are 16 girls in her Beehive Class and more turning 12 in the coming months. She has great Beehive leaders so I am sure she will have fun in YW.

Yesterday Caitlin celebrated her birthday inviting friends over for a party. They were out of school so it seemed like the perfect time to have it. We banned the brothers from the house. Caitlin and her friends watched a movie and ate pizza and a whole lot of junk food. They were silly girls. After the movie they played "sardines" for a long time. Dean and I just kind of made ourselves scarce and stayed out of their way. Caitlin had a good time with some good friends.

Girls at the party.

After the girls got to our house I took their picture then e-mailed them to Wal Mart for their one hour printing then sent them home with the girls in these cute frames. The girls thought that was pretty cool.

Being silly...

Today she had to go to school. She said she was sung Happy Birthday to in three classes and at lunch. She was complaining about it, but I know she really did enjoy it. After school she decorated her own birthday cake at her request. It really looked like a "Caitlin" cake.
We really weren't sure what to call the cake, or what kind it turned out to be, but she loved it!!

We had birthday dinner tonight (chicken Parmesan and garlic bread.....her favorite). Then went to YW.

She got some fun presents, including a digital camera (even pink, and surprisingly she likes it) from Mom and Dad. I think she had a pretty good couple of days.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLIN......We sure love you lots!!

Makayla and Sarah

2009-02-06T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today I watched a little girl for a friend of mine. She is four years old. Sarah is such a little cutie! When Makayla got home from school she was so happy there was someone here for her to play with. They really had a good time together. I think Makayla loved having someone younger than her around.

Makayla has been hounding me to put pictures of her and Sarah on the blog. She loves to get on here and look at pictures of herself. (That girl is so vain -- I guess it would sound better if I said she has good self esteem instead).

So, I guess this post is really for Makayla.

Here you go sweetie.....

SNOW DAY

2009-01-26T15:14:00.000-08:00

Today was the first official "Snow Day" I can remember the kids ever having. It snowed like crazy all night. The kids did go to school this morning, but were sent home. I had to help out in Makayla's class this morning, so her teacher just sent her home with me at 10:00 a.m. The older three kids were home by noon.

The kids have had fun shoveling tons of snow and of course playing in it too. After shoveling, Logan and Caitlin had to get the 4-wheeler going too. Any excuse to ride the four wheeler.

A Quiet Friday Night

2009-01-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

It seems like life has been so busy and hectic lately that it was nice to have a peaceful quiet night for a change. Makayla got to go to a friend's house for a sleepover. Today was "early-out" day where she gets home from school about 1:00 p.m. Her friend wanted her to come over early...so she left about 2:00 p.m. and I haven't seen her since. You are probably thinking what a harsh mom I am, but honestly this little girl has been sticking to me like glue lately. I don't know what her deal is, but she is like my little shadow from the time she gets home from school until he goes to bed. I love her, but it can kind of get on your nerves, especially when the older kids need me to. So, this has been a much needed break from her constantly by my side. Any insights as to why she is like this when she hasn't been before?

Logan went to a friend's house for a "late night". I tend to think those are better than sleep-overs. I have never been big on sleep-overs. I think they were planning on playing alot of the Wii.

Caitlin went to a movie with a friend. That was a good thing. She doesn't seem to go as much as her big brothers so it is nice when the opportunity arises.

That left only Spencer home tonight. I like it when there is only one of the kids home. It is just a different atmosphere. We took him to Winger's for dinner. Then to Blockbuster to rent some movies and a Wii game. So far only the game has gotten played by Spencer and Dad. No movies have been watched. I guess that is for tomorrow night. So now I am going to enjoy my quiet, relaxing night and go finish reading my book.

Good night!

Fun with cousins and new friends

2009-01-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

We went to Salt Lake the day after New Years. Most of you know that Dean has a younger sister who was adopted. A few years ago her biological sister found her. She is from Texas. Dean's parents and sisters had met the bio sister, but we never had. She was going to be in Salt Lake to visit Kristie, so we decided to go out and meet her and her family. It was kind of funny, she and her husband had a son Logan's age, a son Spencer's age and a daughter Makayla's age. Her children were very nice and all the kids got along very well. It was nice meeting this family. We stayed overnight at Lisa and Wayne's house. Our kids had a great time playing with their cousins there. Of course we had to watch the Utah/Alabama Sugar Bowl game on Friday night. Wayne is a big Ute fan! (Go Utes--they won!).

On Saturday, the girls decided they all wanted to go get their nails done. Well, except me. I opted to go get my back cracked by my chiropractor father-in-law instead. (Excellent choice for me). Caitlin had no interest at all in getting her nails painted (no surprise there), so she took the camera along and took pictures of the nail salon outing.

Makayla getting her fingernails painted.

Aunt Lisa getting her nails pretty.

Aunt Kristie getting new nails!

Sisters -- Kristie and Jamie. Can you see any resemblance?

Twins Baylie and Aubrie with their new friend Alie in the middle.

Caitlin and her cousin Baylie.

Makayla's french manicure with green??? Very interesting.

Makayla's Cruise Performance

2008-12-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

When we were on the cruise, Makayla kept begging me to take her to "Camp Carnival" the kids place. I really didn't want her to go. None of the other kids had any interest in going and just didn't want to send her there alone. Finally just to stop her whining, I told her she could go for awhile. It just so happened that when she went they were practicing a performance to be in the Holiday Show that night. She was so excited when I picked her up. That night she got to be onstage with the dancers and sing some Christmas songs. It was pretty cute. There were quite alot of kids onstage, but she was just thrilled with it all. So now I guess she can say she has performed on a cruise.

For my sisters

2008-12-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

You have probably already read posts on this blog about my two sisters who have both battled breast cancer this year. They are both amazing women and I am in awe of them as I have seen what they have gone through this past year. Between the two of them they have gone through surgeries, chemo, radiation, and then just last week more reconstructive surgery for Susan.

On the ship one morning, they had a "Susan G. Komen -- On Deck for a Cure". Of course we had to do it! Becky and I and our daughters signed up. The girls were excited to do it. It was windy that morning and a little chilly. We walked around the track at the top of the ship. We did eleven laps which made a mile. Quite a few people showed up to do it. I was impressed.

My mom and dad came up to give us some moral support. Caitlin was a little power walker. She passed us up twice I think so she actually did two extra laps.

So this is for you...Susan and Carol.....our cancer survivors!!

Our Day in Cabo San Lucas

2008-12-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our day in Cabo San Lucas. Dean took Logan, Spencer, Caitlin and Stacia on a kayak/snorkeling adventure. They had a blast. Kelly and Braden had gone on a scuba diving expedition. We only saw Grandpa and Grandma Cook briefly in Cabo. They were doing some serious sightseeing!! As soon as I get pictures developed from the underwater camera they took with them, I will post some of those pictures too.

While they did that Becky and I took Makayla and Bryson along with Grandpa Pete and Grandma Sherrie to shop around the pier. We also took a tour on a glass bottom boat which the kids thought was alot of fun. Actually, we all thought it was alot of fun.

While we were on the glass bottom boat ride we went right past the others in the kayaks. We didn't expect to see them on our boat ride!

I think Grandpa Pete really liked being on the ocean.

We saw lots of pelicans from the boat. They were cool to watch.

Here are some sea lions out sunbathing on a rock. I liked them, but they smelled really bad up close.

Bryson and Makayla liked looking for fish through the bottom of the boat.

Dean and the boys on the boat that took us from the ship to the shore.

Makayla with an Iguana on her head. Yes, that is a real iguana. For a couple of bucks you can get your picture taken with one. Thanks Aunt Becky for funding this picture!
Shopping with Bryson and Makayla in Cabo.

Caitlin getting a ride back to the ship after a fun day.
Aren't the sunsets gorgeous on the ocean?

Crusin'

2008-12-20T18:56:00.000-08:00

Whew! We made it! Just a few days ago we were wearing flip flops, carpis and shorts. We came home to having to wear snow boots and heavy coats. Bummer!

We went out to Salt Lake on Friday night because our flight left Saturday morning and we didn"t want to chance getting caught in a snow storm. I am so glad we did. As it was, after we boarded our plane we sat on it for 2 1/2 hours before we took off. Talk about frustrating! The kids were sitting by their cousins, so that helped.

We did have a good time. I won't bore you all with a long long post about the trip and a million pictures, so I will break it up over the next few days.

The first full day on the ship was a "sailing day". It was so nice to just relax. The kids swam and played mini golf. I had a good long nap (I know...I am boring. But it was sure nice). Here are a few pictures from that day.

It is funny to think that just a week ago today we were playing in the sun and it was warm and this Saturday it is cold and snowy. I want to go back! I really don't care if I have a White Christmas!!

A special day

2008-11-30T18:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Makayla's eighth birthday, and she got to be baptized on her birthday. It was a great day. Since she was the only one getting baptized, we could plan the program. Makayla was quite involved in the planning and who she wanted to speak. She asked her Logan to give the baptism talk. He surprised me by saying that he would do it. He did a great job. She asked Spencer to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. He was more than happy to do it. (This kid loves to give talks.....where did he get that?) He did a good job too. Her dad baptized and confirmed her. Makayla, Caitlin and some of their cousins sang the closing song, "Families Can Be Together Forever". It was so sweet.

We had lots of family come. It was a good day. Afterwards, we all went to Becky's house for lunch and birthday cake. Thanks Becky and Kelly! It was nice. Her Aunt Susan gave her the cutest baptism towel. It was embroidered in purple with her name and CTR with little "rhinestone sparkles" on it.

It is hard to believe that she is my last one to be baptized. Makayla said it was the best day of her whole life!

Christmas Secrets Revealed

2008-11-15T21:27:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Becky called us and said "Want to go on a cruise with us?" I thought she was kidding. Yeah right. She told me they had decided to take their kids for Christmas. I mentioned it to Dean, and he was more open to the idea. We thought about it and decided that what we want most to give our kids right now are good fun family memories. If you asked them a few years from now what they got for Christmas in 2008, I doubt that any of them would be able to remember. But, they will never forget a family Christmas vacation. I was very reluctant, but Dean, Becky and Kelly finally talked me into it, and I relented. We will cruise to Cabo San Lucas.

We decided to keep it a secret for as long as we could, but it was getting harder not to slip and say something to the kids. Besides, isn't anticipation half of the fun? We decided to get all the kids together to tell them the news. We met over at the Dastrups house. We had all the kids gather in a circle. We told them we had something important to tell them and would give them clues to help them figure it out. I had gone to the dollar store to try and find things that could be used as clues. Now that was difficult! It was hard to find things through all the Christmas stuff in the store. We gave each kid a wrapped present and had them open them up one at a time. Here is what I came up with:

Braden - Clue #1 - Sunglasses

Spencer - Clue #2 - Hot Sauce (with a Mexican guy on the label)

Caitlin - Clue #3 - puzzle of the United States

Stacia - Clue #4 - flip flops

Makayla - Clue #5 - calendar with ocean scenes on it

Bryson - Clue #6 - toy plane

Logan - Clue #7 - a neck think that you can carry your ship ID in. (What is it called?)

(I also got them a sucker from the Mexican aisle in the grocery store. They were nasty. I think the package had been on the grocery store shelf for about 20 years. I am not kidding!)

By this time they were starting to catch on, well some of them were. Then Becky gave them each a ticket she had printed up telling them where they would be going and handed and envelope with the ticket inside to each one.

They excitedly ripped open the envelopes and read their tickets! It was so fun to watch their faces.

We leave on December 13th and return on the 18th. The kids will miss four days of school, come back for one day and then have Christmas break. This IS my kids Christmas. They will probably have just a present or two on Christmas Day and that is it. I have to admit, the thought of not having tons of Christmas shopping to do is quite appealing! I have been having a hard time this year getting excited about Christmas.

I am wondering if the actual Christmas Day will take on a new meaning for them. It won't be all about toys and presents. Hopefully we will be able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas a bit more this year.

Christmas will be quite different for us this year, but I hope it will be a Christmas they will always remember!

Job-Shadowing

2008-11-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

Last week, for one of Spencer's classes he had to do a "job shadowing". It is where the students arrange to go and spend the day with someone at their job. They get excused from school for the whole day and "go to work". We thought we had a place all set up for him and he was excited about going. Well, things there just didn't work out. The day before the job shadowing day Dean and I were scratching our heads trying to think of someone Spencer could go to work with.

Well, finally I just had an idea pop into my head and ran it past Dean. He liked the idea and called and made the arrangements. So, early (6:00 a.m.) Spencer went down to one of our local radio stations (the cool one) 94.3 XRQ to spend the morning with the DJ's (Charlie and Brandon) on the morning show. Spencer LOVED it. They talked with him on air a little bit. They showed him alot of the "behind-the-scenes-stuff. It turned out to be a fun experience for him.

Since the morning show is over at 10:00 a.m. Spencer got to hang out the rest of the day with Mom and Dad which was fun too. We took him out to lunch. When you have four kids it is nice once in a while to get to spend time with just one of them.

Pumpkins and Turkeys

2008-11-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween I was a real slacker of a mom. I just wasn't into it at all. We kind of threw together costumes at the last minute for the girls. (I didn't even get a picture of them in their costumes. I'm not sure how that happened). I told the boys that this year they were too old for costumes.

We bought pumpkins early in October for carving, but it never happened. It just seemed like every night there was just something going on. Dean having surgery the day before Halloween didn't help out either. Blah blah blah....excuses, excuses, I know. Anyway, the day after Halloween the kids were kind of feeling bad because we never got the pumpkins carved into jack o'lanterns.

SO...Monday night for family night we made our pumpkins into turkey's for Thanksgiving. We used sheets of craft foam to cut out feathers and the heads. We stuck them in with wooden skewers. We didn't actually carve them but had fun making them anyway.

Here are the results of our efforts.

Please note Logan's turkey. He has an arrow stuck in it complete with blood dripping out. Sheesh...BOYS!

Just remember I am not a crafty kind of person and not creative at at all so this was a big deal for me. But it did turn out to be a fun project, and alot less mess than carving pumpkins and having to scoop out pumpkin guts. That part I didn't miss.

Do you think I can talk them into doing this next year too? Yeah, I doubt it too.

Talk about a "Bad Hair Day"

2008-10-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

Oh, have mercy! Every morning, Makayla and I have a fight about hair. She has all these ideas of how she wants me to do her hair. Usually we end up in some sort of compromise, that neither one of us is happy about. But really, her hair ideas are pretty outlandish. Well, today at school it was "Crazy Hair Day". I told her I would do her hair exactly how she wanted me to. She was pretty excited about that. Let me just say...it is pretty crazy! She loved it and thought she had the most beautiful hair...not crazy hair. She said, "Mom, you have to take a picture and then put it on the blog". So, here you go Makayla.....

P.S. --This week at the schools it is "Drug Free" week. Everyday they can do something like crazy hair day, hat day, tie day etc. Caitlin and Makayla have loved it. Spencer makes me laugh, yesterday he said to me -- they have all these crazy things for people to do for drug free week, and it just makes everyone look like they are ON drugs. I kind of had to agree!

Duct Tape Day

2008-10-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

Duct Tape Day at school.....need I say more?

Spencer's First Deer!

2008-10-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Dean took the boys out this past weekend for the deer hunt. This was the boys' first hunt where they actually carried a gun and had a license. They were pretty excited. They went up Friday afternoon to scout the deer, and spent the night there. The next morning they were up and at it early. Spencer got a chance to shoot at a little two-point. He thought he had missed it. Logan was not where he could see the deer, and there was another two point that Dean shot at. If Logan had been close by, Dean would have let him be the one to take a shot. He shot it and after it went down, they went over to it and discovered that the deer Spencer had shot at was down too.

Logan was a little disappointed that he didn't get one, but he was excited for Spencer. Caitlin says that next year she wants to get a license and go too. (No surprise there!). She has already taken Hunter's Safety, so she will be good to go.

I let Logan take the day off school Monday to go out again with Dean, but they didn't even see ANY deer at all. I guess that is the way with hunting. Sometimes you get one, sometimes you don't!

Makayla and Bryson getting along with each other

2008-10-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Friday after school, Becky took all the big kids (and even the dog) to her house and I had Bryson and Makayla at my house. Believe it or not that is a pretty even trade. These two youngest cousins can be very high maintenance! For Bryson and Makayla to actually play with each other, they have to be away from all the older kids because they don't know that they aren't as big as their older brothers and sisters and cousins.

These two kids either get along very well...or don't. Friday happened to be one of those days when they got along wonderfully. They even insisted on helping me mow the lawn. They were even good at Smith's when I took them shopping. They were pretending they were twins. I thought it was cute and got a picture of the two of them.

After I took pictures of them and went back to mowing, they decided to sneak the camera and have their own photo shoot, taking pictures of each other. Some of them turned out kind of cute.

Not bad photography for a five year old and a seven year old.

A fun weekend

2008-10-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Another exhausting weekend! But it was alot of fun. Spencer's birthday is this Thursday. This year when the other kids have had a birthday we have taken the family somewhere to do whatever the birthday kid wanted to do. It has been fun. Dean needed to haul a trailer to Payson for the UHS Marching Band. They were in a competition out there. I thought that since Dean was having to go out their anyway, the rest of us might as well go with and do something for Spencer's birthday. (Kind of a 2 for 1 trip....gotta save on gas!!)

I asked Spencer what he wanted to do in Salt Lake. I thought he would choose to go to a haunted house. I was surprised and a bit relieved when he said he wanted to go to the "Body Worlds Exhibit". He had seen it advertised on T.V. I didn't know too much about what it was. We looked up the website and got tickets for Friday night. This exhibit is very interesting. It is learning about anatomy, health, and how the human body works by viewing real human bodies. I was a bit skeptical about going, but Spencer has always been interested in this kind of thing. He used to love looking at my old college anatomy book when he was little. These are real bodies preserved through a process called "plastination". They did not allow you to take cameras or even cell phones in the exhibit so I didn't get any pictures. But if you want to know about it you can click here. At first I thought it was a little freaky, but it really was interesting. It was a good learning experience to be able to show the kids what healthy lungs look like, and what smoker's lungs look like. What a healthy liver looks like and liver from a person who drank alot.

After that we went to dinner at Marie Calendars. Not Spencer's first choice for dinner, but most places were busy, and we were starving and did not want to wait. After that, we went to our motel room and the kids swam in the pool. Dean went with them and I enjoyed the peace and quiet all by myself!!

Saturday morning we had to get up and going and get down to Payson with the trailer and meet up with the bus loads of kids. It was pouring rain. The band played in the rain.

We got completely soaked watching them.

After the competition a stop at Cabela's (Can you believe we went in and out of that store and didn't buy anything? And I had Dean and two boys with me. Amazing). We had passed a mall and I said "Who wants to go shopping at the mall?" Knowing the reaction I would get from the males in the car. But it was Caitlin who said "No way! I am not going into a mall!" When we got to Cabela's, we were walking in and Caitlin turns to me and said "Now this is my kind of mall!" Could she really be MY daughter? You gotta love her!!
On the way home I looked in the back and saw four exhausted, worn out kids. Isn't that how we like them?

We had a fun weekend. Sorry to family who live out in the Wasatch Front. We didn't have a minute to call or stop by to see anyone.
Maybe next time!

What happens at the cabin...stays at the cabin!

2008-10-04T22:19:00.001-07:00

Remember your best friends from your high school years? The ones that you always thought that you would always live just down the street from, and your kids would play with each other? But then real life happens and you just never seem to see those friends anymore. Well, last year my high school friends and I decided to start a tradition and have a "get-away" every year. This year was our second year doing it. One of my friends, Leisa (isn't it weird that we both spell our names the same way) has a cabin that she so graciously lets us go stay in.

We met at her cabin (which by the way is a pretty cool cabin) in Wolf Creek on Wednesday. We sat around and visited for quite awhile before having lunch. After that we decided to get the four-wheelers going and go for a ride up the canyon. It was beautiful this time of year. The trees were the most gorgeous colors. The weather wasn't cooperating too well, not to mention hunters that were shooting not to far away, made us think we should make it a short drive.

Toni showed up later that night and we had dinner. Annette's brother and Mom stopped in for a minute. It was fun to see them too. Her brother, Terry brought us a peach/raspberry pie that he had made in the ducth oven. It was so yummy. (He competes in dutch oven cooking and took 5th place in a world competition.) It was so fun visiting and catching up on each others lives. It is funny that not one of us has ended up living in the same town as another one. Teresa had to leave that night to go home, but the rest of us stayed the night. We got in our jammies and watched a movie until we were all falling asleep. (Are we really getting that old?....but we did manage to make it past midnight).

I guess that the fact that all of us are Mom's made it hard for any of us to sleep in. So we made a hugh breakfast and more talking the rest of the morning. We all left to home after that. It was so much fun to see everyone again. It is good to connect with friends who have known you most of your life. I am so glad that we are still able to keep in touch and remain good friends. I can't wait until next year to do it all again.
Here are a few pictures.....(Leisa R. , I borrowed a few of your pictures from your blog.)

Logan's Turn

2008-09-24T14:51:00.001-07:00

I am kind of mad, and Logan is very happy, that I forgot to take my camera with me to the orthodontist when Logan got his braces on yesterday. Now I have no "cool" pictures (or should I say embarrassing pictures) of him getting his braces on. But I do have some after shots of him with them on.

(He is kind of being a dork in these first pictures)

He really, really, really, hates them. And that is an understatement! I keep telling him he will thank me someday when he has a beautiful straight smile. That does not impress him now.

Here is my brace face, metal mouth, railroad tracks, tin grin kids!

Makayla's Vegetable Creation

2008-09-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Makayla's school had a "Make A Vegetable Creation Day" at school today. She didn't even show me the note she brought home about it until yesterday. So, after a football game, homework and dinner, Makayla and her Dad got to work. It is kind of sad that her dad could help her better on this project than I could. I am not creative at all!!

It started out to be a snake, but ended up being a dinosaur. Not sure how that course of events took place. This morning she informed me that the dinosaur's name was Bryson Brontosaurs. ( I am assuming it was named after her buddy-cousin Bryson.....and not exactly sure if it looks like a brontosaurus but hey..it is not my creation). Makayla told me this dinosaur is a plant-eater. You can tell because he has parsley coming out of his mouth. Okay then.

They used a zucchini, yellow squash, jalapenos, parsley, white beans (for eyes), and peppercorns (for nostrils), and a whole lot of tooth picks. Last night he was standing up. This morning he was kind of bending down. We decided to leave it that way.

I had to drive her to school today to make sure it got there in one piece. (I had my doubts about her riding the bus with it). She was pretty excited to take it to school. There sure were a lot of cute little vegetable creations there. Talk about creative kids and parents. As long as Makayla liked her vegetable creation that is all that matters to me!

My Trip To Colorado

2008-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

I got to have a little "get-away" for a few days. Sometimes it is just nice to leave your family and have some time away from them. It is good for Moms to miss the kids, and the kids to miss the moms. And...dads need a turn at being the mom once in a while too.

I went to my sister's house in Colorado, near Boulder. I rode over with my Dad and Mom. It was really nice to spend time with my parents without my kids around. A six hour trip in the car seemed so much shorter with out four kids along.

Carol's husband Cris was on (and still is) a two week trip on his motorcycle. Carol and Cris are officially "empty-nesters" now. We just couldn't let Carol spend two weeks all alone in her big house now could we? It was so nice to spend time at her house and relax. We really did a whole lot of nothing and it was wonderful. There was a day or two (okay, everyday) that I did not even get showered and ready for the day until noon.

Carol was into her second of week of daily radiation. Her hair is really growing! I was surprised at how much it had grown since I saw her just two weeks ago in Utah. She is doing really well with radiation, but it makes her a little tired. So, of course, every day we all took a nap. We shopped a little, watched some old movies and a whole lot of just visiting.

It was a very relaxing non stressful couple of days. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking me along, and thanks Carol for a wonderful time at your house!

Mud Football

2008-09-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Young Men and Young Women in our ward had an activity. MUD FOOTBALL!! I was happy to opt out of playing and be the photographer. Logan and Spencer had a blast. There was not one kid who wasn't covered in mud. The teachers plowed the field a couple of weeks ago and had been watering it ever since. The rain earlier this week helped out to, so there was plenty of good old mud.

After the game was finished, they told them that they were unclean like the sins of the world. They told them that in life when this happens they need to see their bishop to become clean again. Yup, you guessed it. Our bishop sprayed them off with a power washer.

It was a fun activity. I would not let the boys ride home with me in my car, so they had to hitch a ride in the back of someone pickup. In Spencer's words, "That was a wicked sweet awesome football game".

Football, Football...and more football

2008-08-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some football?? This will be my life for the next couple of months. Between practices and games it is an everyday thing. Logan and Spencer each had their first games yesterday. Luckily they were both playing in Vernal so I could watch a little of both games.

Logan plays on the Utes Freshman team. He plays starting receiver and defensive back. They played Altamont's JV team and got stomped. Altamont beat them 30 to 0. Ouch!! They were a little sad to get beat their first game of the season. Their next game is next Thursday in Rock Springs, WY. Hopefully they have a better game.

Spencer is on the Vernal Youth Football League. He is on the Raiders Team. He plays defensive and offensive lineman. His team played the Buccaneers yesterday. The Raiders got beat by 2 points. I'm still not sure what the final score was. One of the boys on Spencer's team got his leg broken during the game and had to be taken out in an ambulance, so I think the whole teamed was kind of bummed about that.

Both boys played good games. Both are excited to play more games this season. Dean is president of the Youth Football League this year, so I hear about football more than I want to in a day!! I just wished that I liked football more. Sshhh...don't tell the boys that! :)

First Day Of School

2008-08-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

I am a little late with this, but I have to do a post about the first day of school. It is just a Mom thing!! They started Monday. They all reported that they had a good first day. But that is about all I got out of them.

I love my kids home during the summer, but I have to admit that first day of quiet was very nice. Now it is just busy trying to keep up with what each of them are doing. But I do enjoy seeing my kids growing and learning more each year.

Logan - Freshman

Spencer - 7th Grade

Caitlin - 6th Grade

Makayla - 2nd Grade

Tennis Anyone?

2008-08-21T12:32:00.001-07:00

Caitlin and Makayla started a tennis class a couple of weeks ago through our Rec. Center. They absolutely love it. They go two nights a week and if you ask them, that is not enough.

(Logan was the photographer for all these pictures. He wanted me to add that!)

Getting ready for tennis class!

Hoping to learn a few skills.

Makayla and Caitlin try to hit a few balls.

I guess tennis makes you thirsty!

What a goofy girl!

What the.....??? There is NO sleeping in tennis!!!

Maybe they are teaching them a new way to play.

She is just happy to be there!

Metal Mouth.....

2008-08-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Today Caitlin got her new braces. Just in time for the first day of school next week. It really wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Here are some pictures:

Here is Caitlin this morning before going to the orthodontist.

(and she is wearing her cool new Taylor Swift shirt that she loves!)

Here she is getting her braces on. Doesn't she look cute? She couldn't say much but she kept giving me the "thumbs up" sign.

Caitlin with her new braces!! Despite the pain of getting her braces on, I think she actually kind of likes them. Now in two years she will have the most beautiful smile ever.

Next month is Logan's turn.

It's Raining.....It's Pouring.....

2008-08-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's Raining.....It's Pouring.....umm how does that song go? We had a little thunder storm yesterday. It just poured! We actually had a "little river" running through the back yard. I called my sister Becky, who lives across town and it wasn't even raining at her house.

The kids and their cousin Braden decided to play in it. Oh, to be a kid again! It was pretty funny to watch. They got pretty soaked but had a good time. I love that the kids can be uninhibited and don't think they are too old to do that.

Tag! I'm it!

2008-08-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

Michele tagged me, I’ll give this a shot...

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

**I cannot sleep in, in the morning. No matter what time I get to bed, I am just awake in the early morning. It makes me mad, but it is just how it is.

**I like chocolate, but it is never my first choice if I have a choice. I will usually pick something else first.

**Dean and I met on a blind date. Three months later we were engaged and three months after that we were married. It didn’t seem like it was too fast at the time, but now when I look back I think that it really was!

**I am an extremely private person. Sometimes being that way just makes life harder. I don’t I don’t like to tell people how old I am. Don’t know why, I guess I am kind of quirky. I am actually older than Dean, but I don’t like to tell people that either. I know it is no big deal, but I just don’t....so don’t ask! :)

**I love to read...but have to limit myself because when I start a book, that is all I want to do.

**One time in high school I slept all night in an elevator. My friend and I were at a function in Logan and stayed in the dorms. Her and I and some girls from another high school (actually a rival school—how weird is that?) decided to take our blankets and pillows and sleep in the elevator all night. I’m not sure how much sleep we actually got. That would be a scary thing to do now with all the wack-o’s out there.

I tag......Michelle, Kelly, and anyone who posts on the Burdick Blog (or is supposed to...and you know who you are!)

BURDICK REUNION 2008

2008-07-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

We had the Burdick reunion July 24, 25, and 26. We went to camp Timberlane. It was a good time. We didn't have the best turn out, but that is okay. You all have good excuses this year, but next year you better be there! Susan has volunteered to be in charge of next years reunion. The kids spent most of their time riding 4-wheelers and motorcycles. Thank you Dastrup's and Burdick's....now Makayla is begging for a motorcycle with training wheels. Here are pictures......

Bryson and Makayla on the motorcycles.

Lots of food and fun!

Caitlin can't get enough of riding the 4-wheeler.

Cousins around the campfire, or was it just smoke?

Caitlin ready to go for a ride...again!

Darth David

Grandpa Pete and Grandma Sherrie

Grandpa

How did Grandpa manage to get a turn on the bike with all those grandkids?

My niece Sydney

Syd and Ike

Logan on the motorcycle

Stacia and Caitlin

Boating Fun

2008-07-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today Becky called and invited us to go to the lake with them. Dean, Caitlin and I were just about to walk out the door to an appointment, so they took Logan and Makayla to Steinaker with them. Caitlin and I met up with them later on in the afternoon with pizza for lunch. The kids had a great time, sunburns and all. As I am looking at the pictures I keep wondering why Spencer is not in any of them. Duh...he is at the High Uintah Scout Camp this week. I keep forgetting. :) Here are a few pictures.

Logan and Braden JUST before they fell off.

Caitlin "stuck" in the mud. Why won't those boys help her?

Makayla ready to go!

Logan and Braden think they are pretty cool!

This is Logan's "flipper". It is a thing I bought to go over his cast to keep it dry. Unfortunatly, his arm was too skinny for it and the cast got wet anyway. Oh well, it comes off next week!

The girls were brave enough to try the "hotdog".

FUN FUN FUN

Corps Encore

2008-07-12T06:55:00.001-07:00

Thursday Dean, Logan, Spencer, Caitlin and I went to Weber State University to see Corps Encore. It is a drum and bugle corps competition. They had bands from six different states competing. None from Utah. We went with the High School band. Originally it was supposed to be just Dean and the boys going on the bus trip. The band instructor called Thursday morning and said they had a couple of extra tickets. Caitiln and I decided last minute to go along. Makayla got to go spend the day at Aunt Becky's playing with Bryson. (They even took her to the movies to see Wall-E).

We rode the school bus out there. It was a sweltering day!! No A/C on the bus. (What is that about anyway?) We sat in the blazing afternoon sun watching a band practice. Did I mention it was HOT! After grabbing a quick bite to eat at the Mall (yes...the mall was air conditioned...YEAH!) we returned to the stadium to watch the program that evening. It was awesome. It was not just your average marching band. There were alot of theatricals in it.

It has been along time since I have been on a bus trip. I don't remember school buss seats being that uncomfortable! We got back to Vernal about 2:30 a.m. That is late for this woman. It was a fun day.

GOOD NEWS!

2008-07-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today I have some good news. My sister Susan called and said that the lymph node that was removed when she had her mastectomy had no signs that the cancer had spread. This means that she will NOT have to go through chemotherapy or radiation. Whoo Hoo! I am so relieved that she will not have to do that. Now she can have a quick recovery and get on with life. She returns home tomorrow. I think her kids are ready for her to be home again.

Today my other sister, Carol had her LAST round of chemo. She has had to endure six rounds every three weeks. It has been so tough on her. It has really made her sick. I have just hated that she has had to go through that. Now she can work on growing her hair back. Some women might look funny bald, but Carol can really pull it off. I can say she truly looks beautiful with no hair. I loved that she was not shy about pulling off her wig when I went to see her in June. She will have to do a few months of radiation, but wants to delay that until she gets her daughters off to college in August.

I think that I really hate the word cancer. Watching my two sisters battle with it, and my dad's cancer surgery this past spring, I am thinking that it should be quite enough cancer in our family. Got that everybody? No more! :)

Fourth of July

2008-07-08T20:49:00.001-07:00

Busy Weekend

2008-07-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

What a busy 4th of July Weekend. We started by going to the Vernal Parade. Logan and Spencer were both in the UHS marching band. they did awesome. They have been going to 6:30 a.m. practices all summer. Dean has been working with the band as the marching instructor. He has been enjoying with the band.
After the parade we headed out to Salt Lake City. We had a barbecue with the Cook family. Lots of relatives Dean hadn't seen for awhile were there. Then we went to the West Jordan Rodeo. The kids enjoyed the rodeo. Now my girls want to be barrel racers. Too bad we don't have horses! :) After the rodeo was over the fireworks started. It was kind of sad because all of my kids commented that they missed watching the fireworks in Vernal. Vernal does awesome fireworks. We usually go to the park (with about three million other people) and sit with friends or cousins to watch fireworks. The kids just run around an play. It is fun. Next year we will definitely watch fireworks in Vernal.
That night we went to my sisters house to spend the night. Susan is still in South Carolina recovering from her mastectomy. It was fun to spend some time with her kids. We don't see them that often. Saturday, Logan and Spencer went to Lagoon with the Larsen's. They had a blast. Thanks Wayne and Lisa for taking them. Dean and I took the girls and traded off the old white van. It was time! We love our new Expedition. It is so nice to have some extra room.
Saturday night we stayed at Susan's again. The next morning it was home. We brought my twin nieces, Brooke and Maddie home with us to have a sleepover with us. The girls loved it. Now it is on to an equally busy week. Does it ever end?

Ellie

2008-07-02T08:58:00.002-07:00

I have to post about Ellie, our dog. She is a one and a half year old boxer. She is the silliest dog ever. She gets called Ellie, Elles Belles, Ellie Lou, Lou Lou....among other things. She has a freakishly long tongue, and it always hanging out her mouth. She sleeps like that too. I have a video of her opening the sliding glass door. It is only a couple seconds long. It is nothing that we taught her, she just started doing it. If we want her to stay outside we have to lock the door. Now if we could just get her to close it after she comes in, or to open it when she want she wants to go out. (Pay no attention to the dirty window. I actually cleaned it yesterday, but Ellie likes to lick the Windex off it. Gross, I know). We sure have alot of fun with our weird dog!

While I am on the subject of dogs, I just have to mention Allie, my favorite dog of all time. She was an English Bulldog. We don't have her anymore. She died almost two years ago while having a C-section. (That is a LONG story for another day). We still miss her. If anyone wants a "low maintenance" dog this is the kind for you. She just slept alot, and loved to watch T.V. We still miss her.

Allie

Allie watching T.V.

Deja vu

2008-06-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

Deja vu!! Logan broke his arm too. It is kind of weird. He broke the same arm as Caitlin, the same kind of break (buckle fracture),and in the same spot. We went from never having a kid break a bone to two kids with broken arms in less than a month. Freaky.

The poor kid. He broke it on Thursday at scout camp, and we did not know about it until today (Saturday) when we picked him up from camp. On Thursday night they were playing "capture the flag" and Logan and one of the leaders ran head on into each other and Logan went flying and landed on a tree stump smacking his head on it and his arm hitting the ground hard. He has got a pretty nasty bruise on his shoulder too.

When we got up to camp he told us he sprained his wrist. I looked at it and it looked a little swollen. When we got home, we looked closer and it wasn't his wrist that was swollen it was above it, just like Caitlin's. Soooo another trip to the ER. I guess we are going to personally pay for the new addition they are building on to the hospital if this keeps up. This might put a crimp in his marching band this summer.....we'll see.

Camp Timberline...the AFTER pictures

2008-06-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the 'after' pictures I promised. They didn't disappoint me. They were as dirty and filthy as I thought they would be. They each said they wore the same shirt and pants everyday, only showered twice, and brushed their teeth twice. Ewwwww!!! Logan said his stinky, smelly shoes even made one boy in his tent throw up. But, most importatly, they had a great time. I guess that is all that counts.

Girls, Girls, Girls!!

2008-06-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Caitlin and Makayla have enjoyed their "brother-less" week while the boys have been to Timberline Camp. They got to have fun with cousins and friends without having big brothers teasing and annoying them. Here is a little of what they did this week.

They had their cousins over for a sleepover!

They had fun with friends.....(maybe a little too fun!)

Their cool Aunt Becky let them have a bake sale when they had a sleepover at her house. Dang...they made $73.66. Not bad.

Dean and I a actually got to have a KID-FREE night that night. That is a rare occasion.

Tomorrow we go pick up the boys. I am curious to know how their week went.

One of those "Awww" moments...

2008-06-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is kind of cute. Tonight I was doing the dishes and took the trash outside to the garbage can. It was just barely starting to get dark and I noticed something in the big flower pots we have next to the driveway. I looked closer, and it was a little bird just sitting in the flower pot among the flowers. It did not seem scared of me.

I had Makayla and Dean come out to look and the bird still just sat there. Of course, I had to get some pictures. The little thing stayed for quite a long time before it decided to leave. I just love spring and summer time. Don't you?

Camp Timberline

2008-06-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

I got the boys off to Camp Timberline this morning!! Whoo Hoo! Logan and Spencer have been so bored this summer, this should be just the thing for them. Becky and I drove them up to Bacon Park. My nephew, Braden went too. Their friend, Preston rode up with us also. It is a little different than their regular scout camp. This one is to teach them leadership. I hope they learn lots. Caitlin and Makayla are excited to have their big teasing brothers gone for a week. I really can't blame them. We will go back up on Saturday morning for their closing ceremonies and bring the boys home. I thought I better get some pictures of them on the first day before they are all tired and dirty. I will post some "after pictures" after a week of camping. Not a pretty sight I am sure!

Caitlin's First.....

2008-05-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Caitlin has the distinction of being the first Cook child to have a broken bone. (It is a whole other story about Dean and all of his broken bones....we could write a book)! I don't think she is feeling honored by having this title.

This morning she left for school with her guitar to play in a 5th grade talent show. She called me at 8:20 to tell me they had changed the time of the talent show to 9:00 a.m. At 8:50 she called again, only this time crying, saying her arm hurt. Caitlin is a pretty tough little girl. For her to be crying (and at school no less), I knew she really must be hurt. Dean went to the school to pick her up. They came home and Dean said he really thought she needed to be x-rayed. I agreed. So down to Ashley Regional Medical Center we went. After six x-rays it was determined she had a buckle fracture (whatever that is) on her left arm just above the wrist. The Dr. chose not to cast it, but put it in a splint. I was glad for that, it makes showering so much easier!!

She has been so good with it all day, and has hardly complained about it. Tomorrow is the last day of school, and she is determined not to miss it. I hope it feels good enough for her to go.

Grandpa Pete's Birthday

2008-05-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, my family got together to celebrate my dad's 76th birthday. It was fun. Susan and her family were there (except Brittany, who had to work), David, Natalie and Sydney, The Dastrups, our family and Maren and Jesslyn (my nieces from Colorado). It was fun to see Maren who just came home from her mission in Guatemala a few weeks ago.
My dad's birthday was actually May 21. He shares that birthday with his only great-grandchild Madeline who turned one. I wish they could have celebrated their birthday's together, but she lives in Cincinnati. Susan got Dad a Wii for his birthday. I think he was a bit surprised and not sure what to do with it, but I think he is going to like it. He didn't do too bad a tennis. :)
I am glad my dad is doing better. He had a cancer tumor removed just a few weeks ago. We are fortunate and blessed that they were able to get it all through surgery and her won't have to do radiation. (What is it with cancer and my family the last few months?? I think three are really enough!!!). Carol has had three rounds of chemo and has three more to go. Susan is scheduled for her surgery in June.
Tomorrow Becky and I are going to drive to Colorado with my Dad and Mom for Jesslyn's graduation. It will be fun to just take a trip with them. Dean gets to herd all 7 kids for the weekend. (He offered....I didn't ask). But actually I think they will all have fun.

Band Concert

2008-05-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Last night was Logan and Spencer's Spring Band Concert. They combined the Middle School and the Jr. High for the concert. Both boys play the trumpet. This is Logan's third year of band and Spencer's first year. It was a fun concert! Logan's band played a medley of "Looney Tunes" songs and the conductor wore rabbit ears and chewed on a carrot. His band also played James Bond movie songs and the band all wore black sunglasses while a spy was sneaking around the band while they played. Another band played Pirates of the Caribbean songs and wore black pirate bandannas. Spencer's band played a song called "Bryce Canyon Overture", inspired by Bryce Canyon in Utah, (obviously). Spencer thought that was pretty cool. They all did a good job. They are both planning on doing marching band this summer. This includes 7:00 a.m. practice. Hmmmm....will they keep that up? We shall see!

Makayla was the photographer of the concert pictures and wanted me to include them in this blog. "Why was she the photographer?", you may be thinking. Well....she was REALLY bored and whinny and needed something to do. I'm sure you can understand what I mean! If you look really close at the pictures, you will still not be able to see either of the boys. Oh well!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

2008-05-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms.

I had a pretty good day. Logan turned 14 on May 2, so today he was ordained a teacher. It was neat to have that done on Mother's day. He was the last one of the boys his age in our ward to become a teacher, so he has been looking forward to it for a long time. I guess I should have gotten a picture of him to post. Dean's parents and sister, Kristie came out for the weekend too. The kids had a fun time with their grandparents and aunt.

Dean got a new calling a few weeks ago, and last night was his first time in that calling. He is going to be an ordinance worker in the Vernal Temple. He was actually excited about the call. When he got home last night after his first training he was a bit overwhelmed, but ready to go again next week. He said he is by far the youngest person that works on that shift in the temple. I always thought that working in the temple was something we might do together, but not for a long time yet!!

Yes, more pictures

2008-05-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

I had to put another slideshow on the blog because,
A). I have ALOT of pictures
B). I think doing slideshows are fun.

So, please endure yet another bunch of pictures!

More pictures (yawn)

2008-05-07T15:34:00.001-07:00

Cruise 2008

2008-05-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

I hope that I can get this slide show right. It is a few pictures of our vacation last week. We had a blast. We went with Becky and Kelly and their kids. Monday morning we flew from Salt Lake to Los Angeles. I was a bit apprehensive to get through LAX with 7 kids and 4 adults between the two families, but it was not bad at all. A bus met us just outside of baggage claim and loaded us and all of our luggage up and took us to the port to board the ship. That night we set sail. The ship always sailed at night which was nice. Tuesday morning, we were at the port in San Diego. We went to Sea World. The kids had a good time there getting splashed by Shamu. Wednesday we were at Catalina Island. The Dastrups went to the island and went on a glass-bottom boat tour. We did not leave the ship that day. The kids just wanted to hang out and do fun things on the boat. Thursday we were in Ensenada Mexico. We walked down town and the kids found plenty they wanted to buy. It was a humbling experience for all of us as it is a poor community. After a few hours the kids were ready to be back on the ship again. Logan had his forteenth birthay on Friday. On Thurday night at dinner the waitress brough him and Braden (who turned 13 in April) a piece of pie with a candle in it and sang happy birthday to them both. It was fun. Friday morning we were back in Los Angeles. The Dastrup's flew back to Utah, and we went to Anaheim to do the Disneyland thing. My kids have never been there and we decided that since we were already in California we might as well take them. I only wish we had gone to Disneyland before the cruise because we were all exhausted. Friday we only stayed at the park until about 7:30. We went back on Saturday when it opened and went to the California Adventure side. The kids liked that part the best. But again, we all got tired early. We had planned to stay and watch fireworks that night, but ended up leaving about 7:00. Sunday morning we flew back to Utah, then three hours home to Vernal. The cruise was the most fun thing we have ever done as a family. We all enjoyed it alot. I want to go on another one!!!

Cruise 2008

2008-05-06T15:47:00.001-07:00

Spencer's New Hair Style

2008-04-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

For my first official post, I will repeat a post that is on the Burdick Family blog, so some of you might have already read about this. I better first give you a little background. I have two sisters that were both diagnosed with breast cancer in the recent few months. They are both courageous ladies with amazing attitudes towards this awful card they have been dealt. My sister, Carol was the first to be diagnosed. She has had surgery and is currently going through six rounds of chemo. My sister, Susan will have her surgery soon. Anyway, back to this story, when Spencer heard about his Aunt Carol, he said "If Carol has to go bald, then I am going with her!" Well, as luck would have it Carol has lost her hair. So Friday morning, Spencer announced that it was the day he was going to go bald. I really did not think he would actually go through with it. I told him to be sure that he really wanted to, and he replied, "Mom, a promise is a promise". Could I really tell him no? So Dean got the clippers and cut it all, then got the razor and shaved the rest. I suppose Dean is the expert on bald heads!! Here are the pictures of the process.

I am actually a little proud that Spencer had the determination and courage to go through with this. He is quite a little man!
Here is a picture of "My Two Bald Guys"

We have started a blog!!

2008-04-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Okay...I guess we will be like the rest of the world and start blogging. It is fun to read every one's blogs, so now we will give it a try. Hopefully our lives will be exciting enough to have something to blog about.