Little things make it all better

So I was having one of those "I can't get out of bed today" days where worries of the world and your family start to creep in and consume you! Anybody ever have that day? I don't consider myself to be a depressed person at all, yet every once in awhile I throw myself a pity party and lay there dreading the tasks that lay ahead of me.


This went on till about 9:00 A.M. (These spells usually don't last long). I pull myself out of bed and half heartily make my way through the house doing the usual dishes and pick up routine. This makes me feel even worse because I see the things that I should be getting done (laundry, cleaning out the fridge, and lots and lots of spring cleaning).


I stumble across a 1/2 eaten candy bar and eat it! What was I thinking!!!! Of course I kick myself immediately because I know that it starts my cravings for chocolate. Luckily after searching the old Easter & Halloween candy that my kids still have in their rooms (yes, it is disgusting how they save and save), I find that my favorites have already been eaten....whew! That probably saved me from gaining a pound or two!


I head to my calendar to see what I have to do today and how I can get out of it. I had totally forgotten that I had planned lunch with my friend Bonnie. I seriously considered cancelling! This is totally NOT like me! I dialed her number, then hung up remembering a class I recently took about dealing with stress. One of the things they suggested was going to lunch with a friend, so I head out the door to meet her.


It was fun! I enjoy chatting about randoms and keeping my mind off of depressing issues. I left feeling a little rejuvenated, but what do you know, the dang clouds are making Utah Valley cold and dreary:( So much for lunch therapy!


I headed over to Costco to pick up a few items. As I was browsing the store trying to buy without my list, I came across these lovely lounge pants. I have 2 other sets at home that I've had for a couple of years and they are my favorite! Instantly the thought of having another set makes me feel better:)! I had to buy them! I knew the comfort they provide when I'm hanging out at home (Ok, sometimes I run errands in them, but seriously who hasn't?). Buying them makes me think of happy thoughts like snuggling on the couch with a good book or watching a movie with my family. I'm CURRED...... I practically skipped up to the register anticipating wearing them!

$16.99 for the pair!

Why is it that something so ridiculous can make a bad day turn good? My attitude changed and the rest of the day went on positively. Am I crazy, going crazy, or is this normal? I'm stumped blogging about it..... Of course in my new comfy lounge pants!

Family Ski Day @ Deer Valley Feb. 7, 2009

Every year for the last several years we have coordinated a family ski day at Deer Valley with Scot's siblings and our nieces & nephews. This year, only our immediate family, 2 nieces, 1 nephew, Scot's sister Janna & her boyfriend Brent were able to go.

Deer Valley is our very favorite place to ski. No snowboarders are allowed and you can ski all day, skiing on different runs and lifts. It's huge!!! We don't like to take time off from skiing so we pack snacks and explore as much of the mountains as we can without stopping for breaks.

This year, we hurried to beat the rush and arrived at about 8:50, Saturday morning. It SNOWED and SNOWED and SNOWED. In fact, these pictures were taken just before the huge snowstorm moved in.....We didn't dare get the video camera out!

Emma literally hops off a lift and heads down the hill. If we don't keep our eye on her, she speeds down and out of sight through trees and jumps and whatever she feels like. We were constantly having to yell down the hill "Emma, stop and wait before you take a wrong turn". Fortunately, we didn't lose her!

We were wet, worn out, and chilled by the end of the day (well, maybe just I was), but it was worth it. I also decided to try skiing with toe warmers and what a difference that makes!

I am so lucky to have such a fun family who loves to do things together. Skiing is definitely one our family's top things to do and each year as Emma gets older, we are able to explore and challenge ourselves on the slopes.

Haili, Alex, Sean, & Emma

Sean w/ cousins Ashli & Ciara


Aunt Janna w/ Brent and Casey


I think Alex was in the middle of his 360


Alex hitting some jumps

WARNING.....Very looong post!

January was a very busy month for us and I can't believe I couldn't get around to posting! Here is a recap of what went on in our lives this past month.

January 4th
My twin nephews were blessed in Dane & Lynzi's home. It was very special and the boys didn't even make a sound. They are such special little boys and couldn't be more loved!

Emma just loves her Daddy!

Haili & Great-Grandma Rhea holding the babe

Haili can't get enough of holding these boys. She is in love!

So the very day that the blessing took place happened to be Haili's 11th Birthday!!!!! We celebrated that night with 2 of her cousins that had Birthdays within a couple weeks of each other.

I can not believe that 11 years has gone by since this darling, red-headed girl entered our lives. Haili is personality plus and always keeps us smiling. This girl is so tenderhearted and loves babies and animals more than anything. She is an incredible friend and adores her cousins.

We all benefit from her amazing creativity and inventions. She is ALWAYS making something and does it quite well. This fall, she made designer paper wallets and all of her friends enjoyed having a great assortment of cute colorful wallets.

Haili is a super student and has no problem keeping her grades up and is especially good at math, art, and English. We are so proud of her and her many talents. Did I mention her Dancing? Haili puts so much personality into her dancing that she sticks out in every competitions winning many awards, especially when she competes in solo's. This year she is gearing up for competitions working on a beautiful lyrical piece that shows off her talent.

Happy Birthday to the best 11 year old daughter!

Haili at her silliest

Happy Birthday to me!

January 9th

So it's not very often that Haili gets to have a Birthday party. Being born on January 4th is often hard on me to plan a party. Our New Years and Christmas parties usually leave me partied out and I try to bribe her into a fun shopping day to pick through all the leftover Christmas sales (She seriously has had the best presents of all her siblings because of the sales).

This year, being 11, I think she caught on to my plan and started begging for a Classic Skating party. I'm not a fan of Classic Skating! It is very grimy and loud and I always leave with a splitting headache. I couldn't talk her out of it so we went ahead with the plans and it was by far the best Birthday party ever!

Maybe it's being with 11 year old girls or something, because I had so much fun watching them have fun. Scot even got into the action wearing his roller blades and pulling long trains around the rink.

Haili catching papers in the cube for tokens.

The girls!!!!

Spinning the wheel for a prize....she almost won $10.

January 10th

Did anyone else make it to BodyWorlds? Well, I hope you were smarter than us and didn't wait till the last weekend to see it! We bought tickets for Saturday night @ 9:00 P.M. We arrived at the place by 8:30 thinking we would be in small groups with other people that had tickets. Wrong!!!! We started in a gigantic line in the basement, seriously in the basement. We zig zaged back and forth and all around for about an hour. When we finally made it out of the basement, we stood in another huge line that slowly made its way upstairs to the exhibit. We started our way through the exhibit at 11:00 P.M. We were so tired, yet it was amazing and fascinating. It was really crowded and dark so I had to hold onto the girls hands to keep them close by. I guess it serves us right for going the last weekend:)

Waiting in the endless line in the basement was very frustrating.

January 16th -18th

My sister's and niece's Birthdays are also in January and my niece had a cheer competition in Boise. My mom and I decided to take a girls trip and join my sister and her daughter for a fun weekend in Boise. We had a lot of fun taking our girls shopping, swimming in the hotel pool, and playing "Phase 10" in our room. It was also a lot of fun to watch Bayli perform...she is incredible! I had no idea she could tumble like that!

Hanging out waiting for Bayli to perform

Bayli's team took second

January 24th

Grandma Llewelyn gave everyone a return pass to IFLY in Ogden for Christmas. This place is so fun and we were able to explore the place a little more with the rock climbing, miniature golf, bumper cars, and arcade.

Because everyone was a return flyer, the instructors just let them kinda do their own thing. It was also a longer session, so everyone had a great time.


Emma flying through the tunnel

Alex and Emma just finishing their turn

Haili and Sean pulling their earplugs out.

Emma on the bumper whatever these things are.

Haili looking to crash into Emma

February 1st

We celebrated Alex's 18th, yes let me say it again, 18th Birthday. His Birthday is really February 2nd, but it was easier to have a super bowl party/Birthday party at once.

Many of you don't know the challenges that Alex has faced the last year and a half, so I will give a brief update in this post:

Some of you may remember Alex's Lake Powell accident in August 2007. He was riding an air chair and took a very bad hit into the water. He doesn't remember a lot about what happened, but when I took him to the doctor right after, he was diagnosed with a bad concussion and we received instructions for his care. I had know idea a concussion could be very serious and we just kinda forgot about it and went on with life.

Around October, Alex got into some troubles and we were shocked at his behavior. We knew he was not acting like himself and over the next few months, we sought help from doctors and Psychologists, knowing something was not right with him. His personality was not the same and he had no reading comprehension (Huge red flags).

Well, this went on for a few months until we finally had him tested at UVRMC. They found that he had a concussion injury, which meant that his frontal lobe was not functioning properly. He went for cognitive therapy, but being a 17 year old made him think nothing was wrong with him and he wouldn't follow the advice of his doctors. We then had him start going to a behavior therapist to help him understand that he needed help. This also was unsuccessful.

Recently, we had Alex admitted into a Primary Children's facility where he could be put on a strict schedule and they could target where and what he was lacking so that he could be treated properly.

Alex is doing so well! Today he had more testing done and it reconfirmed that he indeed had a concussion injury. We are seeing progress so quickly and know that he is now on the right road to overcoming this challenge.

Thank you to all family and friends who have kept him in your prayers. I know this has helped tremendously and we would not be where we are without you.

These pictures are of a happy 18 year old that now has hope that he will get the right kind of help. We are seriously seeing our son come back to us!