Aida

Gotta love last minute trips!

Mom called and said she got tickets to Aida in Utah at the Tuacahn Theatre and asked if we wanted to go see it.  Well heck ya!  We drove up early Saturday morning, spent the afternoon in the pool at the hotel, went out for a nice dinner, and then went to see Aida.  It was so much fun!  We did stay the night and then we drove home the next morning.  It was a lot of driving but it was a lot of fun!

Thanks for thinking of us, Mom and Dad!

10 Years Old

Where does the time go???

My little man is 10 years old!

You are such a blessing to our family, Colton. You are our own personal comedian, constantly entertaining us with your funny sense of humor and your wicked awesome dance moves :)

You are such a great brother. I've watched you do such kind and unselfish things for your siblings without expecting any acknowledgement. You are so great with little Ava. She adores you.

You are always the one to help me out when I'm getting overwhelmed. You will make a wonderful husband one day :)

I'm also so proud of the righteous choices I've seen you make. Even when you've made a mistake, you always fess up and pay the time. That shows what great integrity you have.

I still can't believe the little, or should I say big, baby that was placed in my arms 10 years ago, has grown into this wonderful, so full of life, young man.

Don't ever change for anyone. You are strong and you are a leader. Stay close to your Heavenly Father and be firm in your convictions. Heavenly Father loves you so much and knows who you are.

Always know how much your mommy and daddy love you. We pray for you daily. We constantly thank our Heavenly Father for blessing our lives with you and for trusting us to be you parents.

We love you so much!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!!!!!

Finding Faith

I remember each time I had a baby, feeling such overwhelming love for each one of them.  In those quiet moments of snuggling and adoring them, feeling such overwhelming feelings of keeping them safe and unmarked by this world.  No matter how hard we try as parents, our kids are going to get hurt and are going to have to deal with some of the unpleasantness of life.

I'm realizing now more than ever how much I have to rely on the Lord to be there for my children.  I'm also learning how much harder it is to forgive and forget when the hurt is being done to your children.

The questions going through my head:

  Have I taught them enough?

 Have they had the opportunity to feel the spirit?

Do they have enough self esteem to stand up for what they believe in?

Do they know how much their parents, both earthly and heavenly, love them?

Do they have enough self confidence and faith in the Lord to withstand the trials in this life?

Do they feel close enough to me to confide in me when it really counts?

My faith is being strengthened right now.

I have to put into practice all those things I've been taught and have faith that Heavenly Father will pick up the slack for me.  I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life.  I'm so thankful for the temple and the peace it brings into my life.  I'm determined to be faithful.  I'm determined to be a good example of forgiveness and kindness to my children.  I pray every night and morning that I can be a good mom and be able to feel the promptings of the spirit to guide me and help me to raise my children the way Heavenly Father wants me to.  Even though trials are hard, I'm thankful for the opportunity they give me to be humbled and to find my faith.  I'm thankful for the atonement.  I'm so thankful for my Savior.

I'm also very thankful for prayer.   Yesterday I felt like I was at a breaking point and a friend who knew nothing about the trial we are experiencing right now, texted me and said she had dinner and dessert waiting for me at her house, to just come pick it up after cross country.   I seriously had to hold back the tears because I knew Heavenly Father was looking out for me through good friends.

I know Heavenly Father is aware of me and my children.  I have faith in Him.

Life is good :)

    

While The Boys Are Away.......The Girls Will Play :)

While Aaron and the boys were enjoying their Mt Baldy trip, my girlfriend, Alisha, and I, decided to take a last minute trip to..........

drumroll please...........

SAN DIEGO!!!

Seriously, who can ever get enough of SD?????

We had so much fun!  

Gracie and Eden gave themselves a little spa treatment, starting with mud baths.

The kids ran from the waves and found pretty seashells at La Jolla

Here's Ava making a very important call on her seashell phone :)

Of course no trip is complete without visiting the local FroYo shop.  

Mmmmmmm, this one was heavenly.

Ava is waiting so patiently for her next bite :)

I had so much fun just hanging with my girls.  I can't wait until our next girls trip.........

Hmmmmm, where could we possibly go???

Thanks Alicia for being brilliant and thinking of the last minute, pack up in 1 hour, drive all night, chill at the beach, relax in the pool, super fun weekend!  

Oh, and especially thanks for inviting us along for the fun!

Can't wait to do it again :)

Mt. Baldy

Aaron and the boys went on a boys trip to Mt Baldy.

Aren't these the cutest two cowboys you've ever seen???

This is proof that there were no mommies on the trip.......

One boy crossing the river, one boy fishing, one boy SHOOTING.......

Hmmmm, definitely not mommy approved.

I'd like to order one sexy hot cowboy to go please.......

That one will do just fine ;)

I love the mischievous look on Colton's face....

The boys

Thanks babe for being such a great super dad for our little angels :)

American Idol Concert

So my friend Katie and I went to the American Idol concert together this year.

 We got a suite with several other friends and it was way fun!

We learned some wicked awesome dance moves from Lil, and showed off our own vocal talents throughout the whole show.  I'm sure everyone around us appreciated that :)  Your welcome.

But, best of all,

I think Katie and I definitely got in touch with our inner gangsta......

As you can tell by our hardcore pic below.

Ya that's right, we're flashin you the 'I Love You' sign.

Don't be hatin, fool!

Peace out.