Skylar's Open House

Saturday was Skylar's Open House that we have been planning for a month. We had many friends and family some to wish Skylar well as he will be leaving in a few weeks for the MTC. We had it out at the pavilion which fit everyone quite well! A fajita dinner was served and I hope everyone enjoyed it. It was a HUGE amount of work and I am so grateful to all those who traveled so far to support Sky. Here he is with his cousin Dalton......they have been buddies since they were little. Here is a pic of Grandma Fern who flew back from Tennessee with aunt Kathy to be here on this special day. Emily McNeil and my beautiful niece Jenni smile for the camera:)

Uncle Pete and Terri are one of the many from my side of the family to make the trip from Las Vegas. I know it was such a long trip for everyone but that sacrifice has meant so much to me as I think about the weekend. My only regret is that I wish I could have spent more time with my fam just visiting. There were so many people to attend to.

Grandma Hafen and Adam pose for a picture w!ith Uncles Scott and Paul in the background

Ashlee and Nicole, my nieces from Vegas. This was their very first time to Grantsville:)

The whole weekend was wonderful if not a little crazy. Sunday was such a highlight as Skylar had his speaking assignment. He spoke on the restoration and did an AWESOME job. I know I am a little biased as I say that. My heart was filled with such tender feelings as I saw more and more family enter the chapel. Family is EVERYTHING and Rick and I are both blessed with supportive extended family. The best part of the day, in my opinion, was after the meeting when we gathered at my home and Rick was able to give Skylar a blessing in preparation of leaving and having all of his uncles and cousins who were able to stand in the circle. I love the Priesthood and how it blesses so many. Skylar will be able to use this power for much good as he serves in Paraguay! THANK YOU TO ALL who were there on this special day!

Home Renovations

I thought I would throw out some pics of our latest home renovations. This is the upstairs kids bath. I painted this a couple of months ago but just got new countertops 3 weeks ago. I have never had granite countertops and I am really liking them. This bath is decorated in brown, green and orange. I love the way those colors look! We had this same coutertop put in the master bath and it goes great with our red/gold color scheme. This is my main floor bath. I love the way it turned out! I was bold and chose an olive green paint. It is accented with dark brown! I love the smell of fresh paint! This countertop is dark green with black and gold flecks.

We also had new tile laid in here.

Oops, I just noticed the open drawer:(
We had the outside restuccoed a couple of weeks ago and we have been waiting for our shutters and flower boxes to be hung. I am thrilled with the way this turned out. I was worried about having so much dark with our white trim but I think it came out nice. Whaddaya think?

Here is the whole front. We have two more flower boxes on order and they should be here next week. They will go on the upper and lower bay windows. I'm a little nervous of keeping those flowers alive. We just planted them yesterday.

We planted some bulbs to come up in the spring! We'll see how it goes!

These have been pretty big projects but our house is 15 years old and needed some updating. I'm glad it's finished:)

Skylar goes to the temple

I love Sunday mornings. It's very peaceful in our home. With teenagers, they like to sleep in 'til they are actually made to get out of bed. Rick is off to the church by 6:00 every sunday morning so it's just me and the quiet walls of our home for a few hours. It's great!
Last Thursday was a momentous occasion for our family. Skylar, preparing for his mission, was able to recieve his endowment in the Salt Lake Temple. Can I just say that it was wonderful! Thank You to all those who were there. I love the temple and know that through the ordinances performed there we can be a family forever! That is the most important thing that we can do while we are here on the earth!

Swiss Days and the State Fair

My parents are making 3 trips this month to be with us. The first was over Labor Day Weekend to go to Swiss Days in Midway. This is a tradition for us. My dad comes every year to buy a hat. He's sportin' his new one in this picture:) Lookin' Good! Rick ususally takes the evening off to be with us. He just follows me around as I shop and of course likes to get some pie and ice cream. He has his phone with him so evening though he's "off" work he's really on the phone most the time taking care of business. That's OK by me. I still have a great time and I know he's tracking me. He only lost me once!

I'm so excited about my finds!
The second reason my parents come to visit is the state fair. My dad has to get a new wallet each year. My mom teases and says they have to come clear to UT to get a new wallet. Can't he get one at Wal-Mart? No mom, it's not the same!
Rick's checkin' out the boats! Even though my family had one while I was growing up (we went to Lake Mead all the time. Such fun memories!) we won't be getting one. It just really wouldn't work. To many things to do! I think Rick likes to dream!

Rick and my dad watching the horse pull! This was so exciting! The winner pulled over 10 thousand pounds!

Getting ready to leave. It was a great night! My parents get to be here when Skylar goes to the temple tomorrow. Of course, that's another reason they're here! The last time they come will be next week when he has his speaking assignment before he leaves on his mission. They are keeping the road hot between here and Vegas! I love it when they come!

Brighton and the WILD KINGDOM

2 weeks ago (has it really been that long) Rick and I had a much needed getaway. I picked him up after work and we took off for dinner at "The Cheescake Factory". We had tried just after it opened about a year ago to get in but it was packed with a long wait. Luckily this day we were able to get right in. We were surprised when they brought out the menu and we discovered that it was quite the work of non-fiction. I mean seriously lots of choices! Rick decided on a cajun dish. Lemon chicken for me. The food was great and we'll definitely go back. The fun part though was choosing some cheescake to go! Just look at the selection! Next we headed up to Brighton Ski Resort where we checked into the Brighton Chalet. It was a quaint room with a sitting area, kitchen, and large bedroom with a jacuzzi tub.

It also had a huge deck surrounded by lots of trees.

We thought we'd walk off our dinner and took a hike to check out the area. The reservoir was overflowing which created a spectacular waterfall. It was running fast and LOUD! We spotted 2 deer in the trees. It got a little chilly so we headed in for the night....

....where we promptly dug into our cheescake. We figured we were going to be there for 2 nights so we got 4 slices to share. I know, we're shameless eating that much RICH cheesecake. Yes, we really ate IN bed. My mother would have a fit if she knew my fettish for eating in bed. Call me crazy but I love to end the day with a snack in my bed. OK, I KNOW that's not a good habit. But truthfully, am I the only one who does this? Rick can be included in this 'cause he does it too.

Our secret is out:)

The next morning we headed back to SL to the Forest Dale golf course. It is one of our fav's! The trees are huge and I have a love/hate relationship with the water there. It's beautiful but dangit I lost 3 balls to it! I did get par on 3 holes though!

Although it was a little warm we had a great time!

Rick ready to tee off on the 3rd hole!

What form:)

This is a par 4 and I had a GREAT drive than promtly lost 3 BALLS in the lake! I have learned it's best for me not to keep score because I have a lousy time if I do. I can take the bad with the good but I do NOT have to have it in writing!

After our game of golf we did a little shopping for the house and then ended up at Sports Authority where we bought some new bikes. I know that seems frivolous but we did it anyway. We headed back up the canyon and had an early dinner then took a bike ride around Silver Lake. It's a beautiful lake with a boardwalk through the swampy areas.

We had heard that someone had spotted a moose so we rode around the lake 3 TIMES to catch a glimpse but got nothin'!

We rode around the loop a couple of times than headed in to our room. I took advantage of the jucuzzi tub while Rick tried to find a good nature show on Discovery. We had the door open to the deck and I had heard a strange sound coming from outside. Kind of like a grunting sound. After about the 3rd time Rick said, "What is that?" Teasingly I said, "Oh, its probably just a bear". Than we heard it again and he jumped out of bed and ran to the patio and said, "There is a moose out here. Sure enough a cow moose was standing about 70 feet away plain as day. We watched her for a few minutes and then we saw the tree next to our deck move. Rick whispered, "I think there is a calf behind that tree." We were trying to discern what exactly what was behind the tree when Rick said, "It's a BULL moose!" We were so excited! As we watched the cow turned and walked right towards us and up next to the bull. After about a minute the cow walked right up to our deck to check us out. I am not kidding she came within 15 FEET of us and just stared at us. Than she nonchalantly walked past and Mr. Bull came following right behind her! Holy Cow! How amazing is that! She was in heat (don't ask me how I know, I just do) and Mr. Bull was hoping for some action. We followed them across the street and watched them for about an hour. What a glorious way to end the day!

It was getting dark out so this picture isn't as good as it could be.

I swear Rick took about 10 pics and this is the best we got!
Who needs the Discovery Channel when you got this goin' on out your back door! What a great time!

11 days in a nutshell

This is going to be a long post because I am in catch up mode. It has been a busy week and a half and I'll put pictures on later today. OK here goes...

Monday 8/31--Get Fern ready for the day than pack all her stuff for her flight to Tennessee. She leaves at 1:00. Pick up Gary from school at 1:30 for his driving test in Tooele. Pack up for a 2 night stay at Brighton Ski Resort. Have dinner with Rick at The Cheesecake Factory. All I can say is WOW! Delicious! We bought 4 pieces of cheesecake to enjoy for the next 2 nights! Get checked into our room than go on a hike.

Tuesday 9/1--Have a late breakfast than play 9 holes of golf. Got par on 3 holes! Yea! The other holes I won't mention:) Buy some flower boxes for the front of our house from Tuscan Gardens. LOVE these boxes. Have to order 2 more 'cause I need 4. Go to Sports Authority and buy 2 new bikes for each of us. Rick's old one is down and out and I'm just ready for a new one. Test drive them around the parking lot and have the kinks fixed. Happily drive back up to Brighton to have patio seating at the Silver Canyon restaurant. Get back to our room and have an INCREDIBLE moose experience. (details & pics coming later today)

Wednesday 9/2--Pack up and leave. Greg and Leslie will take out last night here at the Chalet.
Have breakfast at Kneaders. Bought some ribbon there 'cause I'm a ribbon freak! Head for home to unpack, throw in a load of laundry and go to Walmart to begin my next project. Painting the bathroom. I buy a couple of shirts for my twins because we're having family pics next week. Meet with the countertop guy to choose some new granite. Woohoo! The bathroom's gonna be great! Come home, tape off bath and start to prime. Fix dinner, eat, send Rick off for church stuff than finish priming the corners. Fall into bed.

Thursday 9/3--Guys come early to start stuccoing the house. Chester's a nervous wreck and stays within 3 feet of me all morning. I spend the day painting (2 coats of coarse). Meet with the countertop guy again because we decide to change the countertops not only in the main bath but both upstairs baths. Our renovations are getting bigger (and more expensive). My mom calls about 4:00 and says they'll be in town TONIGHT! Yikes! So not ready but I quickly get their room ready and head off to get my hair done. Thanks Kristi, I love it! Come home to find my mom and dad have just pulled up. Visit for the next couple of hours. Fall into bed.

Friday 9/4--Stucco guys come early. Coutertop guys next. Plumbers late and there is a problem. Have to shut down the main water valve until he gets here. Parents are just hanging around in all the noise, mess, and chaos. By 1:00 everyone is out of my house (except the stucco guys outside) and we're off with my parents to Midway for Swiss Days! Have a GREAT time buying stuff for my new bath. See Pres. Uchtdorf and his wife for the 2nd year in a row! Can't help but stare:) The year before that it was Pres. Holland in a ball cap and sunglasses selling pie and ice cream. No joke! Had dinner at Cracker Barrell. Love their house salad! Head home. Visit a while longer and than drop into bed.

Saturday 9/5-- Countertop guy comes early and finishes backsplash. I visit with my mom for 1 1/2 hours while Rick makes breakfast. Dad and mom pack up to leave and the dogs have mysteriously dissapeared. We look for a full 1/2 hour. Nothing! Rick finally gets in the car and finds them clear at the end of Sun Valley Dr. I think they were headed for Tooele! Gary doesn't want to spend the day with us and throws a major hissy fit. We load up the bikes and make him come anyway! Both him and Rick are mad so we have a VERY quiet ride to Salt Lake and Spanish Fork to pick up the girls. Pick up some KFC and head to the Jordan Valley Parkway. Not quite sure where to put in on the bike path so we pull into a parking lot. Have a picnic on a thin strip of grass and cross the weeds to get to the path. Nothing like fresh air and excercise to make you feel better. We're all a lot happier by now so we decide to stop for some frozen yogurt at the Red Mango. One word-YUCK. I had a sample and said, " Uh, we're going to Cold Stone". Brought BOTH girls home for an overnighter. A little worried about that but Alyssia was very pleasant. Into bed finally!

Sunday 9/6--Ward Council than off to church. Fast Suday! Dangit I totally forgot. We'll have to fast next week. So enjoyed testimony meeting. It always strengthens me. Come home. Fix dinner. Eat than off to take Leesh back to Penny's. Rick and I stop at 3 places in SL to see where we want to have our family pics taken. Old Garden Church is beautiful but we decide on the Int'l Peace Gardens. Who knew this place was even here. It's pretty cool but in a bad part of town. Came home and played 2 rounds of Settlers of Cataan with Gare. I totally dominated:)

Monday 9/7--Clean house with kids' help than Rick and I head off shopping. I have a gift certificate to Dress Barn (my fav store) and buy an outfit for tomorrows pics. I have totally received a LOT of flack because I took mother's perogative and outvoted the kids on the colors we would have for our family pics. We had decided to where black. I was thinking like in a sunflower field or something but I don't know BLACK! So I changed it to reds, browns, and creams. Oh man, my kids did NOT like that decision but that's the joy of being THE MOM. Whatever you say goes:) Anyhow Rick and I finished buying stuff for the boys and then came home to fix dinner and can 2 boxes of pears. Rick made us a mean peach cobbler and we were happy!

Tuesday 9/8--Kait and Ken both took the day off school 'cause it's our picture day. We just hang around all morning enjoying being together and getting ready. I don't know...family picture days have always been stressful for me. I guess I just want everything to go perfect. We're supposed to meet at the Peace Gardens at 3:30. I drive up and Courtney our photographer is there waiting. Rick's on the phone putting out a fire at work. No sign of Sky, Ken, & Gare who were driving together. They are still 15 minutes away. Why we have to come to SL in 3 different vehicles I just don't understand. Skylar pulls up and the first thing I notice is that yes, he's wearing the shirt I bought him but underneath has this blaring white Tee with some huge BLUE logo. Skylar, I said browns and reds not blue! Oh well, What do you do? We had a fun time taking pics. Courney's great and than we got to eat at Olive Garden afterwards!

Wedensday 9/9--Cleaned house and then spent THE WHOLE REST of the day trying to get Skylar's open house invites ready. Why do I have to make things so difficult. Just get some invitations already.

Thursday 9/10--Spent the whole day canning peaches. 31 quarts! I love having my shelves full. It's a LOT of work but so worth it in the middle of the winter to have yummy peaches. Tile guys came today and set the tile. They will be finished tomorrow. YEA! Went to the temple with the Stake Presidency. Very nice! They are preparing for Stake Conference this weekend. Had dinner at Tepanyaki afterwards. Lots of fun.

Well that's it! 11 days in a nutshell. It's a crazy, busy life. But a GREAT one!

Gary officially on the road

IT'S OFFICIAL!! Gary has received his driver's license!! HEAVEN HELP US!! He has been very excited to take his driving test again. He took it back in May and still needed to work on a few things, parallel parking for one. He was much more confident this time and the DLD worker could tell that right from the start. I am a little nervous about him taking to the roads but we've agreed that he will just drive around Grantsville for the next little while. Here he goes off in the Mormon Mobile! Until Skylar leaves for his mission Gary gets to drive this beast. It's big but obviously solid which is what a new driver needs, right? He's heading off to Young Men's all on his own. My baby's growin' up:)