Sleepover!!

Last weekend Erin got to have a sleepover with two of her cousins. We had big plans to go to see the neighbors race motocross at the Tooele track but they called and said it was going to be a short night at the races and that we'd miss it if we weren't there early. So, instead we all just hung out at home. They rode bikes and scooters until it was almost dark; ate "second" dinner because they had already eaten but wanted more food when we ate BBQ; ran around being wild with the dog and ended the evening watching cartoons until midnight (while we hung by the fire with folks from the neighborhood out front) and finally fell asleep on the mattress in front of the couch. They all looked so peaceful in the morning when I woke up so I snapped a photo. They didn't wake up until after 10:00 so you know they played hard! 'Kade and Bryn... thanks for making it such a great sleepover and can't wait to do it again!

Stars Dance Team

A new Star was born today.... well, actually she auditioned yesterday but we are getting ahead of ourselves.



Erin wants to dance and dance and dance and I've been looking for a studio that works for what she wants as well as her parent's crazy work schedule. In other words, a dance studio that offers classes in the evenings and on the weekends where you don't have to be a stay-at-home mom or leave work early to get her to class. I thought I had found a suitable studio and then Monday we got a random flyer on our door for the Salt City Stars Dance Academy. I remembered all my friends in school who were great dancers were in Stars so I knew the reputation for the program and sent off an email to find out about schedules and costs, etc. Turns out that they have classes in the evenings and would work for all of our needs. And, the next night were the auditions for the competition teams if we were interested. I told Erin about it to see if she just wanted to dance or if she wanted to compete and she was definitely interested in competing. So, we were headed to auditions!!


She's had 2 years of ballet training but not in any kind of rigid program - just for fun and mostly in someones basement studio - so I wasn't too sure of what her chances were for making the team - especially since we went totally unprepared with about 8 hours notice and having missed the workshop the night before. But, we went and she auditioned Thursday night. She was the only girl there that was new to the studio and stood out like a sore thumb (or a shining star, depending on which way you look at it) because she wasn't already in the standard uniform - she was in her sparkly pink leotard and everyone else was in black boy shorts and tops - but it didn't stop her from jumping right in. I was filling out paperwork and they took her off without a look back. When I was done with the registration paperwork, I went to watch and the door was shut and the blinds were closed - I tried to peek in and I got a tiny glimpse of Erin finishing a set of turns across the floor and she looked like she was having fun so I stopped worrying about her being shy. I had to sit in the waiting room for 1.5 hours waiting for her to come out. Luckily I had a book.... When they were done, she had already made a new friend.


The team rosters were to be posted the next day in the window of the studio so tonight we went back over to see if her name was on the list. I let her look and see if she could find her name and then caught her on camera when she did. (Of course, I couldn't wait to know so I had driven by the studio on my way to work this morning and already knew that she would find her name under the Mini's team...)




She is so excited and told everyone she saw tonight (including a call to Grandma and Pa) about it. So, now we embark on a new adventure with a daughter in competitive dance. Starting in September, she dances 3 hours a week - an hour of ballet, an hour of jazz and an hour of individual team routine - with 5 competitions a year, two recitals and Nationals in Las Vegas.

She's always been our star, now it's just official.

First Day of 1st Grade

Erin started 1st grade yesterday after a very long summer. She loves her teacher, loves being able to eat lunch at school - especially the part about her new lunchbox with butterflies on it - and seems to be adjusting well to being at school all day. She never stops amazing me at the things she says or the things that she learns. Seems like yesterday I was worried that she wouldn't walk or get teeth before everyone else her age was beyond her development and now she comes home two days in a row singing new songs and has already memorized her lunch number for the cafeteria. She was eating ice cream last night and after the first bite closed her eyes, savored the flavor and then said "oh, that is delicious!" She brings such joy to life...

Princess Sasha

Our Elkhound "puppy", Sasha, deserves a blog entry all her own.

She is the most stubborn dog that ever walked and most of the time she is teetering between being the cutest dog on the planet and one that needs a new home because we have had enough. We rescued her from the pound - in Denver - where she had been left in the "no questions asked" overnight drop off. Clint always wanted a dog of her specific breed and we could never find one. It is the funniest thing because it is Clint and Sasha who butt heads the most and yet he was the one who did the research and knew that the breed is known for being headstrong and obstinate. She (and us!) will be embarking on obedience training in the next couple of months to see if we can cure some of her more troublesome habits - like chewing on everything in the yard!

When we go camping she has to wear a reflective vest - poor dog - because from far away she looks like a coyote and we don't want her to get shot at when she decides she wants to take off for an hour or more to hunt down an elk... don't laugh, it happened once!

The most endearing thing about Sasha is how she always crosses her legs like a lady when she lays down. She is truly a princess who is constantly trying to rule our roost!

We love you, Sasha!

24th of July - Cabin Weekend!

For the 24th of July weekend, we were invited with a couple of our neighbors to the Drury's cabin outside of Duchesne. It was SO beautiful.... This is the view from the porch of the cabin the first morning.

It was so peaceful... until all the kids woke up! (Although Chandler slept hours longer than the rest!)

We hung out in the morning, drinking coffee and talking about what we were going to do that day. Adrian and I had serious plans for book reading while the kids wanted to play and the guys wanted to ride the ATV's.

Our fabulous hosts, the Drury's

Erin and Kylee playing in the dirt

After a leisurely morning, we went for a ride on the Drury's 4-wheelers and motorcycles. It was Clint's first ride since he tore his ACL on his dirt bike last October and he had a blast. It was Erin's very first ride on any kind of ATV and as we took off from the cabin together she said to me "WOW, Mommy - this is even funner than riding my bike OR my scooter!" She is definitely hooked and I can't say that I hate the idea of owning a 4-wheeler of our own to ride around on. We had a blast... well, the first part was fun anyway!

Bryce and Adrian

Me and Erin

We got to the turn-off for the trail we wanted to ride and one of the 4-wheelers died and wouldn't start again. So, we all hung out in the hot sun while Cary and Jeri dealt with the dead machine which turned out to have a very dead battery. So, we all headed back to the cabin with the disabled ATV in tow (literally). We tried everything to get us all back on the road and finally decided that Jeri would "take one for the team" and stay back at camp while we all went to see the cool rock formations. We had a bit of lunch before we left and I remember Cary saying something about how it looked like it was going to rain. I know I brushed the comment off - I've been camping in the Uintah's all my life and everyone knows that there's always dark clouds but it very rarely rains - especially at the lower elevations!

So, we headed out again - Erin and I together on a 4-wheeler, Clint on Cary's dirt bike, Bryce and Adrian on a 4-wheeler, Cary and Chandler on the other dirt bike, Kylee on her 50 and Trevor on his 50. It was a great 10-mile ride and this is the cool area that was our destination - they call it "The Rock".

Chandler, Erin, Kylee and Trevor

The kids climbed up to the top, found some cool animal bones in the rock wall and stretched their legs while the adults laughed at how dirty we all were. I was in the very back of the caravan and ate so much dust; I had dirt caked on my face which you couldn't tell until I took off my sunglasses and you could see the contrast. Ewwwww....

About 5 minutes after we got there, it started raining and I mean RAINING! Then, it started hailing - which really hurts when it hits bare skin! We all huddled under trees which gave us very little protection and added to the discomfort by getting pine needles mixed in with the rain and dirt. I was still being optimistic that it would pass over quickly as it does in the Uintahs... ha! We stood there watching rivers of water and mud form and come running toward us and still it wasn't letting up. So, the first break we saw in the rain, we decided to head back to the cabin as quickly as we could. Of course, that was after Cary pointed out how great the 4-wheelers were going to be since the wheels stick out further than the protective fenders... And I remember it being after he said "I told you so" about how he knew it was going to rain! Ok, ok, I'll admit at this point I was totally wrong - not to mention cold! I was glad that Erin had a helmet so it protected her from the rain as well as the possibility of crashing. After Adrian and I "did" each other by brushing off the tree gunk, we hit the trail again. No sooner than we all got under way, it started raining even harder than it had been before it let up. Bryce and Adrian were leading and I don't think he ever let off the gas in their bee-line for the cabin. I was worried about Clint and his still-recovering-and-weak ACL so I pulled over under another tree to wait for them. Once everyone was safely under way, it was the craziest and wildest ride I've ever been on. The faster we went, the higher the wheels threw the mud up onto us. I kept thinking how stupid of me not to take Jeri's offer of a helmet, gloves and goggles - any one of which would have made the trip back a tad more comfortable. It was another 10 miles back to the cabin like that and Erin was a trooper! I KNOW that I have never been that dirty in all my life and never so happy to see Jeri there all comfy and warm and ready to take charge of operation clean up the troops.... Here we are after we got back and before we hit the showers - poor Adrian had to wait 20 minutes for the rest of us to get back just for this photo!

After the showers and some dinner, we built a fire and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

The kids all went inside "supposedly" to go to bed and this is what I saw when I went inside several hours later... I don't think they got to sleep until way past midnight!

The next morning we cleaned up the cabin - and did a really really good job so we could be invited back! We have awesome neighbors and thanks to them, it was an awesome weekend!

Princess Sasha

Cabin girls

Beautiful Girl

Erin is getting bigger every day and will be starting 1st grade on Monday!! I swear she has grown a foot this summer and nothing fits anymore. Lucky for us she loves to shop. When I think of it my life flashes a bit before my eyes.

Erin's best friend, Kylee, was over a few weeks ago and I put them in the little makeshift studio that doubles as Erin's play room and took some photos. What a cute pair and what great friends!

First Item of Business

OK, how insane is it that the photo on the top of the page is the only one I can find that is a complete family photo? I have hundreds of Erin, a bunch of Clint and hardly any of me. I guess we all know who the photographer is in the family... First item of business will be to start taking photos of the entire family so there's proof that I actually exist and accompany Clint and Erin in all the things we do.

Birth of (another) blog

Well, I guess it is time to join the land of the blogger with a site dedicated to the family. Because I am so OCD, I will probably try and go back to things that we've done this year because it won't seem complete without content but I'm going to try and refrain and just start from the last "holiday" and go from there.... Welcome and enjoy but please be patient as I try to get the layout right!! LOL