Labor Day Weekend

There was labor....and then there was play! I love getting things done and I love to have fun. Our weekend had a little bit of everything in it.

Saturday ended up to be the "perfect" day. Our morning started early with a boys' football game in Draper at 9:00am. They lost. They lost BIG time. But on the bright side, I noticed improvement from the week before and that made me so happy. After the game, we came home and got ready to go boating with the Hults and DuJardins at Utah Lake. It ended up to be incredible. The kids were pulled behind the boats on a tube for hours. Meredith, Yolanda, Dave and Reuben all went for the wakeboard (they forgot their adult ski so I decided to wait for my "real" experience- I know, pansy). We laughed, soaked up the sun and simply enjoyed the experience.

After we got home, we ate pizza and invited some of the kids' friends over for a late night with RIO and popcorn. Dave and I started some yard work until dark while the children watched their show and had some fun.

Sunday was awesome. Church was incredible and I loved the themes discussed.

On Monday, Dave and I spent about 6 hours in our yard trimming back bushes, bagging up the branches, weeding and mowing. We were stunned by how much progress we made and by how great the back of our yard looks now.

Yep, Labor Day weekend was laborious and delightful!

Taylor and Carter, having fun on the tube

Hey DuJardins!

The beautiful Hult girls!

Dave and baby doll in pigtails

Jaxson got right to work holding the orange flag!

And here is the love of my life giving wake boarding a shot!

I LOVE the majestic Utah mountains. Great picture of baby girl.

Lookin' great, Dana

Master driver and Kid-handler: Captain Nate!

While watching Justin wake board, I noticed Clara and Austin holding hands. Adorable.

Dave and baby dolly

Lookin' good, Reubs!

Some of the boat's occupants were less impressed with the wake boarding than others.....

Here is Yolanda, killing it on the board!

My favorite "coaching" moment on Saturday didn't occur at the boys' football game; it happened on the water. I listened countless times to both Dana and Dave, who had barely gotten up once in their lifetimes on a wake board, coach Meredith on how to get out of the water and wake board. Really guys????

Dana, the coach

(It has never taken him over 8 times to get somebody out of the water with his coaching)

Meredith was amazing! What an athlete!

Jaxson was everywhere on the boat.

Cutest 3 year old boy in the world....

Here are Taylor and Jaxson swimming from the DuJardin boat to the Hult boat. GO KIDS!

Almost up, Meredith!

Cutest 10 year old in the world!

Oh, the countless reasons why love New Zealand....REUBEN! :)

Reubs was so much fun to photograph skiing. What a champ!

A Picnic at Bridal Veil Falls

One of the things I focused on doing over the summer was to be active with my über-energetic children! We swam, biked, went on walks, played in parks, hiked....it was awesome!

So I decided it was time to journey up Provo Canyon for some experiences in places which meant so much to me as a BYU student years ago. The holdback? The Provo River. I've been terrified to take my children up canyons since some of them like to explore boundaries and I have a toddler. But we did well. We really did. And we LOVED the falls!

Hawaii in Utah: The Hult Luau!

We enjoyed the greatest evening at Meredith and Nate's home last weekend. It was a Luau in all its perfection from the smoked pig, coconut rice, scrumptious desserts to the Polynesian entertainment. Meres and Nate want to make it an annual tradition....We're There!

Aloha, Baby!

Football Fever Hits Our Home

This year, our sons committed to playing tackle football. Both of them. Now, don't judge us. Just judge Dave. :)

They are both little but super fast. Practices have been going since the end of July for both of them. The 5-day-a-week break from the two loudest, most energetic little boys for 2 hours has been enjoyable for him and good for them.

They played with first game last Saturday. It was a loss but they played hard and well (did I just say that? That is was okay to lose?). So proud of my boys!

First Day of School 2011

The first day of school 2011----significant on all accounts this year as we send our third child into the education system. Jaxson and Taylor began on the 23rd. I feel very good about their teachers, especially Taylor's this year. Austin began a week later in Kindergarten. His teacher has all sorts of unique experiences in education: teaching in China, Africa etc. She seems to be enthusiastic and very smart.

Here is Austin on his first day!

Taylor and Jaxson on their way to school

After school, I had little candy bar posters with good luck messages from me and Dave (Thanks, Rachelle, for another super idea for a tradition). They loved them!