Miss Utah 2008

Pictured: Christine Cox, Miss Manti; me; Kayla Barclay, Miss Sanpete

I few days after our visit to the Miss Utah preliminary was the final night of competition for Miss Utah. I am thrilled beyond measure to announce that our own, Miss Sanpete, Kayla Barclay (black dress) was crowned Miss Utah 2008. She worked really hard and truly deserves her victory. I loved working with these girls!! Kayla is the first woman from Manti to win and the second from Sanpete County to hold the title. What makes this situation unique is that this, was Kayla's first time competing at this level. She is only 18 yrs. old. Her motto was to "Step even beyond yourself" and she did. It is a testament to me of the power of positive thinking, that people can become whatever they choose and achieve even more then they ever imagined!!! Maybe I can keep trying to lose that annoying extra 10-15 lbs!!

Rainbows are treasures

Just a funny story....tonight we finally had some much needed rain. It came in sheets and afterward left us with the most beautiful sunset. In the sky was a perfect full rainbow that was cast against a dark blue sky. It looked gorgeous. We were visiting Grandma Cox when Spencer runs into the house and says, "Let's go Mom. We're going to find some treasure. Get your shoes on!" Next he tells Rich, "We can just drive by in the van, I'll jump out and grab the treasure and we can go!" It was so simple to him! What a fun adventure that would've been!!! Later that night during prayers, Spencer prayed that the rainbow would just end at our house because he loves rainbows and he loves pots of gold!!! Certainly, that would simplify things even more.

(I got this picture from a neighbor.) Spencer could have easily found his treasure at the end of this rainbow!

The joys of summer!

We've had a fun week. The boys got to go camping in the Uintahs with their Grandma Valeen. They had a lot of fun fishing, fighting over the front seat of the jeep and looking out for bears! I was told that they were so worried that I bear was going to find them and eat them. Grandma did her best to soothe their fears. It was a great chance to bond with their grandparents and their cousin, Maddie. We missed them at home like crazy. For the full day Ashley kept asking, "where boys?" Mom and Dad did our best to keep her entertained as well. She enjoyed swimming, shopping, waterskiing, and sleeping at Grandma Cox's while mom and dad went to see the Miss Utah preliminary competition.

Speaking of Miss Utah, I worked with two of the young ladies competing for Miss Utah while on the Miss Manti Pageant commitee. Kayla Barclay and Christine Cox. They did really well. I was excited when each of them won preliminary rounds and I was even more elated to have Kayla Barclay win as Miss Utah 2008. I have been blessed to rub shoulders with such special, hard working & dedicated women.

Spencer finally lost his first two teeth. They came out within a week of each other. He looks so cute, as you can see, with that big gap on the bottom! He was happy to have the toothfairy come. Things got a little scary for him for a few days because he misplaced his second tooth. Lucky for him, mom helped him find it and things went on as they should!

I spent a lot of time preparing for the Wyoming pioneer trek that our stake is taking the youth on. I've now got my pioneer clothes gathered, my bonnet has been sewed, and with the help of several others in the ward we've got the majority of the 60 kids that are coming with just our ward ready too. I'm looking forward to the experiences this sort of trip will bring. Rich still hasn't found someone to cover him at work so there is a posssibility that he won't be able to come anymore. I choose to hold faith that things will still work out because I'd be sad not to have him with me.

The boys have been finding more and more bugs around the yard. This is a reoccurring hobby that has been around from summer to summer! We've seen collections from potato bugs to caterpillar's and from crickets to grasshoppers! They've even helped Daddy destroy a Black Widow with her egg sack. They love to catch butterflies with the nets Grandma Valeen bought for them. But the part that mommy struggles with, is that they love their bugs so much that they often try to bring them in the house. The other day, Spencer came to show me his latest grasshopper catch and when he opened his hand the little jumper came right at me. I caught him running around the house later on trying to re-catch another one!!! Boys are full of exciting times.

I found a website full of fun hair do's for little girls so I've started experimenting on Ashley's hair. This one is called the lattice; it is one of my favorites! She loves ponytails. Everyday I ask her how she'd like her hair combed and she tells me, "pony!" We've compromised by having me decorate the top and bringing the ends into a ponytail. This way everyone is happy!!!