A SLurPY kinda day...

My SMALL reminder.....of what's important...

Little arms make my BIG load seem light!

Today was one of those days....the weeds have overtaken the yard. I went to town with a bush trimmer, a rake and garden tools to get my yard into shape before the fall air hits our home front. My five year old got hold of the cleaning fever and ran back and forth between me and her dad. She sprayed off the cars and gathered weeds and debri to throw in the trash can. "I'm gonna help you and daddy today," she beamed.

Having been outside for half the day already she could see I was getting tired. "Dad...I need to help mommy some more"...as she gathered a handful of freshly cut bushes. We visited and visited and she asked me whose turn it was to do the dishes....mine I replied. "MOM, I'll be back in a minute." Twenty minutes later she ran outside to tell me she had done the dishes and cleared out the dishwasher. "Mom....I did the dishes for you so you can take a break....I even cleaned out the dishwasher!" As I about passed out she stated matter of factly," So, mom....does that mean, I don't have to make my bed tomorrow. Absolutely....NO bed making for you tomorrow, was my reply...as a smile hit my face.

She ran in to gather some tissue for my nose that began to bleed, due to the hot sun. " No worries mom....I will take care of you." We took turns going around and around our maple tree wrapping its trunk preparing it for the winter storms. We both laid down as Brooklyn stated, "Mom, let's be done today....how about we just lay here under this big tree and you hold me?"

What a trooper. I was amazed at her thoughtfulness , her desire to help others. I stopped.....we didn't finish anymore that day. But even better....we laid down under the shade of the maple tree. We talked and talked some more. A trip to get a giant slurpee was made...and we sipped our drinks on the porch, and we visited some more. I was grateful for such an awesome daughter, a great friend....little hands that wanted to serve others. I was especially glad to stop and be reminded of the little things along my day.... I recognized what a big heart my little one has. She has so much love to share. Weeding and pruning, can make a yard beautiful. Time with my daughter, holding each other under our big shade tree ,and a day to sip slurpies....even better!

My baby girl cracks me up!!!

Bows...Ribbons....and more....

Tomboy meets Princess... age 4

#1 Ball Hog- age 4

Lovin' the dirt....

Brooklyn- age 1

Okay, this is my daughter....she is now 5....and sometimes she makes me laugh SO hard. Because I like girly things, I tend to place them on my baby. Lots of pink, loads of hair bows, nail polish, sticker earrings....etc. etc. etc. It doesn't seem to matter what I place on her, if she finds dirt she will play. She not only will play,....she will squish it, smear it, wear it, and dump it on her head. She loves to wrestle and I had to tell her the other day that church was just not an appropriate place to do so. I catch her picking up BUGS....IICCKKK!!!! and loving it!!! She can ride skateboards, do jumps on her bikes, build tall building with Lego's, and anything else the boys love to do. I keep smiling and know it's gonna be okay because she has a bow in her hair. Today, I smiled however, when she missed her gymnastic class. I was exercising with a friend of mine. We both looked at each other and wondered who was carpooling? We both thought it was each other. Needless to say, Brooklyn waited home with her dad for a ride that never came to take her to gymnastics. When I returned home....I broke the news to her. I told her we would have to have a make up class. Well, to my surprise, she beamed! Oh Yeah!!! a makeup class....what colors will they have, do I get lipstick? I had to laugh. I'm so thrilled amongst all the boyish fun she is having....that makeup is still on her priority list....but hopefully not until much, much later.

The RAINMAN is beautiful....

Mr. Peek, Kim Peek, Kristy and Chad visiting with heroes

Kim Peek is the real life Rain Man whom the Dustin Hoffman character was based in the movie. Described as a confounding mixture of disability and brilliance, Kim is in love with knowledge. Kim Peek is probably the world's most famous savant. Kim was diagnosed as being mentally retarded at birth, but with father Fran's unflagging support he has developed a memory that is without equal.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kim has lived here all of his life. The local library is Kim's favourite place in the world. Kim devours books on anything and everything, as many as eight in a day. He reads at a phenomenal rate, a page that may take you or I three minutes will take Kim about 10 seconds. He reads the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye and will retain about 98% of it. He has 15 subject areas but about the only thing he can't do is, he can't reason out mathematical problems.

Kim Peek may be the greatest savant we have ever known, he is certainly the best known and more than entitled to be referred to as a mega-savant.
He can recall thousands of zip codes, phone codes, dates and countless facts and figures. He has a truly awesome memory. Is he autistic? Probably, but like Daniel Tammett, not in the conventional sense. He was originally diagnosed with autism but this was later changed.

Kim Peek's father shared his story with us today, before Kim passed on. We held his golden globe award that has been proudly tarnished and weathered by many who have held the great beast that he treasures. We enjoyed each others company and were grateful for the administering angels that kept him from being locked up in an institution somewhere. A love for Kim's father became a reality when he shared of the experiences he had for his son. The incredible sacrifices that was made, and the unconditional love he felt, in my eyes has won a greater reward for Kim. We wish him well in the new journey he has begun...

My diamonds in the rough

and....their MINE!!!

Mothers day was full of whimsical nick knacks that my kids made at scouts and school as well as homemade cards pieced together. My husband who is so sweet, offered to buy me a Mothers Day gift last minute....comments were shared as to what would I like??? I really, honestly don't NEED anything, but really wanted a tiller so I could plant my garden in freshly churned soil. Wrestling with the clay patches every year in our backyard was enough to want anyone to cement the entire backyard in. A last minute trip to Sears and wallah.....my wish was granted and my back will not go out this year trying to till the garden up by hand, thanks sweetie!! My husband laughs at me and joked that maybe I will get him flowers or a spa treatment for Fathers Day. mmmmm....maybe not a bad idea.....

My favorite thing was the letter that my husband wrote that he does each year for me and for his own mother. I love the sweet gesture, and the time he takes to really put some thought into how he feels, I absolutely look forward to it every year.

The kids put a giant smile on my face as they brought home Primary letters on what they thought they knew about me.....such as....Did you know that my favorite dessert is frosting. And favorite restaurant is Arctic Circle, I am apparently NOT good at wrestling and I am having a good time having fun, and don't enjoy working. But hey, my favorite thing to do is play play and then play some more. My favorite song is Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, and I am a mere 31 years old?? I got an uplift at knowing I am good at EVERYTHING. ha, ha...and oh, I am definitely awesome and the bomb according to my second child who loved to draw bombs all over his Mothers Day tribute. Alas, my children might not know EVERYTHING about me, my favorite color, or even what my choice of flower is....but they do know I LOVE THEM. I know they know it, and I can see it in their faces as I reach out to hold and hug them over and over and over.

Gratitude hit me hard this Mothers Day. I recognize the sacrifices mothers make for their family is all worth it. The sacrifices are nothing compared to a lifetime of beautiful memories and precious lives that we get to help raise.

A New Favorite: Cello meets Piano: Love Story Meets Love Story by Jon Schmidt (Taylor Swift Remix) Love It!!!!

Monster Concert

String Instruments Blared through the night...

Violin lessons....carrying an instrument back and forth from school...early mornings...practicing...

Oh, how I thought this might be a short term fetish....but I was wrong.

The day Jaren craddled his new instrument in his hands....a love affair almost instantly began. Jaren came home after his first day of class and said his teacher wanted them to only pluck the strings for a while....but not this boy, he heard his teacher say that soon they would play songs that will become favorites. A mention of Jaws...the shark coming out of water was definately something Jaren couldn't wait to get his hands on, ...so, he came straight home, with bow in hand and started scaring everyone with the Jaws performance he plucked out just like he had been playing the violin for years.

Honestly, I REALLY wanted him to perfect the piano first. But doing both was fun for him. After all, life is short and should be played hard. The hard work to get to this point has been fun to watch. A talented ear, plucks out beautiful music. Keep on playing Jaren. My only fear now, is...he has visions of an electric guitar, and maybe, just maybe the drums. Yikes!

More Cheesie Noodles......Please!

Mac & Cheese is ALWAYS a winner at playgroup.

Ashlyn, Abby, Brooklyn, Klair, & Sienna

Enjoying Mouthfuls of the gooey, yummy cheese laden noodles that fill small tummies. Without fail, it almost seems like they are having their own little noodle party. These girls go CRAZY over macaroni & cheese. So,basically, this has become our staple and almost a tradition every time the girls get together. They are SO darn cute!! YUM-O!!!

Exploring Cache County

This Is The Place

Dressing Up to present San Juan County

Cade and Austin showing off their floats....It was fun to see their eyes light right up when you asked them about their projects. Cool floats, guys! Way to go!

Double Digits

Look Who's 10!

Cade loves to tinker with pinballs and old game machines,so he chose to take a few friends to Nickel Cade...he jokes about the name, and says they named it after him. Cade was taken out of school on his birthday to go to lunch with his Mom and Dad at his choice of Crown Burger...he loves their pastrami burger, and hey, the fry sauce is so worth getting checked out of school for. We enjoyed visiting with him and he loved having an escape from the ordinary.

Ethan & Cade

What would a party be....without cousins?

An all out punching balloon war ensued the moment we got to home base.

Coin cups, racing, and telling quirky jokes while eating tacos made this day worth remembering. Cade is such a sweetheart, I love the life he breathes, the little sparkle that is in his eyes each day. I absolutely love this little boy who is growing up. I will continue to celebrate Cade. What a blessing it is to have him. I am so grateful he is a part of my life. Happy Birthday Cade.

JAZZ rocks the HOUSE!!!

FOUR BOYS & FIVE TICKETS later...

Gearing up for the Big WIN...Purple & White....

Jazz...vs. L.A. Lakers...

A date night with MOM and the boys...

Cade, Corbin, D.J., and Jaren wanted to get there early for the Jazz playoffs. Balloon swords were made, racket clappers were hit so many times, they fell apart. The concession stands had way too many options... We were poking at our rival team that was screaming behind us the entire time with our balloon swords. They laughed and screamed louder.

The boys wanted to see the players, reap from the free handouts and get prime seats. At the end of the game, however, I made a run for it, with a tied score and only one and a half minutes on the clock. A nervous mom....driving among party animals and drunk drivers in an overpopulated city was very scary for me. We raced to the car radio to hear the final score....WE WON!!!! My husband, just about died on the spot in unbelief that I didn't watch the grand finale. Well,....it was an awesome game, but time out with my boys was the highlight in my book. Go, Jazz!!!

Promptings....keeping ME where I need to be...

staying HOME from NYLT...

Jaren Spending OODLES of time with Brooklyn

A heart felt prompting turned a fun packed week with a slew of Jarens friends at camp Bartlett to a halt. Sometimes I want to push Jaren towards the FUN of friends and ample opportunities so he doesn't MISS out. We don't ALWAYS know the reasoning behind things....we just know that we need to FOLLOW our hearts. So instead of camping, merit badge classes, learning skills of becoming a great leader, enjoying a hot and fun week with friends....we unpacked his bags, embraced a big hug and KNEW that our little guy...(that's not SO little, anymore), needed to be HOME with his family.

We worked on the Family Life merit badge, scoured places to do service work and MOSTLY enjoyed each other. Brooklyn, however, couldn't LEAVE her brother to himself. PLEASE show me how to put this dress on my Polly Pocket...Can we play tic tac toe, J-A-R-E-N...I NEED YOU to help me ride a TWO WHEELER, A STORY, the park, and come play DRESS ups with me and my friends....(I had to laugh at this one....he actually put on a BELLE dress and wig in a girl size 4....hilarious!!! Now that's dedication....or just something to pass time. Aren't Big brothers Great!?

Sickness did set in for a few days for Jaren..and who knows what COULD have been if he had NOT stayed home. Whatever was MISSED was BEYOND made up for in the Relationship that was built upon while we ENJOYED each other on the home front. (The Most Important work we can do...is...listen to our hearts,... and then follow them).

I'll SAVE a seat JUST for YOU mom...

Ring, RIng, RING...

Cade & Corbin scoped out the SEATs with the BEST access to school LUNCH
Then...Cade CONVINCED his Mom that this was the best deal in town, and of course there would be a SPOT reserved RIGHT NEXT to HIM.

Brooklyn wants to know if she can have School Lunch EVERY day...

The phone rang off the hook as I was attempting to get Brooklyn down for a nap. Cade was on the other end trying to convince me how much better school lunch would be today if I would just come join him...with an awesome seat right where I would have easy access to endless amounts of school lunch. Visions of Mystery meat and airline food in vacuum sealed containers clouded my mind, as Cade continued chattering on how good a deal I was getting, to be able to sit by him and his friend...and Mom, you could also get a JUICE box if you don't want milk, and hey, there is a whole jug of RANCH that you can pretty much drown anything in...just in case you need a BETTER flavor!!! How enticing my little ten year old is!!! How could I resist. The lunch was only half as bad as I expected and the company was definitely an A+.
As the day went on I became aware that my little boy will soon begin another chapter in his life. I was so grateful that I didn't embarrass him YET...and that he was actually EXCITED to spend time with his mom over lunch. I am so thrilled that Cade thinks that his mom is still kind of cool to hang out with. I love my little guy.

All I need to know I LEARNED in Primary

The Primary Quarterly Activity was held at the Ogden Temple

Mounds of Gorgeous bulbs of every color burst everywhere
Brooklyn, Abby, and Ashyln taking in the new SMELLS of spring

Touring the Grounds, and imagining where we can go with our families...


Learning the basic principals of kindness, love, charity, and service. The peaceful spirit could be felt on the temple grounds. A snapshot was taken of each of the children at the temple as a reminder. All the good that is obtained through the experiences in Primary builds character and teaches us the simple values that builds upon who we are and what we can become.

GROWING uP with Primary prepares us and gets us ready for the Life that is laid before us...Here WE COME...

Sleepless Money Makers

Hand delivering Newspapers...Before the Roosters First CROW...

These faces of Jaren & Cade say it ALL

Chad had a great IDEA of putting our boys to work teaching them the IMPORTANCE of a hard earned dollar. Of course, a newspaper route was implemented in his childhood early on and he values those teaching years. We tried to get a route close to home...and it was snatched up quick by one of our neighbors, however our neighbors who do our route and another went on a TWO week vacation and gave our boys the opportunity to do their routes....all 123 houses, with papers stuffed, folded, bound and delivered by 6 a.m. The four o'clock morning call was definitely a struggle. I have to say I LOVE MY SLEEP...and after the novelty of the IDEA wore off, I was hit hard knowing that REALLY this is Mom's job TOO...

The bonding time between the conversations we HAD in the car early mornings will not be replaced,however, the laughter we shared over people peeking through their blinds at 4:30 a.m., just waiting to get their paper. The dog that barked so ferociously that we named their home the LION home, the flashlights we packed to make SURE we hit the right address, the fear of EARTHWORMS that Cade had to get over as they were strewn all over the sidewalks on the days that it rained, a lady that practically caught her paper in midair at 5 a.m. one morning, a phone call we got because someone wanted to know what time a certain show started that was listed in the paper, papers that had special requests....on the door, ALWAYS wrapped, in the mailbox holder...oh, and could you be such a dear and put it by right where I pull out of my garage?...racing to see if we could beat the clock from the prior day...

All in a Days work...even with the sleepless moments and the short lived job that seemed like eternity. I had to remember: (If you shoot for the stars...and hit the moon, that's okay, at least you are shooting for something).--William Townsend

Program around the WORLD

Corbin & Cade waiting to watch the 6th grade Program

These boys are inseparable...
Jaren getting ready for the morning practice....UH, how do you TIE a TOGA? He opted for this choice instead of the safety pin idea...

6th grade RULES

These boys Really CAN sing...

David, Jaren, Kaden

Any PROGRAM can BE GREAT FUN....when BEST friends are around!!!

Easter SUNDAY

SCRABBLE anyone?

Brooklyn was tying for the soon to be winner
DAd? I think that word starts with a DDD, D...right Dad?


My Dad is the BEST cook in town...we always look forward to Grandpa Fritz's yummy food!

We enjoyed the visits...the walk on the canal road above their home with its spectacular views...reminiscing about the younger years...Eric buying his first home over the weekend...

Jaren found the SPY binoculars and Cade patiently waited his turn...

Seth...just enjoying the relaxing day with Grandma and Grandpa.

Brooklyn & Grandma breaking out the cookies that Grandma found at the bakery.

The gifted presents of children born into our arms, the hugs and encouragement along the way, the family that binds us and gives us a place in our hearts called home, (no matter how far away...), our Savior blessed us with so many precious gifts and one that I will be forever grateful for, that is my family. I know because of his Great Sacrifice I can live with them forever. I love the eggs that are opened on this special day that are EMPTY...the reminder that He is Risen. I was reminded in a movie put together by my neighbor, that was put together to share Christs Reflections, a picture ended the show that holds a dear spot in my heart...(Mathew 7:7), knock and it shall be opened unto you...He is there for us always...we just need to let Him in.

National BUNNY FLUFF day...

Bunnies, and Candy, and Fluff...Oh My,...

Seth Enjoying the holiday cavity basket

Brooklyn counting ALL the eggs first thing in the morning


The boys can't figure out why the eggs are SO much fun to decorate and not So great to eat...



A contest was run for the one with the MOST creativity...everyone WON!!! Brooklyn was the MOST excited about this activity. She had been carrying around a GIANT paintbrush all day from a bathroom that we just painted. I finally asked her why she took the paintbrush everywhere. Her reply was, "Well mom, you said we were painting eggs today."

Danika brought Brooklyn lots and LOTS of Easter surprises....Cracker JACKS and Cookies...YUM! Brooklyn devoured Most of her candy before she ate and had TWO measly bites of her waffles, I asked her to finish her breakfast. She replied her tummy ached. I said, "maybe you had too much junk." She replied very innocently, "no mom, you made TOO MUCH waffles!

Can I EAT them for Breakfast MOMMY?

Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Founders Park

The Magic, The fun, The Memories...

I had a conversation with Jaren and Cade bright and early prior to Easter while we were doing a newspaper route...We have always celebrated the worldly Easter stuff on Saturday...saving the priceless time, energy and thoughts on our family, and most importantly our Savior, on Easter day....hence, we decided to name this fun day for the kids...National Bunny Fluff Day!!! The excitement, joy and fun on this day will be remembered as well....after all, the credit in a child's mind, for this fun day...really, goes to a bunny...Happy Hopping.