Fishlake

This past weekend we went to Fishlake where my parents have a cabin. It is a place I have been going with my family since I was born and a place I love taking my own girls. It is so beautiful! We try to get up there twice a year if we can and every time I go my mind is flooded with memories of waking up very early to go fishing with my dad, playing on the dock with my brother Sam and daring him to touch the eyeballs of the fish we had just caught (gross I know but for some reason I found touching fish eyes oddly satisfying when I was young)and taking walks by the lake with my family. This last trip was especially great because my entire family was there which is something that just doesn't happen very often any more. It was so nice to be with all the people I love the most! So I just want to say that I am so grateful for my wonderful family and the short but fabulous moments when we are all together. I feel so blessed to have parents who I love and respect and a brother and many sisters who fill my life with memorable moments and lots of laughter! So, here's to my family! I love you all and I look forward to our next reunion!








Ok, I know this picture of Rhett is kind of random but he looked so cute cooking breakfast and I don't post a lot of pictures of him because he's really not in very many so here he is! Love ya babe!

To minivan or Not to minivan!!

It is no secret for those who know me well, that I am not a fan of the minivan. Never have been and I would like to say I never will be. But a tragic thing happened this week. Rhett and I were discussing what kind of vehicle we would like to get someday when we have child number three ( this is not a hint in anyway). I have always thought I would like a Tahoe, Yukon, Expedition, pretty much anything but a minivan. When I think minivan I think frumpy mom vehicle! As I expressed my views to my wonderful husband he decided to play devils advocate and tell me all the reasons we need to get a minivan and most of those reasons were money related. While I couldn't disagree with him on the money issues my argument, i felt, stood strong; they are ugly and I don't want to drive one! Plain and simple. Unfortunately I couldn't leave well enough alone. I decided to get on line and find out for myself how much money we would really be saving by purchasing a frumpy minivan verses a lovely SUV. I was shocked at the results I found! Not only could we buy a brand new van for the same price or less than a used SUV but the difference in gas mileage was sadly something to cry about. Why? I am still asking myself this question? I was blissfully ignorant and now I am horribly educated! The reality is, now I can't seem to justify the purchase of an SUV when I know what kind of money I would be saving driving, yes that's right, a frumpy minivan. I have always been a very logical person and now that quality is biting me in the rear, Hard! So, my request to all my wonderful friends out there. In the future if you see me driving a minivan can you all just pretend it's a beautiful Tahoe or Yukon or Expedition, anything but a minivan. Also if it wouldn't be to much to ask, just remind me how cool my minivan is (even though it's not) and maybe just once tell me how totally awesome I look driving it (even though I won't)! Thank you! Your great friends!

Grumpy Lilly! Oh how we love her!

Last night we took a little trip to thanksgiving point to attend the tulip festival! It was a little cold and the tulips that were out were beautiful but because of the cold weather we have been having there weren't a ton of flowers. Fortunately my family knows how to have a good time with or with out flowers ( well except for Lilly that is, she struggled with her happy attitude last night)!

This is about the happiest picture I was able to get of our little Lil, and I think that was just because Lian, my little sister (for those of you who don't know my parents adopted a little girl from china a little over a year ago. She turned four in January and she and Lilly are great friends!)was encouraging her to be happy for the moment.


Here we officially have grumpy Lilly! I was trying to get her to take a picture with Ruby and myself and she was not having it. I had to chase her down and drag her over to our spot to get her to even stand by us.


Next is me trying to tickle and tease her to get her to smile which ended up in tears and a bad picture, as you can see!

Finally the end! After I gave up on a having a cute picture with my girls, Lilly walked away and found a quite spot to sulk. She stayed there by herself for a while and wouldn't look at anyone. My sister Angie suggested we throw her in the water to loosen her up a bit but I had mixed feelings about that tactic, wasn't sure if it would have the positive effect we were looking for. In the end I think Lilly did have a good time. She seemed happy to tell Rhett about it all when we got home (Rhett couldn't come because he is finishing up his last week of school! Hooray!). And Ruby and myself had a great time!

Zoo Time!

We went to the zoo on Friday with my friend Betsy. It was her little girls birthday, so we had a little party with the animals! We had a great time! There were a lot of active animals out which was great. Usually when we go the animals are all asleep or hiding but we got a lot of action this time and the weather was perfect! It was nice to go do something outside for a change. It makes me excited for better weather to come. Hopefully someday!

Lilly and the humongous tortoise!


Cute little baby giraffe


Ruby staring at the giraffe's. She loved them!


Lilly getting a little tiger love!

Conference Weekend

I just wanted to give a little hoorah for conference this weekend! I loved listening to the talks and feeling the added measure of spirit watching conference brings into our home. I am always so impressed at how much I am edified and spiritually strengthened as I listen to the words that are spoken. I am so grateful for Pres. Monson and his counselors and all those who give of their time and efforts to build the kingdom. For their willingness to serve and for the love they have for us as members of the church. I find myself more at peace with my life and ready to try to be a better wife, mother and friend. I am grateful for the blessing of the gospel in my life. For a loving savior who loves me in spite of my many weaknesses and shortcomings. I am grateful for the atonement and the opportunity I have to repent and strive to be a better person. Hip hip hooray for conference, I look forward to listening again in six months!

Poor Little Mouse!

A couple days ago I was in our basement putting things away when I noticed something jumping around in our window well. I went over to see what it was, and found a cute little mouse, stuck down there! I know mice are pests and I probably shouldn't have felt sorry for the poor little guy but he, or she I guess, was so cute! I brought Lilly down to look at it and we both sat and watched it sniff around. Lilly loved it. Now comes the sad part of the story! I was getting ready to go to my parents house for the day so as I came back upstairs I told myself I would go rescue the mouse on my way out of the house. Did it happen? NO! I totally forgot about the poor little mouse until that evening as I was eating dinner with my family. I felt so bad! I told my family about it and they all wanted to join me on the rescue mission to save the mouse. Unfortunately when we finally got back to my house the mouse was already dead! I just keep telling myself that it was already sick and would have died anyway instead of facing the reality that it probably froze to death. So sad. So I give a heart felt apology to the poor little mouse that was stuck in my window well. I am sorry I forgot to save you! I know you are in a better place, where it is warm and there is a never ending supply of food!

This is not the actual mouse, but I felt I needed a picture to represent the deceased. And yes, he was burried next to our house!

Easter Weekend! So fun!

We had a fantastic Easter this year. We went to multiple Easter egg hunts, where Lilly became an amazing egg/treat hunter.

Rhett helped her weed through all the candy and was happy to relieve her of any tasty treats that caught his eye. He is very good at making sure our girls don't eat to much junk food!

On our way home from our Saturday morning hunt we stopped by a fire department that was having an open house. It was so fun! They had all the fire trucks out and let the kids climb in them and roam around.

They let the kids use the hose to put out their own special fire (which was really a bright orange cone). The firefighters were all extremely nice and patient with our crazy kids running around.