Sydnee's Baptism

Sydnee got baptized on December 5th. It was such a neat experience! She and her friend, Kali, got to sing at it and did a wonderful job. The bottom pictures were taken by Kali's dad (thanks Eric). I can't believe that we have an 8 year old! She is such an amazing little girl!!!

What I am Learning

There are a lot of things that I am learning or I guess just recognizing more lately.
1. When things happen in life, both big and small, you realize who your real friends are and a lot of them are family.
2. What really matters in the end is how you conduct yourself on a day to day basis. When I meet my Savior when this life is over, I don't want to hide from fear and regret. I want to be able to feel good about the person I am and look at Him and know that He is proud of me.
3. That I have a big testimony and know that I do have a loving Savior who is always there for me. I need him often, every day in fact. I know that families are so important and the reason why we came on this earth is to be able to earn the right to be eternally with our families. What a blessing the temples are and the power of the priesthood to seal families together forever!
4. That I am so blessed to be a mother to four of the most beautiful girls. I love being a mother and I am realizing how fast time flies. Taking in all of the small and tender moments with them is so important. And the crazy, emotional, and destructive moments are times when humor is important (or locking yourself in your room and praying for patience).
5. That I don't need any more drama in my life. I have enough with my girls.
6. That I am so grateful that I married someone much better than myself. He is such a wonderful person and gives me drive to become that better person.
7. That some days it is okay to give up for the moment, as long as it is a short moment.
8. That I will never have a clean house for longer than 2 minutes after the girls get home from school. This is really hard and frustrating for me and I know that there needs to be a balance. Time spent with my kids is more important than having a clean house (I'm continually trying to tell myself this).
9. Whenever I am having a bad or off day, I can ask myself if I have said my prayers, read my scriptures, been to the temple lately, etc. and every time I can say no to at least one of these things. Like I said before it is the small and simple things that make the difference.
10. And on a lighter note, you pay for what you get when it comes to appliances. I don't know how many more times I can epoxy my handle to my microwave.

So Long Sparkles

Dear Sparkles,
We want to thank you for being such a great pet in the short amount of time we had you. We are so sorry! We don't know if it was the milk that was poured into your bowel or the banana and ranch Sophie so lovingly shared with you. We will miss you and sadly will have to replace you because of a very upset little girl. So long little friend!!!!

Arrrrgh!!!

The girls were pirates this Halloweeen & had a lot of fun complete with their school carnival where they got their first pet....goldfish. Their names are Tiger, Sparkles, & Elephant. Paul (Brandon's dad) was nice enough to come over yesterday morning & bring them a fish bowl & rocks & help us get them set up.



On Halloween we went to Paul & Charla's fast & then came back to our neighborhood to go trick or treating. It was such a nice day, especially compared to how cold it has been lately. We had a great time! Emma had a little fever so her & Sophie just stayed in the double stroller while Maddie & Sydnee got them candy. There wasn't a complaint! Sophie thought she was in heaven with all the candy! I don't think she would ever stop herself from eating it! She's funny! But sadly she woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. This crap has been everywhere so it was just a matter of time, but I just hate having sick kids! I think this is why I have such a hard time with winter!

But Halloween was great & I think we have the cutest pirates around!!!

REALLY?

I went downstairs and found Sophie asleep on the stairs like this. I have no idea how she fell asleep like this! I thought it was so funny!

Peach Days

For some reason every year we have to go to Peach Days. I guess for me it is tradition?!?

High School Reunion

I had my 10 year high school reunion on September 11th. I wasn't going to go at first, but I am really glad I did. My good friend, Andrea, came all the way from New York. I had a wonderful time talking with her after & catching up. It was so good to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time!

Labor Day

On Labor Day we went to Cherry Hill with my parents & the Shaw's. The kids loved it, especially the lazy river!

Emma

Here are some pictures of Emma's first day of the Sports Academy Preschool & the first day of dance class. She was so excited for school to start! What a cutie!

Bear Lake with Friends

We went to Bear Lake on August 21-23 with our friends the Hansen's, Jones', & Wilson's. We stayed at Dan's brother's cabin & had a great time catching up with everyone!

School Pictures

Some More Summer

Emma turned 4 on June 30th so we had a Princess Party for her. They made candy neclaces, played pin the kiss on the frog, ate cake and opened presents. We had a great time!







While our husbands were away, Chelsea came over & had a sleepover. We did facials & pedicures with our girls & they thought that it was the greatest thing ever! It's funny how little things are such a big deal to kids!





The young women in our ward did a fundraiser where they taught the girls a dance & then had a performance. It was very cute!!!