Birthday Bashes!

I officially have a teenager! Emily turned 13 this month and celebrated at the Beauty College. She invited 6 friends (all that can fit in our car) & they got "up-do's" and their nails painted. Afterwards we headed to a little ice cream shop on main street and had shakes, sang Happy Birthday and opened presents.

This lady that is doing her nails is also the one that did her hair. Emily was the first in her chair and the next to last to leave it. The lady had no idea what she was doing and I found out latter that she was telling Emily her hair had too many layers to do a cute style. Emily does her hair cuter than this daily. I was fuming when Emily was telling me the things the lady was telling her. But sweet Emily told me it was ok b/c at least all of her friends got cute styles. So the girls had cute do's and we had to show them off

Alicia decided to let her friends vote on which party to do and they chose ice skating. I'm telling you, this is the way to go. Take them skating (or whatever), take them for ice cream and take them home. What an easy, fun, relaxing party. These girls had a blast. They skated for almost 2 hours while I read a book and froze my hiney off. Then they each got a banana split or shake and were as happy as could be. This is such a cute age and Alicia really knows how to pick her friends.



I love my girls! They are such great helpers & a blast to hangout with. I was really blessed when my girls came first. They are wonderful big sisters & their little brothers admire them. My siblings think my boys will be warped for life for all the times they are "dressed-up" in make-up, nail polish or dresses but just look at my little brother Jim~ he turned out all right, and he was the cutest little girl ever!

I love you Emily & Alicia. Thanks for being in our family!

Sibling Squabbles

So they are off to school. My days of peace & quiet are finally here. I now have a teenager in Junior High & the three elementary kids seldom complain when I have them walk to school. Carpooling is the best thing ever invented. I only have to drive once a week to the Junior High and I have carpools for all three days of dance & tumbling. Piano, scouts and Activity Days are all within walking distance. The twins play so well together. We just make sure all of the Tommy's toys are put in the proper place by 3:30 each day. The few messes of the day I can live with.

I have it made!

So why the heading??? I thought I had it made. All my kids are in pairs. The girls are 2 years apart, the boys are 2 years apart & the twins have each other. They all have a buddy, just the way I always wanted it for my kids. Last night after a day of "revenge" and squabbles, I looked at my husband and threw up my hands. Maybe my sil has it right. She was just saying that she heard that siblings that are too close in age just fight all the time. She is closer to her sibling that is ten years older than any of her other 5 siblings (although this is not the case in my own situation).

So was I kidding myself when I decided to have all my kids close together so they would always have a buddy to play with on Sunday (since I felt so bad for my best friend who always wanted to play on Sunday because she didn't have a sister), or so they would always have a riding buddy at Lagoon? Yes, these may be shallow reasons for why I had my kids so close together but I concocted these ideas in my youth & they kind of stuck with me. But after days of soap on a toothbrush, breaking up not-so-friendly wrestling matches, threatening soap in the mouth for unkind words, toilet papered bedrooms and who knows what else I am starting to question what I have got myself into.

Yellowstone Road Trip

Whoever put the words, "Yellowstone Vacation" together in the same sentence has not been there with the Stucki's. I truely believe that this was a "road trip" in every sense of the word. Waking up at dawn, driving from sight to sight and getting to bed late (we can blame the late nights on the Olympics) is not my idea of a vacation. The kids were wonderful & enjoyed it more than I would have at their age but I was truely sleep deprived. Those of you who know me best know I am a crab when I don't get my rejuvenating sleep.

We spent a big part of our first day in Yellowstone looking for bears. After realizing "if" we were lucky we would only see them through a telescope, we ended up spending $50 to go to a museum for an hour to see a bear up close. After all, we had promised the twins & Tommy that we would see bears or some kind of wild life all the way up just to keep them excited.

The in-laws were our personal guides.

We hit Jackson during rush hour??? It took us forever to just get into town with the rest of Yellowstone. That night we went to Bar J's. The food was good but the entertainment was a little much for the little ones & both girls weren't feeling too good so we had to bail early. Tommy couldn't wait to get his cowboy hat and whatever Tommy wants, he gets, and whatever Tommy gets, so do the twins!

Eric is already talking about next years trip. All in all the trip was a bigger succes than I could have hoped for but next year I'm heading to Cali to bask in the sun and never leave the beach except for a day or two at DisneyLand. Now that sounds like a "FAMILY VACATION"!

Where did it Go?

We spent time freezing at Bear Lake and camping up Paris Canyon.


We spent the month of July with cousins at Lagoon, This is the Place State Park, & hanging at Grandma's.


Alicia got another dramatic hair cut & she couldn't love it more.


Stadium of Fire was a great time. The kids loved Miley although she was my least favorite act of the night.



I can't believe summer is almost over. Kids go back on Monday & Emily is going to Junior High. It'll be just me and the twins hanging out & enjoying peace & quiet.

Who am I kidding?

Homework & the twins without the extra eyes to help me keep them out of trouble about make me want to stay in bed and never leave. JK! For those of you who thought I gave up the blogging world.... I'm back.

Who says diet drinks aren't harmful?

"A good, in-depth study has found that just one can of diet soda a day can increase your risk of becoming prediabetic. The study suggested that the sweet taste of the artificial sweeteners may actually confuse the brain and cause us to gain weight."

I heard this on Good Morning America this morning. I find it very interesting because I am constantly hearing that diet drinks can't have a bad affect on you. They don't have any calories or any fat so what is the harm? The study includes all artificial sweetners. I don't drink soda but I do drink Crystal Light which I assume has the same affect. Moderation in all things is the way to go!

Embarrassing? Not this time

On the day before my birthday I was surprised with an email from my hubby. It said I should pack my bags w/ a nice outfit and be ready at 3:00. My mom showed up to babysit (surprise!) and we headed to Salt Lake. We checked in to the Hilton (thanks priceline!) and walked around town so I could get hungry since I just had an early birthday lunch w/ friends. We ate at the Blue Iguana (yummy). At this time I still didn't know what we were going to do until I looked at the sign on the Capital Theatre and saw that Stomp was there.

Eight years ago, Eric surprised me with tickets to Phantom of the Opera there. I borrowed a white floor length stretchy beautiful dress from my neighbor. I didn't have shoes to wear with it so we stopped at Nordstrom Rack to pick up a pair. Not realizing how slick new shoes can be, I got up before the play began to run to the restroom. We were up on the balcony about 15 rows up (we sat in almost the exact seats for Stomp). I slipped and went sliding down 13-14 rows. I landed at the bottom with my stretchy dress up around my waist. I was so embarrassed I told all that was running to help that I was fine and headed to the restroom. By the time I got there, my ankle was swollen. I couldn't even walk. Thank goodness Eric came to see how I was because he basically had to carry me back. I was pampered by those hoping not to get sued for the rest of the night.

Stomp was wonderful and I was careful not to leave my seat until the end of the performance.

Young Entreprenuers

Just a few surprises I found out of the 20-30 that these two took. I could hear them laughing and when I went in to investigate I discovered they had my camera. It wasn't until much later that I discovered what they were up to. I guess Benny is the model and Adam the photographer. But in some shots, I just can't tell.