Gobble Up Those Books!

I just wanted to share this fun thing that we have been doing in the library, at my new job. We wanted to support the teachers in encouraging the kids to read for 20 minutes everyday. This is what we came up with. We started with a  bare turkey (how embarrassing!). After only 3 weeks this is how may feathers the kids earned. Each feather has a students name on the back. Today we took them all down and did a drawing. Thirteen lucky kids won a brand new book to read for the long holiday next week. It was so fun to see the kids get excited!

Golden Spike Monument...Were the Two Railroads Met

Scott needed to go the Gold Spike National Historical site for extra credit for his History class so we tagged along. I forgot that I had been there as a kid. It was fun to take pictures on the tracks (literally).

The kids were amazed that this was the exact spot were the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met back in the mid 1800's.

 Everyone especially enjoyed learning about the two steam engines that made history, the Jupiter and the 119. These are working replicas that they take out a few times a year for tourists (not the time that we went however).

 Yay for nice people so I could be in the picture too;)

Huge things I forgot...

I forgot to say that I got a job!!! Since I am not in school right now, it has been great having something else to do with my time. It is so much fun! I get to be a part time librarian in an elementary school! It is so much fun to get the kids excited about reading! I don't have a picture to go with it, I just wanted to make sure it got mentioned;)

 

The other thing that I forgot is that James played on the 8th Grade football team for his school. He had a great time being part of a team and building his muscles. He is the dork with the red long sleeves on the right hand side behind the cheerleaders. You can kind of see the beginning of his number 55.

Halloween 2013

Halloween this year was pretty fun. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money so I challenged the kids to come up with their own costumes. We spent a total of $11.98 on all three costumes. My kind of Halloween!

 We had a pink kitty...

 An MIB agent...

 and an army dude...

 James has speech and drama for one of his classes this year and has a very nice teacher who did his makeup for him. He wanted to be old like Tommy Lee Jones in MIB. If you look closely you can see the age lines on his face. Pretty awesome!

 Since I work at an elementary school library, I got to dress up too. It was pretty fun! We played Halloween music all day in the Library and let the kids listen to the story of The Ghost with One Black Eye.

Family Pics

We had dinner with the Herbon family during the summer when Mitch was here and I forgot to put in on here. It was fun to have 2 of my 3 siblings present. We sure missed Alex and Emilie that night though.

 In August, right after the wedding in Georgia, my dad came to Utah with Adrianna to visit. We met at Carlos and Diana's cabin for an asado. James was at scout camp all week until Saturday night and his buddy Dominic needed a place to crash for Sunday and Monday so he came with us too. James and Dominic were fighting over the seemingly last can of Sprite. Silly boys!

 What a fun time we had. Family, good music, and awesome food always makes us happy! This is the only picture we got with the kids and my dad and Adrianna, but it turned out pretty well I think. It was a fun visit! Grandpa Roly and Adrianna spoiled the kids rotten! They also spoiled Scott and I because they took the kids shopping for school clothes. Thanks Dad and Adrianna!

Scott is Amazing!

In December of last year, Scott had weight loss surgery. We are so proud of the progress that he has made and the efforts to be with us longer! Less than 11 months ago, he weighed 350lbs and now at 210lbs, he is enjoying life so much more! Way to Go!!!

Backpacking

This post was contributed by Scott:

 What a Summer we had! The boys and I went backpacking in the High Uintas to Cuberant  Lake over the Fourth of July weekend. It is a 5 1/2 mile hike in and out I had a 85lbs pack and loved every minute of it. We were their for three days and decided that this will become a tradition every summer. One year ago I weighed 350lbs and had a 55 inch waist I could only dream of doing this. Now at 210lbs and 36 inch waist, I can do so much more than just dream. What a change in my life. I feel blessed to have this new attitude about life and opportunity to really live.  

 

 We were at the top of the 1500 foot incline that drops down into the Cuberant Lake basin. I am proud of Carter and James. This was not an easy hike. There were a lot of vertical climb. They were troopers and made it to the finish.

Adrienne's Wedding

It was so fun to meet a lot of my family in Georgia to celebrate Adrienne and Eli's Wedding! It was the first time in a long time that all of my siblings were together in one place. My only complaint is that I am still the shortest one;) Oh well, I guess that isn't going to change. It really was so fun to see everyone and hang out with them for a few days.

 Adrienne was so beautiful and so happy. She could not quit bouncing and smiling. She has such a beautiful and contagious smile!

 At one point the pastor had them turn around and look at all the people who were there to support them and love them. It was neat to see how happy they are!

 Scott took this photo of Adrienne putting Eli's ring on him. I love the detail in her dress.

 Dad almost didn't make it due to some issues at the airport. We were so glad that he made it in time for the wedding. It was fun to be there together.

 All of the Schwartzman family that could be there. It was quite a party!

 Abuela and Abuelo were there in spirit. There was a table with photographs of all of the wedding party and this photo was included. Diana and I were in tears of course! Abuela would have loved to have been there with us!

All in all, it was an amazing trip. Who knew we could have so much fun in only one week. Whew! We sure miss the family already! It was so fun to have everyone together.

Chattanooga, TN: Aquarium and Riverboat Dinner Cruise

Dalton, GA is only about 45 minutes away from Chattanooga, TN so we decided to spend some time there as well. The town is beautiful! And the BBQ is to die for! While we were there we took the time to visit the aquarium. Before you actually go into the aquarium you take your time going all the way to the top of the building and the first thing you get to visit is the butterfly farm. Incredible!

I did not know that there are freshwater stingrays! Did you? After the outdoor stuff, you take a tour that winds around and around the main aquarium that is in the center of the building. It is kind of like a winding ramp. There are several rooms with other smaller fish tanks to showcase the different species.

 Doesn't this shot inspire the them music from Jaws to start playing in your head...da dun...da dun...

 This does not even do the jellyfish tank justice! The camera flash kept making them glow.

 A shot of a seahorse just for Loreli.

 This otter posed just for us. Good thing our camera takes fast photos because this little guy was busy!

 There were some really odd fish in some of the tanks. I don't remember the name of this one, but it kinda freaked us out!

 I love the bridges over the river and could not resist getting a lot of photos of them.

 This is the riverboat that we went on for our dinner cruise. There was live entertainment (a guy with his guitar) and good southern home cookin' (greens and everything)! Mmmm...it was good!

 The sun didn't quite set over the river, but over the mountain to the left. It still made for a beautiful view though! I got three different bridges in the same photo. Isn't the view amazing!

Lookout Mountain Adventure

In August we were able to go on a fun adventure, just the two of us. We went to Dalton, Georgia for 3 days before we went to Bufford, Georgia for my cousins wedding. It was a lot of fun. One of the carpet mill reps that Scott had known took us out for the whole day. We went to Lookout Mountain, the location of a major civil war battle. It was amazing!

 The first thing we did was visit Ruby Falls. This cave was incredible! The first thing that you have to do it ride an elevator 200 feet down into the mountain. Then you begin your half mile walk downward.

 There are of course, the typical cave formations, beautiful, but typical.

 The thing that makes this cave unique is that at the end of the walk, there is an incredible waterfall, The Ruby Falls. What makes this waterfall unique is that they still have not been able to trace the source of the water.

The next place we went was Rock City. It is a really fun tour through natural cracks in the rocks.

 There were so many fun little views along the way. I loved this little bridge and windmill.

 This metal sculpture was beautiful!

 Scott and I were standing on a ledge across from this beautiful scene.

Scott and I are standing on top of the waterfall. From this point, on a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see the borders of 7 states. It obviously was not a clear day, so we can't testify that, but it would definitely have been a benefit during the civil war if you could see your enemies from a distance.