BOY'S ANNUAL TRIP TO THE GREEN RIVER

This past weekend was the annual fishing trip to the Green River. This trip is like Christmas according to Justin Schroepher. He is a maniac when it comes to fishing and this is one of the highlights of his life. Sad, it kinda makes you want to say, "Justin, GET A LIFE!". Just kidding. We love Justin. From what the boys have told me they had a great time. Randy Allen came up on Friday to fish with them. I thought the weather might bring them home a little early, but NO! Nothing will keep them from this fishing trip. However, I felt a little jipped. Usually this is a vacation for me as well. Usually all of my kids go. Cameron was not able to go because of his ummm (grades). Mallory had to do a Bridal Shower for her niece so she didn't go. So, it was just Troy and Michael. So, my annual time off from being a Mom was sadly interruppted. I usually LOVE this particular weekend every year. All I have to say is that next year I better have the house to myself! I NEED that time to myself. I did manage to have a girls night out with some friends and we went to Asian Star for dinner. It was awesome and fun to get away with some great friends. Here are a few pictures from their trip.

TROY DOING SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT.

TROY CAUGHT ONE AND THEY BOTH
SMILED FOR THE PICTURE.

THIS IS A CLOSE UP OF RANDY ALLEN'S CATCH

RANDY ALLEN WITH ANOTHER VIEW OF HIS CATCH

MICHAEL WITH HIS CATCH!

JUSTIN WITH ONE OF HIS CATCH

JUSTIN WITH ANOTHER ONE OR THE SAME ONE
(DON'T KNOW, DON'T CARE) JK
WE LOVE YOU JUSTIN!

JUSTIN WAS LIKE THE ENERGIZER BUNNY.
NOTHING COULD STOP HIM FROM FISHING.
HE WOULDN'T STOP FOR SNOW, RAIN, LUNCH, DINNER,
AND MAYBE EVEN THE BATHROOM. WHO KNOWS?

RANDY ALLEN FREEZING WITH ANOTHER CATCH

RECIPE

Yesterday Mallory and I had a bridal shower for my niece Whitney who is getting married at the end of May. Anyway, I made a yummy dessert for it and a lot of people wanted the recipe so I decided to post it on here for them and anyone else who might want to try it. Anyway, here it is and it is really easy to make.

FROZEN STRAWBERRY DESSERT

CRUST: (Heat oven to 350)
1 1/2 C. Flour
1 Cube Butter + 2 T (soft)
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Chopped Walnuts

Blend it all together and then place into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 mins. and stir it around every 5 mins. (Reserve a little of the crust to sprinkle on top)

FILLING:
1 Pkg frozen strawberries (thawed)
1 C. Sugar
2 T Lemon Juice
2 Egg Whites
1/2 Pint Whipping Cream (w/ 2 T sugar to sweeten)

Combine first 4 ingredients & beat on high speed until stiff. (Usually takes about 10 mins)
Whip the cream & fold into filling. Pour and spread over cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight. Enjoy!

IT IS SO YUMMY!

HURRAY FOR CLEANING LADIES DAY!

I know that I have mentioned this before, but the last couple of weeks have been extremely hard on me. I have (stupidly) fallen down. First I kind of slid down the stairs on my bum and really messed up my back (not to mention the tailbone) then I fell during the night and hit my head really hard on my night stand. So as you can imagine, the last thing I feel like doing is cleaning my house. I love these ladies and they do such a great job. So, they help me to feel a little better because I know I don't have to clean. They get all the deep cleaning done for me. Now, I wish I could find someone to do my laundry.

THE CARPET IS IN!!!!

Finally, Kobe can relax and go back to his spot on the couch and keep watch out the window to make sure we are safe. (Mostly he just finds a comfy spot and sleeps) Anyway, here are the pictures of the carpet installed. I hope I don't seem a little "OCD" over the basement but it has been a long 5 months getting to this point.

The carpet looks a little weird from this angle.

The walls need to be washed

BUSY, BUSY, IN THE BASEMENT

Let me just tell you that this has NOT been a fun project. Especially for Troy. He has been taking off work early every day so that we could make the deadline (today) for the carpet installation. He didn't get to bed last night until around 1:00 a.m. He is sore and very tired. But thanks to Michael and Mallory for their help in painting, and Cameron for helping with puttying and sanding the nail holes, and then I contributed some. (I painted all the door trim) I just want some credit. Anyway, it was a big project and we were even able to find a minute and take some pictures. But Hurray for today being carpet day!!!!! I'll add a pic as soon as it is done. By the way, Kobe is going nuts because we have "Strangers" in the house and I have to keep him locked up behind a gate or outside to keep him away from the installers. It's funny. Enjoy the pictures of our work in progress. (Camera didn't like the lighting in some pics. Sorry)

Putting up the trim

Troy and Michael had to hang 3 doors

YAY IT'S PROGRESS!

MICHAEL THINKING OF DRILLING
A HOLE IN HIS NECK.... (?)

I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS UP WITH MY
CAMERA BUT IT DOESN'T LIKE THE LIGHTS

CAN THIS ROOM SERIOUSLY BE DONE
BY MORNING FOR CARPET?

ANOTHER VIEW OF TRIM

OUR LITTLE CABINETS AND FRIDGE
(WE STILL NEED TO ADD THE TOP)

ME AND MY GOOFY KIDS

JUST FEEL THE LOVE......

INSTALL DAY... THIS IS THE PADDING

THIS IS KOBE GOING NUTS OVER THE "STRANGERS"

BEHIND THE NAME

Have you ever wondered what your name meant? Well, last year Cameron had to do some research on his name and what it meant and what country it came from. So, with the use of the Google Search we found this website. However, Cameron was extremely upset to find out what his name meant. We all had a good laugh over it but he didn't think it was so funny. His name is from Scottish descent and it means "Crooked Nose". I know it is so sad for Cameron but we thought it was hysterical. Cameron did end up laughing over it. We told him he didn't need to worry because he doesn't have a crooked nose. The website is www.behindthename.com When you get the chance, go and see what your name means. While I'm at it, I'll tell you what mine means. It is an English name here is the meaning:

"Probably first used in J. M. Barrie's play 'Peter Pan' (1904). It was from the nickname fwendy "friend", given to the author by a young friend. However, there is some evidence that the name may have been used prior to the play, in which case it could be related to the Welsh name GWENDOLEN and other names beginning with the element gwen meaning "white, fair, blessed".

I'm okay with it. We all know it could definitely be worse. (Crooked Nose) :(

BASEMENT BLUES (or reds in our case)

As a lot of you know, we had a flood in our basement on Thanksgiving evening. So, we have been renovating ever since. We are finally getting towards the end of the tunnel and we might actually be done in a couple of weeks. It has been a lot of work for Troy. He has really worked hard. The kids have helped and that has been nice. I have a few patches on the walls where I painted and can take some credit but I must sadly admit I haven't done much down there. Truthfully, there isn't much I can do. The other night I did manage to slide on my butt all the way down the stairs, (and no it wasn't on purpose). I was so dang sore the next day I could hardly walk. Needless to say, my bum was REALLY sore! It was even sore on my numb side. (Not Fair). So here are a few pictures of the basements transformation over the past few weeks. I'll add more as we do more to it. We are shooting to have it done for the Jazz Playoffs but who knows if we'll make it.

AFTER THE FLOOD (reminder pics)

NEW SHEETROCK ON CEILING
THIS IS THE HARD AND HATED PART

MORE MUDDING AND SANDING

THIS IS THE PRIMER COAT

NOW COMES THE RED (THEATER RED)

MICHAEL WAS ANXIOUS TO GET STARTED
HE STARTED PAINTING BEFORE TROY

MICHAEL PAINTS THE TOP
AND MALLORY PAINTS THE BOTTOM
HAVING SO MUCH FUN PAINTING
WHILE LISTENING TO CONFERENCE.

MICHAEL PAINTS A "W" BECAUSE HE
LOVES HIS MOMMY (WENDY)

TROY IS A PERFECTIONIST AND HE WASN'T
HAPPY WITH THE AREA ABOVE THE WINDOW.
IT NEEDED MORE MUD AND SANDING.

WAHOO! PROGRESS!
(The red is a lot darker than it appears in the pic)
I LOVE IT!

JUST KIDDING - LAS VEGAS TRIP

We really did have a good time in Las Vegas. Troy and I drove down on Wednesday and the kids drove to St. George on Thursday and then to Vegas on Friday. Sadly Michael had car trouble when he was about 30 miles away from Vegas. It was a terrible. He could only go 65 MPH instead of 80. Mallory said she has never seen Michael so mad. But they did make it to Vegas safely just a little slower. ha ha I turned out to be a sensor needed to be replaced and he didn't get that fixed until we went back to St. George. (Yes, he could only go 65 mph) Troy had a few meetings he went to and then he, Michael and Cameron went golfing on Friday. Meanwhile, Mallory and I went to lunch and did some shopping. We even managed to get lost (sort of) even though we had a GPS. Yes, leave it to me to get lost in Vegas with a GPS. Mallory went to her first Swap Meet and it was fun. We found some good stuff there. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

JUST CHILLIN

CAMERON'S IMPRESSION OF "ZOOLANDER"

MALLORY CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE LOST IN VEGAS

MOTHER/DAUGHTER DAY

MALLORY'S GOOFY PHOTO OPS

T-BONES AT RED ROCK CASINO

IT'S SUPPOSE TO BE A "FAMILY FRIENDLY"
RESTAURANT BUT NOT FINE DINING.

WELL, WE WERE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT THE
PRICES WERE COMPARATIVE TO FLEMINGS OR
RUTH'S CHRIS. WE WILL NEVER ASK THE
CONCIERGE TO SUGGEST A RESTAURANT AGAIN.
(Troy is about to look at the check)