Random Summer Pics

Sorry this is sort of a long post!

You have to love two nearly 200 pound dogs that think that they are little and sneaky!! Above is Princess thinking that she can go for a ride. Below is Ebony thinking that she can hide under Abby's bed. She knows that she is going to get in trouble for sleeping in the girls room!


WARNING: Scary pictures to follow;)

(two men that glow in the dark hehehe)

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

I really don't think that they every grow up! Tracy and his friends decided that it was a good idea to jump off the roof of our friend's house into the pool.

Tracy and I have decided that we are LOVED! A couple of the neighbor kids came TPing. This is the second time that these boys have gotten our house!! (the first time was so pathetic that it didn't rate having pictures taken)

Who needs leaves to jump in?

What do you do with all that TP? You make Abby into a mummy, that's what!!

Father's day!!

What a start to his day! The kids love to wrestle with Tracy then have a really great breakfast.

Summer Orchestra

Hunter and the cello (first year)

Caroline and the violin (3rd year)

Hunter thought that he would be funny and take my seat in the car ... I don't know that he will be trying that one again for a while!! (I think that he told me that his legs were going to fall off!)

Last Day of School

Our kids had a great year in school this last year!! They all had really great teachers and they are all really blessed with the best friends that a Mom could every hope for their children to have. Thanks to everyone who has blessed the lives of my children!!

Caroline - 5th grade

Hunter - 3rd grade

Abby - 1st grade

MAY!!

Once again I find myself playing catch up with my blog. Between the end of school and the beginning of summer I have been either busy running around or being lazy!! So here we go on our adventures in May!

We were fortunate enough to go and spend a weekend in Snowflake/Taylor with some of our favorite friends. We really had a great time and the kids were in heaven. The weather was beautiful and they love to spend time outside exploring, playing and riding quads.

This is them one morning out in their PJ's playing Batchy Ball. (Only one is missing)

Guitar hero war was ON. I definitely have a better sense of rhythm than my spouse (whom I love DeArLy). Dave was a little better than me at most of the songs though.

This is one of Tracy's favorite things to do with our kids!! They love to get on the quads with Daddy and go exploring.

Dave and his girls had a great time too.

(This pic is missing one kid as well)

Abby in little girl heaven.

Also in May was Abby's ballet recital. She has been in dance for 3 years now and really enjoys it and LOVES her teacher!! These little girls are SO cute and we love them all. Good job girls!!

Abby all dressed up!

We can't forget Father's and Sons! Hunter and Tracy were so excited to take a couple of cousins with them this year. It was fun for them to spend some fun time with Jacob and George. They were sad that Jack was not able to come too but he was working hard at his cub scout day camp.

I figured that this post was long enough so I will save the last day of school and the last couple of weeks for another day!!! (wish me luck)

March/April

These pictures didn't seem to want to stay in order so I just have to try to control my OCD and leave them and move on;)

Hunter and his pine wood derby car. He came in 4th!! Good job buddy:-)

The kids at the Spring Sing.
I love that our school still has music class and still puts on concerts twice a year.


EASTER!!
Abby

Caroline

Hunter

MOM'S BIRTHDAY!!

Tracy planned a birthday party for me this year. We had cake at our house and then went "clubbing" in other words we went dancing at Grams Central Station. We had a great time!! Thanks Sweetheart!

It made me feel both young and OLD!! Young because we were out and having a great time (like a date or something) and old because if we wanted to dance to "our" music we had to hang out in the "retro room"!!

Track and Field day at school. These pictures are of Abby, I forgot my camera so the pictures of the other kids are being e-mailed to me from my friends and I will add them on later!!!

POPSICLES!!!!!

Blessings

When I started this blog I wanted it to be somewhat of a journal for my kids to enjoy someday so I wanted to share our experience today at church. Tracy and I have been fasting and praying for a while now for not only solutions for some of the current challenges but also for guidence for the future. Sitting in Sacrament meeting was just a typical fast and testimony meeting until the very end. Our Bishop got up at the end (he was not conducting) and said that he wanted to share a thought with us. He related a story from his mission that was along the lines of a priesthood leaders prayer that ended in a blessing on the missionaries. Folowing that blessing they had 3 member referals that day. He continued that he rarely remembers dreams but he distinctly remebered one this week that ended with him standing at the pulpit telling us that he felt impressed to bless us, as our Bishop, that the things which we have been praying for and answers you are in need of will come. For some reason that general statement to the congregation seemed to speak directly to Tracy and I. It was the best feeling of peace that came to us at that moment, as if our unspoken uncertainties were wiped away. What love I have for inspired leaders and the sweet peace of the Holy Ghost in my life.

Spring Break

We had a GREAT spring break. We stayed close to home and had a fun time! We rode the light rail twice. Once to ASU to have lunch at the Chuck Box with Grandpa and Nana (my kids ate all my fried zucchini). The second time we went downtown to the science center. We had a lot of fun but next time I think that I will take a second adult. With two 1st graders and a 3rd and 5th grader they have very different interests and it would have been more fun to spend more time with what each wanted to do. I watched my friends kids (my kids friends) two of the days. That is always fun because I don't hear, "What are we going to do today?" They entertain each other quite nicely!! Over all it was good, no stress, fun with the kids and the best thing of all NO FIGHTING and a CLEAN HOUSE!

Who could ask for anything more! (I guess I could have asked for my camera to have had a charged battery for the science center but I guess I can't have everything)

Finally Disney Pictures!!

Finally I had the time and the patience to deal with my Internet issues to post the pictures from our Disney trip!! Looking at these just makes me want to go back:)

This is the Pixar parade in California Adventures

Shawn and Crystal celebrated their anniversary while we were there so we took the kids so they could have a nice lunch with out them. We went on the steam boat and the kids had a great time looking out at the island.

We went to see the princesses.

Hunter was excited that one of the three was Belle because he wanted to get her autograph for his friend Sophie. He even had Belle personalize it just for her.

New this time around was Fairytopia where you can meet Tink and one of her friends from the new movie.

This is Tink's friend Faun.
Another first for us this time was that our kids can go on rides without an adult because Abby is now 7. I really hate this kids roller coaster and now Caroline can be in charge and take the other two on it YEA!!

Caroline rode the Maliboomer for the first time this year and LOVED it! We have not found a ride that our kids are afraid of. I love it.

Our Family Disneyland Getaway!!

One lost and found cell phone, one pooped on Hunter, two head colds, a lost and found Abby, and a sprained ankle ... Disneyland with the family for a week ... Priceless!!!

Anyone that knows me will attest to the fact that Disneyland is probably my favorite place on earth. Tracy and I just got back from our annual (and sometime biannual) trip to the big DL with the family!! We had such a good time.

The first day was just the 5 of us and just mellow. We went on some of our favorite rides and the went over to CA Adventures and waited in line for our first look at Toy Story Mania!!(insert cold number one here)

On the second day we added my cousin Sarah and her boys. Our kids love to be with their cousins and get along wonderfully. We went on the new and improved Small World and liked the changes. They were noticeable but didn't take away from the nostalgia of the ride.( insert one lost cell phone here)

On the third day we started off in CA Adventures and added another family. Friends of ours that arrived were quickly absorbed into the growing crowd of kids and out numbered adults. Toy Story Mania was a cute ride and our longest wait in a line (30 min)!! We spend most of the daylight hours being flipped, twisted and spun around at CA Adventures before packing it up and heading across the way to DL. We ended the day in good old Fantasy Land. (insert cold number two here)

Day number four started, continued and ended at DL. We added my step brother and his wife and kids. Today I think that we did almost the whole park.(insert Hunter got pooped on coming off the Pooh Bear ride by a bird here) We went from one end of the park to the other. I think that the kids liked seeing the looks on the faces of the cast members as they got to tell them that we had a party of 20!!! We ended up having our own boat on Small World and Pirates, a whole rocket on Space Mountain, an entire side of the sub on Nemo. We bribed the kids to work on their homework with the promise of swimming with cousins and friends at the resort in the heated pool and it WORKED!!

The fifth day we finished the park and let the kids decide what they wanted to do again. (insert lost and found Abby here, she was only lost for about 5-10 minutes) The one thing that was completely new for us at DL was Pixies Hollow. Poor Tink and Rosetta, her garden fairy friend, got mobbed for pictures! I think that we may have frightened the poor things. Heck there were times that I was a little scared myself. Today ended with swimming again and Tracy and I ended up at Sarah's resort until about 2am.

We got to the park on day six a little later than we had the days before. Kirt and April (our friends) were headed to the beach and then home and we decided that because Sarah was ready to go that we would go on Pirates one last time and take them to the monorail and they would head home. We spent the rest of today with Shawn and Crystal (brother and sis-in-law) and the kids. (insert Sarah's bad experience with an energy drink and us going and driving her back to our hotel here)

Our seventh and final day was short. We insisted on Sarah staying with us. We chose our favorite 4 rides, (insert my sprained ankle here) took the monorail to Downtown Disney, ate lunch, got our kids their souvenirs and hit the road! Sarah was still not feeling well and so Tracy drove her car and I drove our car and off for home we went!! The final chapter ... by the time that we got home Tracy had to cary me in the house because during the drive home my ankle swelled so much that I could not put any weight on it oh joy!! In the end we had a great time and we enjoyed the time that we were able to spend with some great friends and the family that I love!!

Anniversary and Birthday

Usually my posts have a lot to do with my kids. This time, however, it is about this amazing man that I know. I have to admit that I am VERY spoiled. Tracy and I just celebrated 14 years of marriage, but we have been together for nearly 15 and half years. (It is also his birthday next week) WOW how time flies when your havin' fun. I could have searched the world over a thousand times and never found a man as wonderful as him. He is an attentive and helpful husband. (He will even do laundry because he knows that I hate that chore more than any other.) He is a great provider and an awesome dad. He does it all from helping them through the tough times to playing football, basketball, and soccer in the yard to coaching and refereeing soccer teams. I love that he leads our home in rightous paths and teaches our children, by example, the way to live and to treat others. He is not only good to us but he is generous and giving to others. He is a loyal and devoted friend and loved by many.

I want him to know how very grateful I am to have him in my life. He is my everything and I love him more and more everyday.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!

Should I feel guilty??

This is what our weekend looked like last week ... it was beautiful!

But while we were enjoying the yard and the sunshine both my brothers were back-east FREEZING!! In fact one of them was without power for a week. Now naturally I was concerned for them and called frequently to check that they were still alive and OK. I, however could not leave it at that ... as soon as I knew they were OK I had to let them know that we were spending a beautiful day in the yard!! So I ask, should I feel guilty? I think not!!