Danae's Blog: August 2009

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

First Day of School - A School with a Dress Code :)

Collin turned 10 this month and it was a BIG deal... I mean, he is officially in the double digits! He was so excited. We had a great day celebrating. We woke up and had Hootenanny Pancakes and Collin got to sit at the head of the table with the "You are Special" plate. He ate on that plate all day long. That night Grandma and Grandpa came to have dinner with us... pot roast, potatoes, carrots, rolls, salad, cake and ice cream. A feast fit for a hungry, growing 10 year old.
Collin: Has a smile and dimples to melt your heart, a giggle that is contagious, is a great big brother, loves bugs and all animals, is concerned for others and totally lovable. I love you, Collin.

Last Days of Summer

Every year we go up to Snowbird with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bart. This year was particularly fun because Talmage got to come along. For the past ... oh.. let's see...10 years or so,he has had to miss it because of some test he had to study for. (SO happy those are over!) We had fun relaxing, playing Scrabble, reading, cooking and enjoying the beautiful mountains! I love it there! Thanks Mom and Dad for the fun memories :)
One of the days we did venture away from Snowbird and found ourselves on a lake. Talmage had a serious itch to go water skiing. We had a great time ... except for when my dad nearly lost his fingers! This was the first time we had been on the lake as a family in probably 8 years. Much to my surprise, Braden popped up on a board first try. Oh, did he have a proud PaPa ... and Mom. Collin hit it hard on the inner tube and we had a blast. It has been a great and BUSY summer. Here's a few pictures of all of the fun.

Braden holding on for dear life as Uncle Brandon drives the boat ...

Collin and Kelly holding on for dear life as Uncle Brandon drives the boat ... See a pattern? haha!

(Love you, Brandon)

Braden felt the "Need for Speed"

Talmage fulfilling a dream ... and showing off!

Grandpa loving the lake and the grandkids!

Nothing like a jelly-filled doughnut to start the day!

Lila and Grandpa speeding down the Alpine Slide

Talmage and the boys right after they biked down the mountain ... from the TOP of the tram. They had a blast and went again.

Taking in some sight seeing by horse.

Caleb checking out the "big boy potty" He went #1 and #2 YAY, Caleb! I'm so proud.

This is one of my FAVORITE family traditions.. "Great Grandma Bertie's Hot Cakes" With some sausage, bacon and syrup - there is NOTHING better! We ususally have these 1 or 2 times a year: Snowbird and Christmas morning. It is something that we ALL look forward to!

A double thumbs up!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Book Tag

Alright, my cute friend, Brittney Smith, tagged me for this book tag because I "have good taste". Well, HERE is proof of that ... First of all, here is what you do:

1. Collect the book that you have most handy.
2. Turn to page 161.
3. Find the 5th complete sentence.
4. Cite the sentence on your blog.
5. Pass it on to 5 other bloggers.

The book most handy to me is, "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince". I know, I know.... REALLY GOOD TASTE (for a 10 year old.) However, I love this book. I have this thing for Harry Potter and I have done a really good job at stringing out reading the books just before the movies come out. I am just not ready for Harry to be over. I think I am one of few people on the planet that does NOT know the ending of Harry Potter. For me, these books are like The Neverending Story. You know, when Sebastian opens the book to read, he becomes a living part of the story. Little does Harry know, I have been there along with him flying on the broom, walking the halls of Hogwarts, heart pounding under the Invisibility Cloak while Professor Snape walks by, gritting my teeth at the mere mention of Voldemort and fighting him face to face. I just love Harry. I love how brave he is, what a great friend he is, and how he is always ready to do the right thing - even when his life is in danger. So, here is the quote from the book ... it is not an impressive quote unless you know what Harry had just gone through ... I just detest Malfoy!

Spoken by Professor Snape: "And, let me see, another twenty for your Muggle attire."

Now, the lucky people i'm tagging are:

(Britt - had you not tagged me, I would have tagged you! I love hearing about what you are reading and I LOVED Gift from the Sea. It is such a quietly profound book)
1- Kathy (because she only has like 2 entries on her blog and has important things to share!)
2- Dina (because she always is reading something insightful.)
3 - Alena (because I think she is amazing!)
4 - Becky (because I love her!)
5 - Katrina (for the same reason as #1 :) I love you Trin)

Love you all! Have fun!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Summer Catch-Up

To say it has been a busy summer would be a bit of an understatement! Hence, the month and a half blogging break. Now that we are getting settled I am hoping to catch up on some of the highlights of the summer. There are a ton of pictures, but I felt I had to add them for when I print off my blog at the end of the year. So, here goes...

First of all, we moved into our new home the middle of July. It is a great feeling to finally feel settled. We really feel like we were guided to this home and neighborhood and have received such a warm welcome. We love it!

This is Charlie, the newest member of our family. We love him and Caleb loves eating doggy food and crawling in his kennel. It seriously grosses me out!