Who? Who doesn't want to wear de T-Shirt...

My sister-in-law, Tina, invited me to a 5k walk/run for juvenille diabetes. Her work was donating money to JDRF since some of the employees' children had juvenille diabetes. They had a matching T-shirt for me, but they forgot to give it to me. And, no, there wasn't a T-shirt bully & I wasn't trying to cop out & not wear a matching T-shirt to prove a point! Most everyone walked but Tina, my mom, & I decided to power through & run it! It was a fun race & I look forward to doing more in the future!

Tina's sister, Jana, my sister, Alece, me, my mother, Orimi, Miss Marley, & my sister-in-law Tina.

There is a fountain in the park across the street from my mother's house. Marley found great joy in being able to play & wade in the water! She nearly drenched her dress in the water, so we ended up taking it off & letting her play in her diaper (kind of white trash, I know!)

Marley also loves playing the piano! Just wait until she takes lessons & has to practice...she won't like it so much then!!!

Goblin Valley

We went tent camping (yikes!) with children (double yikes!) in Goblin Valley a couple weeks ago. Justin & Mandi dared brave this venture with us that some would consider absolute lunacy! I had gone earlier this year to Goblin Valley with a youth group & really wanted to go again. September is supposed to be prime time to camp because the weather has cooled off a bit, but is still warm enough to make tent camping worth it. Even though naps & bedtime got just a bit scary, we had a WONDERFUL time camping. Marley (who was afraid of sand a few months ago) was practically rolling around in the dirt with Sadie! Mandi had the genius incite to bring a pack-n-play (and lots of toys) that we managed to corral the kids in when we needed a break! Even though the forecast predicted rain well after we should have been packed up & gone, we got a little surprise the day we were leaving. We woke up to rain & had to scramble to pack everything in the rain! Rain aside, this trip created fabulous memories that we hope to create again sometime!

Justin made his grandpa's awesome dutch oven stew (what is it with camping & dutch oven dinners being the best thing you've ever eaten?)


Sadie is always so sweet & willing to play with Marley's & hold her hand! So cute!


Justin wanted some nice flagstones for his yard...whether or not it was kosher, he got some really nice stones! The sky & landscape are gorgeous & almost seem surreal!

I had to take pictures of Sadie messing around in the tent. These make me laugh every time I see them!

The views are incredible!

Kinley & Sadie ready to make their decent into the Valley of the Goblins! (Marley was napping & didn't quite make it.)

Labor Day

For Labor Day this year we convinced the Larsens & my brother, Seth, & my sister, Alece, to go to Huntsville, UT. Several people at work told me to go check out Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Trinity monastery. I bought some of the honey that they are famous for (which is actually pretty good). We tried to see the monks in action, but timed it wrong & missed the chanting they do in the church (which I have also been told is really cool).

We also stopped by the house Pres. David O. McKay was born in, but sadly missed the tour by one week. They close for the winter September 1st! The house was really pretty & in a beautiful area...maybe next time!

I was really impressed by how beautiful Huntsville is and that it's considered a Park City with a lake. Hopefully it will stay small & not become another Park City!

Is it worth it?

My absolutely wonderful friend in Phoenix, Chantae, was kind enough to make these absolutely lovely pettiskirts!! Mandi & I took our daughters to Thanksgiving Point to take a few photos here & a few photos there. Sounds easy, in theory, right? Not quite. First, meeting up was this huge deal because we were waiting up for each other on opposite ends of Thanksgiving Point wondering where the other one was. After a couple text/phone calls, we finally met up. BUT, we weren't allowed to go in this certain area to take what they call "portrait" photos. So we packed everything back up & drove to a different location in Thanksgiving Point--to an apparently "portrait" photos-appropriate area. So now it'd be downhill from there, right? Again, not quite. After getting the kids all decked out, I started to take some pictures, but of course no one wanted to cooperate at the same time. Sometimes one would be good and the others would fuss or one would start to fuss & it would cause a cascade of emotions. Mandi even had huge lollipops as a bribe, which, you guessed it, did not work. Two adults is just not enough man power for getting three little girls to cooperate for the camera. Out of the HUNDREDS of photos taken, only about ten percent actually turned out decent enough to actually display. It was seriously stressful, time consuming, & draining! Next time we will prepare better & bring an extra set or two of hands, or pay someone else to deal with it!


I love Sadie in action! She looks so funny twirling in her skirt & running down the path!

These are some of my very favorite photos of Sadie. The stars were in line and everything fell in to place!!

Sadie looks adorable here as well!!

These pictures were a little more difficult as she didn't cooperate as well!

Marley was being an absolute pill during this! I really don't like what I did with the black & white one, but I was kind of stuck with it. Ugh!

These are a little better...

I think that these are the best ones of Marley. I really think that they turned out well. It's weird that I had more turn out of Sadie than anyone else...at the time I was taking the pictures, I definitely wouldn't have guessed that!

Kinley did really well when we first started taking pictures. I love her little smile & especially love the one where she's looking up at the camera.

As sad as it may be, these are the best shots I had of all of the girls together. I can't even express how tough it was to get pictures like these. And they are mediocre at best!!