New Ride & New Do

I'm calling it a mid life (ok, 30's) crisis.  You call it what you want. 

With Brandon driving almost 100 miles per day, he thought this little Honda Insight would fit just right.  Plus, the lime green color made it the right price.

To us it looks like a toad, but you can't go wrong with a Hybrid and having your MPG in the 60's. 
YES!

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I decided to go brunette.  It's more natural and personally I think it fits me better.
Ta   Daaaaa

A few things...

I've been meaning to attach some pictures of what we've been busy doing lately.  Halle started preschool after labor day.  Today she was the "Super Kid" which means she got to have Ted E. Bear over for a sleepover, she and I decorated a star with her name on it which will be displayed in class, she said she wore a pretty cape during class, and she brought her favorite treat to share.  She attends preschool with friends and goes 3 times a week to prepare her for school next year.  Taya and Mommy get some alone time while she's gone which is awesome. Taya has been singing her way into our hearts.  She loves to belt it out every where she goes. She talks in full sentences even if it takes her a minute to remember the words.  There's nothing more precious to her than her "Icky Baby".  She calls it that because we all hate how used it looks. One day that baby will go missing....mark my words.....  

When this guy isn't working or on the road, this is what he's doing. 

With both of us involved in Scouting, we get to go on some fun excursions.  Brandon went on an overnight hike up Red Mountain with his scouts.  This is the second annual trip, so this time he knew what his body was in for.  I think he's still talking about his jello legs.  

 Arrow points to our house

I have been peer pressured into making a quiet book.  At first, I really didn't want to put forth the effort, but once I saw it I had to have one.  I'm trying to work on it a little each day so I at least have it done by Halle's baptism.....he he.  Seriously....it's time consuming!  It'll be one of the items I grab for if my house starts on fire.  I'm using cotton fabrics, muslin, craft fuse, felt (each piece of felt is doubled, with craft fuse in between to give strength, then hand sewn), snaps, velcro, buttons, ribbons, etc. The finished product will have 16 pages with a cover.  If you come over and my kids are screaming and my house is a disaster, you can find me at my sewing machine.          

Surfer girl

On Labor Day we went surfing.  There's a fun way to surf just off the back of your boat. Some friends of ours invited us to go boating and they've been wake surfing for a couple of years now.  Once you get up on the small surf board while holding on to the rope, you can let go of the rope and ride the curl the boat's wake puts out as the boat cruises around the lake.  Their boat has a whale tale prop which helps create the curl and there's also some prep, like inflating some large reservoir bags of water to sink one side of the boat which helps create a bigger wake.  It took some serious concentration and practice for Brandon and I to get up and stay up but we finally conquered it.  Our friends looked like pros and made it look so easy.  Wade even took all the kids on a ride.  Halle took her turn and smiled the whole time.  

 

When I get a hold of the picture of me surfing I'll attach it. 

My duty the past 3 days

Call me nerdy if you want, but I have always wanted to be called to jury duty. I was officially summoned here in St. George a few weeks ago and served my 3 day term ending late last night.  Of course, you have to first be selected which wasn't difficult for me.  I did what they asked, and didn't raise my hand and blurt out that I didn't like cops. (Yes, one gentleman got the "boot" as soon as the judge heard that comment.)  They must have really thought my life was as basic as you get...boy the things they don't know.  Especially because it was a motorcycle/car accident and failed to ask any questions as to whether we'd ever ridden on a bike or even if we'd ever been in a motorcycle accident.  (Yes, for me on both of those.) Oh well, I'm sure they had reason to ask the questions they did and as a result ended up choosing a very good jury in my opinion.  The whole experience was interesting and educational for me, maybe even more so since I previously worked in a law firm.  We were given a civil case where we were responsible to determine negligence on one or both sides.  After all the discussion of this case, laws of the road, and preponderance of evidence, I'll be more cautious in making left turns and be sure my loved ones wear helmets when riding bikes.  If you're as nerdy as I am and have an hour to kill, ask me about it sometime.

A BIG SUPER HUGE thanks to those great friends of mine who watched my girls over the past 3 days.  They keep telling me to go back to "work".  Love ya!

Yay for Family Reunions!

Family reunions have a bad rap....well they do with me.  Normally there's a lot of groaning when I think about a cheesy family reunion but ours are never like that....thank goodness.  The week was low key, me and my brothers and their families just hanging out.  It's been two and a half years since I'd seen Jason and his girls so that alone made the trip for me.  Unfortunately, Brandon couldn't make the trip with us which was super sad, but we filled him in via our nightly phone calls.  There was a LOT of relaxing, watching the kids play, laughing, a treasure hunt, crafty time, a mountain excursion, an evening hiking experience, a little shopping, and late night talks with snacks.  The trip wouldn't have been complete without a famous quote from my niece Morgan. While on our hike she yelled, "Hey,  I just saw something,.... it was either a rabbit or a jack ass!"  After we laughed our guts out, we figured that she was referring to a "pot gut".  She also called them "jack pots".  I guess that's where "jack ass" came from. So cute!

 Halle, Livia and Annecy.  Long lost cousins - found!

 Our moment of craftiness...

 

The much anticipated treasure

 Donuts on strings = hour of fun

 My Mom surprised the girls with burlesque/slip skirts.

 

My super cute dad posing

 

There's a munchkin in the grass

 Ahhhh.  Let's not wait another 2 1/2 years ok?

Our first baby

Tiara came into our lives as an awkward and clumsy eight week old puppy.  Brandon and I both payed our equal part of $400 each so we could take her home.  We weren't married yet but new we couldn't wait any longer once we met our puppy.
Tiara (T-Bone) passed away in Brandon's arms early Wednesday morning from natural causes.  She lived to be ten years old, which is  super-granny for a Great Dane.  T-Bone was the BEST dog!!  Those who knew her would say she was sweet, yet protective, energetic when she needed to be, and loungy the rest of the time. She was the most obedient of the Boulter kids.  Around kids she was accepting and would allow them to play on her and inspect her body without snarling.  She only gave kisses to those she really, truly loved.  She would let us dress her up for Halloween (Snoop Dog, Reindeer, Angel).  She rafted the Snake River with her doggy cousins. She was a little bit feminist and had a weapon for a tail. She demanded soft bedding and would sneak around to find the perfect spot, even if it was in a forbidden zone.  She loved sniffing around at the dog park and running freely in the mountains.  Tiara was a joy to have around and loved being surrounded by her family. Her final resting place has a beautiful view of Zions National Park and the Pine Valley mountains.

We'll miss her!

L-A- J-O-L-L-A

 Last week was quite the party with the Pratts in La Jolla, CA!  

I'll just say we...

ate some of the best food, 

cleared our lungs breathing that wonderful ocean air, 

road a fantastic roller coaster, 

saw wild dolphins, sting rays, sea lions, and a jelly fish at the beach - who needs Sea World 

took a major wrong turn thinking we were above the GPS - wrong, 

had some of the happiest children, 

saw the most seaweed ever wash up on shore,

relaxed every night in what seemed to be our own personal hot tub (Taya's pronunciation, ha bub), 

laughed to tears on more than one occasion - in fact...still laughing, 

watched Halle's eye's light up after finding the first sand crab,

road on an eight person bike along the boardwalk with Chad at the wheel (must I say more?),

sat at Powerhouse Park watching the surfers until dusk,

wished for sun all week and got it on the last day.

We all came home with something...

Brandon - a lovely sand burn on his forearm

Nat - a new hat

Halle - a bucket of shells

Taya - a new found love for her cousins