The Mah-velous Mounteers

Books

2011-10-21T21:23:00.005-07:00

Well, I have surpassed the number of books that I read in 2010. I just finished my 52nd book for the year and October's not even over. I'll do better towards my goal of 100 books this year, but still won't quite make it. Oh well. I never really expected to. I purposely set the goal high to keep me motivated. Who knows, maybe one year I'll get there, when the kids are grown and I don't have to work and I've lost my iPhone so I don't waste so much time playing games on it...maybe.

Anyway, here's a list of my 5 star books so far this year:
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall...I totally recommend this to anyone who works out, or wants to work out!
Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2) by Ally Carter...smart, and lots of fun
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan
Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
Everlost, Everwild and Everfound by Neal Shusterman
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde...super funny and clever
Peter and the Sword of Mercy (Peter and the Starcatchers #4) by Dave Barry

Honorable Mentions:
The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl #2) Read this one with my ears and LOVED the reader. The story was good too.
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans...a completely different genre for Evans, but liked it and am anxious for the next one.
Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1) by Heather Brewer
Reckless by Cornelia Funke
A World Without Heros by Brandon Mull...gotta love Brandon Mull
The Throne of Fire (Kane Chronicles #2) by Rick Riordan
Illusions by Aprillynn Pike...Ive decided I really like books about faeries
Dark Days and Mortal Coil (Skulduggery Pleasant #4 and #5) by Derek Landy
Princess of Glass and Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan...he's been busy this year!
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
River Secrets and Forst Born (The Books of Bayern #3 and #4) by Shannon Hale

Don't Bother!!!
Witch and Wizard: The Gift by James Patterson
Unraveled by Gena Showalter
Skinned by Robin Wasserman...the story concept was way cool, but the main character was a B*&^% from you know where

So there ya go! The good, the bad and the ugly.

More Summer Fun

2011-10-04T12:25:00.008-07:00

Girls Camp

Man I love these girls! We had a blast!

Amy, Meg, Chloe, Jessica, Missy

Brooklynn on our hike

The view on our hike

Face painting with Missy and Brooklynn

Brooklynn and her Boondoggle

Stephen's Family Reunion
At Rick and Tilly's farm somewhere in Utah

Water Fight!!!!

4th Of July Parade
With the Silver Blades. I took a break from being in charge this year and ran the 5K with my sis. It was fun!

Hogle Zoo
We haven't been to the zoo forever. That's what happens when your kids get OLD!

Summer Stuff

2011-08-15T15:43:00.006-07:00

Well, here it is, the end of summer. The kids are back to school tomorrow (well one kid, Braden starts on Wednesday). The summers just seem to get shorter every year. There never seems like enough time to fit in everything we want to do (or is it enough money? maybe both).

Here's a few highlights from our summer

Eagle!
July 10, 2011

Family Reunion @ Deer Creek

Road trip...
St George/Tuacahn,

then Las Vegas

then on to San Diego

first to skate

then the beach
Mission Beach, San Diego
I could so be a beach bum in San Diego. The water was no Hawaii or Mexico, but the beach was fabulous. I LOVE THE SUN!

and finally Magic Mountain, roller coaster heaven. How can we go back to Lagoon after this?

Pool Party w/skating friends

New Haircut

and Lagoon

Brook's first time on The Rocket (and Belle's too), and they liked it!

We will try to fit in one last fling (a biking trip) over Labor Day. Then it's on to Christmas!

Graduation

2011-06-03T21:06:00.004-07:00

Well the cap and gown are still warm and I'm already blogging about the day. You should be impressed.

What a day! I can hardly believe my boy is GRADUATED! Seems like just yesterday we were doing preschool graduation. The years have flown by. I'm very proud of the man this boy is becoming. Braden, I know you'll go far in this world. You are smart, funny, kind and rather good looking if I do say so myself! Use your heart, your mind, and your spirit in all that you do and there is nothing that you cannot accomplish!

Way to go buddy!

MCT Treasure Island

2011-05-17T20:24:00.005-07:00

Brooklynn recently took the opportunity to try out for the Missoula Children's Theater production of Treasure Island. She tried out on Monday, found out she got a part, rehearsed all week from 4-8pm and performed on Friday and Saturday of that same week. It was a crazy busy week and we didn't see much of Brooklynn, but it was an awesome experience and she had a BLAST!

"Big 'Ol Blue the Pirate

The motley crew of pirates and ruffians

The Cast of Treasure Island

Wanna know why...

2011-05-17T12:16:00.003-07:00

Wanna know why I don't blog more often? Because it takes so blasted long to upload pictures! Grrr!

Now you see them...now you don't

2011-04-12T20:40:00.001-07:00

Braces on...

Braces off! Horray! What a beautiful smile!

Disneyland

2011-04-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

So happy to be in Disneyland!

A re-creation of a picture that we took when Braden was about 7 with Uncle Jeff the last time we all went to Disneyland (they are posing like the statue in the background)

So happy!

I'm a Fairy!

With Mr. Toad

Trashin' the Capm

World of Color

Lots of cotton candy and other treats

On the ferris wheel

Jungle Cruise

Fantasyland

Teacups

Ummm...no comment

We had a great time!!

Christmas in Hawaii

2011-01-28T09:59:00.006-07:00

(we didn't quite get it, but you get the idea)

So here we are spending Christmas 2010 in Hawaii.
Here's what it looked like Christmas morning

Santa did find us

We made hot chocolate (yes we make hot chocolate even in Hawaii!)

We had a delicious breakfast of fruit, cinnamon rolls, eggs, and sausage

Then we headed to the beach.

This is definitely the way to spend Christmas. I'd do it again, but Brooklynn prefers a more traditional Christmas so we probably won't do it again anytime soon.

Mexican Riviera part 2

2011-01-28T08:09:00.012-07:00

So where did we leave off?...Oh yeah, PV and our Dolphin Swim.

So next up was Mazatlan where we went to Stone Island (at least I think that's what it was called). It was an awesome beach with awesome waves for boogie boarding, but not too rough for swimming. We scored a great seat on the beach at one of the restaurant tables where the vendors couldn't come right up to us. They still came as close as they could, but it wasn't too bad.

The walk to the beach

Sitting on the beach having a snack

Josh coming in on the boogie board

Brooklynn, tired but happy.

Some of the crew

Brook and I bought these cute swimsuit coverups from the vendors on the beach.

Brook and Josh Kleven. Aren't they cute? Especially Josh with the flower in his hair.

The next day we were in Cabo San Lucas. This was the prettiest port!

Here's the famous arch from the movie Popeye.

Austin, Braden and Camille

Watching the huge waves at Divorce Beach

We rented jet ski's at went zooming around the bay

The restaurant where we ate lunch. These guys had good food!

So that was our day in Cabo. I wish we would've had more time here. It was very pretty. But we tried to do too much. Next time we'll know.

Leaving Cabo

Other things we did...

Some of us did a little karaoke

We tried to go to dinner in our bathrobes. Yes there is a story there. Apparently this cruise had an inordinate number of people walking around in bathrobes at all times. Since this was our first cruise we didn't know any different, but some of the people we were with mentioned how they had never seen so many people just walking around in robes on any other cruise. So the last night we decided to get in on the "robe" action and we all wore them to dinner. All 20-something of us. It was quite a sight. On our way to dinner we stopped on the dance floor to do some dancing. Everyone thought it was hilarious and lots of people were snapping pictures of us. They wouldn't actually let us into the dining room in our robes though. I guess the dining room had something of a dress code.

Of course we ate tons of food.

Danced on the Lido deck...you'll have to ask the kids to show you the, "one cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, dollar" dance.

I don't know what he's doing here, but it was a funny picture

Other stuff...
Our room

Towel animals and art

Mexican buffet

And that's the end...hahaha

It was such an awesome trip and I can't wait to do it again!

A Book A Week

2011-01-02T23:02:00.003-07:00

Well, my goal was 100, but I only did about half that. I'm happy with it though. I read a lot of great books, and a few duds too, but overall I enjoyed my year of reading. I averaged 1 book per week for 2010...52 books in all. Here's they are in no particular order

The Initiation (Secret Circle Series #1) by LJ Smith
The Golden Spiral (Hourglass Door Trilogy #2) by Lisa Mangum
The Vipers Nest (39 Clues #7) by Peter Lerangis
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Great Book!)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Syren by Angie Sage
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms #1) by Kristin Cashore (good book)
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
The City of Ember (Ember Series #1) by Jeanne DuPrau
The People of Sparks (Ember Series #2) by Jeanne DuPrau
Mississippi Jack (Bloody Jack #5) by LA Meyer
Fire (The Seven Kingdoms #2) by Kristen Cashore
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
The Emperor's Code (39 Clues book 8) by Gordon Korman
Intertwined by Gena Showalter
The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark
Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5) by Brandon Mull
Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins
Shadowland (The Immortals #3) by Alyson Noel
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
The Secret Hour (Midnighters #1) by Scot Westerfield
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Touching Darkness (Midnighters #2) by Scott Westerfield
The Prophet of Yonwood (Ember Series #3) by Jeanne DuPrau
The Diamond of Darkhold (Ember Series #4) by Jeanne DuPrau
Blue Noon (Midnighters #3) by Scott Westerfield
Peter and the Starcatchers (Book 1) by Dave Barry
Wings (book 1) by Aprilynne Pike
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Storm Warning (39 Clues #9) by Linda Sue Park
Peter and the Shadow Thieves (Peter and the Starcatchers #2) by Dave Barry
Spells (Wings #2) by Aprilynne Pike
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
My Bonny Light Horseman (Bloody Jack 6) by LA Meyer (love the Bloody Jack Books!)
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Peter and the Starcatchers #3) by Dave Barry
Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins
Rapture of the Deep (Bloody Jack 7) by LA Meyer
Enna Burnning (Books of Bayern #2) by Shannon Hale
The Hourglass Door (book 1) by Lisa Mangum
Into the Gauntlet (39 Clues #10) by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Bloody Jack 8) by LA Meyer
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card (good one!)
Santa Maybe by Aubrey Mace
Wicked Lovely by Melissa marr
Enders Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner #2) by James Dashner

I'm setting my 100 book goal again for 2011. Here's to lots of good books! Follow along. I'll let you know when I stumble across something great.

Mexican Riviera Cruise

2010-12-15T19:37:00.010-07:00

Here are some highlights from our 2010 Mexican Riviera Cruise...posted just in time for us to leave on our next vacation. Hawaii is just a few short days away!

Getting on the boat

Eating Ice Cream while watching the waves go by...

Eating ice cream while playing games...

Eating ice cream in a coconut...

Yes, we ate a lot of ice cream! It was good.

Hanging out in the pool with friends

Soaking up the sun...

And hiding from it, or maybe he is just dressed up as Jedi Master Sunstroke.

Dinner in the dining room was great even if the decor was a little "Suessical". The Creme Brulee was the favorite for the week!

(I think they were supposed to be oysters with pearls in them, but all I could think was breakfast!)

Dolphin Swim in Puerto Vallarta. It was totally AWESOME!

A sad thing happened the night before we got into PV. One of the crew members jumped overboard at about 12:30am. The boat turned around to look for him. He was never found.

So that was the first half of our trip...more to come later.

New Family Picts

2010-10-04T21:59:00.004-07:00

Thanks to my cute neighbor and good friend Melissa for giving up her Sunday afternoon for us. They all turned out great!

17 some odd years ago

2010-09-01T19:57:00.005-07:00

Since I took all the time to scan these pictures into my computer I thought I'd post them so you could all have a good laugh at how young and goofy we look.

Books and School and Stuff

2010-08-20T14:37:00.002-07:00

Books:
Im up to 34. Been reading a lot lately and I've read some good ones. We are really enjoying the Peter and the Starcatchers series. Its a prequel to Peter Pan. We especially like to listen to the audio books. It's read by the same reader that did the Harry Potter audio books...Jim Dale. He has to be my all-time favorite reader. I also read Wings and Spells by Aprilynn Pike. Cute books and easy reads. The love triangle thing gets a little tiresome, but overall I've enjoyed them. But the one that I've read lately that I highly reccommend, especially if you are a fan of the "Uglies" series by Scott Westerfield is Unwind by Neil Schusterman. Check it out!

School:
Starts on Monday. I'm not ready! Next year I have to remember to take the Friday before school starts off so I can play with the kids. Of course next year Braden will not be attending public school. Okay, that's just too weird. I don't even want to think about it! Anyway, I'm just not ready for it to start again. Summer went too fast.

Stuff:
The dryer is broken. You'd think I'd be happy about this since it gives me an excuse to not do laundry and I guess I am. What I'm not happy about is how long it will take me to catch up on the laundry once it's fixed. Blech!

Other stuff:
I'm not ready for school to start...did I mention that already? Well, I'm not!

K...that's all. Yeah, we're boring I know. Thanks for reading anyway.

Book Count

2010-04-22T08:03:00.003-07:00

18

Sadly I'm not on track to finish my goal of 100. I've just barely averaged 1 book a week, instead of the 2 a week I should be reading.

Just keep reading...just keep reading...

Here's what Ive read so far in case anyone needs some ideas:

Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)
The City of Ember
The People of Sparks (City of Ember#2)
The Vipers Nest (39 Clues #7)
The Emperors Code (39 Clues #8)
Mississippi Jack (Bloody Jack #5)
Evermore
The Maze Runner
Graceling (The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #1)
Fire (The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #2)
Syren (Septimus Heap #5)
The Count of Monte Cirsto
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
Hush, Hush
The Lost Symbol
Three Cups of Tea
The Killer Angels
Intertwined
The Shadow of Your Smile

You can check out my Goodreads.com profile for my reviews on some of these books. For the most part I have really enjoyed what I've read so far this year.

Cute Girl

2010-04-05T10:21:00.002-07:00

Here's cute Brooklynn all dressed up for a costume party she went to this weekend. It was a "How to Host a Mystery" party. Her character was the intelligent Miss Emily Stratford. The setting was 1807. We rented this dress for the party complete with hoop skirt. The skirt was so wide that she could hardly fit through doorways, but she sure did look gorgeous! I love to dress her up, but she hates it. She had lots of fun at the party though.

I'm ready to go here!

2010-03-22T09:51:00.002-07:00

Its official, we have airfare booked to go back to Hawaii in December. I'm torn between wanting our vacation to come, but knowing that it will be WINTER again if I wish it here too fast.

My Goal: 100 Books in 2010

2010-02-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

They say you should write down your goals to be successful at completing them, so there it is. My goal is to read 100 books this year. 4 3/4 books down 95 1/4 books to go. Except I think The Count of Monte Cristo should count for at least 3 books.

Finally Finished

2010-01-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this one for book club. They read it in November...it took me a little longer to finish. I had started reading the abridged version, but decided I wanted the challenge of reading the LONG version (all 1130 pages of it). I really liked the movie they made a few years back based on this story so I was excited to read it. The book was different from the movie...of course it had much more detail, but the most noticeable difference was the ending. The book didn't have the same "happy" ending as the movie. I really enjoyed reading this book.
View all my reviews >>

Update

2010-01-11T13:25:00.001-07:00

I know I'm a terrible blogger, but I thought Id give you a quick update on whats going on in the Mounteer household:

Jason is still working hard. He got an iPod touch for Chirstmas and is enjoying all the new apps he has put on it. He is also liking the Wi-Fi connection so he has internet access at work. He still works a lot, but took some much needed time off during the holidays. One of his main goals this year is to stop working his second job. His plan for this is to try to convince his wife (me) to go back to school so that I can work in a job that pays better. I'm protesting. The problem is I don't know what I want to be when I grow up...actually the bigger problem is that I don't want to grow up at all.

Steph is still liking her "new" job in the Mammography Department as a scheduler. My favorite part is the drive. It takes me 10 minutes to get to work and I can go two whole weeks on one tank of gas. I also love being able to play on facebook and blogging while at work. I hate how winter throws a wrench into my running...either it's too cold, the air quality is too bad or there is snow all over the parkway, but I try to get out as often as possible. As long as it's above 20 degrees I'll go out, and honestly the air doesn't really bother me. Of course when I'm diagnosed with lung cancer from breathing in all that yucky air I may wish that I had let it bother me. Funny that I'd rather run outside in 20 degree weather than on a stupid treadmill!

Braden turned 16 this last year and got his licence, a car and two jobs. It took a while to find a job, but for the month of December he worked two jobs at the same time. It got a little crazy, but he survived and now just works at the movie theater. The perks include free movies for him and a guest which really comes in handy for dates. I'm still waiting for him to take me to see Avatar though. He is working hard in school and taking some difficult classes. For the first time he is realizing that sometimes you have to study for tests. He's a great kid though and gives me very few problems. I am grateful that when I hear others talking about how much they want to kill their teenagers I can say: 'That's too bad for you...I really enjoy my teens.'

Brooklynn is still ice skating. She's playing with the idea of competing two programs instead of just one as she has for the last couple of years. She is really enjoying Jr High school and earned a 4.0 GPA for first term, and is on track to earn one for second term as well. She also serves as the Beehive class president in Young Womens and I am constantly hearing her praises at church. She is a great kid and everyone seems to know it.

So there you have a little update on what we've been up to. I'll try to be better, especially at taking pictures, but I don't make any promises.

Our Hero

2009-10-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Brooklynn was nominated as a Hero for her Jr. High School. She was nominated by her teachers for demonstrating one or more of the schools Community of Caring values for Responsibility, Respect, Caring, Trust and Family. Here is what her teacher wrote about her: "Brooklynn is a fine example of our Community of Caring. she is a very kind and caring individual, eager to help those who may need it. she seeks out opportunities to help others and the teacher! Even though she might be small in stature, she is a very strong leader for her peers. she is passionate about her schoolwork and her extracurricular talents, like dancing (I guess doing skating moves on dry land looks a little like dancing to the untrained eye). I appreciate her desire to 'go the extra mile' in getting her work done in such an efficient manner. I am sure she will continue to have a positive influence on everyone she meets! How fortunate we are to have her as a studnt here at Hillcrest! Keep up the great work and keep showing that beautiful smile!"

Brook got a certificate, a pin, a medal and a cash award for being nominated and was recognized at a breakfast this morning at the school. I'm so proud of Brooklynn and her dedication to her school work. I never have to remind her to do her homework, she always turns in all her assignments and works very hard to do good work in school. She really enjoys school and has a very positive attitude. Today is the end of the term and if all stays as it is she will bring home straight A's on her report card...a 4.0 GPA. Way to go Brookie! Love You!

Another Book Finished

2009-10-27T09:26:00.002-07:00

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cute, cute story! A little predictable, but very loveable.

View all my reviews >>

Book reviews

2009-10-09T09:30:00.005-07:00

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy by L.A. Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Fun to listen to on a road trip to Escalante, Utah

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I struggeled with the first part of this book because it was so silly. The main characters foster family is so outrageous that they weren't even believable. It also seemed like he "borrowed" a lot from the Harry Potter series. There were times where I could tell that this was written by a teenage author. But I stuck with it and it got better. All around not a bad book.

View all my reviews >>

Homecoming

2009-09-20T14:29:00.006-07:00

Braden's first dance, and first date for that matter. He went with his good friend Megan Walker from our neighborhood. They've basically known each other since we moved into our house on Crystal River Dr. when they were 7 years old. No longer is homecoming just dinner, dance and maybe something afterward. It was an all day activity
.

They went hiking in the morning. They packed a picnic lunch and ate at the top of the hike to Moss Ledge. Then they stopped at the busiest 7-11 in the world at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon for Slurpees on their way down the canyon and went to a park to hang out. Then it was a few hours of separation while the girls got ready for the dance.

Here they are back at our house for dinner. They picked the girls back up around 5 pm
and had lovely Asian inspired meal. Cream cheese wantons, Lettuce wraps, orange chicken, fried rice and fortune cookies.

Here's the boys just before they left to go pick up the girls

Here are pictures of our decorated basement. The pictures really don't do it justice. It turned out so cute. Jason, Braden and I spent Thursday night hanging the white lights and lanterns. The boys spent a good hour or so on Friday cleaning up the basement. I don't think I've ever seen it so clean.

Eating Dinner

A toast to Homecoming. I promise it was just sparkling cider. We have to put the wine fridge to good use somehow
.

Brooklynn helped by serving their dinner. She also spent some time harassing her big brother. Of course she claims it was him harassing her, but but for the most part she was helpful.

Then it was off to the dance, which I assume was just fine as the only description I get out of Braden was "It was good."

After the dance they headed over to my sister Leisa's house. They have a great fire pit built into their backyard for doing S'mores. The kids had a great time roasting marshmellows, jumping on the tramp and playing on the swing set. Are they 6 or 16? Sometimes it is hard to tell.

Devan and Britt on the swing set

I think they all had a great time. Braden is now sleeping off the whole adventure. It was a busy day, but lots of fun. Maybe he'll be recovered enough to do it again come Prom?

Oktoberfest 2009

2009-09-18T17:11:00.003-07:00

Here I am with my beautiful little skater girl. She did such a great job at the Oktoberfest competition, and despite thinking she did not skate well placed 3rd in her division. She was so excited to get a medal and be able to stand on the podium to get her picture taken. Her group consisted of 4 skaters, three of them from our same club.

She got lots of comments on her dress. This is the first time she has competed in this outfit. We found it at our rinks skate swap. It fits her perfectly, looks beautiful out on the ice and is a very good color for her as well. Maybe it's also a lucky dress.

Here she is in the lobby of the rink getting ready for her turn to skate. The competition was running just a bit early this morning, but it sure took a LONG time for them to get the results up. Luckily it was worth the wait.

Braden's 16th Bday (July 12th)

2009-08-30T14:16:00.005-07:00

Sixteen years has gone by in the blink of an eye! I'm so very proud of Braden and the man he is becoming. I couldn't ask for a better son (well, maybe one who does his homework, but other than that...).

Braden looking all fancy in his new suit

There were multiple family parties as we celebrated Braden's big day with all the many sides of our families.

Youth Conference

2009-08-24T15:14:00.006-07:00

They were so dirty everyday!
Every evening they would get these ducks with a note attached of all the things they needed to have the next day. It was the "getting your ducks in a row" note.

Swimming at the Taylorsville Pool at one of the evening activities

Team 7

We were a little concerned about our ward youth conference this year. First you have to understand that our Stake President doesn't do anything small. This year he decided that our youth should do a service project. No, not just A service project, but 12. There would be 12 teams and each would go out and do a different project. All together I think they re-roofed 7 houses, built two handicap ramps onto houses and did 4 other home improvement/landscaping projects. Then after working out in the summer heat all day they met in the evenings for activities. Fun, but tiring! However, it turned out to be such an amazing experience for the youth. Braden had a really great time. Because I am a YW leader I got the opportunity to spend two of the days on two different roofing projects. It was amazing to see how the kids just jumped in and got the work done.

Brookie's First Day of 7th Grade

2009-08-21T15:19:00.006-07:00

I cant believe how grown up she is! She had a great day, and only got lost once. She was a little upset after school today because she had left her cute scarf on the bathroom counter.

I love the "sevies" only day, and am almost more nervous for Tuesday when she'll go back with all the 8th and 9th graders there. But I'm sure she'll be just fine. She's a great kid!

Her goal for this year is to get a 4.0. I'm sure she'll be able to do it if she puts her mind to it.

Hawaii

2009-08-20T20:33:00.018-07:00

The first fun thing we did this summer was a trip to Hawaii. It was actually supposed to be a Mexican Riveria Cruise but about 6 weeks before we were supposed to leave the "swine flu" hit and they redirected our cruise to Seattle. Now I don't have anything against Seattle, but when your planning on going on a cruise to Mexico it's just not the same thing. Luckily the cruise line refunded our money and it all worked out that we could get a condo and flights to Hawaii for the same week. It was an awesome trip. The kids loved it and are looking forward to going back in about 18 months.

We were visited each night in our sleep by Kapua'a the Hawaiian Trickster God. He left small gifts for us to find each morning. (Yes my husband is the cutest thing ever!!!)

We took a cruise along the Napali coast and came up along a whole group of dolphins. There were tons of them, all jumping and playing and swimming right along side our boat. It was so cool.

The boat let us off to go snorkeling and we got to snorkel with 3 big ol' sea turtles. It was a good day for seeing some fun marine life.

Unfortunately Jason had his first bout of sea sickness on the boat ride. Very strange since he's never been any kind of motion sick before and has spent plenty of time on boats.

This was the view from our balcony. So pretty!

We barbequed at our condo one night for dinner. I think it was one of the yummiest dinners we had all week. (Not only does Jason think up cute things like the Hawaiian Trickster to leave us presents, but he can also BBQ a mean steak!)

We hiked along the Napali coast on the Kalalua trail to Kalapaki beach. A very pretty hike, but next time we need to bring more water.

Another fun thing we did was to go on a zipline tour.

Steph on the rope swing

Brook jumping from the rope swing.
Actually the funnest part of this was the rope swing and cliff jumping afterward. What we didn't know then was that the little swimming hole is open to the public, so you can go there for free. Next time we'll know, because really that was the best part.

We ate at this really yummy burger place that had outdoor seating above the restraunt with a beautiful view.

We had a great time snorkeling, body boarding and generally soaking up some rays on the beach.

The girls cute toenails (I know you can't see them very well, but trust me they were cute).

This is one of our favorite beaches, Hideaways beach. Not easy to get to, but that's why it's not crowded and one of our favorites.

Jeff and Kara found this awesome piece of ocean. It had great body boarding waves and we had a great time here. The beach was also very nice. It was the Marriott Hotel beach, so it was very nicely kept, and it had grass behind the sand with lots of shade trees. It's not private, because there's a law that no water area in Hawaii can be private.

This is my "Backcountry." We took a tubing trip down some of the manmade canals in Hawaii with a company called Backcountry Kauaii, and the sold these shorts in their gift shop. I couldn't resist.

Braden getting ready to go tubing

Brooklynn as the Canal Fairy with her magic Fairy Wand. One of our guides names was Brooklyn and she thought it was so cool that they had the same name. She had never met anyone with her same name before. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the two Brooklyn(n)'s. Tour Guide Brooklyn was even an ice skater when she was younger. Weird!

One of my mom's friends that she works with was in Kauai to get married at the same time we were there, so we stopped by to be the only guests at her wedding (they kind of eloped). It was a gorgeous setting!

Just a few other random pictures. We ate a Bubba Burger, and did some shopping, and visited the lighthouse. It was a fabulous trip!

Bad Blogger

2009-08-18T20:33:00.002-07:00

Yeah, I know I'm a terrible blogger. Not one single post all summer! You'd think we hadn't done anything, but that is absolutely not true. A trip to Hawaii, Youth Conference, Girls Camp, Cedar City, Cowabunga Bay, Lagoon, birthdays, a new car, a drivers license and Flaming Gorge. Definitely not nothing. I promise I will post pictures of our summer soon. Stay tuned for the Mounteer Summer Wrap Up coming to a blogspot near you.

6th Grade Promotion

2009-06-05T20:55:00.002-07:00

Shaking hands

Brook and her FABULOUS teacher this year Miss A.

Brook and BFF Cerina

The 6th Grade Class of 2009

And this is the back of David Archuletta's head, yes THE David A. But the funny thing is I don't want his head in my picture. How often does he hear, "Hey David, get OUT of my picture" but that is exactly what I wanted to say.

6th Grade Field Day

2009-06-05T20:22:00.007-07:00

The Fab Five

Getting her T-Shirt signed

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344050956803708962" />
Brooklynn on the giant slip n slide. Thanks to the Murray city Fire Dept for the water...ALL OF IT!

Brook with her friends just chillin' at the party

Test Passed!

2009-06-05T20:14:00.002-07:00

Congratulations to Brooklynn! She passed her Moves In The Field ice skating test. That moves her up to the Pre-Preliminary level. Goodbye Basic Skills!

Happy Birthday

2009-05-13T07:57:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to tell my wonderful hubby HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Jason celebrated the 6th anniversary of his 29th Birthday (or 35) yesterday. We had a great day. We went to see Star Trek (it was really good) then to his favorite restaurant (Cafe Rio) for dinner. Then we had all the fam over for donuts and ice cream. Thanks to everyone that came.

Cedar City Shakespeare Festival

2009-04-29T20:57:00.002-07:00

The sixth grade has been invited to Cedar City to perform their Shakespeare play that they did earlier this year. The date will be July 20th, so if anyone wants to schedule a quick trip to Cedar to see them perform it would be fun!

New Job

2009-04-22T20:32:00.002-07:00

Well after 6 weeks, 4 interviews and 4 rejection emails I finally landed a new job!!! I'll be working at the Breast Care Center at IMC doing scheduling and reception for the Mammography Department. 20 hours a week, no nights, no weekends and no holidays! I am excited, but nervous. I have been at InstaCare for 9 years. Can you believe it? Brook was only 2 when I started there. Wow, how time flies. Thanks to everyone who crossed their fingers and prayed for me. It finally paid off.

I did it!

2009-04-06T15:50:00.004-07:00

Today was my first venture into couponing. It was a baby step, but it paid off!

Albertsons was having a deal on cereal...buy 3 Special K cereals and get free eggs, plus get a coupon for free milk on your next shopping trip. And the cereal was on sale, and I had coupons from Sunday's paper for $1.50 off any Kellogg's cereal.

So I got 3 boxes of Special K cereal(red berries, my favorite, cinnamon pecan and blueberry)and a dozen eggs, plus a diet coke because I was on my way to work and knew I would be needing it today (rough night last night) and spent $3.79 plus I have my coupon for free milk for next time. Actually the cashier rung up an extra coupon for $2 off, not sure where that came from, so I really should have spent like $5-something, but considering the cereal is regular price $4.69, I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Job Hunting

2009-04-05T21:03:00.002-07:00

So after several years of not having to work nights or weekends my job is now requiring me to work every other weekend and some nights. I'm now looking for a new job. If anyone knows of anything available that is part time (15-24 hours/wk) weekdays only, please let me know. Thanks.

Another Book Recomendation

2009-04-03T20:55:00.002-07:00

This one was another one recommended by Stephenie Meyer (the author of the Twilight Saga) through her website. SM is now 2 for 2 in the book recommendation department. First Hunger Games (which if you haven't read it yet, get on it...it topped Braden's favorite book list, and is one of my favorites too), and now "The Girl Who Could Fly" by Victoria Forester. Think Laura Ingalls meets the X-Men. When Piper McCloud realizes she can fly and goes public with her new found gift she quickly finds herself far from her home where things may not be what they seem. What will Piper do when she learns the truth of I.N.S.A.N.E.?

Shakespeare

2009-03-01T21:30:00.006-07:00

Helena and Hermia
Helena and Kate
"Golden Years"
"I will follow thee"
"You draw me like a magnet"

Shakespeare was lots of fun. The kids all did such a great job. I went and saw their first performance on Friday, then saw it again the following Thursday, and the improvement they made in those 4 days was amazing. They all worked so hard and had such a great time. Brook was depressed all weekend because it was over. Maybe we'll get to go to Cedar City though. That would be so fun.

Stay Off the Sidewalks!

2009-02-04T17:01:00.002-07:00

Braden passed his written test to get his learners permit today. I can't believe I am six months away from having a full fledged driver. Did you know it costs $650 a year to add a teenager to your insurance plan? Eeek! Glad he has a job and he can cover some of the cost.

Following in Her Mothers Footsteps

2009-01-15T18:59:00.004-07:00

Brooklynn tried out for the school play this week and got a part. The play is Doo Wop Wed Riding Hood (its a fairy tale spoof) and she got the part of Medium Purple Hood, Little Red Riding Hood's smart sister. The play is in March sometime, but I can't remember the date right now. I'll post it when I find out so you can all put it on your calenders. Congratulations Brookie, you truly are your mothers daughter.

The date for the play is March 12th. Put it on your calender. It will be soooo fun! We started rehearsals today, and we are so excited!

Winter Recital

2009-01-09T15:45:00.002-07:00

Date: Tuesday, Feb. 10
Time: 6-7pm
Place: Salt Lake County Ice Rink

Brooklynn will be skating a revised version of her competition program where she skates to the song Defying Gravity from Wicked. Hope to see you there.

What We're Reading

2009-01-07T21:25:00.004-07:00

The 39 Clues Series

This is great reading for the whole family. Braden has finished the first book and is working on the second, I have read both, and Brooklynn (who got the first book for Christmas--Thank you Aunt Rainie!) has just started. So far everyone is really enjoying them. You can visit the website too (www.the39clues.com); it's way more than just a book series, its a whole interactive world. Lots of fun. We recommend it! I know the picture is really small, so click on it for a larger view. The books are pretty available at the library, not very long waiting lists, but hurry, because I have the feeling they will quickly become the next big thing. Right now the first two books in the series are available with the 3rd book coming out March 3rd. It is going to be a series of 10 books all scheduled to be out by Sept 2010.

Candy Day 2008

2008-12-20T21:50:00.003-07:00

I love our candy day tradition. It is so much more fun to make candy with all your friends rather than doing it by yourself. And if you heard any rumors of a rat on Misse's back porch who stole 12 peanut butter balls, we will not speak of it. Believe it if you will, but we deny any knowledge of Dave the peanut-butter-ball-stealing Rat.

We are Elfishly Cute!!

2008-12-10T11:53:00.002-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Little Miss Scholarly

2008-12-10T08:30:00.003-07:00

It's finally happened; Brook got glasses. Hopefully she'll still wear them once the novelty wears off, but she was excited to be able to read things at a distance. Doesn't she look so smart?

Book Recommendation

2008-12-10T08:26:00.002-07:00

I just finished a book called Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It was really good. If your looking for something to read I recommend this one. It's not too long and won't take too long to read. It kind of reminds me of the Uglies, Pretties, Specials series. (YA Fiction)

Reflections Contest

2008-12-07T20:49:00.006-07:00

Here's a shout out to Brooklynn. She entered this year's reflection contest at school in the Literature category and placed first in her grade. Now she moves on to the District competition. She wrote a story called "World's Largest Rubber Band Ball."

Here is her story for those who want to read it:

World’s Largest Rubberband Ball

I didn’t mean to make history as the worlds largest rubber band ball maker.It’s weird at this new school surrounded by adoring students. At Longview, my old school, I got adored for about two weeks then they left me alone.I think they were able to see me as a real person because to them I was. I grew up with them. These students never knew me before I became famous so they think of me as a famous person.
The bell rang and the last of my “fan club” finally slunk away when I did not give in to their puppy dog faces and agree to tell my story. When we got inside the teacher announced that it was time for math. Today we were doing one of my favorite things, greatest common factors. It’s odd; work time is my favorite time of day now, not recess. It is the time I have to myself without the entire school gathered around me as joyful as can be hoping I will finally give in and tell them the story they are so dying to hear.
After lunch I decided to talk to Miss Okewood to ask if I could tell my story. Miss Okewood was astonished.
“Bu…bu…bu…but Allie, you’ve been turning down students about that story since you got here at the beginning of September.”
"I know. That’s why. I’m tired of turning down people and it’s like a physical weight and I need to get it off my shoulders.” I said.
Miss Okewood agreed and told me good luck.
The day went by in a blur. I didn’t even notice the two-dozen people following me around the track during recess. Finally it was 3 o’clock and Miss Okewood was saying, “Allie has something interesting to tell us, so listen up.”
As I walked up to the front of the room there were excited mummers all around me.
“Ok,” I said, letting out a gust of air. “I am going to tell my story. I am asking you guys to tell it to your friends so I don’t have to.”
“It started as a regular rubber band ball about the size of those big bouncy balls. Then I added about 6 inches in width and length. Then one day one of my friends said, totally joking, ‘That’s the worlds largest rubber band ball!’ That’s when I was inspired. I worked on it for a couple of years, adding to it almost every day. When I finally finished I rolled it outside to show it off. One of my mom’s friends was outside talking to my mom. That’s when the ‘WOW!’ came. It happened to be that my mom’s friend worked for the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not book of world records. She asked me how many rubber bands were on my ball and I told her 7,521 (yes, I’d been keeping track). Then she pulled out a notebook with tabs. She went to the R’s and looked up and down the page. ‘Congratulations,’ she told me ‘you just beat the record for the world’s largest rubber band ball. The last one had 7,411. You beat the record by over 100 rubber bands.’
“Coolio. Sweeet. Wohooo! Then I got my picture taken and in the next edition of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not I was in it.”
“WOW!” came from all the class members.
“Now spread that around and I will never have to tell it again.” I said.
Then Miss Okewood spoke up, “Now we should all thank Allie for finally sharing her story.
“Thank you,” came from all around.
Then the bell rang and I was free as I was never free before. Everyone held back other students and I ran like I had never run before. My ‘WOW’ was finally off my shoulders.

Las Vegas Desert Ice Competition

2008-11-03T13:49:00.005-07:00

We're back from Vegas! Brooklynn was there for an ice skating competition and it turned out to be a nice little vacation. We drove down Thursday and arrived in Vegas about 630pm. We got settled in our hotel room (we did not stay on "The Strip", but at this really nice Hampton Inn that was about 10 miles from Las Vegas Blvd.) then went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner and drove around the area to see what was there. I have to apologize; I have gotten really bad at taking pictures, so I don't have very many.

Brooklynn and her friends, Kristin and Abby and her coach Kelly.

Anyway, Friday (yes Halloween day. Brook kept saying how weird it was to be doing all these non-Halloween things on Halloween. It didn't really even seem like the holiday) we headed to the strip to see M&M World and the Coke Store. Brook was in heaven, she is such a knick-knack shopper. She spent an hour in M&M World trying to decide what to get for her friends and herself. The Coke store wasn't nearly as cool, but she did manage to find a souvenier there too. We had to be back to the rink at 4 so we had a quick lunch at the Rainforest Cafe in the MGM then headed back to get ready for practice ice. We found a few of our ice skating friends and invited anyone who wanted to come back to our room for pizza and a movie, that was our big Halloween celebration. We ended up spending the night with just one other family, the Farimonds, but it was lots of fun. The girls went swimming then we watched Kung Fu Panda on Pay Per View. That was our Halloween. The good news is - NO LEFTOVER HALLOWEEN CANDY! No temptation!

Getting warmed up

Kristin, Abby, Brook and Emma making silly faces

Saturday was the day of the competition and we had a practice ice session at 6am, so we were up at 5 to get ready and be checked in by 545am. After practice we had just enough time to head back to the hotel, grab some breakfast, get dressed, hair done and makeup on and be back to the rink to check in for the competition. Brook skated at about 9am, and did really well. The competition was different than we were used to being in a different state, and even though our coach reviewed the rules and our programs followed those rules some of the girls we competed against were doing more difficult moves, that are not allowed at that level when we compete here at home. We never did find out how that all worked, but we took it with a grain of salt and knew that we had done our best. Brooklynn came in 5th out of 6 competitors, which was fantastic for her. Her goal was to just not come in last. I know that sounds weird, but we take it one step at a time around here.

After Brook competed, we went back to the hotel to get changed and took a little nap. We got lunch at this Asian place that was kind of like Teriyaki Stix then went to a movie. We saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Our ratings are as follows:
Brook: Liked it
Jason: Lame
Steph: Silly

Then it was back to the rink to see some of our friends compete. After everyone was done with their events for the day we met at Fuddruckers for dinner and a birthday celebration. Then came the fun part. We all headed to Circus Circus to the Adventuredome indoor theme park. The girls had a blast riding the rides and generally just being silly. The adults all tried valiantly to say awake, we'd been up since 5am after all. It was very fun!

Halloween Show

2008-10-28T15:49:00.006-07:00

We had a good time watching the show, and lots of fun skating afterwards. Anabelle only made it around a couple times before she decided she was done. Thank goodness she was free. Tre was great as soon as we got him some real socks to wear with his skates. Ankle socks and ice skates just don't cut it. Luckily there is a pro shop at the rink and they sell stuff like that. Apparently we aren't the only ones who come unprepared for skating.

The show costumes turned out great. I was worried our girls wouldn't be show-y enough, but they looked great. Sorry the pictures aren't the best. But you get the general idea.

Brooklynn's Group skated to Wild Wild West. These were the cutest cowgirls y'all ever did see!

Yippee Ki Yay!

Halloween Ice Skating Show

2008-10-16T20:29:00.004-07:00

Date: Friday, October 24
Time: 6:30pm
Place: County Ice Center 5201 S. Murray Park Ln.

FREE ADMISSION!

Of course Brook is in the show. Never mind that we leave to compete in Vegas less than a week later and her entire program was re-choreographed this month. We're not stressed. We love skating!

Also, plan to stick around after the show for discounted ice skating from 8pm-10pm. A fun Friday night activity!

Twilight News

2008-10-12T10:10:00.003-07:00

The final trailer for Twilight the movie is now available to view. You can watch the HD version at www.myspace.com/trailerpark or the regular version in the widget at TwilightTheMovie.com. I'm so excited. I am planning on going to the midnight showing. If you want to come let me know. It will be a party!

How about some Twilight Movie Gossip

2008-10-02T07:28:00.004-07:00

I have to give the credit for this one to my friend from work, Wendy. Thanks girl! The movie producers are currently putting together the soundtrack for the Twilight movie (remember the move comes out November 21 - CAN'T WAIT!). Every couple of days or so there is another announcement about an artist that will be featured on the soundtrack (the soundtrack will be released Nov. 4). Wendy told me about the song that will be "Edwards Lullaby." It is actually called River Flows in You by Yiruma. It is beautiful! You can go to Project Playlist (www.playlist.com) to listen to the entire song (in the big blue box at the top of the site that says build a playlist type in "yiruma river" and that should pull it up. For those of you that play the piano you can also download the sheet music at www.pianolicious.com. I gave the sheet music to my cute neighbor and Braden's best friend who is a fantastic piano player. I can't wait to hear him play it. Go listen then leave a comment and let me know what you think!
EDIT: Since I posted this I did a little research and discovered that this song is not the one that is going to be on the soundtrack. It is actually a song that Stephenie Meyer mentioned that she liked. It's still a really cool song. The song for the movie is going to be composed by the person who is doing all the original music for the movie. Sorry for the confusion!

Currently Reading

2008-09-30T15:48:00.007-07:00

Foreign Body by Robin Cook.

EDIT: I finished this book. I don't care for the writing style of Robin Cook, I decided. I liked the story line, just not the writing. I probably will not ever read another Robin Cook book.

Meet Gizzy

2008-09-29T06:39:00.005-07:00

So here is the newest member of our family. This is Gizzy. Giz is basically a mutt - a mix of a Shih Tzu, Pomeranian and Lhasa Ahpso. This is Giz's third home in his short 4 months. He was purchased by my boss at work, who decided after a couple of weeks that a puupy took a lot of time, time she did not have with working full time and going to school, so she passed him down to one of our Xray techs at work. Well Janell's lease was coming due and she was looking for a new apartment, but was having trouble finding a nice place that would allow pets, so she called us. Brooklynn is ecstatic!!! Jason is tolerating, Braden is laughing and I can't believe I agreed to take on another kid, and one that still pee's all over the place too. Actually we all love him. He's been lots of fun to have around, and he's just about the dang cutest thing you've ever seen!

Here we go....

2008-09-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm new to this. I've been meaning to do it for a while, since I've given up on paper scrapbooking anymore. I'm hoping to post pictures soon, so stay tuned.