"The Shoes" 1984 @ Lake Powell

I looked through ALL of my Mom's pictures and this is the only one I found of my beloved shoes. I enlarged it so it doesn't look that great. The other picture is the place called Hole in the Rock where I lost the shoe.

MVP

Hilary has been playing in a soccer tournament this week. Her team is undefeated against the girs so they entered into the boys under 10 league. Hilary played goalie last night for half the game and tonight she played in the goal the whole game. She had her first shut out. (No goals scored against her.) The neat thing is she isn't the normal goalie on the team. She usually plays defense. They ended up wining 1-0 and now will play in the semi-finals on Friday night. I am so proud of how tough she played. All the parents on the side lines were cheering her on like you couldn't believe. Hilary you truly are the MVP!

GaNO "Girls ALL Night Out"

Wow, what a fun weekend. The chicks in our ward had a great idea to get away do a little shopping, eating, laughing and no sleeping of course. Connie and I decided since Sarah was really getting into her "30th" b-day that we would contribute to the cause. It also happened to be Ann's 30th and LaDawn's 40th birthdays too. We made this part of the night a surprise! Here is the invitation everyone except Sarah, Ann and LaDawn got:

“GaNO”

Girls ALL Night Out

It’s time to fill our empty cups with laughter, good food and friends.

Let’s PLAY!

May 9-10^th, 2008 Place: Heber House

RSVP: Jody Nice 572-3393 or Connie Atkisson 619-9025

Call as soon as you know so we can make sure we have enough sleeping arrangements and get food assignments to everyone.

We will be leaving Friday early evening. On Saturday we will be shopping at the Outlets in Park City and returning home after dinner.

Here is our motivation for GaNO:

Give your wife a “day away” now and then. Just take over the household and give your wife a break from her daily responsibilities. Taking over for a while will greatly enhance your appreciation of what your wife does. You may do a lot of lifting, twisting, and bending! (Daughters of God, Elder M. Russell Ballard, Conference April 2008)

Favorite Things Exchange:

Please bring a gift of your favorite thing(s) under $20. We will be doing a white elephant type exchange.

SURPRISE! This is the fun part! Sarah Hamblin is turning 30 on May 21^st and LaDawn Bowman is turning 40 on May 24^th. This is a SURPRISE Birthday party for the two of them. Each of them will receive the above invitation so don’t spill the beans. Of course “Over The Hill” gifts are a must to make the evening just right. On Friday evening dress in ALL black to set the mood for the party.

What a success, it was fun to see everyone in black, great over the hill gifts and the ladies being good sports about it. (We know you aren't really over the hill.) They received denture cleanser, Centrum Silver, Metamucil, shower caps, notes books, a set of chocolate dentures, and g string depend's to name a few. We had a little presentation for each , Connie read Sarah's will, Jody read Ann's eulogy and Holly made up a song and dance for LaDawn. I vowed not to post the video but here are some pics from our GaNO! (Let me know if anyone doesn't approve.) And remember, What happens in Heber stays in Heber!!!

Calli and the Bus

We have a routine every morning when the bus comes. Calli thrives on routine. She gets up eats breakfast, takes a shower, gets dresses, we do her hair on the stool while she watches Word World or Super Why and then she gets her jacket and backpack on and waits for the bus. When it comes she is so excited. She loves to sit by Bridger when he is on the bus. She sits down, buckles up and waves good by. When she comes home she likes is when the garage is open. She jumps off the bus runs to me and gives me a great big hug. Then the questions start... Where's Andrew? Where am I going today? Who is coming over? Usually Andrew is asleep and when I tell her she says, "again?" I love it when she is so happy to come home. Today the bus drivers assistant told me that last week she got on the bus and went to one of the boys and asked him if he liked her hair. A couple of weeks ago her and another little were both wanting to sit by the same boy, they were "fighting" over him. Oh no, is she going to be boy crazy?

Arizona House

Our trip to Arizona was fabulous. Hilary, Calli, Andrew and I boarded a plane one late Saturday evening seeking warmth and relaxation. We found the warmth but not a lot of relaxation. We enjoyed hanging out with our new cousin Simeon, swimming with Corinne and Miles and watching the kids play baseball. I was thrilled with all the shopping I got in. Calli and Andrew have new winter coats and a great selection of winter outfits. I think I came home with double the load I went down with. It was so fun to spend time with Jen and Joey. What great parents and examples they are to our family. We enjoyed reading scriptures each evening before bed and eating wonderful breakfasts every morning compliments of Uncle Joey. We even busted out our bucket of wheat when we got home and now enjoy making wheat pancakes. Calli is still asking to go to Jen’s Arizona house so she can go swimming. Thanks for having us!

Gotta love the 80's!

When I was about 9 years old I had a pair of the cutest shoes in the world. I was really into rainbows and hearts. My shoes were VANS, all white with a rainbow across the front and a heart at the end of the rainbow. Did I mention they were my favorite shoes? One fine summer day in 1985 we were at Lake Powell on a summer vacation. We had just finished hiking at a place called Hole in the Rock. It is where the pioneers took apart their wagons and carried all their supplies down into the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I was so hot since my brother and cousin Kris drank all the root beer my Dad carried to the top for us. I was anxious to get into the water so I was throwing my shoes to my mom in the boat. One of them hit the side railing and plopped into the water. I started freaking out and my hero Dad (just like in the movies) ripped off his fanny pack (of course) and his sunglasses and dove in to save the shoe. I was an unsuccessful but noble try. Still today when we are at Lake Powell and we are crusing by Hole in the Rock I always ask my kids if they ever heard the story about my favorite shoes. They are starting to roll their eyes now when I ask them.

Hilary and I were in Famous Footwear the other day and guess what I found …