I DID IT!!!

On Wednesday I bottled something for the very first time in my whole life, sweet & sour sauce!!! Seriously, I didn't think this day would come until I was 58 years old & had no kids in the house & had time to grow a garden & harvest it & bottle things out of it. But thanks to one of my best friends who has oodles of veggies to share from her garden & all the "equipment" & "know how" to harvesting & bottling, I was able to make my very own sweet & sour sauce (her recipe btw). Yummy! We can't wait to try some.
I am so proud of myself. I really did it!!!

I HEART BOOK ORDERS!

So do any of you Moms out there love book orders as much as I do? Thus far in my little kindergartner's life we have only been able to experience the wonders of this awesomeness twice but already I AM IN LOVE!
Here's a little history for ya. First of all, I love children's books. Second, I love going to the book store with my little ones & reading & laughing & giggling at one another as we discover new books. Third, I love buying new books for my girls. And last, I absolutely love reading that new book to my girls for the first time. I love seeing their faces turn into that "surprised" look when the story takes a twist they didn't anticipate. I love seeing them gaze at each other with excitement. I love seeing them stare intently at the illustrations. I love when the story is over & they can't stop talking about it. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!
So I'm giving a shout out to book orders because I have purchased 33 awesome books for a mere $133.00. That averages out to $4.03 per book. You try buying 33 books at Barnes & Noble for that, I dare ya!

NO WAY!!!

ALL THREE OF MY GIRLS ARE ASLEEP RIGHT NOW!!! This event almost never takes place at my house. On occasion, if I'm lucky, will I have two sleeping princesses but very rarely do all three sleep during the day at the same time.

I am in heaven!!!

I KNOW, I KNOW

I know what you are thinking & everyone of you can say it... SLACKER!!! I am sorry Mom (I know she is the only person who reads any of this that really cares that I have been out of the blogging world for 2 months)!!!

Well here is what we have been up to...The girls & I went to the cabin & played in the hootenanny while it rained. What is the hootenanny? It is an old, abandoned vehicle that is right down the hill from my Grandparents' cabin & has wasted away to a rusty, metal frame. I have loved that thing for a very long time & now my girls do too.We went to Fishlake on a Sunday afternoon & found our way back to Great Grandpa Dan's roots. He was 1/4 Cherokee Indian you know?
Ainsley & Addison went to Cheer Camp for two days in the blistering heat & to celebrate their hard work we all got to go to 7 Peaks. (Hey guys, why am I the only one still in my swimming suit for this pic? Not fair!) The big girls also got to dance in the 24th of July parade in Monroe. They were more than excited to ride on the big float. At the end of July Brayd took me to Las Vegas to celebrate my 30th birthday with some of our closest friends. WE HAD SSSOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! Awww, memories! I need to do that again very, very soon.

We went to Park City to hang out with Papa & Nana, do some shopping, & eat some Cold Stone ice cream. We all LOVE to shop & most of us LOVE ice cream (sorry Brayd)!Alivia played with Pat while getting a push in the swing by her big sis Ainsley. Cute!

We went to the county fair & saw bears, pigs, sheep, chickens, cows, & bunnies. We rode some carnival rides & had the biggest spicket (is that even a real, legitimate word?) of blue cotton candy we have ever seen.

We went to the Stake Ho Down, ate yummy food, & danced the night away. Fun times!Ainsley & Addison danced to my ring tones on the front lawn until the battery in my phone died. I just adore these two!!

We went to the barrel race & cheered for Aunt Destiny.

We went to Red Creek & camped with Grandpa Wayland. We rode 4 wheelers, hunted for treasure, made pipe cleaner people, watched movies, ate smores, & relaxed.

We went to Jami's & got our hair done. Addison got a trim & didn't even cry this time.Ainsley got a cut. She thinks she is so cute & I agree 100%!!

The girls & I drove up to the cabin to celebrate my Great Grandpa Peterson's birthday. We've done this every year on the opening day of the bow hunt since I can remember. Even though he is gone, it is our excuse as extended family to get together. We love it!We went camping with Jake, Tiff, Tai, & Teya. We had a ton of fun until...Alivia fell in the fire pit. She burned her chin & her left hand. SAD!! Ainsley found out that Mrs. Brown is her kindergarten teacher. We couldn't be happier. Ainsley went to kindergarten. Her first big day was Tuesday, August 25th. WOW!!! Brayd & I were so excited for her. She couldn't wait to go & she is loving every single minute of it. I took Alivia to Dr. Bennett's to get her blisters popped & scrubbed. Believe me, I DON'T RECOMMEND IT! It was the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed as a mother.As Alivia would say, "Ooouuuuch!!"

The girls & I went to Park City for a couple of days to stay in Papa & Nana's brand spanking new, gigantic, beautiful house. We had a blast exploring all the new rooms & looking at all the pretty new furniture & decorations. We've already made plans to go back. Yay!

Braydan left for good 'ol Las Vegas to do a show with Jake. Sob!!Addison started her second year of preschool on the 1st of September. She is so stinkin' cute! Alivia has been playing nonstop in the backyard with Pat. She loves that dog!!We got to go to Las Vegas with Jordan (our sweet, adorable, awesome friend/babysitter), Tiff, Tai, & Teya to see our Daddy's. We went to see the Lion's at the MGM Grand. They were sleepy though, darn!We went to the M & M factory & spent a whopping $66.00 on 3 bags of M & M's which these three are showing off for the camera.We went to FAO Schwarz & played with all the awesome toys & got some really sweet Barbies. Woohoo!! We went to the Bologio & watched the water show. Pretty! We played & played & played at the pool. We went to The Shark Reef & touched sting rays too. We had the best time!

Braydan went to Colorado in search of "the big one" & came back one week later empty handed. Shoot!

I told you we have been busy & I didn't even talk about the everyday stuff (work, school, cheer, young women's, birthday parties, lunch dates, etc., etc., etc....). Whew! When did life get to be so crazy & hectic all the time? I'd really like to know the answer to that.

HALF BLOOD PRINCE GOES SWIMMING?!?

We are HUGE Harry Potter fans & have been anticipating Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince for a very long time. The girls & I got hooked one weekend in March when ABC Family had a "Harry Potter" weekend. Before then we had never seen one minute of Harry Potter anything. We LOVED every single one! In fact, the Easter Bunny found a killer deal on the entire Blu Ray collection, all 5 movies. I can honestly say that we have watched at least one Harry Potter movie every single week since then, usually more than one. Did I say we LOVE them because we really, really LOVE them?!?

So yesterday we loaded up the girls & headed to Provo to see Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. Of course we LOVED it even though it was very, very sad. There are many unanswered questions that I have been thinking about all day long (pathetic, I know). Now we are all anticipating the release of the movie on Blu Ray. You're all probably wondering why we would travel to Provo to go see a movie that was playing in Richfield, Gunnison, & Ephraim, right? Well, my Mom invited us to her summer swim/bbq party her boss hosts at the Scera Pool in Orem. We figured why not go see the movie in a nice, new, comfortable theatre rather than an old, run down, very uncomfortable one (sorry to bash on the locals but I know you are all shaking your heads in agreement right now). It was worth it! I love being able to see over the people in front of me (don't you dare laugh at that comment Tweeb) & so do my kids. Of course Brayd never has to worry about that but he was pumped for the comfy seat. Anyways, after the movie we headed to the Scera Pool to eat some dinner. We had pizza, pop, & lots of yummy desserts. Ainsley & Addison barely ate a thing because they were so excited to swim. The pool is awesome, especially the pool for kids. It has a beach entry & only gets up to 3 feet deep. It has a slide, waterfall, spilling buckets, & a sprinkling tunnel. There is also a sprinkler park (is that what you would call it?). You know, where there are tons of cool, fun things that just sprinkle. There are also 3 big water slides & a lap pool with diving boards. We had a blast!!

What a fun day. I love when we can do fun things that we all love together as a family. It's the best!!!

A HOME FOR MOM

Right now my Mom is in the process of buying this darling, old house in Salina. That's right, I said Salina. We (my family & Britt's family) are so happy to have her back home (soon). She will still work for Dr. Trapnell in Springville. Crazy, I know but she loves her job & the awesome people she works with. I guess now they will all have an excuse to come down & see what good 'ol Salina is all about. We can't wait, Yay!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT DANYETTE!!!

We hope you have a WONDERFUL, FABULOUS, GLORIOUS, FUN, RELAXING, PERFECT day!! We want you to know that you are the best sister, sister-in-law, & aunt ever. We love you & appreciate all you have done & do for our family.

Happy Birthday!!!

Love, Us

OUR 4TH OF JULY AGENDA

The sounds of cannons firing over & over & over & over & over.

Done.

Head to the races at the middle school. On your mark,
get set,

GO!!!
Done.

Next on the to do list, play every single game to win lots & lots of silly prizes & a GOLDFISH.

Done.

Next, head to the creek to set our goldfish free.
Almost there...


Done.

Next, BBQ with family & friends. Yummy!!!

Done.

Next, head to the parade to gather up as much salt water taffy as possible (& maybe a few otter pops).


Done.

Now, head home to eat some treats & get ready for the RODEO.
Done.

Then, head to the rodeo to watch crazy boys ride bulls, awesome girls run barrels, & silly clowns do silly things.

Done.

Finally, lights out for the FIREWORKS!!!! Yay!

Done.

Now, go home & go to bed because everyone is exhausted from an awesome, fun, hot, crazy day!!

Done.

THEN THERE WAS JUNE

...& the last day of May.

Ainsley turned 5 years old on May 31st & guess what she wanted for her birthday? None other than, you guessed it, a puppy. She had been telling Braydan & I for at least three months that she wanted a puppy for her birthday & that she certainly deserved it because Addison got 2 rats for hers. How could we argue with that? Some of our very best friends in the whole world (you know who you are Horne family) just happened to have 7 adorable baby labs that they were giving away so we were able to have our pick of the litter. Rochelle & Jordan delivered Ainsley's puppy the afternoon of her birthday & boy was she surprised. She had no idea she was really getting a puppy because we had celebrated her birthday a few days earlier. Her face was priceless!!! So meet Pat the Puppy, the newest edition to the Shaw family. Isn't he cute? (If you're wondering what "that" is, it was some ice cream that one of the girls spilled on the porch & he had licked up & was guarding with his little, adorable life.)

And now for June...

The first three days of the month were crazy & hectic. They were spent doing laundry, cleaning the house, getting all loose ends tied up for work, & last but certainly not least, packing for our 10 DAY TENNESSEE/NEW YORK VACATION. Yay!!! We were able to spend Wednesday night in Park City at the condo so our morning commute was shorter & not so early. Here is the first official pic of our vacation, obviously at the airport waiting to board our first flight.

Ainsley, Addison, & Alivia were awesome on our flights to Nashville. I was amazed at how well they did. Once we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by Danyette, Hope, Ellie, & Mya. The girls were so excited to see one another & of course Brayd & I were excited to see all of them. We gathered up our luggage & headed out to pick up our rental car which by the way was the Chevy version of the car I want right now, a Buick Enclave. I think I convinced Brayd to buy me one, hopefully sooner than later. We then headed to the Nashville Palace to watch Tweeb sing. Brayd & I were so pumped. We met Tweeb & his family (Craig, Karen, Eric, Brooke, Ericson, & Brighton) there. We ordered dinner & ate while we waited for Tweeb to sing (wouldn't recommend it btw). We watched 5 other performers before it was Tweeb's turn. Tweeb rocked the house!!

We had a blast watching our very own Uncle Tweeb sing on stage for real. We can't wait to get back & watch more performances. We then made our way to the motel for a much needed nights rest.

The following morning the boys (Brayd, Tweeb, Craig, & Eric) went golfing. The girls & I headed to Wal Mart to pick up Mya a birthday present. Danyette had told me it was very close to our motel. She just forgot to inform me that I needed to turn right out of the motel parking lot rather than left. TWO HOURS LATER...we arrived at the Gladwell's house without a gift. Alivia was able to have a really good nap & Ains, Addi, & I saw some beautiful country (love ya Danyette!). Danyette had lunch ready for everyone; sandwiches, chips, & fruit. Yummy! It really hit the spot. After cleaning up we piled into our vehicles & headed to downtown Nashville.

Here we are, the Shaw's & Gladwell's, reunited for a day of fun on Broadway. While in downtown we visited the Ryman Auditorium, home of The Grand 'Ol Opry for many years, walked the streets & saw the many places Tweeb sings at.

This is one of my favorite pics of the 4 big girls (Ellie, Ainsley, Hope, & Addison). They held hands all the time. How cute!!! We headed to an ice cream parlor to cool off & enjoy some yummy ice cream. Then we were off to the famous Wild Horse Saloon. We all loved it! Giant, hand painted horses dressed in cowboy & cowgirl garb adorn the saloon.

This horse greeted us at the entrance. Our girls LOVED him! That evening we got to take a ride on The General Jackson, a huge river boat.

We enjoyed visiting with one another, eating dinner, & dancing the night away to the live band.

Downtown Nashville was beautiful in the night sky. It was the perfect way to end a great day.

The next morning, Saturday, June 6th, we drove to the church for Hope's baptism. This was the whole reason we came. We were so excited to be there for this awesome event. We sure miss this little 8 year old!

After the baptism we all headed to the motel for a swim. We had a blast! We then rushed to get ourselves ready to go eat at the world famous Loveless Cafe. It was definitely the very best meal we had during our Tennessee visit. We will definitely be going there again. Yum!!! After dinner Tweeb treated the whole family with free tickets to the 3-D version of Up. It was absolutely hilarious & everyone loved it (thanks again Tweeb!).

The following day we all headed back to the church for an awesome fast & testimony meeting. Our hearts were so full that day. We are so grateful that the Gladwell's have such wonderful people surrounding them. After sacrament we headed back to the house for another delicious meal prepared by my fabulous sister, mmmm. We then drove to Franklin to see the temple. Gorgeous!!

We also visited some of Tweeb & Danyette's favorite spots in Franklin. It is a really nice place with lots of places to shop & lots of yummy places to eat. After our ride we headed back to the house for Mya's 2nd birthday party. She got lots of cute clothes & fun toys. Again we had yummy food, this time Texas Sheet Cake & ice cream. Mya Moo has grown up SSSSSOOOOOOO much since they moved to Tennessee. She's adorable & we were so glad we were able to share this day with her.

One of my favorite things in Tennessee were the gigantic, beautiful Magnolia trees. Oh my, do I ever want one!!! They are the prettiest trees I have ever seen & the blooms are huge. I LOVED THEM!!!

On Monday morning Braydan & I dropped the girls off at the Gladwell's house. We then headed to the airport to catch our flight to New York City. In May, we celebrated 10 years of marriage so we decided to go somewhere fun, just the two of us, since that hadn't happened for a very long time. Danyette volunteered to watch our girls while we were away. She is the very BEST sister in the entire world!! We were able to stay at the Michelangelo (highly recommended), a beautiful hotel on 51st & 7th. It was in a great location, just blocks from the theatre district, Time Square, Rockefeller Center, & Carnegie Hall.

Once we unpacked & changed we headed down a few blocks to eat at the Redeye Grill, a fabulous place for seafood. Yum! There was amazing modern art throughout the restaurant (notice the pillar behind us in the next pic).
Then we were headed to our debut Broadway show, Chicago. Little did we know, Chandra Wilson (Grey's Anatomy's Dr. Bailey) was starring as Mama, this being her opening night. We walked up to the Ambassador Theatre, where Chicago was playing, to droves of people & media. We had no idea what was going on as we bypassed all the crazy fans.
We found our seats, G1 & G2 (that's right, 7 rows from the stage) & sat down. It was then that we noticed some of the Grey's Anatomy cast, including the Chief, Dr. Torrez & George. They sat directly across the isle from us. The Chief commented on Brayd's smokin' boots. He could have been commenting because Braydan was the only person in all of New York City in a cowboy hat & boots or maybe because he really liked them. I guess we'll never know but we do know that it was pretty cool. The play was amazing!!! We wish we would've had time to go to another show while we were there. Next time, right? After the show we headed to Time Square, ate some cheese cake, & enjoyed the craziness while we lounged in a couple of lawn chairs that filled the square.
The next day we jumped on our double decker tour bus & headed uptown to the American Museum of Natural History. On the way there we were able to see many New York City landmarks like Columbus Circle, also where the LDS temple is located, the Opera House, & the famous flat iron building. The Natural History Museum sits on the west side of Central Park.
We LOVED this place!!! I have so many pictures of dinosaur skeletons, old saddles from every part of the world, & awesome wildlife exhibits. We will take our kids there one day. After we roamed the museum for a good 4 hours we went to an Italian place called Carmine's for dinner. OH MY... is all I have to say!! We then jumped back on our tour bus & headed back to Time Square.
Remember when I said I wanted a new Buick Enclave? Well this was a life size billboard of my car in Time Square. We walked past it every single day. It is the exact color I want & everything!! We couldn't pass up a pic of me pointing at my future car. That evening we took the Brooklyn Trolley Loop (also on our tour bus). It took us over the Manhattan Bridge right into Brooklyn.
Here is a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge with the New York City Skyline in the background. From Brooklyn we were able to get some fantastic views of the skyline (unfortunately no good pics though). It really is unlike anything we have ever seen. It was amazing & we loved it. We attempted to visit the observation deck at the Empire State Building for some awesome night time views of the city but there was no visibility because of the clouds so we ventured back to Time Square to sit & relax.


The next day we met one of Burns Saddlery's best customers & friend, Randall Steadman for an early lunch near Time Square. Randall lives in Philadelphia & works in Manhattan. He also owns an amazing ranch in Torrey, Utah. He was a wealth of useful information, from where to stay, what to eat, & what to see. We were able to enjoy New York City so much more because of him (thanks a million Randall!) After lunch we traveled back uptown to Central Park. We hopped off the tour bus on the west side of the park & strolled through to the east side where The Metropolitan Museum of Art was, our next stop. The park was so vast & beautiful. I'm sure it is a favorite place for most New Yorkers.
Once we arrived at the museum, we grabbed a map & hit the exhibits that we were most interested in because we knew we didn't have time to see all of them. Braydan & I loved this exhibit. The hall was big, open, & bright white which made these knights in armour just breathtaking. It was almost surreal seeing them covered in elegantly crafted & engraved sheets of metal. Wow!
And who doesn't love Picasso? Here are three of his amazing works.
Later we took the Downtown Loop Tour (also on our double decker tour bus). It winds through Little Italy, Chinatown, the World Trade Center Site, & Wall Street. Our tour guide was hilarious & knew tons of interesting facts about the city, the buildings, & the communities within the city.
What a spectacular view of the Empire State Building. It is huge! But what isn't huge in New York?
Here is a drive by shot of Rockefeller Center. We would love to see it during Christmas. We've heard it is amazing. That night we took the subway to the Empire State Building & headed up to the observation deck. The views from up there were amazing.
This is the Chrysler Building. It was definitely my favorite, just breathtaking.
This is the part of the city where we were staying. Isn't it amazing how Time Square radiates so much light among all those monster buildings? We headed back to Time Square to a really yummy pizza place for dinner (food was great, service SUCKED!!) & then to Juniors for the BEST CHEESECAKE ever (thank you Jami)!!!


The following day we headed back downtown & hopped on a boat that sailed on the Hudson River, taking us to Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty.
She was beautiful!! We were surprised at how small she was in respect to everything else in New York City. It's a good thing she sits out in the middle of the Hudson, raised up on a pedestal otherwise she would get lost in the midst of all the architecture.
There it is...the New York City skyline. Obviously it was a very foggy, rainy day. I was pretty bummed that this was the best shot we were able to get of the city. Oh well! Once we were off the boat we took the metro to Newark, New Jersey where we met Dean Seratelli, owner of Seratelli Hats. Seratelli is the number one hat brand for Burns Saddlery. Their factory is in Newark so we headed over to see what hat making is all about. There are many, many complicated steps to making a hat & the Seratelli team has it down to a science. It was very interesting. We were able to meet Dean's wife Krystal & brother Peter, who also work in the factory. Dean & Krystal drove us around Newark & the surrounding areas. Some places were VERY SCARY & other places were absolutely beautiful. We then went to the best italian resteraunt we have ever eaten at. It was ssssoooooooo good!!! After dinner they drove us back to our motel where we were able to travel through the Lincoln tunnel which runs underneath the river/ocean (?), amazing. We had a great time with them.


The next morning we packed our things, went to breakfast, picked up a few gifts, & headed back to Tennessee. Tweeb & Danyette met us at the airport where we drove downtown to go to dinner & just have fun with the two of them. We ate at the Wild Horse Saloon which we had visited when we were downtown with the entire family. It was yummy! We then headed back to the Gladwell's house where we visited until the wee hours of the morning. It was so good to visit & laugh with them. We really miss them!
The end of our wonderful vacation had come. We piled in the Gladwell's van while Tweeb escorted us to the airport where we boarded our plane for home. What can we say...it was a great trip!!!


Braydan was only able to be home for one day before he was off to the Reno Rodeo for the remainder of the month. He left the morning of the 15th & got home the evening of the 29th. While he was away the girls & I had fun playing with Pat,
visiting Great Grandpa & Grandma Buchanan at the cabin,

loving on Charli,

camping with my darling, awesome Young Women at Girls Camp,

batting down pinatas at the Shaw family reunion,
& treating Alivia's terrible, horrible rash (still). Wow, what a month!! Maybe now you understand why I have been such a blogging slacker.