Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

We were so excited when Pres. Monson announced a temple
to be built in Payson. Brian & I knew that we wanted our
family take part in as much as we could in the building
of the temple. We heard the groundbreaking was soon
and that there were only 20 tickets per ward to go.
We really wanted to take Morgan & Jackson and were
so grateful when we got tickets.

The weather was cold and rainy, & we had to
be in Payson by 7:00 and the groundbreaking
was at 9:00 a.m. We all had to have a little
patience as we waited in the rain, but,
in the end it was so worth it.
The talks were beautiful, Elder Dallin H. Oaks
gave a powerful talk, and we could all feel
the spirit, even with it being cold.

It looked like a sea of umbrellas, but
everyone was happy to be taking part
of such a wonderful event.

Elder Oaks asked all of the 26 stake presidents,
the city officials, & 12 year old deacons to come
and turn the soil with the shovels.
Then, he opened it up to everyone
else in the congregation to come and turn the soil.

When I was 16 or 17, I went to the Winter Quarters
Temple in Nebraska, and was able to turn the soil for
that temple. I have always rememberd it, and I knew I
wanted my kids to have a similar experience.
I hope they will always remember the building of
a temple- their temple.

We decided to take the kids on a picnic
up Hobble Creek Canyon while the weather
was still warm. The kids had so much fun
eating by the river. They loved
exploring & playing at the park.

When we were done eating and playing,
we went down to the river bank and looked
around there. All of a sudden, there was
a rock that skipped. I looked down a little
ways, and Brian was teaching Jackson
how to skip rocks.
I. Was. Amazed.
I have always wanted to learn how to skip rocks.
I thought that people who could skip rocks were
so cool, and to look down and see that Brian
knew how to skip rocks was so cool!
I honestly was very impressed.

We spent the next half hour finding flat rocks
so Daddy could teach us all how to skip them on
the river. Brian grabbed a flat rock & it skipped
3 times down the river. He never knew it
didn't take much to impress me.

September 24, 2011

When Karen married Wayne, some friends gave
them a duck- Howard.
The kids love Howard, and Howard isn't
like any other duck.
When we come or leave, he is there to
greet us & watch us go. He stays right
by our van & makes sure we are all in safe
& then watches us drive away.
The kids & Brian & I all find it entertaining,
except for the one time when he somehow ended
up in our van. :) I don't know if he flew in or
if one of the kids put him in.

One day Grandma Karen called & said
that they had found a little egg. It was
a little too early for the chickens to be laying
eggs, and then Karen & Wayne realized
that Howard was not a boy-
it was Howards egg and he was now a girl. :)

September 17, 2011

I guess you could say she gets
that from her mother.
Brian says the title of this post
describes "me" perfectly.
But, this post is not about me.

I bought the cutest dress for Hallie.
I was so excited to show it to her.
I loved the purples in it, the style,
everything!

As you look at the pictures,
please note, that every expression
is from bribery.
She HATED the dress!
She said it looked like pajamas
& that it wasn't pretty like ALL
of her other pink & black dresses.
(which is why I chose purple-something different)

So I bribed her to wear it since
I couldn't wear it.
I bribed her with candy, lipstick,
a necklace, treats, etc...
Anything I could thing of to get
her to wear the dress, in hopes that
once she had it on, she would actually like it.

She ate the candy, is wearing the necklace,
had Daddy & everyone else compliment her
a million times, she looked adorable,
& still, after church she pulled it off as quickly as
she could. So which of us is more stubborn? :)

The dress is hanging in the closet and if
every other dress is in the laundry,
she will wear it, but it's not her favorite
because it's not pink, and the girl must have pink!

Our handsome kindergartner.
Jackson was so excited for school to start.
I was really excited for him too, until the actual
moment came when we walked inside the school
and into his class. Then it was me that had to
turn away so no one would see small tears.
There is always something bitter-sweet
about our kids growing up.

Jackson is showing off his excitement.

Jackson's best friend and next door neighbor
Makell. They have been friends since they
were 5 months old. It has been so fun watching
them grow up together.

After we got Morgan & Jackson off to school,
Hallie & Landon decided to relax on the
back swing for a bit. It's kind of different
having 2 kids in school, but I love that
I still have 2 at home, and I love the extra
one on one time I get to spend with Jackson
when he gets home & the other 2 are asleep.

The kids were so excited to ride their bikes to school.
I was a little nervous so I drove along the side of them
for the first week. Then I realized that there were so
many older kids watching out for them in the bike
group, that I knew they would be okay.

Most mornings there were 11 kids between
3 houses that would all ride to school together.
The kids have LOVED riding their bikes to school.

The group is off!

Little Bike Buds :)