We have another Birthday!

Happy Birthday Caleb! You guessed it we have another birthday if that's possible!!! Happy Birthday we LOVE you!!! He's one years old and trying to get places on his feet. He is one happy little guy with four teeth and still loving two naps a day! I can't wait to go and get his birthday pictures taken...so fun. I doubt he will stay still for one picture. This kid is ALWAYS on the move...one wiggly little guy!!!

Preschool Graduation

Honestly can it get any cuter than this? I seriously doubt it! Every parent just gasped with the "AHHHH...so cute!" phrase when the kids walked out. They were literally, "adorable!" Here is Miss Alayna proud as can be that she passed preschool and received her award or diploma.

Just smiling and happy!

Here's to the graduating class of 2010...from preschool that is! The best part of the program was when the kids all sang, "I'm Proud to be an American" it was so moving and let's just say I was filled with tears. Every time she has sang it with me at home I tell her I love that song. But when all the kids were together singing it was wonderful. It sure does make us proud to have these kids instill some American pride. It was darling from start to finish! Alayna had a little poem to recite with a friend. And don't you worry she wanted her fair share at the microphone so she grabbed it and forced it closer to her mouth and spoke up extra loudly...all the parents let out a laugh because it was so funny. That's my girl wanting to be the star of the show! Miss Karie does a wonderful job as a teacher and Alayna kept saying the morning before the graduation..."I can't wait to get there to give her a great big hug!" Now that preschool is officially over Alayna is sad because she wants to see Miss Karie again.

Mr. Handsome

"Look it's me...I turned three!!!"

Of course I took Alayna in to get her pictures taken not more than two weeks ago and they didn't email you all of the pictures. So I had to scan them in...but now with Jake they emailed them all to me! So it was great...I just download them and then upload! SO EASY!!! Now going forward I don't think I will order nearly as many. I just like to have a few to remember how cute they are.

Let's just say this kid couldn't be happier to have had a birthday! He LOVES anything that has to do with his birthday...so seriously getting his pictures taken was SO easy because I told him they were his birthday pictures. I'm not sure if he thought there was a cake waiting for him or what! But either way he was adorable!!!

Life with SEVEN Children

Here's to the mothers of SEVEN out there. Let's just say that I am still living after having watched my own THREE children and Shan's FOUR children. Oh, we had them from Friday to Friday. If it's possible to look past the reality of having that many kids we had a great time. Shandra doesn't believe me when I tell her we had a really fun time. I made sure my schedule was clear of anything and we simply did FUN things. Shan was cute to leave fun prizes or presents for the kids each day to look forward too. So that helped create fun things to do each day. We had pizza, movies, classic skating, the mayan, artic circle, cookies, new books, etc.

The kids are showing off their excitement for pizza and a movie!

Due to the RAINY weather all week I had to think of something fun for us all to do. So we headed off to Wal-Mart to pick out fabric for new pillowcases. It was fun to have all the kids pick out their own. This allowed for one day to be spent indoors and snuggle and watch a movie with their new pillowcases. It was SO fun to watch their excitement and love towards their new pillowcases.

Here we are with our six monkies at the mayan. Thanks to my neighbor I left Caleb home to sleep...not sure that I could do all seven out of the house at one time! This was Jake's birthday so it made for a fun day for him too!

Here are my cute kids. I must say that yes I did get teary eyed because they had to leave. Shan and Todd have done a wonderful job raising such cute kids. Not to mention Alayna adores the older cousins and Jake and Isaac live to hang out together. Really the week flew by and now we just get to keep hanging out with them because they are still off track!

Here are to the lessons I learned as a mother of SEVEN:
1. Wake up early and exercise...I mean like 6:30am (This is VERY early for me!)
2. After you exercise, shower and be done with that activity. Because if you don't it won't happen until night time! Really, I learned this first hand!
3. No matter what read your scriptures and kneel in prayer, everyday! Because this is truly the only thing that will prepare you for battle all day long!
4. Enjoy them. Because really kids are adorable. Enjoy talking to them and tucking them in. Kids are so sweet and I just love them!
5. Don't be alarmed if two little boys run around naked 80% of your day...really what is the deal with potty trained three year olds and their difficulty of getting all their clothes on?
6. Make easy dinner meals...or really all meals must be thought ahead in advance...because once it's rush time you better be prepared!
7. Always use paper plates. Because after each meal your kitchen still seems clean!

So for the next time I watch their kids I am ready for anything! Bring them on!!!!

So good.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Really, how could we live with out this little man? Well it's simply not possible. His smile and personality is so contagious that we all want to be around him.

Funny man...

Happy kid...

Cheese ball... We love you our Jakey!

Happy Mothers Day!

Yes, you counted right...SEVEN...Who would have thought that I would have seven kids? Not me...but then again it would keep me on my toes. I hope every mother had a wonderful of a day as I did. Honestly I can say that it was one of my best yet. For some reason I was so sensitive to the spirit and the love that the Lord has for all of his children. Simply said it was a good day. I was even able to find some quiet time with all my children to write in my journal. I love those quiet moments! Let's just say my husband is amazing.

Happy Birthday Girl!

Can you believe our little girl is 5 years old! Here are a few of her birthday pictures. Enjoy!

Clothes People

Something funny that has turned into a habit is known as "clothes people" at our house.

Thankfully, this has become a good habit. It started out as a joke because Alayna was so detail oriented in having to lay out exactly every layer of her clothing each night. Well, her tradition has not only continued for over a year now but she has passed this silly thing on to Jake.

My favorite part is that the socks are hooked inside the shoes and the socks are always touching or inside the pants. Alayna is insistant on each layer being properly dressed while Jake LOVES to see his underware on top. Each night as they do this I always want to capture it on a picture so I won't forget how silly they are. Tonight I just ran downstairs to get it! They were so excited that I was taking pictures of their "clothes people!" So here is some advice if you are having a hard time getting your kids dressed in the morning...turn the clothes into people and all of a sudden they will want to do this every night!

More Womens Conferency at BYU!

Here are a few pictures from our day on Friday. I was able to recruit a few friends to come with me! On Thursday Emily and her mom were with me for a few classes which made it so fun to not be alone the whole day. But on Friday we were together all day.

This picture represents our tear stained faces and eyes from one of the best talks on Humanitarian Aid and Welfare services for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was so emotional and I loved it!

We were also able to listen to Elder Oaks for the closing session. It was wonderful as well! Really, every class and discussion was so inspiring. I love it!

Campus was beautiful! I think spring time is just as breathtaking as the fall. I especially LOVE the spring because it means COLOR from trees and flowers.

These trees were BRIGHT purple and pink!

I just had to take a picture of the Y for Jake and Alayna. They LOVE BYU and so why not show them where I have been! Alayna was very interested in knowing why I was going back to school. I told her I was going to school to become a better Mommy. She said, "Mom can you take a picture of the desk you sit in?" I had to laugh because she was so intrigued with me sitting in a desk like she does at school. I sadly didn't sit in any desk...so I decided to take pictures of the beautiful campus and when it came time to show her them I said, "Alayna look at these beautiful trees it was so pretty..." She said, "Oh...um..where's the picture of the desk?" It was a funny thing for her to be so interested in and sadly I couldn't please her this time! But I told her all the wonderful things I learned. I have come to a decision that this is the best kind of "break" for mom's. We are away and spiritually fed from morning till night! Thanks for Emily for getting me hooked to these FUN outing!!!

Women's Conference

Does it really get any better than two days of an amazing Spirit that just fills your entire soul? I think not. To all those that need to plan in advance here is your warning...Come with me to Women's Conference! Sister Beck referenced her talk as an "Emergency Meeting" meaning that each time she meets to speak with woman she feels a great urgency to speak to the women about doing what we know to be right! She gave us very inspired suggestions and insight on how we truly can become women of God and understand exactly our role. I have loved the first day and I can't tell you how excited I am to wake up EARLY again tomorrow to return.

The Service theme this year is to Scatter Sunshine! I just LOVE the logo...I think I might have to use this for on of my enrichment meetings or something...I just love it. This year I took the challenge and decided to do some service while I was there. I was nervous at first, but I took some encouraging advice from Emily to pick up a service kit. So I did. I decided to pick crochet stockings. I will take a picture before I hand them back in but let's just say that the inspiration has come and I am nearly done!

Welcome Back to Utah

Well let's just say that we couldn't be happier to have Brian & Ashley back to Utah! I think the kids are just happy because they get presents! Really, they are spoiled for their birthdays from them. THANK YOU!

Here's to a story...So the night before I was out on the porch reading books with the kids as it was raining...we are determined to enjoy our covered deck more often this summer. Last summer it was a whirlwind of moving and a new baby so I'm ready to spend more hours reading out there with the kids. Anyways, so we were discussing how it was "Earth Day" tomorrow and Jake practically leaped out of my lap because he thought I said it was "His Birthday!" Now, if you know my kids or any kids for that matter they think their birthdays are the BEST days in the world. So as this little guy is standing there BEAMING with the best smile I had to sadly deflate his excitement and explain what Earth Day was. We spent more time using our senses and hearing and seeing and smelling things outside. So the next part of the story was when Jake woke up and saw presents from Ashley and Brian he was SUPER excited because once again he thought it was "His Birthday!"

Let's just say Alayna LOVES presents...and what better than a Barbie for her 5 year old birthday? And a princess no doubt! She LOVED her jump ropes with her cousins today...so Ashley and Brian know kids! Thanks again.

So on to the REAL reason why they came to visit! Ashley has graduated from BYU with her Masters in Public Health! You go girl!!! From a fellow Health Promotion major to another I couldn't be HAPPIER for YOU! I must admit I have lived vicariously through you sharing your theories, ideas and passion for health! You have worked so hard and I have admired you truly all along the way...(enough mush for ya???)

Here we are celebrating after the super fun BYU graduation...Oh, the stories we have to tell. After the graduation we were lucky to go to Tucano's...pretty much the BEST restaurant to eat in the world. YUM! The next day Ashley and I were able to go do some girl shopping...come on when a girl graduates and gets a REAL JOB she needs some new attire. We got some hip and new looks and some COLOR!! You look great Ash and I can't wait to see some pictures!!!

Sunday came and there's nothing Ashley and I enjoy doing more than cooking up some America's Test Kitchen recipes! We picked our favorites for the menu...Pizza Margarita and Lemon Meringue Pie!!! YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Here is Jake and Brian helping juice the lemons...we just LOVED Jake's faces...He was discussing with Brian that he too was strong!

Alayna and Ashely are posing in their cute aprons.

Oh, how we are going to miss you!!!
Thanks for coming we just hope you don't make it a year! Good luck tomorrow at your new job. We sure love you guys!!