Mike & Keri...mostly Remi

Summer Party

2011-11-27T19:26:00.001-07:00

Decided to do another BBQ party this year and it was really fun! Every time I do this (ha ha twice) I think oh my gosh this is so much work! but once the party starts that all melts away - I love seeing the kids happy and enjoying what there is to play with, I love watching people enjoy the food (since I stress and change the menu a million times) and I always realize what amazing friends we have and how much I love each one of them (aww tear) Here are some of the highlights.

I wish I had captured one of the times Fresh fell trying to get up this slide - very entertaining! I also love that he started the trend of adults going down the slide.

Once the party was over and most of the people had left I realized I hadn't been down the slide yet - oh no! We had a fun little "after party"

I hope we can do this again next year and we missed all of you that couldn't make it!

2nd Annual Pig Roast

2011-11-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

This is an event that I look forward to. Yes it is only the 2nd one, but they have both been so great and I have no doubt they will continue that way. In fact from now on I would like my 24th of July to be Deseret News 10K and this pig roast - what else does a person need?!?!?!

There was a roasted pig again (and yes perfectly delicious after cooking ALL DAY - yum!) a live band, good food and great friends. I even got to spend part of my evening with some real cowboys - they were so awesome and I could have talked to them all night long (sad, no picture!)

Mike helped cut up the meat this year and I realized we must not have very good knives because with these very nice, very sharp ones he cut right through his finger - oops!

At one point I was listening to the music and I heard Holly say "Keri get over here!" and I turned around to see this

This is Hollys neighbor and her pet (?????) snake. I tried to ask Mike what he thought of this craziness, but he was long gone - no snakes for him!!

me, Crystal and Holly. Most of my favorite moments are with these great ladies.

Mike danced again - is this going to be part of the tradition?????

We have an awesome view of the fireworks show they do over the lake to top off the evening. Great party (as usual) and can't wait for the next one!

My favorite Race

2011-11-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Deseret News 10K - Awesome!! I did this race last year (my first official 10K race) and fell in love. The course is really nice, there are tons of people (if you are the kind of runner that maybe sometimes gets lost......) and the last 2 miles (I think) are along the parade route so it is an extra boost of motivation and really makes you feel like "yeah thats right, I am doing this!"
This year I signed up with a bunch of people that are on the Ragnar team. (coming in October!) It really made me laugh when me, Lisa and Dave were walking together to the start line and April turned to Brent and said "those 3 will make up 90% of the volume in our Ragnar van" HA! (and pretty accurate...)
The starting line always makes me laugh because you have so many different kinds of people. There are the runners that need to "warm up" by running a few miles before they start (this will never make sense to me) the runners that are VERY nervous (and probably first time racers, I know, I've been there) the majority of people are sitting around talking waiting for everything to start (this is me and my friends typically) but I swear EVERY race I have ever done there is someone in typical street clothes. I am talking jeans and a regular shirt, umm what??? why? They have a bib number, they signed up, what the what???
We were finally ready to start and the large group of people were making their way through the starting gate. The "announcer" kept saying "please be careful, the mat has been flipped up, proceed with caution" and he would say it over and over. I kept thinking - great! I am going to fall because that is what I do. As we approached I was so focused on my feet that it wasn't until I was clear of the mat that I realized someone had fallen - I turned to make sure they were OK and saw that it was Lisa! April and I turned around to check on her - there was blood coming from her knees and it looked pretty painful. We went over to the side where she was sitting and she looked at us like we were crazy - go! she said, you're wasting time! Oh Lisa, you kill me! There wasn't anything we could do to help so we started our race.
My goal was to finish in under and hour which I did (just barely, but I'll take it) and like I said this is the best race every - I will do it EVERY year. If you have ever wanted to do a 10K this is a great one!
When I crossed the finish line I found Dave and then we found April. We were all wondering where Lisa was and how she was doing. We found her sitting with her parents, but she was red faced and sweaty - did she run??? She told us that she was sitting there and said to herself "this is dumb, I am fine and wasting time" so she got up and did the race - oh and BTW she finished before me and April!! She is AMAZING!

Here we are at the finish - (Add Angi and Matt and you have Van 1 of our Ragnar team) Everyone start training so you can do this race in 2012 with me :)

Happy Birthday Nick!

2011-11-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

"Nick what would you like to do for your birthday?" I asked. "Ummm I wanna go to Subway and sleepover at your house, wait no, I want to make sandwiches at your house and sleepover."
Really? ummm OK (I thought to myself)
We went to Wal-Mart to pick out his sandwich stuff and we went down the craft isle while he picked out some things and kept saying "don't worry, I have a plan."
Oh and by the way -- this boys needs a dog! I think he picked a sleepover just so he could play with Remi and Lincoln :)

We were sitting at the counter (eating our gourmet birthday sandwiches) and I was telling Nick that me and Keith were brother and sister just like he was with Hannah. He got a really funny look on his face and said so "Uncle Cam is my Dad's brother?" I said, "no Uncle Cam is married to your mom's sister." Nick made another funny face and then said "Oh um this is awkward." then pointed to Mike and said "uh I forgot his name." HA! I thought it was hilarious but Mikes said "Well, that's awesome."
Later Mike started looking at the crafts Nick had picked out. There were bells, sticks, glitter poof ball things, glue and paper. Mike looked at me like "what the ????"

But then Nick made us this

A Fire! I thought it was awesome. Mike was still confused.

Nick is the first kid that hasn't wanted to sleep on the air mattress in the front room. He slept in Mikes office and we gave him the ipad to watch a show on. He loved it!! I can't wait to see what he picks next year - What an entertaining kid!

Westfest

2011-11-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Decided to run the Westfest 5K this year. Dave, April and Norma were going to run it too and there was talk of "Team Hendrickson" shirts. Ummm no was all I thought, I am pretty sure they were kidding, but still.....no. Things have been going really well with running lately and working out with Jared has made me feel really strong. I was excited to see what I could push myself to. I was also excited because Clyde and Mike came to be supportive and I got a picture of me running!

My final time was 27:57 - My best ever!! not only did I FINALLY break the 30 minute mark (which has been a goal for awhile) I beat it quite nicely! It was a really great feeling and a fun race.

Pretend Parents - Part 2

2011-11-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Dave and April went to Hawaii and we got their kids for the weekend (did you know that 4 kids is a lot????) The Weeds were nice enough to suggest we all go riding and the kids were SO excited. We loaded everyone up (after some pre packaged outfit drama lol) and headed to 5 mile. We were about 1/2 way there when it started to rain and Mike looked at me like "really? this is a terrible idea" while I tried to distract the kids by playing 20 questions. (side note: playing 20 questions with Sam goes a little something like this -
me: Is it a person?
Sam: no
me: is it a place?
Sam: Do you need me to just tell you?)
We finally got to where we were going to set up camp and it looked like this -

Sam was NOT happy about the rain situation (and neither was Mike) while I was trying to think of a plan B. Dallen said "let's just set up the canopy and see if it passes" Logan was being so great about the whole thing he kept finding random blue spots in the sky and saying "look Sam, those are happy clouds!"

Finally the rain stopped and we actually got some nice weather. We got a fire going and unloaded all the machines. I loved that while I was helping Neve get used to Pearl (the Ranger) Mike came over and said "Sam is killing me, you have to hurry and take a picture" I turned around and saw this

Just chillin by the fire waiting for everyone. Such a great kid and so patient.

The kids loved the Ranger and we spent the majority of our time on that. Sam kept saying "everyone, do no hands!" We rode for awhile and then did lunch over the fire.

Lyn told us that roasted Twinkies were delicious - I had my doubts (and so did Sam) but we tried them anyway.

They were actually really good! I couldn't believe it because I don't like Twinkies, but really everyone give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Grace LOVED Neve and followed her around all day long. I also think that Neve was loving the attention because she wouldn't eat her hot dog for me, Mike or Dallen, but when Grace tried she was all over it. I love that I captured this picture - so stinkin cute!

Oh and Grace made Neve this "relaxation station" which she loved

When the day was winding down Dallen asked Logan if he wanted to ride a motorcycle - Logan got really excited and looked at me "Can I?" and I said sure not knowing how Dave and April felt about it, but thank goodness they weren't mad at me! He did so great!

I felt this same way at the end of the day, but it was beyond worth it! Thank you again to the Weeds!

Big Changes

2011-11-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

This morning I got on a plane and flew to Arizona for an interview - pretty grown up huh? Yeah, I thought so too! I was a little nervous, only because I really really wanted this job and was so excited about the new company. We went to lunch and talked about the position and what I had been doing with Amsource. They seemed interested, but it was hard to tell. We went back to the office and then Gary (my would be boss) said well, I think thats it, so I will just take you to the airport. OK I thought, but it is about 3 hours before my flight that YOU booked (not a good sign right?) when he dropped me off he said "we'll let you know" and that was it. Once I was through security, I called Mike and said "I don't think that went very well" but then Gary was calling me on the other line so I switched over. he said "I thought it was pretty mean to leave you in suspense so I am calling to offer you the job" YEAH!!! I called Mike back and told him the good news, then got on the plane to fly home. I walked in the house to balloons, friends and CONGRATULATIONS!

So cute. Mike called some people as soon as he got off the phone with me and then headed to the store. There was a balloon that started playing "celebrate good times" when you hit it and Mike said it kept going off in the parking lot which was embarrassing to him. (I love that story)

This is such a great memory and I am really excited about my new job!

Let the Races Begin!

2011-11-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Salt Lake Running Company put on a FREE 5K and thank goodness for facebook or I wouldn't have known about it! I am doing a weight loss blog thing so I posted about it and a bunch of people signed up. I love that when we got there Allie called me and said "Um there is snow on the ground, is this thing still happening?" HA! love her!

Because it was so cold, everyone went into the store to wait for the race to start - WOW there were a lot of people there. I don't mind being in a crowd, but it was actually a little much for even me.

Here are all the girls from the blog that signed up. Yes Lyn is part of the group, but they only gave shirts to the first 1,000 people that signed up - oops Lyn! get on it faster next time! (she was actually really nervous and didn't sign up because she didn't know if she wanted to do it. I was really proud of her!)

Here is me and Allie at the starting line. She thought I didn't have enough clothing on to stay warm, but I LOVE running in cold weather. I do so much better in that environment - in fact I was deciding (probably in this picture) that this was the race I was going to break the 30 minute mark!

Here is a group of us after the race (again no pictures of me running, I hate that!) I finished in 30:20 (ahhhh so close!!) but it was a good run and I love that it was a first 5K for everyone in this picture (except me) Way to go friends!

A week later I signed up to do the Susan Koman 5K with Liz. I have never done it before and when I told Liz that she made big eyes and said "well don't try to break any records or anything" I wasn't really sure what she meant.

Here we are at the beginning of the race. Geez we are so stinkin cute I can't even stand it :)

OK so this looks like a funny picture of me and Liz, but I took it to show the street lined with people behind us - WOW this was a huge event and I finally understood what Liz meant because you really couldn't run, there were just too many people!

Here is the Gateway at the end of the race - AMAZING to see it this way and I loved being a part of the event. Like the 24th of July race, I think I would like to do this every year from now on :)

Easter Tradition

2011-11-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hip Hip Horay for the 3rd Annual HenHarm egg hunt :) I really love this so much and am amazing and impressed each year at the organization and time spent by the hostesses

Early morning hiding eggs. Did you know that no matter what is happening, no matter what time it is, if you point a camera at Lisa she will stop and smile? I so love that about her.

I really do love that these ladies continue to let me be apart of this each year. I look forward to it (even though I stress about the hiding places.........) and I hope it never stops happening :) Also, as a funny side note, I was looking back through old pictures and Lisa and I have worn these same hoodies at every egg hunt! Lets keep the tradition going!

I know there are more people each year, but am still amazed by the amount of kids! there really is no way to fully capture it in a picture, but I love when the whistle blow and the kids run off - so great!

You may not recognize this man, but it is my husband Mike. Early morning, cold weather, lots of kids and a holiday - not his favorite things. (every party has a pooper thats why we invite him........) Seriously though I was really glad he came and even though he won't admit it, he is glad too!

Pretty sure it helped that these guys were there too!

I was also glad that Keith and Allie braved the cold weather and were able to come again this year. Here are the kids showing off their loot.
SO FUN! Thanks HenHarm for keeping this thing going, you're the best!!

Pretend Parents

2011-11-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Mike and I got to watch Keith and Allies kids while they went on a cruise. Always an adventure and I love it :) Here are some highlights from our time as "parents."

Here is Mike teaching everyone a new game before we went over to his parents house for a Valentines Day party.

Oh and playing around with Jack (who loved Mike!) Pretty sure they did this for awhile and Mike said it made him feel like an old man :)

LOTS OF KIDS! Made me laugh to see the Hendrickon Nigbur kids combined at this table, but everyone got along really well and they made some fabulous cookies.

See what I mean? Nick wants everyone to see how good his cookie turned out!

This totally cracked me up. Nick is playing an app on Aprils phone where you make cookies by stirring with your fingers, etc. rather then frosting real cookies with the other kids. I love technology :)
April was such a huge help to me during this time! She was entertaining Nick and see that drink and cookie in her hands? Those were Jacks, he would walk up to her, get what he needed and walk off. too funny, but really I wouldn't have made it through the party without her!

Remeber me?

2011-10-18T11:33:00.000-06:00

My last post was February 10 of this year? That makes me sick - more then 8 months ago? LAME! I leave for Ragnar in 2 days but (hand over my heart) promise to get this sucka updated when I return.

(yes I feel better now that I have posted this.)

Our Adventures with Hannah

2011-02-10T17:36:00.003-07:00

For Hannahs birthday activity she picked a sleepover. Allie informed us that it was her first REAL sleepover......whoa I was feeling the pressure but took a deep breath and prepared! Besides I knew just what to do, go to the store and let her pick out her own treats - right? She picked Mt Dew for her drink and this is how that went
me: "ummm do your parents let you drink that?"
hannah: "yeah my dad let us when my mom was in St George"
it was good enough for me so it went into the cart. she was happy. score one for Mike and Keri

She wanted to make pizza for dinner. Lucky for us Mike used to work at the pizza stop so we were ready for this one too! Mike was the best teacher ever.

Step one: Sauce (stick your tongue out for concentration if you choose)
Step two was toppings, cheese and a few more toppings, but I was having too much fun to take a picture :)

Step three: Pose by your "ready to bake" pizzas
Step four: check for bubbles in dough and general yumminess
Step five: Pose by your final product - looks good guys!!
Step six: ENJOY and for me, just compliment my amazing chefs!
Hannah said it was the best pizza she ever ate. She picked her toppings at the store - pepperoni, green pepper, mushroom and pineapple.
We made our beds in the front room and prepared to watch the princess and the frog, but something was wrong with ours (awww man - minus one point) but we quickly rebounded and started Enchanted instead. Movie snacks were picked out at the store (I am telling you that was the magic choice) and the bedtime story was "Silverlicious" (yeah we got that at the store too!)

Remi made a new friend. Lincoln did not. Lincoln was crazy and out of control as usual so Remi got Hannah all to himself and she loved it! He kept getting on her bed, but she didn't seem to mind (once she realized he was the old calm one) She bought this unicorn with her very own money so "Pinky" got to come sleepover too. Hannah really wanted to show her to Remi, but was nervous about him getting to close. This was her solution. And to answer Keiths question - yes, pinky still has her innocence.

We had so much fun Hannah! Thank you for coming and I hope your first real sleepover is a happy memory!

Mikes Birthday

2011-02-08T18:51:00.002-07:00

Mike turned 33 on January 13th - Old Man! I am actually completely kidding about that, but he thinks he is crazy old so it is funny. I got him a Baskin Robins ice cream cake which doesn't actually have any cake (like a hay ride without hay....) but was still great. Look at his cute birthday picture

I told him to get closer to the cake - awesome picture! He makes me smile everyday. So glad this fantastic guy is my husband!
Here he is with the neighbors
Lyn, Mike and Brandi all have birthdays in January so we decided to go to Wendover and celebrate

Look at the earlier picture - see how Andrew has on a shirt and tie? During the night he started taking his shirt off (whoa! we all thought) and he revealed this special happy birthday shirt he had made - so great! We had a blast :)

Here we go Again

2011-01-09T10:11:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago Mike and noticed a small circle bump thing on Remi's leg - we thought maybe Lincoln had been playing a little too hard, but it never healed. I took Remi to the vet to get it checked out and the doctor said "it's a tumor. We can remove it and he should be fine." Of course this all made me think of his eye and I said "you need to remove his leg???" I realize now that the doctor was trying to hold in a laugh, but replied "no, I think we will just remove the tumor" and I felt like an idiot.

His surgery was yesterday and he did great. We will have the pathology results in about a week and will know more at that point. Lincoln won't leave him alone (as usual) and he is pretty slow and groggy from his medicine, but still good ol Remi.

I didn't grow up with pets and everyone knows that Remi came to me through Mike. I wasn't sure I wanted him and was terrified of his size and destructiveness. Over the years (as many people know) he has more then grown on me and I am a full on "dog person" now. I appreciate that Remi has made me realize just how much dogs become a part of your family.

Thank you everyone for checking on him and yes Mike is happy that his bandage is blue!

Our Holiday Season

2011-01-05T18:18:00.004-07:00

As usual I am late on my holiday post but at least it is before my 32nd birthday (thank you April!) Here is a little recap of our holiday season....
Oh the snow! I was getting excited about a late and light winter but then the storms came and came and came some more. This picture of the boys makes me laugh because Stink loves the snow (and as you can see there is plenty) and Remi prefers the nice warm house.

The Weeds invited me to the Festival of Trees which was awesome because I haven't been for years! It was fun but......
I didn't realize we were there on the last Saturday you could go - Yikes! Why don't I just go hang out at Costco (I thought to myself!) I also thought we needed some people directing traffic but I always feel that way in crowded isles, it ended up being really fun though.

Lyn and I decided to throw a neighborhood Christmas Party. It turned out just the way we wanted it and it made me feel very grown up :) Hopefully it will become a tradition!
Most of the men at the party - oops I forgot to do a "girls" picture

I wanted a picture of the "Marwari 6" and the party was pretty loud so I thought it would be a good time to take it. Holy photo shoot! As soon as we grouped up everyone stopped talking and looked at us - hilarious and awkward, but a good memory.

We did a white elephant exchange and mike got a knit U scarf, I love his fake smile in this picture

My favorite of the gifts. A fish mobile with a piranha in the middle! Extra funny since Nicole is pregnant, we think it should go in the nursery for sure!

Thank you Hendricksons for introducing me to the candy bar game - I wasn't really sure how else to entertain this many kids, but it went really well.

This picture of me and Mike (and Chris) turned out kinda cute I thought! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I got older

2010-11-28T18:18:00.004-07:00

I turned 31!! Kinda crazy to me but in a good way. Mike and I decided to throw a party at our house with football, food and fun :) I am so thankful for everyone that came and helped make my birthday happy and memorable. Also HUGE thanks to Ashley for bringing the cake because it was delicious!
I picked this picture because I think the face I am making looks exactly like my nephew Nick and that cracks me up.
This picture turned out so cute! I am bummed that I didn't take more pictures with all my guests though
Soooooo Matt decided that he needed to work in the basement while he was at the house. Is that funny to anyone besides me?

The main TV had Xbox on it, and Mikes upstairs TV had football. These girls found a way to watch Toy Story 3 and I am glad I captured it :)

Later that night after the party had been cleaned up, Mike and Andrew made me a birthday dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese. It was really good!

I am also really grateful and feel incredibly lucky that Mike and I have made such great connections with our neighbors :) They stayed and ate my gourmet dinner with me.

This is probably one of my favorite birthdays so far - Thank you Everyone!!

Motorcycles?

2010-11-28T17:58:00.005-07:00

The Saturday before my birthday our neighbors asked us if we wanted to go riding with them. Mike and I both thought it sounded fun, but had no experience doing anything like this so I didn't know what to expect.

We got bundled up and headed to Dell (a bit before Wendover) for a day of hills and dirt! Shane and Dallen were on their motorcycles and Lyn took me and Mike for a ride in the Ranger - SO FUN. It was muddy and I didn't care at all cause I was having a blast. Then Mike got to drive - I swear I was trying to hold the camera steady!

I had to include this picture of Mikes boot because I could not believe that it started to fall apart just like my brothers! I told Mike it was a good thing we weren't hiking!

This picture of Lyn cracks me up - doesn't she look like she is abandoned or something? HA

Awww what a fun group (and thank you Shane for taking the picture)

Mike wanted to try Dallens motorcycle, but it was too big!
There - that's better :)

I decided to try for the first time in my life (yes I was a little scared.) It was AMAZING - I told Mike that I kinda want to buy one now! What a free feeling to go that fast and be in total control of every move you make - Awesome. I didn't ride for very long because I didn't have a helmet (safety first) but I can't wait to do it again! (darn you Winter!)

Halloween Extravaganza!

2010-11-28T16:29:00.003-07:00

I am not anti-Halloween, but I am not really into it. A girl I used to work with was crazy over Halloween and would spend a lot of time and money on her costume. Never made sense to me, but whatever. And then the Halloween of 2010 hit me and I needed 3 costumes! I didn't think it would be a big deal, but spent plenty of time and money myself this year - turned out it was pretty fun! I like that I have a storage bin marked "Halloween" now and I also have a lot of fun memories - first up, Witchapalooza (thank you Aimee)

I love this picture of all our legs :) Below is all of us with the main actors from the dinner theater we watched. Pretty Entertaining actually and I had a great time. (I also found it funny how many people asked us to take pictures with their kids!)

Next up was Dave and Aprils Murder Mystery Dinner. The character I was assigned was "Slimey Green" a swamp monster that likes to rap about current events. Hmmmmmm what should I wear for this.........

I don't think I hit the mark on this one because no one knew who I was (but Neve recognized me right away which was a bit alarming!)

Last Event was our Neighborhood Halloween Party. Come as whatever you want. Decisions Decisions........
The Vampire Hosts - Andrew and Brandi (or Brandrew as we call them)
Their awesome chalkboard wall in the garage - did you know there is chalkboard paint? I didn't! It is so cool!

Mike wanted to be a cowboy (shocking right?) so we decided he would be an outlaw and I would be a saloon girl. Super fun night with a lot of memories and inside jokes. Guess I am a Halloween person now!

Lake Powell

2010-11-28T15:51:00.004-07:00

Mike is always telling me how much he loves Lake Powell in October. I didn't totally get it until this year - we headed down with Dave and April and WOW. I think I will only go in October from now on! The weather was perfect and even though it was UEA the water wasn't too insane with boats (launching at 6:30 AM probably helped!)

The kids all loved Mikes boat, probably because it is different then what they are used to, but I thought it was adorable.

Mike helped them all fish and we almost had 100% success. Sorry Sam - we'll get one next time!

I always think it is funny that early in the morning, speeding across the water is FREEZING, but a few hours later it is warm and you are getting sunburned. Don't I look cute in my early morning gear?

I had a great time on this trip (minus some huge scary spiders) and as a bonus Mike and I finally read the Hunger Games. Who wants to go next year?

2nd Annual Black Island Farms

2010-11-28T15:35:00.004-07:00

Last year we discovered Black Island Farms and had such a good time that we decided to do it again - Here is a picture of the kids from 2009

Here is 2010 - with a few more kids :)

Neve hated this is 2009 and 2010 - Maybe 2011 will be the year she will enjoy it?
Everyone had a blast in the corn this year. Wow that stuff gets everywhere, but I see the appeal (I think)
Sam helping to cover faces - I could have watched this all day.

An artistic shot of the kids, and then we figured - why not us?

Lost in the corn maze - again! Why don't we just go back to the start? (Sam wondered)

OK Seriously, can I go down this slide and get a normal picture? GUESS NOT

I ran a Marathon..........

2010-11-28T15:02:00.003-07:00

Well.....I ran a marathon with 5 other people, but I still think it counts :) I found out about this Marathon Relay at the 10K I ran. I thought it sounded fun and it turned out lots of other people thought so too! We ended up with 2 teams and each person ran 5.2 miles.

Here is team "devil Inside" Bright and early - Ready to go!
Team "Running to Stand Still" Does it look a lot brighter then the other picture? Yeah some of our team were stragglers (hee hee just kidding)

Mike and April were both the 3rd runners in the relay, I love this picture!
Awwwww! A partial Ragnar Reunion, How tender precious is that?
During part of the race the runners ran by the grassy area where everyone was hanging out waiting, our team started to do butt slaps, but still - I didn't expect this! HA!
Here I am finishing - most other teams were done, but I wasn't the last! Our team goal was to finish before the awards ceremony started and as I rounded the corner the man was at the microphone about to start........go Keri go Keri, I made it! Whew!

What an awesome picture of everyone that ran on our 2 teams - Keith, Chris, Jeremiah, Brent, Mike, Lisa, April, Karen, me and Kate. This race was really fun and I would do it again in a second. Fun memories and a great day :)

Lagoon

2010-11-28T12:47:00.005-07:00

I have so many memories of Lagoon from my "younger days" but haven't been there for-ev-er. (awwww Sandlot) Keith and Allie were nice enough to invite me along and we had such a fun day!
Here I am getting ready to go on the white roller coaster with Hannah - our first ride of the day. In my opinion this is by far the scariest ride at Lagoon because you are actually cheating death - I seriously don't understand how this ride is still operating. One day the ride is going to fly off the tracks or all the wood will crumble and I will not be surprised because this ride is SCARY.

We rode the Tidal Wave more then any other ride. Poor Nicholas is a complete dare devil but barely too short for most of the rides. He loved this one, he would tell us to put our hands up and when it was over he would say "I got a weird feeling in my stomach!"

I thought it was funny that I had never been on Rattlesnake Rapids before - everyone said "you don't get that wet" and I was watching people as they came off, didn't look too bad..........
Whoa! We got SOAKED. My camera and phone were in my pocket and I was worried, but everything was all good (except for some frizzy hair)

Quick stop at Pioneer Village photo shop - I think this is a must for a Lagoon visit (along with the grilled corn on the cob)

Here I am pretty much forcing Hannah to go on the screamer. She didn't want to ride the Fire Dragon because she didn't want to go upside down. I talker her into this one and didn't tell her we were going upside down until it was over - she said "we did???" and then she headed over to the Fire Dragon, and Loved it!

I also think a churro is a MUST at an amusement park (Allie feels this way about Caramel Apples) What a great way to end the day!

Birthday Bowling

2010-08-22T10:26:00.003-06:00

Mike and I decided awhile ago that it would be fun to take nieces and nephews out for their birthdays instead of buying them a toy. We started it about a year ago, but it was too hard to make it work with the Vegas kids....until now! Keith and Allie moved back right after Nicks birthday and we were so excited to start this tradition with their kids :)

We told him to pick somewhere for dinner and an activity. (I love what the kids come up with every year because they all get excited about different things)

Nick picked McDonalds and Bowling

The next 2 pictures are the pure joy that a strike can bring!

The other thing that always makes me laugh is how much kids love cameras. I know that Nick had fun with us, but playing with my camera may have been his favorite part of the night! I also love the pictures we get as a result.

He handed me the camera and said "let me make a funny face too!"

These are the real "everyone trying" scores. Yes, my 4 year old nephew beat me.

Every game we played Nick wanted to play it with Mike and I thought that was adorable. I also love the concentration it takes to play skee ball :) We had a lot of fun with Nick and can't wait to do it again!

Catch Up Post

2010-08-18T19:03:00.003-06:00

I was going to do a great big long post of everything we have been up to since the 4th of July (which surprisingly has been a lot) but it overwhelmed me so I am going to a couple posts over the next few days. My blog overwhelmed me - did anyone laugh when they read that? I find it a little hilarious like "oh whoa is me, I don't have time to post on my blog" HA HA HA

My good friend Ashley is pregnant with her 1st child and she is having a girl. I found this really cute pattern and made a quilt for her shower. My friend Cindy (that taught me to quilt) told me she wished she had more of a history of all the blankets she had made, so I am putting pictures here. Also exciting is that I did the quilting on this - my first time!

On July 24th I ran the Deseret News 10K and LOVED IT! I know that sounds crazy but the course was really fun and I ran the entire time (which is a big deal for me). During part of the race you get to run by all the people waiting for the Days of 47 parade, that was pretty awesome.

Thank you Kate's sister in law for having a camera! I never have mine because who wants to run with their camera - seriously, do people do that?

After the race I got cleaned up so Mike and I could head up to Heber for the big party with the Jones. We got there and there was a pig roasting! A first for me, I was quite fascinated and YUM :)

I started talking with a girl I had never met before (and sadly do not remember her name) but she needed to run off with her toddler so I volunteered to hold her baby. He was very cuddly and adorable!
These girls wanted to do Karaoke and wanted an "adult" to do it with them - I qualify for that right? This was "who let the dogs out" are you enjoying the "who, who, who" of this picture?
Why do all our pictures turn out like this? oh yeah, because we are not classically good looking...

It was a really fun party and look! Mike was dancing!

My favorite kind of Day

2010-07-08T16:58:00.005-06:00

I love the fourth of July because it is all about hanging out with friends killing time until it gets dark. It sounds weird, but it might be one of my favorite holidays :) This year was tons of fun with some of my favorite people.

Trying to find the guy that comes out of the firework. I took a bunch of these pictures and April is in this position in all of them - I love it!

These guys are not "pose for pictures" kind of guys so I love this. Dave has pink eye so we will forgive the closed eye picture.

Here is Matt demonstrating why we don't throw snaps at people kids! it popped on his shirt and left a black mark. Don't tell the young ones, but we all thought it was hilarious
One of my favorite things to do with snaps was drop them down the sewer - this picture makes my heart smile.
We played toss water balloons with towels (does this game even have a name?) I was telling someone at work about it and she had never played, I said "really?" she looked at me like I was crazy and said "yeah we just threw them at each other" I thought a fight would break out, but I guess the kids liked the game because we used 85 balloons playing.

Team Dave and Sam were a force. Then the kids decided the adults should play against each other. They had some awesome technique - check it out!

This game would not have happened without Aprils hard work filling balloons and Angi's special water balloon filler - Here is April demonstrating the possible multiple uses

So glad we remembered to take a picture - Thanks Angi! Then it was time for the show......

April and Matt are some daring firework starters. It is impossible to capture in a picture, but they were mighty close to a lot of flames - good show guys!

We bought these "rockets" that you were supposed to put into the grass. Turns out they were just fountains, but on a long stick. Matt decided to make it an adult sparkler and created quite a finale for our 4th of July. Thanks everyone for the fun time :)

I am on Team.........

2010-07-03T09:52:00.004-06:00

Yeah for Girls Night Out!! We went to see Eclipse, which is not my favorite, but what a fun night (and a highly entertaining movie!)
We started with dinner at Zupas - this restaurant is a new discovery for me and I wish I had known about it sooner, YUM. Just ask Lisa, I am pretty sure she liked it too :) Then we were off to the theater. We got to see the movie as part of the Cents of Style screening (I put a link to their blog here in case we make it on, cross your fingers!)

I find it funny that a lot of people were taking these types of pictures in absolutely pure excitement. Angi and I wanted to join the fun and look like older women obsessed with these tweens.

April decided Team Bella is the only way to go.

We were then off to Red Mango, another first for me. Way to go Angi - loved it! We were off the wall crazy while here and I had a blast! I think everyone around us thought we were drunk, but who cares?

OK so April thinks that Angi looks like Dakota Fanning - you be the judge.

I think she may be onto something......... We made a super scary drive home through West Valley looking for a house with a gate, but no fence. Yes you read that correctly and I will hopefully be getting a picture to share with you soon.

We topped the evening off with a scary moment from Dave (sorry Aprils neighbors). I never care about going to bed late when I get to spend time with these girls - love ya!

Just keep running, running, running.....

2010-06-27T13:14:00.003-06:00

You have to think of Nemo to get the tune of my title (which I stole from the Gibbs sisters, thank you ladies!)

Saturday was the WestFest 5K which I decided to run with the girls at the last minute (see my high 'late register' number?) Running is a funny, awful, wonderful, strange thing to me. When I was training for Ragnar I kind of started thinking "OK I guess I am a runner now" not realizing that to actually be a "runner" you have to be SUPER consistent with it. Time for me to get back into the "training" side of things based on my time on Saturday. The other problem is that why do we all focus so much on our time? Before all this I couldn't even run a mile (not even close) so why can't I celebrate being part of a 5K? Running in a race that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing a year ago! The mind games associated with running make me crazy but I appreciate that they push me to do more. I signed up for a 10K on the 24th and need to get going!

The best part of Saturday was being there with so many friends. I finished last out of everyone, but I am trying not to focus on that (see above). We are a wild crowd and I wouldn't want it any other way. I am pretty sure that everyone wanted to be part of our fun :) Great job to all the ladies that got ribbons and thank you for keeping me motivated! Hope we all do more races together!

Exciting Week!

2010-06-20T16:58:00.005-06:00

It has been an exciting week (well extended week) at the Hendrickson house :) June 10th Lincoln (or "stink" which was born from the stink of Link) turned 1! I can not believe we have had him for a year and even more shocking is his 60 lb weight! Yes he is a puppy and is still learning, but is getting much better. Mike says he wants to give him away much less these days.

Here is a picture from when we first brought him home and he was scared of everything, especially the stairs. I still think he could compete for cutest puppy EVER.

I was kinda bummed about the frosting, but want to hear something amazing? Lincoln didn't even care - what a trooper.

I am a cheesy crazy dog mom and figured he had to have a birthday hat for his 1st birthday. Well as usual he thought it was food or a toy and tried to eat it. Best picture we got :) Mike kept giving me the "are you kidding me?" look and I must say I deserved it

I also got to go to Allies families cabin the next day. I had so much fun and feel very lucky that they invited me :) It was rainy, but the only bad thing that came out of that was I didn't take out my camera - I played with the kids on swings, made beaded necklaces, got on a swing with Nick (PS has anyone else done that as an adult? my behind was WAY too big and it was a little painful), ate a yummy campfire hot dog dinner (with smores made with Reeses, a first for me - a nice change!) and said my good-byes. I look forward to going again :) Thank you to the Peck family!

The Annual Jones BBQ and fishing tournament was the next day. Always a good time, but too long between get togethers I think.... something to consider. Anyway....

Here are the boys - missing a few, but it always changes from year to year. With Mikes short (almost non existent) hair his head was cold. Holly let him wear this hat and he was in heaven. Anyone know where I can get one? He really wants one for fishing!

The wives - Always my favorite and most memorable part of our get together.

My friend Kate ran the Wasatch Back this last weekend. I asked her if I could come run her 3rd (and last) leg with her. She was nice enough to say yes and this was what I looked at while waiting for her. Once again I would like say that Ragnar is AWESOME and I think everyone should do one. Anyway this is the only picture I took, but thank you again Kate and GREAT JOB - her last run was a challenge and she did a great job.

TOY STORY 3!!!! How can you not be excited for this?? (as I keep asking Mike)

Dave and April were nice enough to let me tag along with their family and it was SO GOOD. Anyone that wants / needs to see it is welcome (and encouraged) to call me. I loved it and at times felt like I was the only person laughing (I got a few looks from Ella......) At the beginning (no I am not ruining anything) there is a little montage of "home video" of Andy growing up and playing with his toys. Pixar does such a great job of making you remember what it feels like to big a little kid and only have your imagination in front of you. Plus there were a lot of "old school" toys that really took me back. I feel bad for all the toys I have ever broken or thrown away. As always - Great job Pixar, I love you!

I sure do love this little girl. I love all of Dave and Aprils kids, but this felt like a "me and Ella" kind of day. She kept wanting to hold my hand - even in "non hand holding" situations and it just made me smile. She has the biggest heart and I love when she wants to sit by me or tell me secrets. What a great week! I feel very lucky to be surrounded with amazing friends and family.

Soccer Saturday

2010-05-24T21:17:00.004-06:00

Mike and I finally went to one of Logan's soccer games! (Good thing too cause it was the last one of the season!) I was a little worried that Mother Nature was going to take over, but we made it through with flying colors.

Neve wanted to run around, but I made her snuggle with me for a little while :)

Sam wanted April to count his time to the tree and back. I really should have shot a video because he might be the cutest runner I have ever seen!

Do you watch Parks and Recreation? This is Mike's impression of Tom Haverford (??) pretty good I think and tell him he looks tall in this picture.....it will make him very happy.

Mike and Sam battling it out - close game!

Logan is a champ! He played really well and their team won. He played goalie the 2nd half and stopped everything - Nice! I LOVED sitting on the sidelines cheering with the other parents and listening to Mike say things like "get it out of there" and "there you go" he was so into it! I think Soccer Saturday is really fun way to spend the afternoon :)

My best friend

2010-05-12T17:08:00.005-06:00

My best friend Lizzy now has 2 beautiful little girls! Avery May was born May 10, 2010 at 2:27 p.m. I was able to visit them at the hospital and it really got me thinking about the awesome journey of our friendship. I mean c'mon now according to my brother Keith we have been friends since the dawn of time!

Me and Lizzy at her baby shower

Here I am holding Macey

And here I am holding brand new little Avery.

Lizzy moved in across the street from me when I was about 5 years old. I remember going over to her house to meet her. We sat on her couch in the basement looking out the window while I told her about the kids in the neighborhood. For some reason I remember her eating black licorice (maybe because it is so gross??)
We became best friends fast, I think because I was excited to get away from all the stinky boys at my house! So many of my childhood memories involve her, or are because of her! Her family was always so nice to me and I got to be a part of so many vacations. Lizzy got to be an honorary member of our family when we got our membership to cottonwood heights - I think her name was Kacey? (do you remember Liz?) I think my mom was trying to stick with the all "K" thing!
We would come up with our Halloween costumes together and she would always try to help with my fear of haunted houses (oops that never worked out.......)
We have been through everything together in our lives - both good and bad - and while I was sitting in the hospital room holding her daughter I kept thinking about how cool it is that we are still together.
We gave our opinions of each others boyfriends, cried to each other when relationships didn't work out, called each other with excitement when we finally got our rings, were in each others weddings, and now babies! (she keeps asking when I will join her!)
I wanted to list all my memories, but it would go on forever so I will just name some of my favorites.
*when we would watch a movie, we would write down the names of all the characters and put them in a hat. Then we would take turns drawing out names and you could only say the lines of the characters that you got. (Does this surprise any of you that know us?)
*We got accused of shoplifting at Cottonwood Mall
*We are skittles PIG champions
*We once held a monopoly tournament that lasted an entire summer
*The little mermaid is the first movie we ever saw in the theater by ourselves
*we would pick out items in her basement when we had sleepovers and then make "forts" to sleep in. EVERYTIME we did this I would wake up and she would be upstairs in her bed
*we slept on my trampoline every night (pretty much) for about a month once during the summer
*we used to record songs on my computer with funny voices - with Kraig!!
*that is not your marble!
*leak tree and coochie bear
(those last 2 are mostly just for us.......and Keith)

She is one of my favorite people in the world and I love her so much! Congrats on the beautiful sweet new baby Liz - You are the best!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:15:00.003-06:00

Hip Hip Hooray for the 2nd annual HenHarm Hunt! (That is supposed to be a Hendrickson / Harmon combo, but I am going to think of a better name ASAP) I am very excited that this event is going to become tradition for so many and I feel lucky to be included.

Here is everyone bright and early hiding eggs. Yes it was a little cold, but don't let Nellie's outfit fool you - it wasn't THAT cold :)

I think there is something really cool about a picture with tulips, plastic eggs and a touch of snow, don't you??
Ella and Neve getting ready for the big hunt

Keith, Allie and the kids were in town and I am so glad they came! I am pretty sure that these poor Vegas kids were freezing, but I think they had a blast

Sam running for the blue one (I love this picture!)

Nick found one of my impossible to find special eggs and picked this prize. He was VERY excited about it. (I hope I get to hide the eggs next year - I am already thinking of spots to try and trick Logan!)

Today Mike and I took Remington and Lincoln to get their Summer hair cuts. Yes I know it isn't that warm yet, but their long hair needs to go! Anyway when we picked them up the lady said "we took these pictures for all the clients today - Happy Easter!" and she handed us this:

HA! I can not believe that they even got the ears onto ours dogs in the first place - Both of them sitting and looking at the camera??? Miracle workers at PetSmart I guess.......

I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!

PS - I am trying a new look, what do you think???

Yeah for Spring!

2010-03-25T15:56:00.003-06:00

I am so happy that the weather has been nice enough to play with the dogs outside! They start to get a little stir crazy in the winter (just like Mike) and here are some pictures from our fun the other day. (Now I just need some nice soft green grass)

My new favorite part of playing fetch is that 1) Lincoln is much bigger then he was last fall when we played and 2) These dogs don't know about sharing.

When Lincoln gets the bumper the game becomes Keep away. Remi has the speed but Lincoln has the agility, I tell ya it's a battle! It really is quite entertaining to watch. Mike is frustrated because it isn't really teaching Lincoln anything other then "When you get it - RUN!" but I don't care because it is hilarious

I also find it hilarious that Lincoln always sits like this. Ever since he was a puppy, just kinda falls over and lounges. Cracks me up - and BTW does he have a long tongue or what??

Cutest picture of Remington EVER - I don't care if you are a dog person or not, that is super cute. And in case you were wondering, yes I bought that because it had his name on it - wouldn't you have done the same thing?

Do Ragnar cause I am 30? Check.

2010-03-03T19:01:00.006-07:00

OK so here we go! Ragnar was AMAZING - I know it is cliche to put things on your blog in all capitals but I don't care because it was AMAZING and something that I will absolutely never forget. The people I went with were hilarious and incredible and the experience has honestly changed me.

Yes this will be a long post because I am very excited to share the AWESOME (there I go again) memories that I just made :) If you are "happy to be ignorant about something you could care less about" then stop reading (inside joke) otherwise, read on! and get excited because I am forming a team for the October 2010 Vegas race - let me know if you are interested!!

Standing in Andreas driveway getting ready to leave for our adventure - picking Keith up in Vegas, which is why we are a man down.

Stopped in Kingman for dinner, and for Kates Internet girlfriend
Getting our van into the spirit of things
This has to be one of my favorite pictures. Our start time was 7:20 and Carol (on the right in the pink jacket) was our first runner. The sun coming up with the runners really tells what this thing is all about.
Here is the first exchange point and the "shoot" where the next runner waits. Not only was our team incredibly supportive but so were all the other 4000 people! It was so cool to hear strangers telling you "you're doing great" and "keep it up!"
Ashley finishing up her first run
Again with the team support - love it! and check out that monster hill Keith is running up (it went on and on for about 4 miles. He is a rockstar!)

See what I mean?
One of my favorite pictures of Kate. Doesn't she look happy to be running? Didn't you feel happy to be running Kate?
Ha! She kills me! The lady in green came up next to her and she said "oh no you don't" and ran ahead of her - I fell over laughing and so did the lady in green. Good job on the kill Kate!
Andrea is also amazing. She was our team captain and this was her 2nd time at Ragnar. When I grow up, I want to run like her.
I didn't know that my heart could beat so fast, but I was next - the last runner of our group. I know I am cheesy and dramatic, but this is not posed, I was terrified.
Cute brother supporting me and giving me some water. Love this picture.
After everyone had finished their first run - Still smiling, a good sign!
Wouldn't you pull over if you saw this giant chicken? (yes we know it is a rooster)
OK, so if you say "Kate sit up and be happy" this is what she does. Love her. Here is our camping spot before run 2. Spaghetti and good times.
Carol preparing for her 2nd run. The vest, back light and headlamp are required. Before the run I thought it was a little much, during the run I was very grateful.
One of my favorite shots of me and Keith. I am so glad that he is part of my great memories from this crazy time.
Group shot at Keith and Allie's after the race. I was so sunburned, but no one else was. Seemed dumb to me, but it serves me right for not putting anything on. When I saw my nephew (who is 3 1/2 he said "Keri you needed some lotion"
Look at our cute alternate runners!
And we have already decided on a theme for October 2010. Remember that I am forming a team!!

Words can not express how glad I am that I did this. If even 1% of you thinks you should do it then jump all in!

So Long, Farewell

2010-02-24T22:41:00.003-07:00

I am typing this before I go to bed on the eve of my Ragnar departure.

It is still so unreal to me that the race is finally here - wasn't it a million years ago that Kate told me about it? I am more nervous then I have admitted to anyone, including myself! I really want to do well and prove to myself that I am stronger then I think. Isn't that kinda the point of running? If not, then I still don't get it. The past few months of training have taught me a lot about myself, my abilities, and definitely my weaknesses. I haven't even done the race yet, and I am happy to have been a part of it. Thank you to Kate for getting me involved, thank you to Keith for joining the team, and thank you to everyone in my van for the adventure we are about to have!

Stay tuned for a post about my love or hate of this event - I don't know what to expect!

Not Much to Report

2010-02-12T16:03:00.007-07:00

I would love to be one of those people that says things like "I've been to busy to blog" or "We've just had so much going on!" but no. Not much to report from the Hendrickson house. Mostly, I am doing this post because someone left a stern comment!

I have been running like crazy trying to get ready for this insane race that is in 14 Days! Lincoln is getting beyond big and it feels wrong to even refer to him as a puppy.

The other day I got to spend some time with Neve and I just have to post this picture because we had a lot of fun playing with the Rummikub tiles!

Mike got older. I took him to a Jazz game for his Birthday. Thank you Dave for helping me choose between Cleveland and Phoenix. We ended up going to the Phoenix game, great game, great seats. Mike hates it when I ask strangers to take our picture, since it was his birthday I didn't argue with him and the pictures we ended up with (taking them ourselves which I normally HATE) turned out very memorable. Pick your favorite!

My other favorite part of the game was watching the people in front of us celebrate after every, yes EVERY basket made by the Jazz. I was ridiculously entertained by it. So entertained that I filmed it so you could all experience it too :) I was tempted to stick my hand out as it got closer to the end of the game, but didn't. Next time maybe?

I will be better about my blogging. At least I have this crazy race coming up so I will have a topic!

It's Coming!!

2010-01-06T18:06:00.006-07:00

RAGNAR IS COMING!!

(If you have no idea what I am talking about - www.ragnarrelay.com - go check it out.)

Do you see my little runner countdown? Do you remember when it still had about 6 months left on it? YIKES I am feeling so many things - its like Owen Wilson in Armageddon "Great, I got that "excited/scared" feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense, it's so - confused. I can't really figure it out."
I know these are hard to see, but I thought I would let you know what I am in for - Here is my first leg of running - 6 miles, category Hard

Second leg of running - 3.3 miles, category Moderate
Third leg of running - 6.4 miles, category Hard

WISH ME LUCK!! And for those that haven't heard, Keith is now running with the "all female until now Poison running through my veins" team and his running? Well it makes me feel better about mine :) Good luck to us all!

All the better to see you with my dear

2009-12-27T10:20:00.003-07:00

Last Monday Mike got lasik eye surgery. He has been wanting to do it for a VERY long time and they were able to fit him in before Christmas. He is so glad that he did it and I was surprised how easy the recovery was. Some drops, a few rules and he was back at work on Wednesday - WOW! Technology is fabulous - don't you think?

Here is what he looked like when I picked him up on Monday. I pulled up to the curb and he just stood there and stared at me trying to decide who I was (that freaked me out a little) but being blurry after the surgery is normal (he said).

Here is what Mike described as the worst part of the recovery. These very beautiful and stylish eye shields that he has to sleep with for a week. Mike is not a back sleeper so this has been horrible for him!

and for those of you that are as fascinated as I was with the whole process - Here is Mikes actual surgery! They give a copy to all the patients, which I thought was pretty cool. A few parts are hard to watch if have issues with eyes and it is a little long, but very interesting.
Mike says that if you are thinking about it - DO IT! He is very happy and we both think it was completely worth it.

Celebrations!

2009-12-03T18:27:00.003-07:00

Tuesday December 1st was our 5 year anniversary! Can you believe that we made it to 5 years? Yeah for us because marriage is not the easiest thing (especially if you are married to me!) I wouldn't trade a single day of it though, and I would say "I do" all over again. Hopefully we can honor the legacy of December 1st :)

As much as we LOVE Flemings we decided to do something a little different and go to Christophers (big stretch huh? we love steak!) It was fabulous and our server was great.

Beautiful flowers that Mike got me. I always think I am not a flower gal, but then love them so much when I have them. Guess I am pretty girly huh?

I always knew that I wanted a 5 year band to go with my wedding ring. Sorry that the picture sucks and you have to look at my sausage fingers, but I love it!! I was VERY excited to finally have it and have looked down at my hand about a million times since we picked it up.
Thanks for 5 great years bebo! I love you!

Monday November 30th was Remi's 10th Birthday! Whoa, Old man! We decided to try the birthday cookie again and made him share with Lincoln this year!

The video is not as entertaining as before, but it cracks me up that he keeps trying to take it away from Lincoln. It was a super fun week - now we are just counting down to Christmas and Mike's birthday!

November Rocked!

2009-11-27T16:23:00.003-07:00

November has been a super fun and eventful month at our house! First off I turned the big 3-0!! Wow, I am officially an adult now - yeah! Below is a picture from our big night that was taken by the driver (named Frank) that Mike hired to take us around town (that was pretty cool!)

Here is a picture of me, Mike and our nephew Logan. We took him to Play! a video game symphony at Abravanel Hall - it was super fun and I am pretty sure he loved it too :)

Thanksgiving Morning I participated in my first 5K Race. I was REALLY nervous about, well everything. How many people would be there? What if I couldn't do it? How different is outside running then a treadmill? The list goes on and on, but I won't subject you to my crazy.
Anyway - I LOVED IT! Turns out that being outside with a MASSIVE group of people is totally my style. I am already looking forward to my next race!

Also, I decided to give cooking Thanksgiving dinner a try this year. WOW it was a lot of work, but some yummy results. I am most proud of my apple pie. Yes I am putting pictures of food on my blog, oh well, that is me now. The crust was ridiculously hard for me and I had to roll it out about a million times, but it was quite delicious!

It looks very simple, but took a very long time to get to eating part. I guess that is what Thanksgiving is all about right?

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

More Family Pictures

2009-11-07T13:40:00.002-07:00

This picture makes me smile, I am going to title it "Life with a puppy"
This picture it totally Remi's personality, I love it!

Thanks again Ashley - You rock!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T12:36:00.004-07:00

Keith and Allie were nice enough to let me spend Halloween with their family in Vegas (and Mike was nice enough to hand out candy while I was gone!) We had a Great time (as usual) and I am already looking forward to next time!

Hannah and Nick were waiting for a pony ride and not interested in looking at the camera :)
Master pumpkin carvers hard at work

I sure do love this cute family!

This is one of my favorite pictures because it is not posed, just a lot of love!

We went to a Halloween party Friday night. Here is the end of a "mummy" game we played - we almost won!

Is it just me or does it look like Keith and I just wanted to go on this ride? (Hannah and Nick are with us in case you were wondering!)

Oh man - This guy did not do very well in the haunted house!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween like we did!

Family Photos!

2009-10-23T23:17:00.004-06:00

My Super awesome friend Ashley took some family pictures for us yesterday at Sugarhouse Park. She is so fantastic for knowing that I am not the most patient person, and she posted a few on facebook today. Here is a quick preview - I will post more when we get them.

I am so happy to have pictures of my little family!!

Black Island Farms

2009-10-11T11:45:00.006-06:00

Yesterday I went to Black Island Farms with a very fun group of ladies and some of their children. What a fun place for children and adults! We spent the majority of the day, everyone had a great time, almost no tears, lots of great memories and laughs!
Here is April teaching all of us how to "rope a cattle" (I have a video that I didn't post . . . . .)

Neve liked it! (for a minute)

We got there close to when it opened and pretty much had the place to ourselves for awhile (excellent middle child choosing!) This slide was a big hit and we were all surprised at how fast you got going!
Lisa, April and me racing. Blow it up and look at my face (and Aprils hands....) I honestly thought I was going to crash into the hay and then I was worried I was going to take out the entire slide, but it was super fun!

Pig Racing! I have never seen this before and LOVED it! Little pigs are SO CUTE (sorry Lisa)

Playing in the corn - Where's Neve?

My very first corn maze! Pretty fun and I was very glad it wasn't night and "things" weren't coming out of the corn . . . . . not my idea of fun . . . . .
I love this picture of everyone studying the map. If we don't know where we are, how will the map help? (I thought to myself) but these ladies are champions of the corn maze and we found our way out!
Hay Ride (minus the Hay which I found super strange) with some of the cutest kids ever

Picking out pumpkins (Hey! That girl doesn't have any shoes on!)
Showing off the fantastic pumpkins they selected

I wanted to show how big and steep this slide was because apparently I found it kind of scary . . . . . . . .
Look at that face! When I got to the bottom strangers were entertained by it and I swear I didn't think the slide was that scary! Oh well another great Halloween memory (like the attempted back flip in Vegas!)

I recommend this place to everyone! My post is super long and doesn't even come close to showing everything we did. Great prices, tons to do, and I look forward to doing it again!

Monday Night Football!

2009-09-30T22:55:00.003-06:00

How else would you end a perfect weekend then Monday Night Football??? What a difference a few days makes - Being in the stadium with the field in and the energy of about 100,000 people is amazing! As always, Mike and I went to the very top of the stadium to check out the view - not to bad right? Way to go Jerry! And seriously I don't think you understand how big those TV's are until you see them!!

These Carolina fans were sitting in front of us and I liked their sign :)

Did I mention that we had GREAT seats????

Keri - open your eyes! Too bad for that because it would have been such a great picture! Oh Well. Great trip, amazing 4 days. Thank you to Willie for making it extra special, and thank you to the Cowboys for a Monday night win!

Who wants to come next year????

Keepin Day 3 Real

2009-09-27T20:13:00.003-06:00

I have been reading back through my post from Day 1 and 2 of our trip and realizing that our Dallas trips have been getting bigger each year, and I didn't know how we were going to top this one . . . Then this morning happened. I have still been feeling pretty sick and today it got much much worse AND Mike has it now :( We were a little uncomfortable at the 99 degrees day game today. Don't get me wrong it was still awesome, just not as good as being healthy right?

We tried to take this picture of ourselves (does that ever work BTW?) and you will not hurt my feelings if you say that we look like crap (and fat says Mike) I figure it is a good reminder of the day and no one can say I only put cute pictures on my blog!

So I thought this was a good balance for a WAY to good to be true weekend right? Think Again.

We were walking to the players parking lot (cause we are rockstars this weekend) and there was NOLAN RYAN. Mike loves him, adores him, has been wishing each day that we could see him or talk to him and there he was. Mike said "I just wanna shake his hand" my reply was simple "You will always regret it if you don't ask for a picture."

So he did. (and I was very proud of him)

!!!!!!!!!! WOW !!!!!!!!!!!! (deserving of all the exclamation points I think)

Super Second Day in Dallas!

2009-09-26T22:52:00.006-06:00

Willie arranged for the 3 of us to get a private tour of Cowboys Stadium today - WHOA! He is not a cowboys fan, but a great friend and I was VERY excited. Our tour guide was hilarious and took us everywhere. I tried to only pick a few pictures, but there were too many great ones!!

I thought this was crazy! Can you see the man in the basket (his elevator) being raised into the GIANT TV? He was going to check and see if any of the 30,000 bulbs was out - what a job!

Isn't this picture crazy? I couldn't get over seeing the stadium without the field!

The players run through here before they enter the field - SO COOL!

Yeah, that's Tony Romo's locker, and Jason Witten is next door. I was in their locker room - whatever right? just another day . . . . .

BTW our tour guide told us that someone had written "Go Broncos" on Romo's locker - freakin broncos fans, of course they would do something like that!

Mike was in heaven.

This is in the VIP area - how much do I love the coffee table? It made me laugh and I had to take a picture!

Then we went to our 2nd Rangers game of the weekend. Willie got us tickets to the "Cuervo Club" which was amazing! (Can you believe all this stuff he did for us?!?!) Tickets here got us a really good dinner and these super comfortable RECLINING seats - awesome!

Here is the view from our seats.

And my favorite part was that Willie got put in the game! I have never seen him pitch live and it was so cool! He pitched against 3 batters and none of them got a hit - Way to Go Willie!

I wanted this picture to show more of the cool area where our tickets were, but I guess the lighting did something weird. Oh well, I guess the picture of us turned out kinda cute :)

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!

First Day in Dallas

2009-09-26T08:53:00.002-06:00

We made it! Here are some pictures from our first day. Willie got us these AWESOME seats for the Friday night game. Rangers won 8-3, the game was so fun!

A little something to get everyone in the baseball mood :)

Houdini Dog

2009-08-18T13:59:00.003-06:00

So I guess that Mike and I can only own dogs that are master escape artists! Here is what Lincoln was doing while I was trying to get ready for work this morning (obviously I stopped what I was doing so I could film him . . . . memories, right?)

I wonder how long it will be before he escapes, and then returns with a single payless shoe?

Our first week with 2 dogs

2009-08-16T19:06:00.004-06:00

I would like to start by saying that I thought this was going to be WAY harder! Don't get me wrong - a puppy is a ton of work, but I had heard some horror stories about the awfulness of puppies. Maybe we just got a super good one?

Yes he chews on, well . . .everything, but it really is getting better and nothing has been destroyed (he is in big trouble if he goes near my new running shoes!) He has many accidents inside while we train him, but that is also getting better. After only a week? I am very proud!

He and Remi are doing 100% better and I think they are starting to realize that the other one isn't going anywhere. The only thing they fight over is bones. There are 2 bones and 2 dogs, so you would think that would be the end of it - but one of them always wants the other one, then they growl, then we separate them. I still think they will be friends soon.
This picture makes me believe that the friend thing will be sooner then later (awwwww!)
Monday of last week we didn't have a puppy sitter for Lincoln, we aren't comfortable with him being in the kennel with Remi yet, and he can't go that long without needing to go potty (many training articles said "potty" is the best word to use with puppies)

so . . . . . . .. He got to be an honorary Amsource Employee! He agrees that the market is hard right now, but he still enjoyed the work.

Yeah - the people at my office didn't mind that he was there either . . .. . .
And here is a video that makes me laugh every time. Is he scared? Is he fighting it? I guess he is just a puppy!!

And then there were 4

2009-08-09T15:05:00.004-06:00

Meet Lincoln - The newest member of our family!

After months and months of talking about it, Mike and I decided we were ready to become a 2 dog family. We found this 8 week old yellow lab and brought him home last night. Last week I found a really good deal on a fire pit, so I thought we could have a little "welcome home" party in the backyard.

Lincoln hasn't been around any big dogs except his mom, and Remi has been king of the castle for awhile - things were a little (scratch that - A LOT) shaky for a bit. They were a lot like this picture - a giant black dog, and then a little yellow one saying "guys - are you seeing this? am I safe?"

He likes to hide in places that Remi is too big to fit - Under the chair is his current favorite
I think this picture states that he is feeling at home. Mike thinks he is just a funny sleeper.
Lincoln got some vistors today when Neve and Sam came over for awhile.
And here are my 2 boys enjoying bones together. Look! Maybe they will be friends after all . . . .

Good to know

2009-08-06T20:53:00.004-06:00

A good friend (and recent marathon runner) told me I should have my feet analyzed to make sure I am wearing the right shoes. I decided to go do it today and I think you should go do it too! It was quite interesting to learn all about my feet and the way that I walk.

1. I have high arches

2. I put pressure on my heels when I stand

3. I put pressure on the outside of my feet when I walk

4. My feet are wide (oh yeah I already knew that)

Here are my new runing shoes! I hope that we will become fast friends and that they will be supportive in all my goals! When I showed them to Mike he said "they're purple."

Oh yeah and the store had a running ad on the wall that said "Because I am loving every awful minute of this" which I think is my new moto. Happy Running everyone!!

Is it Really Happening?

2009-08-01T13:22:00.003-06:00

This add is in my current Shape magazine and I can't stop thinking "WOW!" I have also hung it above my treadmill (yes I know she is a swimmer) for "is it possible" inspiration.

I have not been able to run since last Thursday because of doctor's orders after my mouth surgery. Today was the first day back and I was NERVOUS. I got on and guess what? It really felt like I was back where I belong! I had the best run ever, felt good, kept good speed, just really felt awesome! Is this what they call a "runner's high?"

I had to post this because Really? Is it possible that I am becoming a runner?!?!?!?!!?

Rockin' Party!

2009-07-19T17:30:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was our Family and Friends BBQ at our house!! I started planning it forever ago and I was super excited that the day finally came. I was very happy that so many people could make it and we had a GREAT turn out. Here are some pictures from the fun day --

Ella, Kylee, and Atti on the bounce house slide (what a stinkin' cute picture!)

Charlotte and Nick became fast friends (thank you for pointing it out to me Kate!) I kept hearing them say things like "let's go here" or "lets go do this" I love it!

So glad that Keith and Allison were here from Vegas and could come to the party too!

Rachelle, Owen and Dave

Didn't this picture turn out great?

Victoria is such a doll, I have about a million pictures of her!

Here is Neve enjoying some red vines

I am super excited about this picture. These are some of my best friends and we have recently re-connected. So glad they could all come to the party!!

Ohhh, the proud hosts of the party. This picture was Mike's idea - I couldn't believe it!

Hannah and Nick spent the night and here they are waking Mike up - they are excellent alarm clocks

And really what would a summer party be without some water? This hose was a favorite among the kids and as usual Caden completely cracks me up! He kept saying "spray me!"

Thank you so much to everyone for coming and making it such a great party!

Oh my gosh . . . OH MY GOSH!!!

2009-06-19T15:48:00.000-06:00

I have been in Wyoming the past couple days for work (I know you are jealous) and you know how coming home is the best part? LOOK WHAT I CAME HOME TO!!!!

Here is the front shot - grass is in, rocks to the side of the 3rd car and hello? Did you see the fence? YEAH!

We now have a backyard! I can not believe it is actually and finally done! They did a great job and I couldn't be happier with the results.

Remi LOVES these stairs. Mike said he has been running up and down them like crazy. Lets take a vote - does he think they are fun, or is he hoping to escape? Once the sod is a little more settled we can start to plan our party - can't wait for you all to be here!

More Vegas Fun

2009-06-16T18:33:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures from my awesome time in Vegas. If it looks like we did a lot of crafts . . . . .We did! I thought it would be a good way to entertain the kids if Allison was busy with Jack. I went to Michaels with April and WOW! Who knew that they had so much cool stuff? (Not me) There aren't pictures of all the crafts we did because we couldn't even get to them all! We made bouncy balls, chocolate molds, hot pads, air planes, sun catchers, draw your own puzzle and didn't have time for sand projects (jars and jewelry), black paper drawing (scratch the color) and create your own frame. I had a blast and can't wait to go back!

When we were painting our "sun catchers" Nick grabbed one that looked like a dog and said "I want to paint Remi" then Hannah wanted to paint "Remi" too. Good thing there was another dog huh? Here is their fabulous work.

And here is an adorable video of Nick - So cute!

Also, I didn't post it earlier (because it was a surprise) but here are some pictures of the quilt I made for baby Jack. I was really excited about how it turned out and hope he loves it too!

I always have a such a great time in Vegas and am so grateful to Keith and Allie for always saying yes when I want to visit (again!) See you soon!

Meeting Jack!

2009-06-10T12:47:00.001-06:00

This last weekend I went to Vegas to meet Jack! Man O Man he is so cute! Super tiny and adorable - I had a really good time playing, helping (hopefully) and getting to be a temporary member of this cute family.

I will do another post showing all the fun stuff we did, but I wanted you all to see my newest nephew!

What a Day!

2009-05-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

My Memorial Day weekend goal was to get A LOT of projects done around the house. My list is long, but day one turned out incredible!
Task One - Make room in the garage for the boat (and organize!)
Our garage needed some TLC and some things were still just where we left them from move in day. Plus Mike really needs his boat to live at home with us.
Here are the final results

Also, we have been parking the truck on an angle, since the boat isn't there, and figured we should find its "correct spot." Here is how the truck has to be parked in order for the garage door to close.
YIKES
at least we can park it inside -- right?

Task two - Remove the awful, ugly, hideous old farmers fence in the backyard .
Our fence posts are being placed June 4th, this task was at the top of my list. Plus I didn't know what I was going to find once I started to dig. People at work had me worried about 5-8 foot holes and concrete bottoms.
This picture gives you a little idea of what we were working with. There was also A LOT of barbed wire between each post.
**BTW look at the bottom of the stairs -- they finally poured our pad! Nice to see our backyard starting to come together**
My war wounds from the barbed wire (I look kinda tuff though huh?!?!?!)

Well thank goodness for amazing neighbors. It just so happened that our neighbor was removing THE SAME fence from his own backyard! Luckily I have no problem talking to people (oops we haven't met them yet.) I walked up and asked what I was in for.
Our super nice, amazing, GIVING neighbor (Chris BTW) had a tractor and said "I'll come pull them out for you" WOW - how nice is that? He saved my weekend!

I love this picture of Mike.
This is probably the hardest work we will do ourselves in the backyard and because of Chris it went really fast and wasn't too bad! YEAH!

I now have way more time this weekend and am really excited to have 2 tasks crossed off my list!
I am also really excited that now when you pull up our blog, my puffy face is not the first thing that you see . . . . . . yikes, those pictures were scary.

Actually . . . Not so fun

2009-05-14T11:12:00.001-06:00

A lot of people have asked me to update them regarding my surgery, so I figured this was the place to do it! The surgery itself was not so bad. Typical mouth stuff, you can't feel most of it, but holding your mouth open for 2 hours sucks. Honestly? The worst part was when the doctor and the assistant started talking pop culture! Here is how one of their conversations went -
"Do you know who Ryan Reynolds is?"
"No, what has he been in?"
"Um, I can't think of anything"
I was sitting in the chair wanting to scream I KNOW WHO HE IS I can name tons of his movies! Then they talked about Star Trek and Wolverine and I really thought I was going to lose my mind! Oh well, at least it kept me entertained.
The doctor was really nice and did a great job, but the surgery is painful and that is that. I am healing well, but this is what I looked like when I woke up this morning.
Ouch!
I know the picture is hideous, but it shows exactly how I am feeling.

Here is a picture of all my medicine. I knew that people (like my mom) would be very interested in what they gave me. Here it is - Lortab, Mobic, Decadron, and Peridex.

So bottom line? Day 2 has been pretty hard, but I am getting through it. I am hoping the swelling and pain is better tomorrow -- cross your fingers for me!!

oh yeah - my brother Keith requested a picture of the inside of my mouth - I will spare you all because it is incredibly gross.

One of my stitches came out last night and Mike had to check for bleeding. Too bad I don't have a picture of his face! He can't stand blood so I think it was pretty awful for him - what a trooper!

3 cheers for completed projects!

2009-05-04T20:09:00.001-06:00

I am proud to say that we had a VERY productive weekend!

#1 - New Bed for Remi. I know you were thinking 4 beds is just not enough! Here we have Remi snuggled up in bed #5. I wanted to see what he thought of this style, and . . . . . he loves it!

PLUS it keeps him from sleeping like this -

#2 - Update my old dresser for the extra bedroom. This is the only "before" picture I have, so my family will have to remember what the old one looked like.

Sanded, painted, and new handles -- Complete!

#3 - Hang some pictures! We finally hung the pictures on the way up to Mike's office. We also hung the shelf and paver.

#4 - Finish the Quilt I have been working on FOREVER! I started this a long long time ago and except for the outside border, I am done! I love how it turned out and can't wait to start my next one!

Close up shot of the fabric (love it!)

What a great weekend! A few more like that and we can start planning our house warming party - how long do we have before we waited too long????

Also, speaking of "complete" this is our 100th blog post!!

Time to come clean

2009-04-17T23:10:00.000-06:00

Turns out that I am nothing more then a giddy little high school girl! I realized this as lizzy and I got our seats for the opening day showing of "17 again" C'mon now - you know he is cute . . . . look at this picture!

This was my attempt at taking our picture in the movie theater -- it clearly sucks, but a great memory!

Yes, we are geeks. I am not embarrassed!

When the movie started there was a lot of "ahhhh" and "ohhh" and clapping as Zac came on screen. Pretty funny actually - I heard some hollering from some guys as well . . . . anyway (lizzy wondering if they are trying to become him) During a scene in the movie he spins a basketball on one finger and the girl behind us says (loudly) He Can Really Do That!!

And the below video is for my good friend Lizzy -- IT HAS THE DANCE SCENE!!!!

I apologize for the spanish subtitles, but now we can all learn some phrases in another language.

Fun with Eggs

2009-04-15T15:06:00.000-06:00

April and Lisa decided to organize their own neighborhood Easter egg hunt this year. First of all I would like to say - Way to go! I love that they wanted something to be better and did it themselves. They have never done this before and it was great! Amazing turn out and VERY organized I was super impressed.
There were 4 age group areas, and a super special gold and silver egg in each area. I was asked to hide the gold and silver eggs (which was quite an honor!) and I had so much fun!

I love this picture with all the eggs

I couldn't believe how many people there were!

How cute is this picture?

April and Lisa - The founders

I love this picture of Lisa explaining the rules to the crowd. I took this right after she said "don't take my picture!" oops!

Sam and Dave collecting their eggs

The kids looking over their loot (I love this picture!)

Me and Angi modeling the coveted special eggs. (BTW my favorite part was when Dave came up to me and said "just tell me where they are")

Thank you again to April and Lisa for organizing such a great event and letting me be a part of it. I am looking forward to next year!

Our First Overnight Guests!

2009-04-11T14:59:00.001-06:00

Allison, Hannah, and Nick were in town this past weekend and we were lucky enough to get them for a night! I couldn't wait to see them, and set up their rooms in our new house! (I wonder if I will ever stop being so excited about the house . . . )

We made and decorated sugar cookies, and the kids decorated some plates while the cookies baked. Here are the fabulous results -

And then there was Remi - the kids LOVED him! It took a moment for them to get used to his size, but it was quick! Before I knew it, Remi was following the kids around and didn't care where Mike or I was! Also, the kids and I were bug hunters (in my jungle house) and Remi was our "Panther" helper - it was so fun!

Here is one of the many pictures I took of Remi and the kids. I was so happy that he was so so docile with the children. It is such a blessing to have a docile animal around little children. (that was for you April)

I think they were the most upset about having to say goodbye to Remi when it was time to go!

Look at the Awesome present that they brought for our house! I am so excited to start hanging things on the wall - but having to decide what wall, height, size of item, etc is killing me!!

Thanks again for coming we had tons of fun!

Has it really been a month?

2009-04-05T20:18:00.000-06:00

The title of this post really says it all - I can not believe that we have been living here for a month!! The time has gone by super fast and we still have A LOT to do. I thought I should post some pictures of how the house is coming together. You will notice many blank walls in these pictures -- Please send your decorating ideas to kerineedshelp.com- Thanks!!

After many weeks of looking at bedding we have finally found some that we like!! Thank you to Bed Bath & Beyond for having something that would work for us, A HUGE thank you to April and her mom for tracking down a coupon for little 'ol me :) and yeah for my now "grown up" bed!

Dan and Lizzy came over for a game night and to see the house - we had so much fun! Lizzy is holding a mini cadbury creme egg (ask her why . . . . )

I LOVE this picture of Macey -Mike and Dave brought this chair in the house and set it on it's side. Macey decided it was a perfect way to watch TV - I agree!!

And now some picture of the boy ---------

This picture is NOT POSED. Remi was down in the basement and Mike was looking out the window. Next thing we knew, Remi wanted to see what was out there too!!

This is probably his 2nd or 3rd day in the house - he knew it was home pretty quickly.

The boys together hanging out in the man cave, I can't believe they let me upstairs to take a picture . . . .

OK so we have this awesome new tub with a door instead of a curtain. I figured it would be perfect to give Remi a bath in -- I think I forgot how big he is because it was an adventure. Mike thought it was so funny he took a bunch of pictures. Good news is he smells better.

The other night April, Angi and Neve came over. Remi LOVES her. He kept licking her forehead and wanted to be anywhere that she was. This picture is him trying to get as close to her as possible, and I thought it was just adorable. (she liked him too BTW)

I promise to post more then once a month from now on, as the house comes together and we return to our normal life. In fact we are looking forward to our first overnight guests this week -How exciting!

Welcome Home

2009-03-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

We are in our house . . . . .sort of . . . . Technically speaking we were "just visiting" tonight, but we are so close that I don't really care!! What would you do your first night in your new house?????

Build furniture right? (I know that is what you were thinking!!)

My fabulous husband hard at work in his soon to be office

The results of our hard work.

We absolutely can not wait to get our house set up and have you all over for a great party (and to quote the awesome Kate "yes you, the entire Internet")

Complete!

2009-02-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here is the picture I took as I was leaving our final house walk through. It is so pretty! Everything is so clean looking and smelling and I can't wait to see our stuff in it. We close on Monday and will start moving our stuff in soon after :)

You are all welcome to come over and hang out!

Did we actually make it?

2009-02-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

I told someone the other day that in the past I have said (to pregnant women) "wow, that went by fast!" I now know that inside they really wanted to kill me.

It did not go by fast at all, but we have actually made to the end! Stopped by the house today, and for the first time it really felt like our house. I set my purse on the counter, took my shoes off, and started to see how this next chapter of my life is going to be.

The new stuff is carpet, shower doors, concrete, stairs (from garage to house and outside back door), appliances, and oh wait EVERYTHING is done. They are actually talking about doing our closing this weekend. Yes, you read that right - we could be moving in this weekend. I understand if you need a moment ------ I feel the same way!!

Sick of house pictures?

2009-02-17T12:24:00.001-07:00

Well Here you go! A post without any house pictures - can you believe it?!?!?!

Here is a picture from an AWESOME game night we had with the Matt, Angi, Dave and April. I knew it was going to be fun, but whoa! Thanks for the ab workout guys - I laughed really hard the entire night! (Matt, Dave and Mike - I know that you had fun and can't wait to do it again!)

Also, I just got back from another visit to Vegas. So fun! The first day there I got to go to tot-nastics with Keith, Allie and Nick.

I wanted Nick to get into this, but he wasn't interested. I figured I should show him how fun it could be huh?

I think he liked pushing me more then the idea of getting in . . . . . . . .

These kids are too cute! I love this picture - don't they look so grown up?

The super great Nigbur family - The reason I travel to Vegas baby! (that was for you Keith)

I had such a great time with the kids and our adult time was awesome too! (Allison is the best bean farmer) Thanks for having me!

I was there over Valentines Day and thought you might enjoy Nick's cuteness!

Let there be light!!

2009-02-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

A quick stop by the house today (before my big trip to Vegas!) and I discovered some very exciting changes!

Lights, light switches, outlets, sinks, toilets, and counter tops - I never knew I could be so excited about such simple items!

Have I mentioned that I am excited and ready to move in??!?!?!?! (BTW Dave & April - I guess I have a really bad memory because it is SO not your same counter top!)

I almost cried!

2009-02-04T18:31:00.001-07:00

So I stopped by the house on the way home from work today (which I never do) and I screamed! I don't know if there is anyway to get my excitement across in this post, but I will try by using A LOT of exclamation points!!!!! I went to Clyde and Normas and made Mike go back to the house with me to share in all the joy!

I present to you . . . . . Our Kitchen!! Complete with cabinets and floor!! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!

Kitchen with "Breakfast Nook"

And yes, I am still insanely excited that I will now have a laundry room - and here it is! (weird picture, I know, but its a hard one)

Can't wait for you all to see it in person!!

Weekly Update

2009-01-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

I know you have all been dying to see what has happened at the house in the last week! Painters have been over for a visit :) It was very cool to see the paint with the "high hide white" contrast (I love that name).
I am trying to take the same pictures when we visit to show the progress in each room. Today was a very exciting change and um yeah . . . I am ready to move in! It is amazing how much more it feels like a home now - I just wanna see our stuff in it.

Mike will never be in the pictures - I was glad to get this one. That opening is the doorway that leaves the garage.

Here is the house prepped for stucco! If you look up at the window of the soon to be office there is an advertisement for the stucco company. It says "we will get you plastered." Mike and I thought it was pretty funny.

OK so this is a call out to anyone who knows anything about houses or construction.

This is our backyard.

Mike and I noticed this large piece of equipment and trench about a week ago. WHAT ARE THEY DOING? It seems very bizarre to us and we are hoping that some of you could share your knowledge --- Thanks!

Requested Recipe

2009-01-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today my nephew Dallin was baptised and I was asked to make dessert.

Cindy Gilmore introduced me to my new favorite recipe blog which is http://www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/ so I decided to try something new. I made the "Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Bars" and they were a big hit! Many people asked me for the recipe (which is SUPER easy) so I thought the link would be more fitting.

Enjoy!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-01-24T12:58:00.001-07:00

Here is your weekly update in our home building process :) VERY EXCITING - During today's walk through, there was heat in the house because the drywall and mudding was done! It was super cool to see the actual layout of the rooms, hallways, etc. February 24th is looking more and more realistic!

This is the front door and the stairs up to Mike's office (the bonus room)

The top of those same stairs, and as much of the office as I could fit in the picture

I know this is a weird picture, but I was excited to show the layout of this hallway. Starting at the left of the picture is hall bathroom, closet, extra bedroom, extra bedroom, and laundry room. I was standing in the doorway of the master bedroom when I took this picture

These pictures are of the garage. I took them showing the door in both so you could see the ridiculous size of this thing! (I really am kidding, we need the room.)

Here is the outside picture - Now with brick, yeah!

Moving Right Along

2009-01-17T11:48:00.001-07:00

We went to visit the house again today. It is looking really good! You can see sheet rock in most of these pictures, hopefully that is going in soon.

Here is a picture of the soon to be kitchen. I love that you can see where the lights are going to be. The drain you can see in the picture is for the island. Also, we were told they are doing the cabinets on February 3rd!

Another picture of Mikes "man cave." Here is the entrance from the stairs - This room is really cool, and incredibly difficult to take a picture of!

This is a picture of all the cable that Mike pulled - what a hard worker!

Look - The roof is done!! Also, you will notice another counter has appeared. We have been given an estimated completion date of February 24th! I know I should expect delays, but I am me, so I am counting down to that day (cross your fingers!)

Mexi-Feast (2008)

2009-01-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Oops - I am a little behind on this post . . . . . . oh well. Anyway, every year Mike's family gets together for their traditional "Mexi-feast". (By the way that means we get together, eat Mexican Food, play the candy bar game, and do a pinata). I am not really sure how it started, but I know they have been doing it for quite a while. My favorite part about it is getting to see a bunch of Mike's cousins (who I quite enjoy) that we don't get to hang out with often enough.

This is Mike's Dad (Clyde) and Uncle (Lynn) hmmmmm - can you tell they are brothers??

I love this picture because Halle is known for not liking me. When I pick her up it is quickly followed by screaming and tears. She isn't smiling, but we will work on that next :)

These are pictures from the candy bar game - I didn't know what this was until I married into this family. You sit everyone in a circle and put a bunch of candy bars in the middle. Pass around 2 dice (and a bowl helps) and each person rolls. Roll a 7 or 11 and you get to take a candy bar - (doubles rolls again). You go round and round until all the candy bars are gone. BTW - when you get a candy bar you should hide it somehow because once the candy bars are gone you keep rolling for 3 minutes and if you get a 7 or 11 you can steal candy from other people. Trick is you have to know who has what candy. After 3 minutes are up, you keep the candy you have. As you can imagine, there are typically tears, but it is always a good time and part of the tradition. (Don't steal from your own family!!)

This picture is after Sam got his first candy bar. See how his mouth is kindof an "o"? He is saying "open it" -- he wanted his chocolate and had no more interest in the game. I loved it!

Here are some pictures of the annual pinata. Poor Spiderman wasn't staying attached very well and this was the result!

I had a fun night and I am excited to see all the kids grow up with this tradition!

And Now . . . . 2009

2009-01-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I am VERY excited it is 2009 because I can now say "I am moving into our new house this year!!" I always had to say 'next year' until today, and it makes it feel much closer. Here are some pictures from our visit to the house today. Yeah!

Probably hard to tell, but the opening on the left is the front door, the stairs going up are to the bonus room (Mikes' office, which has already been named "his man cave"), below the stairs going up are the stairs to the basement, and across from those stairs is the door to the garage. I am excited that it really looks like a house now!

Here is the back of the house. One bump out is the master bedroom and the other is the "breakfast nook". Below the one bump out is the door out of the basement to the backyard (we are very excited about that)

Starting to come together huh?

Christmas Pictures by Hannah

2008-12-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

During some of our Christmas family time, Hannah asked if she could play with my camera. I won't make you look at all the pictures she took, but here are some of my favorites . . .

Enjoy!

By the way - that is Troy and Gabriella (in case you were wondering . . . . )

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Party Time!

2008-12-22T19:18:00.001-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Samuel!

Last night Mike and I went to Dave and April's to celebrate little Sammy's birthday. I can't believe that he is already 3! He is just about the cutest kid I know and the "kids say the darndest things" could be filled by just him.

When Mike and I were saying good-bye, he looked up from his toys and said "Bye Guys, Thanks for all the stuff" I have been laughing about it all day!

Ella was very excited to give Mike his Christmas present. She picked out a Dallas Cowboys pen set and told me "I know he is going to love it!" How cute is she?

I love this picture of me and Neve! She is too cute!

Also - Here is my new 'do compliments of Kate (I think she is genius)

The Perfect Storm

2008-12-20T22:26:00.001-07:00

Tonight Mike and I went to the Skybox downtown to watch the very important Dallas Cowboys game against the Baltimore Ravens. There were 3 HUGE screens in the room and the screens were showing the following - BYU Bowl game, Dallas Cowboys game, Utah Jazz game. Mike called it "sensory overload"

FAREWELL TEAXES STADIUM - Tonight was the final home game before the new stadium is ready next year. Guess a win would have been nice huh?

Here is a replica of the paver we bought for the new stadium walkway - we are still proud!!

BYU - Lost their bowl game

Utah Jazz - Lost their game

I DO NOT have a happy husband this evening!!!

Fun Times

2008-12-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hilarious! I hung out with Dave, April, Logan, Ella, Sam, and Neve on Friday night. SO FUN! We ate pizza (I ate mine a little too slow . . . ), played Munchkin (Logan completely destroyed everyone) and played the Wii. I had a complete and total blast and this video is a reminder of some of the funny moments from the evening. It was hard to choose between this and "Keri throws like a girl", but this won out in the end (sorry April!)

In other news, they are moving along on our house! (Finally) Here is a picture of the poured cement for Mike's beloved garage. They are supposed to start framing tomorrow, but we are due a big storm tonight. Guess we will see if they are hammering in the morning!

House Update

2008-12-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures as of Saturday, December 6, 2008. The tar is on, the window well was added, and below are some pictures of the back of the house and basement. Also - Utility lines!! Very exciting (good call on that one April!)

One thing though - A beautiful Saturday afternoon and . . . . . . . NO ONE was working. Mike and I didn't really love seeing that ( they live only to work on our house ---- right???)

Dallas Trip 2008!

2008-12-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from this year's Dallas adventure! We had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see the new stadium next year.

Here we are in the LIMO we were picked up in for Sundays game against the 49er's. That was so cool, and taking cabs after that was really hard.

Here is a shot (no zoom) of our seats for the Sunday game, yeah they were pretty awesome . . .. the blocked punt was in our end zone! Man it was so great - you guys should come next year!

Just one more shot -- Our seats were so great!

Here are our Thanksgiving seats - not as good, but really there are no bad seats in this stadium. Hope the new one is just as good!

Mike's final picture at Texas Stadium

We were in Dallas and had time to kill, so why not go to a Dallas Mavericks game? American Airlines Arena was SO MUCH BETTER then the Delta Center (I know Energy Solutions Arena) Seriously this place was so cool!

Our seats were not as bad as they look - oh well. BTW I got the "M" painted on my face to support the home team, but Mike said we were being traitors to the Jazz. He said the "M" stood for Mike! Plus there is a star, so I guess that is Cowboy-ish right?

We found this Amazing Mexican restaurant before the game - it will be hard to eat anywhere else, yummy!

And here is Mike (looking annoyed) at the end of our trip. We were supposed to be in the air at this point, but they made us de-plane (cause of a leak) and then sit in this terminal for almost 2 hours. I thought it would make for a good photo.

We are hoping to make this a tradition - cross your fingers that we can do it again next year!

My Man Tag

2008-12-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

My fellow blogger, Rachel E., tagged me so here ya go: (and I thought this was fitting for today - our 4 year anniversary!!)

1. Where did you meet your husband? On the porch of a friends house after a company softball game. I thought he was cute, so I got up and sat next to him! I don't know how much he liked my aggression . . . .

2. How long did you date before you got married? We dated 1 year and a half before marriage (were engaged a little after a year)

3. How long have you been married? 4 years today!

4. What does he do that surprises you? Has "hanging parties" with me when I ask, and is a GREAT assistant chef

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His laugh when he wasn't expecting something to be funny, the way he rubs his feet together at night, and his hugs are the best.

6. What is his best quality? His patience for absolutely everything (including me) and the people that matter to him - he would do ANYTHING for them.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Bebo

8. What is his favorite food? Italian Food, Italian Food, and a side of Mexican Food

9. What is his favorite sport? Football and Basketball (Cowboys, BYU, and the Jazz)

10. When and where did you first kiss? The day we met, on the porch (someone "dared us" - classy huh?)

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Play World of Warcraft (or any video game!), watch football, or eat yummy food!

12. Do you have any children? No, but yeah, the boy (Remi)

13. Does he have any hidden talents? He sings me songs almost daily that he has made up (they are each fantastic!)

14. How old is he? He is 30!

15. What is his favorite music? Country (and he got me to like it too!)

16. What do you admire most about him? His big heart - he sees the best in people. Even when he doesn't want to do something, he helps out anyway. He always does the "right thing"

17. What is his favorite color? Blue (but likes it with some silver!)

18. Will he read this? Probably, but we will see - he told me not to do it :)

19. Who said I love you first? HE DID - this is an ongoing argument between us. I will never forget it, New Years Eve 2003 - it meant the world to me (and he knows I am right!)

20. I tag..... anyone who thinks this would be fun!

Happy Birthday Remi!

2008-11-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today is Remington A. Hendrickson's 9th Birthday! He was VERY excited this morning and even slept in a little to celebrate. Mike and I took him on a walk around the neighborhood where he got to see Mike's elementary school (he liked it, in case you were wondering . . . )

After dinner he got his birthday treat of doggie cookies. Not the same as last year's birthday cookie, but oops we were in Dallas and couldn't get one here on time - He didn't seem to mind.

He also got a large (12" I think) rawhide bone, he was a little slow at first, but then he went wild! He may actually finish it this year (he is eating it right now)

*side note* our first blog post was Remington's 8th birthday - 1 year ago!

House Update

2008-11-29T12:12:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday (November 22, 2008) Mike and I were on our way to the airport for our big Dallas adventure. We decided to stop by our "house" and see how it was going. Not much to look at and not exciting to most, but very thrilling for us! The left side is the garage (if you look close you can see that the 3rd car extends back for the boat).

I will update with more pictures as they continue the building progress. We stopped by today, but the only thing new was the tar (not an exciting picture). Everyone cross your fingers for speedy building!

What a Fabulous Day!

2008-11-17T21:01:00.001-07:00

Friday was my 29th Birthday (the last year of my twenties!!) Mike and I had a fantastic evening out - unfortunately there are no pictures to prove how sharp we looked (it's true! we did!) Kate did an amazing job with my hair (thank you again!) and White house Black Market had the perfect dress! We went to Fleming's Steakhouse for dinner (yummy! I totally recommend) and this is where Mike gave me my birthday present - I was shocked! They are so beautiful and he picked the perfect shape and size (thanks again baby!)

After dinner we went to the symphony "an evening of film music" it was so good!

You wanted to see me model my new beautiful present right????

And last but not least - there have not been many pictures of the boy lately! Here he is wearing his new Cowboys bandana just in time for their win on Sunday! Notice the countdown? Only 5 days until we leave! Yeah!

The best news of all is that our builder emailed to let us know ------ we have our permit! They are starting on our house next week! YEAH!!! Be prepared for A LOT of boring progress building pictures because I am very excited!!!

Melts my Heart!

2008-11-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is a video from when I was in Vegas. I have watched it about a thousand times (Mike can verify this) and I am so glad I have it to keep forever!! It goes a little long, but who cares? They are so dang cute!

I Love Vegas!

2008-11-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

This Post is quite past due since I was in Vegas the weekend before Halloween! (oops!) Anyway I had TONS of fun (as usual) and here are some pictures from my awesome weekend with Keith, Allie, Hannah and Nicholas.

We went bowling while Keith was at work (the kids did great!) and this cute lady next to us asked if we would like our picture taken. I thought it was so nice!

Do you even need to ask? This is us waiting for High School Musical 3 to start . . . . . yeah we got there a little bit earlier then we needed to (notice all the empty seats?!?!?!!)

We made some fabulous Halloween cookies! Hannah and I thought we should show them off for the camera - So Cute!

We also went to a pumpkin patch again this year. I think I might like it as much as the kids! I tried to upload my video of DOING A BACKFLIP (yeah) but there were issues . . . . I will try again. Anyway, here are some past and present pumpkin patch pictures.

Keri, Hannah, and Nick 2007 (Above) 2008 (Below)

The Always Adorable Nigbur Family 2007 (Above) 2008 (Below)

I can't wait to do it all again next year guys! Thanks again for having me and I miss you already!

Halloween Party 2008

2008-10-20T18:53:00.001-06:00

The Hendrickson Halloween party was held last Saturday and I have many pictures to show! We did a lot of stuff and I had a blast with the kids.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Halle - As you can see, she loved being bounced on the trampoline! She is in her bear costume (so cute) and Sam is bouncing her and Caden. It was really cute to watch.
Caden was an American Idol contestant (but don't tell him there was anything on his back!) He also had a "ticket to Hollywood" which I thought was really cute (and smart!)
Dallin and Grace
Logan, Sam (cutest ninja EVER), and Ella (the only pictures I have with Logan in Costume!)
Eric with his son Mason "Dr. Evil and mini me" I love it!!
Kylee - cute little bug
Kids were too hot in their costumes, and boys that won't wear them! Clyde & Halle with Mike & Kylee. This picture turned out really good!
This picture of Sam makes me laugh everytime I look at it. Poor Sam couldn't see through those glasses!
I put Heidi's Princess Leia wig on Halle. She wasn't to sure about it, but I loved it!
This was my attempt to get a picture of all the neices and nephews (something I don't have) I could not get one of them all looking and hope that someone else did! Left to Right - Sam, Kylee, Caden, Grace holding Halle, Ella, Logan holding Mason, and Dallin. Well, at least now I have my picture of them all!!

This is a video of the 4 oldest kids (the core four) doing the "doughnut challenge" These kids sure do entertain me!

Now the younger kids get to try! (sorry that I keep yelling "no hands!" Mike always tells me that the person filming shouldn't yell -- oops!)

Who Doesn't love the Wii?!?!?!!?

2008-10-18T11:02:00.000-06:00

Last week some of the family came over to Clyde and Norma's. This is a video of Caden and Kylee learning how to bowl on the Wii. Hilarious! This went on for quite a while and I am really glad that I got it on video. Enjoy!

We're all in this Together!

2008-10-06T11:54:00.000-06:00

Do you know who these people are? Until recently, I knew who the actors were, but didn't "know" Troy and Gabriella.

I will be in Vegas when HSM 3 is released in theaters. Trying to be a good aunt, I was planning to see it with Keith, Allie, Hannah, and Nick. I didn't want to be unprepared right? I called Lizzy to see if she would watch the first 2 movies with me . . . .. yeah, she was pretty excited. We planned a HSM party for Saturday night. . . . . . . . I liked these movies! They are totally cheesy, but fun! The music is upbeat and enjoyable and the characters crack me up!

So now, I am all in! I am VERY excited to see the 3rd movie (to my surprise) and is there anyone alive that doesn't think Zac Efron is ridiculously cute?

October 24th - Can't Wait! (Really - who knew I would like this????!?!?!?!??!?!?!)

Checking In

2008-09-21T11:06:00.001-06:00

Mike and I are feeling pretty settled (finally) at our new, temporary housing (thank you again to Clyde and Norma!) Remi is also getting used to his new place, but it is taking him a little longer. Here is a picture of him with Mike adjusting to his new back yard.

Norma went to Disney World with some friends and brought this back for Remi - How cute!
One of the big changes for Remi is that he no longer gets to sleep in the bed with me and Mike. We are trying to train him to sleep in our room, but on the floor. In the long run, this will be great for the new house, but right now - BIG CHANGE! Mike was laying on the floor the other night to help get him used to it - I thought this picture was pretty dang cute.

I thought you all might like to see a picture of my new favorite shirt! Mike and I went out to dinner on Friday night and then we were wandering around the Gateway mall. I saw this shirt at "Hot Topic" and just had to have it!! I think we should all decide the "life lesson" words that could go with each picture -- Money, Power, Life, etc. I LOVE THIS SHIRT!!!

House Update - Mike and I picked our exterior colors yesterday and we are setting up our "pre-construction" meeting. They said that should take about a week. Once we finish they will submit for permit and that will take about 4 weeks. Once they have their permit we are looking at 90 - 120 days for construction completion. Do the math - no way we will close in 2008, but oh well. Once we have our permit I will start a estimated countdown, can't wait!