For Dave's birthday this year I surprised him with a weekend getaway to Zermatt Resort in Midway. It was awesome! First of all, I love Midway. I have so many great memories of that place. My grandparents had a 'cabin' in Midway for years and years so I was able to spend a lot of time up there. I can't believe how much the little city has grown since those days but thankfully, it hasn't lost it's charm.

First, I have to comment on all the AMAZING food we ate. My waist line is expanding just thinking about it. We had dinner at Snake Creek Grill in Heber. If you haven't been there, I suggest you check it out. The food is always so yummy and the menu actually changes to go with the season so you can always try something new. But I have to say the best was the Sunday Brunch at Schneitter's Restaurant located right there on the Zermatt property. HOLY CRAP!! I have never had such amazing food all at once- it actually won Best of State.
A Sunday Brunch with marshmallow sauce on the crepe bar deserves to win Best of State. That's right, marshmallow sauce. It was as if it was made just for me... and I think it was- no one else seemed to eat it. People don't know what they're missing.


Here is a sampling of the desserts. Complete with cheese danishes, chocolate and pear tarts, warm chocolate bread pudding, apple crisp w/ ice cream and other delectables.


Here we are after brunch making our best "I've eaten so much I'm going to die" face.

There was also a little bakery on the premises with amazing pastries and our fave, GELATO. So ya, we ate A LOT. We also headed to the outlets and shopped A lOT. My kind of getaway. Eating and Shopping.

Later Sunday night, my mom came up with the kiddos to stay the night and Dave went home (since he had to work mighty early Monday morning).
It shifted to a totally different kind of getaway but was still great. The highlight for my kids was playing in the jetted tub. They could have spent hours in there.


We also rode the carousel, fed the goats and played miniature golf.







I had such a wonderful weekend with my cute little family. It was great, as always, to spend time with Dave, just Dave. We have so much fun together and I can't help but feel so lucky to be married to him. Ah cheesy! Thanks mom for watching the kiddos so we can have these kid-less outings.
It was also so much fun to spend time with my mom, Tol and Addi. I am also so lucky to have the kind of mom that I do. I don't think there is a mom who loves her kids more than my mom loves us. She would do anything for any one of her kids and makes us feel her love and support in all we do. She is the pure example of Christ-like love and acceptance. My kids are so blessed to have her as their grammy. She is the best in the world and they love her so much.

I'm glad Dave had a birthday so I could live it up with my favorite people... and so I could get a picture of a bear playing an accordion.

Daybreak Triathlon

Gosh- so much to say about this exciting occasion. Where to begin?
First of all, my dad and Jess competed in a triathlon a couple weeks ago. It was so great to be there and cheer them (and everyone else) on!
It was especially cool because I thought there was NO WAY I'd ever see my dad be able to do something like this. It's horrible to say, but back in the day I wouldn't have guessed he'd still be around today- and he's doing triathlons! Truly a miracle.
To put it in a nutshell, my dad has had an autoimmune disease for almost as long as I can remember, but even before he was diagnosed, he NEVER felt well. As if thats not enough, he's also had a few kinds of cancers including Lung Cancer and Multiple Myeloma which is a cancer of the plasma cells. For a lot of my childhood and teen years my dad walked with a cane (when not many people were around). He always had troubles walking as he couldn't feel his legs and feet under him, he still can't all of the time. My dad was sick. As I look back to that time, it seems like he was in the hospital more than he was out. He was always getting "treatments."
My dad has never been one to talk much about himself so I'm still unsure about a lot of things pertaining to his health. But I do know that he stayed positive and happy through it all and I think that's why he's still here. In fact, as you can tell, he's doing better now than he has in YEARS. It's awesome. He's truly a miracle. He still struggles everyday, but he's here and doing TRIATHLONS, and that is a miracle.

My dad and Jess showing off their numbers before the race.

#994 & #668


The whole Daybreak gang: Jess & Dad with their friends and neighbors.

"Man Meat"

I thought these guys were hilarious! They did the entire triathlon in their speedos. When we were taking their pics they said, "we're athletes- not man meat." Whatever, they're total man meat. It makes me miss Ryan and Brody. This is so them...

"The Boss"

Greg and Aly, the people responsible for all this. Check em out here
They both live by my parents and are the GREATEST!

Their Bikes all ready to go...




Here is my dad coming in from his first run (another story in a nutshell: the Oquirrh lake was closed due to some ROUND WORM outbreaks. So- they swam in the Daybreak pool instead of the lake and had to run about 1 mile to get to the bikes from the pool on top of their other run) and making the transition to his bike.

I'm bummed cause I didn't get a pic of Jess during the race. My camera battery died and I couldn't charge it in time. Sorry Jess.


Crossing the finish line! Way to go, DAD!!!


Me, Curt, Nils and my mom (she was taking the pic) met him @ the finish line.


Here's Jess right after she finished.


Triathletes. Way to go guys! You both are inspirations. Who knows, maybe I'll join you next year. I said maybe.

State Fair '09

So the goal this year was to take pictures of all the crazys that frequent the fair. It seems like an easy enough (and not to mention FUNNY) objective, but with 2 silly kids who love to run around- weaving in and out of fellow fair-ers, it wasn't.

However, I did get a few:

This is the 'hair dad.' I never actually talked to him so I don't know he is actually a father to the kids he was with, but by the way they were all acting, pretty sure he's the father figure. How'd you like seeing that at parent/teacher conference?


'Plumber Baby'
At least its a cute little baby bum and not a nasty grown up crack (we saw a few of those, too).


'Shark Man'
This was HILARIOUS! There was a shark exhibit this year with a little information area. This area had a bunch of shark memorabilia including a divers cage (not really sure if they're even called that). So we see this guy in the cage and assume he works there. WRONG! He was stuck in there! He got in just fine, but somehow couldn't get out. I'm a jerk- but funny, right? He seemed like a nice enough guy, but he was using some CHOICE words to express his dismay with the situation. I probably would have done the same thing. Some other guy tried to help by giving him a chair in hopes he could climb out, but no such luck. And if you take note, the bars aren't THAT far apart. Reason enough to not drink a lot of beer. Finally, with some tips (or just common sense) from yours truly, he was freed to enjoy more than just the sharks.

I didn't get this on film, but it goes to show how dehumanizing and unethical the fair can be. I was so shocked and amazed by the experience that all I could do was laugh.

And here is the cutest part of the fair: little Lainey and Addison.

Thanks Harmons for a fun and people watching filled night.

Princess nails

Addi's first time having
"Pretty Princess Nails"

...and she is loving it!

out with the old- in with the new

Tol, with a little help from our cute neighbor, Audrey, uprooted my flowers (that I miraculously resurrected) and 'planted' new ones: compliments of a few of our neighbors.


"Because theirs were prettier than ours."


Sorry if any of these came from your garden...

Tolism: point not taken

To celebrate Labor Day, we decided to get on YouTube and watch some funny videos. jk. But that really is what we did. We're a lively bunch these days.
Anyway, so we're watching a video of this HUGE- like' 300 pound' huge- kid dancing. Tol looked more distraught with the "funny" video than amused. So I attempted to turn this into a learning experience.

Me: That is what happens to our bodies when we eat lots of sugar.

Tol: That boy is so lucky!