Wow I still can't beieve it was 16 years ago that Terry and I made those sacred vows. To love and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. We have had an amazing life together so far. I am excited to see what the next 16 years will bring. But I do know I have loved the last 16 years even though there have been struggles, they only seem to bring us closer somehow in the long run. I do love being married to my best friend, the one I can truely be myself around and I know he will keep loving me. Love you baby thanks for all you have taught me and experienced in life with me this far. xoxo forever!

Yellowstone 2012 May 24-28

So here are just a few of our most favorite memories. This year we shared our vacation with Mom and Dad Covington and Troy and his girls. It was great we had a memorable Idaho Falls with these 2 Canadian Geese that had like 100 goslings. They were so dang cute they just kept coming and coming. The blossoms on the trees were beautiful as the air was filled with excitement to begin our vacation.





We got to West Yellowstone and we were all starving so Gpa took the kids swimming because they just couldn't wait one more minute and we responsible adults went to get KFC which Treg has been begging us for since we went to Gma Townsends and she shared some with us back in Feb. So that was the highlight of the first day of our trip.

The kids woke up early ate a quick breakfast and headed to the pool before check out time. Mom and I went for a little shopping downtown West Yellowstone and had to check the roads since it was snowing and we weren't sure if it would still be open. Then we headed back to the hotel and had to pry the children away from the pool. But they were all excited to get to the park and see what there was to see.

Once we got into the park we headed to Mammoth to get our cabins and of course they were not ready yet so we headed to Tower for a quick drive. This was the first year that the Tower Gift Shop was not open so we walked to the falls and then headed back to Mammoth. And on our way to Mammoth....

We saw this amazing site. This young bear was so cute playing by the road side exploring the trees and playing peek a boo with the people watching him. The rangers had scared him off earlier that day but he came back for more. He wasn't shy at all and we sure had a good time watching him, all within reach of our car doors!

The next morning we woke up to at least 6-8 inches of fresh snow covering the grounds. That morning walk to the bathrooms was not the best of memories. So we headed to the ranger station to see what the road conditions were like and well this is what we saw....

Yep it was official we were stuck there in Yellowstone so we watched some movies in the ranger station and looked through their museum and just spent time shopping and eating ice creams. Then we took a drive over to Lamar Valley. There we saw off in the distance 2 wolves frolicking in the fields.

This was also the first year that the Slough Creek campground was closed so we parked it by the trail head and ate our lunch. It was a crazy time with the weather not knowing what it would do from snow to sunshine moment by moment. I guess it kept us on our toes. The Mountain Goats were fun to pull over and watch for a while.

It was kinda sad to leave Yellowstone that last day we woke up to more snow and the kids loved saying good bye to their Yellowstone Snowman friend. This year it seemed to be another Yellowstone in Wintertime. We got our fill of bear watching and snowplows.

But I can't remember Mammoth being quite so amazing the snow really brought out such beautiful coloring it reminded me of how it was during my childhood when I would just stare at it and all I could think of was the most amazing Carmel sundaes. Oh how many wonderful childhood memories I have of this place.

On our way to Jackson Hole we stopped by Old Faithful for Troy and his girls. This was their first experience at Old Faithful so I busted out the stick on mustaches and was determined to make this a memory they would never forget. Of course Old Faithful was as amazing as ever. Never disappointing!

The kids were so excited to go swimming we made a quick stop at Wendy's then down to the pool for the rest of the night. Dad Covington was amazed at the ability that both Troy and Terry have of staying underwater for so long. So of course we had to have a few competitions, I was the official timer and I just couldn't help myself watching them all floating around was just too silly to pass up a good photo.

The next day we checked out then went shopping. Dad and Mom decided the kids all needed some special souvenir to remind them forever of this fun trip we all shared together. So these are the sweet necklaces they bought them for that sweet reminder of all the fun times we had. I am just so grateful to have parents who love us for who we are and who care to be part of our lives!

We drove home the longer way so we could enjoy the views of Bear Lake... Man I miss this place. We stopped and enjoyed some good old Raspberry shakes before we jumped back into the car to finish out our amazing Yellowstone trip of 2012.

May 16-24, 2012

SwimTeam - I can't believe it is time already but we had swim tryouts this week. I hope that they all make the team because I feel like swimming is such an important thing in life. Especially for our family that enjoys so many water activities. My hope is that if my kids ever want to do something with it in the future then I have given them the ability by sacrificing a little bit of our summer days to becoming better swimmers. Good luck kiddos. May 18th was Matia's 4th grade handcart trek. She has been excited for this for 2 years now since Bowdee got to go on his. So we made her a pioneer bonnet and apron to go on her dress from last years oral report and she looked amazing. The morning of the trek the skys were blue and no breeze. So I sent her off knowing I would see her again at lunch time as I was going to help serve. About after an hour the wind came in blowing like crazy, which brought with it the cold front, then the rain and it rained hard. I just kept thinking those poor pioneers they didn't get to choose the weather either. Matia was tough and she made it through like a real cowgirl. Love you Tia May 19th My first Tri - You would think since I have been training for this day for the last 7 months I would be ready... Well I was so nervous, at the last minute Kami dogged me after hurting her ankle so I was flying solo. Terry, Matia, and Treg came up to take photos and cheer me on. They were great they stayed through the whole thing and kept me going. I knew with them there I had no choice but to do my best, because I always expect them to do their best I had to give them my best. The Woman of Steel Triathalon was fabulous it was perfectly organized that I didn't have any questions when it started. It was a swim of 300meters, 13 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run. I got distracted by a lady jumping in front of me at the last minute for the swim and forgot to put my goggles on, then I waited for the right moment to pass her. I could have hustled faster during transitions, and I should have been more aggressive in passing on the bikes. But being that this was my first rodeo and I took 4th in my division I felt pretty good about it. I think I might even do another one sometime and I am now looking for a used road bike. CRAZY My finish time was 1:21:09 I missed 3rd place by 10 seconds.... May 19th also marked the last day of this soccer season. It was a fun season, all the kids did fabulous and hopefully next year we get coaches and teams as good as we had this year. I love soccer for the kids because if they play it right it teaches them team work, lots of exercise, and hard work. I wish they had a soccer team for me to play on when I was a kid. I am so thankful my kids have had the opportunity to play this sport and I am so thankful they have all enjoyed it so I get to watch them. :) After all the soccer games and a baseball scrimmage, Terry and I were able to break away for a little anniversary/post triathlon celebration. We stayed at the nugget for free did our free $55.00 each gambling and a little dancing that night. Then the next morning we played the penny slots "just for a couple minutes and only 20$ each" we walked away 2 hours later and I had won $170.00! Now that was making me smile. We have never had so much fun on the penny slots. May 22nd has always been a special day for me, it's my moms birthday! I have always enjoyed buying her gifts and making her feel special. I guess it is because she has always made me feel so special. So my dad planned a birthday party for her, she can't remember her last birthday party, so that made it super special. I didn't have anything special to give her because I always find the perfect gift when we are in Yellowstone on our vacation together. But it was a fun night spending time with the family watching my dad get all giddy to give his gift to her. Mom I am so glad you have chose to live such a good life. We love you so much and would never trade a thing about you! But one of my favorite parts of the night is we had our piano recital for all 6 of moms piano students. She started teaching Bowdee piano 2 years ago after I talked and talked her into it. Ever since then she has gained one here and another there until she has started teaching 6 of her grandkids piano. And every night that they go to bed after having piano w/ grandma it has always been the best part of their day. I am so grateful that they have this special hour a week alone with grandma for her to make such an impact on their lives. She is an amazing teacher and best friend my kids could have. THANK YOU MOM, for giving them such a special experience! May 23rd was another fun day at our house. It was the 6th grade Renaissance Fair at school where they have all sorts of Renaissance activities for the 6th graders. Bowdee chose to be a Jester and of course I couldn't just let him use his clown costume to play the part I had to make this Jester costume for him. Then I went and helped serve them at their special lunch, and set up his and Adi's store. They made so much money that they actually came home that day and made a Youtube video of what to do with all their earnings. After school I had time to go grocery shopping for our vacation and then when Matia got home we got to go to a fun Mothers Daughter Activity Days Achievement night together. They focused on health and exercise and had a good friend of mine come and teach us about jump roping and how easy it can be to do exercise and then another good friend of mine gave us a quick ballet exercise lesson and oh my gosh that was a fun yet good workout. I just have to say I am so thankful to be Matia's mother she is such a darling girl with such a caring heart. Thank you Matia for teaching me so much about life. I love you!

May 1-15, 2012

May 4th my sweet niece graduated from college with her associates degree. Ya she graduated from college before she did high school she has been taking classes at the college at SUU for some time now and since I couldn't make it to her high school grad I drove down to Cedar with my mom, dad and Kami. It was a fun drive we got there kinda late and just chilled. AJ has a girlfriend and we were told by Mike to behave ourselves.. I guess we Covingtons can be pretty loud and scary. So we did as we were told... I think, at least AJ said we didn't embarrass him and went to be.

The next morming I sure enjoyed a run with my two sisters. My dad even tagged along which was fun. All of us love working out and staying healthy but since Kathy lives so far away we don't ever get to enjoy it together so it was fun to share our common interest with each other. This is a regular run that I will never forget it was a good one. I do LOVE my sisters.

Then it was off to Angela's graduation celebrations. They do a cool walk from one side of campus to the next with bagpipes playing. Pretty cool then the ceremony which is never really fun except the part we yelled for Ang and made her face turn all red! Then out for photos and a fun little luncheon at their house. It was a great day one I am glad I was there to witness and let my Ang I am so proud of her. I am not sure what my sister is going to do with all her kids graduated from high school now... Pretty crazy While I was gone with my family Terry was home with the kids working his little fanny off. There is a very little part of our yard that has been unfinished since we moved in. We have been wanting to do it but we just have been so busy so finally I found some sod on KSL for 20$ and Terry finished the sprinklers and finished our yard. It felt so good to come home and see it complete and of course it looks FABULOUS! Thanks babe.

The next project we started working on was the tile in the basement kitchen. We found some really cool stuff that was on clearance at Lowe's and we went for it. It is crazy how much goes into laying the tile in a basement. But of course Terry knows what he is doing and with a little help he was well on his way. I am not sure we will have time to finish it the rest of the month gets pretty hairy with a busy schedule but at least it is started.

Wow looking back this month flew by. But during the moment it felt like I would never see the end of the month. Preparing for preschool graduation, yearbooks, dvd's, rehearsals, it was crazy but on May 10th that day came and I graduated 29 of the cutest preschool kids ever. I have really enjoyed this year, teaching them, getting to know them better, and listening to their silly stories was so much fun. I will truly miss them but I hope the best for them as they move up in life.

Friday night Terry and I had a date night and went for a drive out to Grantsville to have dinner with his parents for mothers day. Terry grilled an awesome butter salmon on some grilling planks as I finished putting together a nice salad. It was a nice relaxing night for all of us to sit around a table and eat and chat. We are so lucky to have such a special woman in our lives.

The 12th was a very special day. Jaysha and Alysa both chose to be baptized into our church. They have both taken the missionary lessons and have made the decision this was best for them. Alysa is 11 and Jaysha is 9 (almost 10) and they are both cute girls who I adore. Baylee will be turning 8 in July and I think it would have been special to have them all baptized together but oh well Baylee will have her own special day in a month or two. Love you girls remember to keep choosing the right.

For mother's day Terry pulled our trailer up to Strawberry for a quick over nighter. He sure knows me well I love camping and I love fishing so this way we got to do both and it was fabulous! The fishing was slow the next morning but I didn't mind, my sweet children and husband spoiled me with gifts and love and attention and it was a wonderful weekend. It's just always hard coming back to reality! Thank you family for the sweet mothers Day get-a-way, I loved every minute of it.

After we came home we headed over to my mom's house to give her a little love. My mom is just amazing I love the way she adores flowers, birds, nature, rainbows, music and Yellowstone. She has always been a soft spoken sweet understanding mother. She hates bad words and bad dreams. She cherishes her childhood memories and loves her children and grand children. This is my mom, she amazes me and I love her with all my heart! Happy mothers day mom.

April 16-29

Yes life is getting away from me lately and I haven't had time to blog lately so I will briefly let you know what we have been up to. Soccer is still the sport of our lives lately however, baseball is coming in to take over. All the kids are signed up and practices have begun. We haven't begun games yet but they are not to far away in the future. So our weeks are ever so busy, but every minute of it I do enjoy.

Friday Treg's class was going on a field trip to the Bean Museum at BYU and to the park and library. I have been able to do this field trip with all the other kids so of course I got to go with Treg's class too. I had to drive separate because they didn't have enough space on the bus which was fine because on the way home they got in a little fender bender so they got home pretty late. But it was fun nonetheless to spend a day with my last 2nd grader. How time flies it sometimes makes me sick to think before I know it Bowdee is going to be in Jr. High and my baby will be in 3rd grade. I have sure enjoyed their younger years. Oh and by the way I really didn't mean to wear a UofU shirt to BYU campus... OOPS!

On the 20th Terry went with the scouts on a fishing campout to Deer Creek. I told the other scout leaders that if they were looking for some fishing secrets I was the one they should be inviting but they took Terry along anyway. They had a good time catching fish and teaching the boys to clean them. I hear that Wade made a mean breakfast in the morning.

They got home around 6:00 and I really wanted to go fishing... I mean it just isn't fair that Terry went without me. So even though Terry and Bowdee were exhausted I drove them up to Strawberry to sleep in my little brothers new trailer with his family and then spend the next day fishing. Our friends Clayton and Brett met us up there and they were the ones that caught the most fish. But it was a good time just sittin on the shore watching the kids catch crawdads and listening to Terry read to us some Patrick McManus Stories. What a nice day!

Finally over the Strawberry Slot by Terry

Terry often writes on the fishing forums about our fishing events. I thought this would be fun to have in our journal so you can see the things he notices... It only took him 1 hour to write this entry. Yes his user name is The Green Hornet. He is kinda cute I have to admit he catches my attention!

Finally over the slot at Strawberry. 4/15/2012
by TheGreenHornet » Apr 15, '12, 9:09

I finally caught a cut over the slot this afternoon and I was super excited. I told my wife that catching this fish is why I'm ok with the drive to Strawberry and getting skunked quit often just to have a chance at fish like this. Then, I might have said something that equated catching this fish with harvesting a deer during the hunts and she might have said that maybe its because the deer I get are about the same size as my fish. Ouch. I might have cried a bit.

Anyway, last weekend we fished Soldier Creek Dam and didn't even get a bite. Today, Sunday the 15th of April, we fished Strawberry's Portal bay. We fished from 11:30 to 3:30. The weather was a little cold with a little on and off snow flurries. The ice was about 100 yards off shore in that area and we the ice sheet in front of us shrunk about half its size while we were there. The ice still touched the shoreline in a lot of areas but there was plenty of spots of open water around the shores also. We had three in our fishing party and only landed 8 fish. We had about 8 additional bites that we were unsuccessful in landing. Fishing around us was about the same. Most of our success was achieved with peach colored salmon scented power bait and our biggest cutthroat being caught on a minow with a white jig. We were able to take three fish home with us so we invited the inlaws over for a fresh trout dinner cooked over the grill.

April 1-15 Spring Break

Sunday the 1st Terry and I woke up and set some April Fools tricks out. But the best one that I did was when I made the kids some perfectly good waffles with some special Pinterest Carmel Syrup with a little evil in my eye... Nobody dared to try them, they almost ended in the trash because of all the tricks the morning had shared with them already.

Terry got some special cigarettes that really smoke and have tinfoil ends that light up to trick the kids. He lite-up right in the kitchen and immediately all the kids said "that's not real you would never smoke dad..." So his trick didn't really work that well. Which I must say I am glad they knew him well enough.

Treg covered the toilet in toilet paper then put on some fake tp on the dispenser. That got Tia really good! Then he hid some bugs around the house that silly little trickster. He even taped some hidden string across our doorway so we felt like we just walked through a spiderweb.

What a fun day to do tricks on each other. Then the kids spent the day playing legos together and listening to General Conference. I was in the kitchen cutting up my kids favorite childhood clothes to make into blankets someday. This was a project I have been wanting to do for years. And Terry was in the garage fixing the kids four wheeler so we can sell it since they are just getting to big for it. Love General Conference and all the great messages to be remembered.

Then we had the traditional April Fools Dinner. The kids look forward to this dinner all year long so when I pulled out the bowls for them to pick their 3 dinner choices they all got delighted except Terry... He just wanted his food and he didn't want to choose for which 3 he got... He wanted it all. Bowdee wasn't too excited for his spinach, cookies and carrots. I told him he could have as much spinach and carrots as he wanted and that still didn't help much.

Tuesday the 3rd I got to go play Bunco at my sister-in-laws house. Tara is such a cutie when she asked me I just knew I had to go because she never asks me anything and she is so sweet how could anyone say no... That was the excuse I fed Terry when deep down inside I was so excited to go. I told her she could just claim "her brother married this crazy lady not her". So I went and had a great time I guess I was having too much fun because one of the ladies there actually asked me if I was drunk... Oops I guess I should have just laid off on the fun and no I was not drunk just drunk on fun. I told her that is how some mothers just act when they finally get away from life.

Wed the 4th Bowdee and Iz went snowboarding for their last time of the season to Sundance with the little amount of snow that fell this year they decided to close on the 8th which is pretty early. So I drove them to Macy's and let them go have their day of fun. What a fun thing for 2 cousins to experience together. Of course they had to hustle home for soccer practice, then straight to baseball practice but no complaints was our deal if they got to go snowboarding all day. After all he did get to chill and watch a good Jazz game which is another favorite activity of his.

Finally the weekend got here and Terry took me on a real date. We went to a Wings place in Saratoga Springs to play some pool with his friend Rusty. I had such a good time just being with Terry and out in a casual environment it was kinda like we were dating again. Not to mention Rusty is such a fun guy to be around always up for a good time.

Saturday was filled with Soccer games which were some rough games with it being Easter weekend we didn't have many substitutes so the kids that were there were playing their guts out. Bowdee was most excited about his game winning goal scored in the last minute of the game. After our games we came home and colored eggs and made some cotton candy and did some chores in the garage. Busy but fun and productive!

Easter morning was great the bunny came and filled our yard with hidden eggs. Its always the same Blue and Green Eggs are for Treg, Yellow and Orange eggs are for Bowdee, Pink and Purple for Tia. They find their eggs then come inside to find their baskets. I made the kids cinnamon rolls for breakfast with a smoothie and a fun Peeps sunflower cake (thanks to Pinterest) for desert.

After we were all finished with Easter surprises Terry and I decided it was a perfect day to go for a drive. So we loaded up the kids and headed to Strawberry to check out the amazing ice off fishing... Well it turned out to be not so amazing at the spot we were at or the fish just didn't like what we had to offer. So after a few hours we packed her up came home got in our "to stays (a.k.a. pj's) and watched the Jazz :)

OOOHHHH I just can't tell you how much I just love Spring Break. Yes it is always hard to go back to school and finish up a year after having so much fun but it's worth it. Terry didn't have the time to take off work so we just stayed close and took it easy, but we still made a point to have some fun... This is what our week looked like. Monday we woke up and the kids went horseback riding at Grandpa's house...

While I took Annie out for her 12 year old photo shoot. This girl is so amazing she is very photogenic and one of the easiest girls to take photos of. She is creative and adventurous and just made the morning fun to capture some great photos for her. She did a formal wear, soccer action shots, and then hunger games themed setting. I can't decide my favorites so I guess that is where her mom comes into play.

Tuesday we hiked with Battle Creek Falls with our good Callaway friends. It was a nice fun hike to start the year off. Just a little over a mile not to steep but not a walk either. Got to the falls had a little lunch then we turned around and headed back to a little pond where the kids all had the most fun skipping rocks! I love going with the Callaways because everyone has a friend and we all get along so well! That night Terry and I still had enough energy to trim our trees and work on sprinklers.

Wednesday we went swimming with our Garrick Friends then played afterward until Bowdee had baseball practice. But by night time we were just beat so we all climbed into bed and watched the Pirates of Caribbean 4 and the Jazz game. What a fun relaxing night. I remember doing this with my family growing up and I still cherish those moments.

Thursday we spent the day at Trafalga then a movie with the Adamson boys. Easton and Dawson are such good boys they are fun to have around so after begging their mom who had been up since 3 we went and spent the day having fun. The most funny thing we did was went to Maceys and most the kids ordered small or med. Bowdee ordered a large called a "Kong" and boy oh boy was it large we are talking like 11" tall! So big we had to cup that thing before it fell over.

Friday morning I took my 3 kids boarding up to Brighton all by myself. I couldn't believe they were big enough to take this on. It was perfect to start out blue skies, smiling faces, good discounts (only $63 for all 4 of us), perfect powder (not too much not to little). We were all loving it. We went several times and enjoyed everything. Matia even got off the lift without falling. Then we went for lunch in the car....

Then while we were in the car Treg begged and begged us to take him on the little kid boarding park. Bowdee warned us it was not a good idea because it was so slow today because of the powder... But Treg wouldn't let up and I wanted him to understand what Bowdee was talking about. So we headed out into the great disaster of the day. We made it to the park without much walking but it was to slow to hit the rails.

Then we headed away from the park to the bottom and I ended up hiking for the next 1&1/2 hours pulling Tia and Treg out of the powder and pushing them up hills and sweating my guts out... It was not a pretty sight... I tried to keep my cool and I think I did really well... By the time we got to the bottom all of our legs were mush and Treg caught his front edge and slammed his face into the snow. With him bawling and crying, the storm front hit us like a brick wall the wind kicked up and snow was falling like crazy. I sent Bowdee up for one last run and even he said it was too bad to go again and we were calling it a day.

Way back in the day when Kami and I would spend alot of time boarding we had this crazy tradition... After snowboarding we would always go to Training Table for cheese fries and a DP. So we meet Terry for dinner and enjoyed some yummy not so good for us food. But it tasted good and there were no complaints. We were all so hungry and beat it was PERFECT!

This year the weather for spring break was very springy. It was very unpredictable cold, snowy, and just not fun. So we stayed home over the weekend and cleaned the barn, garage, stained the countertops and watched the Jazz play a few games on the good ole TV. But Sunday we just couldn't take it any longer. So Bowdee, Terry and I went on a little date up to Strawberry to do a little fishing. Bowdee is reading the Storm Testament series and he was just as excited to read his book as catch a fish.

He did catch 2 nice ones then mom caught 5 more on top of that one. Then I was giving Terry some crap about sitting in the car and watching his pole or reading his book as I was out getting snowed on catching all the fish. When at the very last minute the finally caught a cutthroat over the 22" slot it weighed 3 lbs and was a monster.

So with Terrys one really nice fish and Bowdee's and all of mine we decided to have mom and dad over for dinner that night and a little Jazz game time watchin. I will never tire of watching the Jazz with my mom. She is just like her mom she gets very into it and has so much passion for this young team. I LOVE IT!