Ear piercing time!!

I've wanted for Halle to get her ears pierced for quite some time now. It has to do with dance. (For performances she has to wear earrings and the clip-ons really hurt.) Anyway, she has refused. She always says when I'm 6 and when she turned 6, it changed to 7 or sometimes 10. So on Sunday, out of the blue, she said she wanted to get her ears pierced. Of course, I told her we would go TOMORROW and we did!

Checking out which earrings to buy.

Of course she picked one of the most expensive!

I love this picture because it shows how nervous she was.

She was so brave! I really was suprised at how well she did.

The finished product.

We are both pretty excited that she has pierced ears. She was already trying to get me to buy every cute earring in the place! It was a strange feeling allowing some strangers to put holes in my daughters ears, but it is over now and hopefully they will heal well. She looks adorable. It's hard to believe that she is growing up so fast!!

Stadium Of Fire!!

This year we were lucky enough to get to go to the Stadium of Fire! Halle was thrilled to be able to see the Jonas Brothers. I just like to go for the tradition of it all. I think the patriotic parts are a great reminder of what a blessing it is to live in this wonderful country. I can't say that the boys felt "lucky" to be there, cause it is not "cool" to be a teenage boy at a Jonas Brothers Concert, but I was so thankful to have ALL my kids with me! That is a rare treat as they get older. All in all, it was a great night and a fun 4th of July!

This collage is the "before" picture. Okay, so they may not be excited, but the F16's were coming soon, so that would get them smiling a bit!

These pictures were taken during the concert. Halle and Parker and I seemed to be the only ones having fun. (Check out the picture of the boys, that is how they stayed for the whole concert.) I swear Halle did not sit down once. She was dancing up a storm. (Good thing she has a little rhythm!) I looked up once and saw here making the "I love you" sign to them! Where does she come up with these things? She's only 6!! I personally thought that Jonas did a great job! They really tried to cater to their audience much better than a certain performer last year!

They had a cool ceremony to retire a flag.

As always, the fireworks were spectacular! It felt like they were right above us. My one wish for attending this event is that my kids grow up with a sense of respect and gratitude for the country we live in. We truly are so fortunate and I hope they will always know that!

God Bless the USA!!

4th of July Parade

Thanks to Rod, Paul, and the boys for sleeping out in the pouring rain, at the parade route so that we could have a great spot to watch the parade. The kids love this part of our 4th of July festivities. Braden especially loves the sleeping out. I wonder if it all is worth it, but isn't it all about tradition and memories?!?!

We love the USA!!!

Braden has counted down the days until he could wear his soda hat!!

We loved the pirate ship float! We love hanging with friends. We loved seeing all the missionaries.

Rain or shine, we love the parade and the fun that comes with it!

Teddy Bear's Birthday!

So Halle got up one day last week and dressed her Teddy Bear in a birthday hat. While Halle and Braden were at swimming lessons, Parker and I went to the store. He kept talking about how it was Beary's Birthday. We decided to get a cake and celebrate! It was fun and kept them entertained for a little while.

This picture only shows one third of the party guests!

We made him a yummy cake. They decided he was turning 6, just like Halle!

He even blew out the candle on his cake.

Even Beary got a huge slice!

Like I said, it was a great way to kill a few hours. I loved to see their imaginations at work and I especially loved that it was summer, so we had time to do something that was absolutely unnecessary and fun!!!

Swimming Fun!

Yesterday we headed up to Misty's apartment and went swimming with Mike and Sherrie. Lauren and Danielle came along. We had a lot of fun. Mike and Sherrie are so great about playing with the kids and making them laugh! I just loved having ALL of my kids there! The kids enjoyed racing each other, teasing one another, dumping Sherrie in the pool, and having a few chicken fights! Thanks Mike and Sherrie for letting us hang out.

We missed you Misty and can't wait for you to come back so we can swim with you too!!!

Wasatch Back 2009

This year Rod and I ran the Wasatch Back for the 4th year in a row. I have to admit it was not as fun as it has been in the past. I'm not sure if it was because of the lack of sleep or conditioning! The Wasatch Back is a relay race that is run from Logan to Park City. We had a team of twelve people who take turns running different legs. Thankfully my team was nice enough to give me the easiest sections! The thing I do enjoy about this race is doing something with Rod. He is so kind and sweet to me. He always has great words of encouragement to keep me going! Thanks honey for putting up with your "non-runner" wife!

Rod and I before our Van began the race.

These pics show Rod and I on our first run of the race. We're still looking fresh! Notice the great scenery behind Rod. One of the great things about this race is that we get to see parts of Utah that we wouldn't normally see.

This is the whole team, minus Nate, who was out running. The top picture shows Van 2. Jim, Rod, Me, Rhett, Tracy, and Rob.

The bottom picture shows everyone on the team minus Nate and I. Rhett, Shauna, Paul, Jim, Sandy, Mike, Rob, Tracy, Rob and Justin.

So right as we got to the finish line, and we were waiting for our last runner to come in, Park City had a huge downpour. Rain was coming down in buckets. There was even some hail! Tracy and I were wrapped in our soaking wet blankets! (Thanks Misty)

I know, it sounds insane, but for some reason we keep going back and doing it again. We shall see what happens next year!!

Wesley's 16!!!

It's hard to believe that my first born is 16 years old! Where does the time go? Although he sometimes causes me a lot of grief, he truly is a great kid and I'm lucky to have him as my son! Wesley has many things that are wonderful about him, here are just a few...

* He has a caring personality. He is the one who worries the most about his siblings. When we were on a hike in Zions, he was right with Halle the whole time, holding her hand on the dangerous parts! He even refused to allow his brothers to hike Angels Landing, because he said he wouldn't be able to handle the stress of worry about them.

*He genuinely wants to be a good person! He may not be perfect, but he does try to be sensitive to things pertaining to the Gospel. He tries hard to make good choices!

* He loves his family. Even though we sometimes disagree, he still kisses both Rod and I good-bye and will most always choose a family activity over his friends.

* He is sensitive and loving. He will often apologize when he knows he's wrong and sometimes when he's not so sure.

Wesley is a great kid and I'm so lucky the Lord was gracious enough to share him with me!!

I Love You Wes!