I Gotta Go Back! Back, Back to School Again!

Back to School already! Wow THIS summer just flew by! I was completely taken back when the week before school it dawned on me that I only had 6 days before the first day of school!

*The first day of school , August 20th, also happened to be my birthday. Three years in a row I've go to claim the birthday gift of sending them off!

I can now officially be called thirty-something. Still trying to figure out if I like that or not! Does 31 seem old? It doesn't to me., but I remember thinking how OLD people seemed when I was younger and now I realize they were only my age!

And here's a little fun fact! My mom had her ninth and last baby at 31! I know-she's amazing!

Anyway, back to my kids--Don't they look adorable! They were all SO excited! The night before we got out the paper, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, folders, scissors, pencil sharpeners, etc... It was so fun watching them organize their piles (under Madeline's direction of course!)

This year I decided to cut a few apron strings and let the kids pick out their own first day of school outfits. It was a little tough for me, but I knew eventually it had to happen!

Also, this year I signed the kids up to be AM students which means instead of going to school at 9:15 they start at 8:00. We're already one month into school and it's been awesome! I love sending them off so early!!

Megan started 3rd grade and although she keeps saying she doesn't like school, I think she secretly does! If we could just eliminate ALL reading I think she'd be happy! She is such a good reader-she just doesn't enjoy it. Now that's a mystery that needs to be solved. It's not in her genes-that's for sure!

This year she has a great teacher who made home visits to ALL of her students so that she could get to know them and their families better!

Maddie is in the 4th grade this year. The whole way to school Madeline kept saying, "I can't believe this is happening!" She is my one child who LIVES for school. Nothing is more exciting to her than getting into class, writing in her notebook, and getting a homework assignment! In fact that morning I had to tell her that I didn't want her to get to disappointed if the teacher didn't give them a homework assignment because on the first day most teachers don't. She just looked at me and stared!

Logan is a 5th grader this year! I still can't believe that in 2 years he'll be in Junior High! I'm just not thinking about it! This year they are studying American History!! It's finally happening-his dream subject (he did tell me he wished they would just focus on Frontier History. I told him he can't have everything!) I think his history teacher was a little surprised at how much history he does know. He asked him to hold off on answering some of the questions to give the other kids a chance!

I just had to put in this picture! It's blurry and everything, but I had to wake up the little girls to take the kids that morning! After months of sleeping in they weren't too sure what was happening!

More Family Fun

We had another family reunion the first AND second weeks in August. Only this time it was for Jared's side of the family and let me just say-it was most definitely a Norris World here in Utah!

It was the first time that we had been together in 4 years and oh boy did everybody make up for lost time!

We stayed local (local being Orem and Provo) and because Jared's brother lives just down the street from us, everybody had fun house hopping.

Some of our adventures included:

• Tubing down the Provo River (and in case anyone is wondering. . . there's a little bit of danger involved with that!-kind of like scary fun!)
• Hiking to the Y , luckily on a cloudy morning!
• A tour of BYU- given by BYU alumnus Jared Norris
• Attending a session and sealings at the Provo Temple with the adults for Jared's ancestors
• The 2nd annual Norris 5K
• An evening of pure entertainment (otherwise know as the family talent show)
• BBQ at the park with baseball games and kickball games on the side
• Attempting to take family pictures in my backyard (thanks to Keith and Tracey's camera they turned out awesome!

We LOVED seeing everybody and the kids had a blast just hanging out with their cousins!

There were many, many, MANY Otter Pops devoured, games played, jam sessions, late, late LATE nights conversations, and even a new blog (or two) created so we can keep in touch better!

12 Years and Counting!

The last weekend in July, Jared and I headed down to St. George to celebrate our 12th anniversary.

I can't believe 12 years ago we we're doing this:

Thanks to my FABULOUS sisters and Jared's brother we were children free! Oh what freedom!

It was just a little weekend getaway, but we had so much fun!

Our first night there we caught the night showing of FOOTLOOSE at Tuacahn.

What a fun theater! It's outdoor and the stage is smashed right up against the huge red cliffs in St. George. We thought we were going to get rained out, but a few sprinkles didn't stop the show! We had great weather!! The production was just awesome!

All the songs for the musical are from the Footloose soundtrack! "Let's Hear It For the Boy," "Almost Paradise," and on and on!

Jared had a hard time keeping me in my seat when they sang, "I Need a Hero!" (it's an all time fav!)

They even did the tractor race on stage. . .with real tractors!

It was SUCH A FUN night!

The next day we hit the outlet malls and then decided to head over to Zion's National Park.

When we got there we were getting ready to pay our $25 entry fee (that's a lot of money per car if you ask me), but we totally lucked out because Zion's was celebrating their 100th anniversary and everybody got in FREE for that day!!

The park was a little packed, but since we didn't have any kids it didn't really matter!

I loved hearing all the facts about the park, but my most favorite landmark was the Weeping Rock. I couldn't believe that the water you see dripping from the rock, is water from 1,000 years ago!! The Navajo sandstone is so porous that it allows the water to travel though it over time! I STILL can't wrap my mind around that!

It was a great weekend away and I was glad to get some alone time with my hubby!

Family Reunion-Sullivan Style!

A few weeks ago, after months of waiting, the big Sullivan Family Reunion had finally arrived! We spent 6 days and 5 nights at Bear Lake with my family (that is just out of Logan, UT for those who are wondering).

Here's where we stayed:

With 2 grandparents, 9 kids (plus 9 spouses) and 29 grand kids, we fill the entire lodge!

Actually baby #29 was born on the Tuesday of our reunion week! His mommy and daddy came up just for the day on Saturday. Here is his VERY pregnant mommy, my darling sis in law April, braving the waves and here she is with little Isaiah just 3 days later!

The first night we arrived the air was full of excitement as we waited for everyone to get there. My parents gave all the kids these tiny lanterns! They had a ton of fun just running wild with them.

Saturday morning Jared and the 3 older kids went horseback riding. I stayed home with Janie and Chloe which I didn't mind. I forgot how big horses are and how I have a slight fear of them!

They did let Janie take a little ride before the big group left. She loved it and the picture of her and Jared is one of my very favorites from this trip.

(JUST CLICK ON THE COLLAGE TO MAKE THE PICTURES BIGGER!)

After riding the horses, we headed over to the beach! This is how we spent Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday as well!

Our days at the beach consisted of playing in the sand (in Chloe's case: eating the sand), splashing around in the water, boating, riding the tube, laughing hysterically at Grandma and Grandpa riding the tube, eating, building sandcastles, collecting shells, wearing our "eye holes" (Janie's interpretation of goggles!), chatting, tossing the football around, and just HAVING A TON OF FAMILY FUN!

At night, the fun didn't stop! We spent our evenings having family baseball games, volleyball games, playing cards, making smores, having our annual family talent show, a testimony meeting, FHE, watching old home movies, and so much more!

Bear Lake is known for their Raspberry Shakes, so right before we headed home, we stopped to enjoy some. Yum!!!

It was such a fun time and one of the funnest vacations I've ever had! Can't wait until next time!

Can I Get a High 5 for the 5K Runners!

On Saturday Jared, his mom Sharon, and I participated in the Utah Valley 5K (yep, for all those of you thinking that Lani and running don't really go together in the same sentence, apparently they do)!

My original plan for the 5K was to just have fun, walk and talk with my sisters, and get a t-shirt.

But things didn't really go according to plan.

I should have realized it earlier when not one sister signed up for the walk, but I didn't.

The morning of the 5K, Jared and I arrive and I look around. And do you know what I see!

People running, jogging, and WARMING UP in the parking lot. RUNNING and JOGGING and the "walk" hasn't even started!!

Then Jared looked at me and asked me what my "goal" was. Goal? What? Umm... I'm sorry I thought this was a fun little walk for charity! I told him I didn't really have a time in mind since I wasn't planning on being timed and that at this point I was just hoping I didn't finish last!

So, after Jared attaches the TIMER to my shoe (see-- in a fun walk you're not TIMED) and I recovered from flashbacks of running in PE class-- I just sat, looked at Jared, and told him I wasn't getting out of the car until I saw someone who looked like me getting ready to do the 5K!

Luckily, a few Lani clones started to appear and although I was still unsure I decided to get out of the car. We met Jared's mom at the starting point and got ready to run the race! As we were waiting Sharon told me she was nervous and I thought SO AM I!

My FABULOUS HUBBY finished 6 minutes under his goal! He even backtracked to take pictures of his mom and ran with her a little of the way to encourage her. Isn't he the BEST!

And guess what?! I actually finished. I had a really great time and would most definitely do it again!

The whole time I was running (okay, so more of walking really fast with a little running in between) I kept thinking of things to keep me going.

I thought of my sisters-in-law Tracey and April who run marathons and I thought, what do they think about for over 26 miles!?? I thought of Sharon running behind me and how inspiring she was running a 5K at 63!

And speaking of Jared's mom, Sharon was AWESOME!

Her goal was to come in under 1 hour and she did!! Her official time was 55 minutes and 24 seconds.

She actually jogged the entire way. THE ENTIRE WAY!! How amazing is THAT!!

It was fun cheering for her as she crossed the finish line. She is 63 years old and running races. Too cool.

After the race they post all your stats and your time. Sharon said her goal for next year was to come in FIRST in her age group! I'm so impressed with her determination!

So until next year!!!

Megan's Baptism Day!

On Friday, our little Megan Marie turned 8!

And on Saturday she was baptized!

It was such a great day for our family! And not just for my little brood, but for the entire Sullivan clan.

We had THREE baptisms that day. Maggie, Gracie, and Megan were all born within a few weeks of each other and on Saturday they were all baptized together!

They sang "This Special Day," a song my mom wrote eons ago. They all looked so cute up there!

Notice how Megan towers over them (and she's the youngest of the three!)

I was holding my breath that Megan wouldn't start giggling in the font (since that's what she does when she is nervous), but she didn't! As she came out of the water she had a giant grin on her face!