Wicked 2009

What would make 6 grown women wear matching green velour sweatsuits, get on a Le Bus and drive for hours and hours in the middle of November?

Amy, Monique, Me, Carrie, Krissi, Elisabeth

Why to go see Wicked of course!! When Wicked came to Utah, there were not enough shows for all the people who wanted to go see it. So a friend of our friend Krissi, decided to put together her own Wicked Road Trip. She rented 2 huge buses, and filled them with crazy women who were willing to drive to Denver to go see Wicked!

The trip was less than 48 hours, and it was filled with laughing, shopping, eating, and WICKED!!

Lake Powell 2009

Our kids have done a lot of things in their life, and been to a lot of places,

but one place they had never been was Lake Powell.

Thanks to our friends Steve & Erika, and their kids Sarah & Jack, we could check that off our list!

Our kids LOVE to be in the water; swimming, boating, jetskiing, kneeboarding, tubing, you name it! We went over Labor Day weekend, and the lake wasn't that crowded. We found a little cove that we basically had to ourselves, in fact, we had our own island. Depending on which of our kids you asked, it was either Ashley Island, Nick Island, or Jon Island

We had a great time, and both Troy & Steve LOVE watching football, so...

Yes, that is a satellite dish in the background, and yes they did hook it up to watch a football game. And they thought they were pretty darn clever.

Newport Beach 2009

It makes me sad to go through these pictures and see how much we have all changed. (I have gotten a little pudgier, and it's a good motivator to get me back on track!)

This was our last trip to the beach with the Dean's and the Wittwers. It was such a fun tradition to go to the beach every year, but with our kids getting older, and their lives getting busier each year, we just haven't been able to get another beach trip scheduled.

These are some of my favorite pictures that we take each year. It is usually the night we go to Ruby's for dinner, and we take pictures of the "trios" that hang out together each year.

Rachel, Ashely & Jake

Will, Nick & Blake

Tyler, Sadie and oh that's right, Jon does not always cooperate, so he was not in this picture...

Here is our whole crew

It was another fun year full of sun, sand, and hanging with some of our favorite people.

We love you guys!

Alaskan Cruise 2009

The Denning Family decided that it was time for a family trip. We ended up choosing a cruise to Alaska. We had Grandma & Grandpa, Tracy & Maury and their 4 boys (Josh, Jaren, Ryan, Cayden), and we took Ash & Nick with us (sorry Jon!).

It was Ash & Nick's first cruise, and with it being to Alaska, we made sure we packed jackets, windbreakers, etc. Little did we know that it would be the warmest it had been in Alaska in alost 50 years! When we stopped in our ports, it was almost 90 degrees.

Ash & Nick were just too hot & tired to walk one day , thanks Josh & Ryan!

It was so beautiful, and I wish I would have blogged right after the trip so that I could remember everything. But, I didn't, so I am just going to post some pictures.

It was chilly this morning, it was cool to see the little icebergs in the water, we were heading up to see a huge glacier. The water was a cool green/blue.

That blue/grey at the bottom of the mountains is a HUGE glacier.

If you asked Nick what his favorite part of the cruise was, he would say swimming, and ice cream. It didn't matter if we were at sea, at night, and there was a cold breeze blowing, that boy wanted to be in the pool and/or eating an ice cream cone!

I'm baaaack!

I don't know if anyone even looks at our blog anymore, since it has been 2 years since my last real post. Regardless, I am going to keep posting, keeping it my online journal for our family. I am going to go back to 2009, and catch up with pictures, posts, and anything I can remember.

For Real!!

It has been far too long since I have done a post, and I have sooo many things that I could post! Part of my problem, is I don't have Photoshop on my computer, so I can't fix any of my pictures. I still need to post our cruise to Alaska, our trip to California, Halloween, Christmas...it's really quite pathetic.

I promise that I will do better, I will work on getting Photoshop, and getting all caught up!

I am famous!

Yes, I was one of the HUNDREDS of women who went to see The Pioneer Woman last night. we waiting in line for about 1/2 hour to get inside the gallery, where she would be speaking. My sister-in-law & I decided we were going to stand on the stairs to see better - and WHAT DO YOU KNOW!! We are in a picture on The Pioneer Woman's blog!

No, of course, unless you knew it was me, you wouldn't be able to tell, but we are on the VERY top of the stairs...

I will be signing autographs later...

I LOVE Boutique Season!

I love going around to all the different boutiques! I have been to a few today, and there is another one tomorrow that I want to get to!

Check out Seedlings blog to see some of their cute stuff!

Fairytale or Horror Story

Once upon a time, there was a young girl. She was raised as a Titan. Her parents met at Olympus High School, and all of their 7 children went to Olympus. They have a brick in the Olympus High auditorium with their family legacy at Olympus. (The 3rd generation Titan of the family is a sophomore this year)

Anyway...when this young girl was at Olympus, she met another fellow Titan. (She just couldn't keep her eyes off of his awesome mullet!) He played Football, and ran track for Olympus

She was in their Dance Club, and was a Cheerleader her Senior year.

They began dating, and years later, they were married.

Their love for Olympus never faded. He coached little league football for Olympus for 10 years. He was a good coach, many of their teams went to the championship (one team had lost every game the year before, and WON the championship the year He was one of their coaches).

His players loved him. He would dress up in his pads, and play against them. They loved when they got to tackle him, and put "the smack down" on their coach.

She would faithfully attend those games, even when their first child arrived. When their second child was on the way, he decided that he needed to take a little break. They now have 3 children, and were planning on living happily every after...

Flash forward several years. They had bought their dream home. It was in her "Golden Circle" They were close to family, in the area they wanted, going to the schools they wanted...or so they thought. The year their oldest child turned 8, SHE decided she was going to play football. So we went to go sign her up at Olympus. Filled out paperwork, purchased t-shirts, shorts, etc...Then the unexpected...our little house had been snatched out of the Olympus boundries...and to our horror...we were now in EAGLE boundries...we had to put blue & yellow on our daughter, and she even had an SKYLINE FOOTBALL sweatshirt! (although it was pink...) It was hard...really hard...

Flash forward several more years. There was an opportunity to coach again for Olympus Little League. He REALLY wanted to coach, but there was a problem...Their oldest was now playing competition soccer, and their firstborn son was now old enough to play football. The only way that He would coach football, would be if his son was playing for Olympus...(queue dramatic music).

But, alas, it was not meant to be...we are firmly planted in Skyline Little League football. He would have to spend his time watching his son play as an Eagle - or would he...(more dramatic music).

When they finally split the teams, and had their first team meeting, one of the parents who was helping coach asked the question "What does the X mean on their helmets" - WHAAAT? After observing more discussion at that meeting it was clear that to ensure their son had a good first year of little league football, He would have to help coach - (three things that He said He would never do...coach a Gremlin football team, coach his own child, and coach for Skyline). Oh what you do for your children!

To make things even more painful, our first game was the annual Olympus vs. Skyline fundraiser game. Skyline got KILLED by Olympus! But their son did a great job. He got to play several positions, including runningback & quarterback, and he looks ADORABLE in his uniform (even though it is the wrong color).

Let's Go Team... sigh...

Well, regardless of what school their kids end up going, they still are planning to live happily ever after.

And So It Begins...

It's a good thing we got all of vacations & fun in July, because fall sports are in full swing at our house...

Ash has soccer 3-4 times a week (next week 2 times a day for 2 of those days!!), and Nick has started football. He is sooo excited! He will have practice 5 days a week.

I knew what we were getting ourselves into, from when Ashley played football, but I think you forget about it until it starts up again, and smacks you in the face !

I just wish my kids weren't so timid and shy...

Like Father, Like Daughter, Like Son

I know I have been horrible lately about posting, and it's not for lack of material! We went on our cruise, and just got back from California, and I have a TON of pictures to go through, but this one makes me laugh...

I don't know if it was because of poor sun screen application (impossible, since I am the one who did it!), or if it was because of aggressive beach activities, where their swimsuits slid down their bodies, but each of them got a sunburn on their backs about 2-3 inches high...Note to self for next year...they need to sunscreen their entire bums, and I will have NO part of that!

Look at Him Go!

So, last week, it was just Jon & myself at home. He was watching TV on the couch, and I was just doing my thing around the house. I heard Jon say "I want to take my training wheels off". I didn't really pay attention, and just kept doing my thing. He said it a few more times, so I thought, fine, I'll take them off, and then I will be putting them back on. (We have tried this a few times in the past few months, but mind you, it has always been someone else suggesting it).

So, with training wheels off, and helmet on, we ventured out into the street. It only took me about 10 yds., and he was off!

He was SOOOO proud of himself, he just kept giggling! (and when he wasn't giggling, he was concentrating really hard - thus the famous Denning tongue sticking out!)

We decided to venture around the block, so I got on my adorable bike, and off we went. Jon kept yelling "Whoohoo! No training wheels!"

Ashley had taught Nick how to ride his bike when he was 3, so we were starting to wonder if he was ever going to ride his bike without training wheels - for heavens sakes - he's 4 1/2!! What's wrong with him! He just had to do it when HE wanted to do it!!

It made me a little sad (and still does), to see him riding off on his bike. He's my baby, and I realized that he is not so little anymore.

Way to go buddy!

Laundry Helper

One FHE when I was about 10, my Mom passed out a laundry bag to each of the kids (there were 7 of us), that had our names on it. Then she taught each of us how to do our laundry. We each were assigned a day of the week to do our laundry, so if you didn't do it on your day, you were either out of luck, or you had to ask the person who's day it was if you could do a load, or put a few things in with their stuff.

I didn't love doing it, but I TOTALLY understand why my Mom did that. So, last summer, I taught Ashley how to do her laundry. It really is quite cute to see her piles of dirty clothes, and hear her in the laundry room starting up a load of laundry.

I also have had Nick sorting his dirty clothes for a while, and he is next to learn how to do his laundry.

Today is laundry day. I told Nick he had to sort this laundry, and to help Jon sort his. A few minutes after the boys went downstairs, Nick came up. I asked him if he was done, and he said yes. Then I asked if Jon's sorting was done, and he said, "I showed him how, and he wanted to do it himself".

A few minutes later, Jon was calling for me (a bum check - lucky me!), and when I gave my approval, I asked him if he was done sorting his clothes, and he said not yet. So I asked him if he wanted my help, and he said "No". We went into his room, and I was watching him sort. He was talking to himself as he went along "Shorts in this pile, shirts in this pile...I need to start a sock pile..."

So, even though he didn't get the real concept of darks, whites, etc., he was sorting his clothes. And one less thing for this Mom to do is a BIG deal in our house!

Not a Fan

I don't know many people (if anyone), who LOVES to go swimsuit shopping...I just don't think they ever fit quite right!

However this year, I am in need of new suits. My friend told me about a girl that makes swimsuits. She can come to your house, or you can go to hers. She has several styles to choose from, and you try them on, and if you want it a little longer, or a little shorter, higher on the neck line, etc., she will do that for you! She custom makes them for you, and they are CUTE! She has some really cute fabrics to choose from. Her tops start at $25, and her bottoms start at $12.

So, if you hate swimsuit shopping as much as me, you may want to check her out - it was painless, and I got to choose exactly what I wanted - plus she says it only takes about a week! I may have to get some more when I pick mine up!!

www.essentialswimwear.com

Like the Wind

I was totally shocked, and suprised when I opened my birthday present from my Mom & siblings!! How did they know I wanted a beach cruiser?!? Oh that's right...I sent them an e-mail with the link to the exact one I wanted...My family is the best!!

Thanks to Ashley, we have some pictures of me on it, but I am so fast on it (just like when you get new shoes, you can run faster, and jump higher), they are a little blurry...


It really is adorable...the fenders have been ordered, and I am looking for suggestions for decorating my basket...

I Still Kinda Like Him...

Today is our 15th Anniversary, and yep...I still kinda like him!

I am active...I am spry...

My Mother's Day celebrations began Thursday...

When Jon came home from preschool, I looked inside Jon's bag, to see his "work", and I noticed a Mother's Day surprise in there. I told Jon I didn't see what it was. He wanted me to see it them, but I told him I wanted to wait until Sunday. He took it out of his bag and hid it. He came back and told me that I needed to find it, but I just kind of ignored him. That night as I was going to bed, I took all my pillows off the bed, and he had put his little flower he had made under my pillow...soooo cute!

I had heard for WEEKS about the present Nick was making me. He just knew that I was going to love it (which I did), and that he had worked so hard & fast, that he got to make me two. He too, couldn't wait until Friday, so I opened his present, and I had two string art pictures. He said he knows that I love Tulips and the Sun. He was very proud, and I did love them, but almost more than that, is the letter that came along with it...

spry (adj) - moving quickly and lightly

Why thank you Nick!

From Jon's other preschool, they made flower pens (flower on top, then wrapped in green florists tape), and a notepad, but once again, the letter is what made the gift.

First of all - he LOVES to draw/color, so he always colors EVERYTHING on his "work".

I think I will take my pretty self, and go have some broccoli & ice cream and cake..He is in the running for my new favorite these days!

Ashley made a cute heard dish that she mod podged some colored tissue to the sides, and her picture to the bottom - very cute. Troy bought me a tennis outfit that I REALLY wanted - I will be sporting it tomorrow at my tennis lesson.

I hope all the mother's in my life had a great Mother's Day!!

Before & After

Before Church...

...After Church...
Need I say more?

Easter Festivites, Part 3

Last year, we had the Easter Bunny come on Saturday. We wrote the Easter Bunny, and told asked him if it would be ok to come a day early, and he was nice enough to grand our request!

I really liked that a lot, that way all the chaos of eggs, candy, etc. was over, and on Easter Sunday, we can focus on the true reason for celebrating Easter.

This year, I couldn't pull it off, with sick people at our house, I just couldn't get my act together in time. And that was ok, but I am going to make it on Saturday from now on.

I am never very good about getting pictures of the actual "hunt" part, because they are running around so fast, but I love to get their pictures taken in their Easter outfits. (I was so thankful that we didn't have any boulders and dirt piles in our yard, like we did last year!)

Also, Sunday is the one day a week that Ashley looks like a girl, granted it is only for 3 hours, but hey, I will take it!

I was even brave enough this year to be IN some of the pictures! (Thanks to our neighbor, who happened to be driving by as we were taking pictures.)

Easter Festivities, Part 2.5

Saturday afternoon, Ashley & I had some girl time. We are different in a lot of ways, but my girl LOVES to get pedicures with me!

I always have hopes of pink toes, with a cute little flower on Ash, but who am I kidding!

She told me "Mom...green IS a spring color!"