Heather

Two months ago on October 10, 2009 my dear sister Heather passed away. She was with the American Fork High School Marching Band at a competition in Pocatello, ID. While traveling home to American Fork, UT on a chartered bus, the driver passed out at the wheel. My sister, in attempt to save the lives of the students, jumped up to grab the wheel and ultimately lost her life. I have had many of her students and colleagues tell me wonderful stories of her and of the dedication she had for her students. She was a great teacher and a wonderful example to us all. Heather, I love you and miss you!

Hudson's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Hudson's birthday (September 21st) in Lehi, UT with family at the park. We had a lot of fun... but it was cold!

Lake Powell 2009

Here are some pictures from our Lake Powell trip with the Hooge family. We had a lot of fun!

Boating with Higginson's

On Saturday we went boating with the Higginson's at Sand Hollow. Hailey tried her wakeboard for the first time and did very well. Way to go Hailey! Thanks Higginson's for the good times! We had a ton of fun.. although, we had a major wind storm that came through and practically swamped the boat and soaked us all to the bone. Next time I see a wall of sand in the distance coming I will make sure that we get everyone out of the water and head in to the marina ASAP. My nephew Dave was wakeboarding at the time the wall of sand & wind hit us. He had to hold on to the rope and drag with the wakeboard on his feet so we could get away from the dam. Waves kept hitting him the whole time and he kept saying that he couldn't breath. It was pretty scary. Richard had to pull him in as hard as he could. Once he got in we had to brave the 4-5 foot waves that came crashing in every time we hit one. We were all pretty nervous (and some scared too!) and finally made it to the marina where I had to jump off of the boat onto the boat ramp in the waves. Once I got off the boat I ran to the truck, while the wind helped push me along the way. I got in the truck and headed for the ramp, only to find a huge line of trucks waiting to pull their boats and jet skis off the water as well. It took about a half an hour for me to finally put the trailer in the water. Sorry to you who were stuck in the boat the whole time struggling to keep warm in the wind and rain. I am just glad we all made it off the the water safe and sound!

First Day of School

Hailey and Hayden started school on August 18th. Here are some pics. Hailey is in 2nd grade and Hayden is in 1st grade. Harrison will start Pre-School after Labor Day.

Harrison's 4th birthday!

We celebrated Harrison's birthday on August 11th. He is such a sweet boy... well, most of the time. :) We just love our Harrison!

Swimming Lessons

This week was the final week of Swim Lessons for the kids. We usually spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer and my kids are like little fish in the water. This week I have had strep throat, so we haven't spent as much time at the pool. It hasn't helped that Dan has been gone to Lake Powell this week with the Young Men too, but I am sure that he is having loads of fun. It will be nice for him to come home today! Anyway, the kids did well at their lessons. Hayden and Harrison didn't get down all of the things that they learned so they will need to repeat level 2. Hailey did well with all of the strokes she learned in level 3 and I was really impressed with her butterfly stroke. I talked to her instructor and she said that her and a lot of the other kids in her class are good enough to swim competitively. The only bad thing is there are no swimming teams in our community because we are so few in numbers. So, when we move back to a bigger town we will make sure she has the opportunity to be on a team. Hudson has really been venturing out on his own in the pool (with a life jacket on of course). He can get around pretty well and he really enjoys the water.

Christensen Reunion

July 17-18 we had a family reunion in Oak City Canyon (near Delta). Daniel had to work all day on Friday so he wasn't able to join us. The kids and I drove to Cedar City and stopped at Wal Mart to buy food for the camp out. Boy was it crazy with just the kids & I. They were restless and I couldn't keep the kids from fighting. Finally we got back in the truck and they calmed down for the rest of the drive to Oak City. Once we got up the canyon, the kids were excited to see our extended family and to put up our tent. We had a lot of fun seeing everyone. The kids were so tired that night so we went to bed early. The next morning we visited some more and then drove to the Delta Reservoir to do some jet skiing with the Higginson's, Heather, and Dad... thanks for the fun! On the way home we stopped at Wal Mart again for a few things that we needed at home. I told the kids that they could each pick out one inexpensive toy if they were good, and it worked! The kids were well behaved. :) We finally got home and were glad to be back with Dad again.

Family Workout

Dan & I started a workout program called P90X back in March. At times the kids like to join in for the fun. Here are some pictures of the kids doing Yoga with us. They will even pull out the weights at times. Hudson did a few push ups the other day.. it was so cute because he was trying so hard! I have to say for at near 2 year old he did very well. :)

Hayden's Birthday July 8th

On Hayden's birthday we went to Cedar City to celebrate. We ate at Applebee's and then went to see Transformers. The movie was long, but the kids did really well and enjoyed it. Hailey wasn't feeling well all day and threw up on the way to Cedar City. She is a real trooper though and didn't let it spoil the day. I can't believe that Hayden is 6 now. It's crazy how time flies!