Dal's family party.

For Dal's birthday we went over to Leo's Place for dinner and games. With no Chuck E Cheese on this side of the state, it was our next best option. I toyed with the idea of throwing a birthday party for him but between going to the Lion King and having the entire family coming this weekend we decided it was just a little too much. It was a really fun hole in the wall type of place. Dallin loved it. Any place with pizza and tokens and he is thrilled.

Dal got some fun games, a new wallet, and some cash.

Parker was jealous and ticked. (Typical)

Then we all played a game of Laser Tag. Seriously....SO much fun. I was so glad that they let Landon play with us. He had to quit about halfway through because his vest was just too heavy.

I'm thinking I should just make this our family Christmas card. Me, surrounded by competitive boys with guns. Everyone trying to kill each other. Sums up my life pretty well!!!!

Happy Birthday Guinea Pig!

Dear Dallin,

Tomorrow you are turning 8 years old. I think about where we were 8 years ago tonight. I was at home enduring pain like I had never known. I knew you were coming soon. I was so excited, so terrified, so overwhelmed. I wrote this in my journal that night,
"The past 9 months have been life changing already. I know that you will be here soon and I can hardly wait to hold you in my arms. I want you to know that I love you already. Daddy and I don't have many material things but I know that you are coming into a home where your parents love you and they love each other. I know we will do anything we can to make you happy and show you that you are the most important thing in the world to us. I can't wait to see who you look like and see those little feet that have been kicking me for the past few months. This is the beginning of our eternal family what an incredible thing to think about."

20 hours of labor later.....you finally made your appearance.

My life changed and my purpose in life became clear on that day. There is no DOUBT in my mind that you have taught me way more then I could ever teach you. You are a fantastic oldest brother. You keep your younger "brudders" in line and I thank you for helping me keep them alive for the past 6 years! You are honest. I always know who to ask when everyone is crying and 3 different stories are being told. Thank you for always being so kind, so obedient, and so dependable.

You are hard to discipline. You are much harder on yourself then you need to be. I remember back when you started kindergarten and you threw a rock towards the playground. You weren't throwing it AT anyone but you accidentally hit a little girl. The duty lady came over to talk to you about not throwing rocks and you burst into tears. You cried, "Please O Please FORGIVE ME!" You fell on your knees and begged to be forgiven. You ended up going to the Principal's office, not because you were in trouble but because you needed a place to calm down before heading back to the classroom.

This year is a very special year Dallin. You will be baptized this weekend. You are so excited and you are prepared. I know that your Heavenly Father is proud of you and this big decision that you have made. I'm so thankful for the opportunity that is mine to be your mom. I can't wait to see the things you accomplish in this life. I know you can do anything you want. I'm excited to see the man that you will grow to become. Thanks for continuing to teach me each day. Always remember how much I love and adore you.

Love,

Momma

Lion King

Don't you just hate when you have to choose between 2 GREAT options? Sometimes I wish I could be in 2 places at once! This weekend I could either go with Nathan to Sun Valley (I have NEVER been there) for a conference or take the kids to see the Lion King with my Grandma.

Conferences are every year but who knows when the opportunity to see the Lion King will come around again. I packed up the boys and we headed down to UT. Sorry babe....I will go NEXT year I promise!!!

We met up with the cousins for a fun day at Heritage Park. I LOVE that place. You can go there over and over again and have a completely different experience.

We pet animals, made sweet arrowhead necklaces, visited the schoolhouse, and rode the train.

We learned from the mountain man and we panned for gold. After finding some gold pieces the kids were able to head over to the bank and cash their gold in for some taffy!

Dallin also got his first "shave."

We had a great time and ended up staying for HOURS longer then we thought because Ashley lost her keys. Not a good place to lose your keys. O well, its always an adventure!!! The kids had a blast playing together.

Saturday I met up with Ashley (the other one) and we went over to Wheeler Farm. It is funny how MY mom and ASHLEY'S mom used to take US to Wheeler Farm when we were babies. Now we're taking our kids all these years later!

It was such a great day. After the farm I tried and tried to get my boys to take a nap before the Lion King. It started at 8:00 so I knew it was going to be a late night for my "early to bed" boys. Needless to say, they didn't take a nap. I was hoping for the best. Landon went over to Grandma Lee Lee's for the night. I'm so glad we didn't have him go....I KNOW he wouldn't have lasted!  Dallin and Parker were so excited though!

The show was INCREDIBLE! We had great seats and the boys LOVED it. Parker did fall asleep after intermission but Dallin was on the edge of his seat (literally) the whole time. AMAZING doesn't even begin to describe it!

Missed my man but decided I made the right choice! :)

Date Night

This guy kept asking me out on a date. Seriously.....every day for the past week. He was really cute so I agreed. Now usually when a guy spills all over his shirt and when he demands that I tie his shoes the RED flag goes off. He even made ME pay for the date.

But like I said before, he was really cute.

He was a gentleman too.

He had good taste:

And he did let me win our round of black light mini golf:

I think we'll go out out again. :) Oh, and I did give him big hug and a kiss at the end of the night.

To the Mother of the girl who will one day marry my son,

I don't know who you are but today as I took my boys to the zoo I couldn't stop thinking about you. I saw a mom with 3 little girls and the thought crossed my mind.....maybe one of your daughters will marry one of my sons. Crazy thought? Yeah, maybe.....but for some reason I kept stewing over it.

You could be anyone, living anywhere, doing anything.....who knows, maybe I already know you. Sometimes I try to imagine you rocking a little girl in your arms, the little girl who will one day be the woman my son hold in his arms. I imagine you taking pictures of her and putting them in a scrapbook or on a blog of your own and perhaps one day my son will show me when  he asks me who I think our grandchild looks like.

It seems strange that even though we don't know each other we are already connected and our lives are destined to one day be intertwined through our children's love. We are in a partnership... I'm preparing my son for your daughter and you are preparing her for my son.

I hope you realize how important you are (even though kids can be difficult and can act like crazy MONKEYS at times!)

 I hope you cherish the time with your daughter and realize that what you are doing is not a waste of time. We are laying the foundation of who these kids are going to become. The relationships that we build with our children during their early years will have a tremendous influence on the way they feel later about developing their own intimate relationships. While our children are very young, we can teach them the value of loving and being loved. (Sorry....little early childhood education moment there! :)

I just want you to know that I really am trying to be a good mom. I am far from perfect but I'm doing the best I know how. I'm trying my hardest to fill my son (each of them) up with love, knowledge, and integrity so that he will be the man you want for your daughter. I am doing everything I can to teach him about who he is, what his mission is on earth, and how to treat women with love and respect. I want him to be the type of man who will cherish your daughter and nurture your... our... grandchildren.

Seems like its forever away but you were on my mind today.

Dallin's baptism invite

I get a little emotional just THINKING about Dallin's baptism. Is my little boy already reaching this big milestone? I told him to stop growing up but he isn't listening!!! It's sure to be a special day.

Join us! We'd love for EVERYONE to come!!!

Ode to the Eastern Idaho State Fair

State fair, state fair

People in their underwear

Chicks with ratty ’80s hair

A big fat dude whose feet are bare

Mullet head, mullet head

Did you just roll out of bed?

Is your name Biff, Chuck or Jed?

Your hair looks like a squirrel that’s dead

Corn dog, corn dog

Did this meat come from a hog?

Mystery stuff shaped like a log

My arteries will not unclog

Funnel cake, funnel cake

Batter curled up like a snake

Wash it down with root beer or shake

And wonder why the tummy ache

Giant pig, giant pig

How’d you get so freakin’ big?

Your larger than an offshore rig

You’d snap my leg just like a twig

Midway, Midway

So many games still left to play

Air smells like a big ashtray

Might be time to call it a day.

There are many reasons people to go to the fair. Some go to see the animals. Some go for the food. Some want to ride the rides. Some want to see exhibits. Some go for the entertainment.

I prefer to people watch. ;)

We headed down to Blackfoot to attend our first ever EASTERN Idaho State Fair. We tried our best to fit in with the locals. Parker wore his camo pants and USA shirt and Landon wore his John Deere t-shirt. No one even looked at us twice so I think we pulled it off.

We rode rides....well, we each rode A ride. $4.00 for ONE SINGLE ride? Ridiculous.

We ate.....well, we ate pizza in the car on the way there.
We brought gum to curb our desire for all things sugar and all things deep fried.
We caved to deep fried cheesecake and ice cream. Guess the gum didn't work.

We had a heart to heart  about "carnies" and how the midway games are all a HOAX to get people to give them money. Plus...what on EARTH would you do with a 5 foot purple stuffed dragon?????

We saw animals......and we had to have a discussion about why the big bull has a 3rd leg that appears at random.

We had a great time.

We'll definitely go back next year.

B-town visit

When I found out the boys had both FRIDAY and MONDAY off of school I knew I had to take advantage and head over to Boise. Nate wasn't invited this time around....he wasn't going to RUIN this trip for me! I didn't need another broken collar bone episode.  Juuuuust kidding! He needed to stay for work. I packed up the boys and away we went!

We squeezed in as much as we could. We played with friends and spent time with my  family. It was so wonderful to see everyone.

Friday we went to the zoo with Nat, Em, Jen and a new friend...Melissa. So fun.

Saturday my dad took the family over to Wahooz for a day full of go carts, laser tag, and mini golf. We ran into our great friends the Langfords there. I was so much fun to see them and hold their cute baby girl!

That night I was able to meet up with all of my friends for dinner at Red Robin. I LOVE and I MISS these girls SO much I can't even put it into words. We stayed from 7-close talking and laughing. I miss me some major GIRL time! Thanks for the fix ladies......I'm recharged once more!

Sunday we went to church at my parent's ward. I kept looking over at this man because I KNEW I recognized him. He kept looking over at me like, "Who is this crazy woman starring at me?" Finally I went over to him and asked him if he was from Idaho Falls. He said that he was. I was like, "Are you the news anchor on channel 8?" And he was! How funny! I guess his son just moved to Boise and is in my parent's ward. RANDOM.

Monday I met up with my darling friend Aubrey and her family. We went to Chuck E Cheese and let all of our BOYS go wild. I love that she has 4 boys and she completely understands how it feels to be surrounded by testosterone 24/7.!

From there we headed back home to our dad who hates when we are gone. He's good for about 2 days alone and then he can't stand it anymore. It is nice to be missed. :)

 I really do miss Boise....especially the people there. I drove through my old neighborhood and saw that all the homes that were for sale when we put our home up on the market are STILL sitting there. I felt extremely fortunate.

I thought I would be sad to go back home to Idaho Falls but surprisingly I wasn't. Boise is great....and Idaho Falls is good.