Happy Birthday Jakie....

I just cant believe that you are 7 now!! Amazing how the time is flying! What a big boy you are. Only one year until your baptism?? How can it be? Well, I have to say that every year with you and your sweet smile has been such a pleasure.  Your special day was marked with a surprise party in your 1st grade class right before lunch.  I showed up with Balloons with toys tied to each one (7 total) and cupcakes for each kid in your class.  You squealed with delight and jumped out of your seat.  Another little boy had his birthday on the same day but did not have anything done for him so you gave him one of your balloons and let him pick out a toy from your bag.  I was so proud of you for sharing.  It made me think of what a sweet and wonderful boy you are.  You did not try to be selfish.  You genuinely wanted to make sure he felt special too.    Aunt Kaite came to school to take you to lunch today so that you could have a special day.  You went for happy meals and just loved it.  After school you got to watch a movie and I made you chocolate chip cookies & a snack.  You smiled the whole day and I wished I had my camera with me as you laughed and talked excitedly about your birthday wishes and all that had happened to you today.  You finished off your special day with presents from Mom & Dad & Ricky (and of course everyone else in the family).  We all told our special things about you as you opened your presents and finished the day off with cake and ice cream.  I think it was a perfect day for a sweet little 7 year old.  You hugged me and kissed me and thanked me for your day and I put you to bed with many kisses and hugs.  I just loved watching you today and I just love watching you grow each day.  I love you so much son.  You are everything I ever wanted in a child and more.  Dad and I laugh each day at your funny personality and we know that our lives are so much better because you are ours.    Here are just 7 sweet reasons we love you though there are soooooo many more. 

1.  You have the most tender heart.  You want to share with everyone and you are very sensitive to others sadness and needs. 
2. Your enthusiasm.  I love seeing you get excited!  Your smile fills your whole face and you just beam with excitement.  It is infectious!
3.Your wonder.  You cant wait to learn and discover things.  Nothing is boring with you around.  You always say "whoa" when you hear something cool and it makes me appreciate the newness of things you learn.  I hope that never leaves you.
4.Your energy.  Jake, I could not sustain your energy level for 20 minutes if I tried.  I marvel at your strong legs and quick little body and you zip all around.  Dad and I love to see you dance and run and play and use it all up.  We can always count on you to be willing to play ball, ride a bike, race any kid around and do flips during commercials when you watch a show.   NEVER A DULL  MOMENT!
5. You are my kissy boy.  I always get sweet kisses and hugs from you every day.  I always know that you will come climb into bed in the morning and snuggle for whatever time you have before school.  You always say I love you mom and nothing feels better than your cheek against mine as you hug me with all of our might. Never change that!
6.You are such a good brother.  There are  4 & 1/2 years between you two and you have always loved and adored him.  I don't ever remember you being jealous of him.  You have felt secure that we love you both with all of our hearts and you have tried to show him your love too.  Sure you are a stinker at times but for the most part you have been nothing but loving and helpful.  How dad and I appreciate that about you!
7.You are so smart. You tested out of first grade on your first day!  You talked early, you walked early, you laughed right away.  You were more than we expected at every turn. I will never forget when you learned all of the Thomas trains in a few hours right before you turned 2.  I was convinced you had a photographic memory!  Every parent thinks their kid is a genius and some are.. Some are not.  We just know that we are so proud of you and your sweet mind.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPECIAL BOY!  YOU ARE SUCH A WONDERFUL BOY & WE LOVE YOU!

Welcome 33, Ready or Not!

Today is my birthday! I am always excited to have a day that celebrates my place in this world. Many people have a hard time with getting older, but I never really do. I figure, it is coming whether I like it or not so might as well just enjoy the ride. Rick woke me up and called me all morning with Happy Birthday wishes, while the kids were all kisses and hugs. Most of the family called or texted notes of love and my friends were great with facebook and text messages letting me know that they were thinking of me on my day. I was touched each time my phone chirped a warning that a new message arrived and was amazed when my e mail was full of people that remembered me. There was everything from great friends to acquaintances that wished me well and made me miss each one. I feel lucky to have people like them in my life in whatever capacity that they serve.

Well, I don't feel much older. I feel tired though....I wonder if that is what older feels like, just tired? I don't feel much smarter, but I guess I would not be smart really if I thought I was smarter right? Mostly, I just feel happy. I am happy with my life, I am happy with my kids, my husband, and mostly happy my efforts over the year. There are a few good areas for improvement (as always) and so, those will be my areas of attack for this next great year headed my way.

We have had some really great changes over the last year with moving to UT that have brought fun realities. We close on a home in Daybreak Communities (South Jordan) in just days ad we cant wait to have a place that we own! I look forward to the many fun amenities offered by the community associations like a lake, boat rentals, hiking & biking trails, parks, the Ochre mountain Temple, etc. We know that we will be happy there for a long time. I of course cant wait to decorate it and feel right at "home". Everyone is invited to come and visit and stay with us anytime!

I was most grateful this birthday to see how the Lord has blessed me. I cant believe that a person can be so lucky. I have people that I love so much that love me back, we have a wonderful job that provides us our lives and we have the gospel in our lives that guides us and helps us to focus on others and gives us perspective. We are not above trial (trust me! We have been in a basement for 4 months living out of boxes), but I am so grateful for all that I have.

Thanks to all that wished me a Happy Birthday, and to anyone that forgot it, no worries. I felt you love too:)

I promise to catch this thing up soon. I have missed sharing our lives with pictures and thoughts at each step. That will be priority one when we get really settled.

Happy Halloween 2011

Here they are!!  Presenting the cuteie pies of 2011.  Super Wario & Our Little Red Devil:
Ricky and I went to Jacobs school (Westridge Elementary) for the Halloween Parade to see the kids parade down the parent lined halls in their costumes.  It was funny to see what each one had come up with.  One little girl was in a Troy Palomalu costume that cracked me up.  She really looked like the Steelers player.  Her hair was huge and frowed just like his is.  Jacob proudly walked down the hall in his Wario costume with mustache and all.  Ricky toddled around me in his devil costume and yelled proudly when he saw his brother on his way towards us.  The moster mash and every other halloween classic played on the speakers as the parade went by and it was fun to see Jacob so happy. Here are a few of the highlight pics. Dont they just look adorable: 

Later that night Rick & Katie & I took the kids trick or treating in the Grandview neighborhoods and got more than the kids could possibly eat.   We headed home and watched a Hary Potter movie as we ate the kids haul.  Both kids had a blast and it was a great family evening.  We just loved it!

Camping With The Boys

I guess that in life there are two types of families...Those that camp and those that do not camp. We are definitely in the category of the families that camp! Rick and I were so busy for years that we have not done it as much as we would have liked to but that is all about to change. This summer is the summer that we are going to get our camping grooves back! We went up to Payson lakes to go camping with the boys and had such a great time. Katie and Cam came with us up into the mountains for some outdoor fun. We roasted wieners over the fire, made the must have smores, fished and foraged for fun things for the boys to play with. It was fun to sit and watch the boys play in the tall grasses and play hide and seek with Aunt Katie and Uncle Cam. Rick and Cam set up tents, unpacked sleeping bags and really did all of the "manly" stuff for us all. Fishing was on the brain for Rick & the kids so we went over to the lake to try our luck until dark. Nothing was caught but it was fun to see the boys try to cast & finally get distracted playing with the worms. We ended our night around the campfire while we laughed and talked until about 10p. Sleep came easy for us all (even though our spot was not particularly comfortable to sleep on) after a full day of fun. We broke camp at about 9:30am after the guys fished and headed home for showers. It was a perfect trip and we cant wait to do it again. See our fun below: