The dancing girls.

Here they are looking all "GLAMMED" up. I must say it has been nice having them in the same dance class. They did a great job. The theme for the performance was "Under the Big Top". They got to be tight rope walkers, Lion tamers, and clowns.


This year they got balloons instead of flowers. They are standing outside of the theater where they danced. They did a great job, but I have to be honest and say I am a little glad it is over for a few months.

She was really tired.

Kambree is at that point where naps are no longer happening. They haven't happened for about 1 year. But there are days when you can tell she really could use one. On Sunday she kept being mean to her brother and got put in the corner. She didn't stay in it, so she got put on a chair. And 5 minutes later this is what we found!
It really doesn't look that comfortable. It was 5:15 p.m., too late for a real nap and too early to put her in bed.

He has joined the "toothless" group.

Oh the excitement of losing your first tooth. It helps that for Family Home Evening just a couple of weeks ago we watched the movie "The tooth fairy". The kids loved it. Austin kept asking me if it would be a boy fairy or a girl fairy that was going to bring him his money.

14 Years down and eternity still to come.

Yes you read that right...it has gone too fast. So much to say about a wonderful man and the life we have built together. So just for fun I will list a few of the fabulous moments we have shared.
1. St. Lucias (no more needs to be said)
2. Frosting fight (lead to our first kiss)
3. 4 awesome kids
4. 2 Houses
5. Honey moon to Lagoon. Located in Farmington, Utah (yep we had no money)
6. 2 mini vans
7. Drug bust (2 houses down, one around the block, one around the other block...we moved)
8. 1 stabbing (neighbor across the street and one house down...Jen thanks for being here for that one)
9. 1 slashed tire (wow this is looking like a horror film)
10. Only 1 set of "stitches"...so far!
11. Ye Lions Den (so sad they closed you down)
12. Cumin looks just like cinnamon when the lights are off
13. King of Queens (always from 9:00 - 10:00 with popcorn!)
14. Trying so hard to always surprise me (sorry the little Chinese woman messed up the last one!)

I love you honey and look forward to many more fun and unexpected moments with you by my side.

Through the eyes of a 6 year old BOY.

While at baseball last night I watched Austin slide into home plate. As he stood up he got a huge smile on his face. I asked him why he was so happy....his response, " look at the cool grass stain I got on my knees mom, that means I played GOOD".

I will never look at  grass stained knees the same :)

Things learned from a "Clogged Toilet"

I have had one of those weeks where many trails seem to be coming at the same time. I can get into a negative mood and it sets a bad tone in my home. So with this latest trial I have decided to list 10 things that were good. Wish me luck!

The upstairs toilet got clogged and was unusable for about 16 hours.

Good things that came from this:
1.   I got exercise running down the stairs to help my 4 year old go potty (yea for me).
2.   I now appreciate living in a country that provides a sewer system.
3.   I also appreciate indoor plumbing (it was pretty cold last night, would have hated to run to the "outhouse" at 3:00 a.m.)
4.   I have a new appreciation for 2 working toilets in my home.
5.   I acknowledge the fact that they both COULD have been plugged at the same time. 
6.   I am now an expert on breathing through my mouth (that way you can't smell the stink.)
7.   I am contributing to the growing economy by renting a "plumbers snake" from Home Depot.
8.   I finally got to see a "plumbers snake" in action.
9.   I appreciate my husband even more then usual, he was willing to get elbow deep in...stuff, so that we could have our toilet unclogged.
10. I got the opportunity to clean my bathroom a few days earlier then I had planned. It is now spotless (even the ceiling) you could eat off the floor in there (not that I would, but you could).

See I knew I could do it. We can find good things even in our trials.

Another year has gone by.

Shawntell turned 9 on Easter Sunday. She wanted a butterfly cake. I tried a new type of frosting. It never really "set" up. I even tried to freeze the cake. But as soon as it began to thaw the frosting began to ooze down the sides. Oh well it was still good.

See the frosting slowly falling off the cake?

 Shawntell is such a sweet addition to our family! She is so caring and kind. She always wants everyone to be happy. She has a little bit of the "motherly" nature to her. She tries to settle any fight and has figured out how to make her little brother and sister feel guilty about not "doing what they are suppose to be doing". She is an amazing little girl---we love her!