Last Day of School - 2010

Too cool for the last day of school!

I took the day off of work so I could enjoy the boys for their last day of school. I remember as a kid the last day of school was the best day ever!

I met some friends up near work to eat lunch. We ate at Wingnuts. It ended up being a big hit for the boys. A new favorite! The great thing about the place is that it is pretty healthy.... no fried stuff. Everything is baked. It was delicious!

We all got a sweet treat at the Sweet Tooth Fairy! I think the boys liked this part of the day best of all.

I actually didn't have Ikea on the days plan, but when I mentioned something about needed to stop and get something the boys were excited! I am glad they love Ikea as much as I do. There are so many cool things to look at.

We took a quick swim at The Legacy Center. Gman had just hurt his foot. That is the best smile I could have him muster for the photo. He hit his leg on the slide and was fine after a few minutes. It left a nasty bruise.... which matched the other 6 bruises he has on his legs.... BOYS!

You might be wondering where Conner was all day long.

He was offering his services to a scout project he had commited too. There was a scout auction a few weeks ago were Conner donated 4 hours of weeding. His bid came in at $40. He figured he better pay up before he left for this Dad's for the month of June. What a great kid! I was told he did a fabulous job and worked hard. We sure did miss him.

As we all gathered at home around 3:30 I received word that my Grandma Dean had passed away a few minutes earlier. We all knew she was sick but the words still came as a jolt. Stockton said, "What a wierd feeling day. We had so much fun and all the sudden it feels kinda sad. I guess that is how life is sometimes. Sad things help me like my happy times even more. I will miss Grandma Great."

I will miss her too.

Graduation 1994

1994

It's Graduation time. I figured I would post a graduation picture of me. YICKS!! Garrett saw this picture and his exact words were "Mom, you look WAY better now!" I would have to agree.

This was graduation night. My friends and I stayed up until 4:30 am. We had a blast!! I had the greatest friends in High School. Jen Bagby, Shatie Kenney, and Becki Conrad. The guy in the middle was Mark Steinagel. I loved High School. I wouldn't want to go back but I think I did it just the way I would have wanted too.

Lee Wins... I Win!

My favorite show has come to a close. And WOW.... what a great season it was!

Lee stole my heart when he busted out mid season with "Beast of Burden" ... I have been a fan ever since. He has a raspy, Bruce Springsteen voice that is incredible to listen to. He is my favorite contestant to date.... yes, even beating out David Archuleta.

The thing was, this season there were several amazing people. Crystal Bowersox was also an incredible singer! She amazed me from the beginning. While she does have an incredible set of pipes, her music style just isn't my favorite music style. She was entertaining and beautiful throughout and I enjoyed seeing what she would do each week.

I have to post a picture of pretty little Casey. Yes, he is good to look at, especially his cowboy boots.... along with the good looks is an extremely talented guy. He plays my kind of music too. Casey was the third place winner this year, but well deserved in being in the top. I can't wait to see what he does next!

Yeah... Lee won and I won too. I had a side bet going on and took home the winnings! SWEET!

It was a great season! Probably my favorite one so far!

My Day at School

I got a special treat from the boy's school!

Zander's class had a little celebration. They sang songs and showed their art work for others to see. It was a super cute day!

Mrs. Reiber was Zander's teacher this past year in Kindergarten. She was fabulous!!

Garrett's grade had Moms and Muffins at school. I was thrilled I was able to go. Garrett surprised me with sweet little poem. He had the longest speaking part in the program. I was bummed I didn't bring my video camera. This picture will have to mark the event. He did such a great job. His smile at the end of the reading was priceless.

... yes, I cried. It was very special.

We ate muffins, played games and Gman gave me the awesome paper flower he had made. I had the best day!!

Peace Offering

Stocks and Me got into a little tiff last week. I know I have posted about his tender heart before but I have to share his niceness.

I had to leave for a little while after we talked. I left frustrated with myself as a mother. I often feel like I don't do the right things with my kids. I was feeling horrible.

But when I came back I found this little note.....

... and two special banana shakes. They even had a little cherry on top.

Stockton is such a peace maker. He is thoughtful and sincere. I wish I were more like him!

Grandma Great!

I love this lady!

We went up to see Grandma for Mother's Day this year. She was in good spirits. The happiest I have seen her in a long time.

We all had a fabulous visit!

Friday Flash

Joel and Kristy

2001

This past week was Joel's birthday! I wanted to find just the right picture of Joel. He was such a handsome young man. While rummaging around in my photo's I came upon this one. To me, this just says it all. I can barely remember Joel without Kristy. I remember this day well. They were sealed in the temple. It was a beautiful day!!

Happy Birthday Joel

Some Days are Hard Days

Today.... a hard day.

Why?

Time makes things better.... sometimes.

Perfect. Remarkable. Beautiful.

My Jaydee Baby

She was mine.

Eleven years ago today marks the day of Jayden's death. Some anniversary's have been easier for me, but this year.... not so much.

I feel a great sadness today. A great loss.... empty.

I read the autopsy report and a few words suck out to me.

Normal. Remarkable.

She was healthy. She did not have any signs of any sickness. Several times in the report her various body parts were listed as remarkable.

So why? Why did she have to die?

I know a lot of people have days like I did eleven years ago. Lots of people can pin point the worst day of their life. I wish I didn't have that day.

I play that day over and over in my mind.

Had I only checked on her before I laid down with Conner to take a nap.
Why didn't I comfort her instead of letting her cry herself to sleep?

I wish.... I wish.... I wish so many things happened different that day.

I see little girls who are about 11 years old. The ones that really stick out are the ones with red hair. Sometimes I see a little girl with a stubby nose and wonder if Jayden would have looked like her.

I look at my own boys and wonder if she would be like them. Would she be smart? Maybe she would be stubborn. Maybe she would be talented with the piano or play basketball with her brothers. What would her voice sound like? Even her smell.... yes, I wonder what she would have smelled like. Would she keep her room clean or would I get after her because she liked things messy? Would she be responsible or carefree? What would her laugh sound like?

I wish I knew.

And today I am sad because I didn't get to know her now.

I look forward to the day when I get to be with her again.

Someday seems so far away!

I miss you! I love you!!

Flashback to 1981

~1981~

I was at my parent's house this past week for Mother's Day. I love my mom to death!! It was fun to spend some time with her this past weekend.

While I was at the house I found this picture. Ta-Dah! What a great looking family. Did you ever wonder what color my dad's hair was before it was gray? My mom doesn't look much different.... I hope I age as well as she has. Check out me and my sisters crochet dresses. My Grandma Ruth made those all for us. I believe I am about 6 or 7 at this time. Crazy to think that is what I looked like at Zander's age.

Good times!

Third Wife.....

I can't believe I had the chance to go to California AGAIN. Yeah!!

My job is so incredibly awesome most of the time. We had our team meeting in Los Angeles this year! Niel had some clients he needed to visit too, so we made the best of our weekend.

My most favorite thing we did over the weekend was attend the Jazz/Lakers Playoff game.

INCREDIBLE! ... and a little comical-crazy too.

The Jazz actually played really well. The game was close pretty much the entire time. The Jazz even pulled ahead in the 4th quarter. We were proud to be two of the few Jazz fans there.
The Laker Fans were not thrilled by our presence. The minute they figured out there were some cheering Jazz fans in their section (nose bleed seats), they starting razzing us. I was known as "Third Wife" the entire game. The not-so-intelligent Laker fan, who gave me my unoriginal Utah reference name, was extremely LOUD! He really brought a lot of attention to himself and to poor little Niel and myself. It's a good thing the guy was so wrong.... I am only Niel's 2nd wife.
Gosh... get it right loud-Laker-Fan Man!


Niel and I thought it was all funny. "Utah Sucks" was about the only chant our section could come up with. It really was hard to not razz those Laker fans back. I SO wanted to put them in their place.... and I almost did, for the 2 minutes the Jazz were ahead.

Unfortunately, the Jazz ended up losing. But still.... they played great. It was an unforgetable experience and even better that I got to share the entire event with Niel. He made it all the more fun!

I had never been to Hollywood before. Brittany spent the day with us. It was neat to really be there and see the stars. We spent most of our visit trying to scout out some stars we actually knew.

I don't think you will ever see more fine looking women hooking arms with Samuel L. Jackson!

My all time favorite actor has his hand and feet prints at Grauman's Chinese Theater. I love Sean Connerly. Have you ever wondered where Conner got his name? I will thrilled to compare feet with him.

Niel found one of his all time favorite famous people. Harrison Ford!

Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman inspired this Rodeo Drive visit. Kinda fun to see how the rich live and shop. Funny thing.... we didn't go into a single shop. I think we were afraid to see any price tags or fearful we might get kicked out of the stores. The cars that past by on the road were like out of movie. It was interesting to say the least.

Food!

One of my most favorite things about visiting other cities is the various different kinds of food places. Of all the places I have been this year, C & O Trattoria tops as my most favorite place.

Delicious!

I serious could have stayed there and eaten these tasty Garlic Rolls ALL NIGHT LONG. Yes, they were really that good. I highly recommend the place. We got to bask in the nice sun outside, near the ocean. Perfect!

The beach.

I have seen this beach several times this past couple months. It never gets old.

I love this picture. Niel is like a little kid. Splashing in the waves.... free.... fun! I wish we could just stay forever!

If you give your Mom...

If you give your Mom a flower...

She'll want a hug to go with it.

When you squeeze her so tight, it will make her hot,
So she'll want a Dr Pepper to cool off.

When you give your Mom a Dr. Pepper....

She'll want to sit down and watch TV.
So she'll turn on Modern Family

When she turns on Modern Family....

She will see the TV mom bossing all her kids around
So your mom will do the very same.
Pretty soon she'll get mad at you and you will cry and go to your room.

When you go to your room...

She'll calm down and feel bad.
Then she will go downstairs and into your room and give you a big hug.

And chances are....
if she gives you a hug,
She will want a flower to go with it.

Written by Stockton Quiring

Happy Mother's Day!!

Flashback .....

Megz

~1998~

What a cutie.... right?

I don't have many pictures of little Megan. I wish I did.... so this Flashback Friday is a special treat. If I had to guess what Megan was like at this age I would bet she was a complete angel. I mean really, look at that adorable face.

Megan turned 13 years old this past week. She is officially a real teenager. The great thing is.... Megan is still and angel AND an adorable, beautiful young woman.

Eight is Great!

Happy! Happy Birthday to Garrett!

~8 years old~

It is interesting, from the beginning of birth Gar has been ready to go. He was born 3 weeks early.... coming all on his own. Ready to face this world with a smile. I tell you.... that is one thing I think of often when I think of Garrett.... he has a contagious smile!!! He is an absolute joy in my life and one of my many blessings. Eight is a big year for him. He is excited to be baptized in a couple months!! He is growing up.... and way to fast.

Words others say describe Garrett:

Athletic - Happy - Fearless - Strong - Sports Lover

Awesome - Competitive - Organized - Speedy

Teachable - Confident - Helper

Photo Shoot

Rick got a new camera and some fun picture taking stuff. What a thrill for me when he asked me when he asked Conner and I to be his test subjects.

We had a blast!

I wasn't overly prepared to take pictures.... all in my chill out clothes, but still, it was fun.

I am usually the one taking the pictures so it was interesting to be have pictures taken of me.

.... and by the way, Conner isn't taller then me. We are the same height. He has shoes on and I don't, so he is just tricking everyone. I just had to point that out. He isn't taller than me.... at least not yet!