Monday, March 24, 2008

Happy Easter!!!




We went to a Easter Egg Hunt in my parents neighborhood on Saturday. It was fun. It lasted all of 30 seconds but what do you expect with 50+ kids chasing after eggs that were basically just thrown out on a lawn. The kids love it though. I realized on the way home as I talked with Addison about the reason we celebrate Easter, that I as a parent haven't done my part to help my kids truely understand what Easter is all about. I got the typical "It's about a bunny that brings eggs filled with treats to kids who are good" answer from her. Noah seemed to understand a little bit more than her but still all he said was that "It's about Jesus dying". I took the next few moments to try my best to explain the Resurrection and the Atonement to them in hopes that they would understand that the Easter Bunny is just something the world does and has nothing to do with our religion or beliefs. So then I got the question "Is the Easter Bunny not real?" I told them he wasn't and they seemed to be ok with it. Long story short, I had some angry parents on my hands Sunday after church. My kids took it upon themselves to tell their class that the Easter Bunny wasn't real and that "your mom and dad bring you the eggs". I felt bad for a half a second. I hope that my children continue to learn about how Jesus did die for us and that He was resurrected and lives today. He died so that we can repent of our sins and faults and be forgiven of them. We can use the Atonement in our lives to eventually return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father. I will probably still take my kids to the traditional Egg Hunt every year but I will feel good in knowing that they know why we "really celebrate Easter".

Clips of Addison and Noah at race

You may have to pause my music to hear the video clips!


Monday, March 17, 2008

The Last Utah WinterCross Round for the Season





So as you know, Nate has been promoting and putting on a series of races for motorcross all winter long. This weekend was the last round for this year. It was awesome!! The event was so big that even Gov. Huntsman came on Friday. It was so exciting. Nate worked so hard for months to put all this together with 2 of his friends and it truly was an amazing event. Noah raced as usual and this time, for the first time ever, Addison raced. She got first place(she was the only entry in her class but she doesn't know that). Her trophy is almost as big as her. Everyone in the entire stadium was cheering for her. I thought I would cry it was so cute. Can you believe that I let my little, fragile, feminine, girly girl ride a motorcycle? I must be crazy. She loved every moment of it and thinks she is the neatest thing since sliced bread. We all had so much fun and need to thank all our family and friends that voluteered to help. Without them, none of this would have been possible. The best part is that UtahWinterCross was such a huge success that Nate and his partners have been asked to run other motorcross events all over the state. I really am so proud of him for taking a hobby of his and making it into something so big that it benefited the community, our family and friends and the world of motorcross in Utah!!!! (P.S. The photos are a little hard to see. The first one is Addi and the last one is Noah. Can you believe the amount of air he is getting? The guy in the photo next to him is over 6 feet tall and Noah is clearing him if that gives you any idea of the amount of stress and anxiety that watching this sport gives me!!)

Thursday, March 6, 2008

I'm doing a little decorating!





I know we just moved in a bit ago but I can't help myself. I go crazy with ideas and need a place to let some energy out (when I'm not at the gym) So I have been having fun doing a bit of decorating and remodeling of our new place. I painted the living room and dining room with a really cool faux finish. It was sooooo easy and I love how it turned out. Then I moved on to the kitchen. I had a travertine backsplash put in to tie in the granite and cabinets. I also did white beadboard and painted the whole kitchen a dark putty color. I love how it turned out. Because the kitchen was white (which I didn't think I would like but now love) I wanted to warm it up with a bit of color. This project was fun. I can't wait for it to get warm enough to start working on the outside of the house and the yard. I know what your thinking, I'm crazy and need to just take a break from the projects but I can't. Luckily I have an awsome husband who lets me do and try whatever I want ("as long as it doesn't cost too much, go to town Julie Brown").

Family Bowling





As many of you know Nates family is obsessed with bowling, We all have our own ball and matching shirts. Between February and March there are 6 birthdays in his family so we all went bowling. The BEST part of the night was watching Hillary and Jill (my mother-in-law) try to compete on Dance, Dance Revolution. Talk about un-cooridnated .(You both know I love you) We went back to their house for the usual Pizza and Partying! ( P.S. My sexy Husband Nate is the last picture. Holy Crap look at that form, He's a natural!!)

Having Fun in the Hot Tub!




We had some friends over the other night and got all the kids in the hot tub with the dads. Our snow out here is still as high as the sides of the hot tub so the kids had fun getting out, running in the snow and the jumping back in to get warm.

Happy Birthday Addison!!



We had so much fun on Addi's 6th Birthday!! She had a tea party with 12 other little girls. It was so fun watching them come all dressed in their best Sunday clothes. We made purses, painted our nails, played musical chairs and had lots of cake and tea(lemonade). It was so much fun but so much work putting it together that I'm pretty sure we will only celebrate big party style every other year.