Just keep swimming

One of my favorite lines from a movie is Dory from Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming". That seems to be my mantra lately. My head is just above water but that's the side that I want it on.

I have been so ridiculously busy and blogging hasn't even been on the list of things to do. 4 weeks left of school WOO HOO!! So here are pictures of some of the happenings the past few months.

Hunter is getting so big.

He is so smiley and really a good baby

He looks a lot like Hayden but I also see my dad in him too

Hayden turned 8 in February, I'm a horrible mom and didn't post anything about it. He was baptized on March 20th. We also blessed Hunter that day. Hayden didn't even mind sharing his special day with his brother. A special little story about his baptism. We had originally planned on doing the baptism/blessing on Hayden's actual b-day. At the beginning of February my dad let us know that he was having neck surgery and would have to be on bed rest for 6 weeks so would not be able to come. When I told Hayden that his grandpa couldn't come he immediately said, "Then I'm not going to do it. I'm not getting baptized without my grandpa. We'll just wait until he can come." Can I tell you how proud I am to be his mother. He truly understands the importance of family. We had so many show up to support us and I am truly thankful for our wonderful family for the love and support given.

Dad & Hayden

Hayden & Hunter in their matching

outfits on their special day

Hadley decided to cut her hair. I have to say that

when I saw the hair fall to the floor after the first

cut it took my breath away but we love it.

She also lost her first tooth!

Here are some pic's from our Easter egg hunt

at Grandma & Grandpa Humpherys

Hallie had a blast this year

Madison & Carter hid the eggs

Here is my amazing Mother-in-law She is a saving grace. I cannot say enough about the woman that she is. She has helped so much during the past few months by feeding my family and helping watch kids etc. She also has the funnest traditions for our family like the easter egg hunt where she fills eggs with $ for the kids. What an amazing example of unconditional love she gives to us all.

Cousin Trae, our little Easter bunny

Shawn & Trae snuggling. This does not usually happen

so I had to get a picture of it

We had to put our sweet, old dog Lloyd down last week. He had cancer and was in pain. It was so hard on our family and we are thankful for the time that we had with him. Lloyd was 11 years old and we all loved him so much.

We went camping at Downata at the end of March. It was cold but a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the kids. We didn't get the camera out until after Shane & Nicole left so we didn't get any pictures of Nash & Sloane but they were there too.

Hadley in her bed. She loves that silly hat

Shawn and Hallie dancing in our trailer

These are from a baby shower that my friend from work, Jessica, threw for me and another co-worker who is expecting in April. Here is the super cute cake that she made. What talent...

This is Jess holding a game that we played

So I know that I am missing a ton but these are just a few pictures that I got off my camera in a hurry. May cannot get here fast enough. School is done for me on the 6th. Cross your fingers that I can endure to the end.

The concert

For my birthday, Heather bought me tickets to the Blue October concert in SLC. Our friend Kirstin also had her 30th b-day in March so she was also treated to the concert. We left on Tuesday afternoon and met Kirstin there.

The venue was The Depot, which none of us had been to. We were there early enough to have gone right up to the front of the stage, but we are older now and didn't feel the need. We found nice seats at the edge of the room. It was perfect for us. We had a great view of the band and we didn't get smooshed.

I brought my camera but, being the braniac that I am, left it in the car with my coat/purse. We all had our cell phones so we did get some pic's. Also in the attempt to not bring those items in, I wore my cell phone on my belt. This is something that I DO NOT DO but I didn't want to loose it. I made fun of my "bulge" all night. Here it is:

It was a great concert. The opener was not bad, the lead singer was a little dramatic and we laughed a lot at him. That's right- at him. Blue October was great though. They played all of the songs from their new album and several favorites of my favorites from other albums. Here are some pic's of the concert. We had bought the edited version of the CD and so there were a lot of words in the original songs that we didn't realize were there. We looked at each other and giggled every time that he swore in a song. It made me appreciate the edited version though.

Lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld

Now the story of the girl-

After the concert, we went out on the floor to take pictures of ourselves. One of the band members, Ryan Delahoussaye, came out and was signing tickets so I of course went to get mine signed. This girl (totally drunk) came up to the stage and started telling him a sob story of how she had lost her kids (possibly something to do with her being a crazy lush) and that the band was the only thing that helped her get through it and begging him to give her something. He gave her a guitar pick and she thanked him and then asked him if he was part of the band. I bust up laughing and I was right next to her. She said, "you can all laugh at me but I got something that is worth a lot" Again couldn't stop laughing. Here are some pictures of me standing next to "the girl" she is the one on the right.

We laughed and joked and Kirstin did her best to talk the security in to letting us back stage but it just didn't happen. We got t-shirts (thanks again Heather) and were finally told that we had to leave. Here are a couple of pictures of us being groupies. Notice that Heather is not in any of the pictures. She was the photographer. She is the most successful person I know when it comes to staying out of pictures.

As we walked outside it was raining. We looked down the street and low and behold saw the lead singer getting off the tour bus. He decided that he would greet his fans and sign some autographs. Here he is with some of his fans.

drum roll please....

That is really Kirstin and I in the picture with the lead singer of Blue October!! He also signed all of our shirts. He was very nice (and very high).

We then stayed at hotel Bybee again. It was so great. Kirstin & I stayed up half the night talking and laughing. It was absolutely the best birthday present ever. Thank you so much Heather for everything. I had the best time and I really needed it. Thanks Kirstin for coming with us and for letting us stay at your house. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. If I'm going to be away from my kids, I couldn't ask for better people to be with.

A huntin we will go....

Shawn took Hayden hunting last week. They went with cousin Barry. Although nothing was slain, they had a great time together. Here are some pictures that Shawn took.

Isn't Star Valley beautiful?

Cutest boy-ever!

Great story- bad ending

We went boating on Palisades lake on Monday 8/18 with Tena and Gerald. Gerald is still up at Grand Targhee so he met us in Swan Valley. He was so funny when we pulled up- he was in his shorts and a cowboy hat. He's lost a lot of weight and Tena had to make fun of him. We got out on the water and Shawn did some wake boarding, we stopped at a beach for some lunch and then got back out of the water. Shawn, Tena, Hadley and I all took turns on the tube. Hadley loves to ride the tube. She was out there on every ride. I brought my camera but true to fashion, left it in the car. So here are a few with my crappy cell phone camera. This is Shawn, Hadley, and Tena. Gerald's cowboy hat had blown off and Shawn had picked it up from the tube. He had it on his head and that is about the only thing you can see in this picture.

Well right after this picture was taken the hat blew off Shawn's head and in to the water again. Gerald circled around to get it again, missed the first try and then ran over it the second time. This time it sunk. Shawn tried to save it but couldn't dive with his life jacket on. Gerald was none to pleased to lose his hat that he had used all summer but at least it was just a cheap $15 hat.

We found the hot spring that empties in to the lake. I wish we had a picture of this. It is a tiny little area where the hot water comes in to the lake and we were all huddled in this tiny spot trying to keep warm in the cold water. Gerald, Tena, Hayden, Hadley, Hallie and I all crammed in a little spot. Tena had the best spot and she kept laughing telling Gerald "I'd really like to give you my spot but I just can't". Shawn was out in the cold water in his wet suit splashing us. He said we looked hilarious.

It was getting dark and we decided to head back. We were about 10 minutes from the dock at full speed when we suddenly lost power. The boat was still on but it wouldn't move. Shawn was smart enough to flag down a boat that was following us immediately. Luckily he did because it was the last boat out there besides us. The nice couple in the boat towed us back. It took about 1/2 and hour. Shawn is used to doing this but is usually on the other end- the saving side. We got the boat out of the water (by we I mean Shawn and Gerald) and got the kids packed in to the car.

No this story is not over. The lights on the trailer would not work. Apparently a fuse in our car was not working. We had no light to check it. Again luckily a few campers came by to dump their garbage in the dumpster by the dock. They were on 4 wheelers and were able to shine their headlights on the fuse box. They got 1 brake light working and we were able to use a jump pack to get the lights working in Swan Valley. That did not last long but we made it home in one piece, without being pulled over. It was much later than planned but it all worked out.

All in all, it was a fun trip and makes one heck of a story.

Seattle or bust

Being the Twilight groupie that I am, I had to attend the latest Stephenie Meyer book signing in our area. Unfortunately, the closest one in our area was in Seattle- an 11 hour drive away. Luckily, I have the best sister's in the world. Heather said that she would drive, and Brooke watched my children so that I could go because Shawn was scheduled for 12 hour days each one of the days I would be gone.

Heather, Brandi Hunter (our co-worker/friend), and I left on Monday 8/11 for Seattle. It was a long drive but was not a bad one. Heather did the driving, I read and Brandi slept. We talked and laughed. It was actually fun. It's a good thing Heather likes to drive so much. I was the navigator (ie: read the mapquest directions to Heather) and a poor one at that- I think. We got to our hotel at 11:00 p.m. When we pulled in to the parking lot, there were 2 police cruisers lit up. We were all wondering what kind of hotel this was. Not to worry, it was just an accident that had pulled in to the parking lot. We got in to our room and turned on the olympics. Heather and I had the giggles and were making fun of the commentators for the gymnastics. I'm sure Brandi thought we were crazy.


The next day 8/12 we got ready and headed into Seattle. We went up the Space Needle, to the market on the pier, and out to lunch. I would love to live by a market like that. The fresh fruit and flowers alone would have me there all the time. The book signing started at 7 so we left early so we had plenty of time to get lost, etc.


The signing was also a concert. It was a signing with singing. Justin Furstenfeld, the lead singer of Blue October, sang songs on a acoustical guitar. It was awesome. Justin came out first and sang a couple of songs, then Stephenie did a Q&A and then Justin came out again. He and Stephenie told about the songs he sang- which characters the songs related to for Stephenie and what the song meant, or how it came about to be for Justin. It was great!! Then it was over and Stephenie had over 2,000 books to sign. We had to wait about 2 hours for our turn to stand in line. It wasn't bad, they let us sit in the nice cushioned auditorium seats to wait. It was air conditioned in there and we just sat and read our books. Heather and I had made shirts- the front said "Team Nessie" and the back read "more than my own life". That won't mean anything to you if you haven't read the books.


We left first think in the morning 8/13 and drove all day back home. Again, not a bad drive. Heather and I each took a turn driving (mostly Heather), we slept and read too. I personally had a blast and am so thankful to those that made it possible for me to do it- Brooke, thanks so much for taking such good care of my kids so that I could go and Shawn wouldn't have to miss work. Heather, thanks for donating your car for the drive. Brandi, it was so fun to have you with us. I hope we weren't too wierd for you- at least you got a good laugh. I now have a signed copy of all but one book that Stephenie Meyer has written. Some day I will get my Eclipse signed. I am a nerd!!!

Heather & Brandi in front of the Space Needle:

Heather & I in the Space Needle:

The auditorium full of over 2000 people:

We in our auditorium seats (I'm taking the picutre):

Me in my homemade t-shirt:

Humpherys Family Reunion 2008

We attended the Humpherys Family reunion this past weekend at Heise Camping ground. I really was not looking forward to the reunion this year (no offense Mary Lynn). We have been so busy and out of town for the last few weekends I kind of just wanted to get some things done around the house. I am so glad that we didn't miss it though. Every year I am amazed at what a wonderful family that we are a part of. Everyone is so nice and fun to be around. I have never felt anything but welcome around the Humpherys. Gerald and Tena were not able to attend as they are busy with a new business. Shane, Nicole and Nash are in Boston (we miss you guys) and Linda was just finishing up with girls camp for her ward, so we represented the Gerald Humpherys family on Friday night. On Saturday after breakfast we all went swimming, it was a lot of fun, the kids loved the slide there (a big green hydrotube). Hallie hates the water. After fighting with her for an hour crying in the pool we took her out and let her play on the grass. This she loved. Here are some pictures of her in her swimsuit eating licorice. Notice her black eye, she fell down and hit her head on the door jam. Shawn told everyone that I back handed her (not true):

Shawn got to do a little fishing (very little-poor guy) and I got to visit to my hearts content. Linda, Carter, Madison +2 friends got there around noon. We had a really nice lunch and then there was a pie eating contest. I don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed that my husband won. He ate the pie in about 30 seconds. It was hilarious. Here is the video of the contest.

and the aftermath (isn't he dead sexy):

This is Hadley filling up water balloons with her cousins Mercy, Ian and Porter (hope I spelled them all right).

The kids were so sad to leave on Sunday because they had so much fun playing with their cousins. It is so great that even if we only see one another once a year they are all buddies by the end of the visit.

10....big ones

On June 20th Shawn and I celebrated our anniversary. We have now been married for 10 years. Wow! I can hardly believe 2 things. 1- that we actually made it this long and 2- that it's really been 10 years. It seems like we just got married. Anyhoo, we decided to spend our anniversary at Lagoon. Now we just couldn't go to an amusement park without our kids so we decided to take the family with us. Heather came along as our babysitter for Hallie. We had a blast. The kids loved the rides and we snuck them on as many as we possibly could. We had snacks, visited the beach and just had a great time together. Shawn and I received a lot of slack from our co-workers for not doing something more romantic but we can do that at 20 years when our kids don't care about being with us. But for now I want to spend every chance possible with them. We spent the night in SLC and then did some shopping on Saturday before we went home. It was a great weekend and I'm so happy that I have such a great family to spend time with.

The kids with their icees:

Getting tired:

On our way out (more treats):

Shayla Graduated

I am so old. Shayla, my oldest niece, graduated from Meridian High on 5/31/08. It is absolutely ridiculous. Heather, Mom, Grandma Verda, Brooke and her family and the kids and I all went down on Friday. Brooke & Chet drove in there car. Heather, Mom and Grandma were in Heather's car, and I drove mom's van with Hailey, Andrew, Carley, Hayden, Hadley and Hallie. I know that sounds bad but I had the DVD player and head phones for each of the kids. Meanwhile Heather had Mom and Grandma telling her how to drive and counting the seconds between her and other vehicles the whole trip.

The kids had a blast playing and swimming. The actual graduation was Saturday and then we went out to dinner with Shayla afterwards. Dad & Donita came up on Saturday for the graduation and dinner. It was a nice little trip but it was a real emotional experience. My oldest child is the same age as Shayla was when I graduated. That hurts!

My pictures are still on my camera so I will update those when I can.......

We saw Stephanie Meyer!

Stephanie Meyer,author of the Twilight Series, came to Salt Lake on a book tour for her new book The Host. Heidi Graham, Heather and I were able to go. It was a really nice trip. We drove up on Friday evening. We stopped at Chili's in Layton to eat and ran in to my aunt Teresa, cousin Tana and her kids. What a small world. Then it was on to Orem to stay with one of my best friend's growing up, Kirstin Bybee's house. Poor Heidi had to listen to Heather, Kirstin & I reminisce until she finally went to bed around 10 or 11. We sat up until 2:30 in the morning talking and laughing (mostly laughing). Whew! morning came fast yet I still slept very well. We got to the venue at about 10:00 for the doors to open at 10:30 and found an already huge line waiting. Everyone was dressed in their Twilight and The Host shirts. Everyone was so excited to be there and was so nice. We asked some complete strangers to take our pictures and they were more than happy to help us out. Here is a picture of us waiting in the hall:

The doors opened and we finally got in to the auditorium. We were group 11 and were hoping that our group would make it to the first signing. Our hopes were not enough as they only got through group 10 and took a break. Oh well, it made our wait after the signing close to nil. There was a box up on the stage during this time to put in questions for Stephanie to answer. Here are some pictures that I took while we were waiting. The first one is her walking out on the stage as the crowd went wild, the other two are of her signing the books of groups 1-10.

Stephanie took a 1/2 hour break and then came out to do a quick Q&A. She answered about 5-10 questions and guess what? She picked one of my questions out of the huge box... I asked what her kids favorite characters of her books were. Too bad that once I realized that she had picked my question my mind went to mush and I didn't even hear the answers. Here are some pictures of the Q&A.

After the Q&A we has about a 15 minute wait to get our books signed. We each got our copy of The Host signed and we were also able to get 2 of the Twilight series books signed too. Stephenie was really real and just nice, she apologized for talking so fast. I really felt like when she was talking that she would have fit in really well laughing on the couch at Kirstin's house the night before. So with our books signed, we were off.... after a quick lunch, we headed straight for Tai Pan and then to IKEA for some shopping. It was so fun. Thanks Heather for driving. Thanks Heidi for coming with us. It was a blast!