Housley Family ~ Lake Powell '08

Well, we just got back from our "last hurrah" of the summer...the coveted trip to Lake Powell! Brett's family has grown up going to Lake Powell and since we've been married, I've been able to enjoy this beautiful place of peace and relaxation. It's been so much fun to know that every summer we all get to look forward to time spent together as a family with Grandma and Grandpa Harris and all the cousins. It is an honored tradition and I hope that someday my kids will appreciate it for what it is. My family, however, (being the Texans that we are!) haven't had the opportunity until this year. I think most of my brothers have been to Powell maybe once or twice, but have never really had the whole "stay-for-a-couple-of-days-sleep-under-the-stars-on-top-of -the- houseboat-build-campfires-and-ski-til-we're-waterlogged" experience. I do know that my mom and sister-in-law, Kim have never been there. We came up on a chance to buy into a time share on a houseboat that Brett's brother owned, for a screaming deal, and had a blast. Almost everyone from our family came except for my youngest brother Taylor and his wife, Valerie and their son, Isaac.WE MISSED YOU GUYS!!! Looking forward to next year!

The State of Utah ~ by Sydney Harris

Sydney did her first science project for the 4th grade and did such an excellent job! (with lots of help from her #1 "project helper" Dad!) When she found out that we were going to be out of town when the project was due, her teacher told her that she could turn it in before she left or after she got back. Well, it was like she didn't even hear the option to turn it in after she got back because she wanted to start working on it right away! (she did not get her enthusiasm for science and/or projects from me, that's for sure!) Finished it 4 days before we even left and couldn't wait to show her teacher! When all was said and done, she had created the state of Utah that showed its major mountain ranges, desserts, lakes and streams. Good job Syd!

This is why I don't bake bread....

I got a wild hair on Saturday and thought I'd try and make homemade pizza dough, so the girls could make their own pizzas. Yeah, right. I don't know why I thought I could do it, I've tried before and it's never worked. I followed the directions EXACTLY. The first try was a wheat pizza dough and after realizing that it wasn't going to rise, I tried another completely different recipe and got the exact same results. Thank goodness for Little Ceasars $5 pizzas!

9 Four Wheelers, 3 Rhinos, 3 flat tires, 1 oil leak and 1 motorcycle....

Our good friends, Jim and Kathy Taylor, planned a 4 wheeler ride for about 10 couples the other night and it was a lot of fun. We drove up to Hobblecreek Canyon and then took whatever each of us had, (we took the Rhino) a sack dinner and off we went! It was a very ROCKY canyon, so we ended up popping 3 tires and smashed the oil cover off of one 4 wheelers, but luckily, Brett was there to save the day and provided a pump to at least get us off the mountain. I should have taken a before and after picture of everyone, but this picture of Bob and Carin gives you a pretty good idea of what we looked like "after". But, everything said and done, it was really fun and nice way to spend the evening with my hubby.



The gang....

MAMMA MIA

I LOVE this movie! I've seen it twice now (and I'm not one who enjoys seeing movies more than once....) and smiled through the whole entire movie both times! The actors are great (Mom, if you haven't seen this yet...Pierce Brosnan should be reason enough!) the music awesome, it's hilarious, Greece is now my goal "destination spot" and besides the underlying theme of a mother who doesn't know who the father of her daughter is, it's just a "feel good movie". So fun!

Kindergarten has started.....

Living in a neighborhood chuck full of kids definitely has it's advantages...one of those being, lots of the same kids going to school together. So, there are 7 kids on just our cul-de-sac and with 6 of them going in the afternoon, the mom's decided it would be fun to walk all the kids to school together on the first day of school. Well, I didn't take Syd to her first day of school, I'm pretty sure Brett did though. (wish I had written that down...) Plus, my kids are pretty independent so I hadn't really thought about it. Well...okay.....I'll walk with you guys! :)

So, we get ready, had a fairly easy time picking out an outfit that we could both agree on and she even let me do her hair! We took the "token" pictures on the front porch ~

and are actually on time until it's time to find the helmet for the bike. Morgan doesn't want to wear her helmet "Look Mom, I'm fine!" as she rides her bike around helmet-less to prove it! Well, I'm running around trying to find it, get the stroller out, get Kendra in the stroller, make sure she has her BINKIE and all the while the group of Kindergartners and their mothers are walking on by....FINE, no helmet today, but you will wear it tomorrow. (I had this sneaky suspicion that she had hid it, which she didn't, but it was in plain sight on the driveway and I just didn't see it, but she did! I realized that after school when I told her I had found the helmet and she had this innocent "Where was it, Mom?" look on her face!) Let's go. So, off she goes on her bike, I'm trying my darndest to catch up to the group and she just sails right by them. I call for her to stop, she doesn't. Here's the next picture I get ~

Can you see her on the left, way in the front of the group? As you can probably figure out, she just kep on going until she got to school, put her bike in the bike rack (I was going to show her that!) and straight to class. She was so excited for school, she could hardly stand it! Now, I'll have to admit, I was bugged. You know how you have this picture in your mind of certain experiences with your children and they just never live up to what you think they should? Well, I know better, but a mother can dream, can't she?? Needless to say, I caught up to the group and when we got to the school, she was already in class and ready to go!

Now, is this the same child that when I signed her up (and paid) for 2 FUN summer activities that the cute neighbor girls were putting on, clung to my neck and absolutely refused to go??!!

Seriously kid, you could at least be consistent with me! :)

The Binkie A.K.A. The double edged sword!

Binkies are so great, but they are also a pain in the ass, too! Syd never used one, always sucked her thumb. There are disadvantages to that, (at age 7 she was still sucking her thumb without even realizing she was doing it and we had to take her to the orthodontist to put in a permanent "appliance" on the top of her mouth to wear for 6 months to stop the thumb sucking) but, there are advantages also. (don't have to worry about losing her thumb!)Morgan loved binkies, but I don't remember her being so addicted to them that she would walk around chanting "binkie, binkie, binkie" until she either found one or we found one for her. When she turned 2, I cut the nipple off of the binkie and that was it, she was done. I can't quite see Kendra doing that. She loves this thing and quite frankly, it's starting to make me a little nervous....you know that feeling when you're down to your last bink and you hold onto it for dear life for fear of losing that one and dealing with the consequences of her meltdown?! And your heart does this little leap every time you find one when you weren't expecting to?! Well, we're at that point and she turns 2 in less than a month and I'm sweating bullets! I can try and cut one, but I'm afraid that she'll find one and we'll have to start all over again. Brett keeps telling me to just do it, but he's not the one who has to listen to her all stinking day while she whines for her binkie. Help Super Nanny!

Morgan's playing Soccer!

It's her first year playing and she is soooooo excited! I told the family that I would post her schedule so that they could come if they were so inclined. :) Her first game was last night and she had a smile on her face the whole, entire game. Go Dragonflies!!

Wednesday, September 10 5:30pm

Friday, September 12 5:30pm

Wednesday, September 17 6:15pm

Wednesday, September 24 6:15pm

Wednesday, October 1 6:15pm

Friday, October 3 6:15pm

The end of summer....

For those of you that know me really well, know that I have no problem voicing my opinion about school being back in session. :) I love my children, but I also love the opportunity that they have to go to school, learn more academically, socialize and get a break from me! (and vice versa) As excited as I am for our girls to get back into the school routine, there are definitely things that I will miss about summertime.



How cute their little bums look in their swimsuits......




~Rhino rides.....




~Swimming (or seeing how many toys they can fit) in the pool.....



Lawnmower rides with Dad....


~Getting faces painted at Summer Camp....



~The sound of the "Wild Hawgs" going for their nightly ride....(2 couples at the end of our cul de
sac have Harley's...I was only able to catch pictures of the hubby's at this time)



~Popsicles....



~Playing games with chalk on the driveway......

~Performance Camp.......

~selling Lemonade.....



















~and last, but not least, Lake Powell.....(luckily we still have one more trip planned for September!)

This is how I've been feeling lately....

Syd's First Day of School

Yup, the time is here...Sydney just left for her 1st day of school in the 4th grade. Can't believe it! Not that I can't believe the day is finally here (can I do my happy dance now?!) but that she's actually in the 4th grade! I remember the 4th grade! I had my first boyfriend in the 4th grade! Ross Cash....cute little boy with red hair and freckles....asked me to "go" with him...bought me a necklace with a watermelon on it....broke up with me to go out with Amy Pospisil! :) Oh, the heartbreaks of adolescence! Anyway, here are some pics from this morning. Didn't get as many as I usually get....she was mad at me because I braided her hair and "she doesn't like braids!" Guess I should be grateful I got as many as I did...I'm sure with each year it's going to get harder and harder for her to "say cheese!" for her mom on the first day of school.

Elder Jacob Reading

Our cousin is serving his mission in Carlsbad, California and to keep in touch with him, go to www.missionsite.net and enter his name. With all of this computer technology....email and websites, makes me look like I served the mission in the dark ages! :)

Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe that it's been 11 years ago today that I married my best friend. I'm so grateful to be married to a wonderful man who respects me, honors our temple covenants and the Priesthood, is THE BEST father to our 3 beautiful daughters, showers me with love and affection, doesn't back down when he feels strongly about something (even when I disagree :) and is the only one who can make me laugh when I just don't feel like laughing. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and never giving up on me. I'm so grateful to have him by my side through the good and bad times and to know that no matter what happens, we're in this together. I could not be more blessed and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the amazing life that I live with Brett and our girls. Happy Anniversary Honey, I love you!

Mom and Theran

Happy Birthday Theran! Here's a picture of big T with our Mom that I stole from my sister-in-laws blog.....love you Theran!

Our Girls

Here are some pictures of the girls, taken by my sister-in-law, Julie. Cute little stinkers (if I do say so myself! :)