2019 Blue Jeans Week 21

So we have had SO much rain!  Lots of flooding in our area.  Thankfully we are far away from any water and have no danger of flooding at our house, but our small town has been swamped.  Way too much rain!  State track meet and torrential rain pushed the two day event to one.  It was crazy, but Miss E did awesome!  Take a look at our week....

Mr J has been enjoying summer and has been cooking.  I love when the kids can help cook more in the summer.  He has been experimenting finding his favorite blender muffin recipe.

Getting ready for state track, these two helped me fill goodie bags for the girls' team going to state.

Hello State track meet!  Miss E is getting ready to pole vault.

And running her 4x100

And that is her down there triple jumping.

And her brother comforting her as she was disappointed in how she did on an event, but the girl made it to state in 3 events!  Super proud of her, and just loved this sibling love and support!

And in the midst of all the rain and track meet hoopla, this guy had a birthday!  He is 14!  How did that happen?

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you had a great week!

The BEST Rice Krispie treats EVER

The BEST Rice Krispie Treats EVER!!!

So, we love a good rice krispie treat at our house, and I found this recipe (and I am sorry, but I can't tell you where, it was just written down on the side of a piece of paper), and it is seriously the BEST we have ever had.  I could easily eat the whole pan.  So good!  They are thick and chewy and soft and so delicious!!!  They will be the hit at every BBQ you take them to this summer, guaranteed!

BEST Rice Krispie Treats EVER

10 Tablespoons butter

3 bags (10 oz each) mini marshmallows

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

12 cups rice krispie cereal

In a large soup pan, melt butter and put in 2 of the 10 oz bags of mini marshmallows.  From the 3rd bag, remove 4 cups of mini marshmallows, and put the rest in with the butter.  Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat until completely smooth and melted.  Remove from heat.  Add salt and vanilla and stir in well.  Add 12 cups of cereal and the 4 extra cups on mini marshmallows.  Mix until everything is well coated.  Press into a pam sprayed 9x13 pan and allow to cool and set up.  Cut and serve and Enjoy! 

2019 Blue Jeans Week 20

 Hello Summer!  School is out here!  We had a great few days of school and a really exciting regional track meet that found Miss E qualifying for state in THREE events!  State track meet here we come!  Take a look at our week. . . 

Last jazz band concert of the year for Mr J on his sax.  He had some awesome solos!  Excited to see him with the high school jazz band next year!  My baby is going to high school next year!!

And our traditional "Toyota" jump to celebrate end of school!

For the last 12 weeks we have been taking a weekly Personal Finance class with these awesome people. It has been a good experience!

Hello summer!  We celebrated by going to the candy store to get something sweet to celebrate! 

Regional track meet this week.  Top 4 in each event qualify for state, and Miss E got 3rd in pole vault, so state here she comes!

She also got 4th in triple jump, so state, here she comes again!

And watch out because her 4x100 team also qualified for state!  It is going to be an awesome two days at the state track meet next week!  Woohoo!!!  Go Miss E!!!  Sure proud of you!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope you had a good week!

2019 Blue Jeans Week 19

So coming home late Sunday afternoon after a week away always puts me behind.  It also didn't help that this was the kids' last full week of school, and end of school activities are always crazy!  Two track meets and lots of other activities greeted us as we got home.  Always nice to go, but also always nice to be home!  Take a look at our week...

So Miss A finished a great winter semester and then got on a plane for London.  This summer she is hiking England, Ireland, and Scotland through a BYU study abroad program.  Here she is in London and loving it!  If you are interested, she is blogging about her experiences here.  She is having a great time and being an English major visiting things like Shakespeare's Globe theater and Jane Austin's home have been awesome! 

Happy birthday to this amazing girl!  She blesses our lives every single day, and we love her to death!  Senior year coming up!

Mr J got Miss E this great hat for her birthday.  So cute!

Miss E rocking her pole vault at one of her track meets this week.

She cleared 9 feet which was her highest ever and got first place!  Woohoo!

She also had a personal best in triple jump and got 2nd place which was always awesome!

She wanted an herb garden for her birthday, so she is all set now!

Thanks for catching up with us!  Hope you have a great week!

2019 Blue Jeans Week 18

So this week was down right amazing!  And super crazy to begin with, but we so loved it!  Ben's dad turned 80 and to celebrate his 7 siblings planned a family cruise with his parents, siblings and spouses--there were supposed to be 16 of us, but one brother and his wife and one sister and her husband could not join us, and we missed them a lot!  So there were 12 of us all together.  We got on the boat in San Diego and got off in Vancouver, Canada.  It was the BEST!  Not only the cruise itself, but also the company!  Being with family who we only get to see once a year for about an hour at a family dinner, and getting to spend 5 days with them to visit and eat, and play games, and explore was just priceless!  So we started Sunday with getting home at 3 a.m. from after prom, went to church at 10, and then left early from church to drive 5 hours to Omaha, Nebraska where Ben had his once a year work meetings there.  We left Omaha Monday night to drive to KC to spend the night because our flight to San Diego left at 6 a.m the next morning.  Then we got to San Diego, went to the San Diego Temple and then got on the boat around 1 and joined up with the rest of the family.  Enjoyed the cruise and flew home from Vancouver on Sunday.  It was a week!  So much fun!  And I have a million pictures, but I will not post them all here :)  But take a look at our week...

Sunday and Monday we were in Omaha, and while Ben enjoys his work meetings, I enjoy Omaha and their walking paths and yummy food.  This is their pedestrian bridge that goes from Nebraska to Iowa. 

San Diego Tuesday morning--We attended the San Diego temple (which is so beautiful!  but sadly had some construction going on outside) before we boarded our cruise ship.

And Tuesday afternoon we were on the ship!  We did a Caribbean cruise about 14 years ago for our 10th anniversary, and Loved that, but this was a Pacific Coast cruise, and we also loved it!

Ben and two of his brothers (one of his brothers and one of his sisters sadly could not make it, and we missed them lots!) So fun to all be together and hear family stories.  We laughed and laughed!

Ben's parents and two of his brothers.  We got group pictures, but I didn't take them so I don't have those yet, but so loved being with my in-laws!  Brothers and sisters-in-laws! They are all the best!

One of the places we stopped was Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and this is their famous Empress hotel that was been around since 1904.  They serve afternoon tea for $95 each, but we passed on that and just admired it from the outside :)

Our main stop in Victoria was the Butchart Gardens which were AMAZING!!!! Oh my!  Someone touring them with us said, "wow, when you die you won't know if you are in Heaven or Butchart Gardens!"  He was 100% correct!  It was just so gorgeous!  I felt like I was in Holland with all the tulips and the flowers trees and just everything.  Just breathtaking!

Ben's oldest sister and me at a different part of the Gardens

More pictures of the Gardens (I literally took hundreds of them!)

And still at the Gardens.  This was the Rose Garden that wasn't in bloom yet, but the arches were so pretty!

And then back in Victoria to their China town.

And the Victoria Government building which they light up each night.  Such a fun day!

Getting our Canada tourist shirts :)

In Vancouver we went to the Capilano Suspension bridge park which if you know me was a huge test of will as I am very afraid of heights.  We had to go across this 450 feet long and 230 feet high SWINGING bridge!  Ugh! (this smile is not one of delight, let me tell you) and I had to do it twice, once to get over to the other side of the park and once to get back.  I had no choice, and then the rest of the park was like an Ewok village with tree house platforms and smaller swinging bridges that you went from tree to tree, and then a suspended cliff walk.  But I DID IT!  And I did have a panic attack, cried a little and freaked out, but I DID IT!  It is over, and I can laugh about it (now :)

And activity that I enjoyed WAY more in Vancouver is where Ben's sister and her husband rented tandem bikes with us, and we road around the 9 mile sea wall that goes around Stanley Island Park in Vancouver.  I loved that!

On our bike ride.

In Vancouver we used the subway to get to our hotel.  We were quite a parade all 12 of us with our luggage going around.  Lots of fun!

Thanks for visiting!  Still catching up!  

2019 Blue Jeans Week 17

Oh, I am soooo far behind!  We were gone for a week and then trying to catch up with coming home a week before school gets out has been tough.  So, I have a lot to catch up on!  This week was crazy!  Track meets, prom prep, Easter, more track meets, Avengers:Endgame, and then PROM!  Take a look at our week...

Miss O and her cute roommates on Easter which was their last Sunday together as finals were this week and they were all different places for the summer by the next Sunday.  A great group of friends!

Easter here!  Sure love these two!

Miss O and friends celebrating finals being over and having fun before they all head out for different places over the summer.

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Track meet for the week for Miss E.  She rocked the pole vault and had a personal record!

We are HUGE Avengers fans and even though it was a crazy busy week, we had to get to see it as soon as we could, so Friday night worked out.  Oh, sooo good!

And Saturday was this beautiful girl's first prom!!!

They looked so good!  She went with a good friend from church and they had a great time.

They doubled with this couple and all looked amazing!

Prom here the "Grand March" is a big thing and so is the car you drive up in.  The whole community comes out to see the kids drive up and then walk up to the school.  These kids had a cool ride!

Getting out the car and walking up to the school.

Being presented at the school entrance before they head into the dance.  

And loved seeing this cute girl!  Ben and I worked after prom until 3 a.m. and then we all headed to church at 10 a little sleepy eyed!

That was that great week!  Thanks for catching up with us!  More to come!!!