April 12 Julia Speaks

Funniest thing. Peter answered the phone and spoke with the first counselor who mentioned that he was looking for Julia to ask her to speak.  Peter gave the phone to Julia who took it downstairs.  She came bounding up a minute later saying that that was the easiest thing ever.  We were confused and asked her what she was talking about to which she replied that she had been asked to speak in sacrament but that she just had to speak on a talk of her choice and her experience in the conference center.  She had listened to the talks, taken notes, and already started reviewing the talks so she knew it would be easy,  Talk about a strong teen!  And, she was right, she did a great job.  

March 31st Peanut Butter Bars

Look what Julia learned to make!  Peanut Butter Bars!  Mom's favorite.  

March 28th LAGOON

Lagoon is open and we got season passes!  It is going to be a fun year!

March 3rd Invisible Ink and a Talent Show

 Porter wrote the sweetest note in invisible ink at scout today.  He wrote it with lemon juice and when I held it over the burner on the stove I could see what it said.  :)  Love him.











We had the talent show for the older kids tonight.  Brigham talked about running (mainly the food he gets after Ragnar and a marathon) and Julia was a piano accompanist for her friends Derek and Dallin Woodruff. They are both so awesome.  

Februrary 23rd Costa Vida Dinner

Love going out to dinner with my kids and I love that I have talked them all into liking a place that I LOVE to eat.  Costa Vida.  

February 20th Ticket to Ride

Love making the kids spend time playing with me.  We do puzzles, card games, and today, Ticket To Ride.

Februray 4th End of CHEMO

Super awesome day.  Today was the last day of Chemo for mom.  I dressed up in my Lego costume and wore a sign that said, "She got cancer but held onto her faith and wouldn't Lego" while we walked around and handed out chocolate covered strawberries.  :)

To celebrate, Julia did my hair with the waver for our celebration dinner at Red Robin. 

January 2nd Legos Flipped

Peter, Julia, and I took names to the temple for the first time ever. Then I took the girls to get a haircut and we went swimming and to lunch as a family.  After a nap and some work, Brigham and Porter showed me the Lego house they built and we watched Julia's cute movie Flipped. 

December 24th Christmas Eve

We usually get together at Lisa's house on Christmas Eve but since we had some kids not feeling well, we bailed out.  It was a good thing we didn't go because I ended up being miserably ill.  Fortunately we still had a great night together.  For our Christmas Eve gift we got sleeping bags and so we were excited to try them out.  Peter brought the mattress from our room out and so I was comfortable even being sick.  :)

December 22nd Tree of Life

We went to see an AWESOME tree that has been nicknamed the "Tree of Life" in Draper.  The tree was beautiful and the lights even sparkled.  We weren't able to get a good picture of us but trust me, we were all there.

December 8th Concert at the Cathedral of the Madeline

We went to a fascinating concert by the Children's Choir at the Cathedral of the Madeline tonight.  We went with the Saddlers and the girls got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Harward.

December 7th Porter's Baptism!

Sweet Porter made the choice to be baptized today.  Such a special day.  He was baptized by his dad and afterward he had everyone come over for Chili and rolls.

November 8th Julia's Talk

Julia was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting and she did FABULOUS.  Here is a video of her practicing the night before.  

November 5th Stylin'!

I found this super cute coat on clearance and I love it but I must admit that like most things, it looks much better on Julia.  :)

October 29th Free Dress, Mile Club, Songs

The kids had free dress day!  They loved picking out their clothes.















When I went up to see Mom at the Huntsman she had made it into the one mile club; the day before.  She walked a mile the same day as the surgery and 3 miles today.  She has always been an overachiever.  :)

Martie and Eleanor sing non stop so I finally took a minute to record some of it.

October 28th Surgery, Pack Mtg., Julia's Choir

We were blessed with a miracle today.  Mom went in for her surgery.  She is half way through her chemo and after convincing the cancer doctor (Dr. Beck) that Mom for sure wanted to try it, Dr. Soyson did her surgery.  Katrina, Lisa, and I all met Dad up at the hospital early in the morning and she went in a few hours later.  It was really strange because while I felt confident that it wouldn't go well, I was also very at peace.  Fortunately I was wrong.  Several hours after going into surgery, they came out to tell us she did AMAZING.  The three donut size tumors had shrunk.  One was completely gone, and the other two just slid right off.  They didn't have to take any of her colon and they said it couldn't have gone any better.  Heavenly Father certainly performed a miracle for us and I am so grateful.  She got into her room around 4:00 and we visited for a while.  Then I made it home just in time to see the boys off to Cub Scout Pack Meeting while I took Julia to her school choir concert.  My visiting teacher had even made us dinner so we didn't have to worry about that.  What a beautiful, blessed day.

Sept. 27th A Soggy Run and Women's Conference

The stake had a 5K fun run this morning...in the rain.  Not a little bit of rain, a LOT of rain.  But, they boys wanted to do it anyway.  I went with Porter and for the first time he ran the WHOLE WAY.  He was so proud of himself.  Brigham did great as well, finishing first in his age group.  I was super proud but what I was most proud of was seeing his excitement for Porter.  All Brigham could talk about was how great his little brother did.  When we go home he jumped out of the van and couldn't wait to tell Dad about how awesome Porter was.  Love these guys and the love they have for each other.  

 That night Julia and I got to go to the General Women's meeting with Grandma, Katrina, Amanda, and Lisa.  It was still raining but we had a great time.  It was a great meeting.

Here a sillhoute picture we took walking back to the car.

Sept. 20th Hike Timpanogos

We took our kids on a hike.  Not just a little hike; a big one!  Amanda watched Martie and Eleanor and we were gone all day.  We left at 4:30 and hiked from 5:15 to 4:15.  It was a 15 mile hike.  The summit was 4580 feet up at an elevation of 11,749 feet.  Julia and Porter had originally planned to only hike to the saddle but when they got there they wanted to go the rest of the way!  Such a feeling of accomplishment.  It was a long way back down but they had a good time.

Setptember 13 Marathon Day!

Well we woke up at 4:00 to be ready by 4:30 and for the first time I slept the whole night.  After throwing on our running clothes, and praying with Peter we headed off.  They didn't have enough busses so we ended up starting the race 25 minutes late but we were grateful we didn't have to sit at the top too long because it was COLD.  The race was great.  We started down the beautiful canyon enjoying the people and the scenery which included a HUGE MOOSE on the other side of the road and the river.  I have never seen one before and it was so close (probably less than 50 feet).   You could tell it was nervous seeing so many visitors but none of the runners seemed nervous; probably because we knew there was someone behind us for him to go after.  :)  I made Brigham stop for a couple of bathroom breaks but he only used it once.  It was pretty uneventful and fun coming down the canyon.  At mile 15 we started the out and back portion of the race.  We went four miles out on Wasatch Blvd. and turned around to run the same 4 miles of rolling hills back.  This was really discouraging because you could see people who were 8 miles ahead of you.  Brigham and I struggled but we really did great.  We just kept going and we knew that family would be waiting to greet us at the turn around by mile 19.  They were there and they had lots of signs and cheering for us.  Reaching mile 20 was fun because it was the farthest Brigham had ever gone but by that point we just wanted to be done.  Fortunately once the out and back was done, at mile 23, we got some more downhill and we were feeling good.  We were ready to finish the race!  And we did.  It was the greatest finish ever.  Running with Brigham is one of the best things I have ever done (seriously ranks up there with choosing to marry his awesome dad).  I was deffinitely teary eyed as we saw Grandpa, Easton, and Stewart  when we had about .5 miles left.  Then we saw Lisa and Grandma with about a quarter of a mile to go, and finally Daddy, Julia, Porter, Martie, and Eleanor just feet before the finish line.  We crossed the finish line with a chip time of 4 hours 10 minutes, and 50 seconds.  One of the greatest feelings I have ever felt.  This is an experience I will cherish forever; not just the run but the training.  We have had so many talks about how blessed we are to have strong bodies, that we might not always have them so we should enjoy them while we do, that some things look impossible from a distance but when you reach them you are stronger than you thought, about how much better it is to go through hard things with someone you love, about all sorts of things.  Love that strong boy of mine.  Love his commitment; his endurance, his willingness to work hard, his faith, and his friendship

My favorite picture is the one in the bottom right because it shows how much I enjoy watching him run.  

After the race we came home for naps.  And after naps the kids wanted to go to the stake sports day.  I was proud that I felt good enough to take them and sit on a picnic table; I was humbled when Brigham felt good enough to play soccer.  Everyone had fun.  Julia did ultimate frisbee, Porter and Eleanor played in the sand, and Martie played in the bounce house with Sophie.

September 1st Canning Craziness!

Julia and Brigham spent most of the morning helping me can 20+ bottles of tomatoes.

 When they were done I figured they needed a good lunch so we voted for Zupas!  YUM!
That night we got to have the Saddlers, the Maxwells, the Hendricksons, and the Gardner's over for a barbecue.  Food, Friends, Fun.