Flashback Friday: Snow Fort Circa 2008

This Flashback Friday is in honor of the Church Snow Day we had back in February of 2008. It was an incredible amount of snow that fell. The 9 am block of church was stuck in a giant mess in the church parking lot so they canceled the rest of the day. The kids were in heaven.

(Nate, with Ryland on his lap, Ally, Hailey A., Ethan and Taylor A.)

 Nate decided to go out with the kids to build a giant snow fort. Before we knew it the neighbor kids had started to flock over to our place and help. It was epic! It is still talked about all these years later.  

(Ryland, Trey S., Ally, Mariah S., Hailey A., Ethan)

 They worked so hard on it. You can see in this picture how high the walls were.

(Taylor A., Mariah S., Trey S., Ethan, Ryland, Ally and Nate)

They then added the super cool towers on the top. It was a fun day and project that they enjoyed for days to come. Such fun memories.

Flashback Friday: Fasting for Fast Snow

Today's Flashback Friday is dedicated to snow. 

This last Sunday we were asked from the pulpit to pray and 

fast for more snow in the mountains.

 We have had an exceptionally dry winter thus far and come summer we will be in trouble for sure.

The kids have taken this very seriously this week and it has made my heart feel good to hear them follow the guidance of our church leaders and pray for moisture.  

I loved hearing my children after hearing the weatherman's 5 day forecast call for snow this week. "It worked! It worked! It's because we prayed for it!!"   

One storm obviously will not get us out of trouble this summer but it sure doesn't help either. So we will keep at it.  

These photos are actually from January 2013. We had gone sledding on the hill behind the church on a bright beautiful day. 

I hope to be taking more photos like these in the coming days and weeks. Love these cute kids of mine. Pray for snow.  

Flashback Friday: Fieldwork: Lee's Grocery

Today's Flashback Friday is dedicated to Ryland. 

In January of 2011 we went with his first grade class on a field work to Lee's Grocery store in North Ogden. 

His class was learning about their bodies and healthy foods. 

They got to tour the entire store. Freezers, fridges, bakery, meat department, everything. They had a great time. 

At the end they had a budget of $5 and we had to find a healthy, well balanced meal for them to buy. It was great fun!  

Miss Rosalie Hart's 1st/2nd Grades Crew 2010/2011

Flashback Friday: Camp Hunt

Nate and I have a tradition that we do with the kids. The summer of the year that they turn 11 we take them on a camping trip one on one. Nate took Ethan and last year I took Ally.

We had so much fun together. We went to Camp Hunt up in Bear Lake. Even though it was around the 4th of July our first day it just rained and rained. Cute, brave Ally decided to go for her swim check. It was COLD outside of the water I couldn't believe she wanted to get even colder by getting into the water. I was super proud of her, especially because her Mom was too big of a wuss to do it. Of course she passed the swim check. 

The next day, when the sun was shining, I got my swim check out of the way so we could enjoy all of the waterfront activities.

We went canoeing and kayaking and swam in the lake. It was perfect weather.

Here are our swim check chips. The board shows that we stayed in the Crow campsite.

During some of our free time we went into Garden City and got us a raspberry shake. Ally found this blow up Dolphin so we picked it up too for her to play with. She had a great time with it.

I thought she was a little bit crazy when she wanted to get up before sunrise and go canoeing out on the lake. I really thought that once the alarm went off that she would beg to sleep in but nope, she dragged me out  of bed into the cool, crisp morning air and away we went.

It turned out to be the highlight of our camping trip for me. It was so beautiful and calm. I loved being out on the water with my Ladybug. Such a sweet memory.

We loved participating in the campfire songs, the skits, and all of the activities that Camp Hunt had to offer. It was a great trip!

Flashback Friday: Aida: 2011

Our cute niece, Megan, was in her High School play, Aida, back in March of 2011.  She played the character Nehebka. She did amazing! We were so proud of her! I never would have had the guts to do that.

She is the beautiful brunette, kinda center left, with the reddish orange sash tied around her waist.

Ally, Megan and Ethan after the performance.

Ally with the the other two leading ladies.

We attended the performance with my Mom and her husband, Bob. Such a great night!

Flashback Friday: Karate Kids

Back in 2011 my boys took karate for a while. We went to a really great studio in Sunset, Utah.They really enjoyed it. I enjoyed watching them improve and seeing them work themselves to exhaustion. Here are some of the photo highlights from that fun time.

Flashback Friday: Sydneys Baptism and the Lodge 2008

We always enjoy our time as a family up at the Laketown Lodge. But this particular trip up was even more meaningful. We had it planned to go up for the weekend of our niece, Sydney's baptism. It was the first weekend of March. Well, the fourth of February is when my Dad and his wife Fran, had their moose accident. My Dad ended up only being released from the hospital the day of the Baptism. They allowed he and Fran to travel up to the Lodge to participate in the Baptism and then he headed straight back to the hospital for one final check and was then released. He had been in there for a month. We were so grateful we were able be together with him in celebration instead of in mourning.

The Lodge is always full of good times and good food and this day was no exception. We returned after the Baptism to eat a feast and to take some pictures with Dad.

Dad with my brother, Travis, and his two boys, Garrett and Tyler.

Sophia Kelsey and Grandpa Burke

Evelyn, Nate, Ryland, Ronda, Ally, Dad and Fran and Ethan Mills

Garrett, Sarah, Travis, Julia, Dad and Fran and Tyler Burke

Jennifer, Shaylen, Ridge, Dad and Fran, and Sawyer Skidmore

Kai, Joe and Sophia Burke with Dad and Fran

Wyatt, Dad, Sydney, Fran, Heidi, Logan, Travis, Carson and Megan Muirbrook



Flashback Friday: Venture Ice Skating

For today's Flashback Friday I thought I would post these cute pictures of my sweet Ally girl from February 2011. We went on a Field Work to the Ice Sheet in Ogden to go Ice Skating. Ally did really well considering that she hadn't gone since she was around four years old.

 Ally with two of her good friends, Samantha D., and Alex F.

She and Alex had gone to school at Three Mile Creek Elementary as well. I believe at the time that she had a little bit of a crush.