The perks of owning a movie theater!

Okay, I'm going to do a little gloating here so be warned. One of the benefits of being a movie theater owner is the perk of going to "screenings" before the movie actually comes out. We've taken the opportunity to go to screenings over the years and I must say, it's a pretty fun deal. Not only do we get to see the movie before most of the general public but we usually get to make a day out of it - driving to Salt Lake, going to a morning movie and then to lunch. Today was one of those really fun days! Ashley and I went with Julie (our office manager) and her daughter to Salt Lake and saw NEW MOON! It was SO GOOD!!! I have to say, I liked it better than the first one and it definitely had us leaving the theater excited for the next one to come out. Okay, be jealous now - if you must!

Ashley's Dancing Again!

After taking a year off from Ballroom Dance, Ashley is dancing once again! This year she is on the Ballroom Team at Utah State University and is also taking private lessons to compete in Open Latin. There was a competition in Provo on Saturday and Kent and I took Tyler and Sara down to watch Ashley dance. It was so good to see her dancing again! She did awesome and looked so good! I can tell she really missed it and is glad to be dancing again!

Ashley and her partner competing in Open Latin

Isn't she SO cute?!
Momma was proud!
Ashley and the USU Ballroom Team doing their disco routine

A trip to San Diego!

Every year the kids are out of school on the Thursday and Friday before the first weekend in October. This is usually a good time for us to take a vacation because the theater isn't super busy and we can sneak away without too much difficulty. This year we decided to take Tyler and Sara to San Diego. They had never been there before so we thought it would be fun to show them some of the sights. Brandon didn't go with us because it was Homecoming Week at the high school and he needed to be here for that. It was kind of fun to just fuss over the little kids. We have had the opportunity to take the older kids on some trips without Tyler and Sara so it was fun for them to have their turn. We visited Legoland which was a lot of fun. We had never been there before so we didn't know what to expect. It's amazing what they can build out of Legos! We also made a stop at the San Diego Temple. What a beautiful temple that is! We went to Sea World which is always fun - gotta love Shamu! And we took a tour of the U.S.S. Midway which was also a lot of fun. Mostly we just got to relax with the kids, swim in the pool and enjoy the WARM California weather!

Legoland!
Tyler and Sara trying to get the "Lego people" to join us!
Kent and Tyler admiring the Lego lady!
This was the restroom sign at Legoland - too funny!
The BEAUTIFUL San Diego Temple!
Sea World!
Taking a break at In N' Out Burger!
The kids checking out one of the planes on the U.S.S. Midway
Tyler and Sara at the U.S.S. Midway

We love the Fair!

We love the Eastern Idaho State Fair! Every year we spend a small fortune just to pay to get in the gate and buy a $4.00 hamburger! We do this several times in one week! I tease Kent that the money we spend at the fair all week could have paid for a cruise! But it's all about the food at the fair. We have to spend several days there because we can't eat it all in one day! We took the kids there yesterday (Labor Day) which was a very busy day to go but it was the only day we could all go together. Then Ashley, Kent and I took Grandma and Grandpa Lott today for a few hours. Hmm, it's only Tuesday. I'm betting we'll be back there again before the week is over!

First Day of School!

I'm not sure what happened but all of sudden summer was over and the kids were back in school! Ashley is in her second year at Utah State University, Brandon is a junior at Bonneville High School, Tyler is in the 7th grade at Rocky Mountain Middle School and Sara is in the 5th grade at Cloverdale Elementary. To be honest, I love this time of year. I love getting back on a schedule, having a set bedtime, having a clean house until 3:00 and the prospect of Fall weather just around the corner. Happy Back to School everyone!
Brandon had lots of school spirit on the first day! (He's in student council)
Tyler was not so sure he was excited about school! (Or maybe he just didn't want his picture taken)
Sara was very excited about the first day of school and insisted that dad give her a ride to school in the dune buggy!

End of Summer

Last week we went to Lava Hot Springs and spent a day swimming - one last hurrah before the kids started school. The kids had a great time in the pool and on the slides and Kent enjoyed the blanket set up in the shade just for him so he could have a nap!
Sara
Sara and Tyler Tyler Tyler, Sara, Brandon & Shay having lunchTyler's awesome diving board skills

Summer Fun!

Okay, it's been a while but what can I say? Life is crazy as usual! Here's what's been going on with our family.

Sara got her ears pierced! It was a very exciting day for her. She was nervous but she did real well and she looks so grown up now!
We had an awesome 4th of July. We had breakfast with friends and watched the parade, then we had lunch at Kent's Aunt Carolyn's house and the kids got to swim in her pool. Then we went to Kent's Aunt Mary's house down by the river and ate dinner and watched the fireworks. It was a long fun day!Brandon in the parade

Tyler and Brock watching the parade

Ashley, Sara and Neisah

Fireworks!

It was a long day for Sara!

And some fun news, we made an awesome purchase this summer. We bought two tandem bikes and it has been a blast! We took them down to the greenbelt on the 4th and rode them around with the kids. They are SO fun!

San Francisco Weekend

It's been a little hectic the last few weeks so I'm a little behind on my posts. But I wanted to post some pics from my very fun girls weekend in San Francisco last month. For Ashley's 19th birthday I gave her a weekend getaway. It was a selfish gift, I'll admit. A weekend getaway for Ashley means a weekend getaway for me! We took our friends, Angela Sayer and Carrie Taggart and spent 3 fun days in the city by the bay. The weather was absolutely wonderful - in the 80's all weekend. We went to see Wicked, the BEST musical ever! We also spent a day on Fisherman's Wharf, visited Alcatraz and shopped at Union Square. FUN TIMES!!

Goodbye for now

My grandma has been in a home for the past several years. She had Alzheimer's Disease. This was a very hard disease for her because for years she knew that she was getting progressively worse. It was hard to imagine my spunky grandma with such a terrible disease. She has always been so funny and full of life. Her life was spent serving others. She was loved by everyone that knew her and was a wonderful example to me. I have so many fond childhood memories of her and of spending time with her at her home in California. My grandpa has been gone for 26 years and she never thought she would live this long without him. The last few years have been hard because the disease had progressed to the point that she didn't know people and didn't do anything but sit in a chair or lay in bed. She didn't speak and couldn't eat on her own. She is finally free from her mortal body and has been reunited with her sweetheart and all of her family that has gone before her. I can't even imagine the reunion going on in heaven! She was 94 years old. Last weekend we traveled to Santaquin, Utah to attend the graveside service for her. My dad and uncle made some remarks and then my dad dedicated the grave. After the service we all went to a park in Provo and had lunch and spent hours visiting with cousins, aunts and uncles. It was a great reunion. I have missed my grandma for a long time and will miss her always. But I'm so happy for her and I'm so glad to have so many wonderful memories of her.

The grandsons and great-grandsons were the pallbearers
My boys with their great grandma in 2001
My girls with their great grandma in 2002

Jazz Game

Yesterday Kent and I took a somewhat unexpected trip to Salt Lake. Let me explain. We bought Jazz season tickets for next year and as a bonus, we got this year's playoff tickets. Our plan was to sell the playoff tickets and hopefully make some money to help pay for the season tickets. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) our tickets for last night's game didn't sell. Well, we couldn't just let them go unused! So we got in the car and headed to Salt Lake. We had some theater business to do anyway so it was kind of a business trip! Anyway, we got there early enough to go to dinner, walk around the Gateway for a while and then go to the game. We've been to some good Jazz games but this one had to be the best one by far. The crowd was wild! We felt like we were at a rock concert and our ears didn't stop ringing for about an hour after the game! The first half was good - The Jazz led all the way. Then during the 3rd quarter, the Lakers took the lead most of the quarter and we started to wonder. Then the 4th quarter was completely exciting! The crowd was on their feet most of the quarter because it was back and forth so much. It was a nail biter up to the end and the Jazz beat the Lakers by just 2 points. It was such a fun game to watch! And it was so fun to have a last minute getaway with Kent!

Las Vegas getaway

Last week Kent and I went to Las Vegas for Showest (that's the theater industry trade show). I was so excited to get out of town and especially to get to go somewhere warm. The weather was perfect - mid 70's to low 80's. The trade show itself was good but my biggest interest was some rest and relaxation. Kent and I walked the trade show floor one day and then the next day when Kent wanted to go back and look through again, he insisted that I stay at the condo and relax by the pool. Okay, twist my arm! It was 80 degrees that day! I sat by the pool reading a book and even taking a nap. After a few hours in the sun (I even got a little sunburned) Kent got back and we went to lunch/dinner. Of course we ate at a few buffets and we got to do some shopping at the outlet malls. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we came home on the day that Idaho Falls got a blizzard. Thank goodness for little getaways like this so I don't go crazy waiting and waiting and waiting for spring to finally come to Idaho!

Yeah for Spring!

The weather man says it will be in the 60's today! I think I'll paint my toenails and dig out my sandals! I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but the fact that we live in Idaho causes me to be realistic. We better enjoy the "warmth" and sunshine while we can - we could still get a blizzard! But for today, Happy Spring everyone!! Enjoy your day!

Nationals & Shoulder Surgery

Bonneville High School Ballroom Team

We spent last Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Ballroom nationals in Provo last week. Brandon danced with the Bonneville High School team and Tyler danced with Extreme Ballroom. Both of them did awesome! We were so proud of them! Ashley was on spring break from Utah State so she got to go with us. It was fun to have the whole family down there together - even the dog got to go!

Extreme Ballroom Preteen Medley's LatinExtreme Ballroom Preteen Medley's Standard

With nationals over, Brandon was ready to get his injured shoulder fixed. He tore some cartlidge in his right shoulder quite a while ago and has been waiting for ballroom season to be over to get it fixed. He has been in a lot of pain so he was ready. He had the surgery today and everything went great. The doctor was able to repair the torn cartlidge and also clean up some bursitis from one of his tendons. He is already in a lot less pain and I think he's just glad to have it over with!

It's Ballroom Dance Season!

Brandon striking a pose at the end of their Rock Medley

Tis the season for ballroom dance competitions which means our lives right now are all about the kids (isn't it always all about the kids?). Last weekend we had the Gem State Competition here in Idaho Falls. Brandon dances with Bonneville High School's Ballroom Dance Team and they did so AWESOME! They are doing a rock latin medley which is just so cool and we were all so proud of their performance. They took 2nd place only 1.4 points behind the 1st place winner. Tyler dances with the Extreme Ballroom Preteen Medley Team. They danced a Latin Medley to Kung Fu Panda and a Standard Medley to Monsters, Inc. They took 1st place in their age group. Tyler also danced an open latin routine with Taylor Taggart and they took 1st place. They did AWESOME! Sara dances with the Extreme Preteen Show Team and they also took 1st in their division. Tyler and Sara also competed in several syllabus dances and I was so proud of them. This was Sara's first year dancing in the Preteen Division so she was competing against kids quite a bit older than her. Next up is Nationals in Provo next week. We love ballroom dance at our house and we love watching our kids perfom. We're so proud of them!Tyler and Taylor Taggart with their 1st place medals
Kent was so proud of how well Sara did so he bought her a rose