Sisters and Mom Weekend - Sunny Southern California

First of all, I want my dear sister-in-laws, Debbie, Shannon, GeriLyn, Audra, Mary and Mandi, who were not able to make it to this weekend retreat to know they were SO SO missed!! We can't wait for the time you join us next.
This was such a wonderful, relaxing, and bonding experience for us! We ate wonderful meals at the Cheesecake Factory, twice - one evening we each got a slice of cheesecake and shared with everyone (11 different cheesecake slices!); got our spouses and children little thank-you gifts (not to mention a little spending on self :-) ); went to 2 movies; visited Jamey's lovely home; rode in a sporty Charger and Durango; swam each morning in Krystin's pool and soaked some rays; read a book; stayed up each evening laughing, crying, sharing testimonies and silly stories including Chrisy's crazy experience with a gal she visit taught who shaved her head in Chrisy's living room!, vacuuming tarantulas, Cathy's many proposals, Sandi's cockroach/jumping spider in the bathroom, Krystin's first year with Mike, etc.; feeling loved and supported in our roles as mothers and wives.
I am so grateful to Mom for her presence. She is truly an amazing woman! I adore her and value what she has to say in her efforts to teach and nurture us all and be our forever friend. Thank you Krystin for sharing your home! Thank you sisters for your patience with me and friendship - I love you and admire you more than you know! Can't wait for the next time to be with each of you!
Pictured - SandiRae, Mom and Cathy at Red Robin. All of us (with an unexpected guest! ha!) at Cheesecake Factory - Mom, Me, Cathy, Chrisy, Gina (unexpected guest) Jamey with her Grant next to her and Russell, Krystin, Tasha and Sandi. Outside Krystin and Mike's lovely home and in front of our sporty weekend car - Gina, Chrisy, Krystin, Sandi, Mom, Cathy and Me.

What I'm going to miss about our Home

This is what I'm talking about. Look how much fun everyone is having. I will miss: the games of tennis, woffle ball, basketball on the court; Nicholas playing endlessly in the sandpit (won't miss the oodles of dirty clothes as a result of his play); the trampoline; the playset; the open pastures to ride dirtbikes, 4-wheelers with sleds pulled behind them and horses; the open grass for volleyball, Sarah's flips, kickball and watergames; visiting on the picnic tables or in the sun; the quiet beauty in the night with the moon and stars shining brilliantly; Ethan and Nicholas catching snakes; mowing the lawn on a riding mower; Emily chasing the kids round and round the yard on the 4-wheeler; Macy playing house and pushing her dolls around the yard in the baby stroller; walks with Jed throughout the countryside; etc., etc. There are so many wonderful memories here!
Thank you for sharing in those memories, all of you!
Who's pictured: Above-Ava, Tessa, Flying Hansen and Jens. On the court: AJ and Kim, Ryan and Josh. Mom and Mike (grandma and grandpa) On the "jeep" - Tessa, Ava, Macy, Ryan, Hansen, Donovan and Nicholas

September Birthdays- Birthdays come but once a year!

This year we celebrated the September Birthdays for one last time in our home in Payson. Lucky for us, Dad came up from Arizona to celebrate. We had a wonderful day. The day started out crazy with the Onion Days Labor Day Parade. I've never seen anything like it! It was freezing - rain pouring, hail stinging and wind swooshing - and the parade continued! It will be forever etched in our minds as the most hilarious, most crazy, most wet, most freezing cold Parade ever!
Anyhow, the birthday party started at 2 pm. The weather finally warmed up and the sun was just a shinin' for our party. It was glorious.
During the course of all the fun, I found myself watching my dear family members and counting my many blessings. I was thoroughly enjoying the moment, watching the children play and the adults participating in whatever activity they desired throughout the time together. At one time there were two mini-volleyball games going on, kids jumping on the tramp, kids and grown-ups playing baseball, a doubles wuffle ball game, kids pushing each other on the "jeep", kids on the play set and people visiting. I was on "cloud 9" seeing everyone content and enjoying themsleves! I was grateful we had the party one last time at our home before we make our move. This really is a fun place for parties!
Happy Birthday AJ, Michele, Jens, Kenzie, Dad, Emily, Sarah, Evan, and Ryan!!!

Tagged by Mary

What is your full name- Michele (the rest is absolutely confidential)
Nickname- Belle (from the Beatles song "Michelle my Belle")
Coke or Pepsi? Not gonna do it, you can't pressure me. Ice water, please!
Song that resembles your life- ummm...not sure what song is out there to describe my life. Don't know titles.
Milk or dark chocolate- milk chocolate with a chunk of dark here and there.
Big mac Or whopper- blah!
Beach or Mountains- Gotta say beach for the majority of the time. I can enjoy the mountains in all their splendor and beauty (when it's not cold!)
What kind of shoes are you wearing- flips
TV or Book- BOOK!
Favorite store- to shop generally (if time isn't of essence) - Target. Grocery - Maceys
What was the last thing you ate? Salmon! YUMMY!
Clean freak or total slob- neither - but messes make me irritable and cranky. I like my home to look nice but I'm not a clean freak or a slob.
Do you wish on stars- No, but I do wish
Ever been stung by a jelly fish- No
Best cartoon ever- Family Circle
What scares you- Although I haven't watched many - scary movies like 6th sense freaked me out!
Favorite doughnut? If i eat them, white powdered doughnuts or Krispy Kreme - glazed
Been to LA? yes I know, now I've seen the world - Ha!
Least favorite veggie- don't know
Dreamer or doer- a little of both.
one word that describes you- "what?" Sums me up in a nutshell, right? Hee, hee!
Name of your first friend- Lisa, took me under her wing when I was 3 in Indiana
Night light or completely dark- ask Jed, completely dark
Believe in love at first sight? yes, I know I'm a hopeless romantic
Best toppings for a pizza? veggies and meats
Ever owned a goldfish? yes, Gus-Gus and Flounder. When they were dying, I was bawling!
potato chips or french fries? french fries but I'm picky.
Who should play you in a made for TV movie? If I could be a wisher...ummm, gosh, I don't know. Britney Spears! She looks like me, acts like me and dances like me. Yep its her. Okay, okay. Really I like Reese Witherspoon.
Spender or Saver? usually saver but I'm guilty of splurging BUT I always buy on clearance.
Butterflies or dragonflies- Butterflies. However, funny you asked. After walking with Macy and Nicholas the other day, and Macy pointing out a dragonfly saying it looks like a helicopter, I will never look at a dragonfly the same.
Which ONE would you like to do the most- Skydiving, Rappelling, or scuba diving more. Sky diving would be my first choice at this point in life.
Fearful or fearless? Depends. Fearful, to a degree (meaning I know where they would go and that's comforting) of losing my dear ones. But fearless in some risky things like .... gee can't think of any. Ha!
Bully or bullied? Bullied. Hands down. (a nice little metaphor there.)
Glass 1/2 full or 1/2 empty? Usually I'm a half full kinda gal. Unlike Jed who's always full. :-)
Ever sent to the Principal's office? yes...in the 5th grade after taking a pill from a "friend" for my headache. Ended up being a drug. I got turned in the next day and so did my "friend". I told the story as it was - she gave me a pill after I told her I had a headache. She gave this "pill" to a number of us and no one defended me. That was my first and only experience with the power of a drug. She bullied and lied her way through it. The principal didn't do anything to her but that was the end of any popularity status I may have had at that time.
Social butterfly of wallflower? I love to be with people - social butterfly unless I'm with Jed in a crowd I don't know and he does. Weird.
Secret keeper or blabber mouth? Secrets stay with me. I'm not much for gossip. Information is different. And I keep it to myself as long as it doesn't hurt someone physically. So, since I've never been told a secret that would've jeopardized someone in such a way, try me.
shift or Automatic? Love to drive a shift for fun. But with children, automatic is so nice.
worry wart or worry free? I think I drive my family crazy with how worry free I am. I tend to let things go and react if and only if there is a problem. But, naturally I worry about my dear extended family and my children. And personal things worry me - I'm naturally hard on myself. Make sense?
African safari or bicycle through Europe? Bicycle through Europe!!!! Sign me up for the next one!
Ice cubes or crushed? Crushed...need I say more?
What do you like on your burgers? Beef , slice of Cheddar cheese (Swiss is yummy too sometimes.), thin sliced tomatoes, romaine lettuce, pickles, avocado, light on the ketchup, mustard and mayo.
Bikini or board shorts- board shorts
Favorite kinda cookie- home made chocolate chip cookie (with milk chocolate chips and the perfectly baked kind of doughy kinda crisp) or macadamia nut
Best Commercial- gosh its been years since I've seen one so I can't think of any from before
Word or phrase you say a lot? I repeat myself too often, I have kids, remember?
Favorite flower- Oh my, I went blank, its the one that's popular at weddings nowadays. A daisy like flower but big and in many fabulous colors! Oh I hate when I forget things!

I tag Kimberly, Celeste, Steph and any of you girlfriends and sisters that want to play! Take a minute!

I couldn't be... I'm turning what?!

Macy, my darling 6 year old, insisted on taking my picture. (not bad for her!) It had to be posted for all to know that I'm "one year older and..." What do they say? "Wiser too?" Yah, right! That's why I look stunned! And to think I'm truly 38, impossible! I can't believe I've reached the ripe age of 38. AHH! Its all good though, K? I'm going to go play in Southern Cal for the week with some of my dearest friends - Jed's sisters, mother and a few sister-in-laws!
"Don't worry, be happy now" is my motto for the year. I'm going to conquer the world...somehow. One of my kids at a time. (I only wish it were that easy!) One task at a time. One day at a time. I hope this is a year of "wise-ing" up and taking advantage of some sweet opportunities. What are they? Well, we shall see. (For me to know and for you to find out, comes to mind. Hee, hee!)
But for now, in all honesty, I'm going to rejoice in the blessings I've been so graciously granted. There can't be a luckier woman in the all the world. I can think that, right? Guess what? I'm going to think that - I've got to be the luckiest 38 year old woman in the world!!

FINALLY...playtime with the Nicols!

This was a long overdue event. It was absolutely wonderful to be with our dear friends, Don and Kim Nicol and their beautiful children. We had a great time - visiting, watching the kids swim, visiting, eating, cleaning up little messes (loved the pan of ground beef popping out of the pan like popcorn - it exploded!), and visiting (plain getting caught up on how our families have been, its been a least two years!) The Nicols had to literally yank us out of their house at midnight! We had such fun. Kim and I had fun looking at blogs - so here we are Kimberly! This is for you! Don, Kim and Kids, thanks so much for the wonderful evening!! Let's not wait two years for the next time, please.

Pictures as follows: Nicholas gets ready to "go fast!" (Isn't this a great shot?! I love it!) Emily throws Lexi with Kynli nearby. Hot tub full - Gigi, Ethan, Nicole, Sarah, Kynli, Lexi and Nicholas

Macy Breaks Her Arm :-(

Macer-doodles has been roughed up by her big sister, Emily! Impossible, you say? Ask Macy. She'll tell you exactly what happened and simply put it as, "Emily broke my arm". The story goes like this: Macy and Nicholas were playing on the big "Little Tikes" slide. They were minding their own business when Emily, and a few other family members, came up to the slide and knocked into it with the 4-wheeler. It budged so nicely that Emily proceeded to push the kids around the yard as the slide slid along the grass. Well, bad things happen to good people sometimes, right? The slide got stuck on a sprinkler. On impact, Macy and Nicholas were thrown from the slide as it fell apart. Nicholas jumped up, saying, "I'm alright!" But Macy instantly grabbed her arm and began to cry. Nicholas quickly made an assessment and exclaimed, while pointing at Macy with big, wide eyes, "Macy broke her arm!" Macy did, in fact, break her arm. Rather Emily broke Macy's arm. Our sweet Macy looks pretty in pink, wouldn't you say?