Bear Lake Beach Blast!

We went camping to Bear Lake for the 4Th of July weekend. LOVED IT! I don't care if it's not some tropical island, there is just something about sandy beaches and beautiful waters to bring out the relaxation in a person AND the waves bring out the Thelma in me...which was perfect since my jet ski companion Stacey, errr I mean, Louise, was totally in the mood for some serious bruise leaving wave crashing. We stayed at the Bear Lake KOA which had many activities for the kids. They rode banana bikes, tooted around the train around the camp, jumped on the "jump pillow", took Lilly to the dog training park, met a great friend, Dylan, who showed them how to race our remote control trucks and so much more! One day we even rented a 6-person sulley and rode into town for raspberry shakes! Justin, in total Justin fashion, brought the green egg and cooked up some delish ribs that Kathy made. I slow cooked a 8.5 pound pork shoulder and made some stellar pork carnitas. Loved the super hot bacon wrapped jalapenos too! And of course, what camping trip isn't complete with hot dogs and hamburgers from Stacey! On the 4Th, Kathy made "red, white and blue biscuits" (think Carl's Jr.'s strawberry biscuits) and Sieauna helped out a little in creating those masterpieces. OH MY YUMMY!
My mom and dad came up for the day on the 4Th and slept in the trailer with us then mom covered breakfast with her famous strata's! None of us wanted to leave. We had a wonderful time as usual and I am so grateful to my family for the wonderful memories we are making for our children.

Soooo Excited! Get Ready Vegas, Here We Come!

I was fortunate enough to get in on a team of 12 girls to compete in Ragnar-Vegas in October! Our team name is I-B-Pro-Fun (these girls are from a pharmacy, hence the cute name).

Imagine this: Red rock, then views of the strip at night, then more red rock. You and 11 of your closest friends running relay-style day and night. Starting in the red rock oasis of Valley of Fire State Park, your team of 12 maniacs will be embarking on a 195 mile adventure-fest sure to fill all of your desires. The party in your van will only get better as you leap frog your way past the breathtaking views of Lake Mead, stunning views of the strip at night and then catch glimpses of Mt Charleston as you run through Spring Mountain National Recreation Area, then it's onto the majestic cliffs of Red Rock Canyon. The race (and your stamina) will wrap up at Red Rock Resort and Casino in the one and only city of sin, Las Vegas, NV.

Training starts tomorrow! Wish me luck!

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/lasvegas/index.php

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Another Fun Camping Weekend.

My FAVORITE view. We woke up to this every morning.
Hmmmm, how many Vigh's does it take to raise a tent? No wonder I wasn't sleeping well. The dog is under there too!

For our anniversary we went up to Coalville again. The camp spot changed quite a bit from last week. It dried up (from being flooded three weeks ago) and the weather was really warm and beautiful. Stacey and the kids came up this time too! We even snuck in a wine taste on Saturday night near my parents cabin, which is near Coalville, so it worked out great!

15 Years?!? NO WAY!

Tomorrow, June 25th, will be the 15 year anniversary of our marriage. 15 years! I keep saying it over and over because I don't believe it's true. I am still just as in love, if not more so, with this man as I was 15 years ago! I'd marry him all over again. I wouldn't change one day...well, okay, maybe one or two ;)...of our 15 years together.

Justin, you are my dream come true. You have given me companionship, laughter, love, BEAUTIFUL kids, all my wants and desires. You are my love and my life. I adore you and promise to not take one single day for granted that we are together. You complete me. (I know, tacky, but I LOVE THIS MAN!)

The Great Outdoors.

We bought this:
and took it to the Spruces for it's maiden voyage. It was VERY cold, wet and rainy but hey, what better way to spend time together in the new trailer? We saw a TON of wildlife. Moose came right through our spot several times and a few deer made their appearance. Pot guts, or "beer guts" as Sieauna called them were everywhere and ate right out of our hands! Squirrels and even a few sneaky mice (who chewed through the garbage bags causing a 3:00 AM ruckus) were abundant. There was even this CRAZY hummingbird that feasted on the hummingbird feeder we brought up and when we took it down...the darn thing tried to attack my head! SERIOUS!
Justin called me from work the following Friday (Father's Day weekend) and said "How soon can you have the trailer packed?" So we went on a last minute trip to Coalville. I told the in laws where we were headed and they also made the spur of the moment decision to come with us. I'm so glad they did! What a fun way to spend Father's Day! This trip was way different from Spruces. First of all, we went from 30 degree weather to 70 degrees. Secondly, call me a diva if you must, but I am in love with the term "full hook-ups". I loved being able to use as much water as I needed and it totally helped with the kids late night potty breaks! The kids had a ball playing in the stream on our site. This was definitely a trip of relaxation with nice long walks past the "witches pond" and late night chats. I did miss the fire pit that we were allowed in Spruces (even if everything did smell like smoke afterward). I found it funny how you don't get bored when you're doing "nothing". Justin and Ken loved their Father's Day trip and we are completely loving this "camping" thing. We are way excited that we have many more trips planned for this summer.

She's a Master!

Sieauna's school was one of the few who hosted the University of Learning program. It's a really neat program that allows the 4Th graders to be awarded Degrees as they complete 15 hours of outside-the-school activity. They had to research their activities, read certain books, present their activity to the class, keep records of the hours spent, etc. To obtain the higher degrees (Master and Doctorate) the kids had to complete 30 hours and present a PowerPoint presentation to the class. She also played a solo on the cello during the graduation program.

I am so pleased to announce that our munchkin achieved her Masters Degree. She worked really hard on her degrees and we couldn't be more proud.

Technical: Soccer
Associates: Cello
Bachelor: Making grape juice with the grapes from our vine and scrapbooking the process.
Master: Gathered recipes from friends and family and prepared a nut-free cookbook.

Sieauna and her teacher, Mrs. Passey Sieauna and her cello instructor, Mrs. Burkehardt

Making Music

Sieauna took Cello this year. She really enjoyed it (even if lugging around that big ol' cello was hard). Her teacher and her really got along and she wants to take private lessons from her this summer. Next year she plans on continuing at the school as well. She's getting pretty good at it. Love that she's happy to be making music.

Final Score of the Season

Alex finished his final baseball game playing pitcher. Not sure if he liked it or not. He still says Basketball is his favorite. Poor kid isn't having fun unless he's in action! Sieauna scored a goal in her final game of soccer. She was really sad the season was over and cant wait to join her team in the fall.

Here We Go Again

Sieauna wanted her hair cut short...again. So we did. Here are the pictures. She wanted to donate to help clean up the oil spill at http://www.matteroftrust.org/ but it was to "global" of a donation so instead she donated here http://www.pantene.com/en-US/beautiful-lengths-cause/Pages/default.aspx. She's such a cutie with the short haircut. Love it!