Announcing...

Moving in together

We finally got the bunk beds we ordered about a month ago. The boxes sat in the living room for a week so I decided to do something about it. I assembled them all myself. With some help from Preston and Peter. It actually wasn't that hard. They look black in this picture, but are actually a dark walnut. Preston was actually pretty excited to have Paige move in with him. Ever since his cousin, Bentley, stayed with us, he has been saying he needs a GIRL to sleep in his room with him.
I was nervous about how Paige would do her first night. She woke up three times. Each time she would say "lay down to me for a minute!" It was a long night. In the morning I asked Preston how it was with his sister crying and he exclaimed "she didn't cry at all!"

Yesterday I kept trying to get her down for her nap and she wouldn't. I finally rocked her to sleep and put her in the crib. Then last night, she only woke up once. This morning she told us she was tired and went right into her bed. Greg got this cute picture of her.

Bear Lake

We spent the weekend at Bear Lake with our friends, the Summers. Back in June, I called our vacation club to cash out some credits for gift certificates and got talked into actually using my points and booking something nearby. I am so glad that I did. This trip was much needed and so beautiful. First, I was amazed at the color of the water, especially when we were right out on it in the boat. Second, the leaves were already changing so the mountains were so bright.

Preston had fun fishing on the dock. He fished out on the boat with his new Transformers fishing pole and got bored quickly. On the dock, he could actually SEE the fish. He keeps telling us that he gave it an owy because he watched Greg pull the hook out.

Preston's tag line for the weekend was- "Hey Daddy! Do you wanna get squished?" He loved the murphy bed in the wall that folded up. Greg squished him several times.

We found an awesome beach on Saturday. I couldn't believe how the kids just ran out and played in the water when it was so cold. Water temp was 60 degrees, but the air was about 70 so it was warm enough to enjoy the heat. Paige splashed around while Preston chased seagulls.

Both of the kids love the beach because it is a giant sand pile. They dug around in this hole for awhile.

Paige loved splashing in the water with Daddy. He walked out a ways and got her to follow him all the way up to her chest.

Preston collected sea shells. He was very protective of his prize and made sure he knew where they were at all times.

Greg had an awesome run both days. I couldn't get enough of how blue the water was. It was literally like looking down into a swimming pool. Riding in it was even better.




Check me out. The foil might not look THAT high off the water, especially compared to Greg. But look at how high my head is and you'll know why I can't get the grin off my face when I ride. I love this sport! Too bad this was probably my last ride of the season. Greg will get out a few more times with the guys. We wore the dry suit so the water was very comfortable and not at all cold. I am so bummed that the season is almost over. We have played so much this summer. It's been great having so much time as a family.

Boating with the Canning Family

We went out with our next door neighbors, the Cannings, on Saturday. The kids loved being on the boat together. We expected it to be pretty cold and bundled up, but the weather actually warmed up pretty fast. They always love being in the bow.



We were all a little surprised when their 11-year old daughter decided she wanted to try it. She got up on the water a couple of times. She did so well.



Joyce also got out and loved it. She did great considering she had never been able to get up on skis before.




Greg gave all five kids a turn on his lap. It took some coaxing, but each of them loved it. I was a little nervous as the driver. Particularly when I saw Greg JUMP with Paige on his lap. I thought they were going to crash. It really freaked me out. Of course, he thought it was great. Paigey was a little upset at him and let him know it.




Preston cried that he didn't want to go out. The water was a little cold, but we kind of made him do it. Well, just like last time, as soon as he got out of the water, he was all smiles. He was so proud of himself and continued to tell us he is a PRO. When you ask him his name, he will tell you "Preston Gregory's Son Pro-Sky Skier Crockett". He came up with that himself. We were proud of him.

Boating with the McInnes Family

We went out on Thursday with the Mcinnes family. They live behind us and have two cute boys. Preston and Max played and played while we all skied. I got this cute shot of Paige. She is always asking to go boating and walks all over the place while the boat is going. She has pretty good boating legs.




Matt and Michelle both got up on the ski and thought it was fun.




Matt took some pictures of me while Greg drove the boat. It felt so good to get out again. I have been going through withdrawal because the clinic was the last time I got to ski. I went almost a whole month! I crashed a lot, but got some great jumps at the wake. I can't help but let out a yell when I get so high. It is such a rush. I know the ski doesn't look that high off the water, but keep in mind how much higher my head is!





I got some awesome shots of Greg. The lighting was great at the end of the day. He makes it look so easy. His jumps are so smooth and he just glides through the air. Maybe someday, I'll attempt an invert. I never thought I would be good enough to even jump it, so you never know.

Cherish Bound Convention

We had our convention for Cherish Bound this weekend at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival.







We were able to hold our meetings on Friday and Saturday morning in a tent right on the park grounds. I gave a presentation about our customer service department since that is what I am in charge of. I answer all the email that comes into our support system or forward it to the appropriate person.

As I listened to Carol Rice talk about the power of story and the connections we help people make, I was reminded of the first night I heard her speak in 2003. I was so inspired that night. I remember coming home and not being able to sleep as I thought of all the books I wanted to make. I still love this company. I love their mission and the difference they are making with every book someone creates. There are plenty of photobook companies, but Cherish Bound is about more than that. They have stayed true to their original vision of helping people actually write their stories and provide so many tools to help with that. To this day I have published 18 books! I have covered my life from the day I met Greg all the way through my 2007 yearbook.

One of the best Christmas presents ever was the book my sisters and I did for Mom that was filled with memories of our childhood. The night we got together to talk about it was awesome because we all came together and laughed and enjoyed remembering our childhood. Then, when Mom opened her present and the tears streamed down her cheeks, we knew we had given her a great gift. The book is truly priceless and one of her treasures.







We spent the afternoons at the festival. The Timpanogos Festival has been around for 19 years! I had no idea. The park at the base of Provo canyon was built specifically for this festival so there is a place for everything. They get approximately 20,000 visitors, the second largest festival in the nation.

I was first introduced to the art of storytelling at our convention last year. I am a huge fan now. Watching these professionals is like watching a combination of stand up comedy, drama, and musician. There are several styles of tellers. I find I connect most with the personal narrative. I watch these tellers talk about their childhood and I realize that my stories are really boring. Oh well though, if I don't write them, no one else will. My favorites at the festival were Carmen Deedy (above) and Kevin Kling. Both keep you completely engaged for the entire story. Megan and Delayna came down for Saturday afternoon and we had a good time together.



The consultants and staff of Cherish Bound that attended the convention.



The final highlight was Laughin' Night on Saturday night at the Scera Shell theater. The place was completely packed. It was awesome. They had about 10 storytellers that each came out and shared one story. Their stories were incredible. I laughed so hard. The concert alone is worth going to every year.