Telemarketers & Customer Service Reps.

So this guy calls & ask for Ryan Smith. I disguised my voice & said this is him. He says Mr. Ryan Smith. I said Yep. He says this doesn't sound like a Mister. I say WHAT You call my house & ask for me & you Sayy I don't sound like me??? He was like Uh...hold the line. So he plays me this audio clip about Obama & how he isn't a US citizen & he is a illegal alien & this committee is out to get him. So this lady gets on the phone & says Miss...what did you think of that? I said Are you going to Impeach him or what? She starts laughing her head off. Then she asks me for a donation of $500. I say I would Love to help you..but the gas prices are outrageous & I can't afford anything. She precedes to tell me a story about having to take this 2nd job because she went to put gas in her van & couldn't fill it up. So then she asks me for a smaller donation. I tell her our country is going to Hell in a hand basket & I don't have a dime. She laughs hysterically & thanks me for making her week. So there you have it. We don't need to be RUDE to telemarketers or hang up on them we can have a good time with them!!!


I got a bill in the mail on a account we had never opened. When I called on it the customer service person told me my name wasn't on the account & that she could only talk to Ryan....f You Tell Me You Can Only Speak to Mr. Smith about My Account...You Know I am Just Going To Put A Towel over the phone & call back & disguise my Voice!!! She politely tells me that she wished she could help me, but because of Hippa regulations she can only speak to Mr. Smith. So I get a towel & cover the receiver & called back. When asked my name I said Ryan Smith. The guy snickered. I was able to get the account closed & resolved. Seriously if I have to stoop to their level I guess I will or at least my Alias Mr. Ryan Smith will.

The Most Beautiful

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."
— Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

I saw this quote on My Dear Friend Melody's Facebook Wall & Wanted to Capture the way it made me feel. I am so grateful for her. I am working on week # 5 of Soul Restoration & am in Awe at how much my Life has changed in the last Month. I feel like a completely new person. I am healing & forgiving & Not letting people effect me like I used to. I am forever indebted to Melody for putting together this amazing program. I Love her dearly!
She is So Beautiful on the inside & out. She has the Light of Christ shinning so brightly throughout her. Here is a Gorgeous Picture of her, Her oldest daughter Malary & Melody's sister Kathy. Kathy is so talented. She has the voice of an angel. When she plays the guitar & sings it is exactly like what I picture heaven to be. I Love these three girls so much!

"

Chris Rice - Go light your world

Bad Blogger

I was watching a home movie of the kids Ry took when I was at work. Conor was three months old & the kids were so tiny. I know how important it is for me to document what they say & do so I never forget. I just am not very good at staying up on a journal & keeping this blog updated. I know I need to do better. Here are a few things the kids are doing now....




Marli with her Daddy...she is so much like Ry & they often don't see eye to eye...but she is definitely a Daddy's girl!

We love to go to Smitty's for any meal. It's one of our fave places.

Miss Marli is growing up way to fast for me. She is my biggest helper. She loves to do anything crafty. She'll ask me if she can make something & then hours later she'll show me all her creations. I am so grateful she's my daughter. She loves school & has more friends than days of the week. So we often have a house full of little girls. She is taking clogging & absolutely loves it. She practices 15 min a day without being told to.

You can always find Mister Jacob dressed up in some costume...but mostly in his lounge wear...aka p.j.'s. Jacob is a great student & takes school very seriously. He's enjoying 2nd grade. He loves to read & play Mario anything on the Wii or Ds. He is my B/f/f I love listening to his elaborate stories. He likes to sleep with me when Ry is nigh shift. On Mondays I dvr the show castle & then Jakey & I watch it when he sleeps with me. It's our little date. Jacob was baptized Nov. 6th. he loves primary & Reading the scriptures. He keeps us on the straight & narrow. He loves to conduct FHE. Jacob hasn't missed a scout meeting since he started in Sept. He is working hard at earning his Boy Scout badges. Ry & him are going to make his 1st pinewood derby car this weekend.

Conor is at such a Fun age. He made Christmas SO FUN! After he opened each gift he told us Thank You & he Loved it. He's been wearing Big Boy underwear & has been doing really good with not having any accidents. We still put a pull up on him at night just in case. We ordered him a big boy bed like brother Jacob's. Unfortunately it won't be here for a couple more weeks. I painted his room & we took down his crib. It was hard taking the crib to my parents to store. We have had a crib up for over ten years. Conor loves his room. The kids take turns sleeping with him. He loves Jakey & Marli & having sleep overs in their rooms. He calls my parents B-Pa & B-Ma. They think it's pretty cute. He's getting more out going everyday. He enjoys going to the kids school with me when I volunteer. He gives their teachers hugs & tells them thank you for letting him come to class. I'm so grateful we have him in our family. He brings us a lot of laughs & good times.

Happy Birthday Jax!!!

Happy Birthday to my little man! Ryan & I were talking today about how this was the BEST time in our lives. We waited 5 LONG years to get our little man. He was more beautiful than we could have ever dreamed of. It's so amazing to me how much I instantly LOVED him.

I came across this wind charm & ordered it for Jaxon's Birthday. We're going to go get Red & Purple balloons & take this & the balloons up to the cemetery today!


When I think of Heaven & I think of Jaxon this is what I picture! I think he'll have his beautiful bald hair at first so I can rub it & hug him so tight....then I picture his hair will be back exactly how it was before the cancer. I miss my BEST friend so much. I seriously can't believe he would be 11. It seems like a moment ago I was Pregnant with him & waiting patiently for his arrival. In this picture I am about to have Jacob. I'm so grateful Jaxon wanted a brother because Jakey & I have such an amazing relationship & he always makes me FEEL so incredibly close to Jaxon. Then for Jacob to pray & pray & pray faithfully for a brother & for us to be blessed with Conor is such a blessing. I see so many similarities in Conor & Jaxon. I have caught myself in complete AWE lately watching Conor grow & his personality is a lot like Jaxon's. It's bittersweet! In three months Conor will be exactly the same age as Jax was when he graduated from this life onto Bigger & Better things. I find myself not wanting to be away from my kids & I worry that I suffocate them sometimes. I don't want them to grow up & think their friends are more important than family. School starts in a week & I am really dreading it. We have had such a FUN summer. I am so grateful Jaxon was our first born & he will always be what keeps me going! I want to be with him forever! I love you so very much sweet boy!


I smile every time I think of this little man. I often find myself wishing for a lot of things...Mostly I wish for more time with him & I wish I had digital pictures of him.....LOTS & lots of pictures of him.

Air Show & Update

We had a really fun weekend as a family. We have been watching all the planes practicing all week. It's been pretty cool to just go in the back yard or front yard & see these amazing pilots do some pretty insane tricks. Friday we took Ryan's truck over to the North Soccer field parking lot & left it. We had the truck all packed & ready for the airshow Saturday morning. We went to dinner at The Outback. Saturday Ry & Jake rode the Harley over to the truck. I put Conor in the stroller Loaded up with the cooler & Marli & I walked over there. Our neighborhood was completely invaded with A LOT of people. We took multiple trips back to the house for potty breaks & different things. I NEVER get sunburned...well Never until being out in the HOT Sun all day with No shade. I really got fried. I put sunscreen on everyone...except myself. Right before the Blue Angels performed Marli & I ran home to make sandwiches & I noticed I was burned. i put sunscreen on at the house. Too little too late I'm afraid. O'well it was so worth it. I think Ryan enjoyed it the most. The kids used Ry's ear muff things that he uses when he goes shooting. Conor thought that was so cool wearing daddy's ear plugs. We were prepared NOT to leave the house because of traffic so we had Papa Murphy's take & bake for dinner. I was exhausted & felt sick from the Sunburn. I called my Friend Sydney & asked her to sub my Primary class. I took it easy most of the day. Then we went outside right before the Blue Angels were going to perform & watched it in the SHADE in the back or Ry's truck. I made a pretty incredible dinner for my family. I made Chicken with apple stuffing, Green Beans & Yukon mashed potatoes. Ry & the kids LOVED it.

My Awesome brother Brandon has been taking Jacob Golfing. Jake Loves it. Brandon was in Utah working & he was out selling meat...he sold a bunch to a lady who was having a yard sale. He picked up a junior golf club set for $5.00. They are practically brand new. Jake was so stoked. I'm so grateful that Brandon moved home from Cour D' Alene to be here with us.

Our stake is having a Stake Primary activity today. They asked every family to do a scavenger hunt in our homes & gather things for a BIG project. They are donating things to The Haven Shelter & a few other places. Ry & I worked really hard gathering things. I feel really good that we DE-cluttered our closets & house & have some great stuff to donate. My mom took the kids to the activity & went back & picked them up. She's such a GOOD grandma.

I had a 3 hour doctor appointment on Friday to have blood test done. I had to go in fasting for the Insulin resistance test. I took a book, but never got to read it. The office manager & I sat & visited almost the entire time. I was sitting next to this cranky pregnant women. She fell asleep...SOUND asleep. She was snoring & drooling. When the nurse came in to draw her blood it startled her & she SNORTED super loud. The nurse & I looked at each other & both busted up laughing. I have my follow up tomorrow to find out the results. I've been having some health issues & my depression has gotten pretty bad again. So my doctor wanted a full blood panel. I'm looking forward to my hair appointment tonight. Hopefully a new haircut & color will improve my attitude.

The Jacob & Marli are finally done with Pitching machine baseball. They learned a lot & enjoyed playing this year. Jacob has been playing with a lot of different kids & I've had to give him a little bit of freedom. It was really hard the first time his friend asked if Jacob could ride his scooter a little further than what I've been letting him. He took his watch with him & was really good about checking in. I sure miss the days when I was their only friend! Man it's hard letting my babies grow up.

Relief Society/Visiting Teaching

My Beautiful Mother-in-law was asked to talk in Church this coming Sunday. She emailed me & asked me to help share any experiences I have had with Visiting Teaching. I thought I should share what I came up with so i can reflect back on these sacred experiences.

I have always had a strong testimony of VT. When I first joined the church I adored my R.s. she teamed me up with a lady Karen Clark. We became really close friends over the next couple years. We both worked & it was challenging at times to find a time when we could go visit our three ladies. We had plenty of opportunities to serve the ladies we went visiting to. I always knew that if I needed anything I could rely on the ladies in my ward as well. It was hard being a new member & Karen was always a great example to me. We are still great friends after all these years. I loved living in Shelley. The people that lived in our ward were mostly farmers. The ladies taught me so much about being a example of Christ & I admired them so much. I knew when I had children I would try to implement the qualities I saw in them that were wonderful into my life.

We moved from Shelley to Ammon & I was nervous about not having those women to lean on. There is something amazing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ...no matter where you live the R.S. is there & it is the same. I soon fell in love with my R.S. president Brenda Johnson. She gave me the most incredible blessing...she gave me Nancy Lords as my V.T. Nancy was so faithful in this calling. She NEVER missed a month. Our son Jaxon became very ill & Nancy was there through the entire Journey. When we found had to take Jaxon to SLC to Primary Children's Nancy came over the night before & prayed with us. She knew how much Jaxon Loved Barney & she let us borrow all of her families barney movies. She made Jaxon a barney pillow & blanket. We were in SLC a lot over the next 10 months. Whenever I would be home for a short time she would run over & check on me. She kept in touch via phone calls & would keep everyone posted on us. She made it so I could focus on taking care of Jax & not have to worry on returning everyone phone calls. She went above & beyond the call of a V.T. She became part of our family. Her & her daughter did a fundraiser to help us with the enormous cost of Jaxon's medical care. They made quilts & auctioned them off...they sold soda & hot dogs in front of Westmark credit union where her husband worked. When Jaxon completed his care after 10 months we were able to bring him home. She brought him over a Barney shirt & coloring book. She was always thinking about us. When we found out his cancer came back she came over & was as heartbroken as we were. Nancy was always the strongest lady I knew. She had a testimony that made me want to be better & to do better. When our sweet little boy Jax passed away..Nancy did something for us that No one else could have. She wrote the most incredible poem. When she gave it to me, she told me she had help from the other side & was inspired to write it. She said she felt like Jaxon was there with her as she wrote it. I will forever remember the time I had Nancy as my V.T. She helped our family through the most difficult time.

When we moved to the Westside I again was blessed with amazing women who came visiting teaching to me. They helped me get to church when Ryan was gone for 6 months for his job. I had Jakey that was 1 & a new baby girl Marli. It would have been very easy for me to become inactive. These incredible ladies made me feel like I was needed & made me feel accountable for coming to church each week. Our ward was split 4 times in 5 years. I had a hard time with getting to know the ladies & loving them & then them being in the other wards. I was blessed with the most incredible V.T. partner Kristi Bialas. She knew I was struggling she knew how hard it was for me to go on living after loosing my whole world (Jaxon). She lent me her testimony & strength to bear my burdens. Every month we went V.T. to three ladies. She would not let us miss one month. She would ask me really hard questions in front of the ladies we would go visit. She helped heal my broken heart. She was inspired so many times to reach out. She would show up on days when I barely could get out of bed because I was so depressed. She became my sister. She brought us treats & meals. Kristi was the Nursery leader & helped Marli feel comfortable. Marli would take her favorite blanket to church & go in Nursery ready for a nap. Kristi would make her a safe place in the other room to take her nap. Later on we served as our ward compassionate leaders together. I learned so much from her. It was an honor serving with her. I know our Heavenly Father has given us R.S. & V.T. to bless us in multiple ways. We are asked to serve our fellow man,but in return the blessing we are given by doing so are far greater than our efforts. Our R.S. president can't do it all alone. Nor can she be everywhere. She needs us sisters. The V.T. program is critical to making R.S. work at its best. I am so grateful for the women I have met through the Church. I feel I am a better Wife/Mother because of these amazing women!

I Love you Lyn (My Amazing M-I-L)& am so grateful I have ALWAYS had you to look to for inspiration. I hope this will help you with your talk. I know it's going to be great! I only wish I could be there to listen to it & be inspired.

I love how much a group of ladies can help so many in need. Every humanitarian project, Every quilt, Every meal is made with LOVE! We are so blessed to be part of such an amazing organization!

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Mothers Who Know

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Mothers Who Know

I came across this article today & found it was exactly what my soul needed to hear. Thought I would pass it along.

A Mouse

Last Night I was trying to get my cards made for card club. Jacob was in my craft room with me playing a game on the computer. Marli & Conor were playing in her room. I kept thinking I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I was really tired & icnored it. Then all of a sudden Jacob screamed " There's a mouse on the window"!!! I looked over & sure enough there was a mouse climbing on the outside window. I screamed!!! The mouse heard me & took off running back up the window...then it fell down right in front of me. Ryan came running in. Soon everyone was in my scrap room. Marli was right up on the table looking at it. She said "OH its kind of cute"!!! Ry went outside to take care of it. I was so freaked out. I HATE mice! I can handle just about anything, but mice & snakes. GROSS!!! GROSS!!! GROSS!!! So we soon saw a pole coming down the window well. Ry was yelling at me to close the blinds so the kids wouldn't see what was about to happen. I didn't even want to close the blinds...I didn't want to get near the window. I managed to go over & close the blinds. I didn't want to be in that room. I didn't get my cards made Dadnabit!!! Ry came back inside awhile later. Conor ran up to him & said "Did you get it daddy"??? Ry smiled & said Yeah I took care of it. Apparently he had to get out the BB gun & take care of it. Then he had to climb down in the window well & dispose of the nasty little critter. Ry was nightshift & getting ready to head out the door when all this excitement happened. I was positive I was going to have NIGHTMARES. Thankfully Jacob slept with me & I took a ambien & got a great night sleep with NO Mouse mares! Thanks Hunny for taking care of this!

Mr. Conor James

I just wanted to jot down a couple things about Mr. Conor...Lately he has been my shadow. If he sees me getting on my shoes he gets excited & says "Don't leave me I go with you". He doesn't like it if I'm trying to hurry. He likes to play with my hair. He tells me he Loves me & that I'm pretty. When he gets in trouble he says "Mommy Your pretty but your mean". If Jakey or Marli does something he doesn't like he comes & tells me they're mean. He doesn't back down to anyone. He Loves to get his favorite blanket & come lay with me on my bed & watch t.v. He'll giggle & tell me he's on daddy's side. He's such a sweet little boy. I am so grateful for him. I went through so much to get him here & it was all worth it. I Love You Conor James!!! He Loves to be outside. He always has one of the kids baseball mitts on. He tells me to give his mitt High Five. He Loves to play catch & try to hit the ball. He seriously thinks he's as Big as the other kids. I wish I could freeze time right now. He is so much Fun!

July 8th,2010
Conor saw that Jacob has a wallet & He REALLY wanted one too. Jakey went in his room & found a Lightning McQueen wallet for his little brother. Conor was SO excited. He opened the wallet & said "I NEED MONEY". We all laughed so hard. I didn't want him touching money or loosing it. So I went & got some monopoly like money out of our Buzz Light year Operation game. I let him pick what he wanted he picked a Buzz $100.00 & a Buzz $500.00. He walks around the house showing everyone his money. He sits & counts it One hundred, five hundred. He insisted on sleeping with his wallet. When I got him out of his crib he said look Mommy One hundred dollars. I'm thankful he's happy with his Buzz money.

Wanted!!!

I have been seeing Dragonflies when I really need a reminder of just how close Jaxon is. I have been having such a hard time lately & Miss him so much. I LOVE this red one it really makes me smile. My favorite color is red & Jax would say his was red too!

So I have been thinking I really need a Ghost writer to post what's going on in our lives to this BLOG! I just do not have the time or Patience. So Wanted one ghost writer...I bought a lap top a couple months back & thought this will be perfect for updating our blog. Hasn't happened yet! Apparently I need to go to bed a hour earlier & get up a hour earlier...then I'll have time to do what I want. yeah Right!

I am reading a really good book that my Mother-in-Law let me borrow. I have bawled & bawled reading this book. It is helping me so much!












The kids have been playing pitching machine. They are on my good friend Kristi Bialas's team. Their team is The Chuckars. The kids have really been practicing & have improved a lot. It's fun to see them grow & interact with kids that go to a different school (West side).
Conor has been growing up so much over the last couple of months. He repeats everything we say. When the kids are fighting he tells them to be nice or to shut their mouths. Probably hears Ryan saying that. He LOVES to be outside. He is in love with his red Fred Flinstone like car. He drives it all over the place. He's getting more confident jumping on the big trampoline in our backyard. He follows Marli every where. She jokes that he is her shadow.

We have been spending every minute possible playing with the kids & enjoying our time together. the weather has finally warmed up & we are loving being outside. We took the kids to Toy Story 3 in 3D. They all loved it. We debated on taking Conor or not. The last movie we took him to was Alvin & the Chipmunks The Squeak-quel. He was horrible. I told him I wouldn't take him to another movie until he was 5. Well the kids have been watching Toy Story & Toy Story 2. He sat and watched all of them. I talked to him about going to the movie. He REALLY wanted to go. he surprised us all when he sat & watched the whole movie. He got a little restless at the end & sat on my lap with his favorite blanket. Which Ryan noticed the other day was starting to fall apart. I made it for Jacob when he was a baby. It's a Winnie the pooh blanket. Jacob never really was attached to it. When Conor was tiny he fell in love with that blanket & has slept with it & carried it around ever since. I was able to sew it back together & hopefully it'll last several more years. I took Jacob & Marli to Sam's club a few weeks ago. They had Woody & Jesse & Buzz dolls. The kids each picked out one. They are really nice ones. I remember looking everywhere for something like that when Jaxon was little he Loved Toy Story & Toy Story 2. The Woody & Jesse came with the horse Bulls eye. Last night Conor begged Jakey to let him sleep with woody. Jacob let him & when we went in to get him out of his crib today, he told Jacob thank you for letting him sleep with woody.

Ry had a doctor appointment today. Looks like he's doing well. The kids & I were happy he was able to go to their baseball game. We're planning vacation July 9th-14th. We traded our Island Park timeshare for one in Park City. Should be Fun. We're gonna try to fit in Lagoon, Hoggle Zoo, Rodizio's Brazilian restaurant with school shopping.

I need to remember to keep my chin up & be of Good Cheer! I have been struggling with the day to day stuff. I realized yesterday that our family has been blessed with so many blessings. I feel our prayers have been heard. I'm grateful that Ryan has been going to church with us. Jacob & I are hopeful he'll be able to baptize Jacob Oct. 9th. We found out that will be the day at church yesterday. I can't believe Jakey will be 8 in a short time. Wow!!! I really wish time would SLOW down! Please continue to pray for Ry that his heart will be softened & he will have the desire to be worthy to baptize Jakey. I'm so grateful for such a wonderful family & true friends.

Brave Girl

I can't believe its time...I signed up in January for this Brave Girls retreat in May. It's here! I am packed & ready to let the Journey begin. I have been stressed about what to take & worrying that I'm not artsy enough. I have never been away from the kids for more than two days. My mom is amazing & is going to take good care of them for the first 3 days then Ry will have them the last two days. I laid out everything they will need. I hope they all do well without me. I said a really deep prayer & feel peace today. My Dad must have been inspired because he gave me a great pep talk. he took my car & washed it. he told me he is here to help me in anyway. He told me to go & have a great time & that I deserve it! I get to spend 5 incredible days with my favorite friend in the Universe....Melody! Ryan & I met her & her hubby Marq in 1995. We instantly became soul sisters. We have both been through some pretty incredible heartaches. We have had to be strong for our families. She inspires me on so many levels. Before I had any kids Mel had two & was PG with # 3...she is seriously THE BEST MAMA ever. The first weekend of every month Ry & I would go to Boise for training. Marq & Mel would let us stay at their house. I would watch her with her kids & dream of when I have kids I want to be just like her. I owe her everything!

Her face makes me so happy & her voice it just makes everything right in the world. She is one of my dearest friends. I feel so Lucky to know her & to be loved by her. I leave in the morning as soon as I get Jakey & Marli on the school bus. My friend Kim Rose is riding over with me. Should be a pretty AWESOME week. I'll post an update when it's all over! Say a prayer for me & the family Please!

I may come home on Saturday & be so Brave Ry won't know what to do with me! I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I'm going to take a deep breath & try & enjoy every second of it! Here's the link if you want to check it out...www.bravegirlsclub.com

What Have You Been Up To? Part 1

I know I have been a very bad blogger lately. It seems I haven't been home long enough to keep caught up on anything. I had to seriously stop everything this last week & force myself to get the housework caught up & closets cleaned out. I couldn't handle the clutter & messes for another second. Here's a glimpse of what we have been up to. April 1st my Grandma Mildred passed away. She was 88. She is one of my absolute Fave people. She always did extra special thoughtful things for us. She made all my kids blankets that were extremely detailed & beautiful. She made them all Christmas stockings. When arthritis got the best of her she was discouraged that she could no longer do all the quilting & sewing she was so passionate about, she was very sad. I treasure all the keepsakes she's made over the years. She had the best sense of humor. We took all the kids up to Butte for her funeral. We stayed at the Copper King Inn. It's the same hotel Ryan & I stayed at on our Wedding night. We have had many memories staying there. The funeral was very nice. It was at St. Marks church. My Uncle Larry (dad's brother) has had the privilege of speaking at a lot of funerals lately. He did a wonderful job.

April April 22nd we headed to Provo for my brother Kyle's Law school graduation. Ryan was unable to get the time off from work. He was having to re-qualify for his job. He had extreme test that whole week. I was pretty bummed that he didn't get to go with us. We had been planning it for months. My brother Brandon helped me out by riding with the kids & I. He actually drove the whole way there & back. It was so fun hanging out with him. I worked half the day & then met my parents, Brandon & the kids at Smitty's. After a super yummy lunch we hit the road. We stopped in Layton & did some shopping. I love the Layton mall. Brandon & Marli got haircuts. Marli also got her fingernails painted. The Highlight was riding the escalators. I missed a pretty funny thing because I was getting my eyebrows waxed. Brandon told me there were two girls about 10 or 12 & they were running up the escalators the wrong way. Apparently one of the girls biffed it big time. I know it's probably not nice to think that's funny....But they sure did. The first night we stayed at the Crystal Inn in SLC. Brandon stayed in our room both nights. Uncle Brandon was watching Family Guy without me knowing while he was hanging out with Jakey. I was NOT happy about that. Jake kept begging me to let him watch it because he thought it was the funniest show ever. It is so not appropriate for kids. Brandon apologized. I had never seen the show. Jakey thought it was hilarious that the dog Ryan smoked, drank & swore. The Baby was so mean. It's totally messed up. Anyway we swam & had so much fun. The next morning we got ready & headed to Provo for the graduation. It was at the Tabernacle. It was a beautiful place & the stairs were magical. We got there a little over an hour early. I took Marli & Conor upstairs & showed them were Uncle Kyle was going to be sitting. We found his seat. It was so cool to see all the graduates names printed on paper where they were supposed to sit. Kyle was #39. The stairs were super steep & there were a lot of the. When we went back to our seats Jakey wanted to go see Uncle Kyle's seat so once again we went up those stairs. Lesley's (Kyle's wife) family got to the Tabernacle even earlier than us & saved us seats. We were so excited to be right up front in row 4. I was so emotional all day. Eight years of college...wow....I am so incredibly proud of my brother. He has inspired all of us so much. Sitting at that graduation was one of the neatest experiences. After we all went to GoodWood BBQ for dinner. Lesley made RSVP months ago for all of us. I got to sit next to both my brothers. Pretty fun time. Almost all of Lesley's family went to dinner with us. I had the best Rib eye steak. Jakey & Marli had ribs. We then went to Kyle & Lesley's place. Kyle opened all of his gifts. We left my parents there & headed back to our hotel. We took the kids swimming. We had some pool noodles we picked up earlier in the day. The kids were so excited. We couldn't get them out of the pool. Over Two hours went by & I was ready to go relax. It was pretty late & Brandon said he was hungry so Marli, Conor & I went to In & Out Burger & picked up some burgers & fries. I had never been to a In & Out before. The next day we went to K & L's & hung out for a while. I asked Les to take some pictures of the kids & I. So we headed to a fun park that had a duck pond. This is where these fun pictures were taken. After the photo's we went & ate with the whole family at the Brick oven. YUM! Les & I shared the BEST salad it had tons of yummy fruit & grilled chicken with the best raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Les & I went shopping at the Provo mall while Brandon & Kyle played some video games & the kids played. I have always wanted to go to a Archivers craft store. There was one at the mall. I was so excited. I got some really cool stuff to make my cards for card club. I also picked up the coolest clock. Then we were off to find Marli some fun bows & head bands. I got pretty excited at this hair booth & picked up ALOT of pretty hair do dads for Missy. It was time to pack up everyone & head home. I'm so grateful I was able to spend so much quality time with Brandon. The drive home we were all exhausted. It was pretty funny that my parents left a long time before us & we passed them. Hee*Haw!!! After that trip it took me all the next day to get caught up on Laundry & stuff around the house. I was wiped out & so a migraine came to visit. I hate that part. It seems like every time I go out of town I get one of those killer headaches. My boss has been able to help me with accupucture. I'm grateful for that.

Ok I'll stop here for now & pick up with some cute pics of the kids on part 2.

Valentine Photo Shoot

My Friend Nikki had the kids over to her new studio for a Valentine photo shoot. Conor was not in the picture taking mood. He bawled forever. Nikki finally had me leave & her & Marli tried everything to get him to calm down. I ordered Valentines with the kids pictures on them to hand out to their friends. Here's a few of the pictures. She hasn't edited them or touched them up, but I asked her if I could go ahead & post them. She always does such a fantastic job. I'm having her help me put a 5 x 7 book together for Mothers day.




Marli is such a little poser. She loves getting her picture taken & taking pictures.

Nikki pulled out all her props for Conor. She was blowing bubbles like crazy. He was eating some candy & pointing at the bubbles. Don't leave me Mama!

Silly Boy!

Jakey was doing the best at listening to Nikki & doing exactly what she said.
Marli trying to comfort Conor. Jake was not impressed with Conor's outbreak!


He sure looks handsome from behind.

Boom Boom fire power!
Marli loves animals. She wanted to get her picture taken with one of Nikki's aunt's dogs.


Watch out it's Conor
I was trying everything to get the little stinker to smile. I finally told him Papa Bill was hiding. He got really quite & then started laughing. Maybe we'll have to take Papa with us next time. Conor was trying to throw the bear at me. Anything for a smile!

The kids were blowing the flower petals & having so much fun. I'm glad Nikki puts up with us. I really wanted a picture of Conor wearing Jacob's tux that he wore to my brother Kyle's wedding. It's so worth all the pain when you get the pictures and they're pretty stinkin cute.