Yellow Card

Riverton Elementary has a fun way of tracking behavior. If the kids are good, they get to take a "green card" home. Next comes the "yellow card." If you're having a really hard day you'll have to take a "red card" home to mom and dad....but the absolute worse is a "black card." Hopefully, we'll never have to deal with a red or black card!!! This is a funny conversation that my friend Jeri had with Kip after school the other day...she picked him up from school for me while I went to a meeting for work.

Jeri: "How was school boys?"

Parker (Kips "best pal") "Mom, Kip got a yellow card."

Kip "Ya, I've got to throw it away when we get to your house."

Jeri: "Kip, you should keep it to show your mom."

Kip: "But yellow cards are bad."
Jeri: "I know, that's why you should show your Mom."

Kip: "No, that's why I should throw it away right when we get to your house!"

Oh no! What is he thinking trying to hide stuff from me already!? Luckily he made the "right choice" and told me about his yellow card. Next time he gets one he better not be throwing it away!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Dan

We want to wish our Grandpa Dan a happy birthday!! We forget how old he is because once you turn 50, it doesn't matter how old you are. He doesn't know this, but my kids make fun of him all the time....Whenever they pull their pants up really high they say "Look! I'm Grandpa Dan." It makes us laugh every time they do it. Happy Birthday Grandpa...we love you.

Jackson Hole

Here it is! There have been quite a few people asking me when I was going to blog about our Jackson Hole trip. The problem was....I took my camera, made sure the battery was fully charged- but left my memory card in the laptop at home!!! So I made everybody take extra pictures for me, and I've just been waiting to get some. There is one that I haven't gotten yet that is absolutely HILARIOUS of Sier, so when I get my hands on it, it will be on here. For those of you who don't know, Marks family goes to a little camp ground that's between Star Valley and Jackson Hole to run the Snake River every year. We have been doing this since Mark and I have been dating, and I think we've only missed one year. Thank you for Dan and Gaylene who put in lots of hard work and time to make it possible. Just to recap what happened for all y'all- We make two river runs a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Both of our kids went with us the first time, but only Kip went with us the second, and only the second because- we flipped the boat! It was pretty scary for him being in the cold, fast river. I don't know how I managed to keep a hold of him the whole time, luckily the worst thing is is that he lost one of his shoes!! They weren't just any shoes, it was only his second time wearing them, and they were $35.00! He was so concerned about his stupid shoe, that he couldn't focus on anything else. I felt so bad for him because he just wanted his shoe back. Luckily Mark found it on a trail head when we got off the River. Can you believe it? Somebody was able to get it out of the water, and leave it where we NEVER walk but for some reason Mark was walking on that trail! When he gave it to Kip, he had a complete melt down...all of the fear, anxiety, and emotion finally came out! So, that is the exciting River Trip for 2008....we never made it into Jackson Hole...maybe next year. Maybe next year we'll see a bear too!

Jera

This is dedicated to my great sister-in-law, friend, and partner in crime. If you haven't met Jera here's a little about her. I always think that she's just as tall as I am, but then whenever I'm around her and we both have no shoes on she's like a midget compared to me! She is pretty much up for anything....going to the skate park in the rain, going shopping in our grubbies, last minute movies, having ugly "mom" pants to wear four wheeling. She really is a fun person to be around. She is also one of my rocks. She is very giving, patient, and loving. One of the best words to describe her is Christlike. I have learned a lot from her over the past 8 years that she's been in my life- we didn't have the best start, but over the last few years we've really gotten to love and understand each other. There are lots of memories we share together like thinking we were going to have to sleep in the snow one time we went four wheeling in American Fork Canyon, and all the four wheelers got stuck! (I'm laughing out loud right now just thinking about it.) Or me making her fit a stupid little plastic slide in her little trunk that I bought at Fred Myers, and it was POURING rain outside. She's the best at talking me into buying stuff when I shouldn't. ( I really hope Mark isn't reading this!) And she's always a good listener if you can ever get her to shut up! Here are a few fun pictures of her, just to embarrass her a little bit.

It's FUN to be ONE

This is Alex's little sister Brooklyn. She is one of the happiest babies I have ever known!!! You can take her anywhere and she's fine to sit in her stroller. Whenever you walk into a room where she is a huge smile comes across her face- it's hard not to be happy when she's with you. I have to admit, sometimes I forget when she's around because she is so good!! I love you Brooklyn, one day soon you're going to be saying my name. I LOVE YOU BROOKIE

Happy Birthday Alex!!!

Today is my niece Alex's 3rd birthday! There are so many reasons why I love her!

She wakes up with her shoes ON.

She can paint her own toe nails.

She's the only person who LOVES my car!

She opens my car door for me everytime I'm going to leave her house.

She loves the color pink.

When she's in trouble, she pretends like she's asleep.

She is very shy, but once she lets you in she is your best friend.

She loves to get her hair done.

She's the youngest girl I know who's had extensions. (okay, only 3 of them because they were pink.)

Happy Birthday Alex- We love you.

KINDERGARTEN!!!

Kips first day of Kindergarten is finally here. I don't know who was more nervous....him or me? He has been so excited for months now to start. After two years of preschool it was finally time. He felt prepared, and was excited to meet his teacher, Mrs. Winegar, yesterday. It made me feel confident for him because he knows his letters, numbers, and a few words. It's great when we ask him how to spell things like "Mark" he will spell it "MRK". That's just how it sounds!!! He is a pretty smart kid, who...for the time being, likes to learn and asks a lot of questions. I feel really bad, because he is finally getting to the point where he has homework...BLAH!!! I was never good at it when I was in school, poor kid, hopefully he'll enjoy school and realize how important it is to get a good education. I LOVE YOU KIP!!!

Parker, Gage,One of Parker's neighbors, Kip

Kip wanted an Iron Man backpack soooo bad. When we went shopping to get a backpack I asked him where he wanted to go, and he said..."Mom, lets go to Target so I can find the coolest Iron Man backpack!!" I didn't know how to reply...my mind was going wild with ideas how not to let him get one...I know..."What's the harm?" your all thinking- right? Well, you see, If I let him get an Iron Man backpack, then it's Ninja Turtle shoes, Power Ranger shirts, Star Wars shorts...etc, etc.... So I just coolly replied "Kip, lets stop at Ross and see what kind of backpacks they have there, okay?" And that was it. We went in the store, and for $6.99 we found the COOLEST backpack with dragons and flames on it! All the other moms were jealous!
We are all so excited for Kip to start Kindergarten, we made a family event out of it. Kip was so excited to have Mark there with us..... We love him so much, and want him to know that all of his family loves him.
Sier was excited to take Kip to school. Now he can't wait to start school with "MissMiss Amy" I wonder what I'll do with my time when they're both gone....wait, I've already signed up to be a helper in Kips class!! Do I really want a baby???....I'm having trouble really deciding.
Jeri and I really didn't expect Kip and Parker to share EVERY event in there life, poor kids. They are only 3 weeks apart and they have been "best buds" since day one. It is nice to know they have each other. When they want a friend to play with, and neither Jeri or I are in the mood to watch some body's kid we tell them, "Call Parker" or "call Kip". Hopefully their friendship continues to grow!!
Casey on his first day of Kindergarten!!! Our nephew Casey started Kindergarten today too. He isn't in Kips class, but they will have recess together and share the same school. He was really excited when I found him! He was really nervous, because he didn't quite know what to do when the bell rang, just like all the other kids. I'm glad we found him to give him a warm goodbye before he had to walk through those big school doors with his class!!

Rock, paper, scissors

For years now, Mark & I have been playing this game.....who has to change a diaper, take out the garbage, run to the store, mow the lawn, etc...etc...! Sometimes we even play in groups, whoever wins gets to pick the game or movie. Our kids have even started playing this game...Kip is finally starting to figure it out, although it's hard for him to throw on the right count...his tongue definitely comes in handy when he has to concentrate on things. I found this on some body's blog and thought it was hilarious, although not completely accurate.....What are you? Rock, paper, or scissors???

You Are Paper

Crafty and creative, you are able to adapt freely to almost any situation. People tend to underestimate you, unless they've truly seen what you are capable of. Deep down, you're always scheming and thinking up new plans. Your mind is constantly active. You are quite capable of anything you dream of. You can always figure out a way to get what you want. You can wrap a rock person up in your sheet of trickery. A scissor person can sneak up and cut you to pieces. When you fight: No one can anticipate your next move If someone makes you mad: You'll attack them mercilessly when they're unprepared

Are You Rock, Paper, or Scissors?

Skate Park

Braxton & Nicole
Braxton Giles
Braxton Bearden
Kip
Makade
Sier
Rhyen & Sier
Sier, Addie, Faith, Alex, Rhyen
Braxton Giles
Brooklynn & Presley
When we were little the cool thing was the Riverton Pool, and Marv Jensen. Now we have splash parks and skate parks.
My kids LOVE the skate park. Yesterday Beckie, Jera, Cami and I decided to take the kids there. I had Braxton, Rhyen & Presley with me, so thanks to everybody who helped with them. It was a lot of fun to watch all the amazing things that the older kids can do....I don't know what I'll do when I see my kids trying some of those things- ahhh!
Next time it's off to the skate park in Park City...It looks amazing, and Kip talks about it everyday. Thank the Lord for Helmets!

Yuba

When I look back on the fun times that I've had in my life, most of them involve a boat and a lake. My little family has such a fun time when we put the both of those together.....the kids love to play in the sand and on the tubes, and Mark and I love to just be there with them. Kip and Sier are so great because they are always up for a boat ride and don't complain when we've been on it for hours on end! Sier just usually climbs underneith the drivers chair and falls asleep, and Kip could sit in the bow of the boat all day long if you let him.
Mark has great parents who took us out for the day. We weren't the only ones who got to go though....Joni & Kary with their kids were there, Kurt & Jesse got there pretty late in the afternoon, Steven came to hang out, and our friends Ashley & Dave came with us too.
Ashley and I were able to keep Sier on the tube...which he really wasn't sure about, but I'm pretty sure he liked it. Their daughter Rhyen got on the tube as well. I think the kids had a hard time getting on the tube because they saw Mark give Ashley and me a really good ride, and that probably scared them just a LITTLE bit. Kip skied again, and that gave our nephew Kayden motivation he needed to finally give it a try. He did great, he can get the ski's on by himself, get started by himself, and get back to the boat by himself. Kayden did awesome!!! Dave got up on one ski too!!! He was pretty excited, and so were we. Ashley gave my ski a good try.....next time I know she'll beable to get up!
The fun ended on the last run of the night, which we didn't know would be the last run! A HUGE wind storm came in! I'm not talking about the usual Yuba wind, it was AMAZING. There were canopies and tarps breaking, tubes and boogie boards flying away in the wind, a beached boat was half way sunk. Kip was terrified! He hates wind and storms and when we got back to the beach he was on the brink of a complete meltdown, so I got him in the truck, out of the wind. He did save Marks favorite hat from blowing away! What an adventure- the waves were just like the ocean....and 30 minutes before I was yelling at Mark to take me out because the water was soo smooth! We had to waite to load the boat until the water died down a little bit, wich was quite a while. When they were finally able too, Mark got the truck stuck up to his axels-Way to go Mark!
Thanks Phisters for letting us enjoy your boat, and inviting us to go with you. We have made so many fun memories because of you willingness to share your boat with us!! I'm sure glad you got it.