Remembering Thayne

Today marks the one year anniversary of Thaynes death. It is hard to believe.

So much has happened this past year, both good and bad. It amazes me how my sister and her kids endured this last year. I have enjoyed spending more time with my niece and nephews and the relationship I have with them.

Today I have been thinking a lot about them and their Dad.

Every time I think about Thayne I remember what a prankster he was.

The day that I introduced Eric to my family we had a bbq over at my parents house. I wanted everything to be just right. During dinner Thayne came behind me with a pitcher of water and dumped down the back of my head. I was so mad. I just sat there and didn't say one word. He knew he was in trouble. I remember not talking to him for a while after that. And as weird as it may seem, this is one of my favorite memories.

I have asked Eric about that incident and he doesn't seem to remember anything amiss.

Thayne was always willing to help me when needed. I benefited many times from his mechanic expertise.

Thayne always loved playing with the kids, probably because he was just a big kid himself. We would often joke that Amy actually had 5 kids, Thayne being the biggest.

We miss Thayne.

We are grateful for the happiness that Amy and her kids have found.

Nicole turns 12

Where does the time go ? It seems just like yesterday when Nicole was a tiny little baby. Now she is a beautiful young lady. She is very talented and smart. She loves to read and is currently almost done reading the Book of Mormon. We are so proud of her. She is a happy person and fun to be around. She loves to perform. She can be seen singing and dancing around the house on a regular basis. I think that next year she will really enjoy being in drama and choir. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is constantly making us all laugh. I am so glad she is a part of our family.

Justins Socks

Here is Justin wearing his favorite socks. He especially likes to wear them to church. What a wild boy I have.

Bike Ride on the river walkway

Peachy

I got myself a sweeeet ride for my birthday.
I love it. This bike is an absolute dream machine.

The best part is it's pink making her a real beauty.

I named her Peachy.

The seat has plenty of springs for a nice smooth ride.

I also like how I can sit up straight so my back doesn’t hurt.

I have been riding all over the neighborhood every day.

The best place to ride is down the river walkway. It is so pretty with all the leaves starting to change. It is some good exercise and it is so much fun. I feel like a kid all over again.
Peachy would look real nice with a basket on the front don’t you think ?

Soon I am going to work on a pirate flag , I can hardly wait.

I am so glad that it is Friday ! It has been a long week.
Today has been great so far.
This morning I went over to my Moms ( aka- the card Queen ). I love having a little bit of free time in the mornings to my self. Anyways I made the cutest halloween candy bar holder, with my moms help of course. It was a lot of fun. She is very creative.

The weather outside is gorgeous. It is just the perfect temperature, a little cool . I absolutely love this time of the year. I love how fall smells - leaves, cinnamon, and pumpkin all together some how- very yummy.
I really want to take the kids leaf collecting but I don't know if the leaves have started to change. I'm a little nervous to bring up the subject to Eric after last time. Here's what happened.....
It was a beautiful fall Sunday and I thought it would be nice to skip out on church to go for a picnic and collect colored leaves. Eric agreed. So we went to Beus' pond and had a wonderful time. We were able to collect a lot of nice leaves that I had plans to press and put in a autumn time scrap book. Several times I had Eric leave the path to acquire the best leaves possible. When we got home the itching started. The next morning Eric looked like some kind of freak show. His face was huge ! It was so red and puffy. We put the calamine lotion all over him. He was miserable. He looked so bad that one of the Doctors at his work called in a prescription for him . Thank goodness because that did the trick.
The moral of the story ?
You might say not to skip church to collect leaves .
I however think the real lesson here is to never leave the pathway when searching for the best leaves.
Ha ha ha - I bet my Dad is shaking his head right about now.

Remembering 9/11

I have been thinking today about the tragedy of 9/11.
We had just dropped off Nicole at my moms house to be babysat and she told us to turn on the radio. We were on our way up to the hospital for Eric to have abdominal surgery in relation to his cancer. We could hardly believe what we were hearing. Then upon arriving at the hospital the news was on every TV. The hospital was on high alert because of the possibility of terrorist activity locally. I remember feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
Eric and I were both very anxious about his surgery. Eric even had feelings that he might die during surgery, fearing that the Doctor might mistakenly hit an artery that was in very close proximity to the lymph nodes being removed and that he might bleed out.
During his prep, we found out that Eric's doctor had just returned the night before from NYC. He had been on top of one of the towers just 24hr previous. That was erie.
I remember feeling shock and horror that human beings could be so evil and full of so much hate.
I remember almost feeling guilty for praying for comfort and for Eric's health, with all those thousands of people who were in a greater need than I.
Later on,
I remember the feeling of closeness, and family that our country felt. Stories of the firefighters and other volunteers risking their lives to help in the rescue efforts.
I remember the kindness of people to one another. It seemed that we didn't want to take our relationships for granted, we wanted to show appreciation to one another.

Justin turns 6

Justin’s 6th birthday party was a huge success ! When Justin first told me he wanted a Mario party I was a little overwhelmed and did not think that it would be possible. He tried to comfort me by saying “ I know you can do it Mom, just look on the internet”. Well after much searching on the internet and a lot of playing his video games I was able to come up with a great birthday plan.
At the first of the party I had my niece dress up like Peach and my nephew like Bowser. As Peach was distributing gold coins to the kids Bowser came and kidnapped her, tied her up and threw her in Bowser’s bounce house ( the trampoline ). He then told the kids to rescue Peach , they needed 3 stars. They would have to play the game to get the stars.

We made the backyard to look like a giant game board using colored paper for the spaces. The kids rolled a big dice to move along. We had three different mini games the kids would have to stop and play – 1 Donkey Kong bash (pinata) 2- Yoshi’s dinosaur egg race ( I made dino eggs from paper mache) and 3- Boo’s balloon pop ( kids tie a white balloon on ankle, run around trying to pop the others while protecting their own.). We also had a traveling candy shop table ran by my daughter dressed up as Daisy. The kids spent the gold coins they got from mini games on the candy. We also had Peach’s prize palace- under the gazebo where kids ate cake and ice cream and then picked up their party goody bags.

They finally earned all 3 gold stars and we let Justin dressed as Mario go and rescue Peach. It was so cute !!!!! Mario untied Peach . Peach exclaimed, “ Mario, my hero “ . Mario gave Peach a big hug .

All the kids cheered.

I did feel sorta bad about one thing. I had downloaded all this Mario music and I forgot to turn on the cd player.

Justin did tell me that it was the best birthday party ever and that he loved his cake.

He even said that I could make his birthday cake every year. He also gave me a big hug and kiss and told me that I was the best mom in the whole world. That comment certainly made all my efforts worth it.

Truthfully I had as much fun as the kids.

It's great to be 38 !

Well yesterday was my birthday and now I am 38. Wow I remember thinking when I was a kid that 30 was so old. I remember when my mom turned thirty and I thought that I would never be that old. So now as I reach almost 40 I don't think that it is old at all.
I had a great day. I went to lunch with my parents at Hug-Hes cafe and it was delicious as always. It was fun to be able to spend some time with them and visit. Eric took me to dinner to ABC mandarin my favorite Chinese place to eat. YUMMY and Amy watched my kids so I could go with Eric and not worry if they were fighting. I got lots of calls from family and friends, it felt good to be remembered. My little brother Jeremy in Alaska even gave me a call, I was able to talk to him for a long time. It was good cuz I miss them a lot.

Jensen Park with Haney Cardall Family

Back to School

Well school is back in session. Kids going to bed early, and getting up early. It's nice to get back to a routine. I am feeling pretty old this year. I have a sixth grader and a kindergartner. Both Nicole and Justin are loving school.

Summer Fun 2008

I can't believe that school is starting already. This summer has been so busy. We have had lots of fun. Nicole played softball and Justin played coach pitch baseball. We were busy doing many things. Going to the Drive In movies, Liberty park, swimming, and going camping were some of our favorite activities.

This is Nicole at the splash park in South Ogden.
Justin drying off.
Justin on the carousel at Liberty Park.
Nicole and Jack camping at Willow flats.
Beautiful Willow Flats.