Well, the summer has been over for a while so I am not sure why the blog was not updated sooner.  However, better late than never.  To catch you up to speed...the day we left for California, we had to get Damon's arm casted.  He fell off his longboard while having the dog pull him.  So, no surfing for him.  We ended up wrapping it in a plastic garbage bag so he could go to the beach.  He had a great time helping Lindsay dig a gigantic hole.  Madison loved surfing and is ready to go back again.  Chris even convinced me to give surfing a try, and I never did manage to stand up but had a blast anyway.  While I was out surfing, the kids finished digging their hole and then decided to climb inside and let grandpa and lindsay bury them.  The pictures say it all.

One heck of a hole!!

The buckets make the outfit!

Madison kicking butt the first time she tried surfing.  

Ummm...yes, I know this picture is sideways, and no I can't fix it. 

Chris and Alicia took the kids to the nationals soccer game for their birthdays.  The kids loved it.  Thank you uncle Chris and aunt Alicia.  

We visited the Midway while in San Diego.  It was very interesting!  I also found a good place for the kids to hang out.  (Actually, this better be the only time in their lives that I see this view)

August saw us return to school.  Madison is now in 6th grade and Damon is in 10th.  Madison still goes to school with me and SURPRISE!!!  I am her teacher this year.  Yes, I moved from Kindergarten to sixth grade.  I like to keep life interesting. ha ha.  We are doing well, and the kids are working hard.  We went to a REAL soccer game and the kids had a blast.  

October brought pumpkins and Halloween.  We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  Madison insisted on a white pumpkin that must have weighed about 50 tons.  She had big aspirations for that pumpkin.  Madi went dressed as super girl and Damon went dressed as Einstein.  Despite my desire to be lazy and wear my scrubs and stethoscope for Halloween I gave in and dressed like a minion with the other people at work.  It turned out really cute.  

Chillin' at the pumpkin patch.

Damon's pumpkin.

Madison's pumpkin.

(Bonus points if you can tell me what their pumpkins are carved as)

Some of the awesome people that I work with.  Love you guys.

Here we are ready for trick or treating.  (Yes, it is sideways.  Sorry)

Madison is ready for the holidays; Mom is not so sure.  We are all excited for Christmas and a nice long break from school!!

Summer is off and running!

The kids and I are enjoying our summer.  We have spent time trying to organize the house and time hanging out with friends. We have been camping once and then went to Colorado to visit family.  Much to Damon and Madison's dismay, we went camping in a campground instead of off-roading to the middle of nowhere to camp.  However, they had a blast when we got there.  We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows and stayed up late talking and being silly.  We left the day after returning from camping for Colorado.  What would make a vacation more exciting than having the entire state on fire.  The smoke made the sun a crazy red color.  I tried to get a pic but you can't really see the red very well.    We stayed with my aunt and uncle while we were there.  We were able to visit with them and some of my cousins.  The kids talked my cousin, Arnold, into helping them  try to make glow in the dark bubbles.  It didn't work but made some really strange looking glow in the dark cups. (see pics below)  Damon went with grandpa to the car show in Pueblo and my mom and I took Madison to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.  I don't think she can decide whether she liked feeding the giraffes or petting the wallabys better.  We are home for a week and then we are off again.  This time we are headed to California to see Chris, Alicia, and Lindsay.  They kids are very excited.  I'll keep you posted on our latest adventures!  Love ya!

                                           Camping up American Fork canyon

                                          Smoke from the fires making the air gross and the sun red

                                          Glow in the dark bubbles actually cause glow in the dark cups

                                          Madison feeding the giraffes at the zoo

                                          Madison petting the baby wallaby

                                          Maureen, Michelle, Madison...three generations enjoying the zoo

                                      Damon and Grandpa talking cars

We Made it Through Another Year!!

Well, when I said I was going to keep the blog updated I didn't mean six months later.  However, it is better than the year break we had last time!  We made it through another school year.  It is hard to believe that Madison finished 5th grade and Damon finished 9th.  There must be some mistake, I can't be that old.  Ha ha.  We are all doing well.  The kids are keeping busy with school and friends.  They both are still playing the violin.  Damon has been working very hard in his classes and enjoys hanging out with his friends when he has the time.  He also has worked some on his Mustang that he is restoring.
Madison had a great year, she dressed up like a monster for her class' literacy festival performance,  she participated in the hope of america program, she graduated from DARE (the drug resistance program), had a Spanish fiesta at school and got to play the violin, and for field day enjoyed the slip and slide that they set up on the hill at school.
This summer we are headed to Colorado to see family that we haven't seen in a while and California to see Lindsay (I guess we will visit with Chris and Alicia while we are there too).  We want to spend some time at the pool and with friends; and despite some moaning and groaning from the kids, Mom wants to get the house cleaned and organized.  Wish me luck!!  We hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the warm weather.
Love ya!!

The kids with D-O-G and the new puppy Sweetie.

Madison dressed as a sea creature for literacy festival.

Decorating Easter eggs.

Madison is sitting in the center section of the flag, third red stripe up.

Dare graduation with the officer that taught the class.

The slip and slide at field day.

Well, I know it goes without saying that this last year has been busy.  Thus the lack of posts between December and now.  We have had fun and some pain but managed to survive. First, the bad news:  Mike has decided that he no longer wants to be married and would like to pursue his life with someone else.  This has caused some almost unbearable heartache and pain, but if this makes him happy then it is what he must do.  Now, for all of you freaking out and reaching for the phone...the kids and I  are okay and just taking things one step at a time.
Second, the good news:  We have had a great year and look forward to more of the same.  We went to Washington DC as a family (Mike was still with us at this time) and saw one of my best friends, Britney, in New York and met Mike's mom in Washington for a few days.  The road trip across the country was crazy but fun.  We saw so many neat things that we may never get the chance to see again.  We saw everything from the world's largest Jackalope to the Washington Monument.  Our route took us from Utah to Mount Rushmore to Wall drug in Wall, South Dakota and then the Jolly Green Giant Statue.  Next was Madison, Wisconsin so Madison could say she had been to Madison and on to Chicago.  Breakfast at the American Girl store in Chicago and a visit to the Willis tower and it's sky deck, a stop in Kirtland, OH church history sites, and then we were off toward New York.  We stayed a couple of days in New York and saw as much as we possibly could including the 911 memorial and the Empire State building.  Here we visited with Britney and Matthew and had a fabulous time.  Thanks for entertaining us!  Were off again to Hershey, Pennsylvania and the Hershey factory and then to Washington DC where we spent a lot of time in the Smithsonian, saw some of the monuments, and the National archives.  We couldn't get tickets to the White House but walked my it and took some pictures.  We headed south west on the way home and stopped at the Corvette Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky and then headed off to the St Louis Arch in St Louis, Missouri.  Unfortunately the line for the Arch was several hours long and so the kids and Mike were unable to go up in it but we did walk around it and go into the museum there.  From there we headed up to I-80 and back home.  Crazy couple of weeks but definitely worth it.

(Pictures from top to  bottom:  Wall Drug (Wall, SD), Madison, Wisconsin, Fiberglass molds from a factory in Wisconsin, breakfast at the American Girl store in Chicago, the kids on the sky deck of the Willis Tower in Chicago, New York skyline from the Empire State building, Video of the kids dancing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Washington D.C., Grandma and the kids in front of the White House, Damon eating the Washington Monument, the kids hanging out at the national zoo, and the museum at the St. Louis Arch.)

However, our fun has not stopped there.  Madison had soccer camp and then played soccer for the city rec team.  Her favorite position is still Goalie.  They are both doing well in school.  Damon is at the high school this year (9th grade is high school out by us) and is doing very well in all of his classes.  Madison is now attending the school where I teach and she is loving it.  She has made a lot of friends and likes the fact that she gets to play her violin at school in orchestra class, and not just at home.  She had a great time dressing up for red ribbon week and I included a picture of her in her rockstar outfit.    

We kicked the Halloween season off with a trip  to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. The kids had a blast on Halloween.  Damon skipped trick or treating this year and sat in the coffin on the porch and scared kids.  He loved it.  He dressed as Vladmir Tod, a vampire from the book series Vladmir Tod.  Madison and her best friend dressed up as zombie hip hop dancers and went out in search of trick or treat candy.  They came home with a pillowcase full of candy.  

(Pictured below: Madison playing as Goalie in her soccer game, the kids at the pumpkin patch (yes, that is a sock monkey hat that Madison is wearing, Madison and two friends dressed for Rockstar day at school, Damon and Madison making Halloween cookies, carved pumpkins (mine is on top, damon's is in the middle with the A for aggies, and Madison's cat in the pumpkin is on the bottom), Damon and Madi ready for school (yes, Damon's eyes are red), Madi and Naomi just before trick or treating, Madison all zombified, Damon hanging out in the coffin and with his friend the talking skeleton (Yes, grandpa was up to it again this year.  The skeleton talked to the kids and Damon gave out candy.)

Well, it has been kind of a long episode so I will bring it to a close.  Hopefully we can stay current and then it won't take quite so long.  Love you all!

Michelle