Flaming Gorge Vacation

Oh how we have come to really treasure our annual Flaming Gorge Vacation. This year we started out with a little bit of trailer brake problems. But once we got that all fixed then we had nothing to worry about (especially since Troy was able to pull the boat with his friend Clints awesome Diesel Truck.
However the moment we pulled into Manilla, UT where we stayed at the Steinaker hotel I knew we were in for a long night. The spiders came free and there was barely enough floor room to fit our 6 kids. It was by far the worse hotel any of us have ever stayed in. We should have expected it when the room was only $55. Lets just say there were no tears when we pulled out of that place.Then we were on our way to Mustang Ridge Campground right on the Sunny Cove Shore of "The Gorge". It only took us 3 hours of hard laborus work to set up camp. But once it was up we had lunch and hit the lake for a good tour of the "GORGOUS GORGE". Last year we didn't tour it like we did this year. We had a great time going down all the coves and enjoying the beautiful scenery. The next day we decided since the weather was cooperating that we should seize the moment and enjoy a white water rafting trip down the Green River. The girls were a little nervous, but were real troopers and everyone was sad to see the 4 hour rafting trip come to an end.The boys brought their fishing poles and tried a little something something. But found that the kids and the rafting was more entertaining. So they put their poles away and enjoyed the ride.So If you have never rafted a river you are surely missing out. This is one of my favorite things to do. I was quite disappointed with myself when I jumped in the river to get cooled off and hit my knee on a rock really hard. Wouldn't you know it I pick the one second we floated over a huge rock the only huge rock in that stretch. But it hit so hard I wasn't able to do any wakeboarding the whole trip.Ya you can say I was really disappointed especially the next day when we took a day of boating. The boys all had some really great rides, did you know that when you hit the wake at the Gorge it is alot more powerful than Utah Lake. Well that is what we believe.
Bowdee rode like a mad man, he cruised all the way back to the harbor that night it was like a 8 minute ride. He is getting so confident on his board. It won't be long before he is landing some jumps.Really the boys could tell a huge difference in their jumps. Anyway it was a long hard day for me just to watch and not be out there with them. But I made it through and the next day we drove up sunny cove and enjoyed alittle spear fishing and snorkeling. Troy hit a nice bass and Terrys got away. Bowdee and Treg even netted some guppies and Matia loved watching over them. We pumped up the trampoline and tube and just let the kids swim their little hearts out. Then of course we finished the day off with another great wakeboarding session. The last day we were all so tired from all the fun we had that we just parked our boat on a sandy beach and let the kids build hot tubs and we snorkeled some more. The weather was great the whole time we were there. Even though I packed enough cold gear for a 5 day Thunderstorm we didn't have to even use our hoodies. So I guess you can say we lucked out. We even were able to pack up dry tents to avoid later hassels. Yep we even had a few moments to just sit back in the hammock and enjoy everything and nothing at the same time. I have to say the only downfall of this trip was falling to sleep listening to the camp next to us cuss their way through some filthy campfire stories. Man some people can be so inconsiderate. Thank you Troy for bringing your darling girls and having such a good time with us. We hope you will do it again with us next year. We are ready to make the reservations.

Time of Change

So just recently my dad found out he has a fractured hip bone and torn tenden in his hip that he has been walking on for months. It has been bothering him but he finally got it checked out. Then he also has to have back surgery the end of this month. This is going to be painful for my dad because he is literally superman. Nothing has ever slowed him down and to have both of these things hit him at once has really opened his eyes. So with him being out of work for at least 5 months they have decided to rent out their cabin that has been a nice safe haven for all of us. So on the way up to the cabin to help them with the chore of packing up the cabin this was the sunset that we captured. I feel it is a time for change a time that we kids have to realize we need to help dad out instead of having him help us out constantly when we need it. So we went and spent the day packing and cleaning out the cabin of my moms dreams. Yes it tore at our heart strings and our back muscles too. My hopes are that someday they will be able to return to their home in the mountains to enjoy their lives and we can visit as often as possible. So since Terry and I collasped from a day of hard hard work we felt that a Sunday on the boat would heal us enough to make it through another week. So Sunday we invited Kami and her kids out on the boat and had a wonderful time. Iz and Koda even did their best as they tried wakeboarding. Treg even tried it for real this time.
No he didn't get up and his feet came flying out of the bindings but he was determined to "try it for real this time. I think I am good enough to do it mom." Ya it was another great day on the lake with some really great people.

4th of July Weekend

So we started celebrating on Thursday as we took Troy and Kamis families up AF Canyon for a little rock climbing. And wouldn't you know it I forgot my camera.

We had a great time however making smores while the boys scaled the rock. My wrist has tendonitis so I had a hard just sitting back and watching. I couldn't even help undo the knots. But it was fun and we got some more of that fresh air in our lungs.
I love watching my children trying new things. I love how they can give me their complete trust in knowing I would not ask them to do somthing that would hurt them. Man I love being a mom and I love watching my children go through life. Yep I am a pretty happy person.Then on Friday we really wanted to hit the lake but with the winds we put it off a day. So instead we just cleaned out our garage fun huh. However we now can park 2 cars in there, yes that is a first for us since we got married. Then we promised Treg we would do his pinata. It was a leprachaun he got from a yard sale last year that he saved for this year. Then we got caught up in March and forgot all about it. I was not about to wait another year so we broke it out and the kids decorated it to be a leprachaun celebrating the 4th of July. We hung it in our "CLEAN" garage and let them have at it. Later that night we pulled our chairs out with the rest of the neighbors and lit our small collection of fireworks. It was great to just be here and enjoy each other. I can't tell you how everytime I see the fireworks how I think of all the soldiers that put their lives at risk for us. From hundreds of years ago to those serving right now. I do appreciate and love what we have here in this land. Then Saturday of course we hit the lake it was still a little breezy so no wakeboarding for me instead I just kicked back and relaxed as the kids splashed on me to cool me off. Then all of a sudden out of no where this awesome boat full of really cool people pulled up. And yeh it was the Callaways.The kids thought that heaven just landed right there on our boat and brought a great friend for each of us. We pulled out the swing and the kids loved it until Terry tested it (with this weight) and it failed. So then we turned our focus to tubing and a little wakeboarding for Bowdee, Annie, Conor and Terry. All in all it was a great weekend. Needless to say Sunday we were to bushed to do anything so we headed to the movies to go watch Wall-e it was a cute show. But a little slow if you ask me. The kids seemed to like it. And I just loved sitting back holding my sweeties hand and enjoying the responsibility of doing nothing and sitting still for 2 hours. Well love you guys.

Bowdee's Second Swim Meet

Bowdee did great at this meet. I feel like he gave it his all and really has improved since the first of the summer. Bowdee took 3rd in Backstroke and improved his own time by 1.67sec. He took 3rd in Freestyle and improved his own time by .71sec. Then he took 6th in Breast Stroke and didn't get DQ'd and that is all I wanted him to do. So congratulations Bowdee it was an honor to offical you in your race. You keep practicing and you can take this as far as you like.

A weekend spent with Troy

This weekend was a well spent weekend with Troy and his darling 3 little girls. Terry and Troy decided to start it early on Thursday and went catfishing down at the harbor. They got skunked but gave it a good fight since they didn't come back until 3:30am that next morning. But they had some fun and I am always grateful for the time they get together. You know sometimes a woman needs her space. Just kidding.Then Friday a very good friend of mine called and reminded me the Lehi mini-parade was going on that night. Since this is my favorite parade since I was a little one we got some pizza and joined her cute family for the parade. Holly and Marcellus invited us to a movie with them and offered their daughter Tori (who we adore) to babysit all our kids. It was so fun to go sit in the backseat with my husband I just can't tell you how long it has been since I was in the backseat with a real hottie. Fun I tell ya. Now I remember why my friends and I would drive around all night with our boyfriends.So Saturday we headed up the AF Canyon with Troy and his girls. I use to watch his girls regularly and so it was nice to be with them again. I sure miss them. We first went to the reservoir to do a little fishing and I weasled my way out to go save a picnic table and left the boys with 6 kids. Ya I am sure that was a funny sight. But I tell you what these two boys could handle any amount of kids. They are the 2 best dads I know. (Sorry to anyone offended) They can hands down handle any situation. Baylee was the only one to catch a fish and I hear it was only a little one. Then the kids built us a nice campfire and climbed all over the rocks in the picnic area. While I sat and read a book and enjoyed listening to Troy and Terry check out the ladies in the same picnic area. They are hilarious. But the hot dogs and tinfoil dinners weren't burnt so obviously they were not to distracted. I have to say tinfoil dinners are one of my absolute favorites. Especially when Terry makes them. YUMMMY!Then we just relaxed, enjoyed each others company and sat around the burning campfire until 10:00pm I just have to say Troy is an amazing person. He is Terrys younger and only brother by 15 months. Troy loves his little girls like no other and would do anything for them. We all love being around Troy for his bubbly easy to love personality. He loves being outdoors and enjoying life. Thank you Troy for sharing some time with us.Of course Sunday we were out on the lake again. This time we filled the boat with 6 kids a dog and well us of course. It was great. The wakeboarding was so nice almost the best of the year so far. But the best part of it was being out there together with those we love. Sharing memories and creating new ones. The kids were real troopers even when a crazy wind storm came in so suddenly. We practically dumped Troy and his girls off at their harbor and dashed across the lake to our harbor. The harbor was crazy with people trying to get out of there. So we just tied up and waited till they all cleared out. I read a book to the kids as Terry took in some eye candy. And if you know Terry his eye candy is full of towers, props, boards, and engines. Man he loves those boats.

Terrys Final Birthday Event

So finally after a 3 day celebration Terry's birthday events have come to a close. Over the weekend we didn't have time for cake. So when Terry got off work we headed up American Fork Canyon and had a campfire. I don't know if this was more for me or him. I love AF Canyon there is something special to me about that place.
Anyway we built us a campfire and just hung out talking and the kids made their own campfire, yes it was pretend but we sure had a great time. Then we came home and finally got to fire up Terrys birthday cake. Lighting his candles gets scarier each year. But we did it and he blew them out. I was pretty proud of the wakeboard cake I made him, although I am still not sure he liked it. The black frosting turned purple on us. Oh well such as life huh. I love you babe and I sure love our life together.

Terry turns 36

So Saturday was Terry's birthday, yep we are getting old he just turned 36. Crazy if you ask me. So it was all up to him what we did all day long. And just as I suspected we got on the lake at 9:00am and had a wonderful day until we pulled off the lake at 7:00pm. That is a full 10 hours of playing on the water. We even got to spend this wonderful time with Terry's oldest sister Cindy. We love Cindy to death we really cherish the time we have with her. We haven't had to much one on one because she lived out of state for so long and then with her being a newlywed we didn't want to intrude. But man it was sure nice to spend a whole day with her on the boat. Terry did a little spear carp fishing and he speared 9 of those sick fish. Matia was so proud of her daddy. You see Tia hates it when Terry kills anything. However, we have convinced her that carp are the "Bad Fish" that eat all the good fish. So she was begging her dad to go kill some more.Terry also expressed how he would just love Matia n Treg to try wakeboarding on their own for his birthday. But once he discovered how choppy it was he decided it was not a good idea. So Matia tried surfing on her belly alone for him and Treg tried wakeboarding with Terry holding him up next to the boat as I drove. This worked great and he was loving it until his board sank nose first into a huge wave. It took him under and Terry jumped in right after him. Treg stopped crying in no time and proved to be a real sport for trying it. So we said our goodbyes to Cindy and headed back to shore. Grabbed a Hot and (not so) Ready $5.00 pizza for Little Ceasers and then headed home to relax. Well we were all exhausted and not thinking clearly when Terry and I broke the garage door to the boat barn. It was really not a good way to end the day. So we put off cake and presents until Sunday. Terry woke up and started taking the garage door apart and as I have said he can fix anything. And within 3 hours he had it fixed and was feeling much better. So then we opened presents we all got him some tools we knew he would like and then a fishing pole from everyone (since obviously his last one ran out of luck). But we forgot to get him some line. So we did a little shopping, took a nice nap, then headed for Tibblefork Res. to do a little fishing. It was crowded yes but oh so breathtaking. I just sat back and took it all in while everyone else did their fishing. We were low on our luck until about 9:00pm then the kids started reeling them in. Keeping Terry busy with the hook replacements and baiting and me with the camera. Finally at 9:30 we called it a night and headed home. Thanks Terry for sharing your birthday with us. I really enjoyed it. So some of the things I just adore about Terry is that he is a very hard worker and he never complains about it. Terry will do what he has to, to make sure we have what we need. He truly cares about other people and he is a great listener. 9 times out of 10 he can interpret what one person is really meaning to say or what they are thinking. Terry is known to tell you how it is, there really isn't a whole lot of sugar used in his bold truthfulness. (I am not sure I like that for I really like sugar) But I know if Terry says it that is really how it is. I love the daddy that Terry is to his children. Oh my goodness if you could be a fly on our wall you would realize that Terry really takes fathering to a new level. Many times I feel inadequate as a mother when I watch him be a dad. I love our garage, not the looks of it but the ability of it. It seems when Terry is in our garage he can do anything. He has all the tools to accomplish anything he needs to. Terry is not one to hire something out unless he completely has to. He would rather get his hands dirty and do it himself. I also love the way that the things that are important to me are important to you. I love you Terry and I know your children would be completely lost with out you. Hugs and kisses from your soul mate.

Matia's Dance

So Matia has been in dance for almost a year now and she has improved so much. Tonight was her 2nd performance which they did the High School Musical and she did the "Don't Dance" Song. Here is the video it really doesn't do it justice it looked so much better in person but oh well it was the best I could do. She is the first one to walk in on the left and leads the girls to the right. She is the furthest right during the whole dance. Watch how she moves. Good job kiddo you did marvelous, I am so proud of you.

Bowdee's first swim meet

So as you all know Bowdee made the HAST swimteam this year. It has been really fun to see how all his hard work is really paying off. Bowdee has been swimming 45 minute workouts every day of the week and he is doing great. Bowdee swam 3 events and in my opinion really did a great job. So the first meet was the 25 Yard Back stroke and took 4th out of 7. Then he swam in the 25 Yard Breast stroke and he was DQ with most of the other kids who swam breast stroke for flutter kicking a few kicks at the first. He did great to even try it. Last he swam the 25 Yard Freestyle and took 3rd out of 10 boys his age. So congratulations Bowdee we are really proud of your hard work.

Then Bowdee had his 2nd to last Baseball game tonight and hit a great homerun! He also is a total all around great player who focuses on the ball and the game. Good job buddy you are great.

I have really been hit hard lately with just how short our life is and how we just don't know what tomorrow will bring. I can count 5 wonderful individual that just recently have moved on to the next step in life. My heart aches terribly for those immediate families that have had their lives turned upside down. I can't tell you how many times my eyes fill with tears daily for the pain they are going through. So when a friend of mine passed this message along in an e-mail I just thought that is so true, we need to be doing all these things for we never know what is the next step in life for us. I remember in Tonia's hospital room one of her friends gave her a quote on a paper that stuck to her wall that said "Just do the next thing" I guess that is what we should do but I would like to add "Just do the next thing, the best that you can." May you all be comforted through your trials, I love you all.

This was the e-mail message I recieved and loved. "Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Love the ones who don't just because you can. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly. God never said life would be easy. He just promised it would be worth it." I believe what he has to offer, will be worth the fight we are fighting today.

Fathers Day

Today was a special day in our family. I guess it was for most people however, we took a day to really reflect on how lucky we are to have Terry as the father of our little family. Terry is a man who really believes in being honest. If you ask him anything he can not tell a lie. We love Terry because to him his family is his life. I know without a doubt he would do anything for us that he feels is best for our family. He loves to be with us.
Many men strive for a status at work or filling his bank account. Terry aches when he is without us and when he comes home he fills complete. The kids often say at bedtime that their bestest was when daddy came home. I know this is their way of saying that it just feels really good to be a complete family. Well Terry we love you and we feel blessed for each day that we have together. The kids and I all gave Terry a nice wakeboard for fathers day. Then of course we took him boating. It was a perfect day as I heard him say several times yesterday. Love you Honey. I also have to say how there are so many things that I love about Terry that I see in my own dad. Like how they both can fix anything that is broken. They both would protect their family without hesitation. My dad and I have always had a very special bond that will never be broken. Dad I love you so much and I hope you know that. Love your Krystal.There is also another special father figure in our family and that would be Terrys dad Chuck. Chuck is also an amazing person. One who is not quick to judge and full of love. I am so grateful for everything he has taught Terry over the years. I know without such a wonderful dad Terry would not be the man he is today. Thank you Chuck for being a second dad to me. Happy Fathers Day.