School starts tomorrow!

We have just been trying to get ready for school to start. Trent is excited to start tomorrow and I am too. Trent had a little accident and a can of mandarin oranges fell on his toe. OUCH! His toenail is pretty black and I think it will fall off soon. Here’s a picture so you can feel his pain.

Trent had his first soccer game on Tuesday and made a goal. Ray is coaching again so that will keep us busy. On Saturday he had a game as well, but his toe was hurting to bad so he didn’t play.


We went to Ray’s annual work summer party at a park. They rented inflatable jumper things as well as a water slide. The kids had fun playing. We all ate and socialized with all of Ray’s work friends and their spouses. It was fun. Do you like how white my boys are? Trent really is kind of tan up close, they just take after their mother - allergic to the sun. Ray teases Trent that he is allergic to it and he believed him because he told someone that he was. If you think they are white you should see Kara in person. She is SO white.


On Sunday went to Mike and Ashlee’s for dinner. We had a BBQ with them and Randy & Keri, and Jenny & David and all the kids. We played sequence and just had fun visiting with one another. Thanks guys! We are trying to get together once a month as a family.















Kara is crawling pretty well and LOVES to pull herself up on anything she can. She loves to be with Trent and Tyler, even if she is just in the room with them while they ignore her and play amongst themselves.
It is going to be interesting having Trent gone half of the day. I hope Tyler doesn’t get to bored.

I guess I am IT!

Sally tagged me so here we go . . .

Jobs I’ve held
McDonalds crew person
Land Surveying Rod Man (woman)
Telemarketer
Accounting/ bookkeeping jobs - many of these!

Movies I can watch over and over
Lord of the Rings

My Guilty Pleasures
Couponing
Getting things for FREE!
Making cards

Places I’d like to visit (I changed this one)
Germany
England
Brazil

Shows I enjoy –(I really don’t have time for T.V. but when I get the chance I like)
Scrubs
Far Scape
The Office

What were the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time?
Cute
Wanted him to hold my hand

Places I have been on vacation
New York, New York
Washington D.C.
Orlando Florida
New Orleans

Favorite foods
Pizza Hut supreme pan pizza – yummm
French fries with Fry Sauce – no sauce, no fries
Corn on the cob from my mom’s garden – when it is sweet and young

Websites I visit daily
Hotmail
Pinchingyourpennies.com (I actually have been not SO obsessed lately)
Friend’s blogs

Body Parts I have injured
*Broke nose playing softball (maybe that’s why I don’t like playing – actually I can’t throw the
ball that’s why I don’t play)

*Pulled my hamstring – I was on the drill team, I went down in the splits and I hadn’t stretched
out good enough – Painful , painful, painful!

Awards I have won
Not any recently
5th grade – Hope of America (all my siblings won it) John being the last. So we took this picture when we were all home for Tennille and Whit's wedding. In the picture I am pregnant with Trent. John has since grown about a foot and a half. Mike, at one time you were the tallest!



Nicknames I’ve been called
Ter
Teri Weri
Grumshaw
Tight-wad Teri (I am cheep what can I say)
Teri Ticket (used to get pulled over often)


Tag, you’re it!
Keri
Tennille
Laurie
Heather May
Leanne

I am tagging those with blogs I frequent!

New Mexico and Strep Throat!

I am finally posting. It has been a crazy two weeks. To start off I got the stomach flu just as we were getting ready to go to New Mexico. NOT FUN! Ray left Friday to go to Youth Conference, so I ended up driving down Saturday to Castle Dale to pick him up and then we headed off to New Mexico. Jenny and her kids went down also. While there we went to some baseball games (Connie Mack World Series) and hung out with family and friends. We went to Jeff & Britney’s Sunday evening for dinner (Thanks guys!) and had fun catching up with them. We also had grandma and grandpa watch the sleeping kids Monday night while we went to a late night movie with Jeff and Britney. We saw The Bourne Ultimatum . It was a really intense movie, and it was sooo good!
We drove home Tuesday; which is always such a long drive. The kids did pretty good, Kara just doesn't like being in her car seat that long - can't blame her. We stopped at Wilson's Arch. The boys had fun hiking up to the arch. I had developed a clogged duct, and for those of you who have had them you know how painful they are. I am still kind of having issues with it. Anyway, on Saturday night I started getting a sore throat. Sunday at church I started feeling really achy and weak, so after church I pretty much spent the rest of the day in bed. Monday I wasn’t doing much better, but I thought it was just a cold. Tuesday, I felt better than Monday, but not normal and by the evening my back was hurting and I decided I had HAD IT and I better go to the doctor. Our insurance changed in January and I didn’t know who I could even go to , so I started looking through our insurance directory and I remembered that IHC has InstaCares (you just walk in and don't need an appointment), so I decided I better go ASAP. I called Ray, who was at a baseball game with the young men, and ended up just taking Trent and Tyler over to him. I took Kara with me. The doctor was really nice I spent forever going into detail about the clogged duct and everything then she swabbed my throat and sure enough it was strep throat! I was just glad to know that something really was wrong and I wasn’t just being a baby! I opted for the shot and was on my way home by 9:30 p.m. I am now doing much better! Thank goodness for modern medicine!
Kara had her 9 month old well baby appointment on Wednesday, and I just had Ray take her so I wouldn’t be spreading germs. She is so small! She is only in the 2% for her weight; she weights 14.86 pounds. I am kind of worried! The doctor said to try to give her more fat. Butter in her veggies, and just fattening things. She hasn’t really wanted anything to do with solids this past week, she has had a little cold/cough. I am sure she will be o.k. She still likes to scoot on her belly everywhere and likes to pull her self up on things like Tyler’s bed and the coffee table. I think she is just more active and burning lots of calories and not gaining the weight she needs to be.

Trent starts school in two weeks. I can’t believe it! Tyler will go to preschool starting in 3 weeks. They both have morning sessions, so I am kind of excited to just have Kara for 2 hours a day – three times a week!

Now that I am feeling better I hope to start posting each week again.

More Reunions and sick kids

Last Saturday we went to Enoch for the Grimshaw Centennial Celebration. (Big Grimshaw Reunion) My grandpa’s parents settled there in 1907, so they had a reunion for the descendents. It was great fun! Growing up I lived by several of my 2nd and 3rd cousins, but most moved by the time I was 10, and several of them were at the reunion so I got to visit with them. I didn’t take many pictures (so Rebecca if you read this please send me the ones you took). They held the reunion across the street from my parents at the church park. We ate lunch, visited, and had a program. They had a piñata for the kids and a big blow up slide.

On Sunday we went to my parents’ ward and visited with cousins. Monday morning everyone but mom, Kara and I, went up to my grandma’s property up second left hand in Parowan. Here are some photos. I went shopping and got a couple of sweet couponing deals.


On Monday, we had another reunion with just my dad’s siblings and their kids, grandkids and my grandma. Once again we ate and visited and had a program. Each of my dad’s 8 brothers and sisters got up and shared a favorite memory about growing up. They seem to do this at every reunion, which is fun, but it is amazing that they hardly ever tell the same story. Most of the stories are quite funny. We had a great time but the reunion was cut short by an afternoon thunder/rain storm; so we just cleaned up and headed back to my parents as the dark clouds gathered.

Tuesday (24th of July) we were planning on going to the parade in Cedar City. Trent said he wasn’t feeling well, and ended up throwing up (my kids sure get sick a lot!) So Ray stayed home with Trent and the rest of us went to the parade. It was a typical Cedar parade with a few additions that were new to me – Men dressed up in construction gear with their drills were called the "DRILL" Team and they mared around following the guy in front of them, quite comical; and then there was the "Lawn Chair Squad", women about my age dressed in bright pink t-shirts carrying and dancing with lawn chairs, it actually looked like fun and like they were getting lots of exercise.

Tyler was excited to get candy – my favorite was the local Pediatric Dentist that threw suckers with this attached saying "EAT CANDY, DRINK POP support your local DENTIST" Nice!

We drove home that day and had planned a BBQ with Ray’s family at our house. I called everyone to say Trent was sick, but Randy and Keri came and we just kept Trent in the house, while we ate outside. Then Jenny and David came and everyone went to the Owlz game except Trent, Kara, and I. They said it was a great game with great overcast weather.

We finally have grass!

We have had another good, productive week. Ray ordered sod and it was scheduled to arrive Tuesday afternoon. We spent Monday night preparing the ground, moving dirt, leveling and weeding. Then Ray and I got up Tuesday at 6 a.m. to finish up. He announced in Elders Quorum on Sunday to come help if people wanted to. We went to Jenny’s during the day for our cousin play group. When we got home at 2 p.m. the sod was on the driveway. I called Ray and let him know. He came home around 3 and worked some more on getting the ground ready. Around 5:30 the Elder’s Quorum president and his sons came to help. Ray’s brother and dad came a little bit later. (Ken and Louise were on their way to San Francisco) Then a little after 7 p.m. the young men and their leaders came to help. We didn’t plan on putting it in the front really, (mostly because it wasn’t ready) but with all the help, they were able to finish getting in the pipe for the drip lines and we ended up having enough sod to do ½ of the front lawn. We will get another pallet or so and finish up the front next week. It looks sooooo good. I think the kids have been excited too. We need to keep it moist so we water during the day (which really is a no, no) and of course the kids can’t stay out of the water. The kids have had fun racing on the lawn with the sprinklers going. It really has been so HOT lately. In the 100’s for days now.

4th of July, Family Reunion and a big fire

We have had another crazy busy week. On Tuesday we kept our family tradition and went to see the hot air balloons down in Provo (part of the Freedom Festival) We got up at 6:15 a.m. and headed down to the field. We always go to McDonalds for breakfast then walk to the field and watch the balloons as they inflate them. The kids had fun and we were there for about an hour. We planned to go to the parade on the 4th but Tyler stared not feeling good Tues. night. I just thought he was tired from getting up so early. The first sign was him going and getting in bed and falling a sleep. Then I made Mac-N-Cheese for dinner and he didn't want any even though he had been begging me to make it for days. He ended up having a high fever and threw up a little. So, we just ended up working in the yard on the 4th. I worked on weeding and Ray worked on the sprinklers. Tyler started feeling better around 4 p.m. We had a BBQ for dinner then we went to the Owlz game. On Saturday, the kids and I decided to drive down with my brother, Mike, to a family reunion (my mom's side of the family). Ray stayed home and worked on getting the yard ready for the sod that will be delivered Tuesday (YEAH!). We stopped in Enoch for a couple of hours then went to Pine Valley. They had it at my Uncle Ernie and Aunt LeAnn's cabin. We had a lot of fun visiting with family and letting the kids play. Trent got to shoot "a real bow and arrow", he also got to go on a ride on the four wheeler. Trent was also excited that he found a "real bone"; he told me he wanted to start a "bone collection". Kara really enjoyed swinging in the "car swing" she would just laugh and squeal. She smiles a lot normally but really doesn't "laugh" that much, so I could tell that she really liked the swing. We ate a super yummy dinner there and then left around 9 p.m. I called Ray and he told me about the big fire by Cove Fort and that they had to shut down the freeway. On Sunday, Tennille and Whit went home in the morning but Mike and I wanted to go to church. Church was at 1 p.m. then we decided to leave around 3 p.m. We checked the Internet and the freeway was open so we started home and about 20 minutes later we got to where they were forcing traffic to go over SR -20 because I-15 was closed. Anyway, we went on the detour and instead of getting home in less than 3 hours ,like normal, it took us almost 6 - It was a joke! We should of just left in the morning!

More Vacationing

This week has been filled to the brim as usual. Monday we ran around getting ready to leave again. I got the oil changed on the van and other things ready. We also went swimming at some neighbor friends (Hey Precia, I know you read this daily - j/k – Cute one of Kara and Zinnia, huh).

Ray and the scouts (venture and varsity) left Tuesday morning at 6 a.m. to head to scout camp for the week. I had a meeting here at 9:00 a.m. then I cleaned up and got ready to go to Enoch for the week. My cousin, MeChel, needed a ride down to SUU for a basketball camp so she rode with me. It was fun having her with me and sure made the time pass quickly. The kids slept most of the way – so that was WONDERFUL. We stopped in Beaver to get gas and so I could feed Kara. When we got there my mom had a yummy dinner already and Tennille, Brett and Jack were there. We ate, then Tennille and I drove MeChel to her game. We went shopping, but didn’t really find anything.
Some of Lynn and Jim’s kids (My aunt and uncle that live next to my parents) were in town (Charlotte & Eric) and Heather, so we were able to visit with them and let ALL the kids play. I think at one time there were 8 little kids on the trampoline! Tennille and I worked on cards and shopped some more the next day. She went home on Thursday. I enjoyed just being there and the kids LOVE being at my parents. They played in the little swimming pool, played baseball, played with John’s "Z-Bot" toys and watched movies. The boys also let me and Tennille buzz their heads. Tennille talked them into it. She said we could cut a "T" into their hair. So we went outside and Tyler went first. Tennille did the "T", we showed him in the mirror then buzzed it all off. Then we did Trent's hair. This is my before and after shot (the before was taken in May, but they had pretty long hair). I am so excited to not have to worry about their hair the rest of the summer!

We also went to my grandma’s one night to visit with her. On Friday, I went to lunch with some of my high school friends (Laura, Sundee & Kami). It was so fun to talk and catch up on what is going on with everyone.

Ray and the scouts hiked Burch Hollow on Wednesday. The hike included 10 repels and emptied out into the Narrows (in Zion’s). The campground that they stayed at was in Zion Nat’l Park. On Thursday my dad met them at the lake and they skied all day. He took John and John’s friend, Mitch. I think it is funny that his name is Mitch. That is my brother’s name also, so it gets confusing whenever you say "Mitch" ; you have to specify which one. My dad and John were there for about an hour before Ray and the scouts arrived. After they got home I wished that I would have gone down for an hour to ski – maybe next time! I heard the water was great, like GLASS – my favorite to ski on. My dad even skied, the water really must have been good because when we went to Lake Powell he said he only skied on PRISTINE water! On Friday they hiked the "Subway". Ray said they had a great week and had a lot of fun. He had the camera all week so no pictures of us in Enoch, and he didn’t really take any either. So I am just putting old pictures on here.
Saturday morning I was getting things packed in the car and Ray called on the freeway to see when I was leaving. He asked me if I had anyone riding home with me and I didn’t so he said he would. I met him in at the gas station, one of the other leaders just drove our van home. We left my parents around 10 a.m. I am so glad that he was able to ride back with me and it was just good to have him back with us. The kids were not good on the way home - little stinkers! It was a good week. Now back to reality!

Part 3 – Will the vacation ever end?

Man, I am just DRAGING this out! On Thursday we went to "Out of Africa" Arizona's only wildlife theme park. It was a hot day but it was a neat place. We went on the Serengeti Safari first. We rode in a "safari vehicle" (really an old school bus with the windows removed) among giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and other animals of the African plains. Okay so I copied that from their web site and my words are in parenthesis. It was pretty neat; we were SO close to the animals. The driver gave everyone a couple of carrot sticks to feed to the giraffe. The giraffe would stick his head into the bus and use his tongue like a hand and wrap it around the carrot and pull it into his mouth. The kids thought it was awesome, I could not believe how close it was to us. Then we went on the Wildlife Preserve tour.(from the website) It was "an educational tram that takes you on an hour-long tour of the WILDLIFE PRESERVE. We saw lions, tigers, wolves, hyena, and other predators that roam in large, natural habitats. It's like seeing them in the wild."

It was quite hot and we stopped a lot. It was neat though. After that we drove to a semi run down Dairy Queen for lunch. Then we headed to Sedona. Just outside Sedona is a natural water slide, we drove up to the entrance but most of the kids were asleep and it was getting late so we just kept driving towards Flagstaff. We did stop at a scenic overlook just above Sedona. We took lots of pictures and I bought some pretty necklaces from the Navajo Indians selling their jewelry there. We got back to the condos and the kids swam in the hot tub. That night we played cards (Phase Ten) and worked on getting ready to come home. Friday morning we got up, ate breakfast, loaded everything up and headed home. It was a nice vacation, but it was good to come home.

This week we have been busy. Ray and I celebrated our 9th year wedding anniversary. Ray came home with flowers for me and we went to dinner. Later that night I was in the computer room with Trent and Ray was in the kitchen and he said "those sure are nice flowers that your boyfriend got you" and Trent started chuckling and said kind of whispering to me "they’re really from dad". I thought it was cute.

We also had a busy week working on the condo that we own in our investment group (with 6 other family member couples) Most of us have been helping with taking out the carpet, repainting (did this before Flagstaff) and cleaning . Hopefully we can sell it soon.

Saturday we had a very productive day. Ray worked on the sprinklers in the backyard and I weeded a little. Then we cleaned out the garage. It needed to be cleaned so bad. I also have been working on my "home office" it was a disaster and I took everything off the desk/hutch and either filed it, threw it away, or put it where it belonged. I also moved the new computer to a better area on the desk and moved the old one down stairs. They have been side by side since we got the new one (like almost 2 years – how sad ). I finally finished it Saturday night and it looks so much better. It is also a much better work station for the work I do from home. I should of taken before and after pictures of my desk and the garage. Oh, well.

Part 2 – The Grand Canyon Adventurers

Tuesday morning Ray, Ken, and Randy got up at 4:30 a.m. to head back up to the Grand Canyon. They got the last bus that goes strait to the hike around 6:00 a.m. They then hiked down to the river (on the Kaibab trail), a 6 mile journey that descended 4800 feet. There was very little shade and no water along the way. Ray said his knees have never hurt so bad. The elevation at the bottom is comparable to Phoenix AZ and the temperature was about 98 degrees (but it was 15 degrees cooler than usual per the park ranger at the bottom). They were down to the bottom by noon. The trail goes down the south rim, then they crossed a bridge to the north side where the campground was. Ray soaked himself in the river, drank lemonade and they just relaxed and set up their camp. There is a ranch down there called Phantom Ranch, that is where he got the lemonade. There was no water stops along the way, so they had to pack it all down. But there was clean water at the bottom so they could refill their bottles. The rangers put on a program for all the hikers that evening talking about how the Grand Canyon was formed. Ray said there was about 100 people down at the bottom. They took two Zatarans black beans and rice mixes and cooked them on Ray’s small camping stove for dinner.

Back at the condo we just hung out with the kids. They played outside most of the day. (No pictures Ray had the camera) but this one is from the other day – everyone with popcicles. We stayed at the Wyndom Vacation Resorts. Ken and Louise have a time-share and so every year we usually go somewhere for a week. It makes it so nice! The condos are nice and have everything that you could need for a week minus food. There is a kitchen in each unit so the "girls" each took a turn cooking a dinner and a breakfast. We had 2 condos that were right next to each other. Each had two bedrooms and a loft with 2 twin beds. Each unit also had a hot tub. We were right across from the Activities Center and we even had a little grassy park in the back yard. Two of the nights they put up a great big screen and showed kid movies. We could see it through our living room window. The kids had fun going to them. It was kind of like a drive in, minus the cars. They also served popcorn and drinks at the outdoor movies.

Back to the Grand Canyon Adventurers - Wednesday morning the boys got up bright and early, made oatmeal for breakfast and headed out on the Bright Angel Trail. The literature that they had said to plan on 7 to 12 hours to hike out. What ever goes down must come up. This trail did have a couple of shady water spots to stop at. Ray said the whole hike was the hardest hike he has ever done, yet they are smiling in all the pictures.
This is the photo when they got done. Then they had to drive back to Flagstaff. Ray’s legs were cramping up about the last mile so he just sat with them elevated all the way home. Ken’s legs started to cramp right as they got to Flagstaff so then Randy had to drive. They got home around 4 :30 p.m. We were all glad to have them back.

This concludes part 2

Flagstaff Part 1

I am finally posting! We have been gone forever it seems. We had a great week on vacation. We left Friday (8th) and drove to Flagstaff. It took us about 8 hours and we arrived around 10:30 p.m. (9:30 AZ time) Ken and Louise (Ray’s parents) were there along with Brad (Ray’s brother) and Jenny, David, Andrew, Ryan and Mykel (Ray’s sister). The kids were excited about their beds being up in the loft and we ended up going to bed quite late that night.
On Saturday we went to the Museum of Northern Arizona. There were exhibits about the geography and people of the Colorado Plateau. The kids liked the dinosaur bones , but started being really loud! So we didn’t spend to much time inside. There was a lookout point outside and you could see a trail at the bottom, so Ray took the boys on a hike and I stayed in the van and fed Kara. Then they called me from the bottom and wanted grandma to come take some pictures. I didn't get to take any because Ray had the camera with him.

Randy, Keri, Sydney and Jenna (Ray’s brother) arrived that afternoon and we drove out to Humphreys Peak, the tallest mountain in Arizona. We road the ski lift up to the top, the elevation was 12,643', except we were not quite at the top, We took this nice picture of all of us. It was a little windy, but nice and an awesome view.

On Sunday we just went to church and hung out at the condo. It was a nice and relaxing day.

Monday we got up early and drove to Williams AZ. We watched a "western shootout" show and then boarded the train. The train arrived 2 hours later at the Grand Canyon. We had a really good tour guide lady on the train and she told us all kind of interesting facts. We ate lunch on a little grassy area and then hiked along the rim. Kara fell asleep so we hiked back to the "village" and I sat with her while Ray and the boys went to the back country office to get info. on the hike to the river that Ray wanted to do on Tuesday. We were back on the train by 3 p.m. That night we went to dinner at Bucky’s Grill (steak house) It was quite lively. The waiters/waitress’ are NAU music students, so along with taking care of us and our food, they also sang and entertained us. It was a fun night.

Well that concludes part one of the vacation in Flagstaff. Stay tuned for part 2 and possibly part 3.