Flash Forward

We have always loved American Fork Canyon.  In fact we have been up there over 103,128,182 times.  Well, maybe.  Actually, I'm not really sure.  Probably not.  But a lot.  

It has been part of lives and continues to be.  We've been camping, snowshoeing, Family Nighting, hiking, four wheeling, taken our babies up there, Kinsey had her bridal photo shoot there, sledding, snowmobiling, had fires and s'mores, Sunday drives and the list goes on.

This is what it used to look like back before we knew about anything but ourselves...

On our way to the canyon in Terrence's CJ7 back in '83.

This is what it looks like now in 2012...

 Next generation!

 Brooke, loving that mara!

Jeepin'!

We decided to buy a bigger 4-wheeler.  The Tahoe just couldn't get us where we needed to go so we traded it in.  It was too vanilla.  This isn't vanilla.  Terrence thought he cut a fat hog getting me to have this as my car but it's the coolest car ever!  He said I could knock the new off it for a few years and then he was going to take it and add a winch and lights and bigger tires, and, and, and...  Don't tell  him, but I don't think I'm giving it up.   Conner's got his eye on  it too.  Look at the cool places it can go!  

So. Much. Fun!

First Day of School

The first day of school always has a certain electricity in air.  All the kids in their new clothes and backpacks meeting up with each other again after a long summer and crowds of kids around the neighborhood waiting for the bus to come around the corner.  It's bitter sweet.  It's nice to get the schedule back of a routine and get some things done, but it's not fun to get back to homework and early mornings.

 10th grade

 7th grade

 The three blondies

 Senior!

This is what showed up at our house after school.  We all had yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies and they told me about their day. It was a little scary.

7th Grade Day

The Jr. High does 7th grade day for the sevie's first day of school.  It's where they go to school the day before everyone else and find their classes and go to all 8 of them.  This is my last one's 7th grade day.  She was so excited to start school.  I'm so glad she loves it!

Phone Photo Catchup

This is what's been going on the past few weeks according to my phone...

 Hunger games came out at midnight August 18th.  I'm not one who likes to stay up late, but I thought it would be fun to take these two and get the movie.  I didn't think a soul would be there.  Wrong.  The first 100 people got the DVD, a poster, stickers, a razor, chex mix, and soda for $16.99.  

 I didn't know after 100 people they'd be gone.  Who stays up and does that?  Evidently not everyone likes to sleep as much as me.  We were in and now that we had the movie at 12:30am we got to go home and watch it!  I lasted about an hour and then we finished it another day.  It was fun.  Oh the energy of youth!

 We're still working on saving those teeth!  This is lasering his gums off so they can get below the gum line where the tooth broke off to create a $1000 crown.  He wanted gold.  I told him when  he makes the kind of money P Diddy makes he can have teeth like him.

 We had a special night with Brooke and took her to the Piano Guys concert.  The day of the concert at 5:00 a.m. there was a very loud thunder storm.  Brooke came in our room crying, we're not going to get to see the Piano Guys!  I told her to get her rain coat out, we were going.  

 This was the 30 seconds it was clear.  Those guys performed in the pounding rain and lightening!  It didn't phase the other 5,000 people that were there either.  We took our rain gear and a tarp to cover ourselves.

 Those guys put on an amazing show.  I just love them!  

"Jack-o-lanterns" and "Tomorrows" in August

We got a call from one of the bishopric members while I had two kids at youth conference.  That's like getting a call from the principal when you're not on a committee.  Never good.  Hi, how you doing, yada, yada, yada, give me the news I know this isn't social.  Well, Sister Savage, your boy was tubing and...

He chipped two teeth and broke another one along the gum line.  Oh.  So, can I talk to him?  I asked how bad it hurt and if he wanted to come home.  What was done was done and it wouldn't make a difference if it was fixed that day or in a week.  He chose to stay and when I hung up I imagined a Jack-o-lantern coming home in three days.  He ended up with a root canal and we'll know soon if it worked or if he'll lose the tooth and get an implant.  We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Then it was off to the orthodontist for Brooke.  She has had two sets of braces already.  Her teeth came in like spider mandibles.  Seriously.  The front teeth were sideways.  Now her teeth are beautifully straight and awkwardly buck.  In the old days they used to correct it with head gear, now they use what's called a "mara".  It looks like a medieval torture device.  She has been dreading it for months.  Last night we kept saying, Brooke, you're getting  your mara tomarra!  She didn't think it was funny.

She was a little nervous when we got there.

If her eyes look teary in this picture, it's because they are.  They had to laser her gums off to get the device around her teeth.  Poor little thing.

Now she can speak to the mothership with this baby.  The doctor told her it was better than looking like Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Head gear just isn't cool.  One year of the mara, one year of braces and she'll have beautiful teeth.  Just like Conner.  So she can go tubing and knock them out.

Hang in there Brookie!

Savage Lagoon Day

Every year Savage Industries invites us to Lagoon day.  They're very generous!  They order matching shirts, give us parking passes, tickets to get in, and a 5:00 barbecue.  The kids love it.  I go once a year.  How can you say no when they make it so easy?  This year was actually kind of nice with some cloud cover.  I am now officially old though.  I was perfectly content to sit on the shady benches sipping my ice water while the kids went on the twisty turns, jolting their backs and sometimes getting wet.   I used to think it was so fun getting jarred around on the wild mouse and having my head crushed at the speed of sound into the headrest designed to keep my neck from breaking off.  What has happened to me? Terrence was in Sweden all week and came straight to Lagoon from the airport.  Can you say, good sport?  We were all eating our dip'n'dots when he got there.  Good timing!