Mom & Dad's 50th Anniversary

Mom & Dad celebrated their Golden Anniversary- 50 Years!!!

Andrea put together a wonderful party for them.  Everything turned out so nice.  The decorations were lovely, the food was delicious, friends came, the dancing was fun, but mostly it was so wonderful to be able to celebrate their marriage and the love they share and the amazing parents they've been.  We love you Mom & Dad!!

Lana surprised everyone and showed up to celebrate with us.  It was so nice to have everyone altogether for the celebration.  Once again I was reminded how much I would really love for everyone to live right here, right together.  So lucky to be a part of this crazy wonderful family!

Fill the World with Love

With the Payson Temple being built and dedicated, the youth in our stake, and all stakes in the Payson Temple District, were invited to participate in a celebration event.  The kids have been learning songs and dances for the past 3 months.  It's been a lot of time and a lot of practice including a 6 hour practice at the stadium on time.  When the night of the celebration came everyone was excited and ready to go.  There were to be several members of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles attending.  Thousands of people came to celebrate the building and dedication of the Payson Temple!  And then it started to rain.  And it rained some more and more.  It was heavy rain and then lightning came.  We were told the program was to be temporarily postponed.  There were so many people gathering under the bleachers trying to stay warm and crossing fingers and toes that the celebration would be "back" on.  Finally the rain stopped and we were told we could return to the bleachers so that the program would be able to commence.

Despite the rain and the delay, the program turned out lovely.  The boys were able to participate in a Helamen's March.  It was pretty amazing to see all those boys standing on the field.  It's hard not to think about my boys and sending them off to fight.  How incredibly hard would that be?  The girls were in a beautiful dance to "I Know That My Redeemer Lives".  There were some special parts that kids could audition for.  Kenzie auditioned to be a lyrical dancer.  She \made it and they made up a little song and a dance.  That dance was beautiful!  During the last number all the youth, around 10,000 of them, sang a song.  As they were singing, those in red were the first to go, they opened their shirts to reveal the colors.  It was by far my favorite number.  All the colors were so bright and beautiful.  I'm so glad our kids were able to participate in this once in a lifetime celebration.

After the rain, always comes the rainbow!!!!

Fun in Mom's Wedding Dress

Kenz came downstairs the other day dressed in my wedding dress.  It was a little too big for her, but she had fun prancing around in it anyways.  She is a silly girl.  As I was watching her I couldn't help but look into the future.  It might not be too long until she is wearing her very own wedding gown.  I hope and pray that she and all the other kids will find a spouse worthy to go to the temple with to be sealed for time and all eternity.  There is nothing better than the knowledge of an eternal companion, one that you can have an eternal family with.  

Grandma Carnival

I really lucked out in the in-law department. I have a wonderful mother-in-law who never creates problems for us.  She's kind, fun, loving, and I feel lucky to be a part of their family.  She had all the grandkids over for a giant sleepover one night.  That's 15 grandkids and only 1 grandma.  The kids were all excited to go.  They had a great sleepover.  Saturday morning, the got ready for the carnival.  She thought it would be fun for the kids to put on a carnival for the parents.  They spent the morning and most of the afternoon prepping, cooking, decorating, and practicing.  When we got there everything was set up super cute and they were all waiting for us.

We really had a great time.  There was a popcorn stand, a kissing booth, a nail painting station, face painting, match the duck, foot massages, a fortune teller, water gun shoot, bean bag toss, spam tasting station, cotton candy, snow cones, skeet ball, fresh cookies, and bounce the ball into a cup of water.  The kids put a lot of effort into it and were excited to do this for their parents.  Even the teenagers were good sports and had a fun time.  After the carnival was over we ate lunch: hot dogs and nachos.  The carnival ended with a song by the kids that my MIL made up and had the kids sing to us.  I have a copy and will have to post it later.  It was hilarious about the things the kids can and cannot do.  

What a super fun time the kids had making memories with their grandma that they'll never forget!

Payson Temple Open House

So blessed to live so close to the temple!

Love Him

I love this hubby of mine.  He always makes me laugh.  There is never a dull moment around our house.  I'm so glad we can have fun together, we can talk to each other, we can be serious, we talk about our problems, he's my best friend!

Went for a nice walk one evening.  The weather has been so nice and the kids were all gone, so we figured it was the perfect night for a walk.

Love him!

New Beginnings

We had our New Beginnings several months ago.  Our YW President did an amazing job planning and preparing for the evening.  The decorations were fabulous!  She made a make shift mine shaft that looked very real.  The evening turned out fantastic.  The girls learned about the YW theme for the year which is "Embark in the Service of God".  There were treats at the end which is a great way to finish off a great evening!

Forever Dancing

Kenzie is always dancing or posing or stretching or jumping or or or.....

We were visiting some friends and she wanted to try and balance on this teeny tiny mantle.  We had to snap a very quick picture, but she did it!

HOBY

Kenzie got chosen to go to HOBY Leadership Camp and represent the high school.  The spent a few days there learning leadership skills, the importance of service, and having fun.  On the last night the parents were invited up to see what they had been doing.  It looks like they learned a lot and were taught how to be a positive influence to those they come in contact with.  I'm so glad Kenz got chosen to go and am so proud that she is taking on a leadership role.  She is an amazing girl!

Brides Room Tour

The Young Women and their moms got a special invitation to tour the brides room at the temple.  The room was not part of the regular tour so it was a really special thing to be able to go.  Like the rest of the temple, the brides room was beautiful, celestial!  As we were in the brides room I couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before I would be in there when one of my girls would be getting ready for their own marriage.  I love the temples!

Vote 4 Kenz

Kenzie had so much fun on student council this year that she decided to run again this year.  Her cute friends helped her with her posters and t-shirts for her campaign.  I thought everything turned out super cute.

I was really surprised when I got the call that she didn't make it.  She seemed to be ok with it though.  I'm sure she was disappointed, but she didn't show it.  She just said she'd try again next year.

It was a hard student council year for us.  Kenz, Spencer, and Jo all ran and none of them made it.  I'm glad they all had good attitudes about it and didn't let it get to them too much.

Payson Temple Open House

We got to tour the Payson Temple during the open house, and it is beautiful!  We will be in the Payson Temple district.  I feel so blessed to have so many temples so close to us.  Even though we don't have to go very far, sometimes it's hard to get to the temple.  We are going to get there more often, not just for us but for the kids too.  What an amazing blessing it is to be able to do the work of the Lord in such a beautiful building!

Sleepover Play

Jo took drama this year and had her end of year performance. 

The play was about a sleepover, hence the name.

Jo played the role of the sassy-boy crazed girl.

The play was really cute and they all did a great job.

Crazy that I've now been to 4 drama class performances,which means no more 7th graders for me.

Spencer turns 14

I sure love this crazy boy of mine. 

 He wanted No Bake Cookies for his birthday treat, so that's what he got!

14 things about my Bubba:

~he's very tender-hearted

~gives great hugs

~has started lifting weights and playing football

~likes to dance around the house

~very smart

~fun to be around

~is very particular about his hair

~loves basketball

~honors his priesthood

~is wearing his 2nd set of braces

~gets along with people of all ages

~is a hard worker when he wants to be

~has a great smile

~and best of all, he's mine!

Dance with Me

Tanner got his sling off just in time for his very first prom.  I can't believe my boy is heading to prom.  For their day date they went to the aquarium and I think they had a really good time there.  Then it was back home to get ready, then to promenade, Tucanos for dinner, and finally to prom!

They went with this cute couple and they all had a great time together!

Tanner & Holly

Had to get a picture with my son all grown up!

Beach Day 2

We had to do another beach day while we were there.  

Ry & Tanner having something father/son bonding time.  What a good view!

Jo & Spencer could've spent the whole day out in the water.  They had a blast trying to catch some waves.  They wanted me to go out with them, but the water was a little too cold for my liking.

A little bit of catch on the shore.

An all time favorite, getting buried in the sand!

Kenzie loves mermaids!

She thinks they are the coolest thing, even though they aren't real.  However if you said that to her she would be very upset with you and would argue with you that actually they are real.  Crazy girl!

I love when the kids get along and enjoy each other.  It's kind of a rare occasion as of late, so I had to capture the moment while it lasted:)

This time they didn't just cover her with sand.  They actually dug a hole and had her get in it and then buried her.  Towards the end I think she got a little claustrophobic because she kind of started to panic and wanted to get the heck out of there, and fast!

Just a head!

Our spring break was a lot of fun.  We all enjoyed it. After the surgery and school and the busy life that we lead it came at a much needed time.  It was relaxing and nice to get away, do some fun things, visit family, and just enjoy.  It was hard to go back to work and school and life.

Mormon Battalion Museum

We went to the Mormon Battalion Museum and it was super fun.  It's a interactive museum and they did a great job.  The pictures on the wall "come to life" and take you on a journey.  It was a lot of fun and everyone really enjoyed it, even the teenagers!

Joneaux sporting some gear that the soldiers were outfitted in!

Panning for gold. 

Spencer & Joneaux snuggles!!

Old Town San Diego

Anna took us to visit Old Town San Diego.  It's cool to walk around and see all the old original buildings.  Of course we had to make a stop at the candy store.  Anna treated everyone to a candy of their choice.  Afterwards we and ate some yummy authentic Mexican food!

Loved spending some time with my 2 cute nephews!