Courtney's new bike

I'll keep this short and sweet because I have been getting a lot of flack from people about my posts being too long.

Courtney waited all summer to get this bike from her cousin.
I don't think her life can get much better.

She insists on riding everywhere, even across the street.

Aubrey's Blessing

After finally arriving in Las Vegas, we were able to have a great weekend. For some reason, we didn't get any pics of the little cutie. If you are dying to see her, which you should be, you can go to Dan and Danielle's blog. It is under our links. This was the first time that Courtney was amazed by
the buildings on the strip. We have driven in and out of Las Vegas countless times but this time Courtney exclaimed, "Oh my goodness. Look at that castle!" She was referring to the Excalibur.

She begged us to let her go there, so we decided it would be a fun Saturday trip. When we got there, we were pretty disappointed to find that the stage had been turned into a bar. Yes, a bar! Apparently that is where all the money is. We headed down to the game section for a little fun. Having all 3 brothers there proved to be a huge competition. Dan was gracious enough to watch all three girls while we all played the roller ball game. You know the one where you get a ball in a certain color hole and your horse moves. The first horse to the end wins. Dave and Brian were talking so much smack about who was going to win. Of course, I was cheering for Dave. I was secretly hoping I would win though. We were all surprised and amazed when the winner was declared as Danielle. She won a prize for Ali and it was lots of fun. We decided that we were roller ball experts and proceeded to spend about $10 playing a few more games of it. Unfortunately, we weren't able to win against any others.

About this time, Courtney was getting very sad, due to the fact that we hadn't seen any princesses yet. We may have told her she would see some. Luckily, Dave was able to distract her by winning a different game. The one where you throw the ball and have to knock over the milk bottles. She was so excited that her Dad won her a bear. She still has to know where the bear is at all times. To top it off, the shirt on the bear says, Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas. I don't think it gets any better than that. It was a great trip. We had tons of fun and miss seeing the fam.

Snow in September?

Ok, we weren't on top of it enough to get any pictures but we are talking full on snowing. First, we drove up the canyon to look at the leaves changing colors. We noticed the temperature dropping fast. Soon it was only 29 degrees. It was snowing like crazy. We thought when we got back down the mountain it would just be raining, but no such luck. It continued to snow and rain off and on all yesterday. I just have to say that I hate living in Utah and need to move somewhere with a warmer climate. Come on, seriously, snow in September!

Getting there is half the fun

Over Labor Day weekend, we had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas for our niece's blessing. I was so excited when Dave took Friday off, so that we could have more time to spend with the family. Much to our disappointment, we broke down just before getting to Beaver. To make a long story short, after being towed to Beaver, then to St. George, Dave's parents were kind enough to pick us up. We had to leave the car, so Dave's mom also had to bring us back to St. George on Monday. Luckily, the car was fine. Taking 9 hours to get to Las Vegas, not quite as fun. I do have to say that Dave and I were able to laugh it off and still had a great trip and time in Las Vegas.

Jordan's Birthday

So here is one more thing that happened over a month ago. Oops! We were able to spend time with one of Courtney's best friends, Jordan, for his birthday.

We wanted to do something really fun with them, so we decided on Boondocks, which is a miniature golf, arcade, slide, bumper car place all rolled into one. Since my friend, Mindy, has a small infant, we opted to just let them play in the arcade part and on the slide.

I'm pretty sure that by far their favorites were ones that we didn't even pay for. We just let them think they were racing and shooting. Come on $1.50 for one game. That is outrageous! They had fun collecting tickets from the other games they played too. My skills finally paid off and I won the jackpot playing monopoly. I think we got around 300 tickets. They were so excited to get better prizes than just an eraser or braclet. Thanks for sharing your birthday with us Jordan!

I FLY

Last month, Dave had the opportunity to go indoor skydiving. For all of you who know Dave, it's not a surprise that this was not his first time. He has done it before and has also gone real skydiving. As for me, I could have gone also, but I don't think you could pay me to do it.
It was really funny. Dave had to take this little class that explained everything to you. We watched him through a glass door while he was in the class and he looked very bored. Then he got to put on this cool gear. I don't know who was more excited for Dave to do it, him or Courtney.
Dave was able to do it with his friend, Brad. I think it was alot more fun to do with another person that he knew. They took turns going in the wind tunnel. When they sat down to let the other have a turn, they were tons closer than us, and not behind the glass.
He was a little disappointed that the instructor stood so close to him and didn't give him, "room to do better tricks." I guess they thought he was a rookie.
Courtney said that she is big enough to do it and one of the guys working there said that they would let ages 3 and up try it. I decided it probably wouldn't be the best experience because in July, we went to a children's museum that let you be in a virtual tornado. She liked it at first, but when it got up to about 50 miles an hour, she started to scream. Maybe next year.

I'll Follow Him in Faith

For those of you who don't know, I'll follow him in faith has been the primary theme for this year. I am happy to report that I survived my very first Sacrament meeting program. It may come as a shock to some of you but I have never been in primary until this past April. I teach the six year olds that are turning seven. It's a fun age but also a challenging one. I never knew all that went into preparing for a sacrament program. The kids were very happy that they were able to perform for their parents and now it's over for a whole year. Whew! I think the hardest part was learning all the songs. What ever happened to the good old songs? Children are now required to learn multiple songs with more than three verses each. We also had to learn one song in sign language. They sure expect alot from the kids. The best part of the whole thing was that I got to sit on the stand with my class while Dave struggled to keep Courtney quiet and happy.

Mountain Dew Tour

Ok, I'm finally back. I got a lot of grief from some people and now you'll have to put up with my many posts of what we have been doing for the past six weeks. For some reason, we always have something going on. It's fun though.

This Saturday, Dave and Courtney got to watch the motorcyles at the Dew Tour. I had a hair appointment, so Dave decided to take Courtney out for a date. They had so much fun! Courtney loves anything her dad does, so he got her very excited for the whole thing.

She was a little disappointed though. She keeps saying, "I didn't see any bicycles." We had prepped her by saying that there would be bikes, motorcycles, and skateboards, but since they didn't want to be there all day, they only saw motorcycles.

They also went to the Gateway mall for a little bit, because it was close to the events. Courtney is way to young to realize how lucky she is. She gets to go to almost every event that happens at the Energy Solutions area and goes to every movie opening weekend, when they come out. She is so lucky to have a dad that gets tickets to everything!

Mirror Lake

We were lucky enough to be able to go camping with my parents this last weekend. It was our first time taking Courtney with us and it was ok. We had tons of fun but it was a little harder to have her with us than we had anticipated. She was pretty good though. We only had to drive about an hour and a half to get to Mirror Lake. It was a very pretty lake. I was ready to go home the first night. Soon after arriving, Dave was taking Courtney down to the lake when they told us to come and look at the bear. Thinking it was across the lake, we went to see. As I start down the trail, I see my husband and daughter about 50 yards from the bear. I tear Courtney out of Dave's arms while he follows(yes, he is crazy) the black bear into different camps. Luckily we never saw a bear after that.

We had a great time hiking and playing games. Highlights for Courtney had to be when we would have a campfire and roast marshmellows. The funny thing is that she hates marshmellows but she sure likes to roast them. She also had the greatest time feeding the squirrels and chipmunks. We would leave food out and then watch the little critters come and eat. By our last day there, the rodents had figured out that we were always leaving them food. They got really brave and even climbed right under our feet. We had a great time but were very happy to get home to bathe and shower!

First Day of School

I have been looking forward to this day for three years now, or so I thought. I have been telling Courtney all summer that she would be starting preschool in the fall. She always thought it was a wonderful idea, until it got closer to starting. She kept telling me how she couldn't go to school without me because, "I just love you and will miss you too much." At that time, that didn't even melt my heart.

I continued with my, "you will go to school whether you want to or not." Over the past few weeks, we have had many days of constant whining and crying whenever she thought about school. When school day came, she cried all morning and everything I did was a fight. She even threw her backpack in the trash thinking that if she didn't have her backpack, she wouldn't have to go.

I had big plans for

my hour and a half that she would be gone. I was going to call a friend and make cards. I was going to have some "me" time. I brought her to school, despite her constant protests. All of the other kids were fine. No one was crying and wanting their mom to stay. They were all looking at my little girl, wondering what was wrong with her. After hanging up her backpack and playing blocks for a few minutes, she was still upset. and playing blocks for a few minutes, she was still upset. The teacher said it was time to clean up and for a second she stopped crying to clean(you must know that my child is quite OCD about things being put away and in their place)! I looked at the teacher and asked if they were going to call if she couldn't stop crying or what the procedure was. She told me that generally they didn't because the child would end up being fine. At this point, tears welled up in my eyes. How could I leave my baby in this place that she did not want to be in? What a terrible mother. I wanted her to go to school so badly that I didn't care what she wanted. Surprisingly, she saw that all of the kids had to pick a spot on the mat and told me that she would be ok and that she needed to find a spot before there wasn't one left. I walked out the door and started to cry. Instead of doing anything while she was gone, I sat there wondering if she was ok or if she would hate me forever for leaving her. With 15 minutes until school was supposed to be out, I couldn't take it and picked her up. In my defense, there were lots of other parents there to pick their child up early too. Courtney ran to me and said that she had lots of fun. Her teacher said she never cried again. She can't wait to go back tomorrow because, "you just pick me up, huh mom." Now hopefully I can get some things done while she is gone, knowing that she is having a great time.

A Fun End of Summer

We have been having so much fun that I haven't even had time to post anything in forever. Let me give a quick overview of our past couple of weeks. It all started two weeks ago when Grandma and Grandpa Bollard came for a visit. We went to Liberty Park that night to feed the ducks and play. Courtney had a great time. We were also able to get some great pics of her with her grandparents and family pics as well. She loved playing on the playground but was very sad that the water had been turned off for the day. She had so much fun climbing a huge hill and rolling down it. All the fun ended when she decided to run down the hill instead. Her legs couldn't go as fast as they needed to and she ended up face planting at the bottom. On the way home from the park, we got to see Dave, Brooke, and baby Boston. Courtney refers to him as her baby Boston and even told his grandma that he was indeed Courtney's and not Grandma Robyn's. We got to go to the Junction in Ogden Friday. Dave had a new theater open up there and there is lots more to do too. We played arcade games, played on the slide, played miniature golf, as well as going to a movie. It was lots of fun. Do you think we were exhausted by Saturday? No, not us. We decided that we should take a day trip to Lagoon. Courtney loves the rides and kept wanting to ride the ones that she was too small for. She did get really good at bumper cars though. We also spent part of our time there at the waterslide park. And again, we got to see Dave, Brooke, and Boston. After getting home later that evening, Wendy and I went to a movie while Bob and Dave took Courtney to the park for more fun. They had a water gun fight.

Sunday was sad for Dave. Courtney and I went back to Las Vegas to spend the week with the grandparents. On Monday, Aubrey Rose Bollard was born. We were so happy to be able to be there for the birth. She is a beautiful baby. We got to help watch my niece, Ali, while Mom and Dad were in the hospital. We visited everyday. We also had the opportunity to visit my brother and his girls. The oldest, Ellee, decided to put makeup on the two little girls. I had to laugh and take pictures. Courtney almost learned how to swim. Grandma is a good teacher. She spent most of her time there in the pool. On Saturday, Dave got there in the morning and we were all able to spend time together. It was a lot of fun because Dave's whole family was there. Courtney was also spoiled to death by Grandma, and her surrogate grandma's, Betsy and Robyn. We are finally home and Courtney starts preschool next week.

Swimming with friends

We were lucky enough to have our friends, the Youngs, come for a visit this past weekend. We know how busy they were and appreciate them spending some time with us. Courntey was so excited for them to come and has been asking about it since about March. While Jamie and I were in Park City getting massages, the boys had the kids for awhile. They decided to take the kids swimming and they had a blast. They got so tired that by the time the moms got home, they were as grumpy and could be. But this was no day for naps. We had alot planned and would cram it all into one whole day. The kids played for awhile and then we were headed to dinner. Courtney fell asleep in the car and slept most of the time we were eating. Then we headed off to the movies. Dave and Jason had to see Transformers(something about when they were young) while the rest of us were off to see Ratatouille. Of course, no movie is complete without soda, popcorn and candy. Our friend's little boy, Jayden, fell asleep soon after the movie started and missed the whole movie. We had so much fun with them and can't wait to see them again!

Fourth of July

We hope everyone had a very fun 4th of July. Ours was really good. We helped plan a neighborhood BBQ and it was a lot of fun. We had over fifty people show up and we had a very good time. We love our neighborhood. It has just the kind of people in it that we have always wanted to live by.
The party was complete with a pool and sprinklers, tattooes, face painting, a pie eating contest, and more fireworks than I have ever seen at one time. We made little pies for the young kids to have a contest with but Courtney wanted nothing to do with it, until her dad pushed her face into it.
There had to have been at least five people with huge Costco packs of fireworks that were being set off all at the same time. We also had one neighbor with the illegal fireworks, so that was kind of fun. There were others all around our neighborhood with illegal fireworks, so we got quite a show. We were also able to see the city fireworks from our neighbor's backyard.
Here are the teenage boys in the neighborhood trying to pick out which pie they want for the contest. It was pretty sad. Only one of the boys was even able to finish off their pie. They had a good time though. One boy got a pie and smashed it on his aunts head. That was when the water fight started. So much fun!
My latest quilt that I have finished is this one. I decided it would be very cute to have a patriotic quilt out for this month. I'm working on two other quilts right now, need to bind the edges of one, and have about four more in mind that are just waiting to be started. Hopefully I'll have more time so that I can get everything done that I want to.

Daddy's little helper

Courtney loves to help her dad. I'm pretty sure Dave is hoping that when she is actually old enough to really help, that she will still want to. With the move to the new house, it seems like all we do is work on projects. One of our last things to take care of(excluding the garage, of course!) was to set up the office, which included the desk. Courtney thought it was great that she could do it too. She is a very hard worker. I also have to mention that this is one of Courtney's all time favorite outfits. She picked it out herself, and was extremely proud. Her absolute favorite color in the world is blue, so she couldn't believe that she could wear blue pants(jeans, of course, don't count as blue). It's getting pretty worn because she wears it so much.

Courtney Playing Outside

Here is a video of Courtney having a good time outside with her bike. She has been wanting a new bike for awhile. In the mean time she has to settle for the little rider.

Ducks

Courtney has an obession, of sorts, with ducks. When she was very small, her Grandpa Bollard took her to Sunset Park in Las Vegas to feed the ducks there. Now she asks him every time she talks to him if she can go feed the ducks with him. They even found ducks here the last time they were up for a visit. During this particular feeding, they saw ducklings with the mother duck. Courtney was so happy. She talked about it non stop for weeks. For some reason, she always associates ducks with her Grandpa.
We thought it was unlucky for us to have a a canal behind our house. We didn't think it would be too bad though. We also got a fence put up the backyard because of city code. So we thought we could live with it. Little did we know that it would bring hours of entertainment to Courtney.
We have a mother duck and ducklings that come by a few times a day. At first, Dave would yell to Courtney and she would come running to catch a glimpse. But one lucky day, the ducks were actually sleeping on the bank. When they woke up, they ate. Courtney thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I guess ducks really are pretty cute.
The one drawback was that last week we heard them quacking all night. Courtney would have loved it but she was sound asleep. We had a power outage for about 12 hours on one of the hottest days of the year. We opened the windows to try to get some relief, and all we heard was "quack, quack, quack." You have probably already guessed that we did not get much sleep that night.