WOW!!

All I can say is WOW!

The door bell rang about 10:30am this morning.
I had just come in from a Yoga class.
Rog was in the shower and no one else seemed to be moving very fast.

So Clark and I answered the door as we yelled.
"Didn't anyone hear the door bell ring."
It was the peaceful feeling

I had brought home from yoga that made me yell.

WOW!


This is what was sitting on my doorstep!
Did you hear me say,

WOW!
Have you ever seen such a gorgeous arrangement?!

WOW!

I have three daughters,

so once in awhile we get flowers sent to our house,

but I have to admit my first thought was

I hope no teenage boy spent all his money on these!

THESE BABIES ARE GORGEOUS!

My pictures are very lacking in how stunning

this arrangement was sitting on my doorstep this morning!

And the best part is they were for

ME!

Thanks Teri, you are so sweet, and thoughtful!
It really made my day, week, month, year!

America the Beautiful!

There is nothing like a weekend trip

to remind you...

This earth we live on





IS AMAZING!










From the Rocky Mountains with love!

My Dad the inventor.

How many of you can claim that your Dad has invented something.

I CAN!

He has several patens for farm equipment he has invented.

Grandma told me that he was always building and creating things from the time he was a small child.

He has a very creative mind.

How many of you can say your Dad's built a covered wagon.

I CAN!
I have heard of his famous covered wagon for several years,

but had never seen it set up and in action.

I am seriously impressed - way to go Dad.

It all started with a dream , a small dream of pulling your home with you on the road as you visit your ten children, scattered all over the west, or maybe a just a simple fishing trip.

All of the trailers you check out are flimsy,
cheaply built, or don't have double axles.
(i.e. they wobble when you pull them)

So an idea starts and you think that maybe you could build your own tent trailer. Slowly the plan forms and you start to see the fruits of your creation.



I have to admit - I think this design could catch on. I am sad to say I did not get a picture of the inside - it is a palace. Covered wagons give you a lot more space then a typical pop-up trailer. There is a full queen size bed in this thing. Also, lots and lots of storage room. Plus, it rolls up tightly and pulls great.


Of course, he is still tweaking this and that, trying to get it perfect. So the patent is still pending.



The other day Mckay told me he wants to be a science inventor when he grows up. I was so proud. Thanks Dad your are an inspiration.
Way to go POPS!

Boys, boys, boys!

I had never noticed that my house was so ---GIRLY!

(poor Mckay)
Until, I begged, pleaded and borrowed my nephews.

We picked them up at the reunion

and they stayed with us for just over a week.

I think I got a feel for a Boy house.

I did not want to send them home,

but their parents where homesick for them.

Boys are so easy!

Boys are so low maintenance.

They entertained each other

and they never fought,

I kept waiting for that fight to break out that says,

we are tired of each other - It never happened.

We really tried to wear them out

and that never happened.

Every day was a new adventure!

We wanted to show them all the wonderful things Utah has to offer,

but I found out quickly that If I fed them a Subway everyday

they were satisfied. (Mckay is seriously addicted to these sandwiches.)

I hope my brother does not find out how

much I let them get away with.

Boys keep it quiet.

Thanks Aaron and Mindy for letting us borrow them.
Lehi and Rubon we will seriously miss your smiling faces.
Happy Birthday next week boys!

Rog and the Tater girls!

We take training for the Spudman Triathlon seriously at our house.
(OM-OM-OM)

It really brings us together as a couple!

Rog puts his game face on and it is time to go.

.

His last look to me was, "I'm gonna kick your....Hiney!"

WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!

READY
SET
GO!

I"M NOT READY!

WAY TO GO TATER GIRLS!

SMILE WHILE YOU PEDDLE!

I'm a Tater girl!

DO-DA
DO-DA
(Me, just humming a little tune to myself.)

SERIOUS NOTE: Rog finished so fast our official photographers missed him!

Meaning by the time my wave left for the swim he was finishing the bike.

When I started out on the run,

I heard them call Rogers name as he crossed the finish line!

He did fantastic!!

She did Fantastic -

MUSCLEMAMMA!!!

and so did she -
SWEETMAMMA!!

And here she comes...

MOOSE

MAMMA!

(HOW DID ROG GET SO LUCKY?)


HEY, SAME TIME, SAME PLACE, NEXT YEAR!

A special thanks to our official photographers

Layne and Jim .

You make us look really good!

You did fantastic!

Hey Mario!

I have a couple of confessions to make.
The first one is I am not a big fan of video games.
This of course is not greatly appreciated by my twelve year old son.
I know nothing about gaming systems.
I lost track of what was cool about the time of Asteroids,

and have always held the opinion that they suck the imagination out of a child.
Boy, am I wrong!
Meet my nephew Mario.

I watched him and could not figure out what he was doing,

for hours and hours.

He ran around, and did these cool ninja/karate moves.

Finally I asked him if I could play.

He is Mario.

I am Princess Peach, or sometimes Princess Daisy.

I followed him around doing cool kicks and Ninja chops.
We had cool weapons.(sticks)
We fought the bad guy Bowser.




He knew exactly what he was doing.
He had the whole scenario in his mind.
We ran around fighting the worlds evil, and saving the good guys.
Plus, he taught me how to shoot my weapon, and put up a force field.

All useful life lessons.

Second confession, sometimes camping gets a little long for me.

Three days - three days in the dirt,

with the bugs, and I stink like a camp fire.

My A.D.D. kicks in and I usually find myself escaping to a book,

or bugging my brother Brian.

Not this time - this time I played Mario Brothers live version with Aiden.

I have never had so much fun running around a camp ground.

Imagination is Alive and Well!

Da Family!

With my Family,as large as it is, you expect to get all kinds.

THE BEAUTIFUL! (my sisters and I)
From left to right.
Holly the baby - hence her youthful good looks.
Valerie - the wisest of us all!
(1. Susan my oldest sister was not able to be at the reunion.
2. Val wouldn't like me to mention she is old, that is older then me. )
Me - you know enough about me.
and Cathe - my partner in crime.
Why are you hiding behind us Cathe?

















And Brian....
I love Kristi! Kristi is the best!
Kristi is Brian's wife. She inherited this crazy family, without fair warning I think.
But Brian .....
I cannot say anything, without getting sarcastic
a nasty habit I am trying to break.
He knows this and tempts me all the time.
Hey Bri, thanks for the Dr. Pepper.



This is who started all this.
Affectionately called.
Pappa & Granny
Some might call it a mess,
others crazy.
I think it is wonderful madness!
Two people brave enough to bring us ALL into this world and
raise us with a lot of love, chaos, and hard work.

This is a typical sight we see.
We have literally worn him out. Poor Pappa.

But who expected to see this!






P.S. You know this is only half of us. The other five I will introduce on another blog. Nine siblings make for too long of a blog.