Why we LOVE weekends...

For some reason unbeknown st to me Mat has been crazy busy every summer since he went out on his own. I used to dread the holidays because that meant the parade of homes was just around the corner and there were always several homes he was working on for it. Now, however, the summer seems to be his busy time. Having work is great and we are blessed. With that said, we LOVE weekends because Mat is home! Even though the only Saturdays that he has taken completely off this summer were for the weddings we still have a blast when he is home. We love barbecuing and hanging out with friends and family so a couple of weekends ago we headed up to Pine Valley to escape the heat. Lucky for us "Uncle Jeff" said we could use his family's cabin because the campgrounds were sure to be full. We had the Gardners, the Despains, and the Greens join us and enjoyed a gorgeous evening! "Uncle Jeff" put the kids to working hoeing weeds in the garden, Easton caught 2 snakes, and we enjoyed YUMMY beef brisket cooked by Mat. ;) Even if we end up sticking around the house and doing yard work everything just feels complete when we are all together. Love those Holt's.

Finally a Break! (somewhat)

Between hosting the weddings, celebrating the 4th, Bailey's birthday party, the kids being out of school, we all needed a break! This weekend we went up north to see A'mee's and Sandi's families and attend Luke's baptism. We left Friday night and came back Sunday night so it wasn't quite the long vacation everyone around us seem to be taking but it was nice to get away.
After convincing the kids (truly just telling them what we were doing) that going to Seven Peaks with their cousins wouldn't be nearly as fun as going to Park City, we left Peyton with Sandi, and headed up the mountain with the older kids.
While we knew they'd rather be with their cousins playing, mom and dad needed to spend some time with them more. It was a gorgeous day. 85 degrees and partly cloudy. Bailey and Caleb were both old enough to drive their own sled on the Alpine Slide and Bailey was barely tall enough to drive her Alpine Coaster sled. This is the 2nd time we've taken the kids down the Alpine Slide but the 1st time down the Coaster. Mat said it best, "A roller coaster in the mountains, that's my kind of ride!" It was AWESOME!

Next time we go we will be buying the day passes for sure! Peyton will actually be old enough next summer to be a passenger on all of the rides besides the zip line and since you have to weigh 70+ pounds, I'm not sure any of the kids will qualify to ride that anytime soon.
We LOVE Peyton and were very sad to leave her behind. I am so very happy however, that I got a chance to hang out with my older kids for a while without Peyton needing my full attention.
Of course the kids HAD to go on the trampolines! They love this and Mat and I love watching other kids (and adults) try the tricks our kids are able to do. I admit that the Holt kiddos make it look easy and if I were to actually try it I'm sure I would fall into the category of those that try but just can't make it look good. Caleb had other people taking pictures of him. Kinda inappropriate but oh well, he WAS pretty fun to watch. He loved hearing the kids tell their parents "Look at THAT boy! He is SO high!" We finished of the weekend with a tour through the conference center and a picnic in the park with A'mee and Sandi's families to celebrate my little Bailey turning 11 on the 11th. It was so fun to hang out with both families. Short but oh so sweet of a mini-getaway. I wish we could spend every summer weekend in Park City but until we win the lottery or inherit millions from an unknown benefactor we will just have to be glad for grandparents with swimming pools.

She's a "Survivor"

Our little girl (which is still little so I can say that) turns 11 on the 11th! We are heading up north for a baptism this weekend so we had her friend birthday a few days early. Since this will be her last :( friend birthday we wanted to do something a little bigger than usual. We chose a "Survivor" themed party full of challenges.

When the guests arrived they chose out of a paper bag their headbands and the color designated the team they were on.

We had each team sit at the colored table that they belonged and after some yummy eats they made a team flag with a name they chose for their team. We ended up with the "Green Greens" (which were supposed to be the "Green Giants" but they messed up their flag) and the "Shananae's".
We then started the challenges which consisted of:

Ice-filled pool

Blindfolded spaghetti relay

Cake Feeding

Structure Building

Scavenger Hunt

Blindfolded Makeover

We had a few more competitions planned but we ran out of time in the 3 hours we had allotted for the party.

Bailey has such a fun group of friends. I was so sad when Mat asked what schools they were all going to next year and there were only 2 others going to the same school as Bailey! Between school, and cheer, Bailey has friends from all over. She is such a fun-loving person I think she'll always be surrounded by good friends.

Mat did a great job decorating the backyard with palm fronds and tiki torches. The skewered meat and fruit were delish. We had a cluster of friends not able to make it so we ended up with only 12, it was a perfect amount. Overall it was one of the funnest birthday parties she's had and one I think she'll always remember. Happy Birthday Bailey!

Good Times, Good Times

Summer has finally begun at the Holt house. After hosting 2 weddings at the house we are spent. All the preparations paid off beautifully however. While Mat and I are probably the only 2 people that would have noticed the minor details that were addressed, the weddings were great motivation to get our yard to the point we absolutely love it. My birthday is coming up and I had asked for new bedding but soon realized my wish would be too costly to come to fruition. Mat and I were looking at clearance patio furniture and he asked wouldn't I rather have that then bedding? Well...yeah, but I've asked for patio furniture for years and it's NEVER been in the budget so I've sent it to the back of my mental wish list. Well, I found out he'd bought me some early and although it's not the set he paid for, it is a beautifully discounted set, and I love it. The store had sold the set Mat bought without realizing he'd already paid for it so they gave him this set 1/2 off. :)
We never did end up barbecuing this weekend but we did break out the briquettes for some s'mores in the backyard.

You know that looks good!
While all of our friends and family seemed to be heading out of town to cooler weather camping I admittedly grew envious. However, there's a lot to be said about having the experiences and sleeping in your own bed afterward.
Plus, I do love the scenery...

Peyton has been finding all sorts of ways to not only keep cool (naked of course) but entertained while we prepped for the weddings. She made this hat while we were arranging the flowers for Lana's reception out of her clothes. 2 birds with 1 stone if you ask me.
Mat began June with the idea that he had to get the house "wedding ready" with being 100% booked with work. Doable certainly, but not ideal. Then came an opportunity that was hard to pass up. More work! With the economy the way it is and the summer months as his busiest we hate to turn away any work, especially very well paying jobs. Soooo....we added a HUGE house to his refinish schedule and has spent MANY nights working until the wee hours trying to get everything done. Last Tuesday he decided we all needed a day off. So when he finally came home from working around noon on his day off we hopped in the truck and headed up to Veyo for some crawdad catching and swimming.
Peyton preferred the clear water of the pool so wasn't too excited about the rocky stream bed.
There was a group of boys catching crawdads nearby with nets who thought they were pretty special catching their crawdads with ease. But "Holy mother of pearl!" (as they OFTEN said) we only needed Mat's quick ninja crawdad catching skills to take home our loot. Easton took 2 home and sold them for a profit of $1.50. Not bad. Haha!

Here I thought I was so spoiled with my patio furniture and then THIS! A NEW BOAT!!! Hahahahaha!!! Easton and Mat picked this beauty up from Grandpa Wilson on Sat. This would be beauty number 2 that dear sweet Grandpa has given us. Can you imagine my excitement to house such a beauty in MY yard? Yeah, I bet you can. I have resolved to give Mat and the boys the benefit of the doubt and wait out their "restoration" of this magnificent vessel until the day that sadly it WILL leave my yard. It's going to be a great bonding experience for them right???

While we spent the 3rd of July at my parents swimming, eating, watching fireworks as usual, we saved our box for the 4th to light of at home. Kyler and Trayson joined us from Idaho and the kids had a blast!
The kids all saw Karate Kid at the theaters for the free movie day at the orthodontist so they may have learned some moves enhanced by sparklers.
Burning a hole in your shirt was NOT an approved move by mom however! The little....! I still love him.

Peyton became the first non-wimpy kid of mine when she saw the fireworks and DIDN'T run into the house screaming. She LOVED them!
So grateful to live with the freedom's I enjoy daily and for those who have sacrificed selflessly to allow us such a blessed life! Happy birthday to the country I love!!!

Call Me a Junkie...

Yes, I'm an addict. I have a problem and I fully admit it. No need for intervention, it's just my thing. I LOVE hair products! From the time my hair was long enough my mother took me to the salon had them wrap my hair with the absolute smallest curlers and perm my hair until it was the frizziest fur ball around. Once I reached middle/high school I took a stand. Yes I admit to still getting a few perms during those years but this is also when I my addiction started.

It began with me strolling the aisles of Smith's to find a miracle treatment to help heal my hair from all of the torture it had been through. The grocer's products sufficed for a small while until I began working at a beauty supply store at the mall. (Yes, it was a dream job for me.) While my employment there only lasted a few months, mostly due to the fact that all the workers there were far more in love with themselves than I could ever be, I was hooked!

I truly didn't know what I would do when I got married and had to actually "budget" for my habit. I knew there was no way Mat would allow my expenditures in the hair care area. In fact a very sweet guest to our wedding even gave us some salon products. It was a VERY difficult thing to share with Mat. It WAS after all a gift for both of us but come on, did he really need to use it too? After being married a short while I disregarded the budget and spoiled myself with a bottle of my favorite conditioner. I finally mustered up the courage to tell Mat that it was VERY expensive and I wanted it to last as long as it would. He understood and never used it. However, one day he was rubbing my aching back and the "lotion" he was using get drying out and getting pasty. He just kept adding until I finally recognized the scent and asked what on earth he was using for my back rub! He had used the majority of the bottle on my back!!!

Mat's gotten better with understanding my addiction and lucky for me, (not so much for Mat) I have a list of close friends who are licensed hair stylists and while for the most part I only burden one with my phone calls asking to help me get a discount and rarely pay full price for my salon products anymore.

Mat has really come full circle with the understanding that my hair is longer and thus needs the more expensive products and rarely uses "my" products. The only problem now is that I have this sweet little girl about to turn 11 and she is already showing the signs of being a hair product junkie. She understands that she may use certain products of mine only in extreme dry times. However, every now and then I catch a whiff of her hair and know exactly what was used. How can I really be mad when I understand the need for shiny, smelly hair?