December...

Wow! What a crazy month. So much has happened. I will hit some highlights. Connor received his Arrow of Light in Scouts. Andrew received the Star advancement. It was a combined pack meeting/court of honor. Katie had her Kindergarten Christmas program. She sang very well. It was a fun program to watch. 3 Class parties were accomplished. 1 Work Christmas party where Layne and I scored again in presents. Layne ended up with a massage pad for our desk chair, and I ended the night with an i-pod shuffle. Both have been put to good use. Christmas was great but really snowy. Layne woke up at 6:15 a.m. and went out to start shoveling snow. He finally finished with our driveway when our neighbor came out with his snowblower. He told Layne he could use the snowblower for the sidewalks in the neighborhood and he would go get his Father-in-law's tractor to help with everyone's driveway. So Layne did the sidewalks and 3 other driveways. He finally came in the house at 11:00 a.m. We had over 10 inches that fell on Christmas. Later that day we traveled to Salt Lake for a basketball tournament that Andrew was in. They won their first two games and then lost the last one in a heartbreaker. 32-31 was the score. We couldn't hit any of our free throws. That among other things was our downfall. We were all very sad but at least we don't have to go back down on Monday for the last day of competition. (We had to win all 3 games in order to move to the last day.) I am not sure how that works. I guess the top team from both pools get to play to determine 1st and 2nd. It has been a busy month but a great one. With lots of fun, family and love.

Make Room At The Inn

I love to reflect on the life of my Savior at this time of year. I was sitting in Sacrament meeting yesterday and reading the words to one of my favorite Christmas songs, Joy To The World. One of my favorite lines in the song is, 'Let earth RECEIVE her King! Let EVERY HEART prepare HIM ROOM. It is up to us to receive and to prepare our hearts to let Him in to our lives. In General Conference this past October, President Thomas S. Monson was talking of our Savior's life and said, "Earlier, perhaps perceiving the culmination of His earthly mission, He spoke the lament, 'Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.' 'No room in the inn' was not a singular expression of rejection- just the first. Yet He invites you and me to receive Him. "Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
What an amazing invitation and promise from our Savior. That is my goal for this new year as well as this season, to prepare room for Him in my heart and life. I hope you will all have an incredible Christmas season. I echo the words of Joy to the World. "LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING! LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM!

I know, I know...

I know what a lot of you are thinking. Christmas music? Already? We haven't even had Thanksgiving yet. Well to you I say. Tis the season for thankfulness and I am very thankful for Christmas and Christmas music. There are so many wonderful Christmas songs and I have a hard time only listening to them for one month out of the year. So I choose to listen to Christmas music early...sometimes even in the summer. So sit back and enjoy the beautiful music. One of the many things that I am grateful for, especially at this time of year!

Who are you voting for...

Layne was on his way home so we could go vote and then have lunch. He drove into the driveway and I told Katie to come get in the car. She asked where we were going. I told her we were going to go vote. She was so excited and ran out to the car. When we were climbing into the car she said, "Who are you voting for Mom? I want Lance and Lacey." In case you don't know who Lance and Lacey are, they are two of the people on 'Dancing with the Stars'. She thought we were going to go vote for which couple we liked best on last nights show. Layne and I just laughed. We arrived at the armory to vote. Katie was standing by me as I was voting. She asked again who I was voting for. I told her McCain. She said, "Not Lance and Lacey?" I said I voted for them last night! Now I am voting for McCain. I explained that we were voting for teh President of the United States and some state leaders. She accepted that. If only it were as easy as voting for our favorite dancers! Katie took the pictures of Layne and I voting.

Fall Fun

Oh to be able to jump in the leaves again. (I think I would need a little more padding than the amount of leaves our one big tree produces.) The kids love to jump in the leaves. Here are a few pictures of them enjoying fall. We also carved and decorated pumpkins on for FHE on Monday so I included the pumpkin pictures too.

Basketball Season

Well basketball season is well underway at our house. Connor and Cole have 2 games left. They have both played very well and had a great time. It has been fun watching them play. They have both improved their skills and have been real team players. Andrew's games began a week ago. (He is on a competitive team.) They have won both games they have played. Andrew's involved in basketball from August(practice)to the start of April. They play in several leagues and lots of tournaments from SLC to Idaho Falls. Andrew has played really well as is the rest of his team. It is really fun to watch. I told myself this year I would be more relaxed watching the games and not yell so much at the referee's. That lasted one game! The second game I yelled a bit. But at least they were equally bad for both teams. So I wasn't as uptight as I would have been were it one sided bad refereeing. I really am going to try to relax and just enjoy the games. I just have a problem with unfair refereeing...if it is equally bad I am a little more okay with it. I do understand that all referee's will miss some calls, just not half of the calls! Ok enough of my soap box. Basketball season is upon us and we love it!

What a Conference!

I have listened to some amazing talks this past week. It started last wednesday with a Relief Society Enrichment night guest speaker, Becky Reeve. WOW! If any of you ever get the opportunity to hear her speak, DO IT!!! She has led an amazing life. There were so many things I took from her talk and her experiences. I will share a few with you. First, decide to be the BEST you can be. If you are average you are just as close to the bottom as you are to the top! Second, Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. Turn our fears over to Him. He knows what we need to go through to become the person he wants us to be. You do your best then turn the rest of it over to Him (that includes rearing your children). I think that is what I felt the most after leaving that night. Not to fear. That is something that I will have to remind myself of often. In today's world especially!
General Conference was incredible too. Some of my favorites were: Elder Bednar's talk on meaningful prayer. Elder Hale's talk on Christian Courage. Elder Gavarett's talk on Welcoming Home those who have been a way from the church for awhile and Elder Oswald's on effective teaching. They all seemed to speak to me personally. This past week I was set apart as the new Primary President in our ward. In my setting apart blessing there were some things mentioned that these talks seemed especially important to me. When President Monson spoke about there being no room in the inn as only being Christ's first rejection and that He stands at the door and knocks, it hit me pretty hard. I had the thought go through my head, "Am I saying there is no room in the inn (or my life)" by the way I am living or am I saying come in let me receive you into my home or heart? I would sincerely hope it is the later! Anyway I have been spiritually feasting this past week and I am grateful for the gospel in my life. For a loving Heavenly Father and Savior in my life. They are real! They do love us! They want us to be the best we can be. I love you all and I am thankful to have such wonderful friends and family. Thanks to you all for being such wonderful examples to me. I love you all whole bunches! Julie

Family Picture before Cole's Baptism

Our family before Cole's baptism. (I am not sure why the car picture got put in instead of this one, below, but here it is now!)

Cole's Baptism

Today was Cole's big day. He was so excited to get baptized. It was a great morning with lots of family and friends to share in his special day. After the baptism and confirmation everyone came to eat and visit. Later today Layne had a work party we all went to where we rode horses and played games; like how far can you throw a cow chip, (3 out of my 4 kids won that contest), 3 legged races, sack races,etc.. Then we had a barbeque. After the trail ride Cole decided he wants a horse instead of a dirt bike! (He doesn't have a dirt bike he just really wanted one.)He kept asking me the rest of the evening, "When can we get a horse?" So we told him maybe someday when we can afford it! It was a great day, spiritually and physically.

Oops!

Well I had my first really embarrassing moment at the gym. (And I hope the last!) First I need to tell you the layout of the exercise rooms. The weight room is pretty big with a wall of mirrors on one side. Cubby holes for personal items are in the corner near the door to enter. Facing the cubby holes and the weight room is the cardio room where all of the treadmills, elipticals, etc. are located. With a glass pane separating the two rooms. There were about 18 people there at the time. So as with every morning Layne and I arrived and went to the cubby holes to put our jackets, sweatshirts, keys etc. I wore a sweatshirt instead of my usual jacket yesterday. I distinctly remember telling myself to make sure that my other shirt was down when I took of my sweatshirt. I proceeded to take of my sweatshirt...and my other shirt. I looked down to straighten things out and to my horror saw that I had taken both shirts off and I am standing in my bra and garment top. Thankfully Layne was slightly in front of me. I grabbed him and said, " Cover me! My shirt came off!) It was a brief flash for the 8 people or so that were in my direct view line. Needless to say I warmed up very fast that day...at least my face did!

We Did It!!!!

Okay so the blog title is a little misleading. But we started! I really wanted to get into better shape so I talked Layne into waking up early with me and going to the gym before our kids wake up. We started Monday and we have done it every day. We wake up at 5:10/5:15 and go workout until a 5:55 a.m. then I come home so I can go walking with my neighbor. Layne showers and gets ready for work. I thought this routine would be hard because I love my sleep. But guess what...if you go to bed by 10 p.m. it isn't that hard to get up at 5:15 am. I have to say it really helps to have a spouse that is willing to roll out of bed and exercise with me!

It's Great To Be 8!!!

Last weekend was Cole's 8th b-day. He is soooooo excited about getting baptized at the end of this month. He told me he has been waiting and looking forward to that since he turned 7. He really wanted a skateboard for his birthday so...that is what he received. With scriptures, scout shirt and scout book. LOL. All the essentials for a brand new 8 year old. We went to dinner as a family and had a great day. His one request for his baptism was that he wouldn't have to sing...at least not by himself. Both of my other boys sang at their baptisms. I guess we will maybe do something as a family. We will see. This is completely unrelated but my sister-in-law wanted to see our new car (she is out of state) so I have included a picture of our new car along with pictures of Cole on his birthday.

Eventful Week

It was quite a week! On Wednesday evening we received a call from Discover Card wanting to verify some card activity they thought might be fraudulent. Turns out yes! Someone took our information and went on a shopping spree at Macy's. Over a thousand dollars worth. Then went to several gas stations that we have never been. So they said they would take care of it and send us a new card. The old one would be cancelled. Thank heavens we didn't have to cover the amount that was put on the card. Then Friday we sold our van and got Layne's Boss's vehicle. A GMC Envoy. We have to register it today so we can actually drive it! The old registration ended in August. I also received the news of a friend's mother passing away. I know what a hard thing this is, but I also know of the comfort and out pouring of love from several sources that comes with tragedies like this. How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father.

My Love

Tuesday is Layne's birthday, with that in mind, this blog will be dedicated to him. Here are some words or phrases that I would use to describe Layne, hard working, considerate, daring, fun, athletic, dedicated, compassionate, loving, kind, loyal, puts others first, helpful, an amazing father, patient, supportive, courageous, my confidant, best friend, handsome, worthy priesthood holder, soulmate, my HHBL (hunk-aa, hunk-a burnin' love...for you Elvis fans), and an amazing all around person. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I thank my Heavenly Father each day for such a wonderful eternal companion. Happy Birthday My Love!

Back to School

Well as of tomorrow morning all of my children will be in school. We are really happy with all of the teachers and schedules for this school year. The three boys have been in school since last Thursday. Katie will start tomorrow. She is sooooo excited!!! She loved meeting her teacher last week. Every morning she will wake up and tell me how many days left until she goes to school. I hope the excitement lasts! Everyone keeps asking me what I am going to do now that all my children are in school. Well I just tell them I will probably just spend more time at the school. In fact I just received a call today asking me to help in the library at Connor's school. They need to re-barcode all the books. So I guess I will be helping there for a couple of hours while Katie is at Kindergarten. Life is good!

Family Day!

For the Evans vacation this year we had a 'Family Day'. We started the day with a fantastic breakfast, then headed over to the county fair. We held lots of creepy crawlers, and petted lots of goats and pigs! After the fair we headed back to the house and had lunch then went swimming...no pictures were taken during swimming. It could be that we were too wet and having too much fun to stop and take pictures! Then we came back had dinner and played games, watched the olympics and the kids watched a movie. It was great fun! Everyone was thoroughly exhausted and worn out by the end. A true sign of a great day!

I finally met Marcia!!!

I just got back from a meet and greet with one of my favorite authors, Marcia Lynn McClure. I went last year but didn't get to chat with her. This year I did. She is so great. If you love romance, are ever in need of a pick me up, a get away from reality for awhile, etc., pick up one of her books. They are CLEAN romance books. They are so fun to read. I would highly recommend them. I haven't met anyone who has read one of her books that hasn't fallen in love with them. She brought her inspiration, (her husband, Kevin) and her 2 sons. It was fun to talk with her boys and to see all of them interact with each other. It was a fun night and I am glad I finally got to meet her. Now go read one of her books!

Struck by lightening!

My family and I were all seated around the television downstairs watching the finale of , "So You Think You Can Dance". It had started to rain about 7:00 p.m. then came the lightening and thunder. Right in the middle of a dance BAM!!! The T.V. blew, our sprinklers came on (which weren't scheduled to come on),and our thermostat was messed up. Our computer, which was on, was fine, the lights, clocks etc were all working fine. Layne and I went out to the garage to turn the sprinklers off. As soon as we walked into the garage there was a stong smell of burned wires. The sprinklers wouldn't turn off. He even flipped the breaker...nothing. We had to flip the breaker twice before they would go off. The thermostat I noticed was not working. It had the correct time but the temperature was 44 degrees, or so it said. Which I know wasn't true. This morning it is blinking 07. So we now get to purchase a new thermostat, sprinkler box and a T.V., we also need to fix the satellite dish which is now going really slow and won't playback what we have DVR'ed without lots of problems. At least no one was hurt! Scared, but unhurt. Katie started crying when it hit it was SO LOUD!!! We are grateful that again, no one was hurt and that more things weren't fried!

Sad but true

I don't know if I should actually be sharing this but...it is funny. At least I am choosing to look at it that way! I decided I wanted to clean the bathrooms and the front room and kitchen, including mopping the floor etc. My daughter, Katie came in from playing and she looked around. She then came and asked me if someone was coming over to our house. I said, "No". She then replied, "Why is everything so clean then?" I have to admit, I have not been very good with keeping up with housekeeping this summer. So I guess that was a wake up call! I thought it was funny in a sad but true kind of way!

Music makes me happy!

I decided to change my playlist. As I was listening to different songs I thought, I could sit here all day. Music is such a vital part of my life. One of the worst kinds of illnesses for me is larangitis. Because I can't sing. It is almost a claustrophobic feeling for me when I can't sing. Not only do I love to sing but I love to dance. Now I am not a great dancer. I wish I were. But I love to goof off and dance. Music can create so many moods. It can up lift, it can soothe, it can excite, it can motivate, it makes me want to get up and dance or sing along. There isn't a better mood creator than music. I love so many styles of music. I try to put a few different styles on my playlists each time. Try listening to at least a little bit of each, whether you are a fan of that style or not. See what you feel like doing, or what memories it brings. I LOVE MUSIC!!!! I am grateful that I have ears to hear it and a voice to sing it!

Hard fought battle

Well it came down to the last ups in the last inning. We were up by 2 going into the 6th inning. (They only play 6 unless you are tied.) Providence rallied and came back to win 11-10. It was a great game. This was the first time that the Providence team didn't win a team by a landslide. They have won this tournament a lot! This was the first time a Smithfield team had made it to the championship game. The Providence coach was very complimentary of our team. It could have gone either way, unfortunately for for it went theirs! Another great season of baseball is over. Bring on the basketball! LOL P.S. I tried to upload the pictures after I changed them to be upright but they wouldn't load...so enjoy them sideways! Andrew with his 2nd place trophy.

Championship baseball coming up...

With a win last night, Andrew's All-Star team is headed to the Championship game on Thursday. It should be a great game. We have played this team once before...they won, but it was close. I will let you know the outcome Friday. GO SMITHFIELD!

I was going to wait until all of my kids were done with baseball before I wrote about it but...I have decided I won't wait. Andrew is the only one still playing. He was selected to be on the All-Star team. He will finish up this week. They have all had a great season. This was Katie's first season with T-ball. She loved it! She especially loved Dad and Mom being her coaches...(mostly Dad because Mom was with Connor at his games except for about 4 games.) She did really well she was able to have her Dad pitch to her and hit the ball by the end of the season. She even made a double play! She caught the ball and then ran home to get the runner out. It was very exciting. Cole also had a great season in Coach's pitch. He hit a grand slam! Connor had a fun time with baseball this year as well. He even had the opportunity to play on Andrew's team while Andrew and several other teammates were at scout camp for a week. He played in 2 games on that team. In the first game he made a double play. He caught the ball in left field then threw the kid out at third that forgot to tag up. He couldn't wait to tell Andrew when he got home from Scout Camp. Andrew was very happy for him. Andrew's team did very well, they were the top team in Smithfield. (There were 4 of them). They went pretty far in the valley wide tournament. He is now in the middle of the All-Star Tournament. It has been a great season much enjoyed by all.

Evans Reunion 2008!

Evans Reunion 2008

We had such a blast! We went to Brett & Elysa Henderson's house. (my cousin) They had 4 wheelers to ride, their pool to swim in and baseball to play. Brett & Aleesa brought their horses and let any who wanted to ride, ride. We had so much fun, eating and playing and talking. We ended the night with a baseball game that everyone was involved in. Not everyone played...we had to have some cheerleaders and spectators on the side! It was great! I loved getting to together and having fun like we did when we were growing up. I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

More Pictures from Tony Grove

More pictures from our day at Tony Grove. (I wish I could figure out how to do the slide show format!)