Happy Birthday Dad!

Sunday was my Dad's 53rd Birthday, I can't believe it! We had the funnest surprise party for him. My mom brought him up to Snowbasin resort, where we were all there waiting for him. Dustin and I brought Grandma Webb along from Lewiston for the day trip. We were so happy to have her come with us, and she was so grateful to come along for the adventure! She is such a neat lady, we loved having ride back and forth from Ogden to visit and catch up.

We rode the gondola up to the lodge at the top for a gorgeous, delicious buffet. It was so much fun! The views were awesome, the food was amazing, and the company was the best!


Grandpa was so happy to have all of his grandkids there to celebrate...

The ride to the top was so fun! Kennedy and Preslie were scared of the heights a little bit, but the rest of the kids had an absolute ball!

Tayler and Kennedy are obsessed with Jami right now....sorry, Jame. Stop being so cool and maybe they'll leave you alone a little.

I think this picture is so funny, you can see how Kennedy and Hudson both felt about the gondola ride...

Jenna, Preslie, Nate and Cortnie

Here we are in front of the lodge at the top...

The buffet, the buffet, the buffet. It was the stuff dreams are made of. Creme Brulee on a Buffet = Dessert after each course. Heaven.

Hudson loved looking out the huge windows at the mountains below. These pictures really don't do it justice, it was breathtaking up there.

The lodge had big open rooms downstairs with comfy seating, so we hung out some more and gave Dad his presents. He was moved to tears by the little bragbook of his grandkids that I made for him. He is my favorite person to make presents like that for, he appreciates them so much! I love you, Dad!

Of course one more group shot with the spectacular scenery before we rode the gondola back down...

We spent over 5 hours at SnowBasin, it was so much fun! If you haven't been there and you can go, GO. It's great.

We stopped at Grandma Josie and Grandpa Jay's on the way home for more food and visiting, and just look at the surprise they had for her grandbabies...as if Grandma's house needed any thing more to make my kids beg to go there...

It was a fun weekend with all of us together, except Garret, who had to go to St. George for work training and couldn't be there. We sure missed you, and were so happy Trulie and Jace came anyway. We went to the park Saturday in Smithfield with some of the Chambers cousins, and it was so fun! I have just LOVED this summer because I feel like I've got to see our family so much, it has been great. Dad, thanks for the great reason to party some more. We love you so much, you are such an amazing example to all of us. Hope you are having fun on your Harley trip, we can't wait to see you again next weekend!

You know, like TUH-Mater, but without the TUH!

"I used to know this girl named Doreen. She looked just like a Jaguar - only she was a truck! I used to crash into her just so I could spoke to her..."

As I listened to Mater say this for the millionth* time today, I giggled for the millionth time.

Hudson loves Cars, and I especially love Mater. Watching him is kind of like being with my big brother Jeff, don't you think??

If you have to listen to a kid's show over and over, this is definitely not a bad one. Much better than Barney, Wiggles, or any of the Barbie ones...Never mind that he is obsessed with every bit of the merchandise and I have bought most of it, and that we - Dustin, Kennedy and I, not just Hudson - know the name of every single character on the show...even the ones with no lines. I kinda {heart} Cars, too...

Hudson, You Rock! Thanks for having such a fun obsession.

*Million is probably an exaggeration, but just barely. We are, after all, on our 2nd copy of the DVD. It has been very loved...

Heber Weekend...

The kids and I went up visit my brother Jeff's family in Heber last weekend. We seriously had the time of our lives (we did miss Dustin, who had to work). My sweetie niece Cortnie's birthday was Friday, it was so fun to celebrate with her! I can't believe she is 11, isn't she beautiful?

On Saturday we got up early and hit a few yard sales. Check out the deal of the day I got for Hudson...for $10!

Hudson's new Favorite Uncle Jeff put a brand-new 4-wheeler battery in it for him and it screams! He has been in absolute heaven with it ever since... He gave Preslie and the others lots of rides, but he had to be the driver!

After that the girls hit Swiss Days. I can't believe I've never been before, it was awesome! (although, as slowly it has come to light just exactly how bad I blew my budget, Dustin says it was my first and last trip...good thing I have a full year to change his mind) Tons of booths with everything fun you could imagine. We were too busy enjoying our selves to take any pictures, but it was a blast. Special thanks to Jami and Cortnie for the awesome babysitting!

We stayed in Heber until Monday and then cut the 5 hour drive home in half by stopping in Logan for a birthday lunch for Grandma Marcia and my adorable niece McKenna. McKenna is at Disneyland today for her 6th birthday, I am so excited for her I can hardly stand it!

Have a happy birthday with the princesses, McKenna!

(McKenna Kae with sweet little cousin Halle Kay)

Other highlights of the weekend included:

Fun deal-finding afternoon at the outlets in Park City
Jill's delicious pork tacos

Late-night soccer game "under the lights" in Jeff's backyard, followed by a raucous game of Add-On, tricks included the "In-air Shimmy" and Jeff's "Gassy-moon-walk."

Meeting minor scrap-booking celebrity Wendy Sue Anderson at Jeff's ward!

Fun horse ride Monday morning with Jeff and Cortnie, she is a great little cowgirl, I was so proud of how she handled her nervous horse...

Jeff let Tayler and Kennedy ride around on Bo for a while, too. They loved it. They are just two little peas in a pod. Don't they look so cute in their matching outfits? They love to be twinners!

Playing with Jeff's cutest little puppy Zeke. He's just like the Heeler we had growing up, so fun!

And the kids got to come home to a fun surprise from Daddy: the new sand box! What a guy! No wonder we missed him so much!

This is what we're doing today...

Wish us luck!

Nickelback!

Hey, hey, I wanna be a Rockstar!

We went to the Nickelback concert in SLC last week, and it was AWESOME! Hinder, Papa Roach and Saving Abel all opened for them. They all sounded awesome, but all of the bads except for Saving Abel kind of had potty-mouths. This is how Papa Roach opened: "What the F is up Salt Lake City!?! Are you Mother F - ers ready to rock?" Nice. Real nice. Oh, well, it was a rock concert, what did we expect, right?

We were so excited to go, Hinder and Nickelback are pretty much my two favorite bands, and they didn't disappoint. During Nickelback's set, they played AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" with the lead singer of Hinder. It was so cool. Jeff, that's why you go to the concert instead of listening to the CD in the driveway. That and so you can hear Chad Kroger sing "Friends in Low Places." Seriously, he did. Can you imagine my delight?? Oh, and for the awesome people-watching...we saw everything from mom-pants to pretty-much-NO-pants. Hilarious.

Nickelback put on quite the show...

Here's is Hinder's Austin...Something...rocking in the crowd...

Luckily my mom brought her good camera so we got some sweet shots. Notice me rocking out behind him :)

More Hinder...

We were having a good time, can you tell?

How awesome is it that my parents (and Jenna and Nate) went with us and both of my kids were TICKED they couldn't come (and won't be going for a really LONG time...seriously, a lot of the F word. I know, I know. It was a rock show). What can I say? We're a pretty cool bunch :) I love my family!