10 Things I will tell my kids tonight or in the morning!

When I tuck my kids in bed at night and have time to reflect on the day there are always things I should of said.  There are things I would have done differently.  There are things I shouldn't have done or said.  So, here are a list of things I am thinking about tonight.  And, in the morning we will talk!

1.  Your body is amazing.  It is the body Heavenly Father made just for you.  No one has a body like you, no one ever will.  It moves, breathes, runs, jumps, sleeps, sweats, and even heals itself.  It is amazing.  You should take really really good care of it.  You should keep it clean.  You are the only one who can truly take care of yourself.  So please take care of yourself.  Please, please take care of yourself!!

2.  It's ok to have an opinion.  You are 9, 7 almost  8, and 4.  You are smart.  You have feelings and it is ok to have an opinion.  You have been given agency to think and feel.  Use those thoughts and feelings to create an opinion.  Don't be afraid of your opinion or sharing it.

3.  Don't be afraid to try new things.  We live in this incredible exciting world.  Don't let it pass you by.  Try new things, even if they seem scary.  Don't let your fears hold you back.  Live... for heavens sake... Live!

4.  Don't stop learning.  I hope you all go to college and have great educations, but don't stop there.  Read books, go places, ask questions.  Don't ever stop learning.

5.  If someone is mean or hurts you, it's probably because they are sad and hurting themselves.  Don't let someone else drag you down or make you feel bad.  You need to try to forgive and move on.

6.  Do nice things for others.  We were put on this earth to love and help others.  That is one of our baptismal covenants to help those who stand in need of help.  Serve others and you will find true happiness. 

7.  Don't grow up too fast.  Enjoy the moment!  Hold hands with your friends and skip to recess.  Don't be afraid to still want to cuddle or play with your legos. 

8.  Enjoy the beauty of the world around you.  We live in this amazing world.  Breath the fresh air.  Look at the leaves as they are changing colors.  Smell the flowers.   Watch a potato bug roll up as you try to hold it.  Look at the world and know how lucky we are to be here.

9.  Know that there is a God and that he loves you.  He knows you.  He knows your thoughts and feelings.  If you are struggling and need help all you have to do is get on your knees.  Talk with him, share with him.  He is ALWAYS there and you are NEVER alone.

10.  Never doubt my love for you.  It is complete and unconditional.  You can never make me not love you.  I love your eyes and smiles.  I love every knuckle on you finger.  I love your toe nails and you little chubby hands.  I love you!  I love all of you.  I am so humble to be able to be your earth mother.  I find complete happiness in being with you and knowing that you are mine FOREVER!  I want you to know that I will always be your mom and nothing will ever change that.  NOTHING!

First day of School 2012-2013

Kids are definately individuals.  Sami was excited and so so so happy about school starting.  Alex was totally on the fence about it.  Sami tried on 3 or 4 outfits and then went with something she has worn already this summer, but knew was a great outfit.   Alex could of cared less.  He came up stairs with his shirt on inside out.  The night before she giggled and set her alarm.  As I tucked Alex in bed, he asked what second grade was like?  Would his teacher be nice?  Would he know anyone in his class?  I was so honored to be the one to have this talk with him, to be able to reassure him and comfort him.  It is now the second week of school and they both are really enjoying it and hopefully learning something....

A summer to remember

We have had a great summer.  Here are some random shots of our crazy fun summer.  Chad quit his job in the middle of June so we have been able to spend some good quality family time together.  We probably won't have another summer like this, with him around.  My friends and I do this thing called Adventure Wednesday.  We take our kids on an adventure every Wednesday.  It has been so much fun.  We have gone to Bear Lake and Colorado.  We have been to parades and bbq's.  We have been swimming and hiking.  We went up to Snowbird and spent an afternoon.  We have watched movies and had great naps.  We read books and ate chocolate.  This had been a great summer.  I am so grateful for such a good husband, great family and even better friends.... Here is to the end of summer --

Adventure Wednesday..  Kate,Sami, Sydney, Lauren

Adventure Wed.  Ethan, Alex, Hunter

Adventure Wed.  Zach and Lauryn

Lauren and Sami

Parade...Alex, Ethan and Lincoln

Bear  River in Bennington

Bear Lake

Liberty Park - Sydney, Sami, Alex, Zach, and Lauren

Rec center - Peter, Alex, Zach

24th of July Parade- Grace, Sydney,Kate, Sami, Mason



Bennington, Zach  got stung by a bee!!!



Random shots from Steamboat...



These two little cheese balls stayed up and watched movies and then would fall asleep together.  It was so sweet.



Sami loved having Addy and London to boss around and play with.   They spent every second together!  We are lucky to have such great cousins...

And don't think we didn't swim out guts out.   Every night at about 7 we would head to the pools ans swim for a couple of hours.  It was a blast.  There were stars in the sky and mist floating out of the hot tub.   In the day time we, (the kids) performed tricks in the water and had all sorts of fun!

We found a neat little park and hung out one afternoon.  The kids could not get enough of the merry go round.  I was happy to actually see a merry go round.  All in all we had a great trip.

On the way home we stopped in Vernal to see the Dinosaur museum.  They built this building around this huge rock that was chuck full of fossils.  It was super amazing and I am a 36 year old, so imagine how much the kids loved it.  Again, I am so sad Zach deleted all of my pictures... They were cool!

Here are the girls looking at the fossils.... 

I think Dar and Chad had a great time together.  Chad is always cracking jokes and thinks  he is funny.  Apparently, Johnny thought he was funny, also!

Girls at the botanical garden!

Steamboat Springs Day 4



I  am so sad that my pictures got deleted from my camera.  This hike was amazing.  It was five miles round trip.  It was through wild flowers and meadows.  There was a great little trail to follow.  Zach walked almost the whole way.  Did I mention that it took us 5 plus hours to hike it.  The kids were great sports.  It was a little overcast.  So, the weather was cool.  We had a family picture at the top, but this was all I ended up with...



Here are Sami and Addy, walking and talking...

Here is a shot of some of us hiking down.  In some areas it got pretty steep!  We sang songs and visited and ate  treats the whole way.  It was a great day and such a great accomplishment for these little kids..  Johnny and Miki ended up carrying Ethan and London most of the hike... So good job guys!!

That night we ate homeade spaghetti and bread.  The kids were so tired.   One of the best things about this trip were the evenings when we spent quality time together.  We played UNO and ate popcorn.  We put on our jammies and watched movies.  This was such precious time spent together...

Steamboat Springs Day 3



We went to this great swimming place called Downtown Hot Springs.  They  had these fun water slides and this rock wall you could climb and then jump in.  At first, I think the kids were a little gun shy, but then they decided to climb and jump in.  I was proud of them for trying.   They had a bunch of hot spring pools and a bu



After a full day of swimming we went out for pizza.  It was delicious... The kids were ravenous.  We didn't order enough pizza so we went back to the condo and ate Trix cereal.  ya gotta love the good 'ole stand bys...

I realize this isn't the most charming picture of Chad and I, but I wanted to share it.  We went running in the mornings and one of the kids snapped this shot. There were so many running trails.. You could run for miles in any direction.  I had to talk Chad into coming with me because I was afraid I would run into a bear....

Steamboat Springs Day 2

We hiked up to Fish Creek Falls.  The hike was super easy and beautiful.  There is something so refreshing about packing a lunch and eating in the fresh air.  We hiked up and played on the rocks and ate lunch.  The kids threw rocks in the water and fed cheetos to the chipmunks. 

That evening we went up to the ski resort and walked around.  They had this small creek with big stepping stones everywhere.  The kids loved it and by the time we got in the truck to go home they were all soaking wet. 

Here are London and Zach.  They were little  buddies on this trip.  They had all kinds of these little posters up at the ski resort and don't think we didn't take advantage... too bad Zach deleted most of my pictures...

Just another shot of the kids at the resort that evening.  The air was so refreshing and cool.  There weren't very many people around and we were on an adventure, checking things out and exploring... It was fun!

Steamboat Springs, CO Day 1

We went on a little family vacation this summer.  After church on Sunday we saw a brown bear and her cub.  How cool is that?  We came strolling out of church and what do ya know, the bears were right there.  It was almost scary we were so close to them.  I don't think the kids really appreciated how cool this actually was.

We found this great little Botanical Park to walk through on Sunday afternoon.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  Zach deleted most of the pictures on my camera.  So thanks to Aunt Miki I have a few random shots.  It was a fun little park with a map and pathways and beautiful plants...  The kids loved the maps and little pathways.  It was really fun.

Here are all the cousins studying their maps and figuring out where they want to go!

Christmas picture- yes, no?  Family photo!

Chad and I hardly ever have our picture taken together.  So when I saw this one I snatched it right up.  He is in  his usual "picture" pose and I am wearing a silly  hat.  We like to keep things real.

They love to pose... Notice the map... It was one of the highlights of the trip!!