summer 2008

We have been enjoying the end of summer with the fresh smell of rain, sweet corn-on-the-cob, and beautiful evenings. The kids are in full swing with their schooling and are busy with projects and friends. We are harvesting the garden and working on freezing and canning the fruits of our labor.

Talon earned his Life-Scout award and so is now on the way to his Eagle. We are proud of him!!

AwK!! Aubree is 13!

Happy Birthday, Miss Aubree!! She turned 13 on the 23rd of August. To celebrate she invited over a bunch of wild girls and they partied in the backyard tent until 4 in the morning. They even had a male character pounce in on them. Rex the cat was a frisky, mischievous party animal.

Aubree is growing up into a beautiful young lady. She loves to read, play with her friends, embroider, sew, cook, ride the 4-wheeler, and work on her Young Women Goals. She is very bright and loves to learn. We love you Auber-doo!

Aubree and her new metal friends. She got her braces on August 8th. She has a beautiful smile and now it is even more sparkly.

P.S. For posterity sake: New personal record for Laura---Ran 14 miles on August 23. Yahoo!

Big "T" started back to school today. He is a sophmore at South Sevier High School. He also recently got a job at the local grocery store which he is very excited about. This summer he has been bagging ice and loading it for a distributor over in Elsinore, so this new job is a good change.

Talon is taking some great classes and is involved in Karate, Honors English, the Madrigal choir, 4-H Ambassadors, and is taking an online class from BYU. He wants to graduate early and is motivated to get good grades again, so we are proud of him. He is getting so tall and he is a big help around the house when I need something moved.

Fun at the Sevier county fair! The girls did well with their projects and brought home lots of ribbons. They entered scrapbook pages, floral arrangements--dried and fresh, embroidery, quilts, baking, and horticulture.

We had a fun time with our 4-H group called "Pretty Sisters". Every year I teach them a new hymn and they perform it in sacrament meeting for one our projects. This year we are singing, "Let Us All Speak Kind Words to Each Other". ( yes I did have a motive in mind.)

These are my "Pretty Sisters" Aubree, Lindsey Epling, Melanie Aston, Bekah Wagner, Raina, Melissa Aston and Lexi Epling who isn't pictured.

We love Ramadi. He has been a great dog for our family. He got his name because Chad was just arriving in Ar Ramadi, Iraq when our puppies were born. He loves to ride up the canyon and go hiking with us. He even jumps into the van when the truck is gone...which isn't the best idea because he gets fur everywhere, but we love his company. He also loves to go bike riding with Talon and he is an overall friendly mutt. We think he is part Australian Sheperd, German Shepherd and Collie. So a true mutt!! But we love him anyways.

I love to garden and we are starting to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I am still waiting for the first tomato, however. We had a chilly spring and so it slowed things down a bit, but things are progressing nicely now. I am looking forward to freezing and canning season also.

My flower garden was really pretty this year. I started my flowers from seed in the window sill and they really did well. This picture is a view of the Monroe mountain. We also live by 40 acres of alfalfa on the south side of our home. I love it because when it is cut the hay smells so sweet.
Aubree's cat, Rex, looks innocent in this picture, but he has a fierce temperment. He likes to stalk up to you and attack your legs. Ramadi, the dog, has even become a bit more careful around the feline. We know who the alpha-male is when it come to those two!

In the back yard, we get to see the Tushar Mountains and they are gorgeous when covered with snow. We have been working on some projects outside and they are coming along, but we still need to pour a little more concrete and then Chad will build a pergola so we will have a covered patio. Its summertime and the livin' is easy!!

August 11,2008

Happy Birthday to me!! Chad has spoiled me all week and we have had lots of fun. On Friday, we went to the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and got to experience Othello in the Adams theater. Saturday we spent in St. George and then up to Springdale for my 20 year Hurricane HS reunion. I am glad that I don't smoke or drink and that I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables!! Your lifestyle really shows after 20 years.

Today we went up to Monroe Mountain and went hiking & had a picnic. We saw lots of wildlife, in fact a huge bull elk bounded right in front of us while we were driving along. I got a picture of his horns before he left. We also saw a buck with horns in the velvet, a rock chuck, toad, and lots of pretty flowers. It was great!
My dear mom called and reminded me of my debut into the world. She always tells me that I came out running!! I was born breech and had the cord wrapped around my neck several times, so it was good that I came feet first. Well, I kept up the running thing and woke up early for a run with Chad. We saw a fabulous sunrise and had a great day.

Cousins!! We love 'em! The girls have had a fun weekend with Brooke and Lindsey. They giggle and play from morning till morning...because they never go to bed. I am glad that they have so much fun together. They had a good time hiking in the canyon, swimming, sleeping outside, scrapbooking and just plain being silly. You all should be blessed to watch one of their skits someday. Oh, boy---it's something to "enjoy". What do Elvis, beer, and Mormon's have in common? I don't know either, but the girls sure made some interesting connection's with these themes.

Chad and I had our 19th wedding anniversary yesterday. It's amazing that time has gone so fast!

I love him

more and more everyday. He is an incredible person and my dream guy :)

We were so cute back then!

We are still best-est friends and have so much fun together. He has turned me into a running fan.

I was so inspired watching him finish the marathon that I decided to become his running partner. It has been slow and painful, but my personal record is 10 miles now! We had a great 6 mile run today and we're a bit faster. I have discovered that having something to listen to while I run helps a ton. I have also become a net library fan, thanks to help from Talon. A little music and then a book helps keep my mind off of my grinding knees. For some reason after 3 miles, I loosen up and can go without too much pain, but I don't look forward to the tweaks first thing in the morning. But we have seen some awesome sunrises together, so it is worth it.

Just wanted to invite you all to take a glimpse of life at the Williams household.

Howdy!!

Hello!!

I have enjoyed reading blog's from various and interesting people so I thought I would enter the brave new world of technology and give blogging a whirl.

I especially love seeing pictures that are posted of adorable kids and exciting events, so I will try to learn the art of uploading from my camera. ( I still depend on my kids to help me get the pictures loaded onto the computer:)

Hugs,

Laura