New Year, Making Changes...

Well, I can't believe it's another New Year! I guess now that I'm older time just flies right by! A few things I'm actually looking forward to changing in the New Year...

Budget...

Since it will be our 20th Anniversary this year I'm planning to budget so we can get out of debt but mostly so we can afford to take ourselves and the girls to

Hawaii...

Where we can spend some time showing them where we lived and visiting our favorite beach spots with our new

Healthy Bodies...

Ok, same old bodies but I'm so happy Darrell and the girls got me an elliptical so I can really work out at home and lose this baby weight I've been packing around for 13+ years now (can I still claim it as baby fat if my baby is a teenager???) and I'm making meal plans with healthy food so those of us who aren't going to exercise will still lose weight and be healthy with our diets!

But mostly I'm not doing an actual resolution list since it seems most resolutions end up being broken, instead I'm making a few changes and the best part is that I'm ready! Bring it on!

What changes will you make in the New Year???

Christmas

Three Wise Men

Three wise men knowing not who you are

Ride across the desert following only a star.

Three wise men in honor of your birth

Ride across the desert chanting, "Peace on Earth".

Three wise men, wise by God's own hands

Ride across the desert traveling from distant lands.

Listen baby Jesus, sacred gift from Heaven handed down to Earth

Three wise men ride tonight to see your Holy mirth.

During this time of year we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! May the spirit reside in your home all year round and may you always remember the reason for the season!

November Fun!!!

I can't believe it's been MONTHS since I posted last! Life gets so busy and we get caught up in our day to day that time slips by without me realizing it! We've had so much fun the past few weeks, here's some of what we've been doing...

Gladys came to town and the Byers boys (minus David cause he's in Calif) went to dinner, ADULTS ONLY! We don't get togther often enough, but when we do it's so much fun! I love having Gladys come and stay, she's such a strong beautiful woman and 1 of my best friends! I'm so blessed to have her in my life and she's raised her boys to be such wonderful men! I love my sisters-in-law and I'm thankful that we all get along and have fun when we get together!

My family (the girls anyway) like doing crafts together, we've made stocking holders and hula hoop teepee tents and all kinds of stuff in between. Becky found this darling snowman that we really wanted to do and luckily Grandpa Tom cut the wood quicker than we ever expected! We got together today, had the big kids bbsit the littles, ordered pizza and painted our little guts out but the end result is fabulous! I'm thankful for the wonderful Grandparents I've been blessed with, my very beautiful loving mom, my fantastic sister (who is the absolute best friend ever!) and I'm thankful that my brother found a wonderful woman to add to our family and that Kiersti fits right in! I love you all so much!

And this last picture is of our first really big snow storm of the year! It's snowed before but melted right away, today though we got this...

In 2 hours! Darrell and I left at 5pm, it was cold and a little misty but not really anything you could call rain, at 7pm we came home to this! I am so excited for the holidays! I love the end of October/1st of November until the 1st week of the New Year! It's my favorite time of year!! I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving and Christmas! Hopefully I'll be posting again soon, but if not we'll be living life to it's fullest in the meantime!

Cabin Pics...

Below is a slide show of our cabin adventures (or at least a few of them) thus far. Some things I think we all love about the cabin are...

*It's so close we can go for just the day and enjoy every minute of it!
*It's great mountain atmosphere with trees and shade everywhere!
*Watching the Hummingbirds!
*Hanging out in a chair on the deck marveling at the fantastic view!
*The cool crisp mountain air!
*Hanging with our family and friends
*The fantastic view, and sometimes including hot air balloons!
*Playing in the lake at Deer Creek (or Jordanelle next time we go!)
*Hikes and talks
*4 wheeler rides (hopefully more soon when we own instead of borrow!)
*Cascade Springs and other fun trails so so close!
*The proximity to Heber, Midway and Park City - never not a thing to do!
*The coziness! (not too big, just 2 bedrooms, a loft, 1 bathroom and the common area)
*Playing games!
*Did I mention the deck, 0 gravity chairs, and the fantastic view?!?!

Hope you like the pics below, they show a little bit of the cabin...

Training them young...

On Thursdays I bbsit my little nephew, Duncan. Last week he was in the toy room playing when things got quiet so I went to see what he was doing and I found this scene when I turned from my desk to get up and check it out...

Becky Warner was in Mexico and I guess D was going to help by filling in!

What a great little helper!

Swiss Days and Cabin Fun!

I LOVE Midway! I've always loved the quaintness of this little town and I'm so grateful that my parents recently bought a cabin there!

For Swiss Days we had big plans, the girls (me, Becky, Mom and Kiersti) all went up Friday (with my Dad in tow who actually ditched us so he could go shopping on his own!) and walked the booths, ate and just had a great time! Then on Saturday I went back with Darrell and the girls and we had a blast! I bought this book...

And one of these cool things so I can pack away my hot curinling iron or straightener without waiting for it to cool down!!

And the girls talked us into this Beware Killer Wiener sign which is proudly displayed by the front door!

And I got some neat decorating ideas which I hope to have done this winter (including new paint in my house!)

This weekend I'm taking a bunch of friends up for a Cabin Girls Nite and I'm ohhhhhh sooooo excited! We'll be watching chic flicks, painting our toe nails, and just hanging out being girls!

I am so grateful that my parents bought this little haven the woods for our family! It's been fun staying there with everyone and just chilling out, and it's especially fun when we can steal a quick weekend away to be refreshed by the mountain air and have just our little time away! I'm also grateful that they're willing to let us "borrow" time up there with our friends!

Thanks Mom and Dad! Love you tons for everything you do for us, and so so much more! Without you guys our family would not be what it is today! Love you!

ABC, 123

The girls started school today! Annie wasn't very excited but Shawna was elated to be able to wear her new clothes! Both girls couldn't wait to see their friends! Sorry about the quality of the pics, we were in a hurry and I only had my cell phone camera...

Summers almost over...

The girls start school tomorrow and I'm still in awe at how quickly the summer has gone! Before we know it the leaves will be changing and then the snow will start to fly and I'm totally not ready for any of it!

As 1 last fun hurrah before school I wanted to make today special and my good friend Becky Warner provided the idea by giving me a gift certificate for my birthday to The Bead Fairy! What an awesome store!! I decided that it would be fun to go make bead watches, go to lunch, and just have a girls morning/afternoon together before I ship them off to school come tomorrow, AND with the bead watches they made they'll have a new accessory to wear to school too! We had such a blast we can't wait to go back and add more bead bands to our collection! Here are the finished products...

What do you think???

Silhouette...

I read Kiersti's blog and HAD to enter this contest (all 4 times so this is my post...)

I want to win one of these really really bad! Look at all the fun stuff you can make by going here...

http://www.qksilhouette.com/whatcanitdo.aspx?mid=h92sdfln248t12gm09anb12358bnae8n

I really love the idea of decorating backpacks and bags, making book covers, etching glass, making Christmas gifts, scrapbooking, etc etc etc. There are absolutely no limitations to what you can do with this thing! I didn't even know it exsisted until now! Crazy!!

If I don't win it I hope 1 of you do! Go check it out here and enter to win...

http://karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/2010/08/silhouette-craft-cutter-giveaway-300.html

Eclipse...

A huge THANKS goes out to my sister-in-law, Kiersti, for getting us pre-open preview tickets to Eclipse yesterday at 530pm!! It was so great and we had a blast! Not to mention we didn't have to stay up to be apart of the midnight madness!!

Of course we had to buy shirts to really be a part of things and show our

Team Jacob Spirit!!

Here's a pic of me and the girls waiting for the movie to start...

AND a pic of us with Kiersti DURING the first couple minutes of the show (luckily it was just the commercials and turn your phone off messages so we didn't piss anyone off...)

CAN'T WAIT FOR BREAKING DAWN!!!!!

Birthday Fun and Brace Face...

I haven't blogged about Shawna's birthday yet, I'm in denial...

My baby is now 13!!!!!!!

We were in Elko for her big day and we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant there, La Fiesta. We told our waiter it was Shawna's bday so she had to wear a sombero while they sang Happy Birthday in Spanish and then we all joined in and sang it again in English. It was fun and she got a delicious fried ice cream which she shared.

Now that my big girl doesn't have any baby teeth the dentist suggested braces to straighten her adorable smile. The one request she had before she got her braces was to head to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a carmel apple. I forgot to snap a pic of the delicious apple before we devoured it, but here's Shawna posing while I snap 1 last shot before we threw the core away. Thanks to everyone who recommended the Apple Pie Apple, if you haven't had one you HAVE to try it! Pure heaven!!

She was so excited but now that they're on I'm sure she's wishing the 2 year timeframe was over! Her teeth hurt and she's having a hard time eating but that should only last a few days, then she'll be used to them. She sure is cute with them braces!

We are so blessed to have Shawna in our family, she's such a sweet and caring young lady and we wouldn't be complete without her! We love you baby!

Schools out!

Schools out and the girls did very well this year! Shawna made 4.0 the whole year and Annie got 3 4.0 report cards and 1 with all A's except 2 A-!! I'm so proud of my little nerds! I never came anywhere close to getting a 4.0 when I was in school and since my mother has been heard saying "None of my children were exceptionally bright" she's also very proud of her smart grandkids!


I've been wondering what kind of fun things I can have the girls do this summer while they're home. I hate when they stay indoors if hot outside because that just means TV, Computer, WII and NO physical activity. Today however, they ditched me and went here with their friends...


Is it really "What Fun Is"? I don't know but I'm sure they're having a blast and being active so that's definately good! In the mean time, since I've been ditched and had to buy something from Deseret Book for the discount passes I think I'll sit in the air conditioned house reading this...




And I'll get my activity later!

Happy Summer!!

Chopped

I cut my hair, what do you think? Grow it out or keep it short...

Sister Fun...

Dear Sis,

I love you! As kids you were my best friend, always there to play with and talk to. Now that we're grown ups it's nice to know things haven't changed! Thanks for the fun this past few weeks! I can't wait for our next adventure!

Love always,

Me

The Sugarland Concert was a blast!

AND I LOVED THE GUY SITTING NEXT TO YOU ;)

(and I know you'll forgive me for posting this pic of you because you love me too, BUT ALSO BECAUSE you loved that guy as much as I did! HEHE!)

You are an awesome aunt and such a great example to my girls!

An unexpected dinner and night of playing WII, is exactly what I sometimes need!

And a fun quick shopping trip, dinner and GLITTER TOES!

Thanks again for being the best! I love you!!

In a funk...

I was in a funk and needed a laugh, thought I'd share...

SUGARLAND...

Becky asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go to Sugarland since Mat had to go out of town. I of course was thrilled but due to my air headedness I booked 2 things this weekend. Unfortunately due to snow in Idaho 1 set of plans cancelled (or fortunately as the case maybe) and thankfully Becky couldn't sell her tickets so we're going and I'm soooo excited! It's been awhile since I had a good dose of sister time and I can't think of a better way to spend it then dinner and a concert! WOO HOO I'M SO EXCITED!!

Happy 14th Birthday Annie!

When you were born we were so excited to start our family! I remember it was such a busy day, starting at 2am until you were finally born at 4pm. Everyone from our families was so excited and waited and waited at the hospital all day! We didn't have a moment alone until late that night when our final visitor had left and I think both me and dad were exhausted! We had the tv on low but no other lighting and we were talking about our future, your future, I will never forget it! Daddy was holding you while he sat in the hospital recliner in my room, the glow of the tv just highlighting your perfect baby skin and dad looked down at you in awe and said in a whisper "She's just the coolest little thing isn't she?"

It's unbelievable for me to think that was 14 years ago! You are growing up into such a beautiful young lady and you are still just the coolest thing ever! We are so proud of you and who you are growing up to be!

Have a great day! We love you "Boo"

Happy Birthday!

The Cake Boss...

If you don't already know, Annie wants to grow up to be "The Cake Boss". Ok, maybe not Buddy on the hit TLC show, but she does want to be a Pastry Chef and she sure has been baking up a storm! (hence the extra 10 pounds my booty is carrying around!)

February starts off with yummy Valentine cookies...


The end of the month, my mom's bday and Annie used her new cake decorating set to make this yummy cake...

And the first part of March my sister's bday where she played a bit with fondant...

She really has done a great job so far on baking, I just need to find somewhere to ship the yummies before my booty turns into a 300 lbs nightmare! (maybe then I could make the Biggest Loser! No, on second thought, not worth it!)

Keep up the good work Annie! And if you want to venture into full meals, I'll buy the groceries and you make dinner ;)

A spoiled surprise...

Dear Briggs,

You spoiled our surprise, not once but twice!

Thanks a lot!
Sharalee Byers

And for everyone else...

Since the cat is out of the bag you all might as well know we have another Panther of the Quarter! Shawna will get her award next week and I'll post pics at that time!

We're so proud of you baby! Keep up the good work!

Vacation

I need a tropical vacation! These occasional visits from the sun just aren't enough for me. It's still cold. I want heat, the warmth of the sun when it visits for a long time and I can feel the heat on my bare feet from the scorching hot sidewalk. I want to wear shorts and hang out on the beach, laying on the warm sand and then washing it off in the waves that lazily slip onto the shore. I want to hear the birds (although I don't care to see them too closely) flying high overhead and swat at annoying flies. I really want to get away, but since I can't right now I'm going to enjoy the background of my blog and pretend I'm sipping an ice cold DC and just lazying my day away while my space heater blows warmth on my bare feet, and then, when I open my eyes I hope reality won't bite me in the butt too hard! Happy day!

Happy Valentines!

Some friends and family have posted their favorite Valentine memory. I thought I'd join in the fun and would love to hear about yours too!

Valentines Day, almost 19 years ago, there was this handsome young boy and this pretty cute young girl who had been dating for several years. They were very young, seniors in high school and only 17 but they were madly in love. As this handsome young boy drove the pretty cute young girl to school the pretty cute young girl was freaking out because she hated being late and it was almost time for school to start. The handsome young boy was very laid back, taking his time he found the perfect parking place because he drove a really nice car and didn't want any door dings. He finally stopped the car and the pretty cute girl was grabbing her bag and saying hurry up when she looked at the handsome young boy. He was holding a card and she melted. She sat back in the car and took the card and read the most lovely words she had ever seen or heard, with tears in her eyes she read the last line "Will you be my Valentine forever?" When the pretty cute girl turned back to look at the handsome young boy he was holding a beautifully decorated sugar cookie with a sparkling engagement ring set in a pretty red frosting flower. The handsome young boy told the pretty cute girl how much he truly loved her and couldn't live his life without her and then asked her to be his wife. Happily, with tears of joy running down her face, she said yes. Then they kissed, and ran into first period as fast as they could because at this point they were very very late.

Of course they lived happily ever after, working very hard every day to have a wonderul, loving marriage and building a foundation for their beautiful family and little girls (who are now getting to be very big girls!)

Darrell will never read this post, he doesn't really like facebooking or blogs, but I sure hope he knows how much I love him and I hope I make him as happy as he makes me! Happy Valentines Day!!

Panther of the Quarter

Darrell and I are proud as can be! First Shawna was Panther of the Month, and now Annie is Panther of the Quarter! We have such great kids! We are so proud of you guys!

No school...

Since the girls and boys had a couple days out of school we got together with Bryan and Becky and took our kids to the aquarium and oh what fun!

Duncan watching the fish

Lauren, not excited about touching the sting ray,
But the other kids were all for it!

Shawna and Brock posing by the fish
Bryan showing Mya "Nemo"

Riding the frog...

Lauren in awe at the fish and frogs

After the aquarium we went to the mall food court for lunch

and a ride on the carousel before heading home

for some naptime! (at least I think

Bryan and the girls got naps, we on the other hand

went to my house and played Super Mario WII for the next

several hours!)

WHAT A FUN DAY! I'm so thankful that I have siblings and nieces and nephews

that I want to spend time with! I LOVE IT!

AND FYI... If you're looking for a great membership I recommend the aquarium, you only have to go twice to pay for it. Adults is $18 and children $14 for the year (while it's $9 and $7 and children are anyone between 3 ant 17!) It's a great deal!