Alaska

Well, it looks like they made it to Alaska. Steve sent a picture of them in front of the Temple. I haven't heard anything about what they have done yet, but it's good to know they made it! This should be a fun trip for them.

Last graduation for a while

The procession...
Once the graduates all filed in, they had to wait and set up more chairs. How do you not know how many students will be graduating? It was a very nice ceremony.
At one point Mr Cloward stood up and talked about all the scholarships. He had Steve and his friend Tyler stand up and be acknowledged for receiving the New Century Scholarship. That was a nice tribute to them. But my favorite part was watching my son receive his second diploma in as many months.


Throwing the hats.
Steve said I'm acting more excited about this diploma than his USU one. I just said I like all the bling he's wearing. He had cords for some of the classes he did especially well in, his graduation medal, and my favorite sash says "associates degree".
Proud parents.
All the kids were there, but we weren't able to get a picture of them all together. I was glad Jessica and Chris were able to make it. They actually came back to the house afterward and played games with us, it was a lot of fun. I love having them so close. It's fun to have them come hang out with us occasionally... I'm learning a lot about Chris... apples to apples brings out a new person in him... It's a blast.
Kaylea has found that being the Sophomore class president is a lot of work. She had to make a senior class video that was shown to the student body during the last assembly of the year, then she had to sell as many DVD's as she could. So while we were taking fun pictures after graduation, she was busy selling copies of the senior class video. She has worked really hard, and learned a lot this year.

All in all, it's been a pretty great day!

My little artist!

I just wanted to share this amazing artwork that my daughter, Kaylea made. She says it's a portrait of her inner-self... not sure how I feel about that.
Now she's decided that it's okay to hang it right on the front door... dad thinks that's a bad idea. Kaylea is always entertaining to have around.

Memorial Day Weekend

First of all, ignore my MEDUSA like hair. I did get a perm, and it was a windy day. I'm figuring out how to style it a little bit better now, but it's a work in progress...

My weekend started on Friday morning. Steve has gone up to "Mormon cave" several times on his horse. It's a cave just above Lake Point, above I-80 at the point of the mountain. He and his uncle Allen were going for a horseback ride again, and I thought it would be nice to go with them. They rode the horses and I ran with Maizey, my dog. It was not a very long run (probably 3-4 miles total) but it was up a pretty steep hill, which I definitely need practice on. When we got to the cave it was so neat, it goes about 100M into the side of the mountain. I got about 1/3 of the way in and was getting nervous, but they talked me and Maizey into going a little bit deeper. I stopped at 2/3 of the way, while Steve and Allen continued all the way to the back. There are names and initials carved into the side of the cave with dates from the 1800's. It's so neat. It was an amazing day.

Later that afternoon, Steve and I went to the cemetery and put flowers on both his grandparents and his little brother Douglas' grave. It was nice being there a couple of days early. there were a lot of flowers already on the graves, and a lot of people visiting graves, but it wasn't as crazy busy as it usually is on Memorial Day. We were able to have a quiet moment at each of the grave sites.


That night we met family members and went to the Ogden temple together. It was fun being with my 2 sisters-in-law, and Steve being able to hang out with his brother. Afterward, we went out to dinner... so fun.

On Saturday morning, Steve and I were invited to a special presentation at Miller Motor -sports Park. The US Army and Grantsville City created what is called a Community Covenant which states that Grantsville City will support our troops, and especially the families of military personnel when they are deployed. They had the mayor of Grantsville, the city council, school district leaders, and leaders from both Grantsville Stakes of the LDS Church, and the pastor of the Baptist church in Grantsville sign this document. I was so proud to be from Grantsville when they were having this ceremony. It's a small town, but very supportive of our military. I couldn't stop thinking about my brother who is serving in the Air Force, and his family who are separated from him, and my brother-in-law who is serving in the Army, and his wife, my sister, who is pregnant and their kids. They are two amazing families, and I'm so proud of the service that they are giving to our country.
I didn't know this, but if a citizen of Grantsville City is deployed, it doesn't matter if it's overseas or not, Grantsville City waives the utility bills of the family while he or she is gone. They have set up a network of help for the families of deployed military personnel so that when something goes wrong (which usually does when a spouse is gone, I would know) they have a list of people or groups that they can turn to for help.

The ceremony was amazing, and it was a perfect way to start off Memorial Day Weekend.

Sunday we barbecued steaks and made Grandpa Collings' famous homemade lemon ice cream. It was so yummy!!!

On Monday morning, I took Kaylea to the Benson Grist Mill in Stansbury for a 5K race. (Yes, I should have run too, but I wasn't in the mood...) She did really well. Technically, she took 4th place in the women's category, but she got 1st place in her division which was a great surprise... she's still trying to figure out how that all worked out.
I bumped into my cousin, Gina and her family there too. Their whole family ran, and most of them got medals in the race. The girl behind Kaylea in the dark blue shirt is Gina's daughter, Brook. Having them all there really made me wish I had run the race.

That afternoon Kaylea and her dad went for a horseback ride to the reservoir, while I took Steve and Conner fishing. They fished for about an hour before dad and Kaylea got there, then we all had a picnic lunch. The boys didn't catch anything so they started throwing rocks in the water...then they started throwing each other in the water! I decided it was time to quit fishing... I took home a couple of WET boys. That evening, we took the family to the movie "The Prince of Persia". It was pretty good.

We had a very full, very fun Memorial Day Weekend.

Conner's Track Debut

All the jr high schools in Tooele County get together once a year for a combined track meet. It's always fun to see the up and coming track stars. It's quite funny to see kids who have never run a mile long race before and they come out of the starting line sprinting like they are running the 100 yard dash. We have always enjoyed going to the jr high track meet because it gives dad a chance to coach his kids in the sport that he loves best. The track meet was today, Tuesday, and yesterday for family home evening, we went as a family to the high school track to help Conner practice his starts, and practice pacing himself.

Conner ran the 200M in the medley relay. He came by me so fast that I barely had time to snap this picture. His team took 5th place.

Conner's second race was the 4X400M relay. He had the last leg of this race, it was so fun because Grantsville took first and second place in this event. Conner's team was second place. This is Conner coming down the final stretch to the finish line. I zoomed in the picture so you can see that he is literally flying down the track, his feet aren't even touching the ground! And look at that smile.

Conner had a blast, and so did Steve and I. Hopefully he liked the track meet well enough to follow in the family tradition. He's pretty good.

May I VENT???

Do you ever feel like the world is out to get you? I have had so many weird things happen lately, I feel like maybe I have a bounty on my head. Who can injur me first!?!

We have had a run of bad luck with diesels lately. I've already written about Steve Jr's accident, but last weekend I was driving to Salt Lake with Kaylea and her friend. I was just coming into Magna, past the smelter when the diesel that I was right next to decided to change lanes! I was sure when I saw his blinker come on that he would check and see that I was there, but he kept coming. I blared the horn long and loud, several times, but he kept coming. I was right next to a raised median and had no where to go as the diesel kept coming into my lane. I pulled clear over to the left side and put on my brakes, as my front and back tire rims were grinding against the median, I was bracing for impact. I was sure the back tires of the diesel were going to come right over the back side of my car. He narrowly missed us, and I immediately pulled over to the right side of the road to recover and to check the damage. We had rubbed so hard with our left tires that I wasn't sure if it was even driveable. When I saw that it was okay to drive I tried to speed up and get a glimpse of his license plate, but I never did. It was about the scariest driving experience I've ever had. I think I hate diesels...

Today was just a bad day all around. I was feeling down and my hubby talked me into running. I drove the truck 5 miles up the road and parked it. He started out on his horse and I ran, we met about half way and then he rode his horse along side of me while we headed for home. We were going on a dirt road toward our subdivision. I told Steve that when we got to the subdivision, I was going to get on the horse with him and ride home together (sounds pleasant, right?). Well, the horse had another idea. When I climbed on his back he freaked out. He was really scared and was starting to buck and turn and prance. We couldn't settle him down and Steve said, "GET OFF" so I quickly bailed... yeah, the adrenaline was rushing and I had an asthma attack right there.

I decided to continue to run home the long way, and Steve was going to ride his horse the short way. I was a few blocks from home when 3 dogs came out barking and chasing me. One was a tiny fluffy thing, it was making the most noise, and then suddenly one bit my foot through my shoe REALLY hard! I almost fell over as it clamped down and started to shake it's head. If it had bit me on the skin instead of the shoe it would have broken the skin. It actually made a hole in my shoe! I was so upset and frustrated, and the adrenaline was rushing again. I know you're not supposed to run from dogs, so once he let go and I could not see any owners ANYWHERE, I turned and started to walk away. About 3 houses down I saw a police man turn onto the street so I waved him down and told him what happened.

I love to run, but I absolutely hate running in my subdivision, I get chased by dogs EVERY time. I usually have my pepper spray with me (I forgot it today) and I've had to use it a couple of times. It's sad that I feel more safe on a dirt road among the snakes, jack rabbits, and coyotes than I do in my own neighborhood...

Thanks for letting me vent! :)

Seminary Graduation

Steve graduated from Seminary on May 23 2010. It's finally hitting home that he will be out of high school and on to greater things very soon. The most amazing thing that happened last night, was that Steve and a group of friends sang at the graduation. I could hear him singing, and it was SO good!!! I told him that was the best gift he could have ever given me. It's fun that his dad is stake president, and was able to give him a big hug on the stand when he received his diploma.

Steve has a great group of friends. They hang out together all the time. Two of these kids spoke at graduation and seven of them sang. It's sad that they will all me going different directions after graduation.

I'm a very proud mom. Look at these great kids, I'm so blessed!

Happy Birthday Steve

I thought it would be fun to just take a little trip through time to celebrate Steve's birthday. When Steve was born his family lived in Granger, then they moved to Sugarhouse into a home right next door to Grandma and Grandpa Kenney. Of course he was always SO CUTE!!!

Lots of energy, and a very big heart. Steve has always liked helping out the underdog. These pictures remind me of my kids, don't you think?

Being one of 7 boys was always an adventure! They loved going to the sand dunes on their 3 wheelers.

I think the best choice Steve ever made (up to that point in his life) was deciding to transfer from Davis High School to Woods Cross, which is where I was going to school. I think the color blue suits him really well.

Right out of high school, Steve went on a mission to Washington D.C. Another really good choice in his life.

He came home and found "Miss Wright" and married me!!! Man, he was on a roll with all of these good choices. At least I think so.

We've been married for 21 amazing years, and have raised an incredible family. Four great kids, and countless horses...

I never knew I was marrying a cowboy, but I wouldn't change a thing. These last two pictures are taken in the same place in our yard. The horse is different and there are a lot more trees, etc. But these are taken 7 years apart. I think this is a hobby that won't go away any time soon.

I hope you've had a great birthday. You are an amazing, funny, generous guy. I'm so lucky to be married to my best friend.

Conner's Class

This is one of the perks of having cousins living close by. Conner had a unit on child care in his CTE class. Today they got to bring a preschool age child to class and have some fun with them. Corbin was VERY excited to go to school with Conner. They colored pictures, ate treats, played games, sang songs, and had a really fun time. Conner loves hanging out with all his cousins, so this was a fun day for him too.

BRACES!!!

Conner before he left to get his braces.
I wouldn't be a good mom if I didn't embarrass him right in the dentist office!!
And here's the after shot. Conner has waited a long time for this. He's pretty excited. Notice the red and black...Grantsville Cowboy colors!!

State Track Meet and Craziness!

Kaylea made it to State in track this year. She ran the 800M and took 5th place in region. We went to BYU on Saturday to watch her run, and before we even got into the stadium Kaylea and her friend Abby found us. I got a cute picture of them here on the fence. Abby actually goes to Stansbury high, so they didn't run in the same race, but they are good friends, and had fun hanging out for the day.
I always love going to Provo for the State finals. The weather is usually really pleasant, and there's so much excitement in the air. Kaylea has the red shirt and black shorts. She did a really good job and got her personal record for the year.
Here she is just a couple of feet away from the finish line. She placed 15th. This track season is finally over. Kaylea has decided that she will be attending Stansbury High School next year instead of Grantsville, and will be competing in Cross Country and Track on a 4A level. I hope it's a good experience for her.

After the race Jessica had a surprise for Kaylea. Jessica and Chris just bought a new car, and decided to give our family the old Corsica. This couldn't have come at a better time, because we are really struggling with the insurance company about Steve's truck. The other driver's insurance company has decided not to pay anything... don't get me started...
Anyway, we decided to let Kaylea take it back to the track meet, and then drive it home.

Steve and I went with Jessica and Chris to the movie. We saw "Letters to Juliet", which I thought was really sweet. We got to go for a ride in Jessica's new car, and I think they did a good job. They bought it used, and it gets about 38 miles per gallon. Not too shabby!

We left for home after the movie. Driving from Provo to Grantsville can be done two ways, you can go through Lehi and West past 5 Mile Pass, or you can go through Salt Lake City and West past Lake Point. We decided to go the back way through Lehi. When we were as far away from Salt Lake City as you can possibly be on that drive, we received a phone call from Kaylea. She was coming home in the new (old) car, in Salt Lake City, and had run out of gas. For those of you who know Salt Lake, she was going on I-15 and was taking the ramp to I-215 when she ran out of gas...on the ramp. It was a terrible place to run out of gas, and very dangerous. I told her to stay in the car and wait. We would have to go get a gas can and come fill her car. It would take us at least an hour to get there.

We started heading to a gas station when Kaylea called again. She had called the Stansbury Track Coach, Steve Allen, and he was coming to rescue her. He was only 20 minutes away, compared to 1 hour. Wow, talk about feeling completely helpless! I really appreciate him for being there for us, and being so thoughtful. I know by the end of the day Kaylea was SO FRUSTRATED with everything, but I was so relieved that she was home safe and sound.

Cool Pictures

I really wish this picture had my whole family in it, there are 3 siblings missing, but it's such a great picture. This was taken at my Grandma's 90th birthday party.

I just loved this picture and wanted to share. Can you believe my grandma is 90? This is her natural hair color, my grandparents are so spunky! I hope I look this good in 50 years!!