new header and summer weekends

Hi there!

New header? yes!

I think I like it, I will have to sleep on it.

It took me like 2 hours to figure it out, but I did it!

I have almost payed someone to do it but just never got to it. So when I saw I could do it for free, I decided to give it a try. So that's my result.

It was fun to try something new and change it up a bit.

and thanks to Sarah at Clover Lane (she has a great blog!)

for walking me through it!

( I saw it on one of her posts and was so excited to try it,it worked!)

And it will be fun to change it with each season or holiday...

Phewy! done.

Okay on to my post:
our last summer weekend was great because:

~We played and played outside in our yard in the

perfect

80 degree heat..

I love it hot!

~We hit the pools one last time with cuz's and friends.

The kids were loving the summer sun!

~Ry grilled some marinated pork chops for Sunday dinner

~ We played soccer and hoops with the boys

~The kids had a cartwheel contests!

~We soaked up the last rays of the sun...

so lovely, yes!

~We watched Jaker's play soccer...they won!

~We hung with our buddies!

~We had a great date night with good friends! (thanks Hobby's..!)

and lastly,

~We said goodbye to Mari...! (good luck cute girl!)

We love our late summer weekends.

Glad school is back in full swing,

(the kids love their teachers! yay)

And sooo grateful to enjoy these last few sweet summer moments!

~xoxo~

Jerusalem

The Memmott girls!

My oldest sister Jan and her 3 girls:

Savannah, Marissa, and Madison!

aren't they so cute?Thanks for the fun Sunday afternoon with the Brown clan~

and just want to say G O O D L U C K to Marissa (middle)

who leaves to Jerusalem on Tuesday.

She going for the fall semester of BYU.

What an adventure and an experience.

We will miss you but go have so much fun!

and Jan you are soooooooo L U C K Y to have 3 girlies!

They are all so darn cute and sweet.

Maybe we can trade sometime..my 3 rowdy boys for your 3 lovely girls?

ha ha just kidding but maybe really?

love you guys!

good luck Mari.

(and yes Taylor Swift is playing..Ashes pick!)

the feeling of fall......

I hate to say it but the feeling of fall is around here. ( and I do L O V E fall, just not quite ready! ya know?!)

and yes it hit at least 90 degrees today, but once the

kids are back in school, it feels like summer is being quickly swept away.

Anyway so today Amber called last minute and was heading

to Gardner Village..

She invited me and little Mace man to come along.

The cutest shopping, eating, outdoor place ever.

We love it here. (and come lots!)

And now that the kids are back in school,

we just took the little ones and had a

great little day.

It is beautiful here.

They invest so much time in the plants and shrubs and colorful flowers.

and they decorate according to all Holidays.

They always have the cutest things out.
Today it was fun because we:

fed the ducks,

ate at the cute bakery (pink sugar cookie!),

shopped for Halloween decor,

and just simply sat and enjoyed the pretty views.

Later, my mom and Amber left and

and Mace and I stayed a little longer and

sat quietly doing nothing.

It was great!

\\

So green and pretty right now!

Lunch. the local bakery.

(I used to work for Neighborhood Bakery waaay back.)

These little shops are all historic pioneer homes that were

refurbished and brought in.

Most of the stores are home grown/local business ran.

I love it. It is so quaint.

And my F A V O R I T E store of all time:

Upon the Shelf!

I love love love you!

inside the door..... ahhhh love.

Anyway, so much to do..

Walk around, hang out, feed the duckies, and eat!

What a lovely day it was.

Thanks Amber and mom for a nice quick lunch break out!

cheers to a warm, happy day!

I will miss my summer days and honestly not ready to let it go,

but a day like this is nice and calm

and represents time is moving on.

Kids are in school, the weather is cooling, and

Fall is on our doorstep!

I will try to enjoy each day...!

life lessons

Okay so you know what?

I've been a single mom all week long...

We've been missing the big guy around here (business trip)

A N D you know what else??

(pic taken last March when he came home from a long trip..)

I am pooped!~

It's the first day of school and I am tired.

exhausted. spent. ya know.

Seriously single mom's are amazing to me.
How do they do it?
The amount of energy it takes to get 4 kids fed, dressed, and ready for life by yourself is crazy!

Good crazy , but H A R D W O R K!

Mom's should give themselves more credit for how much we accomplish in

one. single. day. period!

So here was my last night to do list:

~make a good healthy dinner, (brain food for school!)

~help Mace go poop every second,

~organize their back to school homework,

~help the kids with their new outfits and backpacks,

~buy last minute school supplies,

~get them all showered, cleaned and ready for their big day,

~Do a Family Home Evening on getting ready for school.

(I found some great quotes that hopefully motivate them for school)

~and lastly, Family Prayer

oh and this list does not include the daily tasks us mom's do every day:

dishes, laundry, mopping, making beds,

cooking lunch and dinner, vacuuming, potty training, driving,

picking up the house, organizing, yada ,yada, yada

our list can go on and on. Can't it not?!

(and it repeats the next day!)

Anyway, here are a few of the quotes I had the kids

read for Family Home Evening.

They each got one and had to explain what it meant.

(And sorry to bore you with them, but I want them for my blogging journal!

At least my kids will know I tried ha :)
(And yes, kind of cheesy but the kids soaked it all up like a sponge.)

Ashlyn's quote- "God ever works with those who work with will."

her serious response: God wants to help us and to have us succeed, we just have to have the DESIRE and ASK to be helped. perfect. I didn't need to help her...

Jake's quote-"If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old." Lord Chesterfield (I told him to think of a tree...)

his funny response: My tree won't grow if I don't try to learn every day. I will stay a small tree with one leaf and get no shade. PRETTY GOOD Jake! I told them every year their tree of knowledge will get bigger and grow stronger every year until they are a huge tree! They have to try hard each day, but it will be worth it. They will be a big strong tree with strong roots that will thrive on this earth.They totally got it.

Austin's quote-"know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do." by Menander

His thoughtful response: 'Like learn what I am good at and work on it every day. Try to always do the best at what I do.' Ha pretty good Aus! I added that they each have gifts and talents they were born with, USE them and they will bless your life! They are each special in their own way. Heavenly Father will help them if they do they do all they can do for themselves.

I know, I know, kind of cheesy but the kids really listened to it. They really thought it was cool.



Mace's quote-"every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. " Doug Firebaugh

His crazy response: (and no I did not expect him to get it, but the youngest always wants to feel included right?) "Mizzz Thompson is my schooool teacha mom. Yup. When I am a big boy I am going to have a boy too and Landri my cousin will be with me and have a baby girl." Alright Mace, good try! Really I told the kids to always strive to do their best in all they do: school, sports, homework, everything! Just try your hardest and you will become a better person each day.


All of the kids- "follow your honest convictions, and stay strong." William Thackeray.

Their excited response: CTR. Choose the Right. Always. Austin said also to do what's right and not listen to peer pressure. Wahoo he said peer pressure...he knew what it was! As a mom I felt proud some of my life lessons have been sinking into their little minds.


AND as mom's, don't we all worry we are

never doing enough

to prepare them for life?!

I know I do.

Life is tough and it is a crazy world out there. I feel so strongly it's our job

to direct and guide their little hearts to what's true,

and equip them with all the tools they need to survive out there! I need to try harder and teach them more life lessons....!

so enough of that:

ON TO THEIR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

Last years pic of the first day of school. Aug 28, 2008

(how I loved my yard on 8125. We put it all in ourselves. )

This years pic today: Aug 26, 2009




Off they go...it takes about 10 seconds to walk to school. Really! And yes we are lucky to be one house away from the pathway to the school!






So Ashlyn, Austin, and Jake





good luck to your first day of school,
always do your best,

(and listen to my life lessons alright?! )

and yes dad will be home tonight! no more tears Mace! yay
Loves always! mom

Ashlyn's big day

Ashlyn's moment has a r r i v e d!

Aug 22, 2009

Ashlyn's final swim meet for the summer.

(and my last swimming post!)

All County Championships at the Fairmont Aquatics center

in Sugarhouse.


We have been waiting for the big meet of the summer.

Official timers and real electronic timing pads! yay!Warm-ups. craziness.

hundreds of little swimmer bodies. All getting ready for the final race!

Go Crestwood Gators!

There were so M A N Y people in the stands.

It was a sight to see. It set the tone like we were at the Olympics (well ya know..) All the eager parents excited to see their swimmer race.

Me soooo included.

It brought back all my memories of swim team...

good and bad, happy and hard. I felt the adrenaline and the excitement of working towards a goal for months and months and F I N A L L Y time arrives. I love that feeling! Ashlyn was a bundle of nerves but held it together...

There she is, smiles and all!

She didn't really talk to me until her first race was over.

I sent her off with a kiss and a hug, no parents on deck!

She hated to walk away..it was good for her!

ahh I got a little sentimental seeing her with all the kids.

She was waiting for her event and I know she was sooo nervous. She never wants to lose and always do her best. I am just proud of her no matter her results..she knows that. But we all remember feeling this way in our own lives sometimes.

The pic is sweet with her eyes making contact with me and giving me a brave smile!

(I love this pic of her amongst all the swimmers!)

It's time!

HERE WE GO!

I had my camera and video camera all ready to go

(yes I am an eager parent too!)

Take your marks...

GO

I told her to dive in and give it all you got.

Kick your heart out and swim with strong strokes. Man she did that! She dove

off the blocks and flew! she got 2nd place..

difference in time was 40. 08 and her's 41.02~

I was a proud mama! I love watching her swim.

She did great, with her nerves out she had one more event.

She was event number 11 and event number 43! Are you kidding! We had to wait hours and hours and hours for her next event. It was a looong wait, but we weren't leaving!It was so darn crowded and so HOT in the pool area that 100 degree heat outside seemed the better choice!

We hung out, talked, read, ate, R E P E A T.

They were only allowed 2 events so we happened to be the beginning and the end! I actually enjoyed time with JUST Ashlyn. As mom's you know one on one with a child usually never happens. So we loved hanging out !

wahoo.

Her last event finally!

Freestyle again! 25 yd

Off the blocks she went and swam as fast as her little body would go! She said she put her head down and tried her hardest!

She got first in her heat.

time: 19.02!

56 girls swam the same event,

she placed in the top 6!

She did awesome. Like I said, I am so proud of her

for just giving swim team a try this summer.

She has grown to love it and I do think she has talent for it.

I love her stroke,

it is seamless.

SO hopefully we will continue year round! We will see!

C E L E B R A T I O N S were in order!

Ashlyn's choice of course:

WE all went out together. I just snapped a pic of my twinners! 10 yrs old!
(who do need braces soon....but they are cute anyway!

Love ya guys and proud of you Ash..)

We loved swimming

G O O D J O B A S H L Y N G I R L!!!

and now it is time for Jake and Aus's sports too!

Jake has already started his soccer team. He loooooooved it on Saturday.

His team won 3 to 0. They are undefeated except one game in 3 yrs! awesome

Jake is seriously O B S E S S E D with sports.

He eat, drinks and sleeps sports. Fine by us! We love them too.
It was a lovely day! I loved the warm weather and pretty mountain views!

Ash video taping for Ry who was gone all day!
Great goal Jakers!



W A Y TO G O! To many more games...and flag football!




Love the sports seasons! Bring it on!
Great job Ash and Jake..loves to ya both!
xoxo