Is There Anything Cooler than Learning to Ride a Bike?!

One of my favorite mom moments has been helping my kids to learn how to "ride a two-wheeler." We have this great little (little is the key word) that was passed down from the Walls (yes Christopher started it all). It is so little that if you fall and crash you are only about 1 foot off the ground. Anyway... Cameron joined the ranks of real bike riders. He can't wait to take his bike up to the cabin this weekend and do the bike path on his own!!

Cam's life has changed now -- he wants to ride the bike all of the time. And if he is riding with his sisters, it drives him nuts because he can't quite keep up. He and Kenzi rode up to their friends' house the other day and he screamed and cried and peddled the whole way up because he wasn't in front.

The learning curve has been full of bumps and bruises and one major crash off the bike after hitting the cur, flipping through the air and landing on the sidewalk. Thank heaven for helmets -- Dave thought he was dead as he watched him fly through the air... he even had a dent in the helmet.

Congratulations Cameron!

Playgroup -- Great Memories of My Mom... hope my kids have the same!

I remember when I was little taking summer "playgroup" trips with my mom and the neighbors to Hogle Zoo, Liberty Park and the Museum of Natural History. I'm so glad to have great friends that help me carry on that tradition with my own kids. So far this month Cam and I have enjoyed Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point (with 1000 other moms and kids but it is still cool), Hogle Zoo (Cameron loved the zoo and thinks we are going back on Monday) and Hill Airforce Base Museum (Cam and Brandon ran from plane to plane making up stories and having a great time!) I didn't take my camera to the zoo or Air Force Base, but here are a few photos from Dinosaur Museum.

Back to School

I always have mixed emotions when Back to School rolls around. My kids are always so excited and I'm so happy that they love school... but I must admit I get a little sad and "kid sick" when summer ends. Lauren headed to 5th grade, Kenzi to 3rd and Cameron to preschool. They all did great and Cameron even jumped right out of the car and didn't look back!

Happy Birthday Kenz!

Kenzi just celebrated her big 9! I can't believe it has been 9 years since the 10 pound baby came into our lives. Nine years later her 24-7 singing, creativity and sweet and tender heart keep our lives hopping! We love you Kenzi!!

Kylie, Kjerstin and Lauren.. s'mores and hotdogs Yum!!!

Friends, food and fun... what more could a girl want?!

Dave's tire swing is a hit with everyone!

The girls watched Ella Enchanted in the backyard -- Kenzi's favorite yearly summer activity!

Breakfast in bed... and no jobs! Kenzi loves her birthday!

Our good friend Karen.

Grandpa and Kenzi

What would we do without the Becksteads?!

Kelli and Kerri took Lauren, Kenzi and Cameron out for icecream to celebrate all of their birthdays -- thanks Kelli and Kerri you are awesome cousins!!!

Brother Tangren... best Home Teacher ever!!

Where did the summer go?

Ok... so I'm two weeks into September and can't figure out what happened to summer. We had a great time and loved the swimming, BBQ, cabin, soccer, visitors and fun! Just a few pictures of some of our end of the summer Lagoon, parades and more...

Cameron at Handcart Days

Handcart Days with Steenbliks

One Voice in the Handcart Days Parade

24th of July cul-de-sac fireworks

Firework Fun

Cabin weekend with Koffords on Lauren's soccer team this year.

Savannah and Lauren and the cabin deck sleepover!

Lauren's soccer team at Park City Extreme.

Lagoon with Spencers

Kenzi and Lauren at Lagoon.

Yukie, Wakana and all of our new Friends!! What a great end to the summer!

Ok... so I'm exhausted... went to bed at 1:45 am and got up at 3:30 to take our Yukie and Wakana to their drop off to the airport, but I just had to do a quick post. What a wonderful experience this has been.

Some of our highlights:

• The Hiroshima Peace Festival Concert


• The Bees Game and Picnic -- so much fun watching these girls in a bouncy house and inflatable slide.


• Closing Concert -- how cool was it watching 3 completely different styles of Japanese choirs, a Kenyan choir, an Indian dancing group, a Japanese marching band and orchestra, Japanese modern and traditional dance groups ... what a great night. And to top it off, watching all 300 + kids singing and playing together on stage... it didn't matter the language, the skin color or age. (I could just image a little glimpse of heaven as I watched it.)


• Late nights (every night not to be until at least 1:00 am) playing volleyball, learning to do origami, trying to explain how to turn on a shower, dancing to the Flower Song or Japanese Regaae.


• Eating a traditional Japanese breakfast of noodle, sauce, Miso Soup (kelp). It was actually really good and so much fun watching them cook and having fun watching us enjoy it!


• Watching and listening in amazement as I learned about the Kenyan orphanage and the mud huts they live in... and yet seeing their faith in God and love for life!


• The friendships!!!!

I'm amazed that in just 7 days (and that is with the girls gone 7:30 am - 10:00 pm on a couple of days) we could grow to love and get to know these two sweet girls so much... and we really can't understand a word we are saying to each other. When we dropped them off at the bus this morning and said goodbye Yukie just starting crying and crying. It is hard when you know you will likely never seen a person again... and yet somehow in such a short period of time they have touched your heart forever!

In Harmony Music Festival -- Hiroshima Peace Concert

Yukie and Wakana
After the Concert
Kaylee and Cam with their Candles

Tonight our family experienced a once-in-a-lifetime event. As part of the In Harmony Music Festival the girls choir is involved in (more about that on another post) we participated in a Peace Concert to commemorate the Hiroshima bombing. The mayor of Hiroshima was there and spoke. As he told some stories from that day and subsequent years a little boy behind us said "Did this really happen?" After he spoke 4 choirs sang -- two from Japan, the Singing Children of Africa (Kenyan orphanage choir) and our choir One Voice Children. What an incredible group of talented kids.

They were all great, but the Kenyan kids totally blew me away. They had brightly colored outfits and literally "rocked the house." They danced and sang and were just amazing! I couldn't help but notice how up beat and positive and joyful they were, and yet the circumstances in their country and lives and definitely the most challenging of all of the groups there. They are so full of life, smiles, hugs and talents.

After the concert everyone went out to the outdoor amphitheatre for a candlelight vigil. (Rocky Anderson was there... but I participated anyway.) The girls choir sang as everyone held their candles and I got to hear Kenzi sing one of my favorite solos she does.

I looked around and saw kids from all over the world singing and laughing together.

After we took Yukie and Wakana (the girls staying with us) to Baskin Robins -- they seemed to LOVE IT!!! They oohed and aahhh'd over the temple and state capital. When we got home they had bags full of gifts for us. Fans, chopsticks, Japanese crackers and cookies, toys, placement, and on and on. They made origamis for us and they gave us the coolest paper balls. We blew them up and played volleyball in the living room for 1/2 hour -- there we were me and my girls who speak NO Japanese and these two cute girls who speak very little English.. giggling, laughing and just having a great time. I guess laughter really is a Universal language!!

I knew when we signed up to host these girls it would be a great experience, and it is living up to everything I hoped it would be for my family and hopefully for all of the kids who are here participating!

A surprise visit from the Ossola Family

A few weeks ago I got a surprise call from my great friend... Claudia (Robertson) Ossola. She and her two kids were in town for a family reuinion and the girls and I happened to be in Draper near her hotel. We met for dinner and went back to their hotel where the kids swimmed and quickly became best friends! We only got to see each other for a few hours but it was so great to see them!! My Lauren and her Lauren (who by the way big Lauren is actually named after my little Lauren... long story) are so much alike and immediately became BFFs and want to be sisters and live by each other.

I guess it just runs in the genes. Claudia and I were roommates at BYU our Jr. year and then she went on a mission to Switzerland. After we were both married and had graduated from BYU, we ended up working together at UVSC together for 5 years. We did projects together, traveled together, lived next door to one another in a townhouse with adjouning walls, excercised together, hung out on weekends with our husbands together, watched 90210 together (I'm embarrased to admit) while our husbands were off to school or church stuff... I probably spent more time with Claudia then I did with Dave! Oh the great memories we have... lots of business trips and laughing that people really listened to us 20-something year old silly girls about our jobs, trip to DC, getting lost in downtown DC and almost dying, getting lost downtown LA on a business trip during the Rodney King riots and realizing how close we could have been to dying, sharing a hotel room with 4 women, laughing with Marietta at work in order for all of us to stay sane, Tim flying us all to Colorado for the Rush Bake Sale, Calanetics, the funny aerobic woman on our workout video, pies, getting snowed in and having an all night husband/wife Anne of Green Gables party, talking, talking, talking, crying together about my moms cancer and death, miscarriage, lack of pregnancy and challenges that she has faced that I could never even imagine. Through it all Claudia has been one of the greatest friends I could ever ask for. She has such class and grace and dignity... I marvel at her ability to focus on her cute kids Lauren and John Michael and always stay positive. She moved to California and then to Colorado several years ago, but fortunately we've been able to stay in touch... sometimes more frequently than other times.

It was so great to see you Claudia! Your kids are darling... just as I knew they would be. You really are the best!!!