NUMBER 8.

Lo and I celebrated our numero 8 last week. It is crazy to think that we have been married 8 years and at the same time it seems like it has been many more. We decided to go to Park City to celebrate the occasion for a couple days. We took Drew and Sommey along for one of the nights. We had a lot of fun together and played until they were worn out. Lo and Janyce were nice enough to babysit them for the next night. This is what Drew and Sommey were doing when they met us to pick up the kids.

Lo was thrilled when I surprised him by taking this shot of him in the hot tub. He will be even more thrilled that I am posting it on the blog. Love ya cutes.....sexy arm tan.

Lo surprised me with flowers the day we left. I think these will go down as one of my favorites. I love the colors. Thanks for eight great years and two of the cutest kids ever. I love you Lo!

Costumes, Carnivals, and Close Friends

Saturday night we had some of our friends over for a Halloween Party. We decorated our unfinished basement for the festivities. I painted a few cardboard boxes and used some things that my mom sent me like the spider that hung from the ceiling to create a spooky ambiance.

We played carnival games and the kids won some really great prizes thanks to a load of goodies that my momma(Thanks Mom!) sent for the festivities as well. The games included: The Fish Pond, Bean Bag Toss and Hit Frank's Face(ball toss). The kids came in their Halloween best and looked very cool and cute. We had Superman, Supergirl, Snow White, Dash, Minnie Mouse, Spider Man, bumble bees, and Fairy's , to name a few of our fancy guests. Sadly, a lot of my pictures turned out a bit blurry and I never did get one of all the kids together.

Superman (Drew) and Supergirl (Paige)

Sommer started the party as a Fairy Princess and ended as a disheveled Snow White with Strawberry Shortcake glasses and lipstick smeared skirt -due to some prizes she won at the fishing pond.

We always have such a fun time when we get together. Thanks to everyone for bringing yummy treats, salads, and your cute families. We missed those that couldn't make it this time and look forward to seeing everyone again at the Christmas Party or sooner.

My Latest Project

In a continuation of my efforts to decorate my home for as cheap as possible, I finished a new project this week. I saw this map in Pottery Barn Kids and loved it. I decided to attempt to re-create it for Drew's room. I thought it would be a good way to help him learn the states and also show him where his friends and family live across the U.S.A. and add a little flare to an empty wall.

Here is the progression of my efforts:

First I sketched the states out with pencil and then used acrylic paint for the states colors and names.

I was happy with the results and it was a really fun project.

I think the final cost was $16 for the canvas, $15 for supplies. So, $30 bucks for a project that I would have had to shell $100 out for through PBKids. Not too shabby.

Top of Utah Marathon-I DID IT!!!

I ran the Top of Utah Marathon on Saturday in Logan. For my first marathon, my goal was to just finish. I ended up walking around 4 miles of the race, but still ended up finishing just under 5 hours. I met some really cool people, ended up seeing one of my great friends, and realized that I could actually make it to the finish line.

Lo got this shot of me around mile 25.5
He got another shot of me smiling as I see the finish line right in front of me.
........and then for the final shot as I crossed the blessed finish line. My final official time was 4 hours 58 minutes. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had and I really think I will do it again......not next week, but next year sounds pretty good.

Soccer-The "Killer" Bees

Soccer has begun and the "Killer Bees" are ready for action.

Drew had his first official soccer game yesterday. He is lucky enough to not only get one on one tips from the coach but to live with him as well. Lo volunteered to coach Drew's team and is doing a great job with the kids.

Drew loved his first game and got a few good kicks. He has practice every Wednesday night and will play 8 games over the entire season. It was pretty cute the see how the kids would run after the ball and then sometimes disregard it all together. Our team managed to make a couple of goals, unfortunately, a few less than the other team did.

GO BEES !!!

Preschool begins....guns and golf clubs...water parks....Birthday Parties.

We are trying to keep the summer fun coming, although school has officially begun for Droozer. He started school on August 20th. He has an August birthday, so I decided to send him to one more year of Preschool before starting Kindergarten. His teacher is Mrs. Buxton and he is feeling good about being in school again.

SUNDAY SURPRISES

Grandpa and Mimi Nestman came to dinner on Sunday with surprises for Drew and Sommey. Drew scored some cap guns and Sommer got her own mini set of golf clubs. We had a fun dinner and watched the Olympics, while Drew shot up the place and Sommer checked out her new set of clubs.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

The night shots, although a little blurry, still show the kids partying the night away and helping Grandpa Moss blow out his candles.We were in to Idaho Friday and Saturday to celebrate my Dad's 64th birthday. We had a fun party in the Moss backyard that ended with some Boomland fireworks that my Mom bought on their fun trip.

WATER PARK

We also spent some time at the water park in Rexburg. The kids were huge fans up until the lady in charge had to clear everyone out of the water because some kid decided to be a literal "party pooper." Yucky.

Mamma Mia, 1/2 Marathon's, Dinosaur Museums, and $2 Tuesdays.

Mamma Mia-Ladies Night Out

Thursday night, the Cox ladies all gathered to enjoy a ladies night out. We went to Mamma Mia, which was a hit, and then to Hires to chat about random topics that included synchronized swimming, politics and Paris Hilton. It's always a fun time with the Cox ladies.

Race Day-Provo 1/2 Marathon

Next up, Kathy and family came to visit for a couple of days. She came to run the Provo Half Marathon with me. She was there to support me when I hit mile 11-I curse the 2.1 miles that looped to the finish in the Riverwoods shopping area!!

Dinosaur Museum

Kathy and I took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum while Lo and Chad headed to South Mountain to get in a golf game. The kids literally ran from one exhibit to the next, unfortunately for us, they ran in different directions.

We have had a couple of FUN weeks full of family visits and hope for many more to come.

$2 Tuesdays at the Children's Discovery Gardens

Drew, Sommey and I enjoyed a fun day in the sun on Wednesday. Notice the llama(I think it's a llama) in the window taking aim at the two cute and oblivious kiddos splashing their way around Noah's ark. Note to self: other people are aware of $2 Tuesdays -the proof is in the next picture.

Even amidst the million people participating in our day at the Discovery Gardens, we had a great time. There was a lot for the kids to see and do. Sadly, my camera ran out of power, so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked of our fun day.