Bryce's big day...

So today is a special day for our family. Our youngest son was Baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a big and important event in our lives. I can't believe my little boy is 8. WHERE has the time gone. We had family and good friends there to support Bryce. It was a really sweet day and you could feel the Spirit. I held my breath at times because I swear I NEVER know WHAT will pop out of his mouth at any given moment. After we had light refreshments and Bryce opened cards and gifts. His dad and I got him Scriptures (quad) with his name engraved. He also got a Journal, and a great Baptism book from our sweet neighbors. It was an awesome day!!! Now we have cousins over to play and are hanging out and just enjoying today.... I love my family SO much and am thankful we can be a family forever.

Memorial Day.....

My new bike and I will be hanging out alot this summer....
Memorial Day was also my husbands birthday. So what else to do than go to the ZOO!!!! With 2 extra 12 year olds. And we had a BLAST!!!!!! Of course I forgot my camera, dang it. But the new pic on here was taken via cell phone. Gotta love modern technology. We then went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse for dinner and ate and ate and ate! It was yummy for sure.
The kids are out of school and we are just waiting for some summer weather. I am not going to complain because before I know it.... it will be 97 degrees. But I AM ready. Summer pool pass is bought, sunblock is waiting and I hear my bikini begging to come out and play... I MUST have patience. Bryce is taking a reading camp for the month of June and he will also be going to Scout Camp AND get Baptized June 12th. I am so proud of him. Tonight we walked around the neighborhood picking up trash and he was telling us how it is important to respect our planet. (for Scouts) It was really cute to hear him explain. Taylor will also be going to girls camp this year in June (her first girls camp in YW). Time is moving WAY too fast! So June is going to be a busy moth for us! I am trying to make a trip home this summer..girls trip with Tay and I. So we are aiming for July. I hope you all have a wonderful summer!

How cute are they???
Ready for Field Day.
Today is Field Day at school for the kids. Bryce's grade will be doing a dance to Monster Mash and Taylor's will be doing We Go Together from Grease. I may shed a tear because the words to that song are perfect for my little 6th grader moving into Jr. High next year. And sad because I think little things like next year they won't be in the same school building any more, or they won't ride bikes to school together anymore... What can I say??? I am a BIG mushy ball of sap when it comes to my kids!!!!

Better late than never, right?

Last May we all flew out to Michigan to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. My brother and his family were able to come from Chicago and we had such a fun trip. The BIG highlight for Bryce (he STILL talks about it) was going to 12 Oaks Mall and playing on the play place. He said the other day "Remember 12 Oaks Mall in Detroit, Mom? THAT is the best mall EVER... I wish we could go back there forever." Ha ha We are always sad to leave. We are spoiled by my parents every trip and my kids just love and adore them! I loved going to the zoo and going downtown. I forget I have been gone 17 years until I go home and see all the changes. It seems like yesterday I was eating at Senate Coney Island (My FAV.) for my 3 hour lunches from the Endodontist office. I have so many good memories of growing up in Michigan. The trees, the amazing thunderstorms (they are WEAK here), Frankenmuth, hearing the locust in the evenings and the lightening bugs. I often wonder if I had stayed what my life would have turned out as. Many of you know my past of an abusive marriage and that is why I came to Utah so many years ago. To start over. If I had stayed I would have ALWAYS been looking over my shoulder in fear and that is NOT a good feeling or a way to live your life. I KNOW without a doubt my ex would have made my life hell if I had stayed. When I moved here he came out and landed his butt in jail for beating me in my apartment. I remember I had these sweet, innocent sisters as roommates at the time and I think they were more shaken up than I was because they had come from a small town in Idaho and had never seen anything like that before. And I got prank calls up until 2 years ago and I called him out on it and I never got another one again... (it had gone on for months at that point). Now I have not always made the best choices in my life over the years, but I am so thankful for EVERY trial. It has made me stronger and I love the person I have become today. My life is full of joy and peace. And I am married to the most amazing man who is so completely in love with me and our life that I sometimes need to pinch myself to make sure it is real. OR he is so competely insane to put up with my madness!!!!! Ha ha ha ha Either way I am so thankful EVERY single day for the guts Marc had to walk over to my house in the middle of mowing his lawn (he lived accross the street from me) to find out my story. Funny thing about that is 3 hours earlier I was talking to my mom on the phone and she said "I keep praying the right man will knock on your door". And sure enough knock, knock and there is Marc standing on my porch....
Now... many years later every trip to Michgan I still go and see my ex's father and brother. My mom does not understand why I do it.... but growing into the woman I am now I have learned to forgive. And I have forgiven my ex... do I see him? Nope. HOWEVER if I did run into him there is no more fear there. He has no impact on me. And his brother Thomas I will love forever. He gives the best hugs in this world (other than my kids) and never ceases to crack me up!!!! And he still calls me his "dister~in~law" (can't say s) and calls my daughter his neice. He has a heart that is pure. A love that is unjudging and never ending when the family ties are severed. I think if more were like him this world would be a better place.... And that is why I go see him every trip. It will be a sad day in my life when Tom is no longer here to visit.
So this sounds more like a journal entry today! Going thru these pic's made me nostelgic and a little homesick!!!!! So Tay and I are going to try to visit ASAP!!!!

My parents and my kids at Rotery Park...
My biological grandparents Bill and Shirley
My dear friend Paula and I. LOVE this girl!!!!! We go WAY back!
Marc and I... True love!!!
Bryce and Taylor at the Detroit Zoo.. My fav. fountain..

Thomas (Coleman) will ALWAYS be my brother. Rick, Thomas, Tay and I at the Coleman's.
After all these years I STILL love this man... Rick Coleman
Bryce
Taylor and I
My family all together last May in Michigan

Catch up again!!!!

Okay.. many pic's to follow of Vegas...

Wathcing the fountain show at The Bellagio
The Johnson's and The Larsen's
Taylor.... this is the life
Ready to go to the pool
I only got into the pool 1 time!!! TOO COLD!!!!!

FREEZING at the pool
Bryce LOVES the lights on the strip
Me and Bryce being silly at the Rainforest Cafe
Me and Taylor at the M&M store
Marc being a goof with Taylor

Spring break...

Spring break has come and gone too fast! We were able to go to Vegas for 3 days and stay at The Mandalay Bay again (we went 2 years ago and stayed there and my kids LOVED it). It has such a fun pool for the kids. This year we rented chairs right in front of the pool so the kids could play and we stayed and lounged and watched. The weather was chilly but when the wind died down it warmed up a bit. Marc and Taylor got a little, um... burnt and Bryce and I got a pretty good tan. It was a fast trip (we wanted to stay longer but there were no open rooms later in that week)and we had a BLAST!!! And we ended up seeing people from our ward there too. Such a small world when you are Mormon!! So yummy food was eaten, miles were walked on the strip, and I was spoiled because my husband bought me a Louis Vuitton purse (I have wanted one for many years). He is soooo good to me! My kids love going to Vegas and are asking when we can go back again.
School will be out in about 24 days, and I will be the mother of a 3rd grader and a (gulp) 7th grade Jr. High girl. I am not going to lie... my heart is breaking a tiny bit! Taylor has changed so fast since turning 12. Contacts have replaced her cute, innocent looking glasses, she now wears a shoe size bigger than I do and I actually put on a pair of her jeans that fit (tightly) me. She is still playing basketball and makes me so proud daily.
Bryce is a TOTAL crack up still. He has been blessed with the gift of making friends everywhere! He LOVES our neighbors (Brent and Sonya) that live next to us and sits with them every Sunday in church (we have adopted them as grandparents)and colors and practices writing with Sonya. He will be taking a reading camp for the month of June at his school and is really excited to do it! He will be turning 8 in about 2 weeks and will be getting Baptized June 12th. Then Cub Scouts! Life is fun for a soon to be 8 year old boy!
I am still hitting the gym hard and daily and just loving being a mom. We are trying to have another baby so if it is meant to be it will happen. I am truely blessed in my life with all that I have been given and I LOVE my family SOOOOOOOOO much!!!!! I also teach the 12 year olds in Sunday School and am soooo humbled by their strength and how GOOD they are. THEY are such strong exmples to me.
Marc is BUSY with the work season starting up. He has already landed a few big jobs and is almost daily landing more work. We feel so blessed and I am so proud of what a hard worker Marc is. We know how lucky we are to be so busy when others are are struggling to find work.
I hope you all are well and life is good for you also... Love, Sarah

Okay... I FINALLY downloaded pic's to my new computer so this week I will update with a SLEW of pic's..... hang in there Dad and Mom! Xoxo

Well, Taylor turned 12 a week ago. Oh WHERE did the time go? She has been such a joy in my life. She was the CUTEST baby when she was born with an AMAZING amount of hair! And such fair skin that people used to stop us and say she looked like a china doll. She has always had the best little personality. When she was little she was VERY somber and quiet but soooooo good! I can still remember how she smelled as a baby. I was a single mom with her when she was 18 months to 3. It was a hard, hard time. But I look back and have so many wonderful memories of just Taylor and I. I would take her running everyday rain, snow or shine (except Sunday's). I would just bundle her up in the Baby Jogger and off we would go. Then in the summer we would hit the trail in Provo Canyon, her in the jogger and me with my roller blades. When she met Marc, she loved him the second she met him. He was so good with her (made me fall for him even faster) and loved spending time with us both. When we got married he NEVER treated her any differently than if she were his flesh and blood.She never went to preschool (she was soooooo smart.) And I am so glad she didn't because I was able to spend all my time with her. When I was pregnant with Bryce, she was so excited to come to all my appointments with me. And her and I would go to Red Robin after every appointment. She would always slid in the booth and we would both sit side by side and eat lunch. As she has grown, she has become an amazing athlete. Basketball is her talent for sure. She loves to play football, played baseball (on an all boys league) and she is a snowboarder. I tried dance when she was 3 but her heart was not in it. I was not sure what to do with the little tomboy I had because I was and still am a girlie girl! Lol BUT, Tay and I have very simular personalities and sometimes it is like looking in a mirror. She has brought such joy and love into my life and into our family. So now begins a new phase of Young Womans, Jr. High (next year) and boys! Ha ha She has her first boyfriend and the puppy love is so cute. And I would normally be a little put off because, after all, she is ONLY 12. But Justus is a really good kid. Respectful and kind and will hang out with our family, not too cool to do that! She has picked a good group of friends and I love them all. I am so blessed to have Taylor as my daughter....

Christmas...

Christmas has come and gone. But it was a good year for us here. The kids made out! And we did too!!! It was all started off with a fun family party hosted by Tonya and Jason. We had a great time and lots of yummy food! We were soooo lucky to have Marc's grandma with us this year (she is 87!!). Everyone LOVES Dora!!!! She is sooooo sweet!!
We went home and opened our Christmas Eve presents sent out by grandma and papa. New PJ's, which is something we did growing up in my home and I love that my parents still do it even tho we are far away now. Christmas morning the kids woke up at 5:51 am and snuck out to peek. They had made a fort in Bryce's room to sleep in on Christmas Eve and they actually went back in and played Go Fish and came and got us at 7. Taylor's big gift this year was a PSP (Play Station hand held) and some games. Bryce got a Razor Spark Scooter (he calls it a sparkle scooter) that he has been DYING for and was soooo excited to get a guitar from my parents. I was excited to get a waffle maker as our family present (wink-wink) from Santa (think William Sonoma). And we also got a keyboard as a family gift. My husband took very good care of me as well... But for me this year 2 things were what made it Christmas. The first was being able to get gifts from an angel tree at the mall. What touched me about it was there were requests for a case of Mac and Cheese, Case of veggies, case of soup. So we took the kids to Costco and loaded up! I think it really hit me then how much we take things for granted. AND how truly blessed we are in our family. The second was we decided to do Christmas for a family that we knew was struggling. It was fun to go out as a family over a few weeks and buy presents for a family that would never know who it came from. I remember one year when Taylor was almost 2 and I was semi-seperated from my ex and there was a knock on my door and a group of young women I had never seen before were standing there with gifts for us. And they pressed something in my hand and left before I even realized they had done it. I walked back in my house and looked and saw I was holding a 100 dollar bill. That was SOOOOOO much money to me at that time because I needed food for Taylor and I. It had been an answer to my prayers. I will NEVER EVER forget that experience. So for me doing Christmas for someone else... made my Christmas. I have been richly blessed in my life and I am so greatful for my family. I never knew you could love like this. Or be loved like this. I am proof that The Lord truly does love us... I was stubborn and made some lame choices and STILL I have been blessed beyond measure. I am hoping and praying that this year will give me many, many opportunities to be of service to others and less focused on me.... Love to you ALL!!!!!!

The women...
Taylor was SO excited to get a BYU sweatshirt from grandma!!
We look so mad!!

Happy Halloweenie......

My least favorite holiday has past!!! I have no will power for all the candy! And being an ex-dental assistant and the thought of all the sugar on the kids teeth...blah!!!! BUT the kids had a great day. Friday was class parties at school and then a family party with all the cousins!! Good food and fun games with family is always a good time. Then Sat. trick ot treating and Taylor had a Halloween party with some of her friends. It is bittersweet to see her growing up...Today we took our family drive into American Fork Canyon and took a drive up to Tibble Creek. I love out Sunday drives and they really are a highlight of my week.
We also had a fun Halloween church party on Wed. Marc and I were called to Activities Commitee and it was really fun for me to be serving food and cleaning up and just getting to know new people in our ward. Marc was able to get about 30 pumpkins for decoration and the girls in the ward (YW) dressed up like zombies and did a really good dance to Thriller. The kids trick or treated to rooms that were decorated and they had a costume contest where Bryce won for funniest costume (he was a "biker dude"). He was SOOOOO excited! He got a ribbon and some yummy Stephens Hot Chocolate. So, really our Halloween celebration started on Wednesday.
Now it is time to get ready for Thanksgiving, my favorite time of the year. I love the time that starts now and goes thru Christmas. It is my favorite time of the year!!
I hope you are all well and will enjoy the holiday's as much as we will!!
Love you all!!

The kids heading off to school

Yup... I LOVE the 80's
Marc makes a disturbing Richard Simmons...
I am thinking of bringing this look back!!!!

Fall, fall... I love fall!

This was taken about 3 weeks ago.
Okay... So I am now in my 8th week with my trainer. Here is pretty much where I am. I have dropped about 4 1/2% body fat. I am currently at 16.1 and I have lost about 6-7 lbs of actual body fat and gained about 3-4 lbs of lean muscle. I have been working really hard and doing cardio daily(and for those who know me know I would rather give birth with NO drugs than do any cardio). The first month was Core and Stability, the second was Strength and Endurance and yesterday I started Hypertrophy (sp) phase. I think this will be my fav phase. I have an AMAZING trainer who really knows his stuff. I never really thought I needed a trainer, but he has taught me soooooo much! And I never thought I would hire a male, but he is so Peter Priesthood and honestly such a NICE guy with the sweetest wife ever! And he is young and has all female clients my age! Lol And we have ALL had amazing results! Eating has been a big part of it also, eating clean foods (but still having treats once in awhile)... but I find myself craving oatmeal and veggies fruits and I could eat chicken every day!!!!
I had a birthday last week (41) and had a super fun day! Marc took the day off work (he does every year) and we went to Good Things Utah and to lunch and we went and took archery lessons. Sounds funny BUT I have ALWAYS wanted to do it and so he scheduled private lessons for us and it was SOOOOOOOOO FUN!!!!! We will for sure go back! And even with the food and treats I stayed in my calorie range so I had no eating remorse! (I really don't have that ever cuz I never really go over or eat horrible) It was such a fun day. Bryce got me a watch that he was soooooo excited to give me, Taylor gave me one of my fav perfumes (Chloe), and I got 2 wooden rocking chairs for our front patio. I also got and adorable Juicy charm bracelet and cupcake charm (thanks mom and dad and n-laws) and a few other things.
Taylor will be starting basketball on a competitive league in SLC on Sat. The coach of the American Fork High School wants a team put together that learns legit plays and rules that will play together over the next few years so when they get to high school they will know each other well. So she got a call asking her to join! She is soooooo excited! I am too. I LOVE going to her games.
Bryce is Bryce. He is a boy that has me wrapped around his little finger. Listening to Journey the other night in the truck he says (after being quiet for half of the song) "Mom, this song makes me want to gaze into your eyes." Really, can he be any more precious? He LOVES school....loves math, and reading. Gets so excited for it all. Loves eating school lunch (last year there was no kitchen so they brought home lunch everyday while construction was going on at the school).
Marc is still busy at work and has a big job in Springville that hopefully will put us thru the winter.... We have been so blessed to have had work this year. Many have not. We have been blessed in many ways. I am married to an amazing man who loves us all so much. I am so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom and love the time of day when my kids come home from school. They burst thru the door and Bryce ALWAYS runs to hug me and Tay does too, but in her own cool pre-teenage way! Lol She is growing up tooooo fast. Then it is homework and play. Being a mom is such a rewarding honor and I love my little family so much! I am still baby hungry and with a dear friend expecting (shock to her, hahahaha) I am not ruling it completely out. I so love pregnancy and all that goes with it. So I have decided to put my trust in The Lord and see what happens. If it is meant to be it will happen and if not then that's fine too. But Marc is for sure crossing his fingers or a yes!!! LOL
Well that's about it for here... still have pic's to get up. Don't give up on me...they will appear (Kim, I PROMISE) soon... and there will be a lot!
Love you all!!!!