I need to get caught up!

So many things and so little time to blog.

Let's see...
Taylor turned 5 on July 4. We went to the parade (of course.) She calls it hers and her favorite thing is the Americanas that stand on their horses. She also got a real pink cowgirl hat. She scarcely takes it off. We bought her a "cowgirl" outfit she could wear to church complete with belt buckle. So cute!




July 11-12 we had a family reunion in Garland, UT. I haven't been to this side of the family for years and it was great fun to see my cousins and catch up! My kids had a great time playing with new friends.
Sunday, the 13th, we left for Island Park. We were lucky enough to have the sweetest aunt share her timeshare week with us. We had a blast! Monday we went to West Yellowstone. JR and I decided to take the kids to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. Kind of expensive, but if you want your kids to see bears up close, it's worth the $$$. The pass is good for 2 days so you can come and go as you please. My favorite was their bear named Sam. He was 1000 lbs. HUGE. He was fun to watch. I realized that I'd be petrified if I ever came upon a bear in the wild. I think he liked having his picture taken as you can see below.

If you look behind Sam, you can see his twin sister's head. She was goofin' around in the water.
I won't bore you with any more of the details of our trip, but check out the buffalo pics. We had them crossing in front of our car. Fun for the kids!

So after my exciting, toy-filled bath, we all drove down to Pocatello. Pocatello has this fun water park called The Ross Park Aquatic Complex. Fun to us Idaho folks, I'm sure nothing compared to the water parks you big city slickers enjoy. :) Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the fam having fun in the sun!

This week's events.

Tuesday morning Jason had the day off. I thought I'd take a few minutes for myself and relax in the tub. This is my view from the tub about 10 minutes into my bath. My considerate son felt that I didn't have enough to do in the tub with just my book. He decided to take matters into his own hands and empty out his toy drawer. Wasn't that nice? Apparently I didn't look like I was having enough fun. Kids are great, and I had to laugh... thus the picture.

Take this quiz to find out which princess you are!

You Are Aurora! (A.K.A. Sleeping Beauty.)

Thoughtful and loving. Authority figures probably have been sheltering you all of your life. Thankfully you're a very tranquil person who is content with what life has given you, but secretly you want to know how the outside world works.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Just some silly fun!

I got this off my cousin's blog. Fun to see how they turn out. Hey, ya never know, maybe you could get some great nicknames from these. I think my favorite is my Cartoon name. LOL!

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Sandy Montana

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Moose Tracks peanut butter blossom

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
E Can

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Purple Otter

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Mortimer Payson

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Caner

7. SUPERHERO NAME: ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Red Dr. Pepper

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Don Darwin

9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names ) Moss Woodbury

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Owen Ontario

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Spring Daisy

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y")
Strawberry Pantsie

13. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Toast willow

14. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: ("The" + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + "Tour") The puzzle rainbow Tour

And it begins..

So summer has started for us. Taylor graduated from preschool on May 19th. Lauren's last day of 1st grade was May 23rd. Swimming lessons start at Heise Hot Springs next week. The summer movie matinees have started. The Library's summer reading program starts next week. We are still waiting for the summer weather, but all other indications point to summer. Summer seems more daunting with 3 kids. What am I gonna do with them to keep them entertained, busy, learning, challenged, etc... I will probably run out of ideas in the middle of next week so if anyone has suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment or two. :)

I haven't posted for a while so I thought I'd leave some pictures of the last few weeks.

So, we broke down and bought the kids a trampoline. One of those that includes the safety enclosure. Huge! Everyone in the ward knew we had gotten a trampoline because you can see it from so far away. My younger brother Dustin decided he needed to come and play with my kids on it for old times sake. They had a blast!


A few weeks ago, we took the kids to Salt Lake for a quick getaway. We went to Hogle Zoo. So fun! We saw monkeys, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, zebras, tigers, etc... but my favorite part was this mother duck and her babies. They were walking down the sidewalk area where hundreds of people were walking. I don't know what part of the zoo she was coming from, but she was headed somewhere in a hurry. All the little ducklings were moving their webbed feet just as fast as they could go to keep up with her. Finally, she went underneath a fence and into a small grassy area underneath a monkey aerial enclosure. She had to jump off a concrete step (which was fairly high up). We watched as she jumped (no hesitation) and expected her babies to jump after her. For them it was a long drop (see picture below). It was the cutest thing to watch her turn around and quack at them to get them going. They all stood there pacing until one brave duckling took the leap. After that, one by one, they all leapt, following their mother's example. One hit a tree branch on the way down. One fell to the side a little bit, but they all made it. Then the mother duck gathered them together again, and they were on their way. It was so interesting and made me think about myself as a mother and letting my kids take chances and risks and simply setting a good example. What we can learn from nature.

Alta Cannon

Jason's Grandma died last Thursday. She was 84 years old. Her funeral is today so I have been reflecting on the memories I have of her. She might have been 5 feet tall, but only if she was on her tiptoes. She probably weighed at her heaviest 100 lbs. She was so tiny, yet so full of spunk! Grandma Cannon was ever a lady and inspired those around her to be such. She welcomed me into her home 12 years ago with loving open arms and has treated me like one of her own since then.

She couldn't let you leave her house without having had a Pepsi and a treat of some kind. She had a way with flowers and needles. She made things beautiful!

I learned something new about her last night at her viewing that I didn't know. Grandma's mother died when she was 18 months old. She really never knew her. Grandpa Cannon said that she asked, "How will I know my Mother when I see her?" He replied, "You won't know her, but she'll know you!" What a wonderful thought to think about last night as we celebrated Mother's Day. She was celebrating with her mother whom she didn't get the opportunity to know here on Earth.

What a comfort to have the gospel in my life at a time such as this. I am grateful for the long term perspective that I am able to have because of the restoration of the true church on the Earth today.

We love you and miss you Grandma!