Trial Lake

We just got back from a camping trip to Trial Lake in the Uintahs with Anthony's brother (Matt) and his family.  This is the first camping trip we have been on in eight years that I was not pregnant or nursing a baby.  It was amazing! We were able to hiking and fishing and just sit around and relax with out much of a schedule to worry about. 

 

This trip made me so excited for our future.  We started talking to the boys about going backpacking.  Someday we would love to have some pack burros that we could take on week long backpacking trips.  We want to pick a different mountain each year and head out on an adventure.  Kyle decided on our way home that this dream could become a reality in three years.  Let's hope he's right!

 Tyler (Age 3), Aubrey (Age 5), Ben (Age 5), Brooke (Age 8), and Kyle (Age 7). 

 Tyler and Camron posing for me on the rock they played "King of the Hill" on  for awhile.

 Mama and Mo Mo!

 What a beautiful place we were given to live!

 Ben caught the first fish of the trip all by himself!

 Kyle caught the biggest fish that first night.

 Tyler taking a break while Cam sleeps on our way up to Wall Lake.

Waiting for Uncle Matt to get back from helping Aunt Amber back down with the stroller.  We quickly found out that the trial to Wall lake was not going to be easy with a stroller.  Anthony is the man though, so he fought his way to the top pushing Camron the whole way.

 Benjamin was so driven to be the first on to the lake on this hike that I was lucky to get him to pause for a pic.  He's the man!

 First to the top = first to play in the snow!

 When we got to the lake some of the crew was ready to turn around and head back down, but Ben and Tyler were determined to go to the other side of the lake and "climb the wall". 

 Sprint to the top and then chill on the way down!

 I love hanging out in the hammock! 

The boys love their papa!

I am such a lucky lady!

Jr. Templar Wrestling - 2013

I never thought I would be a wrestling mom, but my boys have been wrestling for the past three years now and I have really enjoyed it.  We are all still learning a lot about the sport, but the boys are working hard and having fun.  Here are some pics and a little video from the tournaments they have participated in this year.

 

 North Sanpete Tournament March 16, 2013

 Gunnison Tournament March 23, 2013

 

Both the boys are fighting much hard this year than they did last year.  They are working hard and picking up a few moves here and there.  I don't know if Kyle will wrestle again next year, but Ben says he wants to.  We'll see what happens!

The Art of Multi-tasking!

It has been forever since I updated this blog.  Anthony has asked me to update it twice in the last 2-3 months, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  You may be asking yourself..."How did you get yourself to do it today?"  Here's the answer. 

We packed the boys up and headed to church today, but just as Ben stepped out of the van, he told me was goingn to throw up.  Luckily we made it to the restroom before he lost it.  Usually Anthony "takes it for the team" (wink, wink) and stays home with the boys when they are sick, but I had to today because Anthony had to teach in Elders quorum. 

If you would have asked me to stay home and watch Disney movies with a little kid, instead of going to church, 10 years ago I would have jumped for joy at the opportunity to have a real excuse to skip church.  That is not the case these days.  I love our ward here in Sterling.  We are surrounded by so many amazing people.  I never imagined that I would look forward to going to church each Sunday.  I love seeing all of our friends and participating and teaching Relief Society.  I used to avoid Relief Society like it was the plague.  I used to hate listening to all the women talk about their children and I have never been very good at walking into a large group, introducing myself, and then chatting like old friends with people I don't even know (I really envy people with that ability) .  But this ward has taken my family in with open arms.  I love seeing all of our friend each week, but today I didn't get that option.   

I used to be able to just sit and watch T.V. and movies, but I think have lost this ability.  For now, I am going to attribute this to motherhood.  Now that my life is scheduled around meal times, nap times, class times, practice times, homework times of my boys, I feel a unrelenting need to multi-task the things that I want to do.  So instead of just sitting here watching The Incredibles, with my sick boy, I'm listening to a book on my MP3 player while updating this blog.  I've found that the only time I really allow myself to just sit and watch a movie or T.V. is when I am at someone elses house, away from all my projects and to do list.  I haven't decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing.  Maybe it just is, what it is.  So now after four paragraphs of nothing, you finally get the answer to why I am finally updating this blog.  I'm not at church and for some reason I can't relax. 

On to the pics!

This pictures were taken forever ago.  My mom's side of the family has been getting together at my uncle's house, in Mount Pleasant, once a year for the last few years.  My cousins from Vegas come up and we have a barbeque.  This year my cousin drove his awesome motercyle up and he was kind enough to take my boys for a ride on it. 

I think this picture is actually my cousin's father-in-law's motercyle, but his is just as cool, it has an old school side car in it. 

Kyle sporting the "do rag". 

I don't remember taking this picture of the boys and neither does Anthony, but I really like it. Look how old they all look, especially Tyler. He has looked so tall to me lately.

Halloween 2012.  Kyle really got into his vampire character.  He loved getting his face painted and trying to be scary. 

 Cuddling with my boys!

Kyle took the previous picture for us, so this is the picture he wanted me to take of him afterwards.

My handsome "little boys".  It's hard to believe, but Camron is already one.  This happy little man turned one on November 18th.  He is such a sweet, funny, and happy little boy.  We are so blessed to have him in our family.  I can't wait to see what kind of personality he has as he gets older.  I think he will be hilarious!



This is my latest project.  In November I was in charge of our ward's Super Saturday.  At this activity the last couple of years, the projects have be a bit on the expesive side and the church is trying to get away from just crafting as an activity.  So as an alternative to expensive and only space filling projects, our committee decided to do a Saturday meeting on how to repurpose our things.  We called it our Relief Society Saturday Meeting: Repurpose-ology and Other Fun Stuff.  As part of this I volunteered to teach the women how to crochet rag rugs and Liz Ransom taught us how to braid rag rugs.  I had never done this before volunteering, but I wanted to give the ladies in our ward a couple of different ways to make these, so I got on You Tube and figured this out.  The picture above was the first rug that I finished.  I made this one out of old sheets.  I just finished one last night that I made out of old t-shirts.  This has been a pretty fun project.  It takes awhile to get everything ready to crochet, but I like the end result and like that it is made out of something that I may have thrown away or turned into rags in the past.

Also as part of our meeting we had Stacy Lyon do a presentation on repurposing clothing.  She showed us a bunch of ways to spruce up or repurpose old t-shirts.  She also showed us how to make a skirt out of an old pair of jeans.  I am kind of sewing machine handicapped, so my mom made me this skirt out of a pair my jeans.  Pretty awesome, huh?  She is amazing!

 

So there you go.  That should fulfill my blogging requirements for another 3 months or so!  :) 

Sarah’s Questionnaire (Check)

I was tagged by my friend Sarah Scott for the "11 fun facts/questionnaire" powwow and I thought I'd play along. Here are the rules:1 - you must post the rules.

2 - post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3 - answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.

4 - tag eleven people and link them on your post

5 - let them know you've tagged them!

 

11 fun facts about me:

1. I only have one sibling (Justin Scott Miltenberger).
2. I have had the same bird since my little brother was born 27 years ago.
3. I am incredibly grateful that Heavenly Father only gave me sons. The thought of doing someone's hair more than once every three months or so is painful to me.
4. I have never felt the desire to change my hair color.
5. I absolutely loathe having sand on my feet when I am wearing flip flops.
6. The only recurring dream I can remember is being stuck in Skeletor's castle with He-man.
7. I would love to travel around the U.S. sampling the food from restaurants featured on "Drive ins, Diners, and Dives".
8. My first job was soldering circuit boards for ski lifts.
9. I have been coaching soccer for 12 years now. Wow! That kind of makes me feel old. Some of the girls I am coaching now were only 3 when I got my first coaching job.

1. I played racquetball for the Weber State racquetball club.
2. I absolutely detest shopping. I have had the same basic wardrobe since the winter of my freshman year of college (2000). I do acquire new t-shirts throughout the year, but my pants and dress shirts are basically the same, save a few my mom has given me for birthdays or gift giving holidays.
   
   
   
   Questions from Sarah:1. what is your favorite holiday and why? I have always loved Christmas. I have never liked the music, but I love finding just the right gift for my loved ones. My favorite thing ever is being able to make something from scratch for them.
   2. if you had to pick between having hair all over your back that you couldn't shave or being bald and not being able to do anything about it, which would you pick? I would be bald, hands down! Hair backs are nasty and I would imagine that keeping cool with a blanket on your back would be rough!
   3. what is your best memory of high school and why? Playing soccer and basketball. All of my fondest memories were made with the friends I met through these sports.
   4. if you won the lottery, what would be the very first thing you would buy? I've never really wanted/needed anything big. The first thing I would do if I won the lottery would be to pay of my house. Then I would feel free to spend a little more on things than I currently do.

5. how old were you when you got your first real kiss? {12 and under doesn't count} I was a senior in high school. So 18.

6. what is your biggest regret in life? Giving up my senior year of basketball to go to two big soccer recruiting tournaments.

7. what's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? I can't think of just one thing. But I cherish all of the cards and letters that people have written me throughout the years. I have saved every one of them.

8. what is something you are looking forward to? The day I no longer have to tote a diaper bag around with me everywhere I go.

9. if you could visit any country for free, which would it be? I have always wanted to go to Australia for some reason and Anthony would love to go to New Zealand, so either of those would work for me.

10. if you could eat as much as you wanted of one food and you would never gain weight, what would it be? Too much of anything (sugar or salt) always makes me sick, but if I could avoid that stomach ache, I would go for Ranch Doritos. I'm sure there is something more sophisticated that I could enjoy, but I can't think of it right now.

11. in your eyes, what is the perfect date? I have an intense desire to quote "Miss Congeniality" right now, but I will resist. My perfect date right now would be to take a great book, some fishing supplies, and an inflatable raft to a quiet little lake with amazing scenery to read, fish, and relax with my love.

 

I'm breaking the rules of Sarah's game by not typing up some questions and tagging more people to do this activity, but I have to be honest…MY ATTENTION SPAN HAS BEEN STRETCHED TO THE MAX ALREADY! Sorry, Sar, but I think you understand what an ADHD kid I am. Just be proud of me for finally (7months later) checking this much off my list.

Our Adventures at Yuba

The last couple weeks have been pretty crazy.  Soccer has started, which means life for my family has gotten pretty hectic.  Luckily, our family is getting a little older, so it is much easier these days to pack up and take weekend trips.  Last weekend my cousin Dave, came down and stayed with us Friday night and then Saturday afternoon we went out and played on his wave runner at Yuba. 

This is a picture of my awesome cousin and his youngest son Ryan.  Dave and I have always been close.  He and I used to play robot soldiers or cops, usually anything that involved guns, saving the world, or some kind of violence i.e. wrestling, throwing stuffed footballs at one another while speeding through is house or hour upon hour of Mortal Kombat.

Dave is also the man responsible for interceeding not once, but twice in behalf of Anthony and I.  Long story, short...Dave and I decided to go on a double date together,  Anthony and I went on four dates, got too busy for one another for eight months, and then Dave just happend to invited both of us to the same event and the rest is history.

Here is one the amazing results of Dave's intervention.  Camron A.K.A. Cam Cam, Camza, Camo, and most recently...Mo Mo.  My smiley, happy baby. 

Ben's favorite part of the trip was riding with daddy and mommy on the wave runner.  He loved jumping the wakes and chasing the loons. 

This is Dave's oldest son Dawson chilling in the "hot tub" with Tyler.

Lately Kyle has loved having his picture taken.  He was so excited about how pointy he made this sand sludge pile that he had to have a picture taken of it.  I love this picture!  I think it is one of the best pictures I have ever taken of Kyle.

And last, but not least a picture as Anthony put it "to prove that the boys really did have a mom while there were growing up", since I'm always the one behind the camera.  

Anthing that Moves must be CAPTURED!

I will be the first to admit that I am a terrible scrapbooker.  Big surprise right???  So as we all know that is not surprising in the least, but it does shed light on why I feel almost guilty when I don't update this blog very often.  We have had so many fun adventure in the last month or two.  In June we went to Zions with Anthony's family and just yesterday we returned from a camping trip with my mom and dad at Strawberry Resevoir.

I have a feeling may just be a boy thing, but on these two trips we were again reminded that everything that is smaller than you and crawls, slithers, scuttles, scoots, or swims must be captured.  At Zions Kyle and the boys were tireless in their pursuit of lizards and tadpoles.  We camped just above a cool little river that had hundreds of little tadpoles in it.  Ben was in heaven.  He and Kyle stayed down there for hours catching them. 

We also did some hiking while we were there.  We hiked to Weeping Rock and we hiked to the base of the Narrows and played in the little pond.  Most of our trip was spent playing in the river in one place or another. 

Other than hiking and playing in the rivers, Anthony's family pulled out an old event they used to do with their dad called the "Gross Olympics".  In order to qualify to compete, each family had to come up with a gross event.  Some of the events were...I think it is sometimes called "Chubby Bunny" in other words, who has the biggest mouth and smallest gag reflex.  The winner of this event was able to fit, I want to say 15 marshmellows in his mouth.  Actually the best part was watching Anthony's sister Tonya almost toss her cookies every time someone was disqualified for gagging up their marshellows.  I digress, the other events were the partner bologna face catch, the watermelon eating contest, the cheesball spitting contest, and...well...I can't think of any more, but it was fun.  We invited a couple little kids from Oregon that were camped next to us to come participate.  I'm sure they thought we were crazy, but they joined right in and had a great time.

This is a picture of our family at Weeping Rock in Zions.  I have a ton of pictures on my other computer from this trip.  I could say that I will eventually get down to that computer and put more on here, but we all know the likelihood (that word looks really funny, but according to Word spell check it is correct) of that happening is pretty dismal.

  

 Moving on:  The rest of the pics are from our camping trip with my mom and dad to Strawberry Resevoir.  While there the boys caught or tried to catch: chipmunks, fish, crawdads, butterflies, squirrles, snails, and anything else that moved.

Camron was such a good sport.  He was so nice on the boat.  He just checked out when necessary and then played happily when awake. 

The boys don't enjoy fishing as much as my parents and I, so we took little breaks now and then.  For one of those breaks we beached the boat and went hiking up the mountain to look at a goshawk nest my dad spotted.  Tyler and Camron stayed down by the boat with Anthony and my mom while Kyle, Ben, Grandpa and I hiked to the nest.  About 40 yards from the nest Ben spotted these butterflies on a bunch of thistle.  From then on he could care less about the goshawk nest.  When we first saw the butterflies there were about 5 or 6 on each flower.  I told Ben he need to be careful because thistle isn't the most forginving plant, but he was determined to catch them.  The crazy thing is...they didn't move.  He was able to reach down and pick them up one at a time or even five at a time.  So of course, he then had to catch everyone of them!  So we had our own little photo session while Grandpa and Kyle went to look at the nest. 

It was really funny beause this is one of the only pictures I could get of Ben actually looking at me.  When he has bugs or critters around his only focus can be on catching them. 

Here's my proof.  What a funny boy!

Critter chasing pals! 

It only took Kyle and Ben about an hour to catch all of these crawdads.  We usually take them back to camp and eat them, but we didn't feel like putting forth that much effort for a meal on this night, so me made the boys put them back in the lake.  Needless to say, that were not to happy with our decision. 

After exhausting themselves chasing after chipmunks in camp to no avail, the boys focused on a more managable task...SNAIL CATCHING!  I found Ben army crawling under this bush to capture his prey.

This is the first fish Kyle caught on this trip.  He thought it was cool for about 30 seconds, but fishing just doesn't seem to be action packed enough to keep his attention. 

In case you were worried, we did take Tyler with us, he just didn't seem to be around much for photo moments.  This is him after he found his first "sword".  He was busy defending our camp when I snapped this pic.

Ben on his new Bike!

Check out our little man!  We are so proud of this amazing boy.  Thanks to his balance bike, he got the hang of his pedal bike in about 20 minutes.  What a stud!