Ashlee's Friend

Two of Ashlee's favorite things are (1)Coloring or drawing pictures,and(2)Jesus,hymns,and "the Friend" No,not the little girl across the the street,friend,but the monthly church magazine,friend. This is a picture that she drew when she was five years old. I thought it was just the cutest picture. She drew it so we could send it to the friend,but we never got around to it. Too Bad, because they probably would have published it!!

Mother/Daughter Weekend!

This Weekend, Don Took James and Jacob to Los Angeles, to go to the LA Dodgers game, so Ashlee and I stayed home and had a Mommy/Daughter weekend. I don't get alot of opportunities to have one on one time with her. For Mother's Day she made me some coupons, one of them was to spend a whole day with her, this weekend was the perfect time to redeem it. On Saturday, I took Ashlee for her first Pedicure, it was so fun, and she loved the massage chair! The lady who did mine didn't do such a good job, she kept making faces as she was cleaning/filing the bottom of my feet(I don't like to wear shoes,and when I do,I wear flip flops,or sandals),my feet are really dry and sometimes get cracked, so I think she got a little grossed out. Ashlee's looked really pretty though. Later, in the day, we went to get Chinese food(which is Ashlee's favorite), she would eat Chinese food all the time, if I'd let her. We watched videos,and ended our fun weekend by getting some Ice Cream at Dairy Queen. Ashlee always loves it when she can sleep with me!

Special Moments!

Since James and Jacob had their Birthdays, they were Advanced in the Priesthood! Jacob was ordained to a Teacher, and James was Ordained to the Priest Quorum. These are the moments that I am so grateful for. It was so wonderful to be able to see them ordained. I want them to know how thankful I am for the Gospel, and that I KNOW it is the true Church, the Spirit has testified this to me more than once. I am also thankful for the Priesthood that Don bears, it has been such a blessing in my life, and in the lives of my children!!! I love you Jacob and James, and I am so proud of you!!!

Party! Party! Party!

Happy Birthday James!!
the cake Ashlee made for James!!
Another Cake!
James & Sarah
James and his "HUGS"

Since Don was out of town on James'
Birthday, we celebrated it a little at a time, On Thursday, his friend Sarah made him a darling cake and gave him a package of "hugs"! We gave him money, even though he said he would rather have a car:). Oh well! We are pretty mean parents! Then on Friday, Sweet Ashlee made him a cake all by herself. Monday, we will have his traditional Birthday Dinner. I can't believe my sweet baby boy is already 16, WOW!! We love you so much! Happy Birthday!!

Happy "SWEET 16" James!!!

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to the best husband and father. I feel so grateful that I have Don in my Life. He is such an amazing man, He is so good to me, and is such a good father to our children. He is such a good example to our kids, and loves the Lord! I am grateful for the Priesthood that he has and for the way he honors it, and the way he supports our family, financially, and emotionally!! I love you Don, and I hope you have a Happy Father's Day!!
The Kids bought A T shirt for their dad, and put their handprints on it, and they gave him some of his favorite treats, he loved it!

Let's Party......

It was Jacob's Birthday today, and he turned 14 years old!! It seems like just yesterday that I held that tiny baby in my arms! He has been such a sweet boy, and has such a special spirit and brings so much joy into our lives, we are so lucky to have him. We had a birthday dinner with our family, and the guest of honor got to choose what to have for dinner. After the steak and potatoes, etc, Jacob opened his presents: Ashlee gave him a ball that lights up when it hits the wall , and We gave him some money(which, I'm sure will burn a hole in his pockets tomorrow). To end the night, we had his favorite, Banana Cream Pie, from Marie Calendar's. Happy Birthday Jacob!! We love you, and we are so proud of you!!

Happy 14 Birthday, Jacob!

School's out for Summer!

Thursday was the last day of school for us . I have always loved summer vacation, it was so fun just hanging out with my kids and doing fun things. Since they are older, however, I feel like I hardly ever see them. They are too busy with their friends, and other activities(Football camps and scouting, etc), to really spend a lot of time with me. I really miss those days!

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

I was looking through some of my pictures, and I came across this picture of Max. Since he was just a puppy, he always has to have something in his mouth, preferably white and soft:). He adopted this pillow pet from one of my kids, when they got too old for it! A wolf in sheep's clothing? No, more like a sheep in wolf's clothing!

Antelope Island

Ashlee's Fourth grade class went on a field trip to Antelope Island. Don had the opportunity to go with her. He had such a fun time with "his girl" and was grateful for the chance to spend some quality time with her.

The highlight for Don, was riding in the bus with a bunch of loud, obnoxious, excited to be out of school, fourth graders:)!

The kids were able to play in the water(very stinky water), which makes for a very stinky bus ride home. They took a picnic lunch. At the end of their field trip the teachers gave all of the kids a small little container to collect brine shrimp!!

Ashlee's Art work!

Ashlee just loves to create art! She has always loved to paint, and color. While having a sleepover,at a friends house, about a month ago she comes home and tells me that she has decided that she wants to learn to sew, and asked if I could teach her(I don't know how to teach her),because my sewing skills are VERY limited. So we decided we would learn together! We try to encourage her in this endeavor, because it is a good thing. Here is her latest works of art. Maybe she won't take after her mom in the creativity department !!:)

THE ZOO

Ashlee and Jake in front of the cougar,and sitting on the elephants trunk!

Our Fishing trip

In our family, one tradition we have, is that every year we go camping in the Uintah Mountains. Last Saturday, Don found out that the road to our property, was completely covered in snow. There were 10 foot snow drifts in some places. Because of this, it is impossible for us to get up to the property(obviously)! This has only happened once since we have had it, but with all the snowfall we have had it didn't surprise us this year...SO, we had to come up with a Plan B! We sat down with the kids, and ,decided that we would go fishing on Saturday,go to the zoo on Monday & have a barbecue!! On Saturday, we packed up the kids,with fishing gear in tow,and headed to a little lake in Ogden. It was a small lake, but there were lots of fish. It was Ashlee's first time fishing and she did such a good job (she Caught three fish)!! Not bad for her first time:). Jacob caught three too. We left with six fish,(enough for a fish fry). I bet you can't guess what we had for dinner! Yep, that's right. Fish!! I think it was the best fish we have ever had:)!!