Im so glad when Daddy comes home.....

My Dad has been in Afghanistan since March, and he took a 3 week leave to come home and see everybody!!! YEAH!!! It was so nice to have him here. It is really hard having him be over there, so far away, where it is not that safe. Where there are bombings and shootings and killings happening all around. He reassures us he is safe, but I liked having him here, where I can see and feel him and know he is safe....if only for a short time. We had a good time together, but not long enough. Nat flew down from Seattle and Denise came up from Arizona. We hung out and did fun things and just enjoyed the time together. Hooray for Families!!!

Stef was at a rehearsal that morning, so G came all by himself(so brave) and hung out with us and took some pix!
I just want to say I have the best sisters Ever!!! What would I do without them....I really dont know! They are and have been my best friends forever!!! I love being with them. We do nothing but laugh, and cry sometimes....like sitting in the middle of Sweet Tomatoes....niagra falls man! E was filling in for Stef in the pic. Not really...but we missed you Stef!!! BTW....I have one of those cool T-shirts, I just didnt get the memo that we were supposed to wear them that day...
Is it just me, or do I look a little stoned in this pic...? Something about the eyes....I dont know...

Hooray for Hubbies!!!!

Went to a beautiful wedding ceremony in the SL Temple on Friday. I love attending those. This was my 2nd one in a month. I love being reminded of the covenants and promises we make, and the blessings and promises we can receive. It is a bit overwhelming actually. In the ceremony and the luncheon, they talked a lot about couples speaking kind words to each other, especially the Husbands speaking kind words to their Wives. As I was listening to this, I was thinking to myself, I can not remember one time AT ALL in mine and Kirks almost 12 years of marriage where he has been unkind to me or spoken unkind or harsh or mean words to me. Or even raised his voice to me. Even when we have gone through hard times, he is nothing but kind and loving to me. This is not to say we dont have disagreements and express how we feel, but its the way he talks to me. Even when the kids dont talk kindly to me(which isnt very often at all), he is sure to tell them that is not acceptable. I am sooooo grateful to Kirk for this. I know and feel that I am Loved! I only hope and pray that I can and do recipicate that to him. So....Hooray for Husbands who speak kind words......!!!

This is us outside the SL Temple last month....love those trees!

Piano Recital....

One more...and Im 4!!!!

Cannot believe our baby is 4 today!!! Where has the time gone? Seriously...didnt I just have her? Just a little side note....if we were sticking to our spacing of having kids 2 years apart, I would be close to delivering our 6th child....yikes!! Anyhoo.... This girl is something else. She is quite the handful, but we would not trade her for the world(most of the time...haha) She is amazing!! Very smart! Too smart! She loves to sing and dance, and makes up her own songs on the piano. She knows what she wants and does not back down. We are going to have our hands full with this one, but we are looking forward to watching her grow up. Hopefully, with Heavenly Fathers help, we can get her started on the right path, and hopefully, she will stay on it....dont know...this girl already has ideas of her own. Anyways, I could go on and on, but I wont. She is a good girl! In our family prayer tonight, E thanked Heavenly Father that we get to have R in our family....Amen to that!!!!



Birthday song, cake and ice cream time!!! Yum, Yum!!!!
The candles were sparklers and kept lighting back up....needed a little help.
Happy Birthday R!!! We love you!!!

My little Dancing Queen!!

She sure thinks she is the Queen! THINKS is the key word here. Every class she is in, she thinks she owns the place. Dont know what to do with this girl half the time. Signed her up for dance with her cute little cousin, who R calls her 'girlfriend'. She says to me, 'Mama...I have lots of girlfriends.' Then she will start to name them all, and yells at me when I cant think of anymore 'girlfriends'. Oh that I may endure her and love her well.....

Arriving at the studio.
Getting their pretty Ballerina shoes on. They know the drill!!
She likes to run and run....haha...movie anyone?
1st position...well...half of it. Kinda got the arms right. Cute, cute!!
2nd position...I think...?

Shes not supposed to be hanging on the bar. What a good listener she is....not!! Cute pic though.
Ah...so clever...taking a picture in the mirror. Me and Amber and ES(in the smudge somewhere)in the Mom/cheering section.
Look at that form....toes pointed and everything!! Loses it toward the end there a little bit. Gotta love the tongue hanging out. So adorable!!!

I do love this Girl!!!

Scouts and....


AT getting his first Scouts Award. The Bobcat I think.? He was sooo excited!! This boy takes Scouts very seriously. We've already read the Scouting book IN its entirety. Front to back... Yah....thats a good read...haha!!!

I Am A Child of God.

For the primary program my sister in law asked if R would sing I Am A Child of God solo. After asking her (and adding in the bonus of getting to sing in the microphone) she was all over it. So we would sing it in the car, while I was doing her hair, while she was taking a bath, while she would go potty, before she went to bed. We sang it all the time and she got it down. The day of the program she walked up to the microphone, waited(so adorably I might add) for her cue, and sang beautifully. Like an Angel!! She only sang the first line solo, then another little girl joined her for a duet. Proud parent moment!! Had to enjoy it by myself though, because Kirk was in Illinois getting a root canal done by his Uncle, so he missed it....so sad:( Everyone in our Ward was quite impressed with her!!

Antelope Island....a.k.a....Tatonka Island(as I like to call it)

Kendall and Norda invited us to go to Antelope Island with them. In the 16 years that I have lived in Utah, I have never been to there. In Kirks whole life of living in Utah, he has never been there. So it was a first for all of us. It was a lot of fun. The smell at times was not though. We played on the beach, played in the water, got caught in a thunder/lightning storm. We were so close to the lightning, that our hair was sticking straight up, and you could even feel the energy. It was creepy/cool! Even though our boy AT wasnt there, it was a fun family outing!!!




Love this one of ES!!!
Me and my girls.....lovin the sun while it was out. Wasnt out for long.Had to adjust...

Most if us...
Snack break before seeing the Tatonka.
I LOVE holding little babies!! One of my favorite things. This is my little nephew whose birth I got to witness. Cuddly, cuddly!!!
On my way back from cleaning off in the showers. After the mile hike back to the car in the wind, rain and lightning, we were covered in sand. I hate sand!! Especially wet sand!! Kirk and I were lovin the weather....the 3 girls....not so much! Got a pic of Kirk coming back from the showers, but he didnt have a shirt on and well, since this is a G rated blog, that will have to be just for my enjoyment!!!
E's photography.....Yes....Kirk was there. He prefers to be behind the camera...hes a 'behind the scenes' kinda guy...if you will....
I so wasnt this close to the Tatonka, just how Kirk took the picture. Looks cool though. Those things are some tough looking, HUGE animals!!!