Happy 10 Years!

10 years. Just amazing that the time has gone so fast! We have grown so much in these years, both independently, and together. Life has changed so much, and changed us. But here we stand together, as strong as ever. I love you! Here is to the next 10 years!

The face of determination

This is the face of determination. I mentioned recently that she had decided to learn to ride without training wheels. She came to us on that day and decided there were no more excuses on our part. So Andy helped her that one day and she did well. He has been unable to help her since. She decided the other day she didn't need her Daddy to teach her. She was going to do it on her own. Our backyard is paved with uneven stones, it goes in a fairly tight circle, her tires were flat, and she was wearing flip flops. That's four strikes! None of those things stopped her! Well, the pavers did a time or two, and the bushes, and the grass. Her determination was paid for in tears, but she did it! She taught herself to ride all by herself! We are so proud of you Emma!
(Oh, and we did pump up her tires and she put on regular shoes. It was cake after that!)

Little Man turns 3

So my little man turned 3. It's so bittersweet when he hits his milestones. I am so happy that he is growing into a happy, tender-hearted, loving and out going 3 year old. But, my baby is 3. Crazy! We had a small party, just us, his grandma and grandpa, and great aunt. He has this Lightening McQueen things, so that was the theme for his party. Still bashful this year, but not as bad as years past. Progress. Slow and sure, but progress nonetheless!


Happy Birthday Logan!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day, for the last 30 years, has been something I do for my mom, and in more recent years, my mother-in-law and my step-mom. It has never been a celebration for me. Not because the kids don't make me things, or becasue Andy doesn't try to make the day special. It's all in my head. So this year as I was planning the menu for Mother's Day dinner when my mother-in-law came over, Andy commented that it needed to be something he could make. Huh? Why? Oh yeah, I'm a mother too. It finally hit me this year, after being a mother for 8 years that this is day for me too, to celebrate my motherhood. And I am a mother truly blessed with beautiful children.

A Clean Room...Finally!

We discovered recently that I have limits. When those limits are reached, I can, on occasion, snap. One such occasion happened a couple of weeks ago. It has been a battle for years with the girls to keep their room clean. A stressful battle. Unfortunately for them, I am stubborn and I determined I would win this battle and not give in. The limit of my ability to fight was approaching but I refused to give in and just let their room be messy. One night they had a slumber party. Emma and her friend were happily talking away, but Briley's friend kept coming to me. Finally she told me there was no room in Briley's bed for her. So I went to check it out. Think of a rat in it's lair. Briley had literally carved out a tiny place for her to curl up in to sleep-not even enough space to stretch out. I snapped. I threw everything on the floor to make space for her friend and said we would talk about this in the morning.
Well, morning came and Briley had a special outing with her grandparents for her 8th birthday and was gone all day. I decided this was my opportunity to take care of things once and for all (and she wasn't home to scream and yell at me as I gave away her most "prized possesion"). Perfect timing! So I purged. And purged more. For 7 hours I purged and cleaned their bedroom. At 11:49 pm (the girls went to sleep in my room) I finally finished.
The black bags are nearly 4 feet high and about 2 feet wide. 2 of them were trash, 2 were given to charity. The white bag went to a friend and the books went to some kids Andy's buddy knows.
Ahh, glorious success. Their room is absolutely clean. And they haven't even asked about things that are gone now. They spend so much more time in their room now. And it stays spotless. All I have to do is mention the black trash bags and they scurry around cleaning up before I can return with the trash bag. So I snapped. But I don't think it was so bad afterall!

Bow to me

So picture the scene:
We are in Home Depot, Cameron is in the seat in the cart and Logan is wandering around as Andy and I contemplate our potential purchase. Logan was getting into stuff and found some fly swatters. He grabbed a green one for himself and a blue one for Cameron. I figured they were harmless and let the boys play with them. Andy and I were talking and I hear Cameron say, "Bow to me." He said it with such authority in his voice. Then out of the corner of my eye I see Logan hit the floor, on his knees, hands in front, forehead touching the floor. I nearly passed out laughing! As Andy and I wiped the tears from our eyes, all I could think was that Aladdin is not as harmless as I thought! So we got home and the boys were playing in the backyard. Andy and I were out there with them talking about the incident at Home Depot earlier that morning. He asked if I thought it would work again and I just laughed. So as the boys are running by, he commands, "Bow to me." Sure enough, they both dropped!

campfire in the backyard

Friday night we were trying to figure out what we could do with the kids that wouldn't keep them up too late. I didn't get dinner on the table until 7:30 (which is crazy late for us) so we didn't want to have a movie night. Instead, we decided to build a fire and make s'mores. We have a fire pit in the backyard, but the gas lines have water in them and so the fire doesn't work. So Andy and the kids collected some wood while I went to the store to gather the goodies. We gathered around the fire pit and roasted marshmellows and made s'mores. It was so much fun (not to mention sticky and tasty!)


























package of marshmellows-$2
Hershey's chocolate bar-$2
box of graham crackers-$2
up late anyway making memories to last a lifetime- absolutely priceless

Cam's a big boy now

Last week we came home from preschool and the boys were hungry. I was on the phone and asked them to wait a couple of minutes so that I could finish up on the phone and change the laundry. So I went out to the garage for a minute and came in to find this. I guess he couldn't find the bread and so he pulled out hamburger buns instead. But he made peanut butter and honey for his brother and peanut butter and jelly for himself. When I came in from the garage, he said, "Don't worry about lunch Mommy. I've got it." You sure do Buddy. You are a big kid now.

Briley's baptism

Last week, Briley celebrated her 8th birthday. Wow. 8 years old. I just can't believe it! I said a few things about Briley at her baptism, and now I share those things with you so that you may get to know her a little more. It's long, and I apologize for that, but here it is anyway: I am so grateful to be here this morning with you. 11 years ago, I was baptized in this very font. So now to be here with Briley, as she is about to be baptized, this moment fills me with immeasurable joy. From her birth I knew this moment would come, and that it would be her decision. She has always been independent, knowing what she wants and finding a way to get it. She has wanted this moment for a long time. She has never doubted that this moment of her baptism would come, and that is a special thing.

Briley loves the Lord, and she loves His gospel. When she was just barely three, Briley decided that she wanted to serve a mission. She wanted to teach people about Jesus, so that others could know about the Savior and love Him the way she loves Him. Then she had a little brother, and she was so excited that she would be able to serve a mission with her brother. As it turns out, their ages are such that Briley and Cameron will be able to serve missions at the same time. The Savior is her friend, she trusts Him, and wants to share that trust and that love so that others can know it too.

Briley loves the scriptures. We started reading the scripture stories to Briley as soon as shw was old enough to still still and listen. By the time Briley was 5 years old, she wanted to have her turn reading the scriptures. She would struggle each morning to read a few words, an entire verse if she pushed hard. At 6, her reading had improved and she could read more. She recognized that she could feel the love of God as she read or listened to the scriptures. She wanted so much to share the wonderful feeling she had and the lessons she was learning with her grandparents. So she went to the missionaries and asked for a Book of Mormon that she could send to her grandparents. She wrote her testimony down, simple and pure, and sent the grandparents. And now, she often reminds Andy and me when we forget that we ought to sit down as a family and read the scriptures. She understands that the scriptures will help her grow closer to God, and even though she doesn't understand all that she reads, the Holy Ghost will guide her through her life.

Not growing up in the Church, I often wonder how children develop their own testimonies. I have been blessed with this knowledge as I watch Briley and her siblings grow. Recently, we watched a film about the life of President Gordon B. Hinckley. Following the film, Briley came to me and told me that she had cried. I asked her why and responded that it was sad to remember that President Hinckley is gone and that she really missed him. I explained to her that this meant that she must have really loved President Hinckley and to love him that much, she had developed a testimony of him as a prophet of God. I was deeply touched to see that she is developing her own testimony outside of mine and her dad's.


(This is the dress I made for her from my wedding dress.)

Thank you to all of you that came to support Briley in this huge milestone in her life. It meant the world to her that so many of you came to spend this special day with her. So thank you again.

Dad's wedding

My dad remarried a couple of weeks ago. He asked me to do the photography for him. I was flattered and terrified all at the same time! I was flattered to know that he thought that much of my photographs to trust me with his big day. I was terrified that I would miss something or mess something up! So I agreed but made no promises of what I would deliver! He continued to have faith in my abilities (thanks for that, Dad!) and so I started studying so I wouldn't let him down. It was a lot fun to be his photographer! I even got some great shots! So here are a few (and I really mean a few-I took over 1,500 photographs!) of my favorite shots. Oh, and these are all unedited...