4th of July & the Mortenson's "Vacation"

Darren & I actually had 11 days off together with no planned vacation (no road trips this year with gas prices this high)......not an easy thing for Darren to do. We weren't quite sure how we were going to survive. Well......we ended up staying very busy and having a lot of fun!

First.......we remodeled the bathroom: This is kind of a goofy and crooked picture - but if anybody has one of those older mirrors in their bathroom that has the clips and it's attached to the wall - they have this great stuff at http://www.mirredge.com/ (and you can buy it at Lowe's) that goes around your mirror to update it - and it's super cheap. We did this for under $20! It's super cool. We also removed wallpaper, textured (thanks for your help Mom & Steve), painted and put in a new vanity, sink, lightbar, etc.

We watched Fireworks at the Fairgrounds on the 4th!! Hailey loved them!

Then on Saturday we went to Pleasant Valley Days in Scofield and watched the Rubber Ducky race with Nana & Papa!

And then we took an overnight trip to Grand Junction to stay in a hotel and go shopping and swimming. Nana & Papa went with us too! It was a nice little get away and Hailey LOVED swimming. Last year she was afraid to get in the water - but this year she seems to like it a lot more! Mom & Dad had fun swimming with her too!

It ended up being a pretty fun family vacation.......now today it's back to work for us both!

Summertime Photo Shoot....

My Mom & I did a little photo shoot a couple of weeks ago on her back deck! Hailey actually cooperated more than usual - even posing a little bit! What a cutie!

Tribute to my Mom on Mother's Day Weekend

My Mom is my best friend. Anyone who knows me knows that she has always been my best friend. Now that I am a mother I appreciate her even more. She is the best grandma (Nana) in the world to my daughter Hailey. She takes such good care of her and with me working part time Hailey spends a lot of time with her Nana - whom she loves dearly. My Mom is always teaching her new things - just like she did me. She has instilled in Hailey a love of reading - just like she did me. Even when Mom is hurting and you know she's in pain - she never shows it or complains about it. I don't know what I would do without my Mom. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we forget to thank our Mom's for all they do - for all of the little things they do as well. I guess that's why I am thankful we have Mother's Day once a year - to make us stop and be thankful for these things. My Mom is truly a gift to me and my family! Thanks Mom for being you!

These pictures were taken last weekend when we had an "early" mothers day celebration with my Mom, Steve and my brother Bill & his family. We had a fun day together - eating lunch, watching the Jazz game and playing a the Dino-mine Park (Good job Nana! - as Hailey said when my Mom was swinging). WE LOVE YOU NANA!!!!!