Happy Birthday Kollette

So here is the 1st day of September and I am still behind a blog post or 4. Not doing a good job of catching up either. Oh well, soon the snow will fly and I will have plenty of time and nothing to post. So on the 3rd of August we went to Olive Garden to celebrate Kollette's Birthday.
We had told the waiter that she was turning 21 again but Kaitlyn politely informed him that her mom was not turning 21 she was in fact turning 36.

Got to love the honesty in those little ones. So here are a few pictures of our celebration.

Happy Birthday Kollette, we both hope you had a great one. We are glad you are a part of our family and like you lots better than Camille (LOL)

The story of us

Today we celebrate 13 years of marriage. Jared is still out of town but should be home tomorrow. So I was just reflecting on how it all began...... Jared and I met and fell in love on Spanish Fork main street in the summer of 1991. Jared was 17 and had just graduated High school, I was 19 and has just started college. He was with his best friend who had met my best friend the night before. We dated off and on for about 2 months and then it was more off than on for the next two years. We crossed paths a few times but never anything serious. In April of 1993 another friend and I drove past his house where he was outside with his mom and step dad. My friend stopped and from that day on we were pretty much inseparable. It was at Brian and Kollette's wedding in August of that year where I finally introduced him to the family. Things went well and they all seemed to get along. That was very important. In early 1994 Jared decided he wanted to become a truck driver so he went to school and then got a job working over the road to gain the experience he needed to get where he is today. He traveled all over and was gone for weeks at time. That was the hardest time of my life (up until the passing of my dad) In December of 1994 Jared proposed to me, Well sort of. He had been driving for hours to get home to give me the ring and it was quite late when he made it to my house. He had a little bear that handed to me. Which wasn't unusual as he was always bringing me little presents when he would come back from a run. So I was admiring the bear and he suggested I look inside the pouch. Sure enough there was the ring. I asked him what it meant and he said that he wanted to be friends (I still tease him about that to this day.) He has since proposed several times. I knew that I did not want to get married and have him gone all the time so I told him that he needed a local job before I would set a date. In April of 1995 he took a Job with H.E. Davis and Sons out of Spanish and moved in what was to be our 1st home (apartment). He was at my house so much at that time that when he got the apartment my parents teased him about being sick of living with them. He would swing by the house on his way to work to pick up his lunch and then stop by after work for dinner and then just hang out until it got late. A date was set and wedding plans began. We had originally planned to get married on the 9th of September in 1995. My mom and I wanted a low stress affair so appropriately enough we chose to have it at the Bella Via Reception Center on main street in Spanish Fork (since it was the only Reception center on Main street where our love story began) When I went there to make the arrangements they were booked for the original date so now I (we) needed another date. Out of the blue a friend suggested the 19th of August and so that is how we (or I) picked our wedding day (I really don't think Jared cared) The big day arrived and it could not have been better. Except I inadvertently gave the wrong invitation to a family member and they were left out of the ceremony. We all just showed up we got married had the reception and left. We did not have to do anything. It was truly a wonderful day and I am so grateful for our families and friends who helped to make it such a special day. One I am sure I will always remember. We have had our ups and downs over the last 13 years. Life has taken many twists and turns but there is no one I would rather have by my side than my sweet loving husband. I have very few pictures of our dating years but am going share some of my favorites from our wedding.

My mom helping me get ready

My dad walking my down the aisle. He so did not want to wear that Tux but he did it for me. Check out those boots though. Genuine snakeskin.
The two loves of my life. Meet the newlyweds
Brianna, Gage, Kacey and Dallas. Look how young they are
My Husband and best friend
The two of us
The whole crew. My dad kept asking me who invited the guy with the camera....
Me and my Sis!
My dad and my grandma. I love this picture
My mom and dad. A great one of them together.
Jared and I again. My mom wore lipstick and gave him a kiss on the check. You can see her kiss mark!
Cutting the cake. It was so good and there was so much of it.
Well I could have scanned every picture in my wedding album because they are all my favorites.

Happy Birthday Jared!

My sweet husband celebrates his 35th Birthday today. He got sent out of town to work so he and I are apart on his birthday for the 1st time in over 15 years. He is such a great guy and I love him for so many reasons. One of which is simply because I can......... Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!!! I LOVE YOU!

Lagoon Revisited

So we got word that Amy and family were going to Lagoon on the 26th of July. This is the 1st time she has been in over 14 years so we decided we would all join in. So the entire family went to Lagoon.

It was hotter that day than when we went earl er and it was quite busy as well.

Cheyenne cooling of a bit on the Hydro luge

Preparing for blast off

Amy looks a tad bit scared

The little ones were not quite big enough for the Rocket so Brianna entertained them on the umbrellas. They would have stayed there for a long time if we have let them

It was hard to get a good picture of Austin as he was a little bundle of energy. He did not like waiting in line at all.

Kim humored me by posing in the stork. Quite appropriate seeing that the stork will be visiting her in less than 2 months.

We really are glad Amy let us join her on her adventure. We had a lot of fun even if we didn't stay right up until they kicked us out. We look forward to going back for Frightmares in October. To me that is the best time to visit Lagoon

Fiesta Days Parade

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fiesta Days

For quite a few years now we have a made quite a celebration out of Spanish Forks Fiesta days on the 24th of July. This year was no exception. It all starts with the Parade. We have sat in the same area for as long as we have been going to the Parade. Years ago you were able to park your vehicles on the rode and we would just watch from the tailgate. Times have changed though and now vehicles are not allowed on the side of the street. So my mom will go down the night before and save our spot. Once someone went through and stole some of our chairs much to our dismay the next morning. So here we all are just hanging out waiting for the parade to start.
It was a really good Parade, full of colorful floats, pink tractors, rock crawlers and marching bands. There was pretty much something for everyone to enjoy. After the parade we all went back to my moms to relax and get ready for the next activity which on this day was a Barbecue. Of course one must nap first.

After a brief albeit refreshing nap it is tine for a Barbecue lunch that consists of all the nummy barbecue food my mom has worked hard to prepare. Hamburgers Hot dogs, salads and chips.

Family and friends are what makes a successful celebration. And this year we were joined by a close family friend and her grandson and Niece. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. After which is more time to relax before the finale of the fireworks.
Amy and some of her kids went home while Kollette and family and I and my mom. Hung around the house. We filled the afternoon with silly childhood games like Mother May I, Red Light Green Light, Red Rover and of course colored eggs. It really was a great afternoon. And we a had fireworks display at to conclude the festivities.

We even spent some time at the cemetery reminiscing about all the good times and being grateful for the time we have together as a family. Thanks mom for yet another wonderful celebration.

You get a line I'll get a pole....

The morning of our Luau Jared and I decided to go to Salem pond for a little fishing. Since we would be going down that way anyway.

We stopped by my mom's house and she and Sadie came along.

We had a good morning of fishing and visiting and watching the dogs play.

My mom was certain there were no fish in the pond, that is until she started catching them.

It really was a anice morning and we had good time. It was really relaxing too. Just watching the ducks play and chases snakes and lizards.

We got quite a few fish but we let them go. It is quite possible that we really only caught one and just kept catching the same one over and over. All in all despite the rocky start our summer as been pretty good. There are still more adventures to come.

Happy Birthday!

So here is the 1st of August and I am still trying to catch up from July. My goal is to do that this weekend. On the 13th July we gathered as family to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. The st birthday since his passing. I figured it was going to be a hard for all of us so we might as well be together to help ease the pain

The theme we went with was a Luau and that was for sentimental reasons. One night while my dad was in the hospital I called to talk to him. He was being is usually witty self and we were going back and forth about Hula Girls in grass skirts. Knowing that his 70th birthday was approaching I decided to plan a party for him. Looking back I wish we wouldn't have waited but unfortunately he never recovered enough for a party and After he passed away I knew that we still needed to celebrate to help us heal.

We shared a few tears

And a lot of laughter

Even the dogs enjoyed the day

After eating a lunch of Sloppy Joe's chips and cupcakes we all walked over to the cemetery and spent some there.

The absence of my dad and his quick wit was definitely noticed. He will always be my hero an I love and miss very much. Happy birthday to a great man, though it has been tough we are learning how to adapt. I Love You DAD!!!!!!!