Wasps...

...Why?!?!

MoZo No Mo

Sadly, Monte and Zoe are no longer an item. In fact, they never were an item. Monte wants so badly to be "more than friends" with Zoe but Zobaby wants nothing to do with Monte. I have tried everything I can possibly imagine to get these two kitties to bond but it just isn't happening. I am afraid we must find a new home for Zoe. She really is the best cat. She is a very petite 5 years old and we want to avoid having to take her to a shelter if we can help it. If you know anybody that wants a sweet and snugly kitty (free of charge) please let me know.

Quiet

It is way too quiet around this house. Now that the oldest three are in school I just don't know what to do with myself. For the last few months a quiet house usually meant kids were up to no good. Now I have to get used to the idea of quiet being a good thing again.



I miss my kids. I know they are in great hands...but I still miss them. I have a long list of things I could be doing, but none of it provides the fun that my kids provide. How am I going to survive the school year? I will need to rely completely on Ella to provide my entertainment. So far she has not disappointed.



This girl is non stop entertainment. She has sang to me, danced for me, colored me pictures, weeded with me in her own unique way...and man, does this girl talk! Maybe this school year won't be so boring for me after all.

The Hill And Mr. Sparks

The Hill and Mr. Sparks...that title pretty much sums up the Summer for me. We spent every moment we could at Cherry Hill and loved each and every second. I am so happy that my kids share my love of the sun and swimming. We didn't do much else these last few months but in some odd way I consider this Summer one of the best. My relationship with my kids grew and we all had so much fun together doing the simplest of things.

This was Ella's first year swimming all by herself in the deep end without her floatie. She is such a big girl.

Sorry, but I just couldn't resist this picture. I just want to take a big bite out of those cute buns!




The days when Lee was able to go with us were probably my kids favorites. It's just not the same when Mom tries to throw them into the air...

While at Cherry Hill I got a lot of reading in also. It was the first year I could read and not worry (as much) about if my kids were OK or not. It was so nice to be able to relax a little more. When Summer started I was reading the Count of Monte Cristo. I was around page 800 out of about 1400 pages. I decided to take a break for the Summer. I desperately needed some easy reads. So I turned to Nicholas Sparks. I read all 14 of his books throughout the Summer. I learned that they are all pretty similar and pretty predictable but I enjoyed them nonetheless. This was my favorite...

In a few weeks he has a new book coming out and I cannot wait to read it. It may need to wait though. After my little vacation away from Monte Cristo I am now excited to finish it.

Gone are the lazy days of Summer and I am really having a hard time about it. I may need counseling. If you see me balled up and rocking back and forth with drool pooling in one corner of my mouth, it's only because I am daydreaming of the fun times this family had this Summer and I don't want it to end.

281 days and counting until next Summer!

Now Playing...

I am SO very excited to annouce that I finally have some of Lee's songs ready again for you to enjoy. I know, I may be a little biased, but I think they are awesome! I am his biggest fan. And how many of you can say that you get to sleep with your favorite singer?! I am so lucky! Just click on a song at the right and listen away. Check back often. I am hoping Lee will put more of his songs online soon. You can also click here for Lee's online site and future song additions:

Priceless

While the whole family was in town a few weeks back we had the opportunity to have our picture taken by my old neighbor and friend. Emily is so talented and such a joy to work with. Here are just a few of the moments she captured...

One cute side note: I recently found out that Emily and my sister in law, Julie were good friends when they were teenagers and had not seen each other since. Emily happened to find Julies blog and then happened to see our family on her blog. What a small world we live in. You gotta love blogging.

I thought for sure I knew what pictures I was going to use for our Christmas cards, but now I am not so sure. Between Elise and her beautiful pictures and Emily and her amazing pictures I am going to have a hard time deciding. One thing was easy for me to decide. These two girls are awesome photographers!

Bishop Papa

My 71 year old dad was just called to be the Bishop of their ward. I guess no one is ever too old to be Bishop. He is an amazing man and I have no doubt he is just what that ward needs. I was so nervous for him all week, even dreaming about him. That all stopped yesterday, though, when I saw him and heard him speak in front of his congregation. He owned it and I knew he was going to be just fine, not that I ever doubted his ability.

My dad is so humble and kind. One of my favorite things about him is that he is a man's man, but when it comes to the gospel and sharing his testimony he gets emotional. It is so obviously important to him. My favorite thing about yesterday came after he was set apart and after we all had eaten. My dad told us a little bit about his conversion story and also of his mission. I feel the need to record this information so I will attempt to retell what my dad said in hopes that I don't mess it all up.

My dad and his buddies lived in California at the time that they were thinking about which college to attend and they had heard other people talking about BYU. My dad knew nothing about BYU. His mom would take him and his brothers to church a couple times a year but that was pretty much it. I believe one of his buddies was a member but not active either and the other buddy was not a member. The three of them decided to send away for a catalog of BYU. After they looked through it they decided they wanted to go there. When it came time to register for classes my dad remembers there being a lot of pretty girls lined up for the Book of Mormon Studies class. My dad knew he was "a Mormon" but didn't know what the Book of Mormon was. He and his buddies ended up signing up for the class anyway.

The first day of class the professor explained that they would always open and close with prayer and that because he didn't know anyone's names he would just point to someone to say it. He pointed to my dad. My dad was immediately embarassed. He told the professor he didn't know how to pray and that he had never prayed before in his life. The professor called on someone else to pray but because he was so embarassed in front of all those pretty girls, my dad started learning how to pray in case he was ever called on again.

Later on that same professor challenged him and his buddies to stay in their dorm on Friday nights instead of going out on dates and pray to find out if what they were reading in the Book of Mormon was true. They did just that. My dad received a personal witness that the book was true and that was the beginning of my dad's conversion. The buddy that was not active became more active and went on to serve a mission and hold leadership positions in the church. His nonmember buddy joined the church and sadly was killed in a hang gliding accident shortly thereafter.

While in college, my dad heard other guys talking about going on missions. They were always so excited to be talking about them. They would go and then he would never see them again. He knew there had to be something more to this mission thing. He decided he wanted to go on one too and at the age of 22 he was called to the Andes Mission. The Andes Mission at that time was mainly Peru. Shortly after he went down there his mission president told him he was chosen to open up a new area in the mission called Chile. My dad was among the first missionaries to open up Chile. My dad told about how he had to find a building to hold church in. He found a little apartment to rent that held about 12 people. He set it up like a church with pews and a pulpit and a table for administering the sacrament. That week 17 people showed up for church. My dad knew that little apartment would not work so he got permission to rent a house that held a little more people and he set it up the same way and in a matter of weeks that bigger house became much too small. Again my dad found an even bigger house, this time so big that they could live in one part of it and hold church in another part. They held dances in the courtyard and the membership continued to grow and grow. Later on the church bulldozed that same house to make room for the first LDS chapel in the area.

My dad still receives emails and letters from people whose lives he touched from his missionary efforts in Chile. Now the members of his ward will get to see first hand just how much my dad loves the gospel and the people in it. He left a legacy in Chile and I have no doubt he will leave a legacy in his ward. I love you, Papa.

New School Looks

The other day I took the girls for a much needed haircut. They all decided they wanted bangs which made me very nervous. They have never had bangs in their lives. I wasn't sure if they would like them. But they all love their new looks.

Emma, at the last minute, decided to go way shorter than she originally planned so she could have enough to donate to Locks of Love. I know she was very nervous to go short. She ended up loving it as do I. She looks so much older. I told her she looks so old that we could pass as sisters (I wish). I am proud of her. Now someone else will benefit from her beautiful hair.

Now these girls are ready to debut their new looks at school. They can't wait and are counting down the days.

Random Pics From Last Week

I couldn't get enough of all the cousins being together last week. I had to include more pictures. Here are more of my favorites...

Smiley Sadie

Super Cute Shea

Boys Will Be Boys

Poor Little Eva Has No Idea What's Coming To Her

Nice Tonsils, Ben

Tess' Birthday!

Cute Cousins

That Makes Me Sick Just Looking At The Picture

Tayli, Cordin and Emma

It Didn't Matter What They Did, They Always Had Fun

Sweet Troy

Can You Find Ben?

Faster, Faster

My Gal

Lava, Baby

Being from California, the family vacation every year was to go up to Idaho to visit my Nana and Papa. Going to Lava Hot Springs was something we did during those trips. It had probably been 20 years since I had been there. With my whole side of the family being together last week, my parents decided they wanted to take us there. It was a full circle moment for me. Now I was going with my children. It was surreal.

The following are pictures of my crazy family...

Cordin

Ryan

Livia


Tess - What form!



Brave Ben

Beau

Stylin Gavin

Tayli

Eva

Shea

Papa's still got it.

Ella jumping and Eric diving

Rolling Ryan

Crazy Eric

Love this pic - Father and Daughter at the same time

Emma waving at the camera

Emma




I knew my brothers would be crazy going off the diving boards/platforms. It was fun to watch considering they are no longer spring chickens. And I was very impressed with all the kids. They were all so brave. I think everybody who was allowed to went down the extreme slides, even Ben who was technically a few inches too short couldn't stay away.

This really was a day that we will remember forever.

I sense a new tradition in the making.