St George Getaway!

 This past weekend we decided we needed to get out of town for a quick weekend trip. When that thought comes the next one to follow is usually ST GEORGE! So I called Tammy to make sure she'd be around and the trip was set! Carter has football going on so I gave him the option to come with us or stay home and he chose to stay home and relax, so I took him to the grocery store to buy some of his favorites and they next day we were off!

 Our first stop was to Pizza factory! That's where I snapped these photos on my phone. We decided to go to the newer location and I found it funny that my kids prefer the old one! They have the yummiest pizza and salad! MMMMM!!! We filled our tummies and went home to chill!

 The next day we waited for Tammy to get home from work and then headed over to the Washington City pool. It's become one of our favorite places to go! It's a super fun place and HUGE!

 The kids love their pool and slide and they also have an awesome splash pad outside.

 Tammy and I like to relax in the sun and chat while the kids are playing. Obviously Tammy's been out in the sun a bit more than me! Geesh! I better get some more tan on before we go to Powell!

 Chan had some work issues and spent some time on his phone trying to sort them out. I couldn't resist taking a shot of him in "the shade"! He's hilarious!

 After swimming they came over and laid in the sun to dry out :) The picture below doesn't do this place justice but you can see the little kid area and the pool behind, but they also have a lap pool, big slide, lazy river and a big bucket water drop! It's really top notch!

 We did a lot of this while we were there.... watching TV, napping, playing on our various "devices" and eating yummy food :) It was exactly what we needed!

 On Sunday Tammy spoke in her Dad's Ward for Father's Day and did an amazing job! I had Chan snap a photo of us after church since we were all "dolled up"! After church we went over to her dad's house and celebrated Father's Day with her and her family. It was super fun! We watched some Brian Reagan comedy, ate yummy Mexican food and visited. It was the perfect ending to a relaxing weekend!

 Monday morning we hit the road for home! We were grateful to have had the time away and were able to relax. Our dogs even came along and got to enjoy it too!

 Thanks again Tammy for letting us raid your home and get some much needed down time! See you again in July!

Father's Day Gift

About a week before Father's Day I was in a store purchasing a gift for a friends birthday and came across this framed saying. I about fell over right there!! When Chan and I first got together we were in college and I was a part of the cast for the Guys and Dolls Musical. We would sing this part of the song to each other all the time! We have continued to sing it to each other all through our marriage too! There's been times when we would call each other on the phone and as soon as the other picked up the phone to say hello we'd start right out singing it and expected the other to finish it out! It's a fun thing that we've shared together and I couldn't walk out without having it! Since Father's Day was right around the corner I bought it and took it home to give Chan as his present. I was SOOO excited to show him that I hung it right up! When he got home I covered his eyes and walked him in front of it and uncovered his eyes and surprised him. He LOVES it! He thought I had it made for him! The best part is that it totally matches our bathroom, so that's where it is and he can look at it every day and remember how much we all love and appreciate him! I truly cannot express into words what a remarkable husband and father he is! A wonderful friend in our Ward called him on Father's Day and left a message for him on our voice mail and it said, "Hi Brother Crismon this is the Matthews family calling we just wanted to call and wish you Happy Father's Day because in our opinion you are one of the very best Dad's in our Ward and maybe even beyond that. The love that you show to your children and the example that you set is beyond great. Having not had a very good father of my own I recognize quality when I see it. Anyway, just wanted to wish you a happy Father's day we love your family and keep up the good work." Well said! Thanks Pam and John I couldn't agree more! Thanks for putting into words what I feel all the time! I love you Chan! Thanks for doing all you do and being who you are!

(On a side note: I learned after being married a while that Chan's Mom also sung this song to her kids as they grew up! Now it's a special Crismon family tradition!)

First night of summer vacation!

On Brianne's last day of school, that evening the school had a movie night! It was the first one they have done and it was FUN! They set up a screen and projector and the families came with their chairs and treats and sat down to watch Rio! As luck would have it a cold front came through so it was COLD out, but I put my sweatshirt on and grabbed my blanket and off we went! It was just me, Will and Brianne but we had a great time! Unfortunately we didn't last the entire night because Brianne got too cold to stay but I really hope they do that again because it was REALLY fun and a great way to start off summer vacation! :)

Concert Fun!!

 The last week of May I took my boys to the LMFAO concert! (Yes, I am well aware of what that acronym means, but hey I LOVE their music and so do my boys and I certainly don't go around saying that all the time, so don't judge!!) We were SO excited, especially Will, who is a BIG fan!

 There was supposed to be 4 of us going (Carter's friend Nate was going to come) but he was unable to at the last minute and I have to admit that maybe that was a good thing because the three of us had a blast! This picture was taken while they were setting up for the main performance! (And no I have NO idea who that kid is behind us!)

 This is what Carter and Will looked like for most of the performance! They were jumping and dancing the ENTIRE performance! And seriously how can you NOT dance when your hear their music! It's made to MAKE you MOVE!!

We had so much fun! We sang, danced, ate ice cream and sang and danced some more! It was a very good show with all kinds of entertainment! There were dancing zebras, beach balls being thrown, fireworks, people flying in the air, a dancing hot dog man and on and on and on!!! There was truly NEVER a dull moment when they were on stage! Will was actually sore the next day from all the jumping! It was a fun night and one I will remember forever! Thanks for letting me share it with ya boys! Love you! Party rock!!

BFF'S

I just had to do a quick post with me and my best friend Tammy! She came through town the other day with her Dad and niece and made a stop to see me and took me to breakfast. It was so fun to see her and her family and spend some time with them. I am so proud of her, she has had a rough road in some aspects of her life, but she's pulled up her "big girl pants" and taken each one with strength and has come out the other end with a smile! Not everyone could say that! I am one lucky girl to have a person like that as my BFF and I'm grateful to her for always being there when I need her! Love you TAM!!!

PS- Funniest part about this picture is that we were BOTH taking this picture at the same time with our OWN phones! How hilarious is THAT!! We are goofy!

Chan's Birthday 2012

 I realized that I had not done a post on Chan's birthday yet!! It was on May 21st and I wanted to do something special so I got us reservations at The Roof restaurant at the Joseph Smith Memorial building in Salt Lake. We have wanted to go there for YEARS but just hadn't made it up there so I thought it would be the perfect time! It is an amazing buffet of fabulous food with really amazing service. And the best part was we were sitting right next to the window with an amazing view of the Salt Lake Temple!

Before we left we walked around the building looking at the different views and snapped this photo of ourselves with my phone :) I am one lucky gal to have such an amazing husband! We had a great time eating and joking around and I was even able to make it to Brianne's softball game after! It was a great night! Happy Birthday babe!! :)

Ute Shoot 2012

I know it's hard to believe but football has begun again! Carter started spring ball a week ago and on the Saturday following competed in the Ute Shoot up at the University of Utah. The picture here is just the lineman.... yeah, Alta is a huge team! Carter was on team 2 and was VERY excited to go. He and the other guys pictured participated in the lineman challenge. It consists of several activities that they do as teams (5 guys to a team) to show their strength and they compete against other high schools in our area. A couple examples are a tire flip (a huge tractor tire that they flip on their own) and having to do a 185 pound bench press as many times as they can. Carter did very well and in fact had the highest bench press from Alta which was 25 reps!! 185 pounds 25 times!!! We were SO proud! All the hard work he's done in the off season is paying off! Alta's teams did well but didn't take the top spot, however, their line coach was quick to point out that this wasn't "on the field" so it really doesn't matter. I think they do these for 2 reasons: 1.) It's a great opportunity to get a head start on team unity. It bands the guys together and gives them something to relate to each other. 2.) It's an opportunity for the coaches at these colleges to see who's coming up that they'd like to grab! Either way it was a great day and Carter had a blast! He made it through the drive home, some food and a shower and then crashed for a nap! Well deserved too! Way to go Carter!

Service and fun

 A few weeks ago our Ward youth had a service activity to help a family in our Ward. This family has had physical hardships on the mother (who was the avid Gardener at their home) and the husband had fallen behind on doing the yard work because working and taking care of her were priority. So off we went to the rescue!

 It was tough work! Cutting out grass, pulling a huge flower bed of weeds, cutting away lawn around the light post (in above photo- Carter with bishop Stocking) and much much more! But it's amazing to see what can be done when you have an army of people! It was an awesome sight! And after all the rough work they were rewarded with Popsicles, koolaid, cookies and oranges.

I love to see kids get their hands dirty in service! It was wonderful! And the gratitude we saw and felt from the family couldn't be measured! So glad I was able to be there! :)