VanOrden Family

Just Girls (and Cooper)

2011-08-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Just got back from great girls trip to St. George, of course Cooper came along too! We had so much fun though. Sheila had gotten tickets for us to go to Touchan and see "The Little Mermaid." We drove down and went straight to swimming of course then got ready and ate at Don Pedro's sooo yummy! Here we are at the Touchan. It was so pretty I had never been there before and loved it! The kids were pretty good for the play. Cooper got a bit tired of sitting in his seat after intermission so we went up top to watch it and run around but he was so cute asking all sorts of questions. He wondered where the little Mermaids tail went?
The next day Sheila was so sweet (of course she always is) and watched my kids while Michelle, Erin and I went golfing early in the morning( Larissa decided to get some well deserved sleep;) We went to Green Springs and I forgot my Camera but it was so pretty. At one hole you had to hit your ball across a small canyon! We were surprised we all made the ball across, considering we hadn't golfed in years!

After we ate at Bear Paw Cafe and went to the Reservoir. The kids really liked it but it was so hot! I somehow managed to be the only one who burnt the bottom of my feet walking on the hot hot sand! I ended up with some good sized blisters that feel fine now. Here are the girls jumping for joy!
I love this picture of Grandma Sheila and her grandkids. She is a wonderful Grandma and they all adore her to pieces! Thanks for the fun weekend girls!! When's the next one?

An afternoon at the Zoo

2011-07-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

One nice afternoon Sheila and I decided to take the kids and Addy to the zoo! We hadn't been in a while and it was a lot of fun! I wanted to get a classic picture of Melia drinking from the Lion water fountain but of course she thought this was a much better picture... The new dinosaurs at the zoo are pretty awesome. Addy was so cute every time we got by one we'd hear her say, "No, no no." Cooper was fine with most of them besides this huge rex, and Melia, well she is always in for a photo op!
Of course Grandma Sheila, being the wonderful Grandma she is always gets the kids a flavorburst ice cream cone!
Oh and rides... I love this picture of Cooper Looper!
While waiting for the Elephant show the kids got in on the music scene.

>Cooper had so much fun he threw a nice 5 minute fit over is ice cream cone flavor and fell asleep screaming in the wagon.(Sorry if you happened to be sitting next to us!)
Grandma Sheila and her cute Grandkids!
Thanks for the fun day!!

UP

2011-07-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite things to do in the summer is watching movies outside! We were invited to go watch the movie "UP" outside in front of the new "UP" house in Herriman with all of Paul's family and it was a lot of fun! The kids kept busy while waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie to start with Dave's bubble gun, Grandpa Marks blanket rides and Daddy tossing them in the air. They must have looked like they were having a lot of fun because other kids were trying to line up for a ride in the blanket too! Of course the cotton candy, popcorn and treats were plenty of fun too! I really loved this house, they put every detail into it and it's super cute! The kids fell asleep about a third of the way through but we held out to the end anyway.

Fishing

2011-07-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

Every year when Grandpa Clyde comes to visit we take a trip to the hatchery in ogden and let the kids fish for our dinner! I love this tradition because I remember going fishing there when I was little with my Dad and Grandpa Baker. This year was so fun because both our kids were interested in fishing. We got Cooper a Spiderman fishing pole and he and Melia spent the afternoon practicing in our front yard. All the practice paid off for Melia who caught 4 fish all on her own! She was so cute telling us on the way home, "It's a good thing I caught all those fish or we wouldn't have anything to eat for dinner!" It was a lot of fun. Cooper had help catching one, but mainly loved following Holly around the Hatchery and finding snacks and drinks. Aunt Julie always has something cute for the kids and got them all sunglasses to fish in style! We cooked up the fish and wondered if the kids would like it. Melia tried one piece and wasn't too impressed with the taste, but we gave Cooper his what we called "nuggets" and he gobbled them right up. Tastes like chicken right? Well all in all it was another fun fishing trip to the Hatchery!

Piano Sonata in Purple

2011-06-19T14:30:00.001-07:00

Our little ballerina had her dance recital! I've been so excited to see her perform because she had the best teacher this year. Her teacher could get ten little 5 year olds to do almost anything! She taught them a real ballet dance to classical music and the costumes fit the performance as well. She did great of course and I loved that she could see us in the audience smiling at her.

All Melia's Fans... (Thanks for coming guys) We were sad that Melia's cousin Bella was in the next time slot of performances so we couldn't see her and Grandma Chris was so nice to come to both! We couldn't believe uncle Mark even came while recuperating from his snowboard fall. ( check it out http://snowrevival.blogspot.com/2011/06/inside-vs-outside.html) And Melia was super excited to have her cousin Adalynn there to see her too!

Her Family...
And of course the surprises afterwords...
Great Job Melia!!!

Preschool Graduation!

2011-06-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

I really can't believe how fast time goes. I feel like I just dropped Melia off at her first day of preschool and now it's over. Melia had a great preschool teacher, Ms. Sherri! We are so glad she had such a fun start to school and will be ready for kindergarten! Melia has learned a lot this past year and we are very proud of her and know she will be able to learn anything and do anything she sets her mind to! Melia and her cute little class. They sang a bunch of cute songs, my favorites were the Alphabet backwards(I confess even I can't do that) and the funny song "Skunk in your Trunk." You'll have to ask her to sing this one when you see her it's hilarious!

Melia was so excited to have her family, Grandma Sheila, Michelle and Addy Bug to watch her sing in her preschool graduation and planned that we all went out for frozen yogurt after!

2011-05-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Our Top Ten List
"Reasons to visit Austin Texas"

10) Going on an Airplane

9) Going on a train ride in Zilker Park and wading in Lady Bird Lake

8) Playing in Grandpa & Grandma's backyard and watching for birds (while enjoying a sonic creamy slushy)

7) The surprises. Candy, Toys and more.

6)Walking hand-in-hand.

5) Lots of Swimming and the cute lifeguards and the pool.

4) A boat ride on Lake Austin and eating at the Hula Hut

3)Sea World!

2) Learning to Golf from Grandpa (and chase turkeys and fish for golf balls)

and the number one reason to visit Austin Texas...
Spending time with Grandma Chris and Grandpa Clyde!

GRAND OPENING FOR OUR NEWEST SUBWAY!!!

2011-04-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

We our having out grand opening this Thursday at our river park Subway!! It is in the river bottoms across from Mulligans golf course. Print this coupon out and come see me. IT IS BUY ONE GET ONE FREE NO LIMIT ALL DAY!!!!

Smoothies

2011-04-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Melia loves to cook. She makes what she calls creations all the time sometimes we cook them and they turn out ok. Today she wanted to try to make a smoothies and I must say it was one of the best smoothies! So if your in the mood for smoothies I thought I'd share her recipe with you.
She started with one Clementine orange
Added some ice
Some strawberry Greek yogurt
A snack pack of oranges
Some frozen blueberries
Little more yogurt ;)
And a half of a banana

It was the perfect after church snack on cold day when we were wishing for warm weather! We hope you enjoy!

Big Boy Bed

2011-03-05T12:30:00.001-08:00

Cooper has graduated into a big boy bed! Daddy decided it was time, Mommy didn't know if she was quite ready ;). We changed it while he was with his aunt and uncle and when he got home he wasn't quite sure at first but decided it was pretty cool. Daddy picked him out a "go utes" bed and he was so excited, then not, then was, then not. Cooper has just been like that lately. You'll ask him if he wants milk and he will say yes then two seconds later he'll tell you, " no, I don't want milk I want juice." It is pretty funny but also he is just two and so you hope that will go away. Anywho... we are still working on the transition into this bed, but he does like that mommy can lay by him(which may be why we are still working on it). So if you have any suggestions for keeping a kid in his new bed all night let us know ;). I must say he does look super cute snuggled in his go utes bed!

Snowboard Chick!

2011-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

Melia is the new snowboard chick! Or at least I hope so! She was able to go to Brighton with Uncle Mark and learn how to snowboard! There is no way I could have done it! It looked so hard to stay backwards and down most the day to try to teach her, I'm sure Uncle Mark was very sore! We are so thankful that he is so nice and able to teach her because he is a great teacher. Melia had so much fun with him. It's fun to see our kids start new hobbies. I really am hoping this one sticks because I love to snowboard too! I think it will be so fun to be able to do these things together as they get bigger. Now we just have to get them to love golf and we're set!
Melia and Uncle Mark!
A zonked-out snowboard girl! Fries and all...

Spontaneous

2011-01-30T13:38:00.001-08:00

Well in case you didn't know Paul has a new position working for a company that owns 70 subways. He is now senior operations/area manager, 10 being in St. George. This has required him to be in St. George for the last 2 1/2 weeks and I'm sure a lot more in the coming months. So we decided to drive down and join him for the weekend. It was such nice weather and the kids were thrilled to be able to get outside, ride bikes, and go to the park. Friday morning Paul woke up with a great idea... A spontaneous trip to Disneyland! We were all so excited and drove to California that afternoon, stayed in a hotel and went to Disneyland the next day! One of our favorite characters was Tinkerbelle. She was so nice and sat and chatted with Melia for probably 5 minutes. She was super cute! Cooper loved going on the Buzz Ride and the Rocket ride but we didn't get any pics:( He saw Buzz Lightyear running by but we weren't able to catch him!
Melia and I went on the teacups, I guess spinning round and round isn't Daddy's or Coopers "cup of tea" haha yea I know I'm hilarious...
Meeting all the Alice Characters was also a highlight since Melia loves Alice. The kids got to pick out a face paint, Melia did a fairy and Cooper of course chose a rocket as his obsession of rockets still continues.
At toon town we saw Goofy and played in his house, Paul took a rest on his pumpkin. And Of course we saw Mickey! Melia almost tackled him over when she hugged him so tight.
Here we are in the jungle! Exploring on the jungle ride and in Tarzan's Treehouse. cooper was a little worried about the piranas!
The one thing we just had to do was find Rapunzel! We waited in an hour long line to see her but it made Melia's day! She was so excited to meet her! We also went to the fantasy fair where she was able to dance by Cinderlla and hear a story from Sleeping Beauty.

Our kids were all smiles all day! I guess Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth!!!!!!!

Christmas Recital

2010-12-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

Melia had her Christmas Recital this week and of course she did great! She knew the whole dance so well and looked out at the audience smiling! She really has become a little performer! Here are some pics: My little tapper girl! Doesn't she look so big? I can't believe it!

Here are some of the girls in Melia's class.
Almost the whole VanOrden crew made it to see her, which made Cooper happy he was traveling back and forth to see everyone on the row and find whatever candy they had. thanks guys!
And our little family of course!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-10T09:43:00.000-08:00

This year we are thankful for FAMILY...

We had a great Thanksgiving with lots and lots of family fun!
Here is Cooper and June giving hugs, Bella and June and Jamie and Trent playing the Kinect!
Julie always comes up with the cutest things for the kids to do! We set up downstairs and the kids had fun making turkey hats and lots more fun stuff.
It was Baby Luc and Baby Rocco's 1st Thanksgiving!
And Don't forget the Food! It was such a delicious and fun thanksgiving!!!

Getting ready for Christmas...

2010-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Even though Thanksgiving is still on it's way we are looking forward for Christmas. I think it's time to start getting ready, for me this includes getting shopping done before it gets too cold and crazy, , looking for the best deals on gifts, finding the perfect p.j.'s for the kids to wear Christmas eve, stocking up on the hot chocolate, and of course our favorite, it's finally time to use the " you better be good so Santa can come" line. Looks like Cooper may need some reminding...

Doesn't he have the cutest sad face ever? I sure think so!!

Leaves are falling all around!

2010-11-07T10:30:00.001-08:00

You know it's fall at our house because there is always plenty of leaves to jump in! We have two enormous trees in our yard and the kids love it! It seems like everyday we can go out and rake up a huge pile of leaves. I'm so glad it has been warm enough and not wet so they are fun to play in. Also, I am so glad to have the best mother in law who just shows up with her rake in hand to help! Thanks! Melia even scared her Dad and Uncle Jared by hiding in the leaves and waiting until they got home to pop up and say boo! I make it a tradition every year to take pictures of the kids in the leaves. Here are a few from this year...

If your wondering why Melia has her helmet on in every picture it's because she is attached to her bike lately. But we are so proud of her she learned how to ride her bike without training wheels! She came to Dad and asked him to take them off and in three days she had it down! I couldn't believe it! Here she is with her class "friend" that they pass along she wanted to take her for a bike ride!

We hope you are all enjoying the great fall weather as much as we are!

Halloween Halloween...

2010-11-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

What does it mean? It means lots of spooky fun!

She's Crafty

2010-10-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

I would not say that I am a very "crafty" person so I had to post this little craft I did because I'm proud that it actually turned out cute! I had these drawer fronts from Melia's old changing table for years now and I finally put them to use. I decided to go to Hobby Lobby and get some super cute handles that look antique. Some were crystal others painted pocka-dot etc. They were all different and I painted one of the original handles pink. All I had to do was drill holes for them, screw in the handles, saw off the backs and put in a wall mount on back! I got it done in one afternoon! Melia was excited to get somewhere to hang her dress-ups and such! It was a fun little project. Now my mind is in this mode and I find myself wanting to do some cute fall decorations for cheap, so if you have any suggestions let me know! I've been searching on this awesome blog for ideas : thriftydecorchic.blogspot.com and I'm in love with all the things she can do with hardly any money!

First Day

2010-09-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Melia had her first day of preschool this week.It feels like it's been a long time coming, but also has gone so fast! She could have gone last year and had 2 years of preschool but I'm so glad I waited because she was so ready this year. She picked out this cute outfit for her first day. She said she needed the sweater because it was "Go Utes Red." Dad was happy to hear that of course. She was so excited for school. I was worried that she may not be able to get up in time since all summer long she slept past nine and that is when her school starts but as soon as I woke her up and told her it was school day she jumped out of bed and wanted to get ready to go! I got to come along for the first day and we had so much fun! She was most excited about painting and made a bunch of pictures for us. She has a great teacher and it will be fun to hear all about her days at school now.

St.George by Melia

2010-09-06T20:23:00.001-07:00

Melia was lucky enough to get to go on a trip to St. George with just her and her Grandparents. It was so nice of them to take her with them she had a blast! I sent her with our little camera and was excited to see what she came up with. She loves to take pictures and it's always interesting to see what a 4 year old thinks needs to be photographed! Here they are starting off their journey. Already taking some pics here I am saying goodbye to my sweet girl and already missing her like crazy.

They went to a beach on a reservoir that is just about 20 miles away from St. George but forgot the camera. She also said her favorite part was the beach and swimming. My guess is that it probably isn't the greatest idea to let a 4 year old with a camera near any sort of body of water so I'm glad they "forgot" the camera those times.

On sunday they went to church then over to the temple. The St. George temple is one of my favorites. I just love how the beautiful white temple looks in midst of all the red rocks. This is where she got most of her pictures...

The beautiful flowers...
The cutest girl I know...
Jesus...
Grandpa and Grandma on the steps of the Temple...
Eating a nutritious snack of pears and a cinnamon roll...
Oh and even some random people Melia tells me they really wanted there pictures taken. I'm pretty sure they asked Grandma to take their picture with there own camera and Melia decided to also take a picture with her camera.

She informs me that this is sleeping beauty... I happen to agree...
And the final picture is one I am very proud of, It is a great one of the Temple...
So Thank you to Mark and Sheila for taking her on this trip with you I'm sure she will never forget it, it was so sweet of you.

My buddy and me

2010-09-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

While Melia was in St. George with her Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Mark, Cooper and I got some fun one on one time together. We were missing "Mela" but it was nice to be able to really talk to Cooper and do just what he wanted to do. So today he wanted to go see the "Ephalants" and we headed to the zoo. It was beyond packed(Really, I've never seen it that busy) but since I just had one little guy to look after it wasn't too bad. We started with the monkeys and it was a great place to start... This is the first thing we saw...

Even Cooper could see that there was something wrong with this picture and said "GROSS". He was laughing and so was everyone around us.
Next we headed for the whole reason he wanted to come to see the baby "ephalant".

We ended with a Choo Choo ride. Cooper must have been missing his sister because every little kid we saw he felt he needed to tell them what he was doing. He really wanted to ride the Choo choo and let all the kids know "I'm going on the choo choo now." I love this pic just shows how excited he really was. What a nice day with just my buddy and me.

Airplane Birthday

2010-08-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Super Cooper turning 2!

Our cute little guy is 2! Anyone who knows Cooper knows that he is obsessed with airplanes. So for the last few weeks he has been asking about his "airplane birthday." Since there are 2 other cousins his age that turn two before him he had this birthday thing down. We decided to take him to Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy in the afternoon. Lily and Holly joined us as well as Grandma Sheila and "Lelle". Cooper was in heaven. They even had a little space for the kids to play and dress up as you can see Melia landed on the moon! And there is Lily saluting and Holly flying off in their own airplane. Cooper tried on a pilot jacket and we couldn't resist buying him one because he looked so stinkin' cute!

Later that evening we had our families over to have cake and ice cream and play in the back yard. My friend Angie of course made the cutest airplane cake ever. We showed it to Cooper in the morning and he kept saying "Eat my airplane" all day long. He blew out his candles three times during us singing to him. He was so excited to get a train table from Vanorden's and my parents found him a rocket, plus many many more presents! He is so loved, thanks everyone!

We are so happy to have Cooper in our family. We love him so much! He is very much a little boy loving anything that moves and is full of energy! He is also so loving, lately he's been singing "Happy Family" and giving great hugs and kisses. His hugs melt my heart. He loves to "Ockabye" before bed and is a great cuddle buddy. You can always finding him chasing his sister "Mela" and loves to pretend to be a monster and scare anyone. He is great at tackling his Daddy and loves to ride on the motorcycle with him. I can't believe my baby is so big! Happy Birthday Cooper Clyde VanOrden!

Baby Rocco

2010-08-08T20:03:00.001-07:00

(Photo by Bret Baker)
Congratulations to Janine, Jeremy, Lily and Holland! They have an adorable little boy now! Rocco Clark Utley was born on Aug.7th weighing 7lbs. 2oz. and 20 inches long. He has a ton of dark hair and the cutest little faces ever. I was so happy to be able to hold him, you really forget how tiny they come. We are extremely happy to have a new boy cousin! I'm sure Cooper will be able to "show him the ropes" when he gets bigger.

Gardner Village

2010-08-04T13:43:00.001-07:00

Summer is going way too fast but we have been having so much fun with trips to the zoo, Lagoon and all the fun things that you are supposed to do in the summer... Today we went to Gardner Village to ride the horses and see the petting zoo(Along with a little window shopping of course). If you haven't been it's really worth it the goats, sheep, pigs and other animals are just walking around by you. My kids loved to be able to pet them. Just thought I'd share these cute pictures from our day...

Cooper sneaking a kiss on June's cheekies...
Bella and Melia in their cowgirl gear...

This goat got right down to check out our Cooper boy...

visiting

2010-07-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

We had a blast this last week while my sister Kerry and her family were all here. It felt like a vacation for us with so many fun things to do. Fishing, the aquarium, Daybreak beach, lots of swimming, and just playing and talking together. We have missed them so much and it's so great to get to know these little one's even more.

So fun to see our little one's together, and fun that my oldest sister and I have some kids the same age.

Crazy my niece Rachel is 14! She is so awesome! I was only 11 when she was born!
My sister Kerry trying the "world famous crepes" Paul made for them. yummy!
Cute Abby is only a few weeks older than Melia!
Melia, Abby and Ian at the aquarium.
Darling Hailey with a mouth full of cookies! This little one right away let me hold her in the pool for 20 mins, I felt so lucky. She has the best giggle I've ever heard!
Everyone petting the sting rays at the aquarium.

We're so glad you guys could come we miss you too much! It was so much fun!

sleepover

2010-06-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

Friday Night we got two cute girls added to our family to have a sleepover! My cute nieces Lily and Holly stayed the night and played all day Saturday. We were able to do so many things. Melia helped me plan some fun crafts to do like making these "slap-it" bracelets. We were able to go swimming with help from aunt Natalie(no pics of course because we were focused on watching all these kiddos). We played games, watched movies and mainly just played out in the back yard. The girls loved to do a "trick show" on the tramp. We had so much fun!

The Dad's in our life.

2010-06-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here's to a Dad who will do anything for any of his kids. Who loves his grandkids so much and who will always help anyone.
Here's to my Dad. A Dad who is always a great example to me, a Dad who is always thinking of what will make others happy, a Dad who always has a joke handy, and a Dad who I love. Happy Fathers Day Dad.
Here's to a Dad who will always make you laugh, always has something fun to do, knows how to give great super-squeezes, makes you the best crepes on his fathers day, and loves his kids more than anything.

Rainbows & unicorns

2010-06-14T18:58:00.001-07:00

Melia while seeing a rainbow "dad you know if I slide down that rainbow, at the bottom I will find a unicorn I can ride" me oh yea where did you hear that melia "dora" me melia dora is a cartoon and there is no such thing as a unicorn there only in cartoons and fairy tales melia "no there real" me nope ive never seen ...

Pretty Baby of Mine

2010-06-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Melia had her dance performance tonight! She danced to a song "Pretty baby of mine," this is exactly how I still see her and she knows it too. She is my baby girl now matter how big she is getting. It's so fun to see her up on the stage looking so darling! She did so good and knew most of her dance. She had a little dot to stand on and kept looking for it throughout the dance which made it even cuter. Cooper loved watching all the dancer's too. At the rehearsal he kept thinking we were at a "puppet dancing show" and tonight he saw her walk on stage and got so excited to see his sister, after her dance he went up and told her (with out me saying anything I might add) "Mela good dancing." It's fun that he really knew what was going on. She is such a fun girl I'm glad I got to see her dance because I'm not sure if it will happen again. I guess only time will tell but as for now I think she is done with dance. Maybe we'll try something new. But it made the year worth it to see her in this cute costume.

Our snowboarder!

2010-05-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

We are up at Snowbird and Melia decided she wanted to try her Uncle Mark's snow skateboard. She did awsome! I was so glad she wanted to do it and we can't wait to teach her on a real snowboard. This didn't even have hooks for feet so she was just standing on it!

Weekend with the girls

2010-05-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

Aren't I lucky? Thanks to a nice husband and the best mother in law, I got to spend all weekend with these great ladies!We got to hang out all weekend in St. George. Our days were full of driving, talking, laying out, eating, crafting, talking, sleeping, talking, oh did I mention talking! It was so nice to be able to feel like we were 16 again and had no responsibilities! I would recommend this to anyone! We all came home so happy and refreshed that I think our husband's are dying for us to go again! I love that we have stayed such good friends, that no matter how long it goes since we see each other we just can pick right back up. Love you girls thanks for all the fun!

SALE!

2010-05-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

My poor little Boo boo

2010-05-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

My baby has grown into a little boy and decided that he is busy busy busy. He has scared us way to many times these last few weeks and today he had to have stitches. He fell off a chair and his teeth went through the skin. I was actually working and wasn't able to be there for him but his Grandma Sheila and aunt Michelle took great care of him at the doctors, I think I would have been bawling. I'm grateful he is okay from all his latest trauma's. It just makes me think how blessed I am to have my kids save and healthy.

Deep in the Heart of Texas!

2010-04-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

We have been having so much fun in Texas with Grandma and Grandpa. I'm sure I'll post more when our trip is done, but here are a few cute pics of the kids at a little kid amusement park. Before we left I told Melia we had to find her a cowgirl hat in Texas and she said she couldn't get one unless she rode a horse. So we search for somewhere the kids could ride and found these ponies. Cooper was so cute he wouldn't let go of his hat the entire ride and he loved the airplane ride. He kept on saying "airplane, gain gain." It was a fun day!

my little girl?

2010-04-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Melia loves going to the Jazz games with Dad. I just can't believe this is my little girl? She is growing up so fast. It is so fun to see her learn how to do things. Just this Saturday her Grandpa Mark took her to hit some golf balls, I hope she loves golfing because I can't wait to go with her. I saw her take a few swings and she can actually hit the ball! She cracks me up everyday and I love it! She will be starting preschool this fall and can already write a few words. Someone tell me where oh where has my little girl gone? She just looks so grown up in this picture.

This one's for the girls!

2010-03-20T20:45:00.001-07:00

Just read this on glamour connect and I loved it... so true, I always feel so much better after a girls lunch, girls night out, being with my sisters or my mom, or just a long chit-chat on the phone! Thanks to all those wonderful women I know!

Our girlfriends add so much to our individual beauty – give us security, compliments, and support. Many are there for us in times of insecurity, when we just can’t find the positive reinforcement needed to move past the negative thoughts. Even better, sharing moments of joy and happiness, making them even sweeter. Sharing in each others joy builds our own joy immensely.

Treating ourselves to nights filled with girlfriends adds perspective to the daily trials we each go through. Although each woman has a different trial at any given moment, listening and sharing with each others trials may lighten our load considerably. Creating a balance between responsibility and leisure, gives us a break and reboots, often much needed, positivity. Filling up on these positive moments is so energizing anything afterwards seems possible. On the same point, letting go of the negativity that can be brought to these evenings is freeing. Handling everyday life gets easier each time we just live in the moment with our beautiful girlfriends.

Check out the blog http://glamourconnection.wordpress.com/ I'm loving it probably going to get a makeover soon from her!

Springtime Funtime

2010-03-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

What have we been doing lately? Just having fun in the spring! I found Melia this adorable raincoat and she has put it in good use. She loves to play in the rain!
We hope you found something fun to do on St. Patricks day! We had a little leprechaun visit our house this morning and left "gold" in the kids shoes! We made some rainbow cupcakes and took them to Lily and Holland!
We love the warm weather and I'm sure it's just a trick but we are hoping for more and more of it! Happy Spring!

"Congratulations on your new baby"

2010-02-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome Baby Adalynn! Jake and Larissa's new little darling. She was born Feb.23! We are so excited to finally have a cousin on the VanOrden side! She is so cute! I think you forget how small they come she just seemed so tiny compared to my big baby Cooper. We went to the hospital to see her but no kids under 14 are allowed so Melia was very disappointed. So yesterday night we took them dinner and the kids got to see the Baby. Here she is all snuggled up on my lap.Melia was in love with Baby Adalynn. Melia had practiced saying "congratulations on your new baby", but got a little shy to say it, my cutie. On the way home she said she loved holding her and kissing her and rock-a-bying her and singing to her. She was so cute and wouldn't stop smiling. We taught cooper her name but this was the closest he got to her(since they do have a dog he was a little more interested in chasing buddy around). Here he is pointing and said "baby Adawin"
Jake and Larissa, congratulations! We love her!

A Beautiful Day!

2010-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Paul and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary yesterday! It was such a beautiful day! First we went up to Brighton, Paul was skiing and I was snowboarding. We both hadn't been forever it seems and boy have we missed it! It was so nice up there with the sun shining. I'm for sure hooked!

Later that night we got dressed up and went out to La Caille for dinner. This picture didn't work very well but oh well. It was such a beautiful place and very very delicious. After dinner they gave us strawberries with a sparkler in it. It was so nice to be able to spend so much time together. Thanks Paul for such a fun day together. I am so happy to be your wife! And thanks to Mark and Sheila for watching our kiddos!

Let's dress up!

2010-01-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things is to see what my kids dress up as...

Eventually today..

2010-01-18T09:23:00.001-08:00

Eventually Today I will...
Work out
Get Dressed
Do Laundry
Clean my house
Go to the store
Make Food
Etc. Etc.
But for now...
I want to know what you will eventually do today. Anyone else procrastinating monday?

2 Crazy Kids

2010-01-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

My kids love music & love to dance. Here are some funny excerpts of this.

My Girl...

2010-01-04T13:12:00.001-08:00

... Turned 4!!!!

I really can't believe I have a little 4 year old! My cute girl is 4! Wow I'll say it again 4?! She is so fun and silly, I love to be her mom. She is very creative and this year she decided to have a "pink pirate pluto party". We did our best! I threw in a few pluto's but it turned out cute. We just invited family over to dress up as pirates and eat the cutest cake and cupcakes. It really was sad to cut it was so cute. My friend Angie made it for us and Melia was so excited, she makes adorable cakes and yummy too! Melia was spoiled by all our family so thanks thanks thanks everyone for making her day special!

Christmas

2010-01-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! It seemed like we forgot our camera or ran out of batteries so I borrowed most of these pics and couldn't really find any from Baker's Christmas day. But we had a great Christmas. Melia was way excited and the whole week before kept waking up asking if it was Christmas yet. Cooper learned how to say "Santa" and "hohoho" He wasn't too into the opening of presents but loved loved loved his toy vacuum. This boy is so obsessed with vacuums so I knew he would love it. Melia got a leapstar and games. Her big present was from all her aunts and uncles on the VanOrden side... a kid size salon. She loves doing hair. I was way excited to have the kids get a classic wagon from Grandma Chris and Grandpa Clyde. There are so many things to love about Christmas but I was mainly glad to be able to spend time with family, that is my favorite. I just want to thank everyone for a great Christmas. I also just love the spirit of Christmas while sitting up the night before Christmas Eve I turned on the Nativity and without meaning to really felt the spirit. Who would of thought that would happen in the middle of wrapping presents. Anyway hope you all had a great christmas too.

New Furniture Box commercial

2009-12-31T11:01:00.001-08:00

Looking for Addresses...

2009-12-11T11:54:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! We are in need of your addresses for Christmas cards! Mainly I need our cousins and friends. Please e-mail me your addresses at laurenranae@hotmail.com soon. Thanks!

more backtracking

2009-12-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

The day after thanksgiving the Baker side got together for game night! It was really a lot of fun! We played kids games like Duck-Duck-Goose, Hide-and-seek, princess UNO, and a Ballet game. It was funny to see adults play these games and the girls hiding spots. Grandpa Clyde found a good spot once and the girls couldn't find him. He wouldn't tell us where his spot was so next time he has a good spot still.

backtrack

2009-12-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

Almost forgot to post about Thanksgiving! I love an excuse to eat until I'm tired, see movies and relax with family. It was the VanOrden side this year and we had a very yummy dinner. We went to Old Dogs before the meal and I couldn't tell you if it was good or not because Cooper and I were in the hall for most of it. But My favorite thing is to be with family and watch them love my kids. Melia really enjoyed her turkey this year and ate a whole piece, who needs a fork, right? We played some games and had a great thanksgiving. I am so thankful for a great family!

Dad's Birthday

2009-12-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

My Dad had his 60th Birthday this last week and took us all out. I think it was so fun that he wanted to go to Ifly for his birthday. If you haven't heard of this it was a blast! It's a skydiving simulator. They give you a bit of instruction suit you up and you go into a wind tunnel to fly! A trained professional is in there with you and helps you go up in circles. The video below is a bit long but it's funny to see us all flying! It was so fun! After we went to eat and talked about my great Dad! Thanks so much dad for having such a fun birthday! We love you!

Melia's recital

2009-12-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

Melia had her first Dance Recital! I was nervous that she wouldn't do it but she did great! She was even on beat and everything. I am so proud of her.

Her cousin Bell is in the same Dance Company so we got to see both of them. They are cute dancers! It was a lot of fun!

New Blog

2009-11-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

I want to keep this blog more just about are family, so I started a new blog for my more political/goofy life stuff. Check it out.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!! Paul's Blog!

Utah vs. Utah St

2009-11-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

So I have taken Melia to a football game about a year ago when she was 2. She did ok but was a bit restless. I decided the other night to take her to a Utah basketball game. She was a hoot she was cheering the whole game s loud as she could. As you can tell in this video how serious she was. She was asking a lot of questions about what was going on.

Princesses on ice

2009-11-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

On Friday we took Melia to see Princesses on Ice! It was so fun to have the night all about her. Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Mark watched Cooper so we could all go enjoy the night! I loved being able to do that it really gave me chance to just enjoy her. She is so fun! She loved the show! I think she was a perfect age for it, who knows soon it may night be so real. She kept asking me "Is her face the same as in the movie" My answer was always "Of course!" I just never want her to lose the magic! Here she is waiting for the show so excited.
During the show she would stop to show us her own moves. She also asked Daddy if he would teach her how to spin fast on ice skates like the princesses did.
A fun night with just her Mom and Dad!
The princesses all together.

Embracing the cold...

2009-11-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

So last time it snowed we hid in our house watching movies...yesterday we decided to go out and embrace the snow. It really took some effort to get out of the house with all the gear on but it felt good. Cooper was pretty happy about going "ousi" but he did have a hard time walking in his new boots so he kept falling over. Plus he didn't want to put on his gloves so his hands were freezing. But he sure is cute all bundled up!Melia's first snow angel of the year!

We had to end the day with some hot chocolate and oreos! Who doesn't end every day like that? I seriously have to confess my love for oreos, I think I could eat a whole pack by myself!
Melia discovered that our tub has jets! The bubbles just kept coming and coming, but I'm sure it felt so good after a cold day in the snow! I guess winter won't be so bad after all!

Little trip

2009-11-09T18:53:00.001-08:00

This past weekend we took a little trip to St.George. It's always nice to not have to go very far but still have some warm weather, we love it there! We went with Kemery, McCall and their kids Bowen, Avery and Bennett. The kids had a blast! They were up at the crack of dawn and didn't go to sleep till almost midnight every day. We visited an old "Ghost town" it was used for mining silver. It was neat to see and a little spooky because the graves all said "Unknown". Some even had flowers on them so we wondered who came to visit these unknown graves. We also went to the splash park and the kids loved the fountains. They were soaked! After we went to the eat at Bear Paw Cafe. And let me just tell you it is the BEST breakfast ever!!! Michelle had told me it was good but I didn't realize just how good it would be. I got the french toast stuffed with vanilla creme bu le( not sure how to spell that), eggs, sausage and the home fries. If you are going to St.George you have to eat there. The weekends always go quick but it was a nice little get away!

Halloween

2009-11-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Halloween! Melia was a witch... a scary witch she would say and Cooper was a lion. We went to Breakfast with the witches at Gardner Village. It was early but yummy and fun to see all those witches, they were great! After we went home and carved some oranges, and Pumpkins with Grandma Sheila. When Dad got home it was time for some yummy mummy's and Trick-or-treating of course. This was the first year that Melia was really into it. She would run to each house and wanted lots of candy. She told me a couple days ago that she would need 2 buckets to fill up. haha Cooper also really enjoyed people giving him candy, he didn't quite learn how to say"trick-or-treat" but he did say lots of "tank to's". (thank you) We got home and enjoyed the candy and Melia even let me have a big one someone gave her, she was so nice to share. After her tub that turned black from her hair it was off to bed! Happy Halloween hope you all had fun.

on a cold day...

2009-10-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Our favorite thing to do on a cold day... cuddle and watch movies in mom's bed. Yes I laugh because Melia calls this my bed(not dads) and if he is in it sometimes she tells him to get out. But today it is cold and we are hiding from the weather. We gave Cooper his nap and cuddled up to Tinkerbell the Lost Treasure. And you can't forget the popcorn!

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Obama's recent awards

2009-10-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Booper!

2009-10-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm always thinking about how grateful I am that I am able to get what the kids need. I just can't imagine not being able to get them food, or clothing etc. I just got Cooper a super warm coat, hat, gloves the whole shibang and it just feels good when I'm done shopping for the winter season. I am truly feel pain thinking of all those mothers who are struggling to support their families. I wish I could help them somehow. I think it would feel bad enough not being able to provide for yourself but if you had children I can't even imagine that feeling.

Well anyway I'm grateful for what we have. Even though when we got home and tried everything on Cooper was not so happy. He is very much my summer boy already. He was so mad he had all these layers on I hope he gets used to it!

He was so funny tonight he was cracking me up. He found the open pantry and somehow the Oreos were on the bottom shelf(I'm sure his big sister had something to do with that) so he grabbed the whole thing and brought it into the living room. I just had to give him one, but when it fell in half he was so upset! He picked up the other piece and put it back together. He is such a little dancer now his 3 moves are great... the arm swing the head bop and the stomp stomp! His football face is a must see ( I'll have to try to get pics ) and his new accomplishment just tonight.. drum roll please... He can say all the names in his family. Mama, Dada, Lela and Booper! I just died laughing when I heard him say his name for the first time! I tried so hard to get it on video but when he saw the camera he just wanted to grab it and walk around saying "cheese" He is stinkin cute!!

girls day!

2009-10-07T20:52:00.001-07:00

Saturday was girls day! Started out with a fun shower for kristi at Gardner Village. It was so weird to see little tiny kristi with a little tiny belly. I couldn't stop rubbing her belly and I got to feel little Leah kick! I love that feeling, it's really so amazing how that all works. Anyway kristi I'm super excited for you! You will love to have a little girl! And since the witches just came out boy was it busy! But it was a blast to see everyone and get to spend the afternoon together!

Just a side note my sisters always made these cute diaper cakes and lately Michelle and I have needed to make a lot of them for various showers! We think they are adorable and if anyone wants us to make them for you let us know!

So while the boys were at Conference the VanOrden girls all got together. We went to Cheesecake Factory(thanks sheila!) it was so yummy! A must try there... the Red Velvet cheesecake. It is to die for! It was funny though because we called on the way there and they said it would only be a 35 min wait we thought no big deal right? So we went in and waited probably twice that much time. By the time we got seated my kids were so funny! Cooper ate like crazy and showed us all his football face a lot and Melia well... she decided to make friends with a table that was outside and a little boy that was eating he was probably around 10 months old. She kept playing peek-a-boo with him and then out of no where mooned him! All the girls tried their best not to laugh while I explained to her why that wasn't ok to do. Hopefully they didn't loose their appetites! For some reason I can't find the pictures from that night so here is a funny pic of my cute sis-in-laws from a different time!

Great lesson

2009-10-02T11:27:00.001-07:00

A $50 Lesson

I recently asked my friends' little girl what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do? '

She replied, 'I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people.'

Her parents beamed with pride.

'Wow...what a worthy goal.' I told her, 'But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house. '

She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, ' Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50? '

I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.'

Her parents still aren't speaking to me.

Just a thought...

2009-09-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

Adrian Rogers, 1931

Cooper's favorite

2009-09-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Cooper loves to play in the car!

Way to go!

2009-09-18T15:14:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday Michelle and Mark did a triathlon! We went to see them at the finish line! Just watching makes me want to do something like this(maybe just a race though) They swam, biked then ran! I'm not sure the exact miles of each but I know I would have been so tired not sure I could have done it! So congrats you two I think your awsome!

St.George

2009-09-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

We had a fun trip to St. George! Paul and Brad were going to the furniture show in Las Vegas so Angie and I decided to drive down with them and stay in St.George while they went to the show. We did a lot of swimming and it felt so nice to be in the warm weather while we heard in really rained at home. We met up with Carrie, her sis and cousin for some shopping at the outlets (I'm sad we didn't get a pic!) We stopped by the splash park(I'm not sure what it's really called?) and let the kids play in the water and yes we weren't prepared for it Melia got soaked in her clothes! We also went to the temple and a few parks one of which we tried to quickly leave it's hard to guess what parks are good and clean when you don't live around but at least it made us laugh. We mainly just hung out at Brad's Dad's house, thanks so much to him and to Angie for letting us come! We had fun but we were ready for our husbands to get back. Next time we are planning a nice relaxing vacation with all the girls( and no kids ;)

Unofficial Last Day of Summer

2009-09-07T13:21:00.000-07:00

Things we will miss...
Dipping your feet in cool water after hiking
Going up to the mountains in a tank top on a sunday afternoon
Golf
Cute babies in sun hats!

Fireworks, warm nights and glow sticks!
Hiking up to Secret Lake with cousins Melia Holly Lily and Bella
Melia's first Alpine slide ride!

The park
Lagoon Melia, Avery, and Bowen
Day break beach

Well it has been a fun fun summer and I think I almost cried today when we left my parents pool for the last time. I really love love love summer so much. It just feels so good to feel the warmth, but today we could feel the cool air coming as we got out of the pool. We have done all the fun summer things though; Lagoon, fishing, hiking, and of course lots of swimming! We had a blast the other day at daybreak beach with Angie, Kenley and of course Riley! Melia and Cooper loved the sand, Melia compared it to Mexico but for me there was still a little something missing. ;) These were just a few pics to remind me in the winter that summer will come again soon!!

Just another day...

2009-09-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here's how it went...
French toast for 4
2 Kids taking Baths
1 Kid screaming to get dressed
1 Nap for cooper
5 laundry loads
1 Ride in the car
1 aunt visit
1 Disney princess movie
3 tiny fits over sharing
4 otter pops on the porch
1 ride on the bike and car
1 more nap
1 mud castle
Lots of silly moments
1 run in the sprinklers
1 soaked girl laughing
3 I love you's
2 visits from granparents
1 yummy peach
1 new word "football"
2 kids sleeping
All adds up to me thinking that even though each day may seem like nothing it is everything.

Funny Melia!

2009-08-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

So the other day Lauren was getting rid of Coopers bottles(putting them in storage) Melia askes "why don't you just throw them away" Lauren says "well in case someday down the road we have another baby" Melia's response "or maybe we could save them for when I get older & marry Bowen (my good friend Kemery's son) & we have kids"

Melia Always giving us a laugh.

Cooper's Birthday videos

2009-08-25T11:24:00.001-07:00

ONE

2009-08-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday to my little Cooper! I am so glad to have this little guy in my life. I never knew that I could love a little boy this much! He is such a fun cute little guy. He gives great "loves" and "kisses" to all those he knows. I love his huge smile, he has 6 teeth now. He screams when he gets really excited, and he still has those big blue eyes. He is walking all over the place now and I think it's stinkin cute! He knows a few animal sounds like the lion, duck, snake, cat, and dog. Oh and he loves dogs! Every morning he wakes up and finds his way to our back door and points saying "dog." If he ever is not happy all we have to do is take him "ousi"(outside). He loves cars, balls, animals...in fact animal planet is his favorite! He is a true boy! I think that I believe that boys will be boys because we had so many princess pink toys and he always seems to find the few cars or balls we have. He loves the "waater" and splashes in the pool and tries to blow bubbles too. I love his little laugh and his fake one too! We are so blessed to have this joy in our lives. Happy Birthday my booboo!!!

WOW!

2009-08-20T09:21:00.001-07:00

Let me get this straight. Obama's health care plan will be written by a
committee whose head says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that
hasn't read it, signed by a president who smokes, funded by a treasury chief who
did not pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed
by a country that is nearly broke. What could possibly go wrong?

Seriously funniest video ever!

2009-08-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ronald Reagan on socialized medicine

2009-08-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

A good old find, very insightful, a good watch.

We are the Champions!

2009-08-03T20:07:00.001-07:00

The Champions of the softball league... (back row first left to right)

JonJon, Nick, Matt, John, John,

Matt, Kemery, Paul, Alex, Jeremy

(missing: James and Jeff)

It was a great season and Paul put together a fun team. They lost a couple early on games and fought back to win 9 in a row to force a play off game against Bubba'a Boys. They won this team once and lost them once. With a great defensive effort they beat Bubba's Boys 11-2! Way to go guys we had fun watching you!

Bowen (Kemery's little boy) and Melia celebrating together. These two are the cutest. We went swimming the other day and they decided they were going to get married, we approve.
Both our kids love big trophies !
Way to go Dad!

Fun at the Zoo

2009-07-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

Cooper had his first ride on the Carousal at the Zoo! He loved it! He was trying to stand up the whole time and when it was done he wouldn't let go of the bar. He kept saying, "Ohhh" Cooper has also experienced his first steps which I am still trying to get on video, it's a little hard to do but he is stinkin cute doing it!

Family videos

2009-07-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share

2009-07-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

missing kids!

2009-07-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

Dinner with the Jazz.......Paul, Paul Millsap and Chad.
Paul, D. Will and me
The whole group with Ronnie Price. Below: We just had to get our pic with Kyle Korver!

I know I know I'm crazy but my kids have been gone since last night at their Grandma Sheila's and Grandpa Marks and I am already missing them to pieces. Paul and I were able to go out last night at LaCaille for free with the Jazz players for a charity event that kjazz gives Paul tickets to because he advertises with them. It was a blast to meet all the players and they were really nice. The food was amazing and I'm sure Paul would tell you all about them betting on his golf swing :) When we got home we both said it felt so weird not to have the kids there even if they would have been sleeping and I still woke up at 6:00 am thinking "shouldn't Cooper be up by now?"
Today I'm going to work at my old job at Black Tie Tuxedos. They are a family owned and operated store and their mother past away so they are heading to the funeral and need employees. I really don't know how some mothers work, I hate it. Maybe I would enjoy it more if it was something I loved though... still I think I would miss my little ones like crazy. So I will get my kids later tonight and spend all night hugging them. I really appreciate Mark and Sheila taking such great care of them and I know they are having a blast! Thanks to them!

Fishing

2009-07-09T13:55:00.001-07:00

We love fishing! Growing up I remember fishing many times with my family. Our Dad was great to line up our poles with bait and all and help us learn to cast and roll it in. So while my Dad is in town we went to the Ogden hatchery to let the kids catch fish for dinner! We caught ten fish very fast which kept the kids entertained. Melia loved to "pet" the fish, she wasn't scared at all. We went back and cooked them at the Utley's house, so yummy!

The Babies enjoyed many snacks in the shade!
Grandpa Clyde showing the girls their fish!

Sprinkler Problem's

2009-07-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

So we have had a leak in our main water valve for a while. we realized about six weeks ago we were going to have to dig it up and replace it, along with all the valves. Since it has been raining so much I have put it off. With the latest wave of hot weather this week I finally got to it.

I planned on doing it by myself but my grandpa called my brother Jake cause he thought I would need help. We started at 7 o'clock and dug until 10:45 P.M. Because the ground and area had not been worked on in twenty years it was covered in roots. It was such a pain.

The next morning Jared helped me finish it off it took about another hour, the hole ended up being about 4.5 feet deep and 4 feet wide. My grandpa's friends replaced all the old equipment and reburied everything. So hopefully that is the last of my sprinkler problems for some time. My hands are blistered my feet swollen and I think every muscle in my body is sore, I'm glad it is done, I was thinking about digging a hole for are trampoline by hand, which I am totally against now.

Congrats to you!!

2009-06-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

We are so excited! Jake and Larissa are going to have a baby! For those of you who don't know Jake is Paul's brother. Our kids are the only grandkids on that side right now and we can't wait for a cousin! We went to get pictures that we had arranged for mothers day with the whole family and Larissa had the photographer tell us to say "Larissa's Pregnant!" instead of "cheese" Everyone was so excited! So congrats to the soon to be parents! Looking forward to seeing that belly grow!!!

P.S Thanks for the pic from your facebook Larissa!!

slow start to summer

2009-06-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Is it really the middle of June? Not only the has the weather given us a slow start to summer but we spent most of May sick. Long story short, two cases of pink eye, one ear infection and a sinus infection later we are well and starting the fun. First off is snowbird, Paul's family has a time share there and we look forward to it every year. Everyone just gets to hang out and have fun together. This year they had a new park and I think even the adults had fun on it. Grandparents and grandkids.

Here is me and my girl!

Paul on the bridge, the water flow seemed so fast this year!

Uncle Mark and Melia

Super Squeeze in the pool with dad. Even if it may be cold outside the Snowbird pool is always as warm as a tub!

The game room is always a blast!

Oh and I forgot to bring Cooper any toys up so he had fun with the vacuum and pots and pans!

Melia and Aunt Michelle

Up the tram we went, here is me and my booboo!

Grandma Chris joined us one day and came up to the top with us!

Melia taking in the veiw.

Melia decided she wanted to start dance class! YEAH! I had been trying to convince her for the longest time and she saw some girls coming out when we went to Dad's game at Dimple Dell. You have to just let Melia decide when she wants to do something. But she wont let me get any good pictures of her in her "dance class clothes" so this is the best you get.

Melia also loves to go hit balls with dad. I think she is good because she can actually hit the ball which I sometimes miss.

We took the kids to Aunt Michelle to get their hair cut. We always end with a little colored gel. Don't worry it washes out! Look at my cool dude!

So there you have it. A few things that have gone on in the last month.

Coaches tackling cancer

2009-06-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the Coaches tackling cancer golf event to raise money for Keith Uperesa, who has just found out he has cancer.

Furniture Box sponsored a hole and I also paid to play in it. You have 4 guys the get 1 celebrity on your team. When I signed up I told them I wanted coach Whit on my team. The told me that was highly unlikely but would get me a ute coach.

I got there yesterday to set up the Furniture box stuff, we had a sectional on a par 3 and if anyone would have got a hole in one we were going to furnish 1 room in there house. I got my foursome checked in and they had us set up to play with Kalani Sitake. About 15 min before it started RIley Jensen (who put the whole thing together) asked me if I still wanted Whit to be on my team. Obviously I said yes and the day began.

It was my my business parnter, my neighbor, and one of my best friends from growing up(who is a huge BYU fan).

Whit is the nicest guy around a total class act, easy to talk to wanted to know about us and are families etc. My friend Jeff(the zoob) was more then impressed the whole time he was saying how fun this is and how cool coach was. Coach and I were giving him crap all day about BYU. When he told coach that he use to play for BYU Coach responded "yes I carried that monkey on my back a long time and that he has repented of that huge sin long ago".

A couple of notes from golfing with Whit

1. He is a horrible golfer, we did not use one of his shots the whole time except a putt when the Cameras where rolling.
2. The mountain networked followed us for about 6-8 holes and recorded everything which made it hard to focus on golf.
3. He doe not think highly of Nick Saban thinks he is a coward.
4. I asked him straight up if he would leave the U to coach somewhere else, he said "this is his home he is not leaving his home unless the U fires him"
5. He said the quarter back race is truly a 3 man race still and any of the 3 could be starter, but if Wynn is not number 1 he will redshirt this year.
6. His oldest son is walking on this year and will be going for linebacker.
7. they got 5 verbals last week in texas alone & little Kruger has now also committed.

Whit had to take off with 3 holes left to go to a fundraiser for Larry H Miller foundation. He was an awesome dude very humble. My buddy Jeff also asked him why Utah is always up for the big games & bowl games and BYU is not. Whit said" I don't know for sure what they do down there, but up here we prepare and and are ready for everyone big or small. We just prepare, the just don't I Guess.

After golf there was a program for coach Uperesa. Coach Mcbride, Coach stanford both had good speeches I will post what I have.

I also met Coach Edwards who was great. Donko rolled in 30 min late to the program (didn't even show up for golf) and had that stupid grin on his face the whole time.Man I love Coach Whit!!!

Here are some other Photos and videos

Had to get a pic

I will post the coaches speeches from dinner separately

2009-06-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

So we went over to the Bakers last night to go swimming, we were joined by Bella & her family. We thought this would be a perfect time to try out our new waterproof flip video system. This is what we got. Click HERE! to go to my youtiube page and see more videos.

Flip Video

2009-06-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

So I found the flip pocket video online for 50.00 bucks NEW! with a waterproof case so you can use it under water or in the rain etc. I think it will be a fun little gadget. here is the first video.

2009-06-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

Ole!

2009-05-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

What a great Mothers Day! My kids got me jelly belly's and some new running shoes for boot camp the night before because Melia isn't so great at keeping secrets! Then, i woke up to crepes made by Paul and Melia and then the best present she could have given me...she went to Sunbeams without a fit! After church we headed over to My mom's Birthday Party. We had cinco de Mayo a little late but it was so fun and I just love this picture of Melia, it cracks me up.

Here is Grandma Chris on her birthday with her grandkids that could make it, of course there is 4 missing, we miss you Gibbons!

Here I am with my kiddos on Mothers Day!
VanOrden's are always so accommodating, we celebrated Mothers Day last week with them. It is always fun to get together, they are such great Parents and Sheila is such a great mother! All of Paul's siblings pitched in and we will be having pictures taken soon for Sheila's mother's day present. Here is a picture of Mark, Cooper and Michelle.

Here is Cooper with Grandma Sommerfeld, my kids definitely love the attention received at the VanOrden parties since they are the only grandkids!

For Sale

2009-05-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

We put our lovely home up for sale. I can't really decide how I feel about it yet. Most of you know that we bought this home from Paul's parents and he has lived here almost his entire life so it will be strange for him to leave I'm sure. But if you know anyone interesting in an updated home in Sandy area please let us know! It is a 5 bed 3 bath home with a great yard and basketball court. We have put in new flooring and paint throughout the home. We had our first showing on the house yesterday and Melia(I mean Tinkerbell) was a great help cleaning! She has a blast helping and is starting to really help. Here she is spraying the floor and the baseboards and wiping them with a paper towel.

It's been a while!

2009-05-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Wow...Has it been a while since Paul and I were able to go out and enjoy a night without the kids! Well Paul's employee got married on Friday...Congrats to Shawn! Later we joined up with Lindsey, James, Jeff and Bree at our favorite place Bonsai it is amazing! Then we went bowling I haven't been bowling in forever! So thanks Dave and Erin for watching our children so we could get out!

Look at me!

2009-04-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

Cooper is 8 months old now! He has so many new tricks we need to share...He can crawl(backwards) but he gets around through scooting and rolling and he almost has it forwards, something I know will happen whether I like it or not, but it is very cute to see him on the move! He also can clap "Yeah" and just learned to wave "Hello". He also does "more" at dinner time. Oh the tricks are so fun! And he just got his first two teeth!

A Day in Grandma's Garden

2009-04-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Twitter

2009-04-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

I signed up for a twitter account. If you guys have not seen it it is pretty cool social networking mini blog. It is a fun way to keep tabs on things.Click this link to follow mine

Big Cooper, Little Cooper

2009-04-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

Look at these tough guys! Big Cooper (as Melia has labeled them) is in town from Alaska for a while so I just had to get a pic of the two Coopers together!

2009-03-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

My Kjzz rep got me 6th row tickets to the Jazz game Saturday night. My best friend Cooper is in town from Alaska. So i lined him up with my rep, & my wife and I went to the game with them. The first half was pretty boring, Jazz were up by 18. The second half was a different story the jazz let them creep back into it and actually went down by 7 with under 2 min. Then D-will took over, we did have a little bit of luck fall are way as well, but man D-will is good.

(I just have to add if you look in the right corner of this pic you will see the Osmond boy from Idol, they just happened to be walking by when we took this picture, funny huh.)

Popeye!

2009-03-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

It Fits! (sort of) Thanks Steph for the awsome shirt! Now cooper can be Popeye the Sailor Man TOot Toot!!!

Dirty, Clean...

2009-03-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is the result of what happens when painting the outside of your house with a 3 year old. She wanted to help all day and I kept telling her she needed to change into some painting clothes. Finally when we were all done and we went inside to wash out the brushes we came back out to find this. Dirty.... Clean...Just a picture of two cute kids taking a bath together. Cooper is sitting up so well and loves to splash in the tub this was the only picture we could get of him not looking at his ducky. Melia was helping wash him, it was pretty cute!

Green!!

2009-03-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

On St. Patty's day we decided to make green eggs and ham! Do you like green eggs and ham? Dad wouldn't eat any even though we tried to convince him they taste the same as regular eggs! Try them try them and you may we say! We put on some green stuff and headed for jumpin' jacks with my friend Christy I met in school. Even though it was a fight to get Melia to start having fun and a fight to get her to stop, it was fun in between!

Here are all the kids, Bryson, Megan, Melia and Cooper! Hopefully you didn't get pinched, we sure didn't!!!

2009-03-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

Because I am bored at work.

Rules: Anything you have done has to be in colored RED. How much have you done? It only takes about 5 minutes…Just do it..it's fun! The things I've done are in Blue

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland!

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a Praying Mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped umm no and probably never will!

12. Visited Paris (wish i could)

13. Watched an amazing lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning...

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty(half since I've been there just they don't let you do that anymore)

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Ran a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise(just this month)

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community !

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood!

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (a doll my mother made for me.)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone (just fingers and toes)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle(Melia & I go daily, she can even do the gas for me)

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby(well not me personally but i have 2 children)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Visited Italy

NCAA March Madness

2009-03-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

As always we do a fun little NCAA Bracket pool each year. If anyone is intrested in joining here is the info. 10.00 a bracket 5 max Join my bracket challenge http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com

Group ID #132374
Password utesalltheway

10.00 a bracket can have up to 5 brackets. 1st place gets 65% of pool 2nd gets 30% 3rd gets 5%. Example: 20 Brackets 1st=130 2nd=60 3rd=10.

All money must be paid by first game tipoff or bracket is void

Questions call Paul 801-641-7886