An Unexpected Gift

I am the oldest of 10 children. I loved growing up in a big family.  My brothers and sisters are my dearest friends.

My little brother John was born when I was in college. He was born when I really was old enough to be his mother. I'd come home after a busy day at BYU, rock him and think to myself he could be mine.   I could see myself as a mother as I gazed into the eyes of my little brother.  My youngest sister Alisa was born just two days before my oldest son, Josh.  After he was born, Josh had to spend some time in the NICU.  I was having some complications and couldn't leave my room so I was really aching to hold my baby boy.  I'll never forget my Dad walking into my room and seeing my tears said, "Oh honey, do you want to hold Alisa?"  Holding Alisa held me over until I could be with my little Josh.  

John and Alisa have been such a gift to me.

The blessing of a little brother and sister came with an unexpected gift.  I never expected they would be my children's best friends.  John is the big brother they sometimes need.  Alisa knows just how to make them smile when they've had a hard day. This summer they've worked on a club house, made lemonade stands, biked back and forth from house to house, and gone to "man camp."  They've made huts at the cabin, had sleepovers, game nights and movie nights.  They are making the sweetest memories together.  I never expected that.  

Thank you Mom and Dad

for having the courage to have these two.

You gave me a precious brother and sister.

And you gave me something I didn't expect-

my children's best friends.

    

I love you John and Alisa

With all of my heart.

The First Day of School

A Father's blessing the night before, chocolate milk and doughnuts for breakfast, lots of pictures, and a tender heart when I dropped them off.... It must be the first day of school.

Josh and Matthew, my wish for you is that you will feel courage and confidence.  I hope you will have courage to make new friends and be yourself.  I hope you will have confidence in your talents and abilities and assurance that it's okay to try new things and make mistakes. 

 I know you will be good examples and  choose the right.

 I hope you know when you come home, there will be a snack and a hug waiting for you.  I hope you know that I will always be here to encourage you, help you, love you and listen.

And I hope you will never forget how special you are to me.  I hope you have wonderful year filled with new experiences, new friends and new opportunities to reach your potential.

I love you with all of my heart (and I'm missing you today.)

Happy first day of school!

The Last Days of Summer

The last few days of summer seemed to fly by. Why does the summer seem to go so fast? At the beginning of the summer we made a list of 50 activities we wanted to do, and we accomplished all of them but two! Our list included:

Back yard camp out, cousin time, tent in the basement, cabin adventures, fishing, rock hunting, dinosaur museum in Vernal, Swimming, 5 different parks, Picnics, BBQ's, family sleepovers, a trip to the movie theater, popcorn movie nights, s'mores, Croquet, hike to the big tree, free book at Barnes and Noble, 7 Peaks, Forts, Teach the boys to mow the lawn, plant a garden, library, video games, BYU, Lemonade Stand, Kick Ball, 4 wheelers with Grandpa, Children's Museum, Clarke Planetarium, Zoo, Bike Rides, Ensign Peak...

We really enjoyed our last few days of Summer together, and weren't quite ready to start school...

Matthew was happy to get his stitches out! 

(He cut his leg while playing night games)

Caleb was happy to let us bring him on all of our adventures.

I took the boys to lunch at the Spaghetti Factory on our way to Barnes and Noble to get our free summer reading book!  

 I know these boys have some of my DNA when they easily spent almost 2 hours browsing the bookstore.

Josh loved creating his own board games, then he and Matthew would play them for hours!

We fit in one last swimming outing when we met Nana and Papa who were in town for Education week!

This weekend our neighborhood had a block party complete with a BBQ, bounce house, dunk tank, and cotton candy.  It was a great way to end the Summer and kick off a new school year!

Three cheers for a happy summer!

Man Camp

Every year my Dad, brothers and brother in laws go on a "Man Camp." This year Josh and Matthew were able to go!

Matthew loved riding the 4 wheelers and couldn't wait for "another ride" even after he and Dallan got stuck in the mud.  Josh and Uncle John had an adventurous ride, and Josh also enjoyed fishing with Uncle Jacob. They both loved eating man food, and they had more candy than they could finish! When they got home they proudly exclaimed that they didn't brush their teeth or change their under wear at all! Sounds like boy heaven to me!

Bring Him Home - Les Misérables - Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson

The Dress Up Jack Pot

Last weekend I hit the jackpot at a yard sale! I came home with 6 different costumes for the dress up box, and I only spent 2 dollars! Mitchell pretty much thinks I am the "coolest mom ever." Hooray for yard sales and costumes with the muscles already built in!

Happy Yard Sale-ing!

Luau Night

My Brother Joseph and his wife Martha know how to plan a party!  We all loved having a Luau evening together in their back yard!  I got a kick out of watching my mom and dad Hula, and I loved how the lights twinkled when the sun went down.  Thanks Martha and Joseph! 

The Planetarium and Childrens Museum

We recently had a great Salt Lake Day! We went with HOPE KIDS to see the "Attack of the Space Pirates" at the Clarke Planetarium.  The boys loved it... Mitchell kept saying, "This is AWESOME!" After the show the boys loved browsing all of the displays and doing each of the experiments. When we finished, we walked to the Childrens Museum. We'd never been there before and the boys loved it! There were so many things to explore and build!