Jason is 32!!

The gang drove up to Storm Mountain to celebrate Jason's birthday. Roasted hot dogs and s'mores were the menu items.



Isn't Gregor a Jason clone? Kinda scary. . .


The Nazi Forest Ranger rode his golf cart around the picnic areas making sure no one was walking in the rivers. So instead of wading in the cool mountain stream, we sat on logs and ate more s'mores.

Back To School

Mothers across the country are breathing a sigh of relief as kids head back to school. My darling daughters started school on Monday and were so excited to get back to learning, homework and tests.

Kelsee is a senior at Taylorsville High this year and Mick is an 8th grader at Bennion Junior. Her goal is to pick on as many 7th graders as she can. Don't they look spiffy on their first day?

Mick Turns 13!

Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a giant shrimp. McKenzie turned 13 on July 22 and we celebrated at Bubba Gump Shrimp. We were in Southern California on her birthday and spent the day riding Tower of Terror, Grizzly Rapids and California Screamin'. It was tons of fun. Mick is so much fun to be around. Here are just some of the reasons I love McKenzie:

1. She's fun to be around.
2. She keeps me up-to-date on the latest music.
3. She makes a mean chocolate cake.
4. She's a great friend.
5. She has an amazing sense of humor.
6. She has some great pasta recipes.
7. She is so patient with her nieces and nephews.
8. She has a great laugh.
9. Her acting skills are the best.
10. She's a Guitar Hero rock star.

Love you, Mick!! Happy Birthday.

The Big 4-0

Holy Cow, I'm 40. How time flies when you're aging. But setting aside the anxiety, stress, depression, oldness and extreme discomfort, my birthday wasn't so bad. Okay, I lied. I HATED turning 40, but it's better than being dead, which is the only other alternative. Here's me with a fake I-love-being-old smile.

Jenny, looking beautiful, also celebrated her birthday on July 5th (along with Jessica, Toni, Kathryn, Huey Lewis and circus pioneer P.T. Barnum--which somehow seems appropriate.) In 2 years, Jenny, you'll be 40. Live it up!

Tom organized a party at Buca di Beppo with the entire family for a combined celebration for our birthdays. The food was great, the presentation made me cry and, best of all, my mom was around to celebrate with us. Thanks for all you did for me, Tom. You made turning 40 almost bearable. Almost.

Donations to my body contouring/Botox fund are now being accepted.

The Fourth of July

Yes, I realize it's the NINTH of July, but get over it. It was great celebrating the 4th this year because mom was with us for the first time for the holiday since 2004. She even skipped her wedding anniversary to spend time with us. (Sorry, Dyion.) Tom flew her in for our birthday week and we had a great time with her. Doesn't she look happy to be around us? All we needed was Heather and Scott. Miss you guys!

The parade was crummy as usual, which is the only reason we keep going back. Our favorite parade entree is still the Senior Citizens Mobile Parade Van, complete with oxygen tanks. Even though Laura is hugely pregnant, she was a good sport--even sitting on the ground through a 90-minute, lame-ass parade. She deserves a medal. It was Laya's first Fourth of July and, as you can see, she was immensely unimpressed with the whole ordeal.
But Diego (a.k.a. The Hulk) and Austin had a great time together. We took the kids to see Wall-E, tried to take a nap, ate too much at the family barbecue and enjoyed Jason's Spectacular Spectacular Fireworks Display.

Little Cottonwood Canyon

Continuing with the hiking theme, we thought we'd hike to Secret Lake up above Alta. Unfortunately, the trail was still covered with snow (stupid Utah), so we had to find somewhere else to go. While searching for Lisa Falls, we found a trail with some huge granite rocks for the kids to break their necks on. We ate sandwiches, got eaten by bugs, walked through something poisonous and broke out in hives. A typical day in the mountains.

Diego and Austin played around on the rocks but weren't excited about climbing the steep granite cliff. Babies. Me, Kelsee, Mick, Jared, Tom, Mom and Jenny's family enjoyed snow cones at Bob's Brain Freeze after the "hike." The perfect prescription for 100+ temperatures.

Bob, the Mountain Man.

Donut Falls

McKenzie, Kelsee, Diego and I hiked up to Donut Falls. I've never seen the river so high. We couldn't even cross to the other side. Kelsee (who likes to climb into precarious positions--see blog entry below) can be seen at the top of the picture. I finally used my mom voice to get her off the mountain before she fell and crashed to her death.

So instead of climbing up the falls, we threw rocks into the river, ate donuts (of course) and watched Diego pee on the rocks. He was a little intimidated by the whole "hiking" thing (and wanted Kelsee to carry him) but eventually he relaxed and enjoyed chasing rabid chipmunks and splashing in glacier-cold water. Kelsee (who just watched The Happening) was convinced the forest was going to murder us. Mick hid on the path ahead of us trying to convince Diego she'd been eaten by the wild tigers that roam the Wasatch Mountains.