Summertime

I love Summertime because........I love spending time with my kids. I don't have to be on a schedule. We get to stay up late and sleep in. We get to travel and go camping. The water at the lake is finally warm enough for me to get in and it's pageant season!

This summer we spent our time packing in as much fun as we could squeeze into one summer! School got out on my birthday. We celebrated our 12th anniversary the next day. A week later was Whitney's 9th birthday. We celebrated with a "tea party" with her friends. I competed in the Mrs. Utah United States pageant and made several trips to SLC for rehearsals, photo shoot and dinner Gala.We took the kids to the monster truck show. We spent a week in San Diego at the beach house. Caysen learned to ride a bike. Uncle Fred taught him on the beach and John practiced with him on the boardwalk. We went to Lego Land. Caysen got his teeth fixed with 12 silver crowns and about 16 cavities filled.We spent a week in SLC and took the kids to the Zoo, Taylorsville Dayzz, Lagoon and Park City where we road the Alpine slide and coaster. Caysen celebrated his 5th birthday with a Transformer party at Jumpin' Jacks. My friend Lisa moved to Las Vegas right when school got out. Her and the kids came to stay with us for 4 days and we spent a lot of time swimming and relaxing. I went to Las Vegas to see the Mrs. United States pageant. We went to Brian Head to spend the 4th of July with my new friend Megan at her condo. Two weeks later we went back with our toy hauler and went camping. We rode the razor on a trail to Panguitch Lake. John had knee surgery. Whitney practiced cheer all summer long and made team captain. Caysen started gymnastics. Whitney got her braces off. We went camping for our family reunion at the Lodge Pole campground in the Uinta Mountains then we went to Vernal for a couple of nights with my mom and dad where we took the kids to dinosaur land. My friend Leslie and her family came to visit and we spent 4 days swimming, shopping, boating, 4 wheeling, went to the Washington County fair where we saw the annual demolition derby and the kids walked on water. We had a BBQ, went frog hunting, saw Aladdin at Tauchaun and hiked the narrows at Zion's. After an eventful summer you can see why it's hard for it to come to an end but I'm pretty sure we were able to squeeze in all our favorite things! Now that summer is over I'm trying to be better about being on a schedule. I'm going to make it part of my schedule to update my blog at least once a week.

Family Ties

About a year ago we had a very challenging time in our marriage. Satan is real and he will try his hardest to break our families apart. We have learned how important it is to stay close to our Heavenly Father. We decided to make some changes to help us grow spiritually stronger. Since then, we started having family home evening, nightly scripture study and family prayer. We have grown spiritually, have a closer family bond, a better understanding of the gospel and a stronger testimony. I have so many blessings to be thankful for. I truly am grateful to have the gospel in my life. I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, I am thankful for the atonement and the gift of repentance. I am thankful for my challenges and trials in life because they make me grow stronger. I am thankful for a kind loving husband who is willing to grow spiritually with me. He is a hard worker, a wonderful husband and amazing father. I'm thankful for my children, the gift of motherhood and the opportunity to teach them. They are my life and the air I breath. I love their sweet spirits and do my best to raise them to be respectful, honest, compassionate and to treat everyone equal. I am thankful for life and all it brings; the ups and downs, learning new things, discovering new talents and just enjoying the journey.

My 4th Grader

Really? 4th grade? Where does the time go? I remember 4th grade like it was yesterday! That was the year I had Mr. Shalappi. He had a treasure chest full of candy used as bribery for good behavior. That was the year I learned division. I also remember accidently stapling my finger. Whitney was not one bit excited for school to start. It's really sad that she hates school so bad at such a young age. I took her to school to help her find her class, meet her teacher and take a few pictures. It wasn't long after I got home that I started missing her. I enjoy summertime and having my kids around. I love spending time with them doing fun things, traveling and not being on a schedule. I love staying up late and sleeping in too! When Whitney got home and I asked her how her first day went I was surprised by her answer. "AWESOME"! She said math was easy and her teacher was nice. She told me about how they can earn play money and buy things at the 4th grade store. She was pretty excited about that! I'm greatful she had a good first day and hope her positive attitude remains for the rest of the year (probably not but it's wishful thinking)!

Whitney with her teacher Mrs. Nielson