4th of July 2011

We had a great 4th of July this year. Joe's cousin Amanda and her cute little family are in the area this summer for an internship, so we took them over to the Ahren's home for a little bar-bq and swimming. Then we went back to our place for some fireworks.

Summer in Utah!

Well, it wasn't really the whole summer in Utah, just two weeks. But we did enough in those two weeks to fill a whole summer! We spent some quality time with Grandma's, Grandpa's and cousins and just had a whole lot of FUN!

We started our trip at my parents house in Kaysville. My mom took the kids shopping for new summer clothes, we spent a day at Boondocks for some good old "family fun", and we spent a day at Lagoon.


Then we headed down south to my parents cabin in Fairview for the Nattress Family reunion. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins, riding four-wheelers, swimming, playing tennis, shooting hoops, playing dress-up, and a whole lot in between.



We had Emmy's Birthday party. She's FIVE now! It was extra special for her to have her cousins there to help her celebrate.



After the reunion wrapped up we headed back up to Utah county to have Sunday dinner with Joe's family. I wished we had more time to spend with them but we had lots of fun. Grammy even planned a little surprise birthday party for Emmy, complete with a Rapunzel cake and Doll!


We kicked off week two with a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law! My cute sister went ALL OUT and planned a Huge LUAU complete with dancers! It was a real party!



The next day we loaded up my parents motor home and drove to Idaho. On the way we stopped to see my sweet Grandmother. She just turned 92! Can you believe it! I haven't seen her in years and she is still just beautiful. We've corresponded in a few letters and cards over the years, but it was so nice to see her and hug her again. She hadn't seen Emmy, Dallin, or Tommy in person yet so we took advantage of a few picture moments.



We spent a couple of days visiting my two brothers in Fruitland. The kids had fun watching 3D movies at uncle Dave's and one day uncle Brett took everyone boating for the day. Sufficeth to say my kids were thoroughly spoiled.


We wrapped up our trip back in Kaysville where uncle Joe put on a little pre-Independence day bar-bq and firework show.



Whew! What a party! Although we had a blast, the kids missed their dad a lot. We are happy to be back home and we are looking forward to the rest of summer!

Tommy Turns One

June was a busy month here at our house. The girls finished school, Tommy turned ONE, and the kids and I went on a two week trip to Utah. Over the next few posts I'm going to have to play catch up so here goes.......

My baby boy turned ONE on June 17th. I can't believe it! This year went by so fast. He is so much fun right now. He's such a social little guy. He loves to talk run and play with his brothers and sisters. According to him he's 1 going on about 6! We laugh about the fact that he doesn't seem to know he's little. He thinks he's as big as everyone else, and boy does he act like it! We love our little T-man. Here are some pics from his party:

Preschool Graduation!

Emily had her Preschool Graduation last night. All the 4 yr. old classes did a little program and she was so cute up there singin' her little heart out.
Emmy had such fun time in school this year. She did the Monday-Wednesday-Friday program at Bethel Lutheran Preschool. She loved every minute of it and would wake up every morning and ask, "Mom, is it preschool today?".


Her teacher, Mrs. Sande, is one of those special people who just radiates happiness and love. She and Emily were kindred spirits from day one. We will REALLY miss Mrs. Sande.I can't believe it's time to get ready for kindergarten now! Can my baby girl really be that old?

Look Who's Walking!!

Just one day shy of 11 months, Tommy has finally figured out the walking thing. He's been working on it for a while. For about 2 months he's been cruising along the furniture and pushing his little walker all over the house but he hasn't been brave enough to try to walk with out help. He finally got brave the last week or two and he's getting pretty good!

Easter 2011

You would think that after spending the day at Busch Gardens yesterday the kids would have slept in this morning. We were not so lucky. The kids were up bright and early this morning and eager to see what the Easter Bunny had brought them.
The Easter Bunny was good to us this year. The kids all got new Sunday clothes and LOTS of candy. Tommy was so funny this morning. It took him a minute to figure out what was going on. At first he thought he wasn't supposed to pick up the eggs. Every time he grabbed one I would say, "Tommy, what did you find?" and he would drop it like it was a hot potato. It's always fun watching the kids get all excited about their little prizes. It brings back memories of fun holidays we spent together as a family when I was a kid. It was an added bonus this year having Grammy, Grandpa, Beth and Brian here this year. It will be a fun memory for the kids.


Later this afternoon between our family, Joe's family, and the two Padilla families we had about 30 people here for dinner. It was a party! All the cousins had a great time together. It's always more fun spending holidays with family.

Spring Break 2011

Spring Break this year was extra special. Joe's parents flew out and together we drove up to see some of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints historical sights. First we drove to Palmyra NY to see the Joseph Smith home and the Sacred Grove. It was snowing when we pulled up to the visitor's center. (We knew April weather in upstate NY might be a little unpredictable but we weren't really expecting that!) No worries though. We put on a few extra layers and started on our tour. After visiting the homes we walked into the Sacred Grove.


All of us in front of the "Smith Log Home"
Grammy, Grandpa, and the Kids standing in the "air space" where Moroni stood when he appeared to Joseph in his room.

Everyone in front of the Palmyra Temple.
Inside the "Smith Frame Home"

For a short time the Gold plates were hidden under the bricks in front of this fire place.Grammy and Grandpa in front of the "Alvin Tree"

Emmy and Dallin walking toward the Sacred GroveI wasn't sure if the kids would actually be able to appreciate most what we were seeing or doing while visiting all these places. For several weeks prior to our trip we devoted several Family Home Evening lessons to learning more about the people and places we were going to visit, but I still wasn't sure it would "sink in". But as we walked into the grove the presence of the spirit was undeniable. We stopped at a quiet place and read Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision. Of course the adults were all tearing up but I was a little surprised when I looked over to see Becky tearing up. When her Dad asked her why she was crying she said it was because she was feeling the spirit. Then he asked her what she thought the spirit was trying to tell her and she answered that she felt like the spirit was telling her that Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision was true.
As a parent there is no greater gift than to see the seeds of faith and testimony begin to grow in your children. It was definitely a highlight of the trip for us.



Our next destination was the Hill Cumorah. It was still pretty cold. Lucky for us we got to drive to the top. (It's a pretty steep hike.) It's the tallest hill in the area and the view from the top is beautiful.






After Cumorah it was time to head for the Border! The Canadian border that is. The next stop on our trip was Niagara Falls. We stayed on the 47th floor of the Hilton. We had floor to ceiling windows in our room with an amazing view of the falls. We did a little swimming in the indoor pool, had dinner, did a little shopping, and walked down to the falls. (At least as close as we could get with out freezing to death.) It was overcast and there was a lot of mist from the falls that prevented me from getting a good picture but they were absolutely spectacular! It was so fun being in Niagara, but I think we decided if we ever go back it should be in the summer when it's a little warmer :)





Next on the travel agenda was Kirtland Ohio. We had a really neat experience in Kirtland. My father-in-law has some "friends in high places" who introduced us to Brother Karl Anderson, a well known member of the church and authority on LDS church history. He was gracious enough to guide us through tours of the Kirtland Temple, John Johnson farm, Issac Morley Farm, and other historical sights. He also invited us to have dinner with he and his wife and a group of couple missionaries at an Amish farm. Liz and her husband (an Amish couple) graciously opened their home to us and we had a wonderful time visiting with them and learning about them and their beliefs. Our kids really bonded with some of Liz's grandchildren and it was definitely an experience we won't forget.


Becky and JJ with sister Joyce Anderson.
Emmy posing in front of the original table that Emma Smith owned while she and Joseph lived in the Whitney store.


After Kirtland we headed home to get ready for Easter. The kids had fun coloring eggs with Grammy.

The Saturday before Easter we all piled in the car again and drove down to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. We had a blast! It was nice to finally have a little warm weather too!

Uncle Brian was the hero of the day when he won this for Dallin!

Emily got to visit the Easter bunny! (Dallin was in line too but he chickened out:)




It was such a great Spring Break week, filled with lots of fun memories.