It's been a good run.

After 8 years of marriage Mark and I have given up, or should I say, gave in.

Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse

And New York Cheesecake

(Get your fork out of my way! Sweetie :))

Can't wait till next anniversary.

Ma and Pa Vader

AKA Mammy and Pappy Vader

I can't believe what an amazing time we had. We got lucky with 9 children, 5 girls and 4 boys. We got to share our testimony with them and they shared their testimonies with us and it so enriched us.

They kids wrote us thank you cards one day and kept saying how funny we ( I already knew this) are and how they have been laughing since they arrived.

So after we all got off the buses in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, they made us do the dreaded "Shake Down". Where Mark and I had to go through the kids stuff to make sure they didn't have anything that was not on the list of approved items to bring. Mark and I where dreading this. So Mark had to lighten the whole situation. When he was going through the first of the boys bags (Thomas') he slipped in a beanie baby stuffed octopus. He then proceeds to say at the top of his lungs, "What is this? You can't bring your stuffy on trek." to which almost everyone on trek turned to see what was going on and which President Chug got all on video. Thomas, a shy sweet kid looked at Mark in absolute horror and wanted to die. Everyone just busted out in laughter. So we named the Octopus TJ (Thomas Junior, of course). And Thomas carried him everywhere.

Thomas giving TJ a ride on his hat.

The kids took better care of TJ than they did of our adopted baby Elizabeth. Elizabeth got tied to a spoke of handcart and went for a ride. I strongly objected to the abuse but as Mark said "If it wasn't so funny I would make them take her off." Elizabeth was a little doll that we were suppose to carry around like our baby. The kids then knew they could get a rise out of me if they continued to abuse my baby. So Elizabeth got tied up , well actually hung, she had to endure so much.

Halee being so sweet to baby Elizabeth, yeah right.

So to sum up our family dynamics on Trek, I must share another little story. So on Wednesday it was our Sabbath and we had to attend all of our regular meetings ( I kept asking where Primary was being held but no one knew, bummer!) So I went to the Society of Relief, I think its also called Relief Society. The Stake young Womens Presidency spoke to us about strengthen our families. My dear friend Carol Watson was teaching about how we could each influence our families in a positive ways. She then said "We can not be a smart aleck." WHAT? I leaned over to my girls and whispered "I don't agree with that." To which one of my girls said "We wouldn't have anything to say in our family." Okay so Mark and I's sarcasm might have worn off a little bit on the kids, woops. Our kids left a lot funnier than when they arrived, at least a lot more sarcastic.

So one of the girls kept asking me wether or not Mark was being serious when he said something sarcastic. I told her that I've know the guy for ten years and still can't tell, so good luck. We had a blast with the kids and I think they had fun too.

Shrek

I take back everything I said about emotional teenagers. I fell in love with 9 of the sweetest kids in the world. What a blast. I am sunburned and exhausted so I off to my comfy warm, ant and bug free bed (my bed for the last 3 days consisted of dirt and lots of ants) but, had to share some pictures.

The nectar of the Gods, Shrek and the Tour.

Okay, so I have decided to stop drinking soda,( Tammy Trainor calls in the Nectar of the Gods and I agree) so I have tried to quit but, it hasn't worked. I have dramatically cut down, instead of my normal daily 32 to 44 ounces of Diet Dr. Pepper I have cut down to less than a can a day. Impressive, I know. I tell Mark that I have quit and he says " Its easy you do it every day." He is not very supportive helping me overcoming my addiction.

Shrek is a few days away. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe, I said yes to wandering around the desert with emotional teenagers for four days. Up until about a week ago, I was secretly wishing that I would break my ankle. I'll be fine, so if you have read previous posts about my Marky, you know he can do anything and come out just fine. So I am just going to follow his lead.

Oh funny thing, Kris Romeril summed it up the best when he said "Mark is the most insane person I know." (running a marathon with the flu and such adventures) . I add this about Mark, he is like uber smart, maybe bordering on brilliance. So I now call Mark, insanely brilliant it fits perfect.

So don't tell Mark but, I have a secret crush on Lance Armstrong. Mark and I started to watch the Tour de France when we were first married and every July we reconnect our cable to spend countless hours watch grown men in very tight clothing, beat the hell out of their body. Its like they run a marathon everyday for 3 weeks, talk about insane.

Someone once said watching the Tour was like watching paint dry, but for some reason Mark and I are fascinated to death about it. However, I just realized that we will miss the final week, so nobody spill the beans and tell me anything, I want watch it when I get home.

Wish me and Lance luck.

It's three a.m. and I wanna to go to bed..

O.A.R

So anyway, its not quite 3 am but, I just love that song. (which at the moment I cannot find anywhere on my computer). How much do you love the band O.A.R.?

I can't sleep. I ran a 5k this morning at 7 am and got home and took a 3 hour nap, what's up with that? I am paying for my laziness now. I'm hoping to sneak off in Primary and find a quiet corner for a nap in the morning (sunday school or relief society rooms? actually I hear elders quorum is very nap-friendly.)

My girls ran their first race and did great -or atleast that's what Mark tells me-they ran the Herriman 1 mile Fun Run.

Anyway I have to complain about the race I ran. The route was terrible. The first half of it was down hill, I was feeling wonderful. Then at the mile and half turnaround the pain began. Who designs a course where the second half is uphill? Herriman City does, Jerks. (I am really just mad at myself for my lack of improvement running, I keep getting slower not faster).

Anyway, Emma had her birthday a couple of weeks ago, I can't believe my baby is 6. We had a huge bash, it was a blast. Big thanks to Marianne and her suburban, you are an awesome taxi driver, love ya.

Anna is back in summer school and loves it. She was suppose to be asleep the other night but, she had to show us the cool rainbow.

Addie is the cutest thing ever, but boy can she turn on the waterworks if you tell her "No"

So all you late night bloggers, this is ridiculous, this post has almost taken a hour. I have had to retype ever word a few times. I guess my brain is toast so I am going to try to sleep now. OUT!

My Girls

I am a pretty lucky mom.

Tooth Fairy and My Boy Scout.

My girls are so funny.

Anna went on a Scout camp with Mark a couple weeks ago and came home with a little crush, Jefferson Beals. I guess she followed him around most of the weekend, they went lizard hunting and just palled around. So last weekend the family went to the Ward camp out and the entire way up the canyon, Anna and Emma kept asking if Jefferson was going to be there. When we showed up they found Jefferson right away and began following him around like a puppy dogs. After the Scout camp out and before the Ward camp out Anna would talk about Jefferson a lot, she even asked how to spell his name so she could doodle it on a paper at church. I asked her friday afternoon before the ward camp out "Is Jefferson your boy friend?" She smiled and said, " No, he's my Boy Scout."

(By the way Anna acts like she is just one of the Scouts, on Wednesday nights when the Scouts come over she grabs her pink little Scout Book and follows the Scouts wherever they go.)

Also my little Shark Bite (hoo haha) lost her first tooth. Yeah Emma.