Disneyland

We drove down to So. Cal on Wednesday. When we got there the rest of our group was in SeaWorld, so we checked in and swam in the pool.

After dinner we had.......
Our favorite treat. ICE CREAM
Aunt Paige made these awesome shirts and water bottles.
What a sweet baby girl.
Me and my boys.
Walking to Disneyland from the motel.
The True Family standing inside Disneyland for the first time. We hope to make many trips back as a family. I actually got tears in my eyes when we walked in to park. What an amazing place to take a family vacation.
Emy was so cute with Jessi.

Uncle Scott had the tea cup flying.
Jay really thought he was going to pull it out.
Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids. We sure did miss my baby brother and his family. There were 2 grandkids that were not in Disneyland with us.
Taylor and James plan where they want to go next.
Wyatt and Jessi take a bottle break while the rest of us eat lunch.
Jay and Mason enjoyed every minute they had together.
Jess takes a ride in the backpack.


We all went to a Character Breakfast on Friday. Here is the gang with Chef Goofy.



Building your own light-savor was a must for these guys. I'm sure our neighbors at the motel loved the sounds coming from our room.
The boys all loved the Lego store.
And ended up all leaving with a lego set. Toy Story for the twins and star wars for the Johns.

circle of life

This week we welcomed another Niece to our family. As I was looking at her beautiful picture and thinking about family it took me back to when I first became an Aunt. It was my 22nd birthday. John and I had been married 9 months. I feel blessed to share my birthday with Tanner. It reminds me every year of the importance of family. When I was growing up my Aunts and Uncles were very special to me. I looked up to them and wanted to be just like them. I guess things really haven't changed. I still find strength in the love and support I get from my extended family. I feel like I have a long way to go in being the Aunt to my nieces and nephews that mine are to me.
Since John and I got married in Feb 1999 we have added 3 sons, one daughter, 5 sister-in-laws, 1 brother-in-law, 9 nieces, and 9 nephews to our family. Right now there are 13 grandkids on each side. That is a lot of change in 12 years. While I am reflecting I am reminded of the grandparents we have lost. When we got married we had 7 grandparents at the temple with us. I had already lost a grandma 2 years before but John had all 4 of his. This year 2011 my other grandma passed away. She was the last one to go.
I am so grateful for my knowledge of Forever Families. I know that when we leave this life we will be united with our loved ones that have passed on. We have a Heavenly Father that loves each one of us. Our Savior Jesus Christ lives. There is a living Prophet that walks on the earth today. I know these things are true with all my heart.

day trip

It was a perfect day to get out of the hot central valley and go enjoy 59 degrees at Muir Woods.
Jess loved her first visit to see the redwoods.
The sun even streamed through the tall trees and warmed us up a bit.
We had never drove out to Stinson Beach so we checked it out. The boys enjoyed the sand and waves.

Oh Boy

James: As always he was up at 5:30 asking for pancakes. He is such a funny boy, making comments like "when I was a little kid......." As long has he is not bugging his brother with weird noises they are best friends.
Jakub: As usual he didn't want what I made for breakfast. Didn't want to get himself dressed. And he wanted to load his backpack with toys to show his friends. It takes a lot of energy to get this boy to think positive and be happy.
Today they are off to Joy School. 5 Hours a week. Every 5th week I will be the teacher but the other 4 weeks I am going to enjoy my baby girl and hope these two boys are behaving themselves.

3rd grade (again)

We made a very difficult decision to hold J back in 3rd grade again. So here he is 100 lbs, wearing size 14 shirt and 12 Husky pants. I know we made the right choice for him. But when we got to school and all the kids in his class stood about to his chest I thought "what was I thinking?"

I am really excited about his teacher this year. She is going to be amazing. She gave all the kids eye patches when she met them this morning. I hope J is happy in school this year. He has struggled ever since we moved to Cali.

I couldn't resist adding a picture of Jess....she loved the walk to school this morning in her stroller.

Grandma Visits

We picked up Grandma and J at the Airport. J was really excited about his first flight. He even got to sit in the cockpit. But he wasn't excited about being back in California. He wanted to stay in Idaho with Grandma and Grandpa.

To ease him back into life with his family, Grandma stayed a few days with us. We went to the Oakland Zoo.

We also visited the Oakland Temple. If you haven't see the Eternal Family presentation recently you should. They added to it.
I Love to see the Temple.

Cache Valley. What a beautiful sight.

It was Rodeo Weekend. Yee Haw! The boys loved the Carnival that the Hospital hosts. In years past we have always attended and then walked into the nursing home to Visit Great Grandma. When Jake said lets go see Great Grandma I had to remind him that she wasn't there. "Where did she go" me..."She died. Remember Mom and Jess flew to Idaho for a funeral. She is in heaven now." "When will she be back" I love the sweet spirit this boy brings into my life. I felt the spirit reconfirm to my heart that she will be back. As will we all.



I love to be at my parents house. The kids can run and play with acres land in all directions. WB is the new addition in my sweet sisters family. Jess looked so big next to him.
Class of 96. Yes that's right I attended my 15 year class reunion. 17 out of the 48 in my graduating class came.



You can't make it through a rodeo weekend with out a rain storm. We picked the perfect night to go to the parade. It sprinkled on us to keep us cool. Jake was our candy man. The sun came out and it was perfect weather for the Rodeo later that night.




It was a big day for Jess when she got her first taste of food. A french fry at McDonalds and licorice at the pool. It was a fun day with all the grandkids together but they were all to busy swimming to get a pic. I am wishing now I would have rounded them all up.

Jim was a cute little protector of his cousin. When she wanted to play out side he was right there with her.
John and I were able to run away for one night while Grandma and Grandpa kept the kids. We went to the Temple and then spent the night at the Anniversary Inn. It was a PERFECT end to our great vacation.