Another accomplishment

In June I had another accomplishment that was a mile stone for me. I participated in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay race. For me, this is huge. I really don't like to run so I was very proud that I even finished. Craig and I joined up with a few of our neighbors and had lots of fun. Above is a picture of the hand off from me to Craig at one of the exchange points.
This is our wonderful team, minus Tim who was at Youth Conference. Kate, Me, Craig, Cory and Brandon. This picture was at the starting line where there were tons and tons of people, yikes!

Olivia's baptism

On June 5th Olivia was baptized. She was so excited and kept talking about how it was about time. Her baptism was filled with lots of other children in our stake who were baptized that same day. Olivia was the only one from our ward so it was private and the spirit was present. We were able to have many loved ones over afterwards to enjoy some yummy food.

We are so proud of "our baby." She brings such joy to our family and is the spice in our life. I am so thankful to have her in our lives. Thank you Olivia for this very special day.

Disneyland

We were able to go to Disneyland in April and had so much fun. My kids said it was the funnest trip so far and I have to agree. We first went to Cali for a wedding for his cousin, Emilie. We had a good time at the wedding visiting with family and just spending time together. Craig and Rusty also had a good time decorating their car afterwards, which really made their Aunt Sandy very upset. Hopefully she will get over it soon.

We then were able to go to Disneyland for 6 days. I thought we were crazy for buying that many days into the park but we loved it. We were so much more relaxed because we didn't have to fit everything in in just 2 or 3 days. One of my kids favorite things to do is eat at Goofy's kitchen. It is a great opportunity to meet all the characters so you don't have to stand in line inside the park to see them. Olivia's favorite character is Pluto so when we saw him we had to get our picture taken. I am so thankful for the time we had to spend together. We had so much fun and I hope the rest of our vacations will be this fun.

Dance has officially began

Harley and Olivia's dance competition has began. Last Saturday, we were able to go and watch them perform their competition routines. Olivia was very nervous but was also very excited. This is her first year competing and she definitely loves the competitive aspect. She was so excited when she found out her team won 1st place. She just kept repeating, "can you believe I took 1st place and this is my first time." I was so happy for her.

Harley is an old pro. She doesn't get very nervous and when she is dancing she looks like she is having a great time. Her and Savannah are on the same team and they are amazing. I am so proud of Harley and the wonderful girl she has become. She is always so positive and is always happy. Her team also took 1st in all three of their dances and also overall high point. We are so proud to have these lucky girls in our life.

Madi is our tumbler and unfortunately she doesn't perform but I will post a picture of her doing one of her favorite tricks. She is such a blessing in my life and I am thankful for her everyday.

Funny conversations

I think kids say the funniest things. The other day I was having a conversation with Olivia and it went a little something like this:
O: Why do I have to go to dance again today?
M: Because you are so good.
O: What?
M: You are in a higher class now so you have to go 2 days a week now.
O: Mom, if I am that good than why do I have to go 2 days a week, I should only have to go 1 time.

What a smarty pants.....I laughed so hard. My kids are definitely getting smarter than I think.

Yes...that's right Chef Heather

Happy Valentines Day!! My kids were so cute this year. Craig and I just wanted to spend time as a family this year. We had such a great menu for this special day. I have been taking some cooking classes from Chef Todd, who is amazing and so I decided to try out my skills.

Menu:

1st course- Heirloom Tomato Salad with Fresh Mozerella

2nd course- Grilled Herb Steak, Potatoes Gratin, Steamed Asparagus

3rd course- Lemon Creme Brulee with Fresh Berries and Whipping Cream

Yummy! My kids were not so excited about this "strange" food but after trying everything, they were big fans. I think my favorite was the dessert. Craig helped me by caramelizing the sugar on top with a flame torch. It was awesome!

If you ever want to take some fun cooking classes, I highly recommend Chef Todd. He holds classes at the Blue Lemon Restaurant in Alpine/Lehi area. You can visit their website @ www.bluelemonutah.com and it is under blue university. Thanks Todd

Update on the fam!

I have been really bad at updating my blog and I apologize. Here is a little bit of a summary that we have been up to lately.

Here are my special girls and their very own pumpkins. This was the first year they carved them all by themselves. Usually Craig spends about 2 hours carving all three. He was very happy they could do their own this year. They look awesome!

Craig and I were able to go to Hawaii this past October. We had so much fun and loved every single minute of it. I needed to be reminded why we are married. Ha ha!! This is a photo of Martin who is a local friend of ours. He is the "firedancer" at the Royal Lahaina Luau (which I highly recommend). He is amazing and we were so thankful to Marvin (his brother) for getting us tickets.

This is the beach outside our room. We were so lucky to stay at our favorite beach this year. Every year we have stayed at different hotels but always drive to this beautiful beach. We decided no more driving, we are staying right here next time, and we did. We were the only couple under 55 years of age and we LOVED IT!

Ah so cute!

This is one of our favorite spots, the blow hole. Craig likes to get as close as possible to drive me crazy. I get so nervous!