{Catch Up #3- Mini Cheer Camp}

In August, Carlie got to go to Mini Cheer Camp! I can't even tell you how excited she was, and I'm pretty sure this is just the beginning of our Cheerleader days! She seems to be cheering all the time now, on four-wheeler rides, in the car, in her room, any where and everywhere! They had 3 days of practices, a little performance for the parents and then got to cheer at the first JV home game!

It was even more fun that she got to go with her cousins Tylie (who wouldn't let me take a picture of them together) and Addie, and her Aunt Sydney!

{Catch Up #2- More Fun with the OK Dearden's}

When Nick and Amber were here we took a few days off to go spend some time at Grandma Jeannie and Mike's. The first afternoon we took the kids to Bountiful Rec Center for some swimming fun! We hadn't been there since it was "The Bubble" and it was fun to see all the changes! The kids had tons of fun on the slides and both the indoor and the outdoor water play areas..... I even sucked it up and went down the big slide. Kaleb kicking back and relaxing in the water!

Brock....slippin and a slidin!

Carlie watchin' the slide action with her Daddy!

Kanyon and Nick coming down the slide!

What a cutie!

Kaleb and Carlie had to try out the climbing wall before we headed back to Grandma's house! (Brock did too, but I didn't get a picture of him)

K's gettin dry!

Day 2- Patiently waiting for breakfast at IHOP! After Breakfast we headed into the Living Planet Aquarium. Our kids have been there a few times, but they always love to go back!

Kanyon... isn't he such a cutie!

Kaleb, Carlie, Brock and Kanyon

Brock

Kaleb

Carlie- That's one big smile!

Kaleb thought the spider area they had as we left was the best.... just look at the look on his face!

Since we don't have all the kids together very often, we attempted to get a few pictures!

Cute Cousins!
Brock, Kaleb, Kanyon & Carlie
The Dearden Cousins

And then after a yummy BBQ dinner back at Jeannie and Mike's we started the long drive home. I don't even think we made it to Salt Lake before the majority of the kiddos crashed! I guess that means we all had a great time!

{Catch-Up #1- Yuba with the OK Dearden's}

I'm super behind on blogging, but there are a few things I want to make sure I blog about so it will be preserved in the bloggy book (when I finally get it printed, yet another place I'm a slacker) so it's catch-up week! Hopefully I can get all caught up this week so we can return to our regularly scheduled blogging life! Be prepared for (hopefully) a post or two everyday.

Back in July.... yes, JULY! Derrick's brother Nick and his cute little family came out from Oklahoma (thus, the OK Dearden's.... I'm not at all sayin' they are just merely ok) for a week to visit. They spent the first half of the time here at Ted and Sheri's (Derrick's dad) and the last half of their trip in West Bountiful at Jeannie & Mike's (Derrick's mom). While they were here, we (our little family, Nick, Amber & Kanyon and my little sister-in-law Sydney) took a little trip to Yuba Lake for the afternoon. Honestly it wasn't the best day at the lake, but the kids had fun, so it was worth it!

Who wants to ride on the tube, when it makes the perfect play island?

Miss C
Kaleb gettin' some sun on the tube!
Kaleb & Kanyon chillin in the boat!

Mr. Kanyon loved the water!

Brock found the mud.... ICK!

Nick and Kanyon..... I'm sure you all knew that's what the life jacket strap was for, right?

Miss Sydney (who is growing up WAY too quick)

After the lake we headed back to Ted and Sheri's for yummy dinner. Like I always say, even a bad day at the lake beats a day at home! I had to crack up at Derrick taking Nick for a ride on the tube.... they may be in their 30's but it didn't show.... I could just see them as teenagers again, trying to get the best of one another.

{Are ya wonderin' where I've gone?}

I'm stuck in the kitchen.....

and that's just this week, there was more prior to all that! I'm running out of jars, so hopefully I'll return soon!

{15 YEARS}

Today it's been 15 years since Derrick and I were married! How could that be? It seems like just yesterday, and yet I feel like we've been together forever.

I know you are all dying to know some new things about us, so I'm going to share!-I think it's one of Derrick's goals in life, to make me live outside my comfort zone and learn to enjoy it. Whether it's taking a four-wheeling trail that I'd really rather not drive or learning to enjoy being on the boat and even in the water, I've come along way! And most of the time, I do enjoy myself!

-Derrick is a hard worker and he gives everything he does 100%! No matter if it's teaching the kids at school or mechanic work at the garage or just things around the house, he's always busy! A teacher was the last thing I would have imagined Derrick growing up to be when I married him. In fact, I thought he was kidding when he told me that's what he'd decided on, and I laughed. Not only did he go on to finish his degree in Education, he got his masters too....and I must admit, is a pretty great teacher!

-Derrick makes me laugh....at him, at myself or just in general!

-Derrick is silly, which makes me laugh!
-Derrick is very supportive of me and the kids. He supports me in things that may not be important to him, but he knows they are to me, and that means a lot to me!

-Derrick is my traveling partner. He worked for the airlines to put himself through school. As a result, we've had the chance to travel to places we otherwise wouldn't have been able too. There's no one else I'd rather have those memories with!

-When Derrick decided to do something, he does it and always does it well. He's built our family two beautiful homes. I was terrified when he decided he wanted to sell our home in Santaquin, build a new home and be the general contractor on that home. That was a learning experience for both of us (I even learned to cut brick and install hardwood floors), but one of the most important lessons I learned was to trust in my husband and his abilities!

-Derrick and I are a team, and we work well together (most of the time).

-We have some pretty cute kids and Derrick is great dad!

-Derrick has skills! All kinds of them- house building, car fixing, you name it, my man can do it!

-Derrick is forgiving!

- We balance each other, especially when it comes to money. He has no problem spending, and I'm in love with finding a bargain! But Derrick always has a plan when he does spend money, and he follows through with that plan, usually paying everything off early!

-Derrick is spontaneous, and I've learned to adjust to his spontaneity and enjoy it!

-My life has been full of surprises these past 15 years, some of which include.... Lizards (which were brought home last night and are currently in my basement), snakes, bats, tarantulas, and toads, just to name a few. My man is always bringing home creepy crawly treasures!

- I can't say that these 15 years have been perfect and wonderful in every way, we've definitely had our ups and downs. But through each of those, we've grown together and I'm thankful for all of them! Happy Anniversary Babe!

{That's for the Birds} **EDITED**

Are the rest of you as busy as I feel in the summer? Isn't summer supposed to be a break? I guess what counts as a break to the kids, isn't the same thing for all us mama's! I've got lots of things to share, but no time to sit down edit my pictures and type up a post, let alone to organize my thoughts.

But the kids say I have to share this little but of fun that we've been waiting on for awhile at our house.

We first noticed this Killdeer bird hanging out just to the side of our driveway almost a month ago. We mentioned how weird it was that it stuck so close. A few days later Derrick realized why, it had a nest with 4 eggs there. I couldn't believe how well they blended with the rocks, I'd look away and when I looked back they seemed to be gone. Day after day, she sat on the eggs, through the 100 degree temperatures and rain and hail storms.... it looked pretty miserable to me! I figured when the kids realized that there were eggs out there, that there was no way they end up hatching, but they surprised me and were very good not to bother them!
The dad also hung around, and every so often you'd see them trade places for a bit. If you approached the nest, the killdeer suddenly seemed to develop a broken wing. It struggled in front of you, as if it could barely walk, let alone fly with one or both wings drag pitifully on the ground, while letting out an earsplitting squawk! I had almost decided that the eggs weren't going to hatch, but when we pulled in today Carlie said she saw a little bird. I honestly didn't really believe her, since she's said that a few times before, but sure enough........ **four** fuzzy little baby killdeers that look like little miniatures of there parents! (One didn't make it, darn it!) **Guess what......the one I thought didn't make it really did!**YEA!
Isn't he adorable? I was amazed that they are running all around in and out of the nest! The kids were super excited and Miss Carlie had to call her dad at work to tell him all about them.
I guess we're just bird magnets around here..... just last week a swallow nest appeared on my front porch and before we could get rid of it, they laid eggs! I guess we have something else for the kids to look forward to now!** Ok, just one more bird story.....I'm not sure how I could have forgotten this one? Last month I ran downstairs to change the laundry and as I walked through the family room heard a loud scratching noise, yes, it did kind of freak me out! So, upon further investigation, I realized that it was coming from the wood burning stove pipe, and something was stuck in there. I called Derrick and he assured me he'd come home for lunch and check it out (lunch was like 4 hours away). When he finally got home and after some tugging and pulling guess what he pulled out.....a bird all covered in soot, who needs a chimney sweep!?!?!**