Our Family!!

Laurie and her family came down to visit for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun. We had lots of good food, the kids (and Bret) spent a day at Boondocks, while Laurie, Tyler, and me went up to the Alpine Candy Factory, and over to Gardiner Village (and outdoor mall made of little cottages..... very girlie and fun!!) We did some shopping at sales, and had lots of fun talking and hanging out. We spent one night at a clubhouse with a theatre room, pool table, and lots of fun food. We had a great time being together. The cousins picked out white elephant gifts for everyone, including a "flat Stanley" as Lauries date. Its always fun to have family here!!

Well..... here we are just before dinner on Thanksgiving.... the wait was not too long. I think we had dinner all done by 1:30 and by the time we got a few pictures in, we were ready to eat by 1:45. Everyone dressed nice, and it was a wonderful afternoon.

Mmmm...... here's the delicious salad. It turned out so pretty. All of the kids helped with some of the food, and Celeste and Alec even put together a really nice menu to put at each persons place, that they made on the computer. It listed all the courses, and a description of each item!! It was so fun.

Okay, this is the best turkey we have done yet. It came out looking just like the one in the magazine. It was really pretty!! Sterling helped me to prepare it!! And, he helped to barbeque the ham out on the grill, which turned out really good too!!

Are we ready to eat yet???? Ha ha!! It was fun to have everyone there. Each person really added to the day. I never knew we could go through sooooo much pumpkin pie in such a short time. :)

In October we made our way up to Idaho for a short visit. We stopped at Cherry Creek State Park for a walk.... and it was so beautiful there!!

Here's dad at the creek. The fall colors were so beautiful. Its hard to capture it all in a photo.

Oh, Tyler loved seeing Celeste. She has missed her, since she was here in summer.

Oh, look at those tears!!

The weather was beautiful!!

Here is Tyler Kate at her first birthday!! She LOOOOVEEED her cake. I cannot emphasize that enough. She had a little two layer cake, all for herself, and she thoroughly enjoyed the WHOLE THING!! She was cracking us all up with how much she loved it.... handful after handful!!

In the early fall.... the kids school had a dress up week, with a different theme for each day.

This is Bretty on "nerd" day. He was sooooo excited that he won "BEST NERD" award for his class. (They gave prizes each day to the best dressed in each class.) We just kept laughing over this one. He is the cutest little nerd!! :)

Bethany came Sept. 16th to be here with us. She is from Florida and adjusting to the temperature change here!! She can't wait for snow!

She keeps us up way to late playing games each night. (But its a lot of fun!!)

Here are the deer we saw with grandma and grandpa in Idaho. There have been a lot of deer around this fall down here too...... I think because of the warmer fall, they are hanging out a bit longer!! They have been fun to watch and see.

Here is our cute little giraffe. It is Tanner this year. He loves being a giraffe, and can't wait to go trick or treating. He has been "practicing" He loves to ring our doorbell and get a treat!




Somehow I have a gap in my pictures between the end of the summer and fall. Sometime when I actually find time to clean my craft room and make it usable I will probably find them... ha ha.

Tyler Kate !! She is such a happy little girl!!
Bretty and Tyler Kate
Samantha..... first day of 3rd grade!!

Tyler, Bret and I

Bret out with the kids in the evening, going for a walk

Tyler loved getting her feet in the water in the creek up in Payson Canyon.

We took a road trip up to Montana to see some cousins. The drive was beautiful and we stopped at some fun places along the way. Joe (my brother) just opened a new dental practice there a few months ago.

This is the only picture I have of the mountains... but it really does not do them justice. We love the mountains here... we love to do a lot of hiking, barbeques, etc.

Homemade root-beer!! Ymmmmm...

Roasting marshmallows for smores!!

This is one of the waterfalls we like to go to! It is beautiful there. It is hard to capture in a picture.
Here I am after a bike ride up canyon!! It was so beautiful!!

Me and TylerKate!!

We did a little girls manicure/pedicure night... They loved it!!

We went to a local Scottish Festival which was a lot of fun. We listened to bagpipes, tried some Scottish food, and watched some Scottish sports events.

Family Reunion

All of the girl cousins in their purple dresses from Grandma!!

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Below are some of the pictures from our family reunion in Idaho.

What a fun time!!

Sami, Emily, and Ashley all had a great time together.... I have never seen three little girls giggle so much!!

Grandma, TylerKate, and Me

We had a great time!! Pizza at Craigos, .... tumbling and jumping at the gym the next day. I got such a kick out of watching the little ones especially..... as they jumped from the bridge into the sea of foam blocks!!
Those bands with a person in each corner, that catapult you from one side of the room to another...... I have not laughed so hard in a long time. It was hysterical and FUN!! ...
Swimming at the hotel. Oh my goodness.... was it ever loud in there with all the little people's screamin' and splashin' around!! They sure had fun though. There's just something about going swimming that makes you feel like you have really been on vacation.

Speaking of pictures.... all the little girls in their purple dresses.... darling. I kept thinking about how 3 of those little girls will be getting baptized this year.... and how special that will be.
We enjoyed the kids talent show.... ...... when we got back to our hotel that night, the two older kids were crying because of their cousins that are moving. They all promised to write each other lots of letters.
We ended it off with donuts and hot chocolate at Dan and Julies after a walk in the cemetery for Memorial Day, while the cousins played together..... and then they sent us off with lunch, and the kids slept most of the way home.

Dan and Julie and family will be off to dental school in a few weeks. What a great adventure. We wish you the best of luck!! We can't wait to come and see you in Ohio!!
What a memorable time!! We look forward to more times together.

Reflections

Yesterday was a day of reflections.................

Mothers's Day............. I reflected on my own mother and the role she has played in my life and in who I am....... the things she has taught me and continues to teach me.

I reflected on the role of mothers in general, on what it means to be a mother, and where I am at in the process.

I thought about other mothers that I know, that we love. We spent the evening with Bret's mother, and had a nice time being together with family.

I reflected on life...... the blessings, the challenges, and how it all fits together.

Tyler turned 7 months old on Mother's Day. I thought of the great blessing she is in our family, and how much we love her. I thought of the sacrifices that it took to get her here, and yet how it was so very worth it, as I cannot imagine our family without her.

I thought of another mother that I have come to love and respect as a dear friend. She lost her son on the eve before Mother's Day after a 5 month battle with cancer. His sweet wife of less than 2 years, parting with him for a time. Thoughts of their family brought a solemness to the day for me, and caused me to do some reflecting. I thought of the tender and fragile state that life can be, the deep attachments that we have to one another, and wonder if I take advantage enough of the limited and precious time that we have together each day.

So for now, I put the household worries aside, and I watch my baby in wonder.

She lies there happily, and content to be in her daddy's arms. She gazes in wonder out the window and at the different ways the light reflects. She tilts her head to look up at his face and smiles, just knowing he is there, and then she is happy to drink her bottle, and just rest with him.

I was content to just watch them, ....... and to take the moment and treasure it up in my mind.

Fifty! Nifty! United States!

The two kids had a concert for their school in the after-school choir that they are in!! They did a show of patriotic songs...... This land is your land, this land is my land, the star spangled banner, Oh Beautiful for Spacious skies, ..... and my personal favorite.... (from my own gradeshool years)... Fifty! Nifty! United States! from the thirteen original colonies.... shout 'em, scout'em, tell all about them.....
It was great!! Samantha was hoping for a solo, but by the time she got the courage to raise her hand, the last one had just been given out. Next time she says she will be the first one to raise her hand!! Cute girl she is!! Bretty was one of 3 boys in the choir, and I think the youngest one there. He was darling up there in his little boy uniform, standing so good and so still, singing out all the fun songs, with the cute little actions they had to go with them!!! Oh, the fun it is to be a mom!!!! I just love these little kiddos. They are what brings absolute sunshine and joy to my world each day!!!

6 MONTHS OLD

Giving Mommy Kisses!!!

dddThis is TylerKates typical demeanor!! ddd

She LOVES being in her stroller, especially having Sami push her!!

Here she is asleep in Aunt Kaily's arms..... she is a real cuddle-bug!!

Where has the time gone????? I have been meaning to post these pictures taken on her 6 month day, and now she is 6 and a half months old already!!! :) She has been such a fun, loving, easy-going baby. She is just always smiling and happy. She sleeps 7 pm- 7am , she loves to give kisses, and roll tummy to back, and back to tummy!! (Sometimes she uses this method for getting around the room a bit...... its quite funny to see.... especially when she really gets going) She has just discovered toys and LOVES them of course, and she's just starting to work on her sitting skills, and I imagine she will be sitting quite well within the next few weeks or so.

She draws attention everywhere we go because of her bright eyes, big smile, and very sociable personality that is really beginning to emerge. She makes these little jokes to herself, in babbling baby language and then just laughs and squeals and laughs and squeals. It is nearly impossible, if not completely impossible to be around her, and not be anything but happy, because her smiles and giggles are so contagious.!!!!

SANDBOX!!!!! Yippee!!!!

The kids were so excited to finally have the sandbox finished. Our yard is officially ready for summer. The garden boxes were finished a few days ago, all the weeds were pulled and rock was put down in the planting areas.... and plants have been put in. The last project completed was the SANDBOX!!!! Big enough for lots of friends to come and play. The first night..... the kids played for close to 2 hours!!!

We're not sure who is more excited for the sandbox..... Mom!! or the Kids!!

Locks of Love

Here are the before and after pictures. Sami has done this once before as well. She cut 11 inches of her hair, which is donated to an organization called Locks of Love. The hair is made into hairpieces for children such as those that have undergone chemotherapy with cancer and have lost their own hair.
She looks like a little dolly with her new haircut, and is all ready for summer!!

St. George

The St. George temple is one of our favorites!!!

It was such a beautiful day. We walked around the temple and just talked and enjoyed being together!!

The Red Rocks of St. George. It's hard to tell by the picture how bright and beautiful they really are.

This is why we LOVE St. George!!

Here's our littlest princess!! (Six months old)

Tanner..... look at those blue eyes!!

Sami and Bret wish they could "move here, and stay here forever"

Splish! Splash! I think this was our FAVORITE part of the trip!! Fountains of the water that would pop up, then go down randomly...... the kids loved it!!! We can't wait to go again.

More splishing and splashing!

Tanner was daring enough to keep trying to stand in the way of the main stream of water!!

He is our fish!! He loves the water!!!

Tyler hit her 6 month day on our trip!! She doesn't look AT ALL like daddy, does she??

Fountains Galore,....... and Tanner is in Heaven!!

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  Here we are ready to go out to dinner. One of our favorite places to go in St. George is "The Pizza Factory" Its a tradition when we go down there!!
  This is in our front yard of the house we stayed in. The kids loved the palm tree. The neighborhood was really cute too. The kids loved riding their scooters, drinking soda under the palm tree, and just hanging out together in the sunshine!!
  

  
  
  
  

  Samantha and Bret loved pushing the two "babies" in their strollers everywhere we went.
  

We love the St. George temple. On Sunday afternoon we walked around the temple. It was beautiful outside..... nearly 90 degrees.

Just enjoying the warm weather!!