What's Happening With Us...

Okay, it's catch up time. Not a lot has been happening to us in the last month other than soccer practices, dance classes, and school. Although not a lot has happened,we did have the oppertunity to attened the marriage of my sister to her fiance Angel.

The bride and groom



The bride with her brides maids (in purple) and flower girls (in pink)



The ring girls (Ashley and Rhonda, my sisters new step daughters) Trista in the middle, was a flower girl.



Parents of the bride



A candid photo of great grandma dancing with Luke,

and, Cute little boys!



We love soccer games in the fall when the weather is so perfect that it practically pulls you outside.





Kennedi has been working hard in her Dance company, practicing 4-6 hours a week. I went to the end of her class last week and watched her "perform" their jazz dance. They have only been working on this particular dance for four weeks and I am so impressed by how far they have come. This group of little girls are so good (in part, because they have a fantastic teacher). When they get their costumes and start performing (in January) the other teams better watch out.

And just last week Brooke and Trista made it into The Nutcracker that is put on by the Rocky Mountian Regional Ballet Company. Brooke got two parts, one, a solder, and the other is a Bon Bon (one of the little girls that comes out from under their mother's skirt), and Trista is going to be a mouse. They start rehersing October13th and will be performing at Thanksgiving Point December 9th and 10th.

I am greatful that my girls have the chance to work on their talents and participate in activities that they enjoy.

Happy 3rd Birthday Luke!!!

Today is Luke's Birthday and we sure had a lot of fun. It started out early with a trip to the balloon store. After the balloons we went and got Brad and went to Wal-Mart to finally bring home the motorcycle bike that he has been talking about for months. It's yellow and blue and has two real shocks on it with a seat on it that is in the shape of a motor cross bike. The store had two bikes on the floor, but they were both scratched up so the nice man at Wal-Mart went in the back and put together a brand new one just for Luke. His sisters gave him a Batman bike helmet that came with knee and elbow pads to go with it. Doesn't he look good?



After that we had lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. We ordered cheese pizza and breadsticks (two of Luke's favorite foods), and then it was onto the games. The games that were a big hit were the Ski Ball game and also the Basketball game, both of which Luke was surprisingly good at.





After Chuck E. Cheese we came home and tested out the bike which he drove off the curb and landed on his head (good thing he was wearing the helmet) and frosted his spiderman cake (the orange looking frosting is actually red) for his family party in the evening. All in all, I would say that Luke had a fabulous birthday. Thanks to all who shared in making the memories.



Luke was born in the American Fork hospital by Doctor Lamoreaux at 1:03 pm. When Luke was born he weighed 6 lbs 13 oz. He was 18 1/2 inches long. Unlike my girls, he was born with his red hair, and it has only gotten redder. Our family loves Luke and he is definitely spoiled, but not rotten.

Some of my favorite things about him are: He can make me laugh, his crazy red hair and his dark brown eyes, I love that he tells me that I am his best friend, he needs to stay busy just like me, he likes you to watch how fast he can run, I love that he can talk in sentences, he never intentionally makes someone sad or upset, and most of all, I LOVE that he is my boy.

I would love to read about any memory of Luke that you have, and would like to share.

Trista's First Day of Kindergarten

It's hard to believe how big all of my kids are getting. Trista just started Kindergarten yesterday at the same Charter school that Brooke and Kennedi go to. It made me a little sad the way she walked herself into her classroom and just started working like she had been doing those things her whole life. She didn't wave good-bye, she didn't give me a kiss, she didn't even say, see you later. She has a great teacher (Kennedi had her last year), Miss Teresa, and I am confident that she will teach Trista many things. I also think that Trista will teach her a thing or two. Good luck to both Trista and Miss Teresa, but mostly Miss Teresa.

She wanted to wear the prettiest dress that she could find. This is only the second best she could find because the first one got dirty while she was eating lunch. Doesn't she look beautiful in her dress posing for the camera with her "cool" bag?

The First Day of School

This summer flew by so fast for me. Maybe it was because we weren't home a lot, or maybe it was because of the summer class that I was taking, but whatever it was, it doesn't seem like school should be starting again. We didn't think the girls needed a ton of new clothes for school, but they insisted on new backpacks, or in their case sling bags. We even bought some and then had to take them back and trade them for different, cooler ones. Anyhow, the first day did come, and now the first week has gone by. Where does the time go?

Brooke (3rd grade), Kennedi (2nd grade)


The new, cool sling bags

Fun @ Fish Lake

Our family decided that we wanted one last hoorah before school starts, so we decided that since the last time we went to Fish Lake we had a good time that that would be the perfect spot to go. Earlier this summer we went to Indiana with most of Brads family so we invited my family to go with us. It was so much fun hanging out and relaxing, even the kids had fun running on the trails and exploring. One afternoon we all braved the lake and went swimming for a while. I would highly recommend going there for anybody looking for a quick, but fun get way.

Luke is announcing to everyone that we had arrived at Fish Lake.


Cousins Willian, Alex, Gwen, Bryson and Kyler on the deck of the cabin.


Everyone in the lake, Grandma and Grandpa were around somewhere, but we couldn't find them.


How many kids can you put into one tiny tube? It looks like four.


And what trip to Fish Lake would not be complete without fishing.

Indiana, Here We Come!!!

We left for Indiana on July 8th, and returned on the 17th. Here are a few of the highlights from the trip...

While we were in Indiana we took a trip to Nauvoo. We stopped at Carthledge jail on the way.



In Nauvoo we learned how to make rope,



We got to dress up as pioneers,


Walk on the Trail of Hope (this is the trail that the people of Nauvoo walked on as they were leaving Nauvoo.) At the end of the trail is the spot on the Mississippi River were they crossed.



Looking out onto the Mississippi River.





and, we visited the temple.


This is the view from the windows of the house that we stayed in, in Nauvoo. Breathtaking, wouldn't you say?




After returning from Nauvoo we spent a day at the world's largest children's museum. The kids had fun digging for dinosaur bones,





The kids were able to build things with Curious George,


Learn about exercising,


Sit on dinosaur eggs.


And ride on the carosel.



We also got to tour the Purdue campus with our personal tour guide Christina. The kids favorite parts were the water fountain shaped like a lion and the fountain that people play in.



The kids did actually play in the fountain, here they are trying to get dry.


All in all I would say it was well worth going. The kids were terrific on the airplane rides, they learned a lot about the pioneers and Joseph Smith. They had fun spending time with each other and getting to know their cousins better. This vacation would for us would determine if the kids were old enough to travel, and we think they are. Thanks for all the fun Christina and Jon, we missed you being there.

If You'd Like One

On Sunday in WY while we were getting ready to leave Linda was putting together some stuff for her ward on Being Prepared. One of the things she had was a cookbook with many recipes to make only using items from food storage. If anyone is interested in having a copy of this, let me know. We have to return it to her on Tuesday when we leave for Indiana so let me know by then.