We LoVe JuLy!!

Our family LOVES July! Shawn will probably have to say it's his favorite holiday. Even when we were dating and through the years we never miss an opportunity to see fireworks! Before we even had kids, one year when he was working for Orbit sprinklers and they had a warehouse in Florida he had one of the employees buy him a big stash (from a local firework company in Tampa) and shipped it on a semi with the sprinkler stuff. Of course it was illegal in Utah...one night at our old house (it bordered a trailer park...) he was lighting stuff off. It was all cleaned up fortunately when a police officer came knocking to see if we heard anything (they got a report of gunshot!!!!) Of course we didn't admit anything!
Some of the neighbor dads in our current neighborhood used to pile in one car, hit breakfast somewhere and cruise to Evanston for fireworks. A male bonding annual event. We have had some bad experiences, several visits by police officers...but lots of fun. We no longer go across the border for illegal stuff. We have children now and we have to act responsibly. We just alter, pop bottles, duct tape...you name it, we've done it. Our neighbor Matt was the master, he's on a mission now so it was a little different this year. We still do buy A LOT of fireworks. We are lucky though to have 2 holidays in July! Pioneer day on the 24th.... This was just last week after a parade on the night of the 23rd, an awesome fireworks show...we look forward to it every year.
So, what hasn't been lit is safely packed away to enjoy on New Years Eve! It's what summer is all about for us!!!

Humbly Grateful

HE
brings me HUGE amounts of JOY!!!! Everything from the upside down goggles, mismatched arm floaties and the sweetness that just oozes from this kid....he is my joy! Three year olds are priceless and we have enjoyed the stage 5 times over and it has been an amazing journey with each one! I have much to be grateful for! Gratitude is something that I learned much about this last year. A quote from Oprah has meant a lot to me...."Be thankful for what you have, you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
I love a gratitude journal. Remember the Sarah Ban Breathnach gal from Oprah years ago? I love what she says: "You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set into motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you." I was amazed at the positive energy flow that increased when I was able to concentrate on being grateful. "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. it turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." --Melody Beattie
Months ago in a Sunday School we were discussing pride. An experience was given about this guys grandmother (I think). He said that instead of saying "I'm so proud of" this and that, she preferred to use the words "HUMBLY GRATEFUL". Thanks Troy for inspiring me when I needed it the most.....giving me a way to focus on being more grateful and honestly making a difference for me and the way I want to view what is most important.
Be grateful!!!!!! Focus on what is important to you in your heart!!!! I am humbly grateful for my family and you...my friends!!!!!! ***HUGS

EiGhT is GrEaT!!!

July 20th celebrated Hunter's eighth birthday. Hunter is such a great kid with a lot of spirit! He is one of my MOST helpful kids, he's the one that will always go to the storage room for items or go out of his way to offer a hand. He has a really funny sense of humor. We laugh a lot!!! He does funny things and could turn out to be the actor of our family. He's amazing with Noah, I don't know what I'd do without him. ***We LoVe HuNtEr!!!!!***
I always get a little sentimental on the kid's birthdays because year after year I am amazed that an entire year has passed by to make them a year older. Time flies a lot faster than I feel comfortable with. I often think about being a kid myself and how long a school year lasted or how slow a summer passed by. Now a school year flies by in a blink and the summer is winding down just as it seems it just got started. I used to have a quote above my fireplace until I repainted that said "Enjoy this moment for this moment is your life." I just put a quote on the bathroom wall that says, "Forget the days troubles, Remember the days blessings. I am learning that life is too short to focus on anything that isn't meaningful. I have also thought a lot about how I don't spend much time doing the things I love to do and about what I still want to learn to do. Two things that top the latter list are jewelry making and photography. How I wish I had spent all these years with photography skills. I always admire beautiful photography and think how cool it would be to know how to create that.....so why not learn. That's all anyone else has done.
Jewelry making has always been fascinating to me and since I love to create, I know I'd love to create with metals and stones. I'm not into "beading" so much as I want to make wax molds and pour silver and set stones etc.... I am always drawn to artisan crafted sterling silver jewelry and would love to learn to do that myself. Our local continuing education courses offer just that and so in the near future...I'm signing up! Yeah!!!
So go do something that you are good at and LoVe....and make the "moment" count!

Girls Camp

Last week our girls were at Girls Camp. The theme for camp was "Go the Distance" with a baseball theme. Each ward received baseball style shirts and needed to come up with a logo. The stake leaders team was New BigInnings. (how cute is that) There were the pirates, the polar stars, etc......and we were the Hinckley's Bees. Darling shirts and baseball caps with this cute little embroidered bee. I got to make our ward's team pennant. Not any pennant would do...no....no...it had to be screamin' cute. (It's just kind of MY THING) So, I sewed it out of blue gingham fabric and painted everything else on it. (The back that you do not see is white with large pink polka dots.) Very girlie indeed!!!!! I have to express the inner girl in me somehow!!!! We were the only team with huge bows, and of course sparkle and shine on the signs. I heard that some of the other teams may have thought we thought we were all that ....We really do have it all going on!!!!! (We are NOT snobby though) We have an amazing group of girls and they are fun, smart, beautiful, and sweet. I am amazed at their grounded nature and their knowledge of the gospel. They really do know who they are and what they stand for. I am thrilled to be among them.


Then we HAD to have signs at each tent. So I painted these as well.
BTW did you know that they ID you when you buy a can of spray paint? I did not.....I understand the reason now, but don't you think the kid who is huffing the spray paint would be given away by the bright watermelon color all over him? It amazes us what things have come to. (It actually shows our age)
If you notice on the Queen Bee's sign, there is glitter and rhinestone bling on the crowns. It's probably a little much for dirt and tents, but the cute factor is high on the scale.
I couldn't go the whole time and so I went Wednesday for the whole day and came home late in the evening. I didn't feel too bad when I show up all showered with my hair done and make up and jewelry on. The I hate you's didn't bother me a bit! And AWWWWW, I got to sleep in my nice bed. (Not a camping girl!!!)
Next year we get to go to the Heber Valley Hilton..not the Hilton really, but cabins.....at girls camp! SWEET!!! I can shower and do my hair? I'm there! I hear they are putting in a pool. It will be like going to a spa. ( I have never been away from my family except for the day I've spent in the hospital having another baby) I know...I know....pathetic! So, I'll actually look forward to it.

In honor of Girl's camp

I changed the background in honor of Girls camp this week. I need to post some pictures that I would have to get up and get the camera and download them before I post them, and I really have to go to the bathroom and then change out of my wet swimming clothes (water aerobics) and I promised myself I'd fold the 6 baskets of laundry before I go to bed. I have a small child who needs his sheets out of the dryer and put on his bed because it's 11:05 PM and he thinks he'd like to go to bed, for crying out loud!!!!! WOW. Why did I think I had time to BLOG!!!! I'll have to get back to it later and finish the real post, for now I will leave you with this funny thing. I have always said I have "If you give a pig a pig a pancake" syndrome...and this describes my life to a perfect T.
Enjoy!
Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. - Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests: I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the laundry room, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my car keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my car keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to take out the trash. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office/playroom, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup, a vase of flowers on the counter cat ches my eye --they need to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the wipes back down, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote, one of the kids left it on the kitchen table. I realize that after school when they go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote as they fight over who lost it, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm cup of ju ice sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find the wipes, and I don' t remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent. Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.

Celebrating 40!!!!!

Many of my friends are turning the big *4 * 0* this year. My friends decorated my house with signs and black balloons and took me to lunch on my birthday. On Monday, it was my good friend Penny's birthday!
In honor of her Birthday, we all got together and started the morning at the set of Good Things Utah. We had a lot of fun cheering and laughing. (Something we always seem to get out of hand at). Penny got her 5 seconds of fame as they focused the camera on her and said happy birthday. Our kids had fun at home watching to see mom on tv. (It was very cool for the littler children) Afterwards we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and surprised her with a gift she ended up loving. Back row left to right: Laura, Maddie, Carol, Vanessa,
Kayla, Penny, Wendy and Christine.
In the front if you don't know is Neicia, Angie, Martie, and Reagan
from Good Things Utah.
(If you didn't notice, I'm the tannest of the bunch. *wink*
(Thanks to my Maui Babe browning lotion) The other day, Shawn said I have my Polynesian wife back. Over the years whenever I've met co-workers of his, they end up asking him, "what is your wife?" The only reason it's really funny to us is that is has happened time after time after time after time. Really! He has to explain that I'm just a white girl who tans well. Now we're just going to tell people I'm from the "big island". This summer however I am tanner than I have been in a long time. (Maui Babe I swear). I know I shouldn't sun myself so much, but after the year I had last year.........I'm going for whatever makes me feel good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are enjoying summer to the fullest! I'm trying to cherish each moment of this beautiful summer! It is my FAVORITE season!
(Thanks, Kayla for the pictures!)