My new favorite

I've started running again. It's a fall ritual I have when it starts to cool off.

I struggle each year to get back to where I was the previous season. I am in need of inspiration and distraction while I'm running since I don't run for fun. I thought some new, fresh music would help me. I came across this album by Amy Kuney. I've never heard her music. Never. I fell in love with it immediately. The first time I ran to it, I shaved off lots of time and had more endurance to run longer. I actually enjoyed my run.....I have this charming music to thank.

Click here to listen to the album. ENJOY!

Updates

Travis had his semi-annual MRI yesterday.

We immediately met with his doctor for an exam and results of the MRI. He told us that everything looks great and it's actually difficult to see the tumor. Because of it's low grade status, it doesn't pick up the contrast solution very well. There is no new growth. The doctors are very happy with what they see.

We have felt so positive lately and were expecting good news so this wasn't a surprise. But, of course, we are thrilled, relieved, happy, content, etc. etc. Life, for the most part, has returned to normal for us. Our kids are doing well, work is going great. Life is GOOD. We continue to feel enormous gratitude for all our blessings.

I just wanted to share our good news..........

A Week of Firsts

Ella is a Wish Kid.

A while after she was diagnosed with Leukemia, we found out about Make a Wish Foundation. She obviously qualified for this with a life-threatening illness. In January of 2006 our family took a wish trip to Orlando to spend a week at Disney World. It was an incredible experience, not just being at Disney World with all expenses paid but The Wish Foundation made it completely unforgettable and magical for all of us, especially Ella. It was a first rate trip with perks you can't get any other way and we love having that memory.

We still have opportunities to enjoy some of the perks of Ella being a Wish Kid. We've been to Disney on Ice and had several offers to free events through Make a Wish because of generous donors. So Tuesday I get a call from Mark down at Make a Wish and he offers me Diamondback tickets for the night. I thanked him but told him no thanks. (we get tickets fairly frequently so it's not the biggest novelty to see a game) He told me these tickets were special and he'd only just gotten them. They were in the owners section on the field and included all the food, drinks, treats, etc. that we wanted for free. We had a parking pass in the garage and came in through the bridge and entered a "special ticket holder" only section.

This changed everything. Of course we were thrilled to have this once in a lifetime chance to see the game in that way. The kids loved every bit of it, especially the food! They each were given a foul ball by one of the employees. He was so kind! I am probably ruined to ever sit anywhere else. It was AMAZING!!! We sat right behind the home plate. We could see everything going on up close and personal! It was seriously such a thrill and I don't even really like baseball........

Ella was in heaven and knew we were there because of her. She said, "This is my lucky day!" Thanks Make a Wish, for continuing to wow us with magical experiences.

Ryan's first day of Preschool with Miss Christi

He's waited all this time.....the other kids have been going to school for the past month. Now it's his turn to go back to school. He was so excited. He started with a new teacher for his last year of preschool. He gets to be with 5 friends from our ward. He loves everything about it. He loves that he gets to bring his foul ball to show and tell and treats for his 5th birthday on Friday. He loves that he's with his best buddy, also Ryan. He's my baby and I can't believe what a sap I am for saying this, but I don't want him to get past this stage too quickly. He is such a delight to hang out with during our days when the other 3 kids are in school. It's our special time and I truly enjoy it.

6 Reasons Why I LOVE August

Reason #1 and #2:

On August 7th we celebrated Ethan and Ella's 7th birthday. Our tradition is cake and presents for breakfast and then we continue to party all day long. Ethan got a DS....he is completely hooked on playing video games so we thought, "Let's get him another video game playing device!" He was excited about the Pokemon game and loved eating cake for breakfast.

Grandma came over with presents and gave Ethan Star Wars legos. She gave Ella a cupcake maker, a Peek-a-boo Barbie, and a Hello Kitty necklace. (which she made, by the way)

Ella is our dancing diva so we got her an I-pod and an I-home to play it on. Travis put a bunch of fun music on it. Ella's favorite pastime is dancing. She loves that thing!!

My sister, Jamie, made the cakes and they were fabulous! She did Tinker bell for Ella and a Bakugan ball for Ethan. She did such an amazing job......

Ethan and Ella celebrated at Bounce U with friends and family. It was such a great time!

Reason #3

Back to School!

Am I terrible? I love summer time but I love getting those kids back to school. There is something about having a schedule....it works for me.

Ethan and Ella started 1st grade. Ella was nervous and kept saying, "1st grade is going to be so hard!" She is doing incredibly well so far. She is a great student. Her writing is immaculate. Her teacher, Ms. Matthew, told me what wonderful kids Ethan and Ella are to have in her classroom. They listen and obey and do their work. I have to brag just a little bit.

Olivia is a big 6th grader now! She is happy about this and has been so much fun lately. She loves life and is enjoying school and her friends. She is really growing up and I'm so proud of her.
The one thing I don't love doing each morning is packing 3 lunches. It kind of stresses me out. I like them to be healthy yet fun and have variety. I also have 3 different taste buds to consider. I usually pack them a sandwich; either turkey or pb & j on homemade bread. (it's just my thing) It also includes a fruit or veggie (or both, sometimes). Then I add pretzels, baked chips or Goldfish. And of course, some kind of treat. ( I start out with homemade cookies, but by the 3rd week I resort to store bought a lot of the time!) I even made chocolate pudding last week and they loved that! They also get a 100% juice box. Sometimes they buy, about once a week. This gives me a break. Last night I had a nightmare that I forgot to make their lunches. This is how much I stress about those darn lunches!

Reason #4

My pup, Ruby is potty-trained!!!!!!

She is such a sweetheart and having her house trained makes her that much sweeter.

Max, the cat is her best bud and even likes her crate......of course I just washed the blankets.

Reason #5

Olivia's 11th birthday was on August 15th. Her Aunt Jamie made her a "Treasure Chest" coconut cream cake that went with her Hawaiian Luau party theme. She planned the whole bash on her own. She is quite the party planner.

Olivia wants to learn to sew and got her first sewing machine.

Olivia had 12 girls over to swim, eat, party and sip on tropical drinks. They were such a crazy, fun bunch!!!

Grandma is always so thoughtful and gave Olivia several homemade pieces of custom jewelry. Olivia loves them!

Reason #6

Travis celebrates his birthday on August 15th. (Yes, Olivia and Travis have the same birthday)

Poor Travis. As usual, we spent Travis' special day making preparations for Olivia's party. He is always such a great sport about it. I made his favorite cake......chocolate cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting.

We had family over to celebrate on Sunday night. Travis and his dad and brother are hilarious. I can never get a good picture of them together. They are way too goofy to be adults sometimes.

Olivia with Grandpa Williams.

My sister-in-law, Jodi, with my darling niece, Ivy.

Travis with his kids......Olivia gave him a plant for his office and he got a fishing rod for his next fishing trip in September.

Travis and I went up to Flagstaff over the weekend and hiked to Humphrey's Peak. It was a 9 mile hike round trip with a 5000 foot ascent. We had a great time but it was a super grueling day. Even though it was tough, I'm glad we did it.......what fun to be with Travis and the mountains were beautiful!

A few shots of my nieces from a recent photo shoot I did......

Miah and Maizy

Maizy

Jamie with her girls
Miah

This is my sweetie niece, Paisley. (10 months old)

Our Utah Trip

It finally happened. I have actually made it to a point where "going on vacation" can include my children. Travis and I had the most amazing trip to Utah and Lake Powell in July with our kids. Even the 11 hour drive was pleasant. We stayed 5 days in Utah with some dear friends, then met my parents and sister at Lake Powell for a few days on the lake. We packed a lot into our 10 day trip and yet everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable time. We can't wait to do it again next year!

My dad has a time-share houseboat that everyone enjoyed staying on. My Uncle Delos camped next to us and we got to overlap our trip with theirs for a day.

The kids loved taking exploring boat rides......
Surprisingly, one of the highlights for my older 3 kids was cliff-jumping, a family favorite at Lake Powell for decades. We found a perfect spot with a 25 foot cliff. Olivia was looking over with some reservations. Ethan walked right up to the edge and said "This is how you do it" and jumped off without a second thought. It was completely unexpected and hilarious to me. Earlier that day he had been saying how scared of heights he is. I don't think he had a problem with heights.

The absolute favorite activity at Lake Powell was the tube. All the kids went crazy for rides on the tube. They couldn't get enough of it. This is Ella and my niece Miah.
Another cliff jumping stop. Travis is always a good sport to go with the kids.
This is my absolute favorite picture of me. My dad took us on craziest tube ride. He had us flying across the water and waves for a long time. My arms hurt for a week after this one.

Ryan is one of my favorite people. He is 4 but loved the tube rides more than anyone. He kept giving my dad the "thumbs up" to go faster. He is such a thrill seeker.
I think I know where he gets it. Travis did all kinds of stunts on the tube.
My dad is 63 and had open heart surgery in November. Look at him ski!!! He's amazing......
Me and Ella on a boat ride........
Travis took my dad and Jamie on a wild ride. He actually rolled my dad out of the tube in a backwards somersault.
My mom did water balloons with all the kids on the beach.
We explored Face Canyon one day. It was such an adventure. It reminded me of when I was a kid and we took trips each year to Lake Powell. I loved to explore remote and beautiful places. We always go to jump into the cool, clean water and take a swim.
Travis got up on a ski his first try and skied amazingly well. It's been a couple years but you'd never know it!
While staying with the Quist Family, we took the kids on a hike up Timpanogos Mountain to the caves. It was tough for our younger kids but they all made it!

The kids loved the inside of the caves. It far exceeded their expectations. How often does that happen? It was brilliant and beautiful in there! It was also a cool 45 degrees. Nice!

We took the kids to the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple in West Jordan. We were able to go through it since it was during the open house. It was stunning on the outside and inside. It was such a treat to get to take our kids there. I remember going through the Jordan River Temple during the open house in 1981. I think I was about 8 years old. I still remember how beautiful and special that was for me as a young child.
We also spent some time at Temple Square in SLC. We saw the Joseph Smith movie and walked around the gardens and the Salt Lake Temple. There is such a peaceful feeling on those grounds.

Another huge trip highlight was the 39th Annual Demolition Derby in Heber. My white trash roots came out as I enjoyed watching cars and trucks smash and annihilate each other. It was fabulous fun! It went until midnight and ended with a spectacular fireworks show. I definitely want to see that again.
We were in the line of fire as mud flew over the sides and sprayed us a few times.

We stopped at the Williams' Homestead in Wanship, where Travis' family lives. The kids enjoyed feeding the horses and cows and riding the tree swing.
Travis taught the boys how to suck the nectar out of honeysuckles.
The kids loved the huge dandelions by the roadside.


We went up to Salt Lake on the 24th for the Days of 47 Parade. We got to see Pres. Eyring and his wife.

What a great trip! We loved every bit of it and truly can't wait to do it all again next summer.

Hello July

Where did June go? Seriously, I can't believe it's over. Aren't summers supposed to be lazy and carefree? I always romanticize how wonderfully laid back the summer is going be and it never happens. REALLY, NEVER.

It has been non-stop fun. The kids have been a blast. We are finally in a great routine of chores, play time and outings. I am finding that my kids are great cleaners. The first week of summer I was frustrated with how messy the house was getting. I started posting chores for each kid every morning and the problem was solved. So before playing, swimming, watching TV, playing video games, etc., their chores must be completed. They have been so compliant and hardly ever complain, because if they do, they get another chore. It's beautiful!

Father's Day was a great day in our home. The kids served him his favorite breakfast of french toast in bed at 9:30. Olivia made a paper mache  "T" in art class for him. All the kids gave him a digital photo frame for his office.  I got the kids ready for church while getting dinner and dessert ready for after church. At Travis' request, we had his favorite dinner, chicken cordon bleu with his mom's german chocolate cake. I love to cook and bake, but after this day, I was ready to get out of the kitchen. I felt like I was doing dishes all day long, but it was worth every minute of it. I also made my dad some chocolate chip cookies.  We visited my parents after dinner and then got the kids to bed. I was ready to crash when Travis said, "I'd love a massage." Well it is Father's Day, it's all about spoiling the dad, right? 

Travis is such a loving, kind, patient, fun dad. I am completely blessed to have him as my husband. He deserves to be spoiled and waited on much more than one day a year. 

a self portrait after my new haircut. I love it! I'm not sure if I'll ever go long again.

Our Greer getaway............we stayed in the coolest cabin with 3 other families. I was leery about bunking with 8 adults and 18 kids in one cabin, but it turned out amazingly fun. The guys took care of all the food and the girls just went along with it. They did a great job. We had such a great time and can't wait to do it again.

Olivia immediately ran around the woods and collected wildflowers with Ella.
I found it hilarious to find Ethan arranging flowers on the table.
Our friends, Kathryn and Ashley hanging out on the front porch.
We saw some elk grazing off the highway. 
We went to Hawely Lake to do some fishin' with all the kids. This is the complete brood. What a bunch of cutie pies. They sure did love the lake. It was really beautiful.
Kath with her four kids. They lasted about 30 minutes on the lake with the rental boat. They were such great sports.
Hayden and Olivia on the dock. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery doesn't get much better.
Shaun with his kids. He is a true fisherman and stayed on the lake the longest. Ashley came back with us. She, too, was a great sport.
The Porter family win the "Most People in One Boat" award. They took all 6 of their kids out on the lake and did fabulously for a long time. Dan and the boys dropped off the girls and stayed with Shaun a couple hours longer.
Ryan was so excited. What an adventure!


I was very impressed by Travis' fly tying skills. He looks like such a mountain man. 
Ella made the first catch of the day (and her first fish ever!) on her Barbie fishing pole. She was thrilled! She stated that it was her fish and she was going to eat the whole thing by herself!

Olivia loves to fish but had a couple tricky fish get away before successfully catching one.
Ethan was just happy to be there. 
In the end, each kid had a fish and everyone was proud and happy.

Swimming

Swimming has saved me this summer. All 4 of my kids are fabulous swimmers and love to go out and swim. It was burned off tons of energy and kept them happy and occupied for many hours so far. They love nothing more than to have me sit on the sidelines and photograph them doing crazy stunts into the water. 

I am amazed at how much each of my kids has matured and grown up lately. They make me smile when I hear the sweet and funny things they say. My girls are such little versions of me. I hear them correcting the boys and being little mothers to each other. Surprisingly, especially Ella. She sounds just like me when I hear her say, "Ryan, pick those toys up before you do something else." She brings her purse with her when we run errands in case she wants to buy something with her own money and I catch her taking out her lipgloss and applying it several times on a single trip. She makes her own breakfast and does her own hair and loves to take care of everybody. She adores her baby cousins and wants to carry them around. I have to remind myself that she is only 6 1/2 years old.

Olivia is almost 11 and has become the greatest babysitter. Other than being a little bossy and coercive at times, she is wonderful with the kids and has become an enormous help to me. She is capable of so much. I am excited to be teaching her to cook dinners, do laundry and give her more responsibilities. I showed her how to make my famous (in our family)chocolate chip cookies one Sunday afternoon and we took some over to my parents for dessert. My dad commented on how great my cookies always are, when Travis told him that Olivia had made them. It sure made Olivia feel great. I can see the pride in her eyes as she learns to do new things and gain more independence.

Ethan is nothing short of astounding. He is mature beyond his years in many ways. Travis took him on a trip to Sportsman's to get some flies for the fishing trip. Ethan noticed that the flies were 99 cents and they got 6 of them. He said to Travis, "Those flies will cost $5.94." Travis couldn't believe how Ethan had deducted that so quickly on his own. He is 6 years old and reads chapter books daily. We went to the library and got several books on Monday. By last night he had read all 6 of his books. His comprehension is amazing and I take absolutely NO credit. He just has it.

Ryan will always be my baby but he also is our little comedian and clown. He is 4 1/2  now. He says the funniest things every day. I should take note of them better because they are too cute to be forgotten. But it's late and I'm drawing a blank. But he does love to snuggle with me and I can still get him to take naps a few times a week. He is definitely going to give us a run for our money. He's mischievous and loves to wrestle his siblings and dad. He has serious issues with eating at dinner. Last night he sat at the table for 1 hour until his chicken alfredo was all gone. It's agony for me, because the whole deal is a constant negotiation......"how many bites of this," and "how many more bites." It's been going on for a couple years now and I keep telling myself to stay strong and it will get better. It hasn't gotten better by much yet. He is so stubborn and apparently a slow learner. But he is darling and I couldn't love him more.

School's out!

What a week! Preschool graduation, kindergarten graduation, a school musical, a huge water party and camping in the rain.........we packed in a lot over 8 days.

May 20th marked the 5 year anniversary of our Ella's diagnosis of Leukemia. It was May 20, 2004 when we got the news that Ella, then 21 months old, had ALL. (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) She spent 6 weeks in the hospital, had multiple surgeries, countless hours in the clinic for blood transfusions, chemo treatments and spinal taps. After a long and difficult 2 1/2 years, she completed treatment and was officially in remission. She continues to see the doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital every 6 months for check ups. Actually, beginning this summer, she goes into the late effects program, which means she gets a check up once each year. 

Travis always planned on doing a huge party to honor Ella on her 5 year anniversary. We had a bounce house, a water slide, and her favorite treat, a snow cone machine. On the last day of school, we had the party in our front yard and invited all our family and a couple of close friends. It was a bit blustery, but turned out to be a wonderful afternoon.

This is Ella 5 years ago just weeks before we found out she had Leukemia.

This is Ella now on her last day of kindergarten.

We are so grateful for the perfectly healthy girl she is today. She is a spunky, fun, smart and happy girl. She is strong and healthy and never seems to get sick. We often forget how much she has gone through in her young life. She is our sweetheart and adds so much to our family.

Some of our cute party girls.

Travis grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and made snow cones the entire afternoon.

The weather didn't keep the kids off the water slide. Ethan was lovin' life.

Our daredevil, Ryan.

See where he gets it?

Travis' brother, Morgan and his cousin, Kacie.

Our great friends, Dan and Geri with Paige.
Camille and her kids on their way home. Camille was like a second mother to Olivia and Ethan 5 years ago while I spent weeks at the hospital with Ella.  She had them over at her house day after day. I couldn't have made it through that time without her.  

This is Ella's 5th snow cone. Her mouth turned purple and red....I was afraid it would be permanent.

Our Preschool Grad, Ryan:

Ryan with his cousin, Miah:
Ryan was lucky enough to be with his two cousins, Presley and Miah in preschool this year.

Our Kindergarten Grads, Ethan and Ella:

The grads with their amazing teacher, Mrs. Whall:

Olivia performed in her school musical, "Aladdin."  She played a townsperson and was in lots of the numbers. She sent invitations to all the family to be sure they could see her performance. This is Grandma Adams with Olivia: 

Olivia with some of her friends from "Aladdin."

Our 2nd Annual Memorial Day Weekend Campout

A few weeks ago, my mom asked us if we wanted to go camping over Memorial Day weekend. Just to give some history.....6 years ago we went camping in the White Mountains with our three young kids, the twins were only 8 months old and my entire family. It was freezing, dirty, bugs everywhere......miserable. I swore I'd never do that again. 

Fast forward 5 years, the kids were older and my family talked us into giving it another try. We found a camp site just north of Payson and even rented a pop up trailer. Well, it was freezing and rained the entire weekend. I swore again, that I would never do that again.

So when my mom asked if we were interested in camping again, I was quite hesitant. She said, "What are the chances that it will rain again?" Well, for most people that is true, but our family is the exception to that theory. We have already proved that, right? But, being the optimist that I naturally am, I decided to go for it.  We checked the weather forecast and of course, it called for rain. We went anyway because the kids were so excited and we would crush their dreams if we cancelled.

Ryan fell in love with the bugs and set out to find and "save" as many as possible. My brother and his two girls humored him.
The kids learned to shoot BB guns with Grandpa Adams and Travis.

The kids found an existing swing and swinging from it was the camping highlight. (until it broke while Ella was swinging!)

We went fishing at Tonto Creek with Barbie and Cars fishing poles. 
Amazingly, Travis and Olivia caught 4 fish and Olivia found her new passion. She LOVED fishing!
Travis caught his fish on a homemade stick fishing pole. What a mountain man!
It turned out to be a great weekend! We may even try it again next year. What are the chances that it will rain 3 years in a row? 

All right, now Summer Vacation has officially begun. Moms, brace yourselves. I'm only one day into it and really nervous. All day the kids have wanted to party and be entertained and swim and make snow cones and other treats and have play dates and go to a movie. Honestly, that was just today. I hope they chill out and don't completely drive me crazy.