Welcome Back

I don't know if any one will even be checking my blog anymore. March was a busy month for us and so my blogging suffered. We had the Roadshow, New Beginnings, combined Young Men & Women activities that I was in charge of and baseball season that is in full swing and somewhere in the middle of all of that I got sick for the first time in years and it took me 10 days to feel back to normal. Now we are on Spring Break so I feel like we can breathe again. Here are the pictures from our last month.
Here we are celebrating my wonderful father's birthday. I am lucky to have the best dad ever.
Happy Birthday Grandpa!
If you look closely this is Tanya and me dancing in the same Roadshow number at dress rehearsal!
Haylie entered and won a photo contest with this picture. Check her blog for more details.
Easter morning.
Weston's first baseball season.
Wacky wear and Crazy hair day at school.

My Baby is 4!

How can it be that 4 years have gone so quickly. Tanner has grown so much in the past 4 years and he has brought so much excitment to our family. Imagine how dull life would be without Tanner and the endless amount of adventures that he gets himself into. We love you Tanner and Happy Birthday! We hope you have a super fun day.

Happy Birthday Sara!

I remember the day that Sara was born. My parents didn't know what they were having and I so wanted to have another brother. This was pretty much so I would have my own room. But now that 21 years have passed I couldn't ask for a better younger sister. Everybody loves Sara. My kids think that she is the greatest. Sara is so much fun, easy going, and kind hearted. This Christmas break I got to spend a whole week with Sara at my house and it couldn't have been more fun.
Everybody needs a sister, daughter, granddaughter,aunt and friend like Sara. She simply is the best.


Some great memories with Sara...I use to take her on dates with me. She sat on my lap every Sacrament Meeting until I left for college. She was the only one who cried when I left for college. When Sara was 7 she met Matt. When Haylie was born Sara was only 10. When she was 12 she use to fly out and stay with us for the week. She was in the delivery room at the age of 15 when Weston was born. When she turned 16 we loved asking her about the boys she was dating. We have always loved being around her. She is a great example to all of us.
We can't believe you are already 21, legal and a true adult. We love you and have a Happy Birthday.

Peer Pressure

Everyone in my family has done their list so I'm giving into peer pressure, mostly because I enjoyed reading theirs.

1. What was the best thing you cooked last week?
Hawaiian Haystacks. It's one of the only things all of the kids will actually eat.

2. If time, money and babysitting were no object where would you go and with who?
On a Disney Cruise with my family.

3. When was the last time you cried?
Last week when Tanner was being extra naughty. The story is too terrible to even post on a blog.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago.
Figuring out my new living situation in Carson City, driving Matt to and from work because we only had one car, taking care of an easy baby (Haylie), painting crafts, serving in Young Womens.

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago.
Taking Haylie to Kingergarten, doing preschool co-op with Cade, carrying around a very chunky, cute baby (Weston), Primary President, and going to the park a lot.

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago.
Jogging in the mornings, cleaning the house during the day, doing homework in the afternoons, doing dishes in the evening, and sleeping all through the night.

7. Seven of my favorite hobbies.
Watching my kids play sports, talking, baking, jogging, hanging out with Matt, going to Young Womens, watching reality TV.

8. Five favorite foods.
Shrimp & crab cocktails from the Crab Cooker, lemonade, bread, frozen yogurt, any Mexican food. And right now I'm starving.

9. Five places you've been.
Oh this might actually be impressive. France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Canada, Hawaii, Cancun. Oh that's not 5, oh well everyone knows I'm bad at math.

10. Five (or 7)favorite memories.
Being married in the Los Angeles Temple to Matt, being at my siblings weddings, jumping off Black Rock in Hawaii, walking through the streets of Venice and eating the food, giving birth to 4 children, winning CIF in soccer my Senior year, Pioneer trek.


Me & Matt in Venice. Happy Valentine's Day. I love you.

President Monson

The Church has order and I love that. No one is campaigning for positions and isn't that wonderful considering the world we live in! When I was a little girl(and a teenager) I use to think that General Conference was so boring. Remember we use to have to actually sit through it all in the Stake Center folding chairs because it wasn't on TV, anyways, my favorite speaker was always President Monson. He was the only one I ever felt that I could relate to or actually understand. And that of course was because of the awesome stories he tells. He is a great story teller and my family knows I love a good story. My one personal story about President Monson is from the weekend that I graduated BYU. It was August 1997, and it was the main graduation in the Marriott Center. I was one of the last people in line to walk into the Marriott Center with the line of graduates. I was standing in line with my cousin and my friend since elementary school. The line got backed up in the tunnel of the Marriott Center and we were waiting and into the tunnel walked President Monson. He was standing right next to us. We were too nervous to know what to say besides "Hello" but he said to me, "You sure seem happy." And I said, "I sure am." I will always remember how it felt to be standing next to him and I am grateful for his kind words. He will make a great prophet. Also how cool is it that his favorite color is yellow because that's mine too. And only my family will get this joke and I'm dying to say it (I apologize to all the other readers) so here it goes.

"your favorite color is yellow? - my favorite color is yellow!" (Beach house 2003?)

President Hinckley's influence on me

President Hinckley passed away last night after living an amazing 97 years. I love him and will certainly miss many things about him including his sense of humor, his love for the gospel and his energy. One of the ways President Hinckley has changed my life is by building the smaller temples. The Newport Beach Temple was one of those and this makes it so much easier to get to the temple more often. I am grateful for this blessing. I was in the temple when he dedicated it and when he bore his testimony about the Sacred Grove he bowed his head and cried. This was a very spiritual experience that touched me. He also spoke just 2 weeks ago at our Stake Conference (via satellite) and the words he spoke I happened to write down. He talked about marriage and the 4 cornerstones to a succesful marriage. 1. Mutual respect. 2. A soft answer. 3. Financial Responsibility. 4. Family Prayer. The last thing we heard him talk about was family prayer. How important this is. President Hinckley was an amazing prophet but I am excited for him that he has returned to heaven and is reunited with his wife.

Are you smarter than a 5th Grader?

Haylie left this morning for 5th grade science camp. She was so excited to go. She is going to be at an elevation of 6500 feet in the local mountains and this week it is supposed to snow everyday that she is there. How much is she actually going to learn about science? That remains the big question. I have a feeling she is going to learn more about her friends than she is about science. It is a weird feeling to send your first child off by themself for a week for the first time. She is certainly growing up and that must mean that we are too. Have fun Haylie!