Annual Cupcake Party

My sister is the cutest aunt ever! She does this Cupcake party every year with the nieces who are old enough. They got to go eat a pumpkin pizza, decorate cupcakes, and then they watched Monsters, Inc. It was a blast. Emma was so excited to go. Thanks Tiffy for such a fun time!

So proud of her work!

Halloween pics

My friend's sister, Megan Hall of Meg Hall Photography did mini Halloween sessions this year which was such a great idea! It worked out so well! As always she did a great job. Here's my Princess Cinderella and my little pumpkin!

We were able to get a picture of all the grandkids.
Top row: Hannah Montana and Ariel
Bottom Row: Cinderella, Fairy Izzy, Pumpkin Mya, and Cinderella

Why I Smile!

1st day of Preschool!

Today was Emma's first day of preschool. She was so brave! She was a little shy and teary-eyed at first, but it didn't take too long to warm up to " Peter Pat", who is actually Teacher Pat. I was proud of her for doing so well (she did better than mom, who shed a few tears!). When I went to pick her up her exact words were: "I not scared of Peter Pat anymore. Her is so nice!" I think Emma is going to like preschool!

Seriously, Mom, you are taking another picture?!

I'm so glad Emma gets to experience preschool with her cousin Ashlyn!

Emma and Mya

Props to my friend Amber who took these pictures and made them look the way they do!

Bowhunt 2009

This trip has been a year in the making, and it comes and goes so fast! It was so nice to get away! Even if we did have to rough it in a tent this year! My highlights were watching my girls have so much fun, being able to just sit and read, getting my butt whooped in settlers over and over, and Emma actually asking to go to bed at night. It was hard to come back to the real world. But we've already started planning for next year, and we are really looking forward to it!

The kids loved being pulled around in this little four-wheeler trailer. They would sit and yell "Here we go!" over, and over, and over.....

At the "beach" of Moon Lake.

Izzy and Brad building a sand castle.

The water was FREEZING! I'm surprised she got in this far.

Nothing like a bath in the sink! Classic camping picture.

Here Emma is demonstrating how we all felt when it was time to go home.

A little bit of Summer fun!

Does she look like she's up to something to you?

Who could resist that gummy smile?

Cute cousin Ci-Ci. She is the sweetest girl!

Mount Rushmore

I'm a little behind, but last June we went to Mt. Rushmore with Tyler's family. It was a lot of fun, especially because we got to meet up with Tyler's brother and his family ! We hadn't seen them in a long time. Unfortunately they took the boat back to Wisconsin, and we are still trying not to curse them every time we pass a lake here in Utah. But it was good to see them and we had a good time. We just wish Aunt Karli could have made it.

Grandma and Grandpa with all the kids.

They had this storybook park in South Dakota that had all these characters and slides and stuff like that. It was really fun for Emma. And the best thing about it.... totally Free!!!

Mya had fun too!

Let's be honest, the fun really didn't start until Sam got there with his light saber's. Emma had a blast following him around and fighting with him.

Martin's Cove
" Well, this was not as fun as it looked."

" I would much rather ride!"

This is a plaque they have in the visitor's center. It has all the names in the Martin Handcart Company. Thomas and Eleanor Ord were Tyler's great great great grandparents.

A charming addition to Mt.Rushmore, don't you think?

Photo shoot for Grandma

For my mom's birthday we had pictures done with all the cousins. My friend's sister is a photographer and she took these pictures for us. She was amazing! She was so patient! Heaven knows that getting 6 little girls to cooperate all at the same time is near impossible. But she did a great job. You can see for yourself how well these pictures turned out. I would highly recommend her to anyone! Her name is Meghan Hall. Her website is meghallphotography.blogspot.com.

Jenasi was quite the little model! I love this picture of her!

Ashlyn

Ci-Ci

Izzy- I love this expression!

Emma

Mya

This was actually when we were almost done. We had already past the point of decline, but we wanted to get one more with all of the girls, so we pulled out all the stops. Candice and I were trying so hard to get them all to smile, and I'm sure Meghan thought we were nuts, but this turned out to be my favorite one of all of them together.

Above all, you're a mother, that means the most to me

I Love You

I've been thinking a lot today about how much Lauri does that goes unnoticed. I wanted to take some time to let Lauri know how much I truly love her, and look up to her for her unconditional love and service for our two beautiful girls.

The thing I remember most about Lauri growing up was her desire to be a mother. Often people would ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Her response without questions was always - A Mother. I know we may hear that a lot from young girls and it may sound a bit cliché, but there was always something about her response that made you know she truly meant it with out any doubt.

I have often thought that Emma and Mya are truly the luckiest children in this world. I feel bad for some other kids to think that they are not blessed with an angel mother as Lauri. (That may be a little biased! J) There is also no other husband as lucky as I am to have such a beautiful wife and mother. She truly lives a selfless life for the wellbeing of our family. We are all blessed because of her in our lives. May she know of our deepest appreciation and love, for it too often goes unsaid.

Lauri-Mommy- Thank you. I love you!

“When I was young, I remember

Around September

Friday night football and the drive in movie

Me and the boys stayin’ up real late,

Talkin’ ‘bout who we’d take,

To the next big high school dance

Someone would say she better be

Tall, thin, have long blonde hair

Bright green eyes and fancy close to wear

While thoughts of this perfect girl

Danced in our heads

I knew deep inside She’d be

The joy of my life, always makes me smile

That shoulder to lean on when I’m down

As the years go by, I couldn’t count the times

I’ve thanked heaven above for sending her to be

The mother of my child

That was then and time has shone

How much we have grown

Childhood boys to working men

Me and the boys catching up on lost time

Talkin’ ‘bout who we might find,

To build our home, life, love, and dreams with

Someone would say can she

Sew and bake perfectly

When I forget, she’ll pick up after me

While thoughts of a perfect bride

Danced in our heads

I knew deep inside She’d be

The joy of my life, always makes me smile

That shoulder to lean on when I’m down

As the years go by, I couldn’t count the times

I’ve thanked heaven above for sending her to be

The mother of my child

The world may not agree with me

It’s not the clothes you wear, how you do your hair

That make you lovely

It’s your patience, your laugh, and your charity

Above all, you’re a mother, that means the most to me

And you’ll always be

The joy of my life, always makes me smile

That shoulder to lean on when I’m down

As the years go by, I couldn’t count the times

I’ve thanked heaven above for sending you to be

The mother of my child”