Summer Week 4 - Surprise Room Makeover

This week was filled with swim lessons as well, but we were minus one special kid. Eli and Tim went to Scout camp at and while they were gone it was Eli's 12th birthday. Well, I got a BIG idea. Let's redo his bedroom for his birthday and surprise him when he gets home.

Knowing I was going to do this, the morning he was leaving, I took a picture of him in his room. I wonder what he's thinking.

Before:
So, Tim's sister, Jen, helped me a ton; we cleaned out his room and began painting. My niece, Ashley, came over for a day and helped paint too. Our air conditioner was broken, it got a little hot, but the paint dried pretty quick. When Tim came back (early) we ran to IKEA and spent several hours trying to decide on furnishings.

Here's the results:

Unfortunately Eli's troop decided to come back a day early. The good news is he called me and let me know 4 hours before his arrival. We all kicked it in gear. John hung lights and Tim, shelves, Sydney, Ashley and the girls were all there waiting, when he arrived.

I still have a few little things to finish and the time pressure has been lifted so who knows when they will get done. We tried to find a place for everything so that Eli can work on better organization and cleaning habits than his mother. So far, he's doing pretty good.

A Happy Ending to Week 3 - DINNER PARTY!

Our first dinner party was graciously hosted by Daren and D'dree Grange. Our theme of the evening was "Puerto Rico" - Ole.

Let the fiesta begin. D'dree got us each an apron and we all settled in the kitchen for some food preparation. We had an appetizer of deep fried plantanos (sp), and our main course consisted of a mango chicken and authenic rice and beans. For dessert we had Tres Leches, of course. It was all fantastic. Our hosts finished the evening off with a pinata filled with the perfect prizes. When we realized the items were a little more valuable than penny candy the gathering got a little heated.


There are a few people missing from these photos and I will be in charge of the camera next time to ensure that they are very much represented at our Harvest Dinner Party.

Summer Week 3 - Swimming Lessons, etc

This was the beginning of swim lessons; now she does this stuff all by herself, at the deep end!!

I feel like summer is ruled by swimming lessons but I don't want to give them up. And we have the best swim teachers, ever, but they are in Fruit Heights.

Eli goes to swim team at Layton Surf n Swim - 7am - 9am

Elle's swim lesson is at 10:30 am

Emi's swim lesson is at 1:30 pm

Gas is taking every dime (thank goodness for grocerysmarts - my little plug)

And drive/wait time is taking up all my blogging time.

But the results have been FANTASTIC! Both Emi and Elle moved up in their classes. Elle can really swim! She moved up 2 classes. Yippee!

We also caught up with dentist appointments, 12 year old checkups for scout camp, hair appts., yearly female visit, and the Stake Primary Party "Around the World". We ended with our first dinner party! Up next. . .

Summer Week 2 - Las Vegas

Another "Use or Lose" Timeshare. We tried to pick somewhere we could drive to (basically afford) but would be warm enough to swim. If there's a pool, our kids are in heaven. We haven't been Las Vegas fans in the past but we are singing a new tune after this visit. Tim's parents, John and Sydney, came with us. We had a great time and there was plenty of "family friendly" things to do (we have a huge list of things to do for our next visit). The best part was where we stayed, the Tahiti Village, right on the strip but south of the airport. It was close enough to everything but away from the crazies and night life. The pool was perfect. Different levels for all ages/sizes, it had a beach and lifeguards. I could actually read my book while laying out. We began the first half of each day, poolside.


We were all sad to be coming home. 6 days wasn't long enough.

Summer Week 1 - Park City

We stayed at our Marriott Timeshare in Park City for the first week of June, use it or lose it kind of deal. Tim went to work from there every day. It was very relaxing. A little cold to swim but the kids didn't seem to mind. We ate at the Bandit, on old main, one night. The western bbq food was fantastic and they gave you plenty. We highly recommend the french dip, the most tender, flavorful, meat ever, on a bun. The onion rings were perfect, not over done with too much batter but crispy and cooked just right. The girls LOVED the ribs (as you can tell by Emi's photo) and the dessert was humongous, enough for the whole family. My mom stayed with us for a few nights and then Landen joined us. It's been a several years since Tim and I had been up there. We use to go for drives and look at the architecture for hours. We always thought we'd move there (we were young and big dreamers). It was nice to be back.

My First Tag Thingy

I'm a little embarrassed to post this. It's my first time to set up a "TAG". I actually think no one will see it because I haven't posted for so long, you may have all given up on this here blog.

This is a fun tag that is running rampant throughout my bloggy blog world. I want to hear from ALL Y'ALL...even if you have never commented before!

Here are the rules.
1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If we're only blogging friends, write about a post that is most memorable. If you don't have a blog and don't know how to sign in, please comment as anonymous.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you... either on your blog, in my comment box, or I will email you back!
3. If the memory happens to involve my husband, please include him!
4. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all ☺Okay, let's see what you've got!

I LOL when I saw this!

Eli and I were watching Jolene Sjoblom's tapes of the SWKNews that they air at the elementary school each Monday. She adds some extras every once in a while. We watched this one over and over again. It is really funny. Does it remind you of anyone?

Here's another one she used, loved it:

Tres Clever!