Backyard full of Memories

I woke up this morning feeling very emotional. I don't know if this ever happens to anyone else so I will explain. I have only had less than a handful of people that I've been very close with pass away. The most recent has been my Grandpa and the first was a family friend/practically brother who passed away 3 years ago. Every once in a while I will have a dream about my friend. Ever since my Grandpa has been gone I have been hoping that I will dream about him too. You know when you just wish you could see their face again and visit with them? I have a picture of my Grandpa and I in my scriptures. When I'm done reading I will just sit there for a minute and look at this picture. This morning I woke up feeling like I had been around my Grandpa or close to him. But I don't remember ever seeing him.
I had a dream that I was standing in my grandparents backyard in Mesa on Jarvis. I was standing close to the back door and just looking around. I don't really have many memories until I'm about 10 or 11 years old. But I remembered this...so clear. My sisters and I used to play back there and we thought it was the best. We used to get into the garden and into the blackberry bushes. Oh those blackberries were yummy! There was a swing set on the other side of the garden and we used to swing on that forever. We would try and swing so high and get higher and higher. There were grapefruit trees back there that seemed at the time like a jungle. We would climb all the trees and have fun for hours in seemed! Sometimes we would even sneak into my Aunt Lexine's bedroom and snoop around in her things. We thought she was the coolest... most popular and beautiful thing ever! We would sneak into the freezers in the back of the house to find home made fruit leather that my Grandma made. We ate so much of that sometimes we would get sick. I just remember standing there and being flooded with an enormous amount of memories in that backyard. Most of all I remember the feelings I was having. I was overwhelmed with the feeling of love. I felt like I was with my Grandpa or that he was really close by.
When I woke up this morning I was bummed because I wanted to go back to that moment...I just wanted to go back. But I am so thankful for this moment. I have been very blessed today to have this feeling of love with me through out this whole day. I have been very grateful for today and especially for today being Easter. I have been able to reflect on a lot of things that are very special to me and still very tender. I have had all of these thoughts and feelings in my mind all day today and I just needed to get them out. This whole blog has really turned into my journal. I don't usually get very personal about myself but I couldn't help in sharing this today.
I am thankful for today because I have been able to reflect on the Savior and his sacrifice for me. I know he is mindful of me and I can feel of his love for me. I feel very blessed and loved. I'm so grateful for the dream that I had and the feelings I was having...in a backyard full of memories.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone! Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Easter Sunday and spending time with loved ones. We have had a wonderful day so far and look forward to the rest of it! It's been fun doing all of the traditions with the kids. We are extremely grateful for our children and feel very blessed. We're grateful for moments like these when we have the opportunity to teach our kids what this day really means. Tyler is understanding that it's not all about candy and finding eggs...today is about our Savior.

25 cents richer!

Tyler lost his first tooth the other night! I couldn't believe it and he pulled it out himself. It had been loose for a couple weeks. It got to the point where it needed to come out or he was going to accidentally swallow it. He didn't want us to touch it at all! So we just told him to keep wiggling it...next thing he knew he was holding his tooth. He was so happy and couldn't wait to put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy! I sat there for a minute and was just thinking about how much Tyler has grown. He is going to turn 6 in a couple months and I can't believe how fast time is flying by. I was going through older pictures and remembering the past. I just had to put these pictures of Ty on here. I guess you could say...I'm totally being sentimental.

My Princess

The other night I went to peak in on the kids like I always do before I go to bed. I looked through the door and couldn't see Ashlynn by her pillow. So I went in and found her at the end of her bed...upside down...surrounded by blankets, animals and many pairs of princess shoes. She has not been falling asleep so easily the past few nights and takes a while. Tyler is always out like a light. I am surprised to see what she is up to when we think she is sleeping. She is such a little turd sometimes but how can you get upset at this cute little face? We definitely have a little girly girl on our hands and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Suns Game

Go SUNS!!!! They sure made a good effort but didn't quite make it against the Utah Jazz! Dang it...it was 118 to 122! We had so much fun though! My Dad got these tickets from his work and took Dave and I! We were so excited and couldn't wait to go! I think my Dad told us way back in December that he had these tickets. The seats were amazing...we were in the bottom section 11Th row from the floor. Then they have a VIP section in front of that where all the nice padded chairs are for all the fancy people. Dave couldn't believe that he was actually going to she Shaq play and I couldn't believe that I was going to see Jenni from the Bachelor, she is a Suns Dancer now! You know the way cute girl from last season that the retard didn't pick?! Call us both goobers...we were excited! I do have to admit~it was pretty dang cool to she Shaq~that is one BIG man!!! We had a great time and had some interesting people sitting around us. Mom actually had the guts to tell a guy behind us that he was being too loud. Dad got a little nervous and was hoping that he wasn't going to have to stand up to this guy if there was a problem. Luckily he calmed down a little...it was defiantly all the beer talking around us! I couldn't believe how many sugar mamma's I saw...you know women that are in their 50's trying to look like they are 25! Dave caught two shirts and wrestled them away from another guy that were shot out into the stadium. The first one I thought was cool that he got it...the second one I was a little embarrassed. Hey, I always knew I married a fighter! Dave was in absolute heaven and was having the time of his life! We really had a great time and are so grateful that my parents took us!

Update

Well...I think it is safe to say we have finally made it through our sick bugs!! We have never been hit so hard with the flu~Horrible!! It seriously stuck around for 2 weeks. Ashlynn and I both ended up being put on a antibiotic to get better and Dave and Tyler were able to get better on their own. I had my first day of work the first week I was sick and I wasn't about to call in on my first day. So I went to work with almost a 103 degree fever and stuck it out. Don't ask me how I did that...I just did. Things are going well there so far and I'm enjoying it. I'm still kind of in that nervous stage where I am trying to learn everything. It's been fun so far! Tyler is doing great and is enjoying school. He is such a sweet boy and we love him for that. I took him to a birthday party the other day for a girl in his class. Once we got there the birthday girl saw Ty and announced to all her friends that he was there. Before I knew it, Tyler had about 10 little girls around him~hugging him...jumping up and down! He is only in Kindergarten right? I wonder if this is a little glimpse at the future! Oh no!!!! My Dad took Tyler fishing for the first time over the weekend. He had so much fun. He didn't catch anything, but he learned how to cast and was having fun with that. It was so fun to see my parents come pick him up early in the morning and spend that time with him. He felt like a KING! Ashlynn is doing amazing with potty training! I can't believe how quickly she figured it out. It has been so great! She wears her cute little panties now and just wears a pull-up for her nap and when she goes to bed at night. I love seeing her cute little bum in her underwear...I just want to pinch it all day! She is growing up so fast and she is just so much fun to have around! Dave is doing well and hanging in there with the office. The office is growing and we are trying to make our staff grow but haven't had much luck. Dave hired a girl and she started last week. We thought everything was great until she didn't show up for her second day! What a bummer! Dave just couldn't believe it! We have no clue what happened with her. Oh well I guess! What can you do? So now we are back at square one and trying to find the right fit for the office. Dave is holding things together really well and I am just amazed at him. I love him so much and appreciate how hard he is working. I know this isn't easy for him and he has really been stressed out. We knew this experience would be a little bumpy and we know it will get worked out. Hopefully soon! As for me...I am just plugging along trying to keep things together at home and balance in this part-time job. We are loving the weather here right now and soaking it all in. I know sometime soon it's going to get deathly HOT. Thank heavens for the pool in the backyard! That is pretty much what has been going on with us the past couple weeks. Just wanted to give you all a little update!