Ellyns Baptism...in Utah!!

Justin and I arrived in Utah around 9am AZ time, we had hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll! It was a well needed vacation for both me and Justin! A month ago Justin got laid off from his job, I went back to work 2 mornings a week, our ac broke, our car broke down, one thing after another has been happening, or I should say one trial after another has been happening! What does Heavenly Father want us to learn from all these trials? I know there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel! I do know that our family is growing from our hardship this month and I have seen blessings along the way! So here we are in Utah surrounded by family and friends and having a wonderful vacation to celebrate getting through this last month and of course my sweet nieces Baptism who I love like crazy!

Hate to Brag but....

Yes I don't buy store bread anymore and yes I make my own bread. I hate bragging, but my bread turns out pretty amazing. Every morning when I'm cutting the bread for the kids I tell them..."You guys are so lucky to have this amazing homemade bread. Wow your mom is just amazing and making bread don't you think?" they always give me that "umm yeah" smile and go on with what they're doing. I'm not a very good cook at all, but my bread turns out just amazing!!

Since we're such great friends with the Nichols they are always inviting us to fun things like NASCAR Racing. This was a lot of fun and luckily Bailey said yes to babysitting the kids for a long time. It was fun to learn about the cars and to meet a few of the drivers. Of course Justin loved every second of it. We watched the race of course and were able to go around and watch them clean the cars, or put the tires on, and see what the inside looks like of the racecar. The Nichols are so great to us and I want to thank them for all they do for me and my family. We love you guys!!

Just Finley!!

Finley is one of those kids that you don't know what they're going to do next. You will find Finley on top of the counter trying to reach the bucket of suckers or you will find her in the garage choking the cat. Well one day I found her like this all dressed up. She comes out of the playroom and says 'look mom take my picture take my picture!' So of course I had to take her picture. I was laughing hysterically. This little girl will make you laugh till your sides hurt. She is just so funny!!

Jo' Bro Concert!!

My sister, Chrie bought tickets for the Stadium of Fire in Utah and well the band playing was of course the Jonas Brothers. It was so funny to see us three sisters and our daughters go to this concert. It was fun though. When the Jonas Brothers got on stage I look down my left and see all four girls (and friend) hold their cameras up and start taking pics and videos of the band. I was laughing so hard. They were all screaming at the top of their lungs and were belting out every word to every song. Even though I wish someone else was performing it was still a lot of fun to bond with the girls!!

Blue Dunes

One summer we were visiting St. Johns we went to the blue dunes. Uncle Jake had brought his ranger and four wheelers so we went to the dunes and rode them. The kids had so much fun screaming, laughing, and going fast. The weather was even nice so that made it even more fun. It was funny to watch all the kids bounce up and down in the ranger and to watch the kids jerk to the left then to the right really fast on the four wheeler. The kids did not want to leave they had so much fun!!

Boating with the Nichols

We have been friends with the Nichols for as long as I can remember. They were in our ward when baby was a baby and we have been friends since. They even lived right behind us and Bailey would climb over the wall to go play with their daughter Alex. We are always having game nights, dinner, going to NASCAR races, parties, or boating with the Nichols. The Nichols bought the boat three years ago and we always go with them. It's so much fun!! There's water skiing and tubing which the kids love to do. We try to go at least 2 times or more with them a year but since we always have so much going on we usually don't have time to go with them every time. We love the Nichols and hope to be close family friends with them forever!!

Competitve Bowling!!

When it comes to playing games our family can tend to be a bit competitive. We all want to win but we know only one can win. So thats why we usually have a girls game, a kids game, and an adult game going on so there will be no tears or yelling. Every year we go to Utah we always plan a day to go to BYU and go bowling. We go to the candy shop and get some bags of candy then we head over to the bowling alley. We usually get 2 or 3 rows so each group can have there own row to play. It's so much fun even if are competitive!

Up to Timpanogos Caves

Every summer we go to Utah we always plan to go on a hike. Our first year going to to Utah we decided to do Timpanogos caves. So we got babysitters for the little girls, woke up very early, grabbed our jackets, and went on our way to Timpanogos. It was a beautiful windy day. It was mostly up hill most of the way so our legs were burning, but it was worth it. The caves though were the best part. We were able to get a tour of the caves and we even were able to see how dark it was in the cave with no lights on. It was very fun and we can't wait to do it again hopefully with the little girls.

June 23,2008

June 23, 2008 will be a day my little boy will never forget. He got baptized. Hayden was so excited to get baptized, to finally have the holy ghost. Our whole family was there to help us celebrate this wonderful day. It was so great to watch him go under the water and to come up with a big smile on his face knowing that all his sins were washed away. I hope that he will always remember this day because besides your wedding day you will definitly remember this day. WE LOVE YOU HAYDEN!!

Bailey On the Trek

In the Summer of 2008 Bailey and cousin Madison were able to go on the trek. They had to dress up as pioneers and hike with 'families' and wagons for many miles. They had dutch oven food and slept for only a few hours a night. Bailey thought she wouldn't be coming home. She was brand new to Young Womens and this was her first big thing in being in the youth. She loved her family and was able to hang with other families. Luckily Lee and Cassie were Ma and Pa's though Cassie did get sick and had to leave early. Through this week I worried everyday. I barely didn't get any sleep because I was so worried of her being cold at night or even getting too homesick. These pictures were taken the minute the girls got home. As you can see they looked dirty, a bit burnt, and very very happy to finally be home. In the picture of Justin he wanted to immitate the girls pushing the handcarts and thats what we got. Bailey told me that the trek really strengthened her testimony of the pioneers. She said that what she did wasn't even half of what the pioneers went through. I'm so proud of them for doing this hard thing.

Avery's Tooth

Why is that all my girls hate it when their teeth get pulled? Avery had this tooth dangling on the gums for weeks and she wouldnt let anyone touch it, not even look at it. I wanted to pin her down and just yank it out, but Justin wouldn't let me. Avery would sit there and cry everytime we talked about pulling her tooth. So finally we Justin sat down with her and calmed her down told her how the tooth fairy would come and finally after hours and hours she let him pull it out. She was finally toothless and the tooth no longer dangled from a thread.

Suri

After several years the kids finally talked me into getting a kitten. Finley had come with me to get her because we needed to get a kitten who would deal with Finley. We tried several kitties though this one was the one. When Finley was holding her she just sat there and meowed. She didn't hiss or scratch so we got this one. At first we called Suri clearance kitty since we did get her for $15, but then after a week we all decided on the name Suri since her name given to her at the shelter was Serena. The kids loved her so much and every night they would play with her. Though we have had her for a year now and she isn't as fun as she used to be. She is getting into the stage of where she wants to be left alone. So she is starting to hiss at Finley luckily Finley is scared when she hisses or 'kisses' what Finley says so she stays away. This has been our longest pet we've had so YAY for us!!

Where's the Fire Extinguisher!?

Yes as you see in these pictures I let Hayden make dinner!! It was a tad scary watching him try and flip the tortillas and using the STOVE his FIRST time!! Though it turned out to be all right. The house was still standing, there was no burns on skins, so its all good!!

Finley Ann Grant

My last duckling was born November 16, 2006. Finley Ann Grant and she is a piece of work. She definitly keeps us on our toes. Her all time favorite thing to do is eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Nothing else. She is so funny, sweet, and always happy. This year she is doing dance and loves it. She wants to go to school but has to wait one more year. Avery is a great example towards her and thats who Finley looks up to. Finley is taller than most kids her age and is definitly chubbier. Whenever we have someone over Finley is the one too greet them at the door. Finley loves to be center of attention and has to do everything. Finley is so loving and our lives would be so boring without her!!