At the Farm

This past weekend we had Stake Conference. Because we get out at 12 on these Sundays we usually will go to the Farm for lunch and some fun family time.

Alison had promised Rylee that she could make a duct tape bag and she made good on that promise. She bought a couple of bags and some rolls of duct tape so that Rylee could have a fun craft to do. 

Ryker and Bailey have such a fun and close relationship. With all the girls these two have to be around all the time it is so nice for them that they have each other to hang out with. Although all of their sisters must be rubbing off on them because I caught them playing with some dollies. hahaha

A little while later we found these two wearing the farm jackets in a new and interesting way. I should have taken video because they were cracking me up. Especially when they were trying to do heel clicks. They were successfully heel clicking but then they would tumble immediately to the ground. I love these two boys and am so grateful for their friendship!

It was fun watching the girls with their Grandma. She was entertaining them with the music on her phone. 

Being at the Farm is always a fun time!

The Color Run!!

In February Sara and Trista called asking if Kenedy and I wanted to do the Color Run with them in August. I thought that sounded like fun and totally jumped on board. 

The night before the race Sara called and said her friend Maddie wasn't in town to run the race and would Avynlea want to do it. I knew she would want to but I did not want to pay the money to have Rylee do it too. If one did it the other would want to do it. So I asked Ryker if he was interested and he said he would do it. I thought he was a better choice since he is doing Cross Country right now. 

Sara, Whitney and Trista came by at 7:30 and we got to the race at 8:00. it started at 9:00 but we wanted to get there early so we could get good parking and also so we could start at the front. I had a Bridal Shower to get to at 11:00 and wanted to have enough time to shower when I got home. We took some before pictures and then headed over to the Starting area.

Avynlea and Rylee came along because they wanted to watch and since Sara's roommate Rebecca was there also as a spectator I had them come and stay with her. I had Avynlea hold onto my phone and when I got it back I found so many pictures she had taken. I went through and picked out the ones I was wanting to keep and discarded the rest.

This guy was in charge of the racers and was throwing out race swag. We tried to get him to throw something our way but no such luck. I guess there is a downside to being at the front, we get ignored for the swag throwing.

A unicorn came and Avynlea took some pictures of it. I am thinking it did not run the race and was there as a mascot because I never saw it again after that.

We talked about all of us sticking together since that is the fun way to race with people but when it became evident that some people wanted to do more walking then running I just ran on. I ended up running with Whitney and she was a fun one to be with. We talked and kept each other motivated. 

The girls walked down to the Pink area since that was the last color before the end and it was fun to run through and see them. They even let Rylee throw some chalk. I was worried about the dust and that it would be hard to breath or get in my eyes and cause problems but it was not a big deal. They make it so it does not irritate and I was totally fine going through all of them. 

Kenedy and Sara were right behind Whitney and I and Ryker stayed with Trista so she would not be alone. Once we finished we got a medal and kept being handed bags of chalk. At the end there is a big chalk throwing party with music and booths and lots of fun times I am sure. None of us wanted to stick around for that and so after we collected enough bags of chalk we went to get blown down and headed to the car.

The girls ended up getting chalk on them and I was really worried about it staining their clothes but then decided it was not a big deal and let it go. They had a lot of fun watching and being a part of some of it and that is what matters. Turns out the chalk washed out of everything, even the shirts. I was happy about that!

Ryker, for some reason, did not want chalk thrown at him and did his best to avoid it. Party Pooper!!

I had so much fun and am so glad that we did this. I am definitely doing it again next year. The chalk throwing and running with Whitney gave me such good distractions that I could not believe it when we were done. I thought that there was no way we ran three miles, it felt like less. But Sara tracked it and it was 3.1 miles. Awesome! Definitely will try to get more people involved for next time, the more the merrier!!

Cheer Season Has Started!

While in California Erin brought over her new curling iron for me to try. It was the coolest thing and made such awesome curls that I had her get one for me. I am loving the beautiful curls it makes in my hair!

Last night was the first JV Football game of the season. Kenedy and 3 other girls had to be dressed and present but had to sit on the sidelines during the game without cheering because of missing various cheer things during the summer. Kenedy missed cheer camp which was mandatory because she chose to go to California for a family reunion and be at her Aunts wedding, also girls camp conflicted with cheer camp. She made the right choose and it is really lame that she is punished for it but she has a good attitude about it. 

Even though she was not cheering I went to the game anyway to watch and show support. 

This years JV team was last years Freshman team and they are good. Watching the game I remembered how good they were last year at intercepting and getting touchdowns. The final score was 28-7. Go Meridian!!!!

Kenedy and the other sidelined girls were allowed to do the final victory chant with the rest of their team.

Such a cute cheerleader!

Back to School take 2

On August 24th Kenedy and Ryker had their first day of school. I did not get in from California until late that night and so I missed being there for their first day. I was bummed about that but Kefford did not have to work that day and so he did a good job of filling in for me. Kenedy is now in 10th grade and Ryker is in 7th grade. Such cute kids I have!

Taylor Swift!

I was so excited when I found out that Betty Crocker was bringing back the delicious and fun Rainbow Chip Frosting. I began searching for it in every store I went into in Idaho but have not been able to find it. While in California I found it in Target and bought a couple to bring back with me. I cannot wait for some super yummy cupcakes made with this stuff!

The main reason for me coming to California this trip was because Heather managed to score tickets to see Taylor Swift at the Staples Center! So exciting! We have been wanting to see her for a long time so this was awesome news! She got 6 tickets, one for me, my Mom, herself, Ashleigh and she wanted to surprise my nieces Jaylynn and Camryn and treat them. She is such a cool Aunt! She told the girls that we were going to be having a girls day and they were so excited for that. 

After we got them we went to Brandons for Brunch and Erin joined us.

After we ate we came back home and hung out for a while. The girls got to play and we got to visit more. It was fun. Ashleigh did Jaylynn and Camryn's nails and I managed to let them talk me into doing their hair all for the sake of a successful Girls day. 

Nobody had a vehicle big enough to fit all six of us and so Heather rented a mini van for the night. Then it was off to LA. The girls still had no clue what was going on and both fell asleep on the long drive to LA. When they woke up I asked if they were bummed that we were still driving and Jaylynn said yes. hahaha.

After we arrived and parked the girls asked my Mom what we were doing and she told them we were going to get something to eat. They seemed cool with that idea but I wonder if they were trying to figure out why we had to drive so far to get something to eat. I for sure would have been. We ate at Fat Burger and the food was so good. Definitely would eat there again!

After dinner we walked over to the Staples Center and Jaylynn kept pointing out all of the Taylor Swift shirts she was seeing. Still no clue what was happening. She even looked at the marque and saw that it said Taylor Swift Live Tonight and did not make the connection. Camryn later said that is where she figured it all out. Heather gave us all our tickets and Jaylynn looked at it but still didn't realize and then Camryn pointed it out and we all clued her in. Both girls were really excited once they knew what was happening.

My Mom and I bought the same shirt when we were at Downtown Disney and both decided to wear it that day. I had to get a picture of our twins moment.

After we got inside we bought shirts and then changed in the bathroom before we found our seats. We were way up in the nosebleeds but it was still a great view, we were directly across from the stage and could see everything. 

I was not getting a selfie that I liked and so I took a bunch to find one where I thought I looked good enough. It took a while...

After two warmup bands the show finally started and what a show it was! She is such a fun performer and we danced and sang along to most of her songs. On the backs of all the chairs were bracelets and we all put them on. When the show started we saw that the bracelets were linked to a remote control or something because they lit up to the music. Sometimes it was white, sometimes it was green, sometimes only one bracelet was lit up in each section. It was a really cool effect!

In all of her shows on this tour Taylor Swift would bring out celebrities on stage with her. This time around she had Matt LeBlanc, Chris Rock and Sean O'Pry. Sean was in the Blank Space video with her.

All the pin pricks of lights you see in this picture are the bracelets lit up white.

She also had Uzo Aduba sing a duet with her. Uzi is from the TV show, Orange is the New Black. I have never watched that show so it was not a big deal for me watching her but she does have a really amazing voice.

Taylor talked about hearing Mary J Blige sing a song last year that really touched her and after starting to sing the song to us, out came Mary J Blige to sing with her. Lots of surprise guests and fun moments.

The second to last song was a slow moving song that Taylor sang while playing the piano. It was not one that I had heard of and it was starting to put the girls to sleep. It was a late night. But the last song, Shake it Off, started and woke them up and we were all up dancing and singing. A great way to end the night. We had such a great time and I so appreciate Heather for including me all the time and making sure I have excuses for coming down to visit. She has such a generous spirit and I love her and am so grateful she is my sister and my best friend!

Kelly Clarkson!

Wednesday I flew down to California solo to enjoy some me time with my family. My flight was earlier in the morning and so I packed a yogurt in my purse to enjoy and eat once I got on the plane. Unfortunately I was told at security that my yogurt could not go past. I either had to throw it away or eat it right there next to security. I was surprised that it could not go through since it was not a liquid but she said it is considered a liquid get and therefore not permitted. I was not about to throw it away so there I sat in my shoeless feet with my belongings in bins on the floor surrounding me. I am sure I looked a little crazy, but, whatever. I thought the entire thing was pretty ridiculous especially when I saw that my metal tool card made it through. Crazy priorities!

When I was here the end of July I was able to paint my Moms door for her. She liked mine but of course did not want to go that bright. I forgot to take an after picture so I made sure to get one while I was here this time around. It looks really pretty and I love the color she went with.

One of the reasons for me coming down was to go see Kelly Clarkson in concert. Heather is the queen of concert ticket getting and she managed to get Kelly tickets again. She got four and so I was able to go along with Mom, Stephanie and Heather, of course. The concert was in LA at the Staples Center and she had three pre show acts. The last one I really liked, it was an A cappella group called Pentatonix. I think A cappella is so cool and it always sounds like they have instruments backing them but it is really just their voices, I love it, they are so talented. 

The last Kelly Clarkson concert I went to I wanted to get a shirt but was not really enjoying the look of any of them so I passed. This time around I was happy to find a shirt that I liked so I got one! My Mom got the same one which is fun!

Kelly did not disappoint, she was fun to watch and awesome to listen too. While she was performing her song "Piece by Piece" she kept getting really emotional and was struggling to get through it. Finally she announced that this was not how she envisioned announcing it but she didn't want everyone to think she was crazy with her wacky emotions and that she was pregnant! That was so fun! She was able to finish her song but she had a hard time. I totally got it, pregnancy makes your emotions out of control!

It was a long night but really a lot of fun! I am always grateful for opportunities to be with my family and Heather is awesome at providing those opportunities for me!

singing and cheering

On Sunday the Activity Days girls were scheduled to sing in church. We had to be there a little early so that they could have one more practice together as a group. I snapped this picture of them because I thought they were so cute. It was before church so that's ok I hope :/

On Saturday Kenedy had to be at the Optimist Cheer camp with her fellow Meridian High cheerleaders to teach the little Optimist cheerleaders cheer. She had a fun day and I managed to get this photo of the group off the internet. Kenedy is top row middle right.