The Fisher Family

Happy Birthday and Toes and Fingers

2012-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

January is April's birthday month. We have had some fun celebrating it. On her birthday I took her to lunch at Olive Garden. Yum! Then that night Annie decided to take April along with all her sisters and mom to Bucca's for dinner. Yum again. We had such a fun night together visiting and laughing so thanks Annie for making April's birthday so fun for all of us.

After dinner we came home and had cake and presents. Below is April and her cute little girls.

At Sunday dinner today we celebrated April's birthday with all the family minus a couple of people that couldn't be there due to illness. We had another fun party!

This past week me, Alyse, Annie, and April had fun using our gift certificates that we had gotten for Christmas. I got a pedicure and the girls all got nails. It was fun to do it together.

Basketball!

2012-01-17T10:07:00.001-08:00

I have enjoyed going to some of my grandsons basketball games. They have been really fun to watch. Both boys are getting to be good players. Below is Mr. M number 24. Go #24!

Below is Mr. H he is number 5. Go #5!

Have a great season!

Remembering Becky

2012-01-10T09:32:00.001-08:00

Becky and I met when we were 15 years old and became such good friends! We were friends all though High School and College. We were bridesmaids at each others weddings. We got married within six months of each other and had our first babies within six months of each other. We have remained friends all these many years taking each other to lunch for our birthdays, seeing each other or at least keeping in touch at Christmas, and chatting on the phone a few times a year. Becky made beautiful flower arrangements and I have counted ten of them that I have decorating my home. Every time I look at them I think of her. My dear friend Becky passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 23, 2011 from a stroke. I am so grateful one of her daughters called me to let me know about her passing. I am a better person for having known her. I will miss her greatly and cherish our friendship always!

Happy Birthday Annie and Happy New Year

2012-01-03T12:47:00.001-08:00

Last week Annie celebrated her 19th birthday! My baby only has one last year left as a teenager. Below is our little family gathering to celebrate with her on the evening of her birthday. We had a fun little party. Earlier in the day I took her to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. YUM!

Annie with her little red velvet bunt cake.

Last Sunday we had a double celebration as we celebrated New Years Day and Annie's birthday with all the family. Fun, Fun! A big thank you to her sister Jenn for making her a chocolate cake that was just Divine!

On New Years Eve lucky Alyse got to have a date all day and into the night to celebrate the coming of the new year.

The little cuties below had fun celebrating the new year.

None of the kids made it to midnight. (Probably a good thing) But they went to bed celebrating.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope the year will bring peace and prosperity to us all!

Christmas and Christmas Eve 2011 and In Memory

2011-12-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

The picture below is of Christmas morning. Having little children in the house makes Christmas fun. Eliza, Brianna, and Kaitlyn sure looked cute in their Christmas pajamas. They were so excited that Santa had come! We had fun opening presents then headed off to church where we got to have all of our daughters and their families join us. Then we came back and had Christmas dinner, opened more presents, visited and had desert.

Poor Kim opened a few presents in the morning then headed back to bed where he spent the entire day. He did not feel well at all. We missed him being with us for the day!

My oldest daughter's family.

April's family.

Alyse, me, and Annie.

Me with my daughters.

Christmas night my son's family came over. It was fun to see them!

Alyse and Jarom.

Andrew and I. Below me with cute Weston.

The whole family got to be together for lunch on Christmas Eve. We usually take a picture of all the kids on the stairs Christmas morning. But since Christmas Eve was when we could all be together we did it then.

Warren was so cute. You see the tie he is wearing. He put it on himself and told his parents he wanted to look nice since it was Christmas Eve.
We had our tradition pizza benders.

After we ate we played a fun game and then the cousins did their gift exchange.

Eliza gave Warren a big hug and thanked him for the Disney princess tent.

Below is me with all my grandkids. Thanks Uncle Joel for getting all the kids to look!

Dec. is always a special month as we celebrate Christ's birth and spend lots of time together as a family. This Dec. has been a tough month also. I mentioned in an earlier post about my sister Marilyn's grandson who died of SIDS. We also lost another member of our family two days before Christmas. My sister Carol's son Steve died after a valiant 16 month fight against brain cancer. Steve was one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. His parents, siblings, wife, and 11 year old twins miss him deeply! I pray for peace and comfort for my sisters and their families.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-19T14:24:00.001-08:00

I really do think that Christmas time is the most wonderful time of the year! People seem to be just a little kinder and gentler at Christmas time. It is a busy time though. Wed. night we hosted a dinner party for a few of our neighbors then Friday night Kim and I with a couple of our neighbors had the privilege of attending the Christmas concert that the Choir does in the conference center. The special guests this year were Jane Seymore and Nathan Gunn. It was amazing and we really enjoyed it! We also went to dinner at the Lion House Pantry and checked out all the lights on Temple Square. It was a fun night.

Then Saturday morning we went to our Ward Christmas party. It was up the canyon in a beautiful lodge with picture windows and a roaring fire in the fireplace. The decorations were very festive. The atmosphere was very Christmasy (Is that a word?) Breakfast was delicious and Santa even came! We had 4 of our 5 children with us and 7 of our 8 grandchildren which made the morning even more fun.

The two cuties below are always so excited to see each other.

After breakfast the kids had fun decorating ginger bread men. Okay I had fun decorating one too.

Sunday all the family came to dinner and we had a special visitor from the North Pole come! I am always trying to get a good grandkids picture and all things considered I thing the one below with Santa isn't too bad. You can see every ones face right?

Below are the kids who were not afraid to sit on Santa's lap. Warren was just a little excited.

Below is my oldest daughters family.

My son's family.

April and her girls.

My babies with Santa.

We thought we'd get a picture with the girls but some little people kind of drifted into the picture with us.

Us with our not so little kiddos.

After our kids all left we attended our neighbors Christmas open house. This morning I went to Eliza's preschool Christmas program. Busy, busy, but fun,fun!

Cookies, Elves, Santa

2011-12-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

I have a dear friend who lives in our old neighborhood who has been hosting a Christmas cookie exchange luncheon for over 30 years. She is an amazing cook and in all those years has only repeated a menu for the luncheon one time. She is nice enough to include the neighbors who have moved out of the neighborhood. Her cookie exchange luncheons are one of my highlights of the Christmas season. It is so fun to go to her home and visit with old friends, have a delicious lunch and get to take home a plate of wonderful cookies. Thank you Nancy!
Below is Nancy with one of her daughters.

Alyse, Annie, and I enjoyed an afternoon at Gardner Village checking out some of Santa's Elves. We even had a few snowflakes falling as we looked around. It was very festive and fun!

Alyse is holding a cup of hot chocolate in the picture above(not coffee). It was cold!

I went with April to help her get a picture of Santa with her girls. Eliza was so excited and not one bit afraid of Santa. Brianna and Kaitlyn took one look and started screaming. April ended up being in the pictures with the girls so they would stop freaking out. All in all it turned out pretty good.

Sibling Breakfast and In Memory

2011-12-10T12:28:00.001-08:00

This morning I had my annual Christmas Breakfast with my siblings. It's when we exchange our Christmas gifts with each other. Annie was able to attend with me. Alyse and Kim were working. We always miss Carol who lives in Colorado, but this year we missed Marilyn also. Her cute little 3 month old grandson passed away this week from SIDS and she was just to sad to join us. Below is my brother and sister, and brother in law who were able to be there.

Cute little Corbin brought a lot of joy into the lives of his parents, sisters, and grandparents in his short little life. He is so missed and grieved over. I pray each of them will be able to find some peace and comfort.

Molly Mouse

2011-12-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

Last night our family attended a performance of Molly Mouse. It is a variation of the Nutcracker and is just darling! Miss E was an angel in the Sugar Plum Fairy scene. She did so well. It was a fun night. We enjoyed the ballet and we enjoyed being together. Below are a few of our spectators.

Cute Miss E after the performance

Grandma forgot to bring flowers so I owe her some.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T08:56:00.001-08:00

I love Thanksgiving! I have found that if I take the time to write down all my blessings the day before or the day of Thanksgiving that I am even more grateful because I see on paper all the many blessings that I have. It makes all the things that are problems in my life fade away compared to how many blessings I have to be grateful for. This year the four amazing members of my family below ran the 5K that our Rec Center was sponsoring. So way to go Mr. H, Kim, Alyse, and Annie for running in the cold and finishing. You are all awesome! I stayed home and worked on food for dinner.

We were lucky to have all our daughters and those with families with us this year even though it was the year to go to the in laws. My oldest daughters parents- in -law are on a mission so we got to have them with us and the only one we missed was our sons family. Everyone helped and we had a wonderful dinner!

Below is me with 3 of my 4 daughters.

Cute baby Kaitlyn made all of us smile.

After dinner there was lots of visiting, some game playing, and some football watching. Someone even fell asleep on the couch but I'm not allowed to show a picture of him.

That night we went to see a movie which is a tradition on Thanksgiving but I was not smart enough to buy tickets a head of time so we were unable to get in:( We came home and played games instead and had a really fun time so it all worked out:) I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving also.

Family Fun and All Done

2011-11-16T11:48:00.001-08:00

They say all good things must come to an end and out door soccer and football have ended for the cute kids below. The good news is basket ball starts soon for Mr. M and H and little Warren is already playing indoor soccer. Miss E might get to wear her cheerleader outfit at some of those games :)

Oh we had so much fun taking family pictures for our Christmas card. The question is which one do I choose. Help me! Do you prefer number one, two, or three starting with the one below being number one. Alyse has her boyfriend in the picture. No they are not engaged.

I have the hardest time getting a grand kids picture. These were the two best. Oh well.

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-03T15:27:00.001-07:00

We had a fun Halloween week. It started when Alyse, Annie and I along with baby Kaitlyn went for our traditional visit to Gardner Village to see all the witches. We ran into one of our favorite Elders from our mission along with his cute family. It was so fun to see them all in person! I was able to attend Mr. H and Miss E's Halloween parade at their school. H was a Greek God.

Miss E was a really cute dead cheerleader.

Alyse dressed as a pirate for a couple of Halloween parties she went to.

I was not able to attend Eliza's preschool party but I hear she was a really good singer! I did get to attend Brianna's preschool party along with her mom and baby Kaitlyn. She had fun decorating sugar cookies and eating them. She also got to draw pictures of jack o lanterns on orange paper and help carve jack o lanterns out of pumpkins. It was a fun little party.

Below is April and her little ladybugs and bumble bee.

Grandma with Kaitie and Eliza.

Grandma with Brianna.

Below is Andrews cute family.

Weston is a cute crab and Warren is the cutest spider man I have ever seen!

Grandma and her boys.

Me with 5 of my little spooks.

Westi and Kaitie are always excited to see each other.

Below is Annie with Warren and Eliza.

Alyse and her friend Jarom with our crab and ladybug.

Every year our neighbors throw a fun barbecue on Halloween. This year because we had nice weather it was even more fun!

Later on Halloween night Mr. H. and Miss E. made it over to trick or treat. It was sure fun to see them.

Grandma with two more of her spooks.

I love Halloween and it was such a fun one this year. I'm kind of sorry its over.

Happy # 4, And Senior Night Remembered

2011-10-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

Cute little Warren turns four years old this weekend. We started his birthday week off for him with a fun family birthday party at our Sunday dinner. It was so cute when he looked at his cake right before we sang to him and he said " I can't believe my birthday is really here!" Happy Birthday little guy! We love you!

Opening presents.

On Wed. when I tended Warren and his little brother we decided we better have a midweek party. So we had cup cakes and a birthday balloon for him. It was a fun little party.

Blowing out the candle.

This week Annie and I attended Olympus's Senior night for the Volleyball Team. It was fun to go back and see old friends and their family's and watch the last game of the season. Unfortunately they lost to Skyline. But the sets were close and fun to watch. It brought back lots of memories of last year when Annie had her Senior Night and the team won on Senior Night for the first time in ten years. Her team went on to take fourth place in the State Tournament. Fun memories!

Birthday Number One!

2011-10-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

None of us can believe it but little Kaitlyn Rose has turned one year old! Below is Kaitlyn with Grandma on her real birthday.

Above is Kaitie riding her birthday gift. Her sisters finally let her have a turn. Below is Kaitie with her cake at her birthday party with family and friends. She looked like a little princess in her new birthday dress.

Grandma and Kaitlyn.

April had made cute cupcakes out of Styrofoam. Her decorations were so cute. She also made the cutest favor for people to take home but I didn't get a picture of them.

Brianna had fun with Grandpa reading her some of the books that Kaitlyn had received.

These two cuties love each other so much!

Above is Mom with Kaitie and below is a cousin, uncle, and aunt with her.

Opening presents.

Getting her very own cupcake. She enjoyed playing with it more than eating it.

Above is all the family that could make it to the party. We missed a few due to work, and another in law birthday party. We love you Kaitlyn and wish you a happy year.

Freezing, Mr. H Gets The Priesthood, A Fun Trip

2011-10-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

I went to Warren's last game of the season last Sat. and it was so cold. I had a winter coat on and a blanket and I still froze! The wind just went through you. Look at brave little Warren below. Doesn't he look cold? He played awesome and made a couple of goals.
After Warren's game I went to Mr. M's ( pictured below) football game and I froze some more. He 's giving me a wave after the game, broken fingers and all. They killed the other team. It was a fun game to watch.

Just the week before we were sweating as we watched the games.

But last Sat. we were all bundled up like little Westi pictured below. What a difference a few days can make.

Last Sunday Mr. H received the Aaronic Priesthood. How special it was to see my 2nd grandson ordained to the priesthood. Congratulations H!

Alyse and her first companion from her mission took a long weekend and returned to visit their mission and say goodbye to some special companions who are returning home and say hello to members and investigators. They dropped Annie off in St. George on the way down and she got to spend the weekend with her best friend who is going to school there. Fun fun. Alyse and Kim then moved on to Las Vegas and had fun there before continuing on to Calif. Below are Alyse and Kim in Las Vegas.

Above is Alyse and her companion with one of their investigators who agreed to come to church since they were there.

Alyse at Universal Studios.

Above is Alyse and her companion with the member they stayed with.

Alyse playing in the ocean at night.

Above is Alyse with her first, second and third companions.

Alyse with her Mission President.

Old companions and friends.

The girl in the middle is returning to Cambodia where she is from. Alyse will miss her.

Above is Alyse with her fourth companion. She is from Mongolia.

Alyse with her third and first companions.

On the drive home. They picked up Annie and made it home safely. Both girls were grateful for their little trips away from home.

Oct. Birthdays and Soccer

2011-10-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday at our family dinner we celebrated two of our Oct. birthdays. My amazing, wonderful husband's who I am more grateful for than I can say and my oldest grandsons. We had a fun party. Below is grandpa with his grand kids. All the family.

Me with my birthday boys.

Kim and I.

Below is Mr. M. I can't believe he turns 14 this week. He is an amazing student and football player as well as a basketball player. I love watching him play his sports. Happy Birthday!

Below is Warren who is an awesome soccer player. At the game I attended last week he made two of the four goals that his team scored.

It's so fun to watch him play.

Below is Weston one of Warren's spectators. He is growing so big!

Grandma and Weston.

The other fans and spectators of Warren.

Eliza gives her cousin Warren a high five for winning the game.

Warren and Dad.

I had to include the pictures below because my son is such an die hard U of U fan. You will notice the U flags on his car. While he was at priesthood meeting with my husband Sat. night Alyse and Annie thought they'd have some fun with him. They put BYU writings all over the windows of this car. He was a good sport about it all.

The video below was to catch my two youngest grand kids walking but it turned into a hugging fest instead. They are only two months a part in age although Weston is so much bigger than Kaitlyn most people are surprised they are so close in age. They are both so cute!

Silver Lake 2011

2011-09-27T08:59:00.001-07:00

An outing that has become a tradition is going up to Silver Lake each September to see the Fall leaves. This past weekend Alyse, Annie, and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed up the canyon. The drive up was just gorgeous with red, orange, and yellow leaves snuggled in among the green of the pine trees. At the lake the Aspens were just starting to change but it was still just beautiful. We enjoyed our walk around the lake, it couldn't have been more perfect weather. We had such a fun time!

Below is Alyse the duck whisperer. Can you see the duck hiding in the grasses?

After she talked to the duck he followed her where ever she went!

The picture below is a random one from a football game, but I thought it was cute of my oldest and youngest granddaughters so I included it.

Spectators and Other Things

2011-09-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying watching my two grandsons below play football. I have found that sometimes it is as much fun to watch the spectators as it is to watch the games.

Eliza is starting preschool. The picture below is of her going to her orientation. It was lots of fun.

The picture below is of Brianna on her first day of Preschool.

Alyse, Annie and I had a fun little outing on the Temple Square grounds. They are sure beautiful this time of year. (and always)

September Birthdays

2011-09-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite kids have birthdays this week. Mr. H and Brianna. The family celebrated with them at a fun party at family dinner on Sunday.Mr. H is turning 12. This is a special birthday because now he will receive the Priesthood. He is loving playing football and being in the 6th grade.

Brianna is turning 3 years old. She has started taking ballet and feels like a little princess when she is all dressed up for dance. She will be starting preschool in a week and is so excited about that!

Blowing out candles. Miss E wanted to make sure that Eliza didn't blow out her sisters candle.

Below is Grandma with her kids.

The whole family wishing Mr. H and Brianna a very happy birthday and a happy year!

2- 1st- 4 Kaitlyn Rose

2011-09-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn Rose is 10 and 1/2 months old. She has lived at our house since she was born although she will soon be moving. (We will miss her like crazy!) Last Sunday Sept. 4, 2011 She got her first tooth and took her first steps, 5 of them all at once. Of course after she did that we had to keep her walking back and forth between us so we could cheer for her. We love you so much Kaitie and seeing you grow and develop is so much fun! I love being a grandma!

Summer is Ending:(

2011-08-31T19:47:00.001-07:00

Summer is ending and we are so sad to see it go. My three oldest grandkids have started back to school and each one is loving it so far. My next three grandkids will be going to preschool and they are excited about that! The two babies below are growing up too fast. Weston has taken his first steps and Kaitlyn acts like she won't be far behind him. They are so fun and I love them so much. Annie has started College and is liking it so far.

Football season has started for my two oldest grandsons. They had their first games of the season last Sat. and both of their teams won. Mr. H did so good in his first game! Way to go! And Mr. M got his first touchdown so kudos to you! I wish you both a fun season.

Below is Annie on her first day of College.

We've been having such hot weather that we thought we better take advantage of it and go swimming one more time. It was fun.

Good bye Summer. We hate to see you go.

The Second Round At Lake Powell and Cute Westons First Birthday

2011-08-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Cute little Weston turned one year old this past week! (unbelievable!) We had a birthday party for him on Sunday with all the family. Happy Birthday little guy!

Westi with his Mom and Dad and big brother.

Wearing the Birthday hat.

Weston with all the family except for grandma who is taking the picture.

We had the opportunity to go to Lake Powell for the second time this summer. We had 4 of our 5 children with us and 6 of our 8 grandchildren. All the kids below both little and big had a blast! It was so fun. I love time with my family!

Our hand stand competition.

Cute little Kaitlyn was such a trooper. She spent a lot of time in the play pen but was as happy as ever.

Kim is just flying in the picture above.

We had a lot of fun playing in the sand.

Joel made an awesome castle.

My cliff jumping pictures were not the greatest. I had a hard time catching people while they were jumping.

Taking a dip.

Above are our four daughters.

Above is Annie getting ready to jump.

Above is Annie's splash when she hit the water, but I missed the jump.

Baby cliff jumping.

April, Jenn, and Alyse.

We had such a great time water skiing, tubing, knee boarding, swimming, floating, paddleing, and most of all being together. Can't wait to do it again next year!

More Birthdays, Pioneer Day, Trek

2011-07-31T06:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Alyse and Miss E. They are the last of our July birthdays. We celebrated with both of them at our family dinner last Sunday. Their birthdays are just a day a part. Above is Alyse with her cake.

Emma with her cake.

The birthday girls.

The whole family enjoyed celebrating with them.

Me with Miss E on her real birthday.

Kim and I celebrating with Alyse the day after her birthday when she was home from Trek.

Our neighborhood had a parade for all the kids to celebrate the 24th of July which is Pioneer Day. Kaitlyn enjoyed watching the parade.

Eliza and Brianna rode in their wagon in the parade.

After the parade their was a bonce house and slide for the kids, snow cones, desserts, a clown who made balloon items for the kids. It was lots of fun!

Above is Brianna with her balloon hat.

The little girls enjoyed sparklers to celebrate Pioneer Day. Well most of them did. Brianna wasn't too sure about them at first.

Kaitlyn was fascinated by them.

Eliza just had a ball with them!

These two cuties above became Pioneers for four days as they participated in our Stakes Pioneer Trek up in Wyoming. Above and below is what they looked like before they left.

Above is Annie with her good friend right before they depart. Below are Annie and Alyse.

Annie and Alyse on trek.

Annie playing Pioneer games.

Alyse with some of her YSA trek family.

Mekenna and Annie

Annie and Alyse. Our girls came home hot, sweaty, so dirty, so tired, so sunburned, so blistered, but they had loved every minute of it! They gained a greater love and understanding for the Pioneers and experienced little miracles in their own lives. They said it was the hardest thing they had ever done but was also a very humbling and spiritual experience. Alyse had her birthday while on trek and said it was one she will never forget!

Another Year Older and Another Parade

2011-07-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have just celebrated another birthday. And when you are as old as I am all the celebrating is what makes having a birthday fun. The party started last Sunday when the whole family celebrated with me. Besides our traditional chocolate mint cake my oldest and youngest daughters made me a chocolate cake with a chocolate sauce to pour over it. It was to die for. Thanks everyone it was a fun party.

Wed. morning I had a party with my grand kids. Everyone was able to come except for Mr. H. We missed him. He was at a scout camp. We all had breakfast together and then had red velvet cupcakes after. Thanks for celebrating with me kids it was fun!

On my real birthday the two girls pictured with me below took me to lunch.

Later they surprised me with balloons, a giant tootsie roll pop, and butter dream cookies. The family members that live at my house had another party with me and another cake. (I am not getting on the scale until I start my diet tomorrow). And a highlight of my birthday was seeing the new Harry Potter movie. Thank you dear family and friends for the calls, cards, gifts, lunches, and breakfast's. I have appreciated and loved it all!

We spent Sat. morning at the 24th of July Children's Parade down town. Three of my grandchildren had the privilege of being in it. Below is April with Eliza in front of our wards float. They were pioneers.

Below are Miss E and Mr. H. They were the cutest Hippies ever. Their wards float represented the 60's.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

Watching the parade.

Our pioneers.

After the parade.

I love July. It is a fun, busy month.

Family Reuion 2011 and Mutton Bustin

2011-07-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we attended the Draper Rodeo where our little three and a half year old grandson Warren was participating in the Mutton Bustin part of the rodeo. The picture below is from last year. This year he actually stayed on quite a while and had a good little ride but of course I wasn't able to get a picture of that (although my son got a great video of it). My pictures are after he fell off. Oh well. It was fun to watch him ride his sheep.

Below Warren is giving a high five to Grandpa after finishing his Mutton Bustin.

I just had to get a picture of little Weston in his cute cowboy boots.

Sat. morning was my family reunion. My sister Marilyn hosted it this year. Below are three of my granddaughters having fun blowing bubbles.

Some people had fun watching the games....

and others had fun playing them.

My kids.

Good food.

The Fisher family.

Below is me with my sisters Marilyn and Janet. We missed Carol and Marv not being there and we always miss Earlene and Jim.

Fourth of July and Fun River Run

2011-07-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

On the Fourth of July we were up bright and early to go to the Parade that our granddaughter was marching in. Below is a picture of Kaitlyn and I decked out in our red, white, and blue. At the parade we ran into our friend Teresa whose husband was our best man when we got married. It was so fun to see her. We are pictured below.

Below is Miss E. throwing candy as she marches with her dance studio. (I love the American Flags in her hair!)

Elisa and Brianna had fun picking up candy that was thrown to them.

Below is some of the parade, although I didn't get a picture of my favorite float which was Patriotic Pirates.

Below are some of our spectators.

My camera shy husband and oldest and youngest daughter were there too, just not in any pictures. After the parade we went to breakfast. In the evening we had a picnic in our back yard then headed up to Park City for some spectacular fire works. All of our daughters and their families joined us for that and we had a fun night.
Below are some pictures of my morning walk/run. I am so happy to have a walking partner to do it with every day. I call it our river run.

Just so you know we never stop and rest on this bench while we are running. We only stopped for the picture.

I love my walk/runs and the beautiful world we live in!

Catch Up

2011-06-28T13:13:00.001-07:00

Summer is racing by so fast! In June Kim and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary! I am so grateful that I have had him by by side through the good times and the hard times over the past 39 years. And I must admit I love him at least 39 more times than I did on the day I married him. Below is a picture of us on that day. Who knew that our blow up pool would be such a great investment! Six of our 8 grandchildren have had so much fun in it this summer.

My best friend from Kindergarten through High School was in town the other day and it was fun to get to visit with her and go to lunch.

My amazing daughter in law ran the Ragnar Race with her team. It went from Logan to Park City! Way to go Annie I am so impressed by you! She is wearing her metal in the picture below.

My oldest daughter celebrated her birthday last weekend. Her husband has a June birthday also so we celebrated their birthdays with them at a fun family party. The day after my daughters birthday they celebrated their anniversary so Happy Birthday J and J and Happy Anniversary also!

We had a really fun little trip to Lake Powell. All of our kids are always invited to join us. We missed the ones that couldn't be with us and had fun with the ones that could. We enjoyed the beach, being in the water, and some water sports, and loved hiking up to the spectacular Rainbow Bridge.

Annie's Graduation

2011-06-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Annie's Senior year has come to an end. The cute girl below graduated on June 2, 2011. Below is Annie in her cute new graduation dress.

The picture below is out of order. This is Annie with some friends after the graduation ceremony ended! Don't they look happy?

Annie holding her year book.

Annie in her cap and gown.

Her graduation cake.

Annie with her cake.

April and her girls were excited for Annie. The girls couldn't wait for the party that was after graduation.

Her brother brought her flowers.

Annie with her proud parents.

The ceremony begins. Annie is in the center of the picture by the white drape.

Her row files out to get their diplomas.

Coming off the stage after receiving her diploma.

After graduating Annie and her siblings and their families came over to the house for dinner and a party. Below is Annie cutting her cake.

Annie and Andrew with Annie.

Three of her favorite nephews and nieces.

Annie with her diploma and metal.

Annie in her party shirt that was the ticket into the all night party her school was having. It says Thank Heaven for 2011.

A few reflections: Annie's Senior year started with the birth of her cute little nephew Weston in Aug. Below is Annie and Weston.

In the first tournament of the season as varsity setter on the volleyball team Annie broke her wrist. This was a huge disappointment and trial for her. After two weeks in a cast she had the Dr. take the cast off and she played the rest of the season with a broken wrist. Choosing to do that came with some challenges also. But they did take 4th in state so that was awesome.

Annie's cute little niece Kaitlyn was born in Oct. four weeks early. Annie loves her to pieces!

Annie's sister and best friend left on a mission . Alyse's leaving was harder on Annie than anyone. She is so proud of what she is doing but she has missed her like crazy.

She participated on Pegasus the school newspaper. She won her school, the area, and region level with her musical composition in the Reflections contest. Annie you have survived all the homework, projects, drama with friends as well as your broken wrist during volleyball season. Congratulations you did it! We are proud of you and wish you the best in all you do in the future.There are 19 years between our oldest and youngest child and having our baby graduate from High School caused me to do some reflecting on those other graduations. Below are Kim and I with our oldest daughter Jennifer at her graduation.

Us with our son Andrew.

With our daughter April.

With our daughter Alyse

And with Annie.

Annie, no task is too great for you to achieve when you have faith and truly believe! We love you Annie and wish you all the best!

My First Race and another Preschool Graduation

2011-05-30T13:52:00.001-07:00

Annie did not have school last Friday so Friday morning we headed to St. George where Friday night Me, Kim, and Annie ran the Midnight 5K. It is the first race I have ever run. Kim and Annie ran it last year and it was so fun I thought I need to do that next year with them. And I did! I walk/run 2 miles about 4 times a week so I thought I should be able to do a 5K. With the heat down there and the extra 1.2 miles it was harder than I thought it would be but it was still a lot of fun and a race I was able to do. I am proud of myself for finishing in 41 minutes. (My husband who has run 2 marathons and many 5K's and 10K's only finished a minute before me. Annie beat us both by a good 10 minutes. They had music playing and music video's going at the beginning and end of the race. People were dancing and rocking out to the music. It was a party. After the race we were treated to water, Gatorade, watermelon, and pizza. It was fun and I look forward to doing it again next year. April and her girls went with us to hang out at the condo we stayed in and enjoy a little bit of summertime, because at our house we are still having winter. Kaitlyn didn't know how she felt about grass.

Brianna was the baby bottle stealer.

Annie, Kim, and I ready for the race.

Me with my florescent glasses showing the back of the cool florescent tee shirts they gave us to wear.

We had fun with the florescent glasses, and glow sticks before we left for the race. Eliza thought it was all so awesome!

The race started and ended at the old St George airport. This is us with one of our neighbors who was there running it right before the race began.

Kim and I after the race. I was ready for my pizza.

Annie after the race.

Kim and I after the race. Fun times.

Me with little Kaitlyn. It is amazing how long a bottle of bubbles can entertain little girls.

We had such a fun week end. I can't wait to do it again next year! The picture below is random. Warren wanted me to take a picture of him with his baby cousin one day last week when I was tending. So here it is.

Last Wed. was Warren's preschool graduation. He is the cute boy sitting second to last on the right.

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Singing to the parents and grandparents.

Getting his certificate and gift.

He couldn't wait to get that graduation hat off. Once it came off there was no way he was putting it back on for any pictures.

Warren with his proud family.

Warren with his proud Grandma.

Seminary Graduation, Preschool Graduation, Soccer, Recital

2011-05-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

The past week has been busy. First I attended cute Warren's soccer game. Can I tell you how cute it is to watch these little tiny kids chasing a soccer ball. Warren was a very good player and made several goals. Little Weston made me laugh. He did not want to have his little bare feet touch the grass.

I had to get a picture of me and Weston because we had matching shirts on.

Then on Thursday I attended Eliza's preschool graduation. The theme was Jungle Animals and when you put 20 4 and 5 year old's in a room together they can act like jungle animals especially monkeys. She looked cute in her jungle hat, sun glasses , and lei.

Mom and Eliza enjoying the snack.

Me with Eliza.

Eliza and Brianna reading together.

Singing for the parents and grandparents.

Eliza being presented with her certificate of graduation and a gift.

All decked out in her jungle gear.

On Sat. evening we attended Eliza's dance recital. The theme was a Princess Garden. There were little Cinderellas, Sleeping beauties, Frog Princesses, Odille's, and Odette's. Eliza was an Odette and she looked so cute in her white swan costume. The picture below is before the performance showing a ballet pose kind of.

After the performance all the little princesses were given crowns. Below is Eliza with her flowers.

Mom with Eliza.

Me with Eliza.

Annie with Eliza. Grandpa and an aunt and uncle missed out on the picture taking but they were there too.

Sunday was Seminary Graduation for Annie. This night represented four long years. Way to go Annie. You did it! Below is Annie with her best friend Mckenna.

We are very proud of you Annie. Now all our kids have graduated from Seminary! YAY!

Mothers Day 2011

2011-05-10T12:52:00.001-07:00

Mothers Day started the day before Mothers Day for me when cute Annie and April surprised me with 2 dozen butter dream cookies from Normandy Cafe. They are the best sugar cookies ever! We all had one then saved the rest for desert on Mothers Day. Thanks girls!

I am so grateful for the babies below. Because of them I get to celebrate being a mother on Mothers Day! Me with Jennifer.

Me with Andrew.

Me with April.

Me with Alyse.

And last but not least me with Adrianna (Annie).

One of the best things about Mothers Day this year was getting to talk on the phone with my missionary daughter pictured above. It made my day!

These four made it really special too. Thanks for being my children and for the gifts kids and to Andrew thanks for manning the grill!

I'm grateful to my children for making me a grandmother! It is the best! I am always after a good picture of my grandchildren together. It keeps eluding me. These are the best I could get. Some one was crying or running away in them. Oh well.

I think this was the best over all one except that Warren wasn't in it. Anyway I am so thankful for all of these cuties, I love being a mother and grandmother!

Mission Report for Alyse

2011-05-04T12:19:00.001-07:00

Alyse has finally been transferred to her second area. She spent six months in Victorville and grew to love everyone there so much, but she was ready for a change. She had many people crying when they found out she was leaving and she was given many good bye gifts. She says her new companion is a dream companion and she is so excited to have her. She is from Cambodia. She cooked for Alyse the other day and now Alyse has eaten Cambodian food and she liked it! They are assigned to a Young Single Adult ward so they cover seven areas and are doing lots of driving. Twice a week they are in a booth on a campus talking to students and handing out information on the church. She loves her mission and her testimony is always growing as well as her love for the people in the San Bernardino area. Below is a picture of her with her old district. For a P day activity they had a Polynesian Party. Elder Perry of the twelve came and spoke to their mission as well as the Riverside mission at a mission conference. Below is Alyse with other missionaries after the conference.

Below is Alyse with an Elder from her old area.

We can't wait until Mothers Day when we will get to talk with her on the phone!

Easter and Happy Birthday

2011-04-25T08:40:00.001-07:00

When I was tending these cuties last Wed. I decided we should start getting ready for Easter.

So we boiled some eggs and started coloring.

It was good to have some Easter cookies to munch on while we waited for the eggs to dry. Little ones always make holidays more fun.

Easter morning these girls below had fun looking for their Easter baskets. At church Kim gave a wonderful, amazing talk on the Atonement. After church the whole family came over and we enjoyed an Easter egg hunt and a Easter bag/bucket hunt.

He'd taken his tie off before the picture but thought he better sort of have it back on for the picture.

Annie in her Easter dress with the shrug on....

.....and with it off.

I am always trying to get a really good picture of my grand kids. This time I did things a little differently with the hope we could get better pictures if I didn't take them all together. So below are the girls.

And here are the boys.

Below is me with the little girls...

and the little boys...

and the big kids.

At dinner we also celebrated my cute daughter in laws birthday.

Happy Birthday Annie we hope you have a wonderful year!

Grandkids and Spring Break

2011-04-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of going to the two cute kids below Art Night at their school. Miss E had this picture hanging in the hallway of a snake she had made.

Mr. H had a picture of a Civil War cannon that he had made.

Both of the kids did great in their class dances. Miss E's was a May Pole dance but at first she had told me she was doing a Maple dance. Too funny ha ha. Kids say the cutest things.

Friday night I got to attend Miss E's dance recital or should I say dance production! It was held at Kingsbury Hall. They performed The Secret Garden. It was amazing! Good Job Miss E!

This lucky cute girl below is in Las Vegas with friends for Spring Break working on her tan. Don't have too much fun Annie.

Alyse's Mission and Grandbabies

2011-04-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Alyse is so happy and is doing so well on her mission. She will have her second baptism on April 16th and she is very excited about that. She has been in the same area the whole time she has been serving so far and has had two companions. Below is a picture of her with her District. This is her with her Zone.

This picture was taken of the whole mission at Christmas time. She is in the top picture on the front row towards the center wearing a red skirt and gray jacket.

I love these two babies soooo much. They are both growing so big. I tried getting some smiles but kept missing them. They are cute anyway.

Eliza with her baby sister Kaitlyn.

Annie and Eliza.

MORP (Prom backwards)

2011-03-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

MORP was last weekend and Annie had a ball at it. The theme of it was "Revenge of the Nerds". That will explain the goofy outfits, pigtails, glasses etc. The girls all got ready for it at Annie's friends house. Then they picked up their dates, went to a soccer game, then to dinner, then to the dance, then to midnight bowling. Fun, fun!

Annie and her date.

The whole group.

Now hopefully the boys will come up to snuff and ask some of the girls to Prom.

Wearing the Green.

2011-03-20T19:44:00.001-07:00

On St. Patrick's day we all wore green so we wouldn't get pinched. For dinner we had cheesy potato soup that was green, green rolls, green salad, and green shamrock sugar cookies. What a fun holiday! Green is one of my favorite colors. Weston can sit up all by himself. What a big boy!

Eliza loves her little cousin and so do I!

Happy Birthday Andrew

2011-03-13T20:06:00.001-07:00

This past week my son celebrated his birthday. Time just fly's by and the cute little guy below is now a dad with two cute little boys of his own. Andrew is an amazing son, husband, and father. Andrew and his cute family.

Below is all the family. We celebrated his birthday with him at our family dinner today. We love you Andrew and wish you a great year!

I just had to include a couple of pictures of these two cuties. They are sharing the toy in the picture below.

They are getting so big!

Hawaii 2011

2011-02-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

We have just returned from my favorite place to visit HAWAII! We have some kind generous neighbors who own a condo on the beautiful garden island of Kauai. They provided us and another couple in our ward with a wonderful well needed vacation. We are very grateful to them for their generosity and for their fun companionship. They knew all the fun places to go. Below is a picture of Kim and I as we arrived in Kauai on Valentines day. We visited a famous botanical garden called the McBryde Garden and spent 2 and 1/2 hours wandering through this garden. It was amazing. I have posted just a few my favorite flowers we saw.

We saw some huge sea turtles. If you look in the center of the picture down in the water is one of them. He looks like one of the rocks but if you look closely you can see the turtle.

This sign said to please not feed the feral cats and chickens. We didn't see any cats but the wild chickens were everywhere. At the beach, in the neighborhoods, outside shops, everywhere.

A blow hole.

Us by the blow hole.

We saw two Monk Seals that swam up on the beach while we were there. It was fun to see them sunbathing.
I love the beach!

One night we went to a beach where they allow bonfires. Below is Kim digging the hole for the fire.

Getting the fire started.

The local guy with the guitar provided the entertainment. Good food, fun music, the ocean, and a bonfire. It doesn't get much better than this!

Below is the beautiful condo we stayed at.

Kim picked me a Hibiscus flower to wear in my hair.

The beautiful waterfall that they always showed at the beginning of the TV show Fantasy Island.

One of the wild Roosters.

They were everywhere.

One of the beautiful beaches by the condo.

The view from the condo patio.

Kim with our friends at one of the beaches on the north side of the island.

One of my favorite beaches.

A cute lighthouse and a bird preserve.

Us with our friends.

It was hard to come home but as always good to be home too.

My Valentines

2011-02-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I made some special deliveries to my favorite Valentines. Below is cute Warren and Weston with their Valentine bags from Grandma. Miss E and her brothers enjoyed their treats from Grandma. Miss E was busy addressing her Valentines for her school class.

Cute Annie with her Valentines.

Eliza gave her treat bag a kiss.

Brianna enjoying her treats from her Valentine bag.

I just had to include these two pictures. Weston is two months older than Kaitlyn. What a difference in holding up their heads. I love these two cuties so much!

Feb. Doings

2011-02-04T14:17:00.001-08:00

This weekend Miss Eliza will celebrate her 4th birthday! I can't believe how fast these babies grow up! She has had a fun birthday week starting last Sunday when she celebrated her birthday with all the family that could be there. It was a fun party and she said "This is the best birthday ever!" The party continued at preschool where they celebrated with her and today going to get a birthday picture taken in her birthday dress. The partying will finish up tomorrow on her birthday. Happy birthday Eliza I hope you have a great year!

Alyse this picture is for you. She loved the Perry you gave her for her birthday!

In her pretty birthday dress.

When I tended these two this week they both wanted to stay in their matching snowman pajamas all day. It worked for me. Warren absolutely loves his Buzz Lightyear and Woody blanket.

Annie won at the Region level with her musical composition in the Reflections Program and was honored this past week for that. Now its on to the State competition. Way to go Annie!

Growing Growing!

2011-01-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

These two little cuties are growing up so fast! This picture was taken as Weston was approaching 5 months and Kaitlyn approaching 3 months. Warren never wants to be left out of showing how big he is getting too.

I love these three so much as well as the rest of my grandkids! They are some of my greatest blessings! They do grow up too fast though.

Tagged

2011-01-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Okay I hate doing these but my friend Bonnie tagged me so here goes.

1. IF YOU HAVE PETS DO YOU SEE THEM AS MERELY ANIMALS OR MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY? We do not have any pets right now but have in the past. They have been pets not members of the family. 2. IF YOU CAN HAVE A DREAM COME TRUE WHAT WOULD IT BE? I would go on a Hawaiian vacation with my whole family, grand kids and all. 3. WHAT IS ONE THING MOST HATED BY YOU? That would be spiders. 4.WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A BILLION DOLLARS? Donate half of it to the church. Take the Hawaiian vacation with my family, travel, set up college funds for my grand kids, try to do good with it. 5. WHAT HELPS TO PULL YOU OUT OF A BAD MOOD? My grand kids do, and counting all my blessings. Actually writing them down. It helps me feel grateful and when I feel grateful I cannot be in a bad mood. 6.WHICH IS MORE BLESSED, LOVING SOMEONE OR BEING LOVED BY SOMEONE? I would have to say loving someone. 7. WHAT IS YOUR BEDTIME ROUTINE? Usually falling asleep while watching the news, then taking out my contacts, brushing my teeth, putting on pajamas, saying my prayers, and crawling into bed. 8. IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN A RELATIONSHIP HOW DID YOU MEET? I met my husband in the library at the Uof U. He walked by the table I was studying at and came back and asked me if I was Mike Painters friend. He was a boy I had broken up with about 2 weeks earlier. My husband then told me he had met me a year earlier in the returned missionary fraternity house. I had been there helping Mike with his pledge duty of doing the dishes. There were a whole bunch of guys there and Mike had gone around and introduced me to all of them. I remembered the incident but not my husband who had been one of the guys. (there had been too many guys there). Anyway back to the library. We ended up talking for 2 hours. Then my husband asked me out. I actually turned him down the first time, but he called me the next day and tried again and I was available then so we began to date. 9. IF YOU COULD WATCH A CREATIVE PERSON IN THE ACT OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS WHO WOULD IT BE? I honestly don't have a clue! 10. WHAT KINDS OF BOOKS DO YOU READ? I love reading and am open for about anything but my favorites are mysteries and if you throw in a dash of romance even better. Right now I am reading THE LOST PAINTING by Jonathan Harr. 11. HOW WOULD YOU SEE YOURSELF IN TEN YEARS? Hopefully all my children happily married and out of the home. I would love to be surrounded by family often, and I would still want to be the best babysitter in town. Maybe by then I will have stopped coloring my hair and be gray. 12. WHAT IS YOUR FEAR? I like to have faith not fear. I do have one fear right now but it is personal and I'm not willing to share it. I am still exercising my faith concerning it to keep the fear I have at bay. 13. WOULD YOU GIVE UP ALL JUNK FOOD FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT OUTER SPACE? There is no way way I would give up junk food for outer space! 14. WOULD YOU RATHER BE SINGLE AND RICH OR MARRIED BUT POOR? I would rather be happily married but poor. If it can't be a happy marriage then I would rather be single. 15. WHAT'S THE FIRST HING YOU DO WHEN YOU WAKE UP? The very first thing I do is use the little girls room. Next I make my husbands lunch and then we have family scripture reading and prayer. Following that I exercise. 16. IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR SPOUSE WHAT WOULD IT BE? Years ago there were things I would have changed but these days there is honestly nothing I would change! 17. IF YOU COULD PICK A NEW NAME FOR YOURSELF WHAT WOULD IT BE? I love all my names! Linda, Mom, Grandma! 18. WOULD YOU FORGIVE AND FORGET NO MATTER HOW HORRIBLE A THING THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE HAS DONE? I believe I could forgive almost anything. Forgetting is harder for me though but I hope I could do it. 19. IF YOU COULD ONLY EAT ONE THING FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS WHAT WOULD IT BE? I would like to say it would be chocolate chip cookies and brownies but I'm afraid if that's all I ate I would have a stroke or heart attack so I would probably stick with whole wheat bread with peanut butter and honey or jam. 20. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO TAG? Sorry Jenn and Annie but I guess its you. I just have to include this picture of my Christmas cactus. It was a start from my mothers. All of my sisters have one too. Anyway normally it blooms every Dec. but this year it bloomed in July and was blooming on my birthday. I thought that was kind of special and I figured that was its bloom for the year. Come Christmas it bloomed again for me. So It bloomed twice this year. On my birthday and at Christmas. I thought that was pretty cool!

Happy Birthday, Being Honored, Pictures From Alyse

2011-01-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

Alyse finally sent pictures so I am posting a few of them. I will put more on her missionary blog. Below is her and her companion on Christmas morning just before opening their presents. Burr some days are really cold and snowy and other days are up to 60 degrees.

Alyse with some of the other sisters.

Alyse, her companion, a General Authority, her mission president and wife and more sisters.

The famous missionary pose.

Her district at the MTC.

Roommates and companions at the MTC.

Alyse with our Bishops son at the MTC. It was fun for her to see a familiar face.

Annie was honored the other night in our area for her musical composition for the Reflections contest. She won the spot for the Senior High School. Congrats Annie! Now its on to region.

This week is April's birthday and she is the last of my children that I have now spotlighted through the years. So here she is.

We celebrated her birthday with the family at our Sunday dinner. It was a fun party. Happy Birthday April. We all love you!

A Birthday And A Blessing

2011-01-02T18:05:00.001-08:00

Today cute little Kaitlyn Rose was given a name and a blessing at church. She looked so cute just like a little princess. It was a sweet special day.

I was able to get some photos of some of the people that attended.

Annie celebrated birthday number 18 this past week. I cannot believe that my baby is now legally an adult. So this is in honor of Annie. I give you Annie through the years.

On her birthday I took Annie to lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Yum!

That evening we had a birthday party for her with those of us at our house.

Last Sunday the day after Christmas at the end of our 4th annual progressive dinner we had a birthday party for her with all the family. Happy Birthday Annie we wish you a wonderful year.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

2010-12-26T13:42:00.001-08:00

Christmas day! The family gathered together for breakfast, opening presents, visiting and then lunch. My favorite things about the day was TALKING TO ALYSE on the phone, being with family, enjoying good food, and helping Annie with a talk she was giving in church the next morning. The subject- Jesus Christ and the wonderful gift he has given us. It was a fitting way to spend a Christmas afternoon.

The perfect picture of the grandkids still eludes me. Warren just was not in the mood for a picture. Oh well I'll try again.

Christmas Eve. Not all but most of the family was able to gather for our traditional meal of pizza benders at lunch time. We did some visiting and I baked some Christmas cookies with three of my granddaughters. Then Kim and I did something that we haven't done since the Christmas we were dating. We went to a movie all by our selves. It seemed strange since we usually have the family with us for our Christmas Eve movie. It seemed more like one of our Friday night dates. In the evening Annie helped me finish wrapping gifts we drove around and looked at Christmas lights and watched a Christmas video.

Christmas Festivities

2010-12-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

This morning was busy with fun things. First I met my siblings for our Christmas breakfast where we exchange our gifts. Annie attended with me. Then it was up the canyon to Camp Tracy for our ward party. Some of our married kids and grand kids joined us for that and we had such a good time.

Three of my granddaughters enjoyed decorating gingerbread men at it.

Then they enjoyed eating them.

Santa was there although not everyone was excited to see him. Maybe next year Brianna will chill out when it comes to Santa.

Me with my siblings and in laws at our breakfast. So sorry my sister Marilyn was sick and couldn't join us and we always miss Carol who lives in Colorado.

Earlier in the week I attended Mr. H's Christmas band concert. He did such a good job.

Miss E was in the audience and kept waving at me and her parents.

I just had to include this picture of little Weston who looked so cute in his new outfit when I tended him this week.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Grandbabies and Mr. M's Basketball

2010-12-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest blessings in my life are my grandchildren. I tend most of them every week and though I am tired at the end of the day sometimes I love them so much it is just pure joy to be with them. The two below thought it was so cool that they had matching Binky's. These two are growing so fast!

Me with my little buddy.

Happy Boy!

Basket ball season has started again for Mr. M. It was so fun to watch his game last Saturday. He has really improved. The whole team had and it was a good game! Good Job Mr. M.

Seeing Santa and Molly Mouse.

2010-12-07T17:21:00.001-08:00

This past week I took my daughter and her three daughters to see Santa. It turned out to be quite an ordeal to get three little girls ages 3&1/2, 2, and 6 weeks ready to go. April pushed the double stroller in the mall and I heaved around the baby carrier. I thought by going on a week day morning that it wouldn't be busy but I was wrong. We waited in line for 25 minutes to get to sit on Santa's lap. Eliza the oldest had been so excited to see Santa but once it was actually our turn both her and Brianna burst into tears. The only one that didn't care that Santa was holding her was little Kaitlyn who slept through the whole thing. The secret to getting a good picture with Santa was to have mom sit in on the picture to. It made all the difference. We ended up with a pretty cute picture. When we got home April wanted me to get some pictures of the girls together for her Christmas card. This is the best I got. It's hard to get a picture of 3 wiggly little girls where they are all looking at the camera and its in focus.

Later I got some pictures of our little Santa Baby. First she was sleeping then she woke up.

Last Friday night Miss E performed in the holiday classic Molly Mouse. It is a version of the nutcracker where everyone in it is a mouse. Miss E was one of the little gingersnaps that got to run out from under the big skirts of Mother Ginger. She made a very cute little mouse and did such a nice job with her dance. The whole production was just darling and we really enjoyed it! Below is Miss E after the performance.

Fun Times!

Being Grateful (Thanksgiving 2010)

2010-11-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

The day before Thanksgiving was a bad day in fact it was just a really crappy day. I had several issues that had me really really upset! Then late afternoon the mail came and I received a cute Thanksgiving card from my missionary daughter. In the card she expressed such heartfelt gratitude for her parents, her siblings, her in laws, her nieces and nephews, her Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, the gospel, and her gratefulness to be serving a mission that my heart was touched deeply. Her card was a blessing to me. It made me remember that even though I may have problems (everybody does) I still have so much to be grateful for. My attitude changed and I started counting my blessings. It led me to have one of the very best Thanksgiving Days that I have ever had. In fact I can't imagine a more perfect day unless of course we could have had Alyse with us. My married kids all helped with so much of the meal it really made it easy. Thank you everyone! We had so much fun getting the dinner on, eating it and visiting with each other. We topped the day off with a cute movie.

Yes there is a carrot up his nose. He is such a goof.

The fun table.

The baby holder.

This would have been a perfect picture if two of my grandchildren hadn't run off before I snapped it.

The not so perfect picture of the grand kids. I'll try again at Christmas.

On a scale from one to ten this day was definitely a ten!