Singin Sunday

Ahhh what a day! Sundays are always fun because we get to spend more time with Dad and we try not to do any work or projects. Today we also got to shine a little!

Cloudburst has been working hard to memorize a song called "When Jesus Christ Was Baptized" and today she fearlessly stood up in front of all the kids in Primary at church and sang a solo. She did great! I think she will probably sing the song for our Primary Program (a Sacrament Service where the whole service is put on by the Primary children) in a few weeks. She was not nervous at all and we were so proud! This video is of her practicing at home- and yes, she finishes with flair!

And of course, Sunshine wanted in on the action. Here he is singing another song.

Thunder and I also had a great day at church. Since today was the 5th Sunday of the month, Thunder organized a special men-and-women combined meeting for the third hour of our services today. Thunder organized 4 musical numbers (see below) and 3 people (High Priest Group leader, Bishop and Stake President) to share their testimonies about attending the Temple. It went really well and it just felt good to be there. I sang the last song. These are the songs that were sung:

1. "I Love to See the Temple" (duet, Primary Children's Book)
2. "In That Holy Place" (solo, written by Sally DeFord)
3. "The Hearts of the Fathers are Turning" (duet, written by Steven Kapp Perry)
4. "Look Up" (solo, written by Steven Kapp Perry)

Go Cougs!

Anticipation. Preparation. Excitement.

Football season!
Yes, that is the BYU Marching Band in the distance. We got season tickets this year, and found out that some other friends do as well- TAILGATE! We went along with friends Randall and Michelle (and some of their family), Derric and Cassie, Dave and Karee.
We had a great time and BYU won the game! Of course, it wasn't a perfect game, but it was fun to be out by ourselves for a little bit and enjoy some great football. We're looking forward to a great BCS-busting season!

Foam Fun

Today I saw some fun bath-foam at WallyWorld (what we call Wal-Mart- yes I got that from you Uncle Hambo!)

The kids had a blast, and the water was completely green at the end!

Chocolate brown

People who meet our kids often notice their deep dark brown eyes. My poor husband still laments sometimes over spoiling the beautiful blue eyes in his family that go back generations. But who can resist this?

Now, you may think it has something to do with genetics, with the brown color gene being so much more dominant than the blue... but you're wrong. As our kids sometimes tell us, it's because they love to eat

Chocolate!

Baseball Buff

OK, so it's softball, not baseball. But our church ward has put together a pretty mean team! It's fun for all of us to go out and watch Daddy do something fun like this. They won their game again tonight, so they are off to the semi-finals of their tournament tomorrow night.
Thunder is the team pitcher, and tonight he paid for it- one batter hit it right up the middle and shanked it off of Thunder's shin. Ouch! I heard it from the sidelines. It is pretty swollen now. The kids especially love watching the games... of course the fact that there is a nice ol' park behind the field never hurts...

Water Bombs!

Today we said goodbye to Nana and Papa. The kids were already asking to visit them on the way home from the airport. Thanks for a great visit!

I must say, I entered the blogging world pretty late. But I'm glad I made it! I have actually made new friends that I have never even met before. I was reading one such blog and came across a fabulous idea. You can see her post here. They are called Sponge Balls, or Water Bombs as we sometimes called them, and they are great for hot days!

You need:
* the cheapest sponges you can find. I found a 4-pack for about $0.70
* floss, string, or fishing line,
*scissors
Cut each sponge to 4 sections. Then layer the sections from 2 sponges on top of your string. Wrap the string around and tighten until it POPS out into a star shape. Tie the string.
Now go get wet! I must admit that the kids ended up just dumping the bucket of water on each other since it was so hot. But they loved their Water Sponges and Sunshine even slept with his!

My Big Girl!

Today was a big step, a giant leap forward for me as a mom, and Cloudburst as well... The first day of kindergarten!
We got everyone up earlier than normal, since school starts at 8:00 AM. Cloudburst slept great, but I sure tossed and turned! Last night we had a fashion show with Cloudburst's new school clothes, and she chose her favorite outfit. At her charter school, they can wear just navy and white shirts, and navy and khaki bottoms. But being our cute girl, she decided that only a dress would do for the first day.
She excitedly finished her breakfast and then we were off! Thunder said good luck as he left for work. Nana and Papa got to come with us, and of course Sunshine and Tornado. As we drove into the parking lot (no buses at charter schools) there was a buzz in the air. We walked Cloudburst to her classroom and she was ready to go! She found her cubby for her backpack (or "cuvvy" as she calls it) and was pretty much ready for us to leave.
So that was it! At 11 AM I went back to pick her up, and she was all bubbly, talking about the rules of the classroom, and their special folder for bring papers to and from school, the park just for kindergartners, the book they read in class and some new friends. Success! It was strange, but I didn't get misty-eyed until then, when she was talking about her day. It was then that I realized how big she is now, and it made me a little sad to lose my baby girl. I am so proud of her and am looking forward to a great year!

Kickin it with Karaoke

My cute hubby got me a fun present for my birthday a few months ago... a karaoke machine. It is so fun! We have a few CD's of different songs, and even a few that the kids can sing. Even little Tornado loves to sing into the microphone. Thunder hooked it up today and we all had a blast!

So, now we are down to the last official night before school. It felt so weird to tell the kids to come indoors and get ready for bed because this is a "school night." I think I may be more nervous than she is!

Sunny Days

No need to sweep the clouds away here!
We had talked about what to do with our Saturday with Nana and Papa here... and decided to stay at home in the pool again! It's so nice to just relax. We got some pork ribs and got them in the crock pot, then later BBQ'd them up, along with some mashed potatoes and grilled pineapple. Ummmmmmm, pork ribs. (Gee, a reference to Homer Simpson and Sesame Street... can you tell I'm a mom?!? And that it's late?!?)

Bon Anniversaire!

OK, so that really means Happy Birthday in French.... but we just celebrated our anniversary tonight in a restaurant with several french dishes, so sue me.
Thunder had the whole evening planned and didn't let me in on the details, which didn't worry me since he is great at planning nice evenings together. We were driving to dinner and I got excited when I realized we were going to the Chef's Table in Orem. It is one of the only Zagat-rated restaurants, and also happens to be the place we went after we got engaged nearly 8 1/2 years ago! It was called the Restaurant Roy back then, and is now a fine-dining experience, although the prices are not excessively high.
After dinner we headed to a play at BYU called In Thine Hand, which was a musical about Nephi in the Book of Mormon. Unfortunatley, the performance was not very good, so we left early and walked around campus for a while. It is Education Week at BYU, which means tons of ladies walking around everywhere. I was laughing because they had to post a big sign on the Men's bathroom that said "MEN ONLY."

The kids also had a great day with Nana and Papa. They all went up to Thanksgiving Point to the Farm Country where they got to pet goats, feed chickens and ride on ponies. They played on a small park and had a great time together. They got some great pics on their camera, but I don't have the right cord to hook up their camera to our computer.

Fun in the Sun

With Nana and Papa here, the kids were begging to blow up our pool and swim. We blew it up and filled it with water by 11... and the kids were in by 11:01. They stayed outside until almost 2 and had a grand ol' time with water gun, going down the slide into the pool, jumping on the tramp, laying on the tramp and chasing each other around the yard. Kid heaven!

Everything is Boydsteriffic!

Just to start off, Tornado's hand is looking much better. It's just a small bruise today... really a small miracle in my opinion.

This morning the kids were up early, jumping off the wall, excitedly making their beds with smiles from ear to ear.... Grandma and Grandpa Boyd were coming! Or as they like to call them, Nana and Papa. The kids were thrilled to receive matching Angels shirts and to just have a little extra attention! We've had a low key day, hanging out at the new warehouse and at home outside. Thunder and his Dad got to go out fishing, although the mosquitoes had more success than they did. Even our little 2 year old next door neighbor has found a new "Nana" in Grandma Boyd. It's just fun to have family around!

Family Roundup

Blood....tears...laughter....x-rays....smiles....triumph...they all happened today:

Tornado~ I must admit that I love my Nissan Quest van, including the motorized sliding door on one side. Unfortunately, those nifty sensors that are supposed to open the door in case of obstruction DO NOT WORK!!! Sunshine had just gotten out of the van and pressed the button to close the door, but Tornado tried his darndest to get out in time... unfortunately his left hand didn't quite make it and the door completely closed on his little thumb! He screamed, but I was on the other side of the car and didn't realize right away what had happened. Sunshine said Tornado was stuck and my heart leaped into my throat. I dashed into the car and opened the door to see Tornado's hand with a giant dent on both sides of the base of his thumb. It was dented in so far that it looked freakishly unnatural, so I rushed all the kids back in the car, called the doctor, called Thunder and we were off to the pediatrician. I was a bit freaked out and had to calm down. The doctor ordered X-rays, which, surprisingly, came back clear. I still don't understand how his little hand wasn't crushed!

Sunshine~ On the way to Cloudburst's school (more below) he ran, fell, and scraped his knees and hands, requiring 2 bandaids. Later on in the day he fell inside and got rug burn. Then later still, he was running outside and scraped up his first knee again, in another spot. As Thunder mused, maybe it's time to stop wearing flip flops.

Cloudburst~ Before she starts kindergarten this Monday, Cloudburst had to get a reading and math assessment from her new teacher. She is attending a charter school, which is a public school with a few more rules. We were there during recess and it was neat to see all the kids dressed in navy, khaki and white (the school "uniform" requirements). For reading and math, they split up into ability-level groups to learn. When Cloudburst and her teacher were done, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Cloudburst will be doing reading instruction with the 1st graders! She did a great summer school program that really helped her and she also LOVES to get on the website starfall.com. They have some great phonics games and stories there.

Thunder~ 3 kids, 3 houses, 2 apartments, 2 states, 4 college degrees, 6 jobs, 8 years... yes, today is our 8th wedding anniversary! Who would have thought that a simple physical therapy appointment could have led to all this? True to his style, we decided not to get each other gifts, but just go out on a nice date... but then a Home Depot truck rolled up with a new dryer! Yes, I am very excited about getting a dryer! I've had my eye on it for over a year now and it's great. Thunder is such a great dad, neighbor and friend. In fact, he took our old dryer over to a family whose dryer just broke. He's such a hard worker and has made our family business truly blossom to the point that we need a bigger warehouse. I love ya, here's to many more years!

Lightning (me)~ So, my gift to Thunder was not so glamorous. He has asked for popcorn several times, but I kept forgetting to get it at the store... so I got him a lot of popcorn! I really thought we weren't doing gifts this year... I also cheated death and triumphed in re-wiring the plug in our laundry room. Somehow our builder installed an oven range plug instead of a dryer plug... so tonight I took the time to CAREFULLY install and re-wire a dryer plug. It was a little scary turning on the dryer the first time... but it works!

Whewwwww, what a long post! What a trooper you are to read this far :-)

Footloose

Sometimes you just want to dance, 'nuff said!~

Tip Junkie

So, I have found a few blogs that offer great advice, projects, organizing helps, and other ideas. My favorite has got to be Tip Junkie. She collects ideas and tutorials from other blogs (and people submit them to her) and then she links back to those blogs where you can get the ideas and see pictures of the finished products. I got some ideas for the Olympics and some great ideas for the first day of school. Only one more week until I have a kindergartner!

Bye Bro!

My brother has been living with us for the summer, doing an internship at our company. We all have gotten used to his easy-going nature and sense of humor. We'll miss you!

His last ride on the scooter he got for the summer.

Last time mowing the yard. Thunder will miss that!

The kids made him a few going away presents. Bye Berto!

Fun Fair at the Fork (Spanish Fork, that is)

Since we have a house that needed cleaning today, and also a Fair in town, we decided two birds with one stone. I dangled the Fair-carrot in front of the kids all day, and it totally worked! I now have a clean house and a strange aftertaste in my mouth from fried scones.

When did Fairs get so expensive? We blew through $20 on 2 rides for each kid. Sheesh.

Date Night

One thing our kids love, love, LOVE is time alone with us. We call them dates. Yesterday, my bro announced to Cloudburst and Sunshine that he had a surprise for them, and it's been all they've talked about today. Sunshine said, "well maybe Santa gave him a present but it was really for us." Well, maybe... my brother loaded them into the car and drove them all excited off to see Wall-E!
I've heard mixed reviews of this, so we'll see what they say about it when they get back. But with them gone, Thunder and I had Tornado all to ourselves. This is something quite rare for him, and he has been so funny! We got ice cream and have been playing with him, and he's been all smiles and giggles. I've often thought about how his growing up experience is very different from Cloudburst. She got a lot of one-on-one time with us, but not too much play time with older kids when she was little. It's the exact opposite for Tornado! He is such a playful and adventurous kid and tries so hard to keep up with his older brother and sister. It was fun for us to concentrate on just him tonight.

Running it off

Since preschool ended back in May, I have not found a good time to exercise. Alas, I am not an early morning person. I have also been working more on the computer for the business, and somehow consume large amounts of sugary snacks while sitting sedentary in front of that darn screen... and now why, I ask myself, do none of my pants fit so well anymore? I think my kids stole my magic metabolism, and after a nice run tonight...

the race is on!

There are several 5K (3.1 miles) races in Utah, and there are a couple that I could do in October, so now that I have donned my trusty running shoes, it's time to start pounding pavement more often. Now, I have several marathonning cousins, and I am definitely not up to that kind of run. But I believe that anyone can do a 5K race (especially if I, with my chicken legs, can do it), even if it's just running slowly, which I do. So, anyone else up for a race?

Being the First...

We love the Olympics! The kids made our own set of Olympic Rings on the first day and it has proudly hung here above our fireplace since. I can't remember anything more exciting than the 4 x 100 men's relay where the US pulled out the win against France by pure will power. Sunshine is still learning how to say the word "Olympics"... he asked about the Belympics, and tonight asked to watch the Delympics. They especially like swimming, since they are now finishing up level 2 swimming lessons. So congrats to Michael Phelps on being the first to earn 11+ gold medals!

And another first... Cloudburst will soon be our first Kindergartner! We had Meet the Teacher night tonight at her school. She is going to a Charter school, which is still a public school, but has a dress code, volunteer requirements and other rules that I really think benefit students. I am excited for her to start and she is too. Can I really be the mom of a kindergartner?!?

Some Sweet News

I got some great news today. Yes, we did have doughnuts for Family Night tonight... but that is not the good news. I am the featured vocalist of the month on

Go check it out! I also have added several more songs to the music site, including two songs I have written. And, you can finally download songs now, yea! You can find it here.

Planning a Feast

With Thunder being the Elders Quorum President at church, he has been visiting lots of people, attending meetings, and is in charge of the last hour of church for the Elders (adult aged men). He felt inspired to use the 5th Sunday this month for a "fireside" of sorts about Temples. When he served his mission 10+ years ago, he attended a fireside about temples and loved it. It took us a while, but we actually found the CD and booklet for the fireside and spent tonight with another family planning out musical numbers. And of course, how can we plan a spiritual feast without some kind of sweet feast?
Just as a personal note, Brad Wilcox (the author of this) was my Bishop in a Singles Ward several years ago. Nice guy. And yes, my pile of yellow squash is growing...

In The City, Uh Huh

Anyone remember that song by the Eagles? Well, anyway, we all went up to the Big City... yeah, for us that's Salt Lake City. We had a great time walking around and took a tour of the huge and technologically-astounding Conference Center (did you know it can withstand a 12.0 earthquake). The tour ended with us up on the roof, where there are an array of gardens and fountains, and of course, an amazing view of the skyline!
We also visited the LDS Visitors Center to see the beautiful paintings and the majestic Christus statue.
We walked around more gardens before heading up to the Garden restaurant to eat lunch. Here's a few more pics...

My bro is only with us for 7 more days til he leaves to go home. We'll miss him!

Have you ever seen green hydrangeas before? I hadn't.

And one last pic... we got hail!