What a few crazy months that have come and gone so FAST!

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything on our blog. I haven't been so good at updating lately. I manage to fit a little bit of time in on facebook for a quick update here and there but have not been so good about the blogging thing. For a little bit of an update since I blogged last. May was a busy month with all the end of the year stuff going on at school and getting the kids finished with school. Ethan graduated from Kindergarten and is so excited about being a BIG kid next year and being able to stay at school all-day. I'm not so sure he will think that is very cool when it is actually happens! Emma just finished the third grade and is excited about being in fourth grade and moving to the upstairs of the school. Hannah graduated from the two-year old preschool program she was attending and put on a cute little program for all of us to watch. So all in all I think that this explains how we have been super busy attending all of these events and getting ready for summer. We spent the week of the 5th-11th at Delta. My sister Becky and her husband Tom and my sister Kim and her husband Jason came with us too. Becky and Tom left on Saturday and our husbands (Kim and I) left on Sunday and the rest of us braved the week alone with my sis-in-law Angie and her kids along with my in-laws and sis-in-law Lori. We had so much fun R&R-ing. The weather was awesome until Wed and then it was a little bit colder and rainy. We still had lots of fun boating, riding the tube, playing cards etc, etc. Last weekend Emma had a dance competition at Lagoon. She did a duet with a little dance friend of hers Hailey and they placed third among quite a few participants. Her dance group placed first in their competition. I was so proud of her!! She looked so cute too! We did stay all day despite the threatening clouds and enjoyed a fun filled day at Lagoon. The kids had a blast riding on all of the WILD rides, including Hannah. She left around 4:30 to go to my mom's house so the two oldest could ride all of the BIG SCARY rides until Lagoon closed. Ethan was barely tall enough but was able to ride them all (except 2 or 3) which made him SO happy! We are getting psyched for next week to go to Lake Powell for our houseboat time share. We will keep you posted on that! Everyone is doing well as of now. We just finished having the stomach flu with Emma and Ethan over the weekend. Hopefully the sick bugs stay away for the summer at least or forever for that matter.

Easter Fun and Ethan's 6th b-day!

Well it was a very fun Easter this year for our family. We went to St. George with Jared's parents and sister and enjoyed some lovely warm weather. Emma and Ethan even got sunburned, oops! We did put on sunblock but I guess not enough. After swimming for 5 hours I guess you need to reapply, my fault. On Saturday there was an egg hunt they do every year that the kids really enjoyed. They got tons of loot! Then to help celebrate Ethan's b-day we went to breakfast at Denny's and then later on we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. The kids really enjoyed it even though it was a sold out crowd and we had to sit on the 2nd row from the front, talk about a neck kink- I had one. Later on we had a yummy b-day dinner and enjoyed Ethan's favorite dessert, cheesecake! Ethan made off like a fat cat. It was a very fun day! Then the next day was Easter. It was so much fun to watch the kids find their hidden Easter baskets in the trailer. Hannah was so cute and excited when she found hers! She said, "look mommy the Easter bunny brought me on too." We are so grateful for this time of year to help remind us of our loving Savior and his sacrifice for each one of us. We hope all of you had a wonderful Easter and spent it making memories with loved ones.

Yea For Spring, Finally!!!!!!

It was such a beautiful day today! I am so glad that the weather has finally decided to warm up a bit. It has been a long, cold winter and we're more than ready for some sunny, warm days. We took advantage of being outside and enjoying the 6o degrees that it was. The kids were riding their bikes and scooters and just enjoying the warmth. Jared has decided that he is going to "try" and raise a dozen or so chickens this spring. They arrive to the pet store on Monday so he spent the day getting a "chicken coop" made along with the help of Ethan and his two older brothers. They are going to keep them at his work in the field back behind the buisness. He has been reading a lot about chickens on the internet and how to raise them etc. He is quite excited and so are the kids. I have to say that I did have quite a bit of exposure as a kid since my grandparents had them. Everytime we went to Loa to visit we would go collect all the eggs and that was a fun experience. I'm not so sure about having them as our "own" but I am letting Jared take care of pretty much the whole thing. He is funny that way, when he get's an idea going he has follow through with it or else he feels like he didn't give it a fair chance. My mom and dad have been giving him some good advice too. I know the kids will love to see the baby chicks while they are little and I'm sure they will enjoy collecting the eggs once they begin to hatch eventually. I love spring and all that it has to offer, new life, re-birth and the change that takes place, I am truly grateful for all the seasons. I love living in Utah for that reason.

Sad News!

This past week has been quite difficult since Gracie Gledhill a third cousins baby passed away from a congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. She was 11 months old and fought a very hard fight to stay here on earth. but it was not to be. She received a heart transplant on Feb 22nd and her new heart never functioned in a way that could keep her alive without machines helping it. She became very tired and weak and was unable to fight any longer without life support so her parents had to make the hardest decision a parent should ever have to make and discontinue her life support. She passed away on Monday in PCMC with her mom and dad at her side. Her parents chose to have her be an organ donor of all her other organs that were healthy. I was so impressed by such a selfless act of love. I know that many other childrens lives with be forever changed because of their decision. Gracie was an amazing baby. She touched so many peoples lives through her sweet spirit and I know that she is now in Heaven watching over her special family. She has a blog that is an addiction for many who read it faithfully on a daily basis if not more, I am one of those addicted! It has been an amazing road of trials and triumphs and has been such an inspiring story. It has been such an eye opener on my life and my purpose while here on earth. I will be forever changed for the better having known Gracie, Tom, Michele and their other children through this special experience. Life is so precious and fragile. I pray for Tom, Michele and their loved ones and family that they can be at peace with the passing of Gracie. I hope they feel the prayers and love that has been sent their way this past year. They have had an amazing support through this and it is apparent through their blog of her. Hold your children just a little tighter and love your loved ones just a little more now than you did yesterday. Please pray for the Gledhill's and keep them in your thoughts this weekend as they have the funeral services for Gracie and celebrate her special life. If anyone is interested in reading her blog that may not have so far, it is on my sidebar of bloggers that I follow. You will be so touched and inspired, I know I am. Goodbye Gracie, until we meet again.

Hello Everyone

Well it's been a while since I've had a chance to sit down and type a blurb. We have been busy as usual. We hope everyone had a great Valentines day! The kids had lots of fun at school making their special boxes and delivering their valentines to their friends. I think it is more for the kids than anything J/K. We had a fun weekend in St. George. We went down there for Presidents Day like we do every year and stayed in our travel trailer that we have stored there. It was beautiful weather which was nice since it was suppose to be rainy and cold. The kids spent lots of time outside riding scooters and bikes, playing football and doing all the things that spring weather allows us to do. They so needed the time to be outside since they are really getting cabin fever at this yucky time of year. There were a million people there! I guess everyone else had the same idea. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun and we enjoyed every second of it. Well I guess that is all for now. We hope all is well with you and your families. We are all doing well. Have a great week.

Draper Temple

So we went to the Draper Temple open house last night and had a great time. It was so neat to be able to take our three children along with us and to have them be a part of this special experience. Emma is 8 and was very excited to be able to go inside the temple. It was so fun to discuss things with her and to have her ask questions and be able to see the lightbulb turn on inside. On the drive down to the temple we sang LOTS of primary songs that the kids all knew. They are so dang cute!! Every once in a while Hannah would break out in the ABC's song but even so she was able to sing quite a few of the songs with us and she is just in the nursery. When we were touring the temple it was so special to have our children with us in the Celestial room and to talk about this being a piece of heaven on Earth. All of our children loved this room the most! The chandelier was BEAUTIFUL and breathtaking!!! We also took a friend Juan and his wife and son along. They are not members but were really interested in going with us. They speak mostly Spanish so we were able to watch the DVD in Spanish and English prior to entering the temple. I felt the spirit as strong with the Spanish version as I did with the English version. It is amazing how the spirit speaks to us. I am so grateful for this opportunity and was very touched spiritually to have been a part of this experience. I hope my children remember this experience the rest of their lives! I also hope Juan and his family felt something special about this experience and that it touched them in a special way. We hope you all have a chance to go if you can, it is very beautiful!

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

So time if flying by in this year 2009 already! It's hard to believe that January is half over. We are busy with all the fun things school, lessons and enjoyement have to offer us. It is so fun to see all of your blogs updated and hear about all of the fun things you did for the holidays. I really enjoy reading all of the things you are all doing and seeing pics of all of your cute families. I wanted to just leave a more updated post. Sorry, not much exciting to report!

Happy New Years 2009!

Hey Everyone-
We hope you have a terrific New Years Day! We went to Jared's brother and sis-in-law's house to celebrate by playing games, gorging on tons of great food, playing the Wii, and enjoying visiting with friends and family. I had to go to work at midnight which wasn't so fun, but overral the night was one to remember! Thanks Todd and Angie for your hospitality, you made it a very enjoyable evening for all. We hope the year 2009 brings all of you much happiness, good health and memories to cherish forever. We love all of you. Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

This year we went to the Sannar's for Christmas breakfast. The kids had a fun time playing with their presents they got from Santa. We had a very enjoyable day and made it through the fesivities without any major meltdowns. Emma got a bead kit for making jewlery that she wanted, Ethan got a Nintendo DS and Hannah got a barbie bike. We hope the holiday season has been good to all of you and you have all enjoyed the time spent with family and friends.

Ethan and Zach having fun with their new Nintendo DS's.The little kids at their "special" table.

Feeding our faces!

A rare picture of ME.