Zoo!

My sister Alisa is here visiting from Alabama (hurray), so we got together with my other sister Kerri and our mom and took all the kids to the Idaho Falls Zoo. It was one HOT day, but we all had fun. The kids loved it. We took the group picture at the end of the trip, so the kids were rather tired. We also played at a huge playground nearby and then took everyone to Fazoli's for dinner. It was crazy and fun. I love family time.


Talk about putting your head in the lion's mouth!
Ashy had to join in, too.
Emma loved brushing the goats.
Oh, you may be wondering why Ashlyn hasn't been appearing in many photos lately. This photo shows off her lovely wounded forehead. Unfortunately, she does this to herself. Whenever she throws a tantrum, they're horrible, and she scratches her face, legs, or tummy. She's been doing this for a few months now. Our pediatrician says to just ignore it. Ignoring it does actually help her stop faster, but we HATE seeing our beautiful, sweet little girl bear such horrible marks of her temper. I just hope the scars she's already sporting will fade as she grows. Hopefully time will also curb the self-wounding.

Young Women Trip

I had the amazing opportunity to spend the last two days with my amazing young women. We left bright and early Friday morning and drove to the Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake. We have been working on making quilts for the last several months and were able to donate ten twin-sized quilts. Each of the seven girls that went put a lot of work into those quilts. Most of them had never sewn or tied quilts before this. At the Humanitarian Center we took a touching tour that demonstrated how inspired the humanitarian organization of the church is. I was awed by how far $5 can go, and how generous and loving people are all over the world. Then we packaged hygiene and school kits, opened and sorted 4,000 pairs of children's sleepers, and finished 4 hours of service by tying two more quilts. Whew!


After that we took the girls to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I loved walking through with my girls. I love them so much and I look forward to seeing them go to the temple themselves some day. I love the spirit in the temple, and I know the girls felt it. It was beautiful.


Our next stop was the Mayan for dinner. Most of the girls had never been there, so it was a special treat. The cliff divers were really good and had everyone in awe.


That night we went swimming at our hotel. We played chicken and shark. We even got the bishop in for a couple rounds of shark, but I learned the hard way not to be the last of the pack swimming across the pool. The bishop accidentally gave me a pretty good kick to the jaw. The swelling is almost all gone. But we played hard and it payed off. The girls were all in bed and asleep by midnight.

The next morning we went to the Heritage Museum by the This Is the Place monument. The girls got to see first hand what life was like in the early pioneer days. They got to work in a woodshop, visit a tin man, beat a rag rug, card wool, dress in old-fashioned clothes, and play pioneer children games. We really had a good time. It was such a great opportunity to feel the spirit over and over and to get to know our girls. I can honestly say that they're my friends. I love each one of them.


When I got home, Nick surprised me with roses on the table, a clean house, happy kids in the tub, and a smile. He's such a great man. I can't imagine my life any different than it is today. Nick is the best husband and father. Today's been rather stressful on him. He was sustained and set apart as our ward's new Elder's Quorum President. When we told his mom, she asked if he was excited. While excited isn't the word that comes to mind, there's no doubt he'll do the best he can to fulfill the calling. I'm so proud of him. I love him. I am so grateful for him. What more can I say. Thank you Nick for being so good to me and the girls. Happy Father's Day!

My Mom

Yesterday was my mom's 60th birthday. She wouldn't like that I just announced that fact, but the picture rather gives it away. She is one of my favorite people. She is so full of love and cares for all who are around her. She's always there to talk and laugh with, and I love spending time with her any way I can.

My mom and I have always had a special relationship. As a teenager I use to spend a lot of time talking at the foot of her bed after being with friends. I loved that. She loved it when I brought friends to the house and always let us know we were welcome to be there by most of the time joining in on the fun.

Now we are able to talk and laugh over the phone. She gives great kiddo advice for those tough days and reminds me that the good times far outweigh the frustrating moments. Mom, thanks for laughing, crying, and listening. I love you more than I can express. Thank you for being my mom. I'm only beginning to understand exactly what that little word means. Happy birthday.

Gardening

We finally have a garden! Our back yard isn't very large, so we made the most of our hillside and built a terraced garden. It's taken much longer than we anticipated due to the days and days of rain we've had. But we literally dug in today and finished. It's taken a lot of shoveling, time, and well, money, but we're happy with the end result. Hopefully it will pay off in the long run in more than one way. Nick is amazing at finishing projects and making them look incredible. Emma had a lot of fun planting. And Ashlyn had fun digging up and stepping on everything that we planted. Gardening with kids is rather hilarious. I'm interested to see how weeding goes! Oh, but I can't wait for the fresh tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, squash, cucumbers, peas, carrots, spinach, and onions.

American West Heritage Center

Nick's cousin Chance graduated from high school and had a grand celebration at the Cache Valley American West Heritage Center. We had so much fun spending time with friends and family. I'll post more pictures soon. Afterwards we went over to our friend Kade's new house and gawked at the beautiful landscaping. He has a beautiful home. Next time we visit I'll take pictures. I wish I could transfer his flower beds to my house.

It took a bit of coercing, but Emma did ride the pony and had fun. (I think this is especially funny since she rode my little sister's horse just a couple months ago and an elephant last summer without a thought.)

Ashlyn loved riding on my shoulders and seeing how stretchy my cheeks are.

Our friend Kade came along and jumped on the chance to hold Lacee's baby Carson. Cool kid, isn't he?

Sad

I've been excited for the past few days because Nick's work is sending him to Cheyenne for a meeting and we were going to get to tag along. Now he'll be flying instead of driving, so we'll be staying home. I just hope our friends in Laramie know how much we love and miss them. We will be heading out there some time this summer, one way or another.

Love

- Kid kisses
- Squeeze hugs from Ashlyn
- Popping bubbles
- Flowers
- Surprise sneak-up-behind-you hugs
- Laughing with friends
- Rocking a sleeping child
- Fresh, warm cookies
- Fresh paint
- Wildflowers
- Completing a project
- Phone conversations with mom and sisters
- New clothes
- A new book, preferably a series with multiple good books
- Music to dance to
- Reading to my girls
- Snuggles

Adopting

My good childhood friend Monica and her husband Matt are two of the most amazing people I know. They have been married for six years and haven't been able to get pregnant, so now they've decided to adopt. I love these two. Monica and I have been friends since elementry school, and she has always been an inspiration to me. She's possitive, kind, athletic, and a true friend. Matt is one the most friendly, motivated people I know. He's constantly working towards running or biking a new race. They're a great couple and I wish them all the luck. They have an Adoption Profile Website you can access here. If you know of anyone who could use this information, please pass on their names. They're going to be amazing parents.