Girls Weekend

I got to spend this last weekend with my sisters and mother. It was probably one of the best times I have every had, other than those my husband provides. We started out flying to L.A. and going to the see Wicked. I cannot tell you how incredible it was. The girl who plays Glinda was phenomenal.

For all of you who don't know my family, my mother is on the left followed by Michelle, my sister-in-law, me, my sister Nikki, my sister Jenni and lastly my sister's sister-in-law Heather.



The next day was spent walking around Universal Studios and being silly. We finished the weekend up by shopping in the fashion district.

Overall it was an unbelievably fun weekend and I cannot thank you girls enough for making it so great.

Four Eyes

All parents hope to pass on some of themselves to their children such as the color of their eyes or the way they smile. However, how many of us want to pass on our bad teeth or being practically blind (like myself). Not too many of us. We'll we don’t always get what we want. At least Lizzie looks a lot cuter than I did when I got my glasses as a child.

First day of School

My youngest daughter, Lizzie, started kindergarten two weeks ago and with this monumental milestone I have come to realize that there are two types of moms out there. The ones that cry when their children finally start school and those who throw a party. I fall into the latter. I cannot honestly say I was sad.

I now have a few hours a day to myself to read and eat ice cream. If only that were true. Instead I decided to start school again. I know, I'm a little mentally challenged but what can I say I kind of like school.

Other than school and work our lives, at this point, are pretty boring.

This last weekend we had our very first Taft family reunion, even through the majority of us now are no longer Tafts.

We spent the weekend at the Snake River in Heyburn, Idaho and any of you who know us at all can guess that my husband, Jake, picked the spot. Besides Jake and myself the rest of my family are not what you would call boaters. However, I am happy to say that just about everybody there got behind the boat to either ski, wake board, knee board or tube. The grandkids had a fabulous time playing in the water and running around with their cousins. Personally I think it was a great success and can't wait to do it again.


Now it is time for the brag photos.
I would like you all to know that after 9 years of marriage I can now slalom ski. (that is me to the right). Below is my sister Jenni doing a 360 on the knee board. I would like to add that even though I do not have a picture of my sister-in-law, Michelle, she did do a 360 on the knee board.

Lava Hot Springs

We went to Lava Hot Springs in June for a weekend with friends. We camped along the Portneuf River. About every 45 minutes throughout the night, a train came rumbling by and decided it was a good place to "toot" his horn in three bursts, each lasting approximately 20 seconds. Needless to say, it wasn't the best sleep we've had.

The first day we went to the hot spring pools and the Olympic pool. The hot spring pools have gravel bottoms where the springs come up from the earth. These pools were too hot to stay in longer than 10 minutes. The Olympic pools were a blast. There were two tube slides that began 35 feet above the pool. The girls went down time after time. There were no lines, since it was overcast with a chilly breeze. As long as we were in the water, it was comfortable. Elizabeth was the first to go off the high dive in the group. She climbed up, walked to the end, and jumped in without any hesitation. After her, Sydney and the other older kids began to jump off.

The second day we decided to tube down the Portneuf River. We rented the tubes and asked the gal where we should go to tube down back towards our camp. She gave us directions and we piled in the cars and headed upstream. At the top, we asked another tube rental place where to go in and they directed us to the same spot. One hundred yards into our float, we all went over a 4 foot tall waterfall and flipped over. Everyone was scattered about and scraped up from the event. For the rest of the expedition, approximately 20 minutes, we had screaming and crying children who were fearful for their lives. When we came back from the trip, Sydney told her friends and their parents how we almost died in Idaho.

It was actually a fun weekend. We had a great time enjoying each others company, playing games and just hanging out.