What Time Is It... SUMMER TIME!!!

Well it is official... school is out and summer is here! There has been a couple of milestones at our house this week. Courtney is no longer in Elementary School... she is going into big bad Junior High. She had her 6th grade graduation on Wednesday. It was fun to go and see her walk and get her certificate of graduation. Then there is Derek... he is no long a Kindergartener!!! He wanted everyone to know that he is now in first grade... he has two recesses and 1 lunch. He has to stay there ALL day... You would never know he was excited! They both did great this school year. Time goes by so fast... and they are growing up even faster. I told Derek the other day that we were going to skip his 7th birthday this year. He had to stay 6 for two years. He didn't like that idea. He said that if he had to skip his birthday that I had to skip mine... I told him that it sounded like a great idea.

Derek age 6.. the big bad 1st grader!!!

Courtney age 12... no longer a kid!!

Memorial Day Weekend...TOMATO PLANTS

We haven't done much this holiday weekend. With Courtney's birthday and Cameron needing to work on Saturday we stayed around the house. With that we were able to get a lot of the yard work done that needed to be done. The weeding and just picking up things. After Cameron got home from work on Saturday we all got in the car and went to Home Depot. I got this brilliant idea that I wanted to grow tomato plants. With our landscape we didn't plan on any room for a garden. (with gas and grocery prices we may have to rethink the yard and make some necessary room...uggg) So I thought of the idea to get some pots and plant the tomatos in the pots. I hear they don't do as well in just pots. I am hoping to bring the education that Cameron has and put it to good use. We got two different types of plants. One that works well in the pot called Patio Tomato and then the large juicy ones...Red Beefsteak Tomato. We will see which one works the best. I will keep you updated on the planting progress... here are a couple of pictures

Cameron making sure I did it right... Derek had to add his suggestions as well!!!

***Patio Tomato ______***Red Beefsteak

Check out my Slide Show!

Courtney's Birthday Party...

Courtney has had a week full of birthday! Wednesday night we had some family over for a small party! Grandma Fisher, Aunt Stacey (Uncle Juan had to work) Uncle Dave, Uncle Trent and Aunt Candice, and Blake. Days like this makes me miss living close to my family. I hope they all know they were missed! Then tonight Courtney had a few friends over. I sent them on a Photo Scavenger Hunt. They had to go throughout the neighborhood and take pictures of certain things. Then they came back and we decorated t-shirts with puffy paint. They all had a lot of fun to do that. After the t-shirts we played the "flour game" See pictures in slide show... it was hilarious. You make a tower of flower and put a penny on the top. They each take a turn and slice the flower down the sides with a butter knife. The one that makes the penny fall has to get it out with there mouth. They had a blast. Then we got into their p.j's and watched "HAIRSPRAY". The girls had a great time with the huge Love Sac. Jumping and goofying off... what girls do best right!!!

I have been tagged..... Thanks Susette!!

Who do you love? Lots of people but Cameron is my #1
Who said 'I love you' first? probably me. I think I scared Cameron a little
How long did you date? From May 04' - December of 04'... but shouldn't we still be dating
Where did he propose? Idaho Falls Temple
Who is taller? Cameron... by far
Who is smarter? It depends on the subject
Who does the laundry? I try and keep up with it... but Cameron usually finishes what I start.
Who pays the bills? Cameron does
Who mows the lawn? Cameron does unless he has had a hard week of work. Our lawn mower is missing a wheel so it is harder than most!! I guess I can use that as my excuse
Who cooks dinner? I do... Cameron will go days without eating if I am not there to fix it!!
Who drives? Cameron does unless we are in my car... and then I do. He is too tall my for car

I tag: Sarah, Melissa, Jaclyn, and Jen

We have a birthday GIRL...

Happy Happy Birthday to a special girl.

WE LOVE YOU COURTNEY!!!

It makes me sad to think that you are 12 years old already. I remember when I met you for the very first time. Such a cute "little" girl, your not so little anymore!!!

I remember when I was turning 12. I had the world in the palm of my hand. So I thought!!! Didn't we all. I loved being old enough for Young Women's. Dating will be just around the corner. Dad is not looking forward to that time. She will be graduating for 6th grade and moving on to the big and better Junior High. Where did our little girl go???

We don't have her this weekend but the celebration will be all next week. We will be having cake and Ice cream with family on Wednesday. Then she is having a little party with a couple of girls on friday night!! BOY is she excited!!!

Oatmeal Alternative....Thanks Nikki and Dr. OZ

For the past couple of months I have been eating oatmeal every morning. I am sure all of you know that you can only eat oatmeal for so long until you can't gag it down anymore. Well with talking to a friends of mine... I know have another choice. You all should try it! It takes a little while to prepare at first. I went to the grocery store today and got the "fresh" fruits that I enjoy. Today was strawberries, banana's, pineapple, and red grapes. When you get home... wash them, and cut them up into pieces (even the banana) I put it is a freezer bag and freeze them. So that is the preparation.

In the morning...

1 cup of the frozen fruit (the frozen fruit adds the slush aspect)
1 tbsp Psyllium Husk Fiber (true form of fiber)
1/2 tbsp flaxseed oil
1 cup of water/ice
(ice if you want more slush or if you have fresh fruit)
(you can add a form of soy protein if you want)

Blend it up... and you have a great fruit shake with the fiber you need.
I hear you can put 1/2 cut apple juice or honey but I don't
Don't let it fool you... the fiber expands and fills you up and keeps you full!!!
If any of you have any other healthy alternatives to OATMEAL... share them. Or any other recipes... for that matter!

Race For The Cure...TODAY!!

I really didn't know what to expect today with the Race for a Cure. We meet (Me, Curry, Maryann and Britney) at the office at 7am. Then we rode trax down to The Gateway. With each stop the Trax was getting more and more packed. I really had no idea the turn out that was going to be there. Once we got off the Trax my eyes were open. You saw so many survivors of breast cancer and also people running this race in memory of someone who has lost their life to this horrible desease. The one that broke my heart was a family that wore a picture of their mom on their shirts. The father was there proud of all his kids with his littlest one still in a stroller. The mother couldn't have been 35 years old. What a special thing to do the weekend of Mother's Day. To honor these moms, grandmothers, sisters and friends. The t-shirts that all the different teams had. I would have never came up with those ideas. The one that stuck out was for a male survivor. It said on front "Save the Man Boobs" and on the back was "big or small save them all" It really made me aware of how many people are effected with this. I am planning on doing it every year.

I was really, really proud of myself... I did the 5k in 37minutes... but we were towards the back of the pack. So I am thinking that maybe it was more like 30 minutes. Hey, that is what I will tell myself.

Here are a couple of pictures of us...

Me..Brittney..Curry..Maryann

(before the race)

The croud of people... (the pink things on the back were names of the people they were running for.

Just past the first mile... you cant really see the CROWD of people.

They told us that 15,000 people registered! That is amazing!

After the race when we all finally met up!

It was a lot of fun... and exciting that I am finally back into the shape I was years ago. My plan is to do it every year... SO plan now and lets all do it.

My weightloss goal update...

I have received several emails asking how my weighloss goal was going. Well I have a little less than three weeks to Memorial Day. I wanted to loss 15lbs before then. Well it looks like I am right on track. I have lost 10lbs and have 5lbs to go. I think that is very doable. It is sad... I work so hard both at the gym and lately with the nice weather outside. I have also been so aware of my diet and eating really healthy. Don't get me wrong I am excited about the loss but then here is Cameron. He decides to start taking a lunch instead of eating out and cutting back on the Coke. In 3 weeks he losses his 15lbs. He said that he is ready for his shopping spree. SO NOT FAIR!!! He wanted me to point out that the picture I posted with the things that Derek likes. The one with him and Derek with his Karate. Then compare it to the one I posted of his hole in one at Boondocks. You really can tell a difference. The Karate one... you can see some weight in his face and belly... then the recent picture... stick thin. Then there is me, I just look at a cookie and gain weight.
It is fun to see Courtney and Derek get in on the eating healthy and wanting to exercise. Derek asks all the time if the dinner we are eating is healthy. I have changed so many of our eating habits. The cool thing about it, is they haven't even noticed the change. They would rather use the Can't Believe Its Not Butter Spray than real butter. Maybe because it is more fun to use... who knows. I will just keep it up.
Well I am getting ready for the Race For A Cure on saturday. I have been running/walking for the past couple of weeks and I think that I will be able to run it. There are 4 other girls from work that will be doing it too. We are all really excited. It still isnt to late to join in on the fun and do it with us. You just need to register online before Saturday morning. The morning of the race it is $15 more. PLUS... you get a t-shirt! How fun will that be!

***BOONDOCKS***

With the weather finally nice we decided to go and have some family fun at BOONDOCKS. Courtney and Derek love minature golfing. They love real golf as well. They want to follow their dad's footsteps. We tell them that golf is one of the easiest College Scholarships you can get because a lot of people don't realize they are out there. Courtney is working towards that, and Derek thinks he is Tiger Woods! He got his first set of golf clubs at age 4.

Well back to Boondocks. It was a fun an competive game. Girls against boys (game average). The boys won!!! If we split it up individually it went:

Cameron 49

Shayna 58

Derek 58

Courtney 62

We all had a lot of fun... so did the rest of Utah who decided to go. It was pretty busy. After the game the kids wanted Dippin Dots... They were in these plastic pouches that totally were crappy! You couldn't get them out before they all melted. But hey it was the memory right!!

Courtney got the first hole in one..

Then it went Cameron...

The last hole Derek and Cameron got a hole in one. Derek hates the last whole because if you get a hole in one the Tiki guy shoots fire out of the top Derek says it is too hot. It was funny to see him run right after he made his shot and it went it. It took a lot for him to came back close to take this picture.

Courtney and Destri scared of the Tiki Man. If you miss the shot you get made fun of.

One of the holes... a graveyard

Derek is For Sale... but he is Priceless!!!

Courtney and Destri posing!!

My Little Karate Kid...w/ a new blue belt

We went to karate on Tuesday and Derek was suprised beyond all surprises. At the end of the class a lot of the class advanced with either a strip on their belt or a whole new belt. When Derek was called up to receive his advancement he was shocked! Derek skipped TWO WHOLE belt. He was working towards a white belt with green strip skipping also a purple strip but received a white belt with blue strip. I wish I had a video camera to record the face that he had when he came running to Cameron. The biggest smile I have ever seen from that boy. He was about ready to jump out of his uniform. He has really taken off with his karate! He loves it. Here are a couple of pictures I took tonight!

Derek is the one at the end of the row... This is his scissor kick. His favorite of all the kicks. He looks like the Karate Kid!!

Look at that smile... and the blue belt!!

The famous BLUE BELT!!!

He wanted everyone to know that his belt matched his eyes!!!