Sweet 16!

August 26, 2010, Tyler turned 16 & I officially will now be known as his sister. I'm not old enough to have a 16 year old, I've decided.


He made the football team, we went on a quick vacation before school started to celebrate everyones birthday's with my family in Kansas, & he was cut from the team for missing 2 days of practice. He was disappointed, but I think slightly relieved. It was a lot harder work than he thought it would be, that's for sure!

He's still very much a kid at heart. He might be a near-giant, but he's still my first baby. :)

He loves to torment me with things like the skin of the copperhead snakes that came in to their camp site. Love this kid!

New Toy

I think it's true love. ;)

Soopah-MAN!!

Or Spiderman.

Or both.

Logan is forever dressing up in one costume or another. Thanks to his Mimi & her mad bargaining skills at garage sales, he has a plethora of costumes to choose from. His favorite, by far, is the black Spiderman.

It never hurts to mix & match, though.

Spring has Sprung!

There are cherry blossoms everywhere in our little community.

Around the corner from our home is a business park, sporting a "lake" with real whales in it. They like to hang out in the same place all day, spouting off (at their mother?). For the longest time, every time we would pass this corner, Jordan would diligently search for the sharks he knew were in there.

Checking out the "floaters" they spotted. They were much more interesting than trying to spot sharks!

Of course, what's a nice Spring day walk without posing in front of whales?

There was much drama to get this pic, so even though 3/4 of the people in the pic have their eyes closed, I'm posting it! It was sunny & Jordan was counseling everyone to close their eyes for the picture so they won't have to complain about mom making them pause for this shot.

And of course it isn't Spring without a little kite-flying at the park.

Apparently I missed getting a picture of Logan with his Super Hero's kite. He was pretty mad at the kite though, after it didn't magically take off like he had planned. He's all about the Super Heroes right now. I can barely get him out of his black Spiderman costume long enough to wash it. It needs a serious patch job. The neighbors think we're crazy & are unsure if he even owns anything other than a Spiderman costume. I'll have to try to get some pics up of him, as Spidey, once I get the thing fixed.

Overall, we had so much fun trying to fly kites that day. I smiled, laughed, & ran so much I was sore from it all the next day. Fun times!

Toof-less & Some Visitors!

Jordan sporting a new grin.

Jojo lost another tooth, but this time the Tooth Fairy was nice enough to grant him his request to keep it. We made a little pillow box to put it in & wrote a note to the TF to please leave the treasured tooth. She left him a 5-spot (NICE!) & was swiftly on her way.

Jo gave his first talk in Primary the following Sunday (amazing, for him, since he is so scared of getting up & talking in front of others!). It was *so* adorable, the way he could no longer say his "S's" quite right.

We were lucky enough to have the space available when a friend needed a place to stay this month. She has two kids who often stayed over as well, one of them being Jordan's age. Gracie was a joy to have around! The kids couldn't wait to get up in the morning to see if she was there, & Grace would always watch out the window of the casita to see when we would open our blinds, signaling we were all up & ready to take on the day.

We had so much fun, having them here. My friend Tami was the model houseguest & I miss her now that she's in an apartment. They were with us for about a month & the kids still ask about Gracie in the mornings.

Jo & Gracie crafting together

Couples Retreat

No, not the movie (though we did see that & I personally wouldn't recommend it...not very & often crude).


Dave & I had our first date away from home since before Jordan was born. My Mom has been in town for the past week & a half, so Dave & I made reservations up in St. George for an overnighter.

No matter where we go, & no matter how many lists I make to check off, something is forgotten. This time it was my Temple Recommend. I grabbed the husband's, but forgot to check to make sure mine was where I thought it was. Totally bummed out, we went up to the Temple grounds anyway & went to check out the visitors center. A Sister missionary working there asked if we had been inside the Temple yet. When we explained that we hadn't & that today was to be our first time, she advised us to call our Bishop or Stake President. According to her, this was a special circumstance & told us of her husband's experiences as a former Stake President with this.

I didn't expect anything to come of it, nor did I really consider it a special circumstance (I just don't have those in my life), but we called Bishop anyway. I was SO glad this Sister advised us to do so. We were able to attend the Temple that night, seal Dave's grandparents, & do some other work for some family members! It was an incredible night & we had so much fun! We left feeling refreshed & filled.











We wound up staying up until 2 in the morning, eating our Wendy's frosty's, watching movies & laughing. It's something we never do anymore & I can honestly say we really enjoyed this time together!




The next morning, we headed out to Zion National Park. We'd never been there & had heard so many great things about it, so we had to go check it out. The mountain views on the way were unlike any I've never seen before.



We stopped at an organic apple orchard & market on the way out there. The Fuji apples were ripe & ready to be picked. We loaded up a bag-full of the beauties to bring home to share.

Overall it was a really nice little trip. The kids did good for my Mom & I doubt they missed us for even one minute. When we got home, Logan was a little upset with me because I wouldn't take him to the Temple with me that day. He said he wanted us to go on our "date" to the Temple....just the two of us. Someday. :)

Stake Roadshow

This past week, all of our wards youth & their leaders' hard work came to fruition. They put on a production of Grease entitled It's Hip to be Square. Though I might be slightly biased, I have to say they totally rocked!! Tyler played 'Danny' & sang his parts nearly to perfection.

They all gathered together, the excitement nearly tangible, in a few of the rooms before their performance time.
The only pics I got were taken after the performance. I video taped it but can't find my fire wire to download it to share (yet).

Karen Crowder, the woman-in-charge, was telling them what a great job they all did. I was so proud, my cheeks hurt by the end of it all, from all the smiling I did that night! The man in Blue beside Karen is our Bishop. That smile you see on his face is nearly permanent. I was just telling Dave how I like to watch him when he doesn't know it (sounds kinda creepy, but it's really not). He seems to always have this smile on his face that looks to be a mixture amusement from a funny inside joke & a radiant joy that can't contain itself inside him. His mood/attitude is infectious & just watching him makes me smile. Love that man! :)

My Mom was able to fly in to see the Roadshow. She, too, was impressed with Ty's mad singing skills! :)

Bart Yeates, telling Ty what a great job he did.


Braden, Justin, & Brandon. Justin did an AMAZING job!! His energy level made me want to get up & dance, too! Scary thought. LOL


Ty & I....I was beaming with pride! :)


Looking handsome & relaxed.


Ty, with one of his greaser buddies, Brandon.

After it was all said & done, my Mom & I took Ty out for a celebratory dinner at Outback. Ty watched the performance while we waited for our food, then made googly eyes at the hostess & his burger (not at the same time, fortunately).

In all it was a lot of fun & I'm so glad Ty was able to be a part of it. A HUGE THANKS to everyone who did anything to help out in this production. It took a lot of patience & diligence to get to this weekend & I'm so thankful for the dedicated, really great people in our ward.