EAGLE OF THE MONTH!

CONGRATULATIONS to Abby!! She earned the Eagle of the Month award at school! Way to go!

(Or as Camille says...She won a diploma!)

IT HAS STARTED AGAIN!!!

I AM SO ADDICTED TO THIS SHOW!!! I MEAN, BEYOND ADDICTED! I lay in bed at night and think how I can get on The Amazing Race. I LOVE TO TRAVEL and I'M VERY COMPETITIVE! My only problem is that my husband thinks we don't have a snowball's chance to make it on the show. He says, "We have no hook!" We aren't "The Hippies" or "The Rodeo Clowns" or "The Gay Couple!" But I tell him, "OF COURSE WE HAVE A HOOK!" We are the Mormon Couple from Utah who met each other on the Internet and have watched EVERY SINGLE episode of this show dating back to Season 1.

All I know is that it would be my life long dream come true to be on The Amazing Race. So, if anyone out there, anyone at all has any suggestions, please let me know.

GERM FEST!

WHEN the girls were younger, I gave up trying to seperate them when one of them was sick. They would share everything...juice cups, snacks, cereal on the floor! It was impossible to keep them and their germs apart. It was part of the package of having the girls be 12 months apart!

THIS WEEK Abby has been sick with croup. I guess it shouldn't have come as a surprise that last night Camille had a high fever and is sick with croup as well. They still share everything...only this time it is a bed, clothes, sometimes toys and sometimes a toothbrush (when 1 girl can't find theirs!) Although that hasn't happened for a while. Mom cracked down on that--some things just aren't meant to be shared.

A "TY" RIFFIC DAY!!

WOW!!! WHAT A DAY!!! For a family of Cougar Fans today will be a day we will ALL remember for a very long time! Let's begin with a photo tour of how the day started.

Dave & Dave McClure, Daren and Tanner & TY DETMER!! (He owns one of those really cool trophies with the football guy who lunges. I think OJ Simpson used to own one, too. That

hand he has on Tanner threw for many, many touchdowns at Lavell Edwards Stadium!

THE day began at the Cougar Club Legacy Tent. We were fortunate to be invited inside the tent to eat. When Tanner saw the chocolate fountain, I thought his eyeballs were going to pop out of his head! We had a wonderful lunch and of course, chocolate fondue!

I've been informed he wants one of these at his wedding!

Daren inside the Cougar Club Tent

After eating a wonderful lunch, we headed to the field:

Tanner with Cosmo

Then we went outside the tunnel to watch Bronco lead the Cougars to the field




We watched the players do the HAKKA (I thought Daren would look cool out there doing the HAKKA with the players!)



I wonder if Daren was thinking..."My wife would really like some of these chocolate covered stawberries!"

Daren was able to watch the entire game on the field

Daren watching the game -- Blaine Fowler (2 guys to the right)

This was the second part of Daren's 40th Birthday present. He has been coming to BYU Football games since he was 6 years old when Marc Wilson was the quarterback. As a boy he would travel from Burley, Idaho with his dad, brother and grandpa to every BYU home game. They would make the 3 hour, 20 minute drive, watch the game and then drive back to Burley.

I really want to thank The Wakefields for making this possible. You guys have made dreams come true for our family. You guys are some of the nicest and kindest people we have ever known. I can't thank you enough for helping us with the party and allowing Daren the opportunity you gave him today! WE LOVE YOU!

I'd also like to thank our wonderful friends & neighbors who helped us with our girls ALL day so we could spend the entire day at the stadium. We are so blessed to live in this neighborhood and have great friends!

Where's My Website Mommy?

CAMILLE is not very happy with me these days.
She tells me daily, "It is not fair that Tanner has a website (meaning I've done a post about him & his snake) and Abby has a website (post about her soccer game) but I don't."

SO, CAMILLE...here is a "website" all about you!

We have a family tradition of taking 1 child on a trip each year. Two years ago, Daren and I took Tanner to Washington DC to see Daren's sister and hew new twins. Last year, Abby and I went to Washington DC & Pennsylvania. This year it was Camille's turn. She decided she wanted to go on a trip with her 2 favorite things in the whole wide world--Her Bunny & Her Daddy!

Every Night Camille Goes To Bed With Bunny

Camille went to the zoo

Then she went to Knotts Berry Farm

While at Knotts Berry Farm, Daddy bought Camille a sucker to eat for breakfast the next morning! No wonders why Daddy is more fun than Mommy!

They had a great time in California. When they were leaving Knotts Berry Farm, Camille looked up at Daren and said, "Daddy thank you for spoiling me!" When Daren came home, I looked at his little finger and noticed Camille wrapped all the way around it!

AM I CRAZY?

SINCE starting this blog, I've been looking through old pictures. Here was my life approximately 5 years ago:

1. Not being able to go to the grocery store because I couldn't fit the girls AND the groceries in the cart
2. Having 2 in diapers & 2 in car seats!
3. They would go to bed FOR THE NIGHT at 6pm
4. The extra long stroller
5. THE TAPE--Oh the tape.

Naps With Tape (Naps Without Tape Too Graphic To Show--Imagine a different colored wall. That's why there are no pictures on the wall and the crib is in center of the room.)

6. Those were LONG days. Long days wished longing for days when the girls would be in school.
NOW, I'm left longing for days like these:

PS-For those of you who don't know, Camille and Abby are 12 months and 24 days apart!

Reptile In The Basement--Dead Mice In The Freezer!

ONCE upon a time, there were 3 children who wanted to have a pet. The only problem was that their mother was mean and hated animals. The 3 children begged and pleaded with their mother to allow them to have a dog.

Here are reasons why the mother refused to have a dog:
1. She didn't want to have to clean up after it.
No. 2 (Adequately named) The dog would go No. 2 in the yard. Kids step in the No. 2. Kids come in the house. No. 2 in the house.
3. It would scratch the back door.
4. Dogs shed. Don't want dog hair on couch and wood floor.
5. Vacation time comes, what do you do with the dog?
6. Dog gets sick-vets aren't cheap. The mother would rather use the vet money to go on a vacation!
7. Dog dies-everyone is sad, except mother!

SO, one day the oldest boy Tanner came home to announce his friend Braiden was selling his corn snake. He begged and pleaded once again to have a pet. This time mother had mercy on him. After discussing the snake with Braiden's mother, Tanner's mother realized it was time for Tanner have his own pet. Conditions were placed...Tanner would need to earn the money, the snake came with a locking cage-which if not secured and the snake escaped, the snake would have less than 24 hours to vacate the premises.

ALSO, the snake would need to eat. It wasn't until later, after Tanner's mother agreed to have a reptile in her basement that she realized what the snake eats. DEAD MICE-Frozen & Thawed!! This would require Tanner to get a job to earn the money for the frozen, dead mice. This would also require Tanner's mother to allow frozen dead mice to reside in her freezer-clearly marked in a plastic container and separated from the rest of the family's food. (Yes, I think I deserve to be mother of the month here. At least get an honorable mention!) Tanner agreed to the conditions and just recently received his first paycheck from his first job--watering trees! We are heading to the pet store tomorrow to buy more mice! Lucky me!Tanner's First Paycheck--Hopefully it's the first of many to come!

ALAS...A PET!!! Tanner has a pet! He knows the rules-Cage not locked, snake gets out, Corneleus evicted!

Camille with Corneleus-she usually wears Corneleus as a necklace!

Abby with Corneleus

PS-Our girls LOVE the snake!! Go figure!

Sunburnt & Hoarse

WOW! WHAT A GAME!! Daren is hoarse, I'm sunburnt and it was awesome to watch The Cougs shut out The Bruins!

The Quest for perfection continues!

2 For Us, 1 For Them

An hour before Abby's soccer game, Camille said the blessing at dinner. Camille prays for the power of heaven to bless Abby to do well in her soccer game. Perhaps Camille should have prayed that Abby would have the spirit of discernment to know which goal to kick the ball into.

Abby is quite aggressive, perhaps it is because she is the youngest and is tired of being picked on and having older siblings who take her stuff. She was so excited to get the ball that she kicked it into the other team's goal. She was very proud of herself! Later, she redeemed herself by making 2 goals for our team. However, the Silver Lightening were defeated 5-3! Good thing we didn't lose by 1 goal!

A Few Family Pictures

Since I've started blogging now, I was going through a few picutres and ran across these fun family photos that have familiar faces:

Daren's Surprise Birthday Party

Jan Jorgensen, Dennis Pitta, Daren, Bryan Kehl, Harvey Unga, Austin Collie

Governor Huntsman, Tanner, Camille and Abby

Tanner, Corbin Bleu and Abby

Me with Brother Beck (Glenn Beck)

Tanner shooting hoops with Andrei Kirilenko on the Utah Jazz court. Tanner had the opportunity to play 'Speed' with Andrei Kirilenko & Carlos Boozer, along with a few other kids.

Good Food, Good Friends, AND THE COUGARS!

So, I've finally reached the 21st Century and decided to create a blog! Daren is so thrilled about this little project! :) I decided my first post would be about our awesome trip to Seattle.
We have a tradition to attend 1 away game each year, as well as our usual attendance to EVERY BYU home game. This year we went to Washington with our really fun friends, The McClures and The Petersens. Every night we would go to bed and our stomachs would ache from spending the entire day laughing. Here's some of what we did:

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

Sandy & Me At Pike's Market

Hot guy in Seattle!

Ferry Ride To Bainbridge Island

If ever on Bainbridge Island, "Sla Bonita" is the place to eat!

RISE & SHOUT!!!

The Petersens, Us, The McClures

This is right after the game. Washington's Coach Ty Willingham took the time to break down the game with Daren. He felt BYU played like champions and he even did the Rise & Shout! He was very friendly and had a lot of great things to say about the Cougs.*

*Little side story here. So, I totally thought this was Washington's coach. He looks a lot like the REAL Washington coach. It wasn't until after this picture was taken, that I realized he is an imposter and sells lemonade at the game. Ooops!