Happy Birthday James

James turned 31 on Wednesday! He is sooooo young! I sure love this man. There isn't a woman in the world that is as lucky as I am. Here are the things I love about James. I had to narrow it down because there are just too many.

1. There isn't a day that passes when he doesn't hug me and tell me he loves me.

2. He does the dishes almost daily.

3. He lets me take time to myself whenever I need it. No questions asked. No complaints.

4. He loves his kids so intensely.

5. He is a great soccer player and is passing his skills to our children.

6. He is very ticklish.

7. He talks in his sleep. I have some fun with that one!

8. He has the greatest facial expressions and keeps me laughing.

9. He can fix anything and loves to take things apart to see how they work.

10. He is very, very smart. That is one of the reasons why I love him so much. He is a pool of knowledge.

I could never justify how great he is in this short post. I love you babe! Thanks for being my Knight who would swim through shark infested waters to bring me lemonade!

The First Day of Summer Vacation

To quote the beloved Phineas and Ferb (go Disney channel!):

There's a 104 days of summer vacation

and school comes along just to end it

So the annual problem of our generation

is finding a good way to spend it....

We had a great day today. We spent the day outside. The kids swam and I got the back yard cleaned up. I am excited to have my kids for the summer and to stay busy doing lots of fun things. We all got a little sun-kissed but it was a wonderful day and one we all needed.

Notice Baily is in flight...

Little Miss Kylee
Malia couldn't wait for me to get her swimming suit on...she was too anxious.

Our Little Graduate!

Tyler graduated from Kindergarten on Wednesday. It was a fun day. We can't believe how big he has gotten. They sang some really cute songs and he even had a little speaking part. What a big boy!

5K

James and I ran a 5K on May 16th. We run at the same speed and so it was fun to run the whole way together. We had a great time! It was the second one for both of us. Our time was 30 minutes exactly. If you have never done a 5K, you should! They are a blast!

In Loving Memory

Amanda Later

My sweet cousin lost her battle with cancer today. We will miss you!

Baily Decided She Needed Bangs

Baily came to me the other day and told me that she had a surprise for me. I looked at her for a good 15 seconds before I realized just what that surprise was. When I noticed that she had cut chunks off of both sides of her head I freaked out. She ran into her room and hid under her blanket on her bed and cried for a half hour.

I let her cry for a while so I could cool down (and find the said scissors and stray strands of golden hair) I figured that she learned her lesson when I went in to find her and she said, "Mommy, do you hate me?"

It really isn't that noticeable and I am just grateful that she didn't cut more, or cut it closer to her scalp. I usually do well at keeping the scissors away from little hands, but as it turns out...not that well!

Kylee's Baptism

Our Sweet Kylee was baptized on Saturday. Both James and I agreed it was one of the best days of our lives. Right up there with her birth! What an amazing thing to see your child enter into the water and to hear those special words as they make promises and have their wrongs washed away.

Kylee was so nervous about the water being cold, but luckily it was warm! We had lots of family and friends there. Grandma Hansen and Grandma Later both gave wonderful talks and then Kylee and I sang "When I am baptized" together.

After the baptism we went to my Grandparents house and had a BBQ with lots of yummy food and dessert.

My sister Tami (with her baby boy in her tummy!!!) and her husband Nate.

Kylee with her cousins Devin and Ariel

My brother Troy and his sweet wife Rae Lynne

My dad having fun with Malia

The BBQ!

I am so privileged to be Kylee's mom. From the second she was born she has had a maturity and wisdom far beyond her years. She has taught James and I so much about patience, forgiveness and love. I can't wait for many more years of it! We love you Kylee!

You Can't Draw Water From an Empty Well

"You Can't Draw Water From an Empty Well". I remember hearing that quote given at General Conference last year. It has stuck with me. Well, let me just tell you...my well was running on low. My cup was empty.

My sweet mother, who is so in tune with the spirit, and also with me, took Baily and Malia for the day (9:30am-5:30pm) Tyler and Kylee were in school, and then after school Tyler went to his cousin T's house. Friday is the only day we don't babysit, and so James and I had the entire day to ourselves! No kids asking for food, or toys. No kids needing to be fed or changed.

Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom and LIVE for it, but did I mention the dryness of the well??? Dry-dry.

So James and I got went to Jamba Juice after we dropped the girls off, and picked up a pie from Maria Calendars. Than we came home and watched the Will Smith movie Seven Pounds and ate take-out food from Chili's (I am going to need to run an extra mile tomorrow...let me tell ya!) It was so relaxing and really did rejuvenate us.

It is amazing how one day away from your kids will make you appreciate them more, and appreciate your calling as a parent. My cup runneth over now.