Labor Day!

How was your Labor Day? Mine seemed to be a pure "labor" day! :) Tom and I both went running this morning. Then I did four loads of laundry, mopped the kitchen floor, organized some kitchen stuff, ran some errands, paid some bills, then went and swam the lake course I will be swimming in the sprint tri. Who said Labor Day was a holiday?! I guess better luck next year! :) (We did have a fun, busy weekend, so I guess that will have to do.)
Speaking of the tri, I'm a bit worried!!! I'm surely not ready! There were some serious competitors out there practicing tonight. Good thing my goal is only to finish! :)
I was hoping to get some posts about our July and Sam's exciting days, but guess that will be for another day. Seems life is a bit busy these days. I'm sure you all know how that feels! :)
Hope you had a great holiday!

Last Bit of Summer!

Well, after getting back from our big trips, I realized there were a couple things on my summer list we hadn't done yet. First, it was getting together with friends at the ward park day. However, this time we went to the zoo instead. We had a great time, but no pictures because I forgot my camera! :) It was super hot, but it was a discount day so we went. We even got to eat $2 hotdogs for lunch and the kids thought that was great. I was completely worn out at the end of the day with the heat and pushing different kids in the stroller. Tom keeps wanting to get rid of the stroller, but I can't part with it yet---it really comes in handy at times.
Then, since the kids had so much fun with one of the families that went, we had a play date the next day with them. The kids had a blast playing and running all over in the house and playing with the water rocket outside. (by the way, the water rocket is well worth the money--about $15 from Walmart I think) We have had it for a couple of years now and it hasn't broken yet! Maybe a miracle?! :)
Then we had a fun time over the weekend playing and hanging out with the neighbors and going to the pool and watching the start of the Olympics. And, on Sunday I saw a friend of ours from the other ward and she told me that there were still berries to pick. I was so excited! I thought we were too late for the blueberries. So, since the farm isn't open on Sunday and Monday, we met our friends at the farm on Tuesday, just about 1/2 hour away in Missouri. The drive is so fun because it is in the country a bit and so the farms and houses and landscape are neat to see. We picked some blackberries first. Then we picked some blueberries. After the picking was done, or lets say after the kids were done picking, they headed to the kids play area. They got to go in the little store and get a pop and ride the little train. We had a great time. That night we picked up grandma and grandpa. So the next morning we had to make them blueberry pancakes with our freshly picked berries. ooh they are yummy! And, I made my first blackberry pie and it tasted awesome! (The best part is that it was super easy!)
With grandma and grandpa here, we decided to take them down to Crown Center Plaza and to the Halmark Visitor's Center. Halmark is headquartered here and they have a great little place right next to the big mall. The kids enjoyed Kalidescope, which is a kids creative center that Halmark has and it is FREE! They use all their scraps and let the kids just create. The kindergarten kids here usually go for one of their fieldtrips. It is decorated really neat and so fun for the kids to paint, tape, color, and create. Then, we went to check out the fountains. Luckily I had remembered to bring an extra pair of clothes for the kids --- they loved it!
Well, that is a tid bit of our latest happenings and here are some pictures from these last summer events we were able to fit in before school started! :(

More catching up soon! :)

Well, we're back!

Ok, we are back and unpacked!! FINALLY!! It has taken a while to post because since we have been home we have been getting ready for school to start and getting things ready for Sam's baptism. We had a crazy, fun July that went by quick!! I will try to post about our July later. Basically we went on our BIG vacations of the year and had 3 birthdays.
I think another reason I can't find a moment to post is because right now is one of my favorite times!! The Olympics!!!! Wow--are those athletes amazing or what! I can't figure out how they can push themselves so much and have so much control over their body. I can't image the self control and motivation they have. I wish I had1/10 what they must have! Life would be a lot easier. :) Also, I have been so amazed because I have signed up for a SPRINT triathlon that I still wonder why I signed up and how I am going to finish it. Of course I don't plan on placing or anything of the like-----my goal is to finish without dying! :) We'll see how things go. I am very nervous because I haven't trained like I should have because we have been so busy playing this summer. I figure that if nothing else, this will be a trial run and I can train better for the next one---if I feel I can ever do another. :)

I've been tagged!

Ok, so Friday evening, after a very long week and couple hours of taking down cub scout camp, I was catching up on some blogs and I found that my cousin Jill, (Forsgren Family), tagged me. This is my first tag---that I know about. :) I wasn't so sure about doing this one, because I wasn't so sure as to the cleanliness of the home since it had been such a long week and I had been doing some painting. But, I guess I am going ahead with it! This is a picture tag and you are supposed to take the pictures right away---just as the things are when you found them--no cleaning, etc. (I took all the pictures Friday, just haven't posted until now)

#1 Post a picture of your kitchen sink as it looks this very moment.

Pretty good, ay?! You definitely caught me on a good day!

#2 Post a picture of your toilet.


I chose Shelby's because hers is the least used by the boys in our family. :) And, wouldn't you know it--it hadn't been flushed. I guess this is a case of "if it's yellow, let it mellow". (it is a mystery as to why it had something in it with the seat down and no toilet paper??!!)Mmmm.....

#3 Post a picture of your laundry room.

Luckily I had put away some of the clean clothes that morning. It's a bit small, but works for us because it is on the bedroom level, and just across from the guest bedroom. There are a lot of shelves which I love. So, if it starts to get full--there is always the guest bed to throw the clean laundry until it can get folded.:) Speaking of guests--we'd love to have some. (hint,hint-wink,wink)


#4 Post a picture of the inside of your fridge.

Can I just say that I love my fridge! We tried a side-by-side, but it drove us crazy! So we sold it on Craig's list, and found this one in the "scratch and dent" section. We got a smokin' hot deal. :)

#5 Post a picture of what your kids/husband are doing right now.



Just playing outside and having a popsicle to help with the heat!
#6 Show us your favorite shoes.


These are my favorite "functional" shoes. They are great for the summer and easy to slip on to get somewhere quick. They can be washed easily, etc. Flip flops aren't always so comfortable for me, so these have been great.

#7 Show us your favorite room in your house.

This room is at the back of our house, and is entered from the kitchen. It is supposed to be the dining room, but we aren't really "dining room" people. So, it houses our computers, books, and kids TV with the Wii. We have all liked this room and I think we would build this very type of room if we were ever to build. It is perfect because the kids can feel that you are right there by them, but they aren't constantly under your feet. :)

#8 Show us your closet.

Well I couldn't really take a good picture of this, which is good. It is a disaster, and needs to be cleaned out so badly. I am hoping that this fall I can get to it.?? I just had the "closet" discussion with one of my sisters yesterday. She had a great plan. She went through everything and put what she thought needed to go (hers and her husbands)in bags, and put them in the basement storage. Then if they don't get asked about after a while, then she can get rid of the bags. :)

#9 What is your dream vacation?
Wow! I have so many! Cancun-Mexico-ruins, Europe-all over!, Florida, Hawaii--Tonga(to take Sam!), Disney Cruise with the kids--to see their fun!, another CA--Holbrook fix, Oregon, Northern CA to show my kids where I grew up and where I camped, Calgary stampede-Bamf sp?, Niagara Falls, another NY trip, Grand Canyon with the kids, Seattle Ferry to Canada-tulip fields, Water skiing and such trip, etc. I think I could go on forever! I love to go!--anywhere pretty much--:)

#10 Self portrait as you look right now!


This was pretty funny and pretty hard to do. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. I had some good laughs!

Okay, I now tag.......Wendy, Cindy, Shay, Jenny, Kami, Holly, Stacie, Jackie---And whoever else wants to give it a try! :) Have fun!

Summer!---Fun, Fun, Fun!

Ok, here goes another long post! Hopefully I can get caught up tonight! (that's my goal anyway) :)
We have had just a busy and fun summer! The first week of June we were able to go with Tom down to Dallas. He had to work down there so we just added a couple days before and after that to have a little vacation with family. We stayed at Tom's brother's. And, Tom's sister and her family from Utah met us there as well. It was a packed house, but we had a fun time. It was loud and crazy and so much laughing. The kids had a great time playing with cousins and we adults had fun times just hanging out and talking and playing cards and such. There is never a lack of laughter when you get around the Gatherum family! That is for sure! It was fun for me to see how the little cousins just idolized Cameron, the oldest cousin. He just graduated from high school and is pretty cool! :) He was really cute with the kids---fixing their "mohawks" each day with his special hair glue and letting them hang all over him. It was also fun to watch him and Rachelle. (his mom) They have such a great relationship and are so funny together teasing and such! You'll see how silly they are in my pictures. I hope I can have that kind of open, fun, and loving relationship with my boys.
One of the highlights of the vacation was watching cousin Kole get his long awaited mohawk. Julie had told him he could grow his how out until we came and then she would give him a mohawk and let him keep it for 4 days. He was the hit wherever we went. He sure thought it was pretty cool! Especially with Cameron's "glue"! Oh, and another highlight was watching Kole learn how to ride a 2-wheeler. We brought Matt's little bike with us to help Kole and he got it fast. He was pretty cute and proud of himself. All the kids played outside more than I thought they would. They rode scooters and bikes, played basketball, jumped on the tramp. (even in the hard rain)
I think the favorite activity for most of the kids was Uncle Troy taking everyone fishing. This is one of the main things my kids look forward to when we go visit them in Dallas. Just about everyone caught a fish. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures because I was lucky enough to not have to go out in the heat and terrible humidity! :) The other favorite---for the girls at least---was going to the American Girl Store. We had a blast! I kind of had to close my eyes and take the plunge! Crazy!-but I only have one girl-plus, it was a lot of fun and we had some super happy girls! Shelby was in heaven and had a hard time choosing an outfit for her new doll. It was hard for her to part with her money--just like me, but she did it! :) Shelby and cousin Natalie had a great time playing with their dolls together. One day when it rained, we caught the new "Kung Fu Panda" movie. We also got to go the the Sixth Floor Museum. (JFK shooting) That was pretty interesting. And, we all got to go to Six Flaggs together. Sam was so happy because he is now tall enough to go on all the "big" rides. Sam sure thought he was pretty cool hanging with the older cousins and dads! Tom said that he did great! It was so blasted hot and muggy, but we all had a great time anyway. It is just kind of gross that you just stand there and sweat! That is how it is here too. Yuck!!!
Last week we really felt the heat and humidity as we were at Cub Scout Camp with Sam a couple of days. The Cub Scout camp was all day, all week long. The heat and humidity just zaps you here and being out in it all day really wore Sam out! He had such a great time though. The theme was Spy camp, which is right up his alley. He and his friends love to spy on the girls in the neighborhood. :) At camp each day they had water fights at lunch and at the end of the day. I think this was his favorite part because he came home completely soaked every day. :) And, we were all lucky enough not to have found any ticks! They are really heavy here, especially out where the camp is.
Also last week, Shelby got to go to a soccer camp. She had a blast too! This camp was 3 hours a day and it was Christian sponsored, and so they started and ended the day with prayer and at break time they had a little bible story time. Shelby came home hot and exhausted, but full of words to tell us about what she had learned that day. Tom and I were very impressed with the soccer camp not only because the Christian theme, but she also got a shirt, ball, water bottle, and lunch the last day. Wow! And it was half the price of the other camps around! I think I will definitely remember this for next Summer! :)
Poor Matt was a little bored all week without his buddy Sam. But, it was fun to see he and Shelby play together since they don't play as much,(just the two of them), as he and Sam do. Shelby was making it a fun time. They had forts and "house" set up in the family room. Matt has really been into having a fort set up in the family room and watching TV from inside it. Pretty cute! The most exciting thing that has happened in his life is that he finally got to start T-ball this month. He is playing with his good friend Sam. He is so happy to finally be on a team and have his turn. And, he is pretty good! (if I do say so myself-not biased):) His birthday is tomorrow and he is soooo excited! We are hopefully going to have a water baseball party. I say hopefully because we are having a severe thunderstorm right now. They are pretty exciting! (scary!) The lightning and thunder are so intense!!! And the whole tornado possibilities are not fun! Our little weather radio has been going off all night long! Got to love living in the Midwest!!! :)
Well, other than the above, we have had a fun time swimming in our neighborhood pool pretty much every day! I don't love getting in a swim suit, but oh well, the kids have a great time and love to go swimming. We can't do too much outside in the afternoons here, other than swim. So, it is real handy to have the neighborhood pool and a great way to kill a couple of hours! :) We have also spent some time doing the things that we, as adults, all did as we were growing up. We have had some fun softball games in the field, and basketball games on our driveway, playing in the sprinklers, and spent lots of time at the creek just up the street a ways. The kids have just really liked biking up to the creek and looking for frogs and turtles. They have even caught a few. It has been fun doing these things. It has brought a lot of memories back for me. Isn't it interesting that the TV and video games have kind of taken over the "good 'ol fun". Kind of sad.
Anyways, I guess this is all why I have been too tired at night to sit and post. But, I will try to be a bit better---however, we are heading into the long vacation. So, we'll see! :) I hope all of you are having a great summer too!

Happy Birthday to me! :)

So, I haven't taken the time to blog lately and now I am behind! I think this is one of the reasons I never could get into scrapbooking! :) So Shay, here you go!:)
Well, it's my birthday!! My big 40! Scary and interesting! I have loved having a Summer birthday and I have loved having it around the 4th. For a lot of years while we were still living in Utah, my whole family would get together at the park/school and play softball and frisbee and we would just have a great time. I sure miss those times, but I will get to do some fun things with them soon! Since it is a monumental year, I have been wanting to have a fun and exciting year. And so far, other than my dad's passing, it has been pretty good! And, it is going to get even better. We have had a great summer so far. And, in about a week I will be driving the kids to Utah and spending some time there while Tom is working here and wherever. :) Then,...my birthday present! (and Tom's and our anniversary and mother's day and father's day and Christmas!) I am leaving the kids in Utah and Tom and I are heading to Costa Rica! (did you catch-without kids!) It's ok to be jealous---your time will come. :) Tom has always wanted to take me there and "show me his mission". I can't believe it is actually going to happen. Eight years ago we were starting to plan our trip for May for the temple dedication. We had the money saved, but for some reason we just didn't feel good about going. Mmm.... The Lord knew why we shouldn't go and let us know! We found out the end of May that we were chosen to adopt a boy to be born in August! (Sam) Funny how things work out! :) So glad we had the money to adopt the "Amazing Sam!" :) Our life should would not have been complete without him and the whole adoption process. What a wonderful experience it has been for us and those around us.
Anyway---so today my birthday started in St. Louis, MO. We left yesterday morning and got there in the afternoon. (4 hour drive) We dropped off Tom at the temple ("our temple") so he could get in a session. (it's hard to find the time to go when you live so far away---but no excuse!) One of Tom's employee's picked him up from the temple and he had to work while we headed to Six Flaggs. We love Six Flaggs---or should I say our kids love Six Flaggs. Ever since we have lived in CO, we have had season passes. Tom and I love watching the kids ride the rides. Their faces and smiles are priceless! So, we rode some rides and then spent some time at the water park. We had a great time. Then we went to dinner---well we tried to go to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack--and after we were seated, no one came to take our order. So, we waited a while, then asked the hostess, and then waited another while. We finally decided, after 20 minutes of waiting, to leave and go to IHOP! Sam was excited because that was his 1st choice anyway. Frustrating! But, we got great service at IHOP and all had full tummies. Then, my birthing morning started with a bike ride in the hotel fitness center, then the yummy hotel breakfast, then swimming with the kids while Tom was working. Then we headed back home in time to go to Sam's Club to get Matt's birthday cake for tomorrow, and for Shelby and me to hook up with our friends to go see the American Girl movie---Kit Kittridge! We have been talking about it for a while now, especially since we got to go to the American Girl Store in Dallas last month and because it was opening on my birthday. While driving to the movie, the 3 girls decided to sit in the back of the van and buckled up their dolls in the middle seat. So cute! My friend Amy and I thought it was pretty funny, so I had to take a picture! (good thing I had it in my purse from our little vacation!) So fun for the girls to bring their dolls to the movie! It was pretty much a mom and daughter/doll audience. It was a fun time, with great company and such a great movie. The movie isn't just for girls/kids. I really got some good messages from the movie and I even cried. (not hard for someone who can get emotional quick) One line that stuck with me was "don't let it beat you". I think this went along with something I have been thinking a lot about lately. In my YW lessons for the last two weeks, I talked about opposition and trials. The handout I made had a picture of a door with a keyhole and a door knob. And while I was preparing this lesson, I was reminded of my miscarriage. I remember laying on the emergency room hospital bed just crying because I had just found out that I was going to miscarry. I remember Tom, as heartbroken as I was, looking at me and telling me to not look at this through the keyhole of a door. And to remember that this was part of a bigger picture. I needed to have faith to "turn the knob" and then I would "see" the blessings that would be mine.(the whole picture) And, I have to say, that I do have a "beautiful picture!" I am so blessed to be with the little family that I have and to have the extended family and friends that I have. I know the Lord blesses me everyday. I know that he knows me and you and our needs. But, I also know that we need to have trials and such to help us grow and learn and become closer to him. So, I hope that I can remember to try and have the faith to "turn the knob" and not just look through the "keyhole". (it sure is hard sometimes, isn't it?!) :)

Memorial Day in Kearney, NE?---BFF

Yep! That's right! We spent a great Memorial Day Weekend in Kearney, NE---the middle of nowhere! :) But, this was a halfway point for our friends from Colorado, the Davis and Lewis families, and us to meet up for some fun. And fun we had! The kids had a great time swimming in the hotel swimming pool, of course, and the dads were great sports to get in with them and have some fun throwing them around. I think we over-powered the pool with our 10 kids! :) We then found an amazing fun park that had two playgrounds with a water feature area in between, paddle boats, look out tower (over 100 steps!), maze, and garden area. We laughed pretty hard while on the boats because there was a real swan that kept trying to bite at our boats or us. They also had a stage, and so the girls did a little "American Idol"--and the judges were--Sam--Randy, Hailey--Paula, and Zac--Simon. I sure wish we had a great park like that here. We also found the local Fun Center. The kids chose the fun play area with foam balls to shoot and the go-carts. I'm sure glad they picked the go-carts! We had a blast driving those. Everyone got a ride and then the moms and Dave all got to go together and we got a little extra long ride because the attendant decided to get on the track and race us too! Some pretty good laughs! The other fun thing we did at the Fun Center was play the video game, "DEAL OR NO DEAL"! What a hoot! Tom started it off and got a ton of tickets, so that attracted the rest of us. We all had to try it. I think Sam was the big winner, then Wendy and I followed second. Some had great luck and some didn't. But, we all had a great time cheering each other on. While we were all playing the "Deal or No Deal", Matt was spending his tokens on a sure thing---Candy! He found a game that he played quite well and it spit out candy instead of tickets. He kept coming over to me to hold his loot. So cute! We also got to go to an original Cabela's and to see the animals and fish. At the hotel we had a good time chatting in the halls and the kids had a good time arm wrestling and eating treats! Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was so cute watching little Lilly and little Brett interact. They held hands and hugged, I don't know how many times. :) It was a little strange for Tom and I because when we lived in Colorado, we were the ones with the baby. Now it's reversed. Our three families did a lot together when we lived in Colorado and it is always so fun to get together and hang out. It is perfect that all the spouses get along. It doesn't really matter where we go together---we know we'll have some good times and some good laughs!

I have to say that I think Shelby and Kelsey might have had the most fun! They are so cute together! When we moved to Colorado, they became instant friends. We met them within the first day or so as we were walking home from the park, and they were on their corner selling hot chocolate. :) I remember how comforting it was right away to have another mormon family with kids just around the corner!(little did I know, there were about 6!)Shelby and Kelsey probably saw each other every day. I think Kelsey is one of those girls that fills the void of sisterhood for Shelby. Shelby even has Kelsey as part of her login to "Webkinz"! On the trip they just couldn't get enough of each other. They had to sit by each other at meals, ride next to each other in the car, hold hands, sleep by each other, etc. Precious! They are BFF! (I just couldn't resist putting together a little slide show of them--pictures from the trip and a few from the past.)

We made some good memories and had a great time, so thanks Davis' and Lewis' for making the drive! And thanks to Wendy for having the great idea and organizing it!! :) Until next time....