Happy Birthday Brownie

Heather has had her webkins birthday on the calendar ever since Mia gave it to her for her last birthday. When the birthday finally rolled around, I heard Heather invite her friend Sarah over for Brownie's party. That is when I realized we were going to be celebrating yet another birthday. All the kids brought their webkins or another stuffed animal. It was too fun. They made cupcakes, played games (thanks Samantha and Kent), and just played. As you can see, Kent even left his work desk to join in on the celebrating for a bit. This is just too strange. I hope she doesn't think all her other 500 stuffed animals need parties too.

1st Day of School '08

First day of school each year is so fun. I love how excited the kids get. Heather will have two teachers this year so she is excited. Samantha starts her last year in middle school. She is sooo grown up. Have a great year kids!

Samantha's Make-Over

Don't you love Samantha's BEFORE and AFTER photos? Samantha had a big make-over day. It was a blast! She has had many changes over the last few months and we have planned this day for a long time. She already had gotten her braces off, her acne cleared up (hopefully we won't have to do a second round), she just got contacts, and to top it all off Joyce chopped off her hair and made it into the most adorable style (thanks to you folks at lunch for the suggestion, esp. Michelle M.), LaDonnia did her make-up, and we bought a new outfit. Even though she has always been adorable, look at how utterly adorable she is. You are beautiful Samantha inside and out.

Bear Lake Fun

My entire family goes to Bear Lake every year (thanks to Mom and Dad) and it is the best place for a family vacation. You have, of course, the lake, 2 pools, 2 large hot tubs, miniature golf, a little store, real golfing for the guys, biking, a playground, and TONS of beautiful lawn. We get so involved in all the activities that picture taking is forgotten. Oh well, I got a few with the fam playing volleyball and one with Kent and Heather in the pool. We had to rent 2-16 sleepers condos and 1-8 sleeper. All those that went were: Mom, Dad, Loralei, Annie, Dallin, Callie, Hamilton, Devan, Lisa, Scott, Michelle, Ben (who just took the Utah Bar), Jacob, David, Madeline, Kevin, Laurel, Claire, Bruce, Rachel (Bruce's fiance), Ryan, John, Joe, Dean, Buff, Ben, B.J., Luke, Lillie, Isaac, Lenice, Erik, Chandler, Parker, Micah, Eli, Isabelle, Kent, Jamie, Samantha, Heather, and me. We sure missed you Camille, Elise, David and families. Thanks Mom and Dad. We look forward to this all year.

Puffy Cheeks

Jamie had the fun experience of getting his wisdom teeth out this week. He is really sad that this is just a once in a lifetime event. We are very glad that he was accepted into a Jean Brown Research study and so not only was it free to us parents, he got $150 for staying in their clinic for 12 hours. He didn't get a placibo so he wasn't too miserable. He said the worst part was being in a small room with only a TV...Boring! He did miss 3 days of work though so he didn't gain anything except it's done and over. Way to go chipmunk! P.S. Kent is a little too happy at Jamie's new look.

Somewhere Over the...Most Beautiful Rainbow Ever

Last night I ran to the store and Heather and I couldn't believe our eyes when we came out. We were starring at the most beautiful double rainbow. You could see all the way from one end to the other. (I think we even saw a pot of gold) We hurried home, got Kent and the camera, hurried back down the hill and took some pics. The rainbow was so beautiful and reminded me of all the good and simple things in life. It didn't even cost a cent.

Jamie's 18th Birthday

Jamie also had a birthday this week... His 18th big one. Like my friend Joyce said, "All that the 18th birthday means is that the parents can't get sued anymore for their kids' stupid choices." I'm glad we are over that hurdle. Actually, I hadn't even thought about it until she said that after his birthday. I'm glad I didn't have to stress over that thought for long. (Oh wait, there are still 2 more kids under 18. Yikes! Now I'm worried.) Jamie and Heather chose together where they wanted to go eat. It took all of about 5 seconds to decide. The Skybox at Gateway was the winner so Jamie could watch sports and Heather could go play all the games in the game room. Good Choice! Congratulations Jamie on this occasion. Now you can vote and get married without parent consent. Oh goody. More stress. We love you bunches and are so proud of all the "Good" choices you have made throughout the years. We are so thankful we haven't had to worry much about the serious things teenagers might do. Happy Birthday!