Our Vacation 2009

We had the best time on our vacation this year. Alaina decided to stay home but we took Kari's friend Natalie with us & had alot of fun.

We loaded up and headed out on the 4th of July right after the parade. Well, about 5 hours after the parade..LOL. Two cars, a camp trailer, a boat, a dozen beach towels, and two walkie-talkies later we found ourselves at Lake Powell.

We had a great time tubing, wake-boarding, and knee-boarding!
One day we had to get rescued by a boat full of like 14 guys - Natalie said they looked "Fine" but Kari was staying true to Jake & didn't act interested. It made for a fun time though!


One day we drove the boat 93 miles up to Hall's Crossing for Ice Cream. We gassed up & drove the 93 miles back. LOL We are nuts! Another day we drove 50 miles up to Rainbow Bridge. We took some great pictures and was so glad to see it was still there. We saw a dinosaur footprint too.

On our way back we stopped at Dangling Rope Marina for Ice Cream & Fuel and ran into our Home Teachers the Sherwoods. They were happy to be able to get their home teaching done while on vacation but we forgot to have closing prayer so we searched Canyon Creek until we found them jumping off some rocks. We had a blast hanging out with them for the afternoon. The kids got to play on the jet skis and jump off the rocks. The water was nice and Judy taught Amanda how to drive. We never did say that closing prayer...LOL!

Another of our favorite things was finding Horseshoe Bend. It is just a couple miles from Page and about a half mile hike - but WOW it was breathtaking. I think we found our Christmas Card Picture!

After spending 6 days on the Lake & nearly dying 3 times (a story for another day) we headed back to Flagstaff & then to the Grand Canyon.

Natalie had never been to the Grand Canyon before - so it was fun to show her how amazing it was. We took our usual family group shots too!

It was all fun until the girls started fighting on the edge & Kirt fell!

JUST KIDDING!

We decided to have a little fun with the camera so don't panic - these pictures are posed! LOL

We spent our last night at the Lowell Observatory looking at the stars. We saw Saturn & some double stars. We even had dinner at the Galaxy Diner. It was great & we made alot of good memories together. We also took over a 1000+ pictures between us and I even got to do a little shopping in Flagstaff before we came home.

I wish vacations could always be as awesome as this one was!

On a side note - Jake was transferred to Yellowstone this week and was made a District Leader. His district covers parts of Idaho, Wyoming, & Montana. He even gets to fish a little. We are so proud of his missionary efforts & excited to someday have him a part of family. We will have to take this trip again because he would love it!

Father's Day 2009

So I decided I'd better do a little catching up since our vacation.

This year on Father's Day we met my Mom & Dad at the Park in Payson. Kari's work schedule didn't allow her to come to Show Low so we decided to meet her half way. We are two saps when it comes to being with our kids. Mom & Kelsey were coming up for Volleyball Camp so it was convenient for everyone.

We had a nice picnic lunch and Dad & Kirt opened some gifts we had brought. It was nice also to have Aunt Judy & Uncle Audrey come by the park.

(Me & My Dad - Max)

(Kari, Kirt, & Amanda)

I have always been my dad's favorite - I am sure my siblings think they are too. LOL

Its all good - it just means he's an awesome father.

Whether he likes it or not.

Kirt is an awesome dad too - he is really busy during the summer months but always seems to find the time to have those good one-on-one talks with the girls.
Our visit seemed all too short and then Dad & Kari headed back to Mesa.

It was fun to Have Mom, Kelsey, AND Elijah here for a few days too. I really needed my mom after the stressful week before. I had so much to do - We moved our office to a less expensive, larger, & quieter place. We are loving it now
& greatful to have a vacation to look forward to.

I Should Be On Medication!

This is why you should never let a teenager drive your car!

I let Alaina take the suburban during our Ward Campout so she could get some practice in it. She wasn't gone 5 minutes and managed to

make friends with a few trees.

It was a really hard hit and the girls were lucky to walk away.

My heart has been racing & my stomach turning ever since but we are

counting our losses and being greatful for the miracles of that day.

So now with our meager insurance settlement.

we are on the hunt for a new truck that can haul the camp trailer

before our big trip to Lake Powell on the 4th!

Say Goodbye Randy & Kim - It was a great car!

Amanda's Got Talent!

We had a little fun with the camera during "Swing Therapy"

YAY! Nice trick Amanda! I made her do this flip atleast a dozen times until I got one at each stage...LOL she is a good sport!

Giving Back

My Family has had a few great opportunities lately to give back to our community.

Last week Kirt, Amanda, and I volunteered to help with the Deuces Wild Triathalon. It was amazingly easy and fun to do. Our job was to stand in the middle of the running course - which was on the back side of Fools Hollow Lake and point runners in the right direction.

Hard work - nearly killed us!

LOL! There were a couple girls that may have been around 13yrs and some guys that looked like they were in their 70's out there kicking it. Amazing to see.


Then this last weekend we participated in The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. Our team B.F.F.'s (Boylan family and friends) had a great time raising money and walking the track all night. I was team captain and loved the time it took to put this together.

We raised over $900.00 just from our team. Mom, Dad, Lori, Cara, Brianna, Kelsey, Tyler, Kari, and her friend Natalie all came up to help. They got into the team spirit by wearing purple striped tights and flowers.

We also celebrated Natalie's birthday she was so surprised! Our neighbors the Barney's also came to support our team. Becky Barney is a Cancer Survivor. All the time spent raising funds, doing yard sales and bake sales was totally worth it. I hope we can figure out how to do it again next year. Our thanks to everyone who helped by donating to our cause. We had a great time the rest of the weekend playing pounce and trying to catch up on the sleep we lost. Dad, Kirt, & Tyler even went fishing and then to the Car Show.

My favorite quote of the weekend..."I never knew you could raise so much money for other people" - Natalie

Flowers Make Me SO Happy!

I can't believe I am such a flower freak!


I have been the biggest crab lately. Stress and a toothache do not mix well. One day a couple weeks ago I saw a landscaping truck carrying the most BEAUTIFUL Hydrangea plants. Instant smiles were beaming across my face. Is it possible for a potted plant to cause such happiness! It was then that I remembered how much I LOVE having flowers in the yard.


I spent a day renewing my front yard and my withered spirit. It only took $80, 2 Large potted Hydrangeas, 1 potted delphinium, 1 new rose bush, 8 pink geraniums, and 2 flats of purple petunias.

Kirt even gave me a Lowe's card so I could buy more! I moved the porch swing to the front yard so I could sit under the tree and see my flowers. We finally put the trampoline in the side yard...now I have what I call "Swing Therapy".
And it's wonderful! I love to sit in my swing and watch Amanda jump on the trampoline and take in the beautiful flowers. The weather has been so nice...aside from a few windy days.
Its definately my favorite time of year!

Memorial Day Weekend

Okay so I have to admit I have been horrible lately about keeping my blog up to date. There has been so much going on but I will try to do better.

Memorial Day Weekend was our first official trip to the Lake this year.

How do you like my tan!! (hee hee)

The weekend started with a Luau at Steve's house to celebrate his birthday then it was back to the lake for us. We brought Kelsey & Tyler for the weekend. Jack & Kay came to see us on Sunday, Kari learned to drive the boat, Mom & Dad, Kendall & Alicia, & Lori, Cara, Brianna, and Elijah came to hang out with us on Monday. We had a great time trying to crash the tube - I was nearly drowned - and Skipper & Gilligan actually got time to chase the fishes. Here are a bunch of pictures of all the fun!

WHOO HOO!

Roosevelt Lake - Memorial Weekend 2009

It's a slow bake!

OK....so life has been a little nuts lately. Somedays I just feel like running away.

Thank goodness for my life coach...she is a good listener with great advice.

She said I needed to make a little time for myself everyday.

Something I practically never do.

(Thanks Sis...you are the best Life Coach ever!)

It seems that most of my days are planned for me. I know you know how that feels right? So I decided to take her advice. It took me two weeks to get the nerve to buy a one-month unlimited pass to the local "Fake Bake" called "One Tan Banana". Its not much and someday I may have cancer...ha ha

(I know not funny)

but its 10 minutes in a booth with NO ONE else!

And I get to pick the music!

Here I am before:

and here I am after one week:

You will have to be the judge because I don't see a huge difference.

But afterall, this isn't really about the tan...although I am happy to not scare everyone the first time we take the boat out this summer...This is about recharging my batteries. I am also excited for June 5th/6th. I am team captain for our BFF Team. (Boylan Family and Friends) for the White Mountain Relay For Life. Its a 24-hour cancer walk...and such a worthy cause.

I had a great time Mother's Day weekend...I ran into so many good friends that I had not seen in really long time. It was another great battery booster...then I got to see most of my brothers and sisters as they came to wish my mom a happy mother's day.

I still feel the stress of life but with some great advice, good service, good friends, and the love of family I am pretty sure I am going to make it...and the tan is just icing on the cake.