Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera and this is what I found! The kids got all decked out in green for St. Patrick's Day and did some jigs for us! Mariah wanted to really make sure she didn't get pinched and so put on as much green as she could. They had a fun day!

With great sadness, Ralph Benjamin Bytheway passed away this week. He was 85. This is Matt's grandpa and a wonderful man. I met Grandpa when Matt and I were freshmen at BYU and Matt would bring different girls up to his Grandparent's house on the weekends to hang out in Salt Lake City. I got to be one of those girls and loved his grandparents from the start. Grandpa loved to be outside. He had the most amazing garden and when they moved to Leeds, he added chickens. My kids loved visiting Great Grandpa's chickens and feeding them when they could. We will all miss him very much but we are grateful for the time that we had him and the memories that we have of him now. Rest in peace, Grandpa, and we will see you soon!

My friend Lauri was in town this week and we had a great time. Now I am behind in my school work and studies, sleep deprived, and worn out from giggling so much. We don't get to hang out nearly enough. I hear she is coming back next month too so I better get ahead on my school work!

Girl's Night Out!

I had the best date Thursday night with Megin. She got two tickets from her husband for Valentine's Day to Rascal Flatts and he didn't want to go. So I got to be the lucky friend. It was GREAT! He not only got her tickets, he got her good tickets. We sat on the floor only 7 rows from the stage. The stage came out onto the floor too so when they walked up the sides, they were only three people away from us. We didn't rush up and grab any of their hands, but I did encourage Megin to have the main singer rub her pregnant belly. It didn't happen. Oh well. So thank you Megin. You are a great date.

Mission Flashback!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

I can't believe it has been 12 years since you came into our family. I think the birth of the first child holds a special place in a parent's heart and you are no exception. You were a fabulous baby; patient, curious, and talkative as a toddler; bright, smart, and helpful as you grew older; and now you are a handsome, funny, caring, and responsible young man. We love you and are so grateful you are a part of our family!

Mission Flashback

This is for you Lauriann- "nice matting!"

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Sixth Challenge

1. Go to the photo folder in your computer

2. Go to the 6th folder of photos.

3. Go to the sixth picture.

4. Put the picture on your blog and description of it.

5. Invite six friends to join the challenge.

I was tagged by Lauriann - thanks Lauriann! This is when our friends from Texas came to visit. We hadn't seen them for a few years but our kids acted like we had just seen them last week. It was great fun to have them hang out. This is Jalyn and Nathan's head. They had a great time together.

I tag- Kori, Heather, Ashley, Mom, Julie, and Saundra

Friday the 13th

Yesterday was a bad day. It was Friday the 13th. I could tell the day was going to be rough from the minute I woke up. I didn't sleep well because all I kept thinking about was r-square, scatterplots, and other statistical nonsense that I can't quite figure out. I woke up exhausted and took it out on the kids. They couldn't move fast enough, get ready fast enough, hurry up and eat your breakfast, hurry up and get your shoes on, hurry up, hurry up. I had gotten Jalyn up a few minutes earlier than everyone else so she could work on her math facts and get her times-7's passed off. But that little girl couldn't drag her feet any heavier than she did. She dawdled, she whined, she laid around, until finally it was too late to do them before the rest of the kids got up. Well, it was stuck in my head that we were going to sign off those darned 7's. So minutes before it was time to walk out the door, I got Jalyn to sit at the table and do her timed test. She couldn't focus. The kids were running around trying to finish getting their snow stuff on. Jalyn kept looking at them instead of her 7's and the seconds were ticking by. By the third try, I was so frustrated I shoved them all out the door. Instantly, I felt horrible because I only made her feel bad. Guilt of an over-tired, over-stressed, can't do it all mother washed over me. I got ready quickly and ran a few errands. While at the grocery store, I picked up a peace offering for Jalyn and her class. I am sorry Jalyn for being so mean and grouchy. Her class was at recess when I dropped it off and her teacher had me in tears when she asked why I brought in the treat. What a day. I was exhausted and I still had two dinners to make for families in the ward who needed that service. I was in no mood to serve but it lifted my spirits when they were so grateful for the meals.We had tickets to the Draper Temple Open House but I was in no mood to go. Mariah called from her friend's house asking if her friend could come along. I guess we have to go now. It was a long wait, I think everyone thought it would be a great Valentine's activity to go see the temple. Mariah met more friends there and thankfully we ended up having a wonderful time. The temple is beautiful. The spirit there is refreshing. I felt much better on the drive home than when the day started. I am grateful for forgiving children. They still like me, even after a day like today.

BYU Basketball Game

We went to the BYU/Wyoming basketball game on Saturday and had a ball. We were way up in the nosebleeds but the tickets were cheap. I think the kids had a great time and Mariah made great use of her new megaphone to cheer on the Cougars. (Darren would have been proud!) We had lunch at The Brick Oven and then walked around campus. How cool is it to have a bowling alley on campus? Who says college is so hard when you can bowl for a class? It was a fun day!

Shane's reading

This is Shane in his nightly ritual. I think that kid runs and runs all day long and then when it is time to go to bed and read, he is instantly out. He is loving the Magic Treehouse Series right now. He is improving every day in his reading. His teacher is Mrs. Stayner and she has been absolutely amazing and I know he wouldn't be doing as well as he is without her help. I watched her do the same thing with Jalyn. I love good teachers!

Is it Spring yet??

I am so sick of the cold!! We have had high pressure which makes the Salt Lake Valley hazy with smog and it traps the cold in. Now, I must confess, we aren't as bad as the midwest and I would be insane at this point if I had to keep waking up to NEGATIVE degrees as my poor friend Bobbi in Iowa is doing. I hate the cold! I like it HOT! I want sunshine! I like to be so hot that putting my feet in a cool pool is refreshing. This winter just goes on and on!!!

Jalyn's ears pierced!!!

This is the video of Jalyn getting her ears pierced today. She did really well and didn't cry. Happy Birthday Jalyn!

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/share.do?invite=5Evr2FY0kmzLzzgYak00&shareName=MMS&messageState=RETRIEVED

Winter Fun!

This is me taking the pictures from the safety of my house and Shane trying to "get me" with the snow. They were having a blast and were soaked and ready for hot chocolate when they came in.

More Pics of Jalyn's birthday...

Happy Birthday Jalyn!!!

Jalyn had her 9th (I can't believe she is 9) birthday party today. Her birthday is actually on Monday and that is a big day too because she will get her ears pierced! We had her party at the Tracy Aviary and had a great time. We watched a bird show, saw lots of birds, and fed the pelicans. Jalyn is really into birds right now and it was the perfect venue for her. She had really hoped for a "real" bird for her birthday but instead had to settle for her very own bird house, bird feeder, and stuffed bird. Happy Birthday, Jalyn!

why I went on the road trip...

Julie Lewis has been my friend since I was about 5 or 6. We went to Elementary school together and danced together and had lots of sleepovers. She had a pool in her backyard that we would swim in and we loved to sing along to the "Popeye" and "Grease" soundtracks. We even made up our own dances. We would babysit my youngest brothers and have Darren chase us with the wooden spoon. Some of my fondest memories were sitting in the top of my closet, scaring Marijah and Meghan from across the street. Good times. She found the man of her dreams and they were sealed in the Sacramento Temple on January 10th. Her grandpa did the sealing( he did ours too!) and it was beautiful. Congratulations Julie and Brian!

This is the end of the Road Trip...entering the Salt Lake Valley. It is definitely the "right place"!

I love Road Trips!

It was time to get out of the house and on to the open road! Jackson, Mariah, and I took a weekend road trip to Sacramento for my friend Julie's wedding. I wanted to share what we saw along the way so everyone would feel like they were on the trip with us!

These are the Great Salt Flats! This is my favorite stretch to drive because the mountains are so beautiful. I think the wide, white expanse is just incredible.
Someone built this "art" in the middle of the Flats. It is the Tree of Something. I looked it up once to get the details but we just call it the "tennis ball tree". It is so famous that it was a stopping point for The Amazing Race Family Edition. Pretty cool.

This is Nevada's version of Beverly Hills. It is the happening place!

A lone house on a hill on the outskirts of Winnemucca, Nevada. Why? I don't know.

I am trying to take this picture while driving and it didn't turn out so good. There is this weird house that is actually a historical monument outside of either Battle Mountain or Lovelock. I forget which (it all blends together in Nevada). It looks like it is made out of antlers, clay, and drift wood. It is one of our "points of interest" we look forward to seeing along the drive.

Wasn't that a fun trip? It was the same thing going back to Utah only on the opposite side of the freeway. It is 411 miles to cross Nevada. We always stop in Elko (the west exit because gas is about 30 cents cheaper) and Reno. The exits vary in Reno. It depends if we want In-n-Out or not. It only takes us about 9 hours and it is a great stress-free drive. The scenery can be boring but I love that drive. If anyone wants to join us on the next trip, let us know!

Happy New Year!

We started off 2009 with a bang and had a great time celebrating with the England's and the Summerhays'. Mike and Krissy brought their Rock Band and it was a huge hit. I totally did awesome on the drums and singing and I realized that Mariah is just like her mother. She was on that mic most of the night, singing loud to Livin on a Prayer and Eye of the Tiger. It was hilarious. (I guess she is like her Aunt Kori, too!) At midnight, we watched the countdown and the kids each opened a Cracker. They each got a little toy, crown, and joke in their cracker.

Q: What did the pencil say to the paper?
A: I dot my i's on you.

We had our traditional midnight breakfast (thanks Mom for the tradition) and the kids were still going strong. They were making all kinds of plans to watch movies all night. Well, that didn't last long and they were in bed and crashed by 1:30am. It was a great night and we had a blast.