For all those who come to this happy place, Welcome!

I think I love holidays so much because my husband makes this kind of thing fun! He bought the kids baskets for a big lunch and Easter egg hunt with all his family and cousins. There was a really nice spread. Lots of yummy food. They were actually having a burping contest that I think James was winning (or trying to at least) with Sadie in a close second. Abbey playing in the ice that was dumped out after the party. She loved walking through it and eating it (grass, dirt, and all) The swim party after the picnic was a big success. Grandma Nette bought all the grandkids new swimming suits.  Cody and Chase hanging out by the pool. My darling daughter - turned into a bathing beauty. Macey, Paige, Sadie, Jordyn & James playing crazy kid games. Can you tell who is orchestrating this game? Paige loved her suit, and was glad Grandma Nette bought her the right one (one that covered her tummy) - she is such a good girl. Once Abbey got in the pool it was almost ...

I remember the first time Paige told me I was her best friend. She was about 2 years old and it melted my heart. I thought to myself, I am so lucky to be her first bff. I know it won't last and she will move on, but for this moment I will love every minute of it. So, I thought I would take a moment to recognize my first bff, my dad. He will always be my hero no matter how old I get. His spirit has never aged (it still thinks it's 20-ish) while his body is looking more 60-ish. I am proud of the man he is and hope that my son will turn out just as great (this picture was taken on my 1st birthday, my dad was 34).

My little sister Meg, emailed me these pictures yesterday from her marriage that took place in November. I just thought I would share them. Look how tiny Abbey was. These beautiful ladies are my sisters. Maren, Sunny, Allison, Megan, Kelly, Leslie These are all my siblings. Isn't this view of the temple amazing! I love the palm tree in the shot. Who knew I would love the desert so much. St. George is really pretty. Maren, Joey, Leslie, Dad, Josh Megan, Jake, Mom, Sunny, Allison, Kelly, Jared. 

These are some of my favorite faces that Abbey has made over the last 2 weeks of her whole little life. I love that she is making a face. I'm kissing her like 24/7 and I'm always wondering what must be going through her head. This is such a James/Jason face. I can not count how many times I've seen this face from either of them. We don't have a closet full of stuffed animals to get the "hidden E.T." picture - but hey a mountain of laundry is almost as good right? She made this face at only 1 day old. I think she was crying and I was too interested in watching her to find out what she needed (she probably just wanted more kisses...) Another Jason/James face. This is how Jason looks right before he cries... yeah right. His mom doesn't call him "cardboard boy" for nothing (Jason can be quite apathetic at times). So after looking at all these pictures I keep asking myself - are these faces learned or genetically programmed into her DNA? Here is ...

Normally when I drive home from Utah it's just me & the kids and we've done it for like 5 summers & is really not a big deal... but I've also never been 8 months pregnant and ready to pop! This year my dad offered to drive me home and then fly back to Utah. It was so great since my nephew also road with us as far as Las Vegas. I've never driven the Las Vegas way except maybe once years and years ago - anyway, my dad made sure we were on track an didn't get lost. My mom loves driving this way for Hoover Dam, which I admit is pretty cool - but it takes like 3 hours longer (especially since the huge mega-bridge is under construction & everyone has to stop & stare) and when it's 114' degrees out and your a/c just isn't up to par with your internal body heater that kicks you in the ribs every so often just to make sure you haven't forgotten her/him... not worth it for me. I ended up only driving about 2 or 3 hours and my dad was "tr...

We love any excuse to get out of the heat and visit our Grandad & cousins in St.Johns Arizona. It's about 3 or so hours East of the Valley and the weather is about 15 to 20 degrees cooler. The climate actually reminds me more of Utah Valley. It's a nice get away and life just slows down there. You can sit on the back porch reading a book and enjoy the quiet or watch the clouds pass by. Well, this year we were fortunate enough to spend our 4 th of July in St. Johns. Paige being super girl in Heber on route. There was a nice little breeze that added the perfect touch to her Super Girl abilities. James loves his cousin Jordyn . He is just a few months older then her and for the most part they get along so well. Maybe because they are both left out from the "big girls" (aka Paige & Sadie). They always have so much fun together and are so cute to watch play. Jordyn loves her Uncle Jason. She actually calls him her "Uncle Pixie" - when she was just tin...