I really need to take a few minutes and share my experiences of this past weekend before I forget them or move onto the normal everyday dishes, laundry, kids!!!! Time out for women was amazing this year, as always! I was very impressed and inspired by the speakers and the music. Hilary Weeks brings a spirit to these events that makes you feel like you can do anything! I love that she is so down to earth! She has this song that is to the tune of "My favorite things", that is hilarious! It says nap time and bed time in it about 8 times, and I love that she takes everyday mundane things and makes jokes out of them. Her music makes me feel my Savior love in a very real way.She really makes me feel like what I do everyday IS important and that the Savior does knows about my struggles and fears. I could listen to her live everyday.

I also loved Amanda Dixon! She was so funny and witty and crazy, at times! I loved that she talked a lot about how our best IS good enough! And that if we are doing everything we can, we ARE doing enough! All He expects from us is our best! I was very inspired to try harder to just do what I can, and not try and do everything perfectly. I seem to always say "yes" to everything, and try and figure out a way to fit it all in, AFTER I have already said "Yes". In the mean time, I am really cheating my kids, my husband, and myself of my sanity! I can't do everything, and I really need to stop trying!

There was a song that Hilary sang off of her new CD, called "If I only had today", that really hit home to me. I wish I could put it on my blog, but of course, it is not on Project Playlist yet, so I can't! It has a great message in it, and talks alot about what she would do if she really only had today with her kids. Would she spend her time doing dishes or talking on the phone? Probably not! I think a lot about this, because I wonder what I would have done differently had I known when Rylan's last day was going to be. I always wonder would I have stayed up all night holding her, and telling her how much I loved her, and how much she has changed our lives? Yes, I would have! I know I can't get that last day back with her, but I can make all of the days I have with the rest of my children matter more. I CAN spend more time holding them, and reading to them, and loving them. They are right here, and I need to be better about making sure they know how much I want to spend all my time being a better mom to them.

I am so grateful that I have a husband who was willing to spend 2 days taking care of all of the kids by himself, so that I could go! For those of you, that have never been, GO!!!! It is so worth your time and your money! They also told us that they are coming to St. George next year in November! I am very excited to not have to travel to go next year, but it kind of takes all of the fun out of the shopping after the seminar! They are also coming to Ogden next year.

I want to tell my mom and sister, thank you for making the trip down here to go with me. I am so lucky that they are two of my best friends. They are so great and we had a great time!

This is us at the hotel! We actually look more awake than I was feeling! We got up before 6 AM two days in a row for the seminars! I am definitely not used to that!


Us with Hilary Weeks. My mom and sister thought I was crazy to want to stand in line and meet her, but I was so happy we did. She is amazing and she was so generous with her time. She genuinely was interested in every person I saw her come in contact with. Maybe she was fishing for song ideas or something, but I was greatly impressed with her.


This is us with Amanda Dixon. She even was a goof ball in this picture. The lady is just funny and quirky. I would love to spend a day with her just to see if she can keep this act up for a whole day, or if, even SHE gets irritated and down sometimes. I am sure she does.

WARNING!!! Picture overload!! Sorry!


We had a great time this last weekend, with the Ah Quin family at Lake Powell. It was a lot of work hauling all of the camping gear, and kids, and stuff for only a two day trip, but the kids loved it! Besides the fact that a tent pole broke the first hour after we set it up and we ended up having to sleep in a 4 man tent, Daxton fell in the lake once and freaked me out, I dropped my camera in the sand FACE DOWN, and Janessa almost stepped in the dutch oven pit, it was amazing! What's a vacation without all of the little crazy little accidents and quirks that seem to come about?!!! Thanks for coming with us, Ahquin family, this needs to be an annual event!!!


Kenzie was brave enough to even try wake boarding! She didn't get up, but I was impressed she even wanted to try!

Yes! That is me, and my white legs wake boading! This is a real accomplishment for me. considering I am TERRIFIED of being in a lake, and this is the first time ever that I have gotten up on a wake board.

This is a real picture, even though it looks like the background is a backdrop!

One of these kids is not like the others, one of these kids is not quite the same! Janessa decided she was in our family for this shot!

I think this is a really cute picture! Who looks this cute after camping for a couple days?! The answer? Only Janette!



I think my kids love camping so much because they don't have their mom following them around trying to do their hair all weekend! Girls, this is only okay when your camping! I can't handle it any other time!




They had an absolute blast on the boat! To bad for them, their parents won't be getting one anytime soon!

Kenzie and J.T. had an the most fun building cities in the sand.

This is how Daxton spent hit time on the boat, strapped in his car seat, as always! He was such a good boy on the boat!

He actually slept most of the time he was on the boat! The sound must have been perfect to put him to sleep!

This is before preschool on the first day. No tears yet!


This is after preschool! No sign of tears! But I know there was some, because her dad called me asking if he should really leave her screaming like that!


Kamren and her teacher, Miss Lori.

I am not sure what to think of the fact that my 4th child is now in preschool 3 days a week! It is crazy to have her going every other day. I feel like there isn't much time with her anymore. I pick her up from preschool, feed her lunch, run a couple of errands, and then she takes a nap until the other girls get home from school. Daxton doesn't really know what to do with himself either. He just follows me around the house getting into anything and everything.

Kamren had a rough time the first week and a half of preschool. I think she was just seeing if we would cave and let her go home with us. I think she almost had her dad convinced to let her go to work with him one morning. But after my strict orders to "drive her butt back to preschool and drive away whether she is screaming or not", I believe those days are over(knock on wood)! She is doing great and eats anything up they are teaching her.

I need to find a hobby for Daxton and I because all of this free time is way to dangerous! It is way to easy to spend the morning shopping with only one kid. So if anybody has any suggestions, or needs some company, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we are all alone!

I know the kid is extremely attached to his blanket and Binky, but when I found him in the shower with both of them today, it kind of made me wonder. Is he a little TOO attached?!!! I overlook the fact that he drags them to the store with him, on walks with him, and never gets into the car without them. But, the shower?!! Wow! That is a new one! In 7 kids, I have never had one take their blanket in the shower! At least I know what he finds comfort in, and can make him stop crying,for any reason, by just giving him these 2 things. I guess these will be the things I keep to remind me of his first years of life. That is, if he doesn't drag them around so much that they are ripped to shreds!