We have had a lot of fun this summer. The kids and I made a trip to the Utah State Capital building and took a tour. We went camping using G&G Wolfe's 5th wheel trailer a couple of times. Picnics and hikes in and around the surrounding mountains and reservoirs of Tooele. We've also enjoyed movie nights, bowling, swimming and all the usual summer excitement. The Tooele county fair was a highlight. Taryn was in a 4-H sewing club and entered some pajama pants and a nightgown she made for her Teddy Bear in the fair. She also took part in a fashion show for it and modeled the items she sewed. She won reserve grand champion for the show and 2nd place ribbons for her projects. She was also awarded $12 and a nice pair of sewing scissors. The kids also experienced their first horse rides and really enjoyed them. We are not looking forward to school which starts in only a week.

As part of our reunion we also enjoyed a BBQ at Brett & Lori's with a fun get to know your relatives scavenger hunt. Dad and Mom showed us pictures from there mission and talked about their experiences. The next day we spent at Eagle Island state park, eating, swimming, and using the water slide. We had a fun adult dinner that evening and then went to church the next morning to hear Mom & Dad speak. They did an amazing job and we enjoyed hearing of the things they learned from their mission and of all their accomplishments the Lord helped them bring about

We had a wonderful Brant Bishop family reunion hosted by Brett, Lori & family. It was planned for the 26th thru 28th but with us all being up there early we got together to do some other things as well. One day we attempted to go boating but the boat was dead in the water. Well still had fun visiting and watching the kids play in the sand and water. Todd and Max were going to be the first ones on the tube but when the boat started smoking it got parked. The little kids still had fun playing in the boat and the older kids including Bradley and Boyd had fun on some inflatable rafts giving each other rides.

The day after my parents got home was Cecily and my Mom's birthday. Todd the kids and I went and watched "Monsters vs. Aliens" then that evening we attended a surprise party for my Mom at Becky Ann's house. All of my siblings and their families were there along with Grandma Bushman and Aunt Becky. Mom was very surprised especially since Bradley had called that day to tell her they wouldn't get there until 9 that evening. We had yummy cake and the kids decorated cupcakes. Mom and Dad passed out some neat gifts they brought us back from Kenya and we enjoyed visiting and watching the kids destroy Becky Ann's backyard.

We headed up to Idaho on Tuesday the 23rd to welcome my parents home from their mission to Kenya. We got to their house in time to have some supper and unpack. When we got to the airport Brett and his family were there along with Grandma Bushman and Aunt Becky. Becky Ann, Boyd and Bethany soon followed. They had left James, Andrew, Dallin, and Evan home sleeping with Matthew because the plane was coming in around 9:15. It actually got there a bit earlier and we were all excited to see them coming down the hallway. We gave them lots of hugs and kisses and before leaving the airport Barrett and his family arrived. We all ended up back at Mom & Dad's house for ice cream and visiting before heading off to bed.

Cecily turned 5 on June 24th and because of our trip to Idaho we had an early birthday party for her on June 20th. She got to invite some of her friends for games and a homemade pinata. It was supposed to be an outside water party but the day was rainy and chilly so we improvised and still had fun.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open house on June 8th. It was so beautiful inside with these amazing star shapes used throughout the temple including in the chandeliers. We have been to the Twin Falls Idaho temple, the Draper Utah Temple and now the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. We told the kids that they were very lucky to have been able to go inside 3 temples in one year.

The local library's summer reading program started at the end of May with a 50's band playing fun songs at the library. The kids and I had fun dancing and singing along and the best part was the special guest appearance by Elvis Presley. The King really does still live!!

Piano Recital 2009

On May 30th I held my annual piano recital. All 12 of my students performed pieces for their families and friends. We had a super turnout with the room being almost filled. The kids all did fantastic and I must admit Taryn, Max, and Cecily did the best (although I may be a little bias). They are doing so well at the piano and it is so much fun to teach them!

Mother's Day

I had a nice Mother's Day. Church was too early for breakfast in bed but I got a wonderful performance later in the day and some lovely gifts from my kids. I'm so lucky to be the Mom of such talented, charming, children. I love you Taryn, Max, and Cecily.

Max and Taryn were in their school talent show again this year. They have to try out to be in it and have made it 3 years in a row now. Max played a piano solo called "Camel Caravan" and Taryn played a duet with her friend Maren. It was "Brahams Lullaby". They did fabulous and didn't seem nervous at all to be performing in front of the whole school and lots of parents. I'm so proud of them and their diligence at practicing the piano.

We spent Easter at home with Todd. Saturday I took the kids to the city Easter Egg Hunt were they scrambled with hundreds of other kids for some toys and candy. Sunday morning they found their Easter baskets and then we headed of to enjoy church. They spent the afternoon eating candy. We went to Todd's brother Brad's house in Draper and had dinner that evening with his family and G&G Wolfe and Grandma Evans.

The day we left was a little cooler and we hit rain for a lot of the trip. We stopped about 45 minutes out of Portland and visited Multnomah Falls. It is right along the highway. We parked and followed a tunnel that took us under the road and to the falls. It was sprinkling and the falls sprayed you so the kids got cold pretty quick. We took some fast pictures and movie to prove we had been there then got back in the car. It has a path that you can take all the way up to the falls but we opted to get back on the road. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. The kids watched more movies. We stopped in Pendleton for lunch again and made it to Becky Ann's for supper. When we left Becky Ann's on Saturday James was not very happy that his cousins were not staying so he and Andrew were happy to see us when we showed up again. My kids went to bed really quick that night. Taryn slept on the sofa bed in the office by herself. Max slept with me in the green room and Cecily slept on the floor in there. Becky Ann, Boyd, and I stayed up visiting until Boyd decided it was bedtime then Becky Ann and I continued visiting until we couldn't keep our eyes open. The next morning we took things slow. The kids all got in the hot tub and splashed around. We got them all cleaned up afterwards and Becky Ann and I snuck off to Walmart to get a couple things while Taryn babysat. We spent the rest of the day visiting and being lazy. Becky Ann popped some popcorn and we watched a couple of Mom's easter cartoons she had recorded. Around 4:30 we headed over to Brett & Lori's for supper. We got to see and hold Mallory for the first time. She looks like she belongs to their family. So cute! Barrett and family also came to dinner so we were able to see Dax as well. What a cute chubby baby! Lori made a delicious lasagna dinner and then afterward there was an easter egg hunt for the kids. They got lots of candy and chowed lots of it down. Andrew was eating one thing after the other and had a cute chocolate face. James, Erin, and Eden sat at the play house eating candy. One of them would stand inside the window and unwrap the pieces of candy. One the other wanted a piece they would come up to the window and be served. A couple of the adults tried the window as well and received a piece also. It was very cute. We headed back to Becky Ann's for bed that night and then left the next morning for Utah. I always want to stay longer but Todd was really missing us and we were missing him. It was a wonderful spring break. Seeing my sisters and spending some good time with them was so much fun and we always love to see our kids interacting together. Todd was sitting on the front porch waiting for us when we pulled up. We got the car unpacked and things put away and then collapsed until bedtime.

We headed to the zoo on Tuesday morning. We saw lots of fun animals and had a picnic lunch there. My favorites were the sea lions and the orangutans'. I think the kids liked the sea lions best too. After we had seen all the animals we could handle we took a ride on the train around the zoo. I was ready to be off my feet for awhile so it was a nice relaxing ride. We were able to catch a glimpse of the baby elephant from the train that we hadn't seen before. After about 4 hours in the zoo we went down the road to a park and let the kids play while Bethany tried to figure out her gps so we could find a geo cache. These are little treasure boxes that are left around and to find them you go on line to the area you are at and get the gps coordinates then try to actually track them down. We found one pretty easy and then finally succeeded in finding the other we were looking for. The kids each brought a small toy that they left in the box and got to pick out a new one that someone else had left. We headed home just before supper time and picked up pizzas for supper. The kids ate and played and then we all went to Evan's T-ball practice. When we got home we got the kids bathed and bedded down once again. Of course Bethany and I stayed up visiting until late again. We woke up the next morning and left around 10am. We had so much fun being with Bethany and her family. It's the first time I have visited her in her own place and she is a fabulous cook and hostess. Evan skipped school for the two days we were there so I'm sure they were glad to get back to their regular routine once we took off.

Monday morning we headed to the ocean. We brought lunch with us and on the way out of town I had Bethany stop at Target so I could get a couple of short sleeve shirts for the kids. I hadn't packed any because it had been cold at our place and rainy in the Portland area but for the 4 days we were there the temps were in the 70's and we were hot in our long sleeves. By the time I got back out to the van the kids were already started on eating snacks. We made the trip to the coast with Cecily only asking about 20 times how much longer. We stopped first at Cape Meares Light house. Here we got our first good look at the ocean. WoW! It is so big and beautiful. We followed the paths around that area and saw the Octopus Tree and climbed to the top of the light house. We also had lunch there. We then headed down to Oceanside. We ventured out on the beach and just let the kids run for a bit. There is a tunnel through the hill that connects one beach to another so we crossed through the tunnel and spent our time on that further beach. The kids immediately took off their shoes and socks except for Dallin who stayed up on the rocks the whole time. The kids would run up to the waves and wait until they started to come and then run away from them. I was filming them do this when suddenly Max became so enamored by the waves that he began running right into them. It looked like he was headed straight out to sea and I started to worry about him hitting a drop off or getting sucked in by a wave. Bethany must have felt the same way because we both started yelling to him but he just seemed to keep going. He was in the water up to his calves when a big wave headed his way. It caught him and tipped him over. Luckily he resurfaced quickly and raced back to shore but not before falling down again. Needless to say he was completely drenched. He was also very cold so I had to walk him all the way back to the van and let him change. We made a deal that he would stay completely out of the water because I had only brought him one set of clothes to change into. Luckily everyone learned from Max's mistake and stayed out of the water for the rest of the time. We spent about 4 hours on the beach looking for agates, sea shells and treasure. We brought home bags of things that we put out in our front flower bed for decoration. The kids also took several of their favorites in to share with their classes. On our way home from the coast we stopped in Tillamook and toured the cheese factory and tried their cheese samples. We also each got an ice cream cone. We ended up getting back later than planned so instead of supper the kids just got snacks and I never did eat because I was so full of ice cream. We watched the movie "Bedtime Stories" that evening before putting the kids to bed.

We had a terrific spring break the week of April 3-12th. We left Friday, April 3rd around 2:30. I got the kids out of school early because their last hour was going to be spent watching a choir concert. That put us on the road and 1 1/2 hours earlier. We drove straight thru and got to Becky Ann's around 8pm. We woke up the next morning and Boyd made us yummy french toast then we headed to Portland. We tried listening to conference on the radio but hit the Blue mountains right about the time it started. We did get to hear President Monson announce Elder Anderson as the new apostle and hear the prophets talk before we totally lost the signal. Darl & Todd were worried about our vehicles going so far so we took Darl & Norma's car. It ran terrific for us and got good gas mileage. We stopped for lunch in Pendleton. The kids were very good and spent most of it watching movies on the DVD player. I thought the drive was beautiful once we started following the river. Everything was so green and pretty. We made it to Bethany's around 4:30 her time and the kids were extremely excited to get out of the car. They pulled out Evan and Dallin's bikes and scooter and played outside until supper was ready. Bethany's house is so cute. She has done a nice job of decorating. After supper she and I left all the kids with Matthew and went to WinCo for groceries. It took us quite awhile because we spent some time visiting without kids around. We got home and put the kids to bed although only a couple stayed there. Cecily and I slept on the bottom bunk in the boys room and Taryn slept on the top. Max, Evan, & Dallin slept in the playroom on the floor in sleeping bags although I don't think much sleeping happened until about and hour after they had been put down and even then Dallin stayed awake for awhile. He's a funny boy and kept wanting to change his clothes. Sunday we woke up and spent the day watching conference. Bethany hooked her laptop up to their TV and we watched it in their living room. We pulled some things off the computer for the kids to color and do. I think that lasted about 1/2 hour before they were trying to sneak off and play. We did make it through both sessions though, we just kept the volume up really loud. After the last session we decorated easter eggs and when they were dry had an easter egg hunt in their backyard. Bethany had some plastic eggs with candy in them along with their colored eggs that they got to find. We also took a walk that evening. Their neighborhood is beautiful and even has a wooded area with paths that you can wander in. We had another fun night of getting the kids to sleep but eventually they all did go to bed and of course Bethany and I stayed up late visiting.

On the 2nd of April we went to Bruce & Kristee's place in West Jordan to help celebrate cousin Bridger's 8th birthday. We had yummy sandwiches and cake and ice cream. The kids loved playing in there fun backyard. When we got home that night there was a message that are new cousin Dax Michael Bishop had arrived.

Taryn and Max had spirit week at school and one of the days was to wear your pj's to school. Well there pajamas weren't exactly ones I wanted them to be seen outside of the house in so I got the wonderful idea of making them new pajama bottoms so they would look presentable. Luckily everything went smoothly and I turned out 3 bottoms in just a couple hours with only one seam having to be unpicked. Taryn and Cecily love that theirs match and I love that they all look nice. Thanks Mom for being patient and teaching me how to sew!

Max and Taryn just finished up their 3rd nine week term and came home with wonderful report cards. Taryn became a master of the protractor and Max did awesome at his book report oral presentation. We got to go watch him give it to his class and I was so impressed that he stood up there and gave instead of reading his report just winged it and did great. All the other kids had to be prompted by their parents but not Max. We celebrated their good grades with a trip to American Burger for some yummy shakes. Way to Go Kids!!

My Little Helper

Cecily loves to help me cook in the kitchen. Anytime I start pulling out bowls and pans she appears. She pulls up her chair to the counter and starts helping me. I think she mostly likes the tasting part though. We made cookies the other day and this is how she helped me clean up the bowl.

Taryn BBall

Taryn just finished up playing her school sponsered basketball. We had lots of fun watching her play and she learned a lot about playing and had fun as well. Here are some pictures of her in action.

Cecily has decided she wants to grow out her bangs so we chopped her hair off to help speed up the process. She actually wanted it to be as short as her nose but I had it done to her chin. I think she looks cute and she says she loves it. The day we went to get it cut I only combed it and then we went to the store so it was looking pretty messy. On the way to the hair place I said to her "Let's go get you beautiful." and she replied "I'm already beautiful Mom!" I wish I had that kind of self confidence.

We just had a 4 day weekend. The kids had v-day parties on Thursday and then Friday and Monday off school. I was so looking forward to it but we spent the whole weekened with sick kids. Taryn didn't feel well and Cecily had a high fever for two days and then spent the third day laying on the couch still recuperating. Max felt good but since Dad was working or sleeping, Mom was helping sick kids and there were no sisters to play with he got a little stir crazy. So much for having a fun weekend.

Taryn wrote a poem for the PTA Reflections contest in our school. The theme was WOW! She won third place back in November for it and it moved on to the Regional level. We got to go to an awards ceremony for the regionals in which she got a certificate. I thought her poem was really good and would like to share it with all of you.

After A Storm

by Taryn Wolfe

It's raining outside but I'm not gonna cry.

Because when its done I can go outside

and see what it's left us behind.

When I step outside I can hear a bird singing high up in a tree.

It's song is as happy as busy little bees.

I walk down to the garden.

Down there there's so much pollen.

I feel like I'm going to sneeze but who cares.

It's so colorfull down there the flowers are as happy as me.

Can't you see?

The sky is bright blue,

and even though I feel mud in my shoe,

I'm still not going inside.

I look up in the sky and there is a rainbow, blue, yellow and red.
Now I am tired and ready for bed.
WOW, can't wait for another storm!

On Wednesday, January 21, the kids and I went to the Draper Temple Open House. Todd stayed home feeling sick. There is not a lot of parking next to the temple so when you print off your reservations they assign you to a chapel in the area and you go there and ride a trailways bus to the temple. The kids loved being on the bus because no seat belts and we were way taller than anyone else. Because of the amount of people they have going through they don't have formal tours. You walk through the whole temple on your own and at the end they put a group of you in a sealing room and share their testimonies of the temple. Then on to the adjoining church to have cookies and water. They have heated,tented walkways from the bus drop off to the temple, from the temple to the church and then from the church to the bus pick up so you never have to walk in the cold. The only bad thing about that was that you couldn't see any of the temple grounds or get a good picture. The ones I got were taken from the bus window. The temple was beautiful. Smaller than the other ones in the Salt Lake Valley but bigger than the Twin Falls temple that we recently visited. Taryn loved the beautiful crystal chandeliers and lights that hung through most of the temple.

These are pictures of the kids riding on the bus to the temple.

The kids and I went bowling during the vaction. Todd didn't come because of work. This was Max and Cecily's first time. The computers were down when we got there and we ended up waiting about 45 minutes until we finally got to start bowling. It turned out good though because they gave us 5 free game passes and free french fries and a picture of sprite. They have ramps now for the little kids to use which enabled Cecily to win the 1st game with 133 points, Max came in 2nd, Taryn 3rd and Mom 4th with 87 points. The 2nd game I won with 87 points but that was because Cecily and Max tried not to use the ramps. We had lots of fun and the kids are excited to go again sometime.

Since I received a digital camera for Christmas I thought I would try my hand at this blogging thing. I can't guarantee this will be the most exciting site. I love catching up on everything my family is doing through their blog sites so I thought they might enjoy one from me. We had a fun and quiet Christmas. I canceled piano lessons for the two weeks we were out of school and the kids convinced me to relax the chore schedule as well. We had fun sledding several different times, going to "The Tale of Desperaux" and bowling plus lots of game and movie nights at our house. Max slept in with the girls several nights for a slumber party and for New Years all of us but Todd slept on the floor in the family room. We watched movies until midnight and then promptly fell asleep. G&G Wolfe took us out for lunch the next day. We had so much fun that none of us were excited for school to start back up again.