Danielson Family

Arizona Trip 2011

2011-07-14T21:05:00.000-06:00

We took our annual summer trip to Arizona this year and had a blast!

We did lots of eating, playing, and haviing fun with family.

One night, Laura and I took the kids to downtown Scottsdale to ride the trolley and hang out at the mall. We had a good time. Miss Arizona was there and Regan just ate up the chance to have her picture taken with her.

Of course, cousin time wouldn't be complete without signing karaoke, telling jokes, having a dance off and doing skits. I love to see how creative these kids are together.

One night before Jeff came into town, I had the chance to have the kids all to myself. We ended up going to the park at 8 pm when the weather finally cooled down to 104. We had fun playing on the play ground, then I decided we should all go roll down the hills.

To our great surprise, someone had left a bunch of ice blocks down at the bottom of the hills. I was so excited! I had the kids go to the truck and get the towels out of the back. I got to introduce them to ice blocking! We spent a good hour and a half sliding down the hills on the ice blocks. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!

Of course we spent a lot of time swimming. It's so nice swimming with the family it the hot summer. Made me wish we had a pool. I especially enjoyed watching the head stand contests and synchronized swimming that Laura, Sarah and Rebecca did. Always entertaining.

Laura was constantly coming up with cute crafts for the kids to do. We even got to paint our own 4th of July t-shirts! On the 4th of July, she had the girls make gumball necklaces in red,white,and blue. She and Rebecca and I painted nails in patriotic colors. And, Laura did the girls' hair super cute with festive ribbons. My sister is so creative. No wonder why she's the favorite aunt. :)

The Saturday before Independence day we went to downtown Mesa to enjoy a city party with games for the kids, a visit with George and Martha Washington, and fireworks. We had a great time.

The morning of Independence day, Laura had us over for breakfast. She made delicious french toast with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream topped with her special syrup. YUM! We later went swimming, had their super fabulous Krazy Subs, then went back to mom's house for games and yummy food. Grandma Willis even came to join us for the fun!

After games, we went to go watch fireworks and then came back to set off some of our own.

The kids also got to have a fun day with my mom for a special one on one time with Grandma at the Science museum. Just waiting for her pictures of that. The kids absolutely loved spending time with her. They had a ton of slumber parties with their cousins. Aunt Joyce and Uncle K.C. were in town when I first got there. We had lots of fun lunches, dinners and movie with them and my Aunt Janet and other cousins. I got to see some of my friends, Elizabeth, Mitch, Heather and Jennifer, that I love. But, like always, time went by way too fast. There wasn't enough time to do everything and see everyone I wanted.

What I absolutely loved more than anything, was seeing how cute the older cousins were with my younger girls. They played with them, took care of them, and were just so dang cute. I am so blessed with the most amazing family. We had a great time.

Lost Tooth

2011-07-13T20:33:00.000-06:00

Regan Finally Lost Her First Tooth!!!!

Regan has been anxiously waiting to lose her first tooth. She's been asking for months when it would happen. Funny thing was, her tooth wasn't even very lose. Apparently all it took was trying to open the Ranch dressing bottle with her teeth!

The next day... she was in my bathroom, looking at her self in the mirror, and said with a very thick twang, "Now I really look Southern!"

Super Cute Southern Girl.

March 2011

2011-06-13T18:20:00.000-06:00

March was a very busy month. Brennan turned 15 and had his friends over for a sleepover. He also got his driving permit and is enjoying scaring the life out of us as he learns to drive.

Bryce Sharp, Sam Thomas, Brennan, Mason Wills and Val Ault came to party.

March 6th was my 41st birthday. It happened to land on a fast Sunday this year, but Jeff did a good job making it enjoyable.

We had EVEN MORE snow days in March. It was the most snow I've ever seen while living here. It was so crazy. But we enjoyed every minute of it.

Regan's Kindergarten class had nursery rhyme day where they all recited a nursery rhyme of their choice. Regan picked "This little piggy went to market". She had a bit of stage fright and messed up the ending a little, but she looked so darn cute it didn't matter.

Brennan organized and did his Eagle Project. He decided to collect shoes for an organization called Soles4Souls. This organization sends used shoes to different countries in need including those who have been effected by all the natural disasters that have been so prevelent lately. He was told that these particular shoes were going to be sent to Haiti who had been hit severly by an earthquake last year.

We ended up having about 80 amazing volunteers between two Saturdays show up to help distribute bags to neighborhoods, then collect the bags full of shoes the following Saturday. Brennan also set up collection boxes at 3 church buildings and a couple of boxes at Valero Oil Refinery where Jeff works.

The girls were such good helpers too. Anytime we got a new bag of shoes, Regan and Jadyn were on top of things wanting to sort through the shoes and rubberband them together to keep them organized. Brooke was good at running around with her friend Alyse to collect all the shoes. It definitely was a family project.

The most amazing part of it was that the second week when we were supposed to go collect the shoes, it was storming real bad that morning and was predicted to keep storming all afternoon. We just prayed like crazy. The Lord definitely answered our prayers. It was storming as we gathered together, but as soon as it was time to leave to collect the shoes, the storm passed. We were SO blessed!

Overall he collected 1, 920 pairs of shoes!!!!! It was AMAZING!!! We all enjoyed helping him and knowing that all the hard work was for such a worthy cause. A few weeks later, we loaded them up in a trailer and drove them to Nashville where Souls4Soles has a warehouse. It was a great experience. We're so proud of Brennan for all of his hard work.

February 2011

2011-06-13T16:27:00.000-06:00

In February, we had more snow days. We had lots of fun making a snowman, and doing s'mores in the fireplace. Snow days were fun.

Valentines Day we had a fun dinner of heart shape pizza and lots of pink.

Regan dressed up for Grandma Day.

The girls had a Western dance at school. Lots of fun with line dancing, food, and hula hoop contests. The girls had me do the contests for parents. I have to say, even though I hadn't hula hooped since I was a kid, I did real well. Who knew I could still do that?

Catching Up!

2011-06-13T16:02:00.000-06:00

I know I am way far behind...so I'm gonna do my best to catch up for the year. It's gonna be a lot of work, but here we go.

In January my mom came to visit! We had fun playing games, eating out, seeing a movies and visiting an Antebellum home. We loved having her here!

We also took a day trip up to Nashville. It was the first time Jeff has been able to go with us. We had a good time showing him around.

On New Years Eve we let the kids have friends over to celebrate. We had cheese and chocolate fondue then went outside to light fireworks. It was a nice family way to bring in the New Year. Lots of fun!

Christmas 2010 and Brooke's 11th birthday

2011-01-09T19:26:00.005-07:00

December 2010 was busy as always. Before Christmas I got to go on a field trip with Jadyn and her 4th grade class to the Pink Palace. We had a good time together and enjoyed Mexican food for lunch after. I love spending one on one time with my kiddos!

I also got to go to Regan's kindergarten class to do a craft with them. Here's a picture of us together that day. She's the cutest reindeer ever! I was also in charge of Regan's Christmas party for her class since I'm room mom. I then went to Jadyn and Brooke's class parties the next day. Always fun.

On a completely different note: I am usually not a person who ever wears hats. I just didn't think I looked very good in them. I finally decided to cave in and buy one. The girls got one too. Have to say...BEST THING EVER!! Who knew I didn't have to do my hair if I wore a hat. Now we wear them ALL THE TIME. Guess I better get us some more. :)

Christmas 2010 was much quieter than normal. It ended up being just us and Jeff's parents. Christmas eve we went to Jeff's parents house for a yummy dinner and the missionaries joined us.

The kids had a small piano recital and then we did the nativity. Since it was just my kids, Grandpa and Jeff got to help out. Brennan got to play a double role of sheep/wise man. I think they were super cute!

Afterwards, we took the missionaries out to look at Christmas lights and then went home to have the kids open their Christmas Pajamas. Jeff and I were a little tired in this picture. Definitely must be Christmas.

The next day we woke up a little before 6 a.m. to open presents, and had Jeff's parents over for our traditional breakfast.

The rest of the day was spent playing games, going to a movie and eating more delicious food. You may not be able to tell by the pictures, but we also got a little snow Christmas day. Even though it didn't stick, it's always exciting for us when we get snow. Had a semi-white Christmas!

Two days after Christmas was Brooke's 11th bIrThDaY!

Unfortunately, we have been battling sickness the whole month. Poor Brooke got my gunk of ear infection, cough, wheezing, no energy and raspy voice the day before her birthday.Since Brooke gets jipped a lot having her birthday so close to Christmas, she had only had one party so far in her life and had planned a slumber party. We ended up taking her to lunch at On the Border Mexican food and did a little shopping. That wiped her out. So we got her home to take a good nap, drugged her up and had the party anyway.

We had Brooke's closest friends over which ended up being perfect. They had fun eating fondue and pizza, playing games, watching movies and just being goofy. It all went really well. No drama and Brooke had a great time!

Before Brooke went back to school, we ended up redecorating her room which was part of her present from us. She didn't want a little girl horse room anymore. She has now graduated to a big girl room. It was fun to do with her, but made me a little sad I admit. It's hard to see my little girl grow up.

This is a picture of Brooke and Jadyn back in 2002 when Brooke was two and Jadyn was 8 months old. When I look back at this picture, I'm amazed at how quickly time goes by. I wish I could just pause time for a while because it's going by way too fast.

But Brooke has grown into such a sweet young lady. I'm so proud of the choices she's made and am so happy to be her mom.

Family Pictures November 2010

2011-01-06T14:47:00.003-07:00

We were blessed to find a fabulous photographer for our family pictures this year. I met Stephanie Moore at Regan's dance class and we became fast friends. Turns out she's a Tempe, Arizona girl too! I knew I liked her. Here are some of the pictures she took in our little square in downtown Collierville.

I absolutely love these photos and am so happy to be able to keep forever!

2nd Part of October 2010

2011-01-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

The second part of October was busy. For the third year in a row I participated in Race for the Cure to raise money for Breast Cancer research. It has become so important to me since I've had friends, especially my best friend, Elizabeth Cluff, diagnosed with Breast Cancer. This year, Brennan, Brooke and Jadyn decided to do it with me. As always, it was a wonderful experience! They even had a pink port a potty to sign. Jadyn wrote Elizabeth's name and Brooke wrote Sister Phyllis Nelson, her primary teacher's name for everyone to see two of our favortie survivors!

On the 25th, our baby Regan, turned 6. It's hard to believe she's 6 already! I really don't want her to get any older. Sometimes I wish I could stop time. I brought her lunch at school and had a family party with her that evening. The green dress is the one her kindergarten class provides the birthday child. She loved it!

This year, Halloween was on a Sunday. So, our ward had the trunk or treat the day before. The kids had a good time. Brooke was a Cereal Killer with boxes of cereal glued to her shirt with plastic knives stabbing them. Brennan was The Doctor from Dr. Who, his favorite television show. Jadyn was a twister board game, and Regan was a witch. On Sunday, Halloween, we met at Jeff's mom's house for our traditional Halloween dinner where everyone brings a scary dish to share. I brought a craft for the kids to do. They all had fun and didn't even miss going out trick or treating. Good times!

Fall Break in Washington DC

2010-10-29T20:53:00.000-06:00

This year for fall break we decided to take the kids to Washington D.C. and LOVED it!

We rented a house in Arlington, Virginia close to Mt. Vernon. The first day we spent most of the day visiting the Air and Space Smithsonian as well as the Smithsonian of American History. You can literally spend all day there. We also got to see a few monuments.

That night we took the Metro Subway to Silver Springs, Maryland to meet my cousins Mark and Melissa Bradshaw along with Mark's wife Jamie and cute baby Courtney. We had such a fun time laughing, remembering our dads and talking about old times. Seeing them was the highlight of our trip.

The next day we woke up and went to Mount Vernon. George Washington sure had a beautiful piece of property. It's absolutely gorgeous. We had a good time seeing his home, teaching the kids about the colonists and slavery. It was as fascinating as I remembered.

We then drove over to Arlington cemetery. What a humbling experience it is to be in that sacred place and see the names of so many who have fought to maintain the freedom we have in this Country. Truly awesome. From there we jumped over to the Jefferson Memorial. Very cool.

The next day we took the metro down to D.C. again and started another day of MASS amounts of walking! We first went to the National Fallen Law Enforcement Memorial where I was able to show the kids my Dad's name on the wall of fallen officers. The strange thing about being in D.C. was that the whole time I kept having this huge urge to run over and see this memorial. I kept feeling like my Dad was there and I needed to hurry up and see him. Tears welled up in my eyes as I stood there with my family. There were so many names of so many people who had lost their lives just like my dad and knowing there were loved ones attached to those names who have suffered like my family had. It was an incredible experience. I am so glad I got to share that with my children and Jeff.

We then went walking to the Capitol building, then the Washington Monument, then over to the Jefferson Memorial.

You know, when you just look at them all lined up in a row, they don't look very far apart. We found out we were wrong. HOLY COW! It was major walking. But worth every step for sure. The kids were great. Regan was the only one to complain, but she didn't complain much. Thank heavens we were smart enough to bring a stroller by that 3rd day. Afterwards we hit the Smithsonian of Natural History for our last stop.

Overall, our trip to D.C. was exhausting, but worth it. I love being in that city. It reminds me of how much our founding fathers were guided by our Heavenly Father, how much we are blessed to live here, and how grateful I am for all those who have sacrificed so much to allow us our freedom.

We LOVED Washington, D.C.

Field Trips and Other Things

2010-10-17T20:47:00.000-06:00

October began with General Conference. Jeff gave a talk in church about ways to get the kids involved with General Conference. One of the ideas was to set up a tent like the people watching King Benjamin. So, we did. Add Halloween candy to the mix and it was a great and peaceful conference. The kids loved it.

There's a man in our ward named Phil Coley who was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Garrets disease). He and his sweet family have been suffering a lot. His wife Stephanie put together a team to do the race for ALS cure. We thought it would be a great experience for the whole family...and it was. It was incredibly moving to see those suffering with the disease in their wheel chairs participating as well as the people walking in memory of those who have passed because of this horrible disease. I'm so glad we did it.

This is Regan's baby named Molly. These past few weeks she has informed me that I am her Grandma and I am to take care of Molly while she's away at Kindergarten all day. I have to report to her at the end of the day all the things I've done with her. Regan even gives me instructions of how to take care of her. Very cute. But I wasn't expecting to be a Grandma so early.

Brooke had a field trip with all of the 5th graders at her school. We took tour buses to downtown Memphis. We got to see lots of the historical sites of Memphis including where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and St Jude's hospital along with many other stops. We stopped for lunch at a park that was close to Jeff's work, so he was able to join us for that. One of the traditions is for the kids to go to A. Schwab's store where the kids all picked out goofy hats to wear. They loved it. It was a very interesting trip, but long. It totally wiped us out!

Regan had clown day in Kindergarten. I completely forgot about it until the last minute so this is what we ended with. Brennan had dress up days every day of Homecoming week at the High School. He really got into it. This was his choice for tacky day. Silly kid.

Regan's Kindergarten class also had their first field trip. Regan was so excited to go on it and on her first bus ride. She woke up at 4:30 in the morning because of it. We went to the zoo.

The zoo was decorated with all of their Halloween stuff. The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day. We had a wonderful time.

Jadyn and Regan had parent night at the dance studio where we were able to come in and watch them. The girls just loved it. But poor Regan was still suffering from lack of sleep and the trip to the zoo. That girl was tired. She sure did fall asleep quickly that night!

I ended up rushing home to put her in bed. When I got back to watch Jadyn, I completely forgot to take a picture of her. Sorry J.J. That girl is fun to watch. She sure has some good hip hop moves and really knows how to shake her booty!

Words of Wisdom Continued

2010-10-12T18:59:00.000-06:00

I wish I was a grown up or a Grandma because then I wouldn't have to be careful because they're perfect. At least most of them....or some of them. Ask your phone how many people have made it to the Celestial kingdom. - Regan

Words of Wisdom

2010-10-08T21:56:00.001-06:00

It's later than a pickle in a pineapple! - Regan age 5

More of September

2010-09-30T16:10:00.000-06:00

Now that we're back to a schedule, we're also back to running around like crazy to all the activities we're all involved in. The kids have started piano & choir again which have us running before and after school. Jadyn and Regan started dance class. Regan started a tap/ballet combo class that she just absolutely loves. Jadyn started a hip-hop class so she can shake her little booty. J.J. just eats it up when the teachers pick her to dance in front of the class. They both seem to be enjoying it a lot.

I've been super busy running everywhere, being room mom for Regan's kindergarten class, and volunteering down at the school. This year for the school fundraiser they did a read-a-thon. One day the girls got to dress as characters from a book. Brooke picked the girl from "Because of Winn Dixie". Regan picked "Fancy Nancy" and Jadyn picked a pirate from a story she made up. (Creative Girl!) Another day, they had everyone come in their pajamas. They also asked for volunteers to come in their pajamas to read to the classes. I went and read in Jadyn's class. The kids seemed to really enjoy seeing parents be silly.

September 20th was the anniversary of the day my dad was shot and killed as a police officer in the line of duty. Although it has been 23 years since he died, it is still an extremely difficult time of year for me. I miss him terribly and wish he were here to see these grandkids of his and be involved in our lives. He would absolutely love this time of his life. I was really emotional this year about it and don't really know why. I guess even though years and years go by, it still doesn't take away the sadness of what could be and what I miss. But this year I decided to celebrate my dad's life.

So, for dinner we had medium rare steak, loaded potatoes, and salad which is a meal my dad made on special occasions. I talked about memories I had growing up with my dad. One of those was going tubing down the Salt River with him. We floated down the river with big inner tubes and my dad would toss us pop and Ding Dongs and other junk while we had fun. So for a snack we ate Ding Dongs in his memory. We sang some of the songs my Dad would sing with us while camping. We played Swat the Fly like we used to sometimes for Family Home evenings. And, we danced around while we listened to my Dad's CD of the group he sang in when he was in his 20s.

I'm glad I got to share those memories with my kids so they could know their Grandpa better. I'm pretty sure he was laughing with his crazy laugh as he was watching us from heaven.

Everything Since Then

2010-09-10T13:37:00.000-06:00

As soon as we got back from Arizona, we came home to find the Skipper cousins in town! The kids had so much fun being together again. When Laurie and Dave and the kids lived here, these kids were very close. Each one of Laurie's kids has one of our kids close in age. They love being together and are super goofy! Demonstration below:

Here's McKay and Brennan doing their usual...video games. Actually, we were quite impressed with these two boys. When we got back, we had temperatures of 104 and tons of humidity. David was building a deck in the back of Jeff's parents' house and asked them for help. They were very hard workers despite the horrible weather! As always, we were so sad to see them go back to North Carolina. We miss having them live by us.

Just a few days after that, the kids had their first day of school. Brennan started High School (which I'm still in denial about), Brooke 5th grade, Jadyn 4th grade and our baby Regan started Kindergarten. What a spread! Regan was so excited to start school and was very ready. She even had me just drop her off at the curb outside of the school as she walked in. She absolutely loves school. She's a little torn because she misses all the mommy time she's used to having, but she loves being there.

I am experiencing a bit of an empty nest syndrome. My house seems so quite and lonely without the constant chatter and singing that she does. Everyone keeps asking me what I do with all my free time. I just laugh and say, "What free time?" Between getting up at 5:30 every morning to take Brennan to early morning seminary, being room mom, volunteering, kids before and after school activities, all my other daily chores and gym time, I still haven't found free time. That's okay though. I like staying busy.

On August 15th, our little Jadyn Joy turned 9! Boy how time flies. She ended up having a birthday weekend. On Friday of that weekend she had her friend Melissa Ault over for a sleepover. I took them to get candy and a movie. They had pizza and painted their nails and had lots of fun. The next day Jeff and I took her clothes shopping, to lunch and then to get her ears pierced. Sunday was her actual birthday. She had lots of yummy food to eat all day, had Grandma and Grandpa Danielson over for dinner and had homemade German Chocolate Cake. I think it was a successful birthday weekend.

One weekend we were bored so we went to Jackson, TN which is about one hour away just to do something different. We went to lunch at an AWESOME Mexican food restaurant and spent time at the family fun center bowling and playing miniature golf. We then went and had banana splits and shakes at the old time ice cream parlor. It was a nice change of scenery.

These past few weeks the weather is finally cooling down and we've taken full advantage of it. We've done lots of hiking and family walks and picnic. Last Saturday we went to Herb Parson Lake for a 5 mile hike that ended up being a 7 mile hike. Don't know how that happened, but we enjoyed it anyway (for the most part). And the kids were troopers!

Saturday night Regan kept complaining about being itchy. I just assumed she got attacked by bugs while on the hike. But by Monday (Labor Day), she had more and more spots in more and more places that looked a little funny. As we examined her closer, we realized that they weren't bites at all. Our poor baby had Chicken Pox. Jeff took the other kids over to his parents' house for a BBQ and Regan and I stayed behind. All week she kept getting more and more spots despite the two vaccines she had to prevent it. Luckily it wasn't that bad of a case. She was very itchy but never got sick. I think we both enjoyed having her home from school. We did lots of reading, snuggling and playing games. I hate that she had chicken pox, but was glad to have some chatter in the home again.

Trip to Arizona

2010-08-21T20:47:00.000-06:00

This summer we spent a little more than 3 weeks in Arizona and had a great time! Jeff was working his crazy work schedule, so I braved the trip there with just me and the kids. Fortunately, the kids are great to travel with. We made it with no problems and enjoyed our time on the road.

A little after we got there, Laura had her 39th birthday. We went with her best friend Mary to get a pedicure and then met Brent for lunch. I hope she had a fun birthday because I sure had fun celebrating with her. I really am blessed with the best sister in the world!

Whenever I go home, I always feel like I never have enough time to do everything I want or see everyone I want to see. Luckily I got to see some of my closest friends this time and LOVED it! We got to meet with Mitch and Elizabeth Cluff a few times. I love being with them. Always enjoy their company. Got to enjoy lunch with her and Steve Wright from my old single's ward days too. So fun!! I got to have breakfast with some of my favorite girls from High School - Heather Andreasen Biggs, Jennifer & Jill Bott and Andi Clark Gooch. I always enjoy doing breakfast with them and catch up on everything that has happened in our worlds. Another highlight was reuniting (most of) the Session Brothers and Session Sisters! Our little gang had so much fun together through all the years we've known each other. Lance, Beau, Lynda, Shelly and I and our spouses met at Tim Knollmiller's home and had a great time reliving the good old days. I LOVED being with all of them again. Just wished Karla and Rob could have joined us to complete the gang. We missed them. It made me realize once again how I really have been blessed with the most AMAZING friends in my life! Lucky me!

Of course no trip to AZ would be complete without lots of swim time! We had so much fun being in the pool enjoying silly dives and chicken fights. Laura even got some synchronized swimming going on.

Of course we also had to spend A LOT of time at Laura and Brent's Krazy Sub. WE LOVE KRAZY SUB!!! This year they added a new menu item....Krazy Kookies. Two homemade cookies stuffed with Thrifty's ice cream in the middle. SO YUMMY! And of course my kids had lots of fun with their cousins doing talent shows, shopping at the mall, playing the dollar store game and hanging out. They all get a long so well. Todd and Jen moved up to California recently, but luckily for us Jen came down with the kids so they had them to play with too. They really love each other. And I love how sweet and kind the older cousins are to my little ones. Regan got really attached to Rebecca and cried every time she wasn't around. All of them are the best!

One Saturday we all took a little day trip up to Payson and then to the Natural Bridge. Payson was absolutely gorgeous that day. We went to the park to have lunch and goof around and play games. It rained a little while we were playing games, but we didn't get any of it. The temperature even dropped down to 68 degrees for a while. It was so nice.

Afterwards, we went to do a short hike down to the Natural Bridge. It was a great little hike and very pretty. We even found a bush loaded with blackberries that we picked. Laura was the champion of blackberry picking as she would jump smack in the middle of the bushes. And even though we all got scrapped up and dyed with blackberry stains, it was all worth it when we got back to my mom's house and Brent made us some fabulous blackberry cobbler. YUMMY! Loved that day!!!

Jeff had his 38th birthday and we celebrated our 16th anniversary while there. My wonderful sister was nice enough to watch the kids for us as we went over to Scottsdale and stayed a night at the Westin Hotel there. It was great! The hotel staff was super friendly. The room was big and gorgeous. The grounds were beautiful. Unfortunately the weather didn't quite cooperate. Monsoon season hit. The hotels have a bunch of awesome pools and even a lazy river. Jeff and I got all ready and got to the pool, stepped in the lazy river just in time for them to kick us out because there was lightening. That was a bit of a bummer. But we ended up doing a little shopping and then stuffed ourselves at
PF Chang's for dinner. We grabbed a slice of cheese cake from the Cheesecake Factory then went to a movie. The next morning we got a late check out and finally enjoyed the pools until we left to go and help decorate for my cousin Kelsey Passey's wedding. Great way to celebrate our anniversary. Laura is the best!

Our last day there we got to go to Kelsey and Craig's sealing in the Mesa temple and then go to their reception. Everything was beautiful...especially the bride!

I loved being able to see all my Utah Aunts, Uncles and cousins and spend time with them. I wish I could see them more. I am blessed with the most wonderful family a girl could ask for! Right after the reception we loaded in the truck and headed home.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip!

4th of July Collierville Style

2010-08-06T16:26:00.000-06:00

This year we stayed in Collierville for our 4th of July. It was a lot different than our usual time in Arizona...but it was great.

The 4th of July was on a Sunday this year, so we did most of our celebrating on Saturday the 3rd.

We went over to Jeff's parents house after a day of swimming and had a yummy BBQ. The cousins had fun playing together and enjoyed ice cream and playing games.

We later headed to the park for the fireworks show. Not as spectacular as the one in Arizona, but it was still enjoyable.

On Sunday (the actual 4th) we set of our own fireworks that we bought in Mississippi. That was pretty fun. Regan didn't enjoy it so much at first, until we gave her her own sparkler. It was so cool seeing all the fireworks go off all over our neighborhood from all the neighbors. Awesome Show!

Overall, it was a great day celebrating our freedom and the country we love!

Summertime!

2010-07-06T19:23:00.000-06:00

We've been busy so far this summer and have been having a great time.

Here's a quick catch up for June.

Brooke go contacts. Caught a frog. Went visiting teaching with me

down in Mississippi. She and Brennan have both been learning how to cook.

Unfortunately, that means more cookies and brownies we have to try to resist.

She's been super helpful this summer and I'm grateful for that.

Jeff's company had a party at a golf and games type of place. It was a lot of fun.

Kids got to have their faces painted. Petting zoo. Bumper boats. Race cars. Laser Tag etc.

as well as lots of food to eat. It was fun just being together.

The girls went to Vacation Bible School where they learned to share the Word like Bees.

They had fun making crafts, playing sports, singing songs and learning the differences

between our church and other people's faith.

We've also been filling our days with lots of other things.

This was our trip to the Children's Museum while Brennan was off to Scout Camp.

The girls had a really fun time.

We've also gone to movies, swimming, crafts, the library as well as trying to teach

these kids to serve others. So far it's been great. Can't believe how fast it's going.

Graduation Time

2010-05-21T16:02:00.001-06:00

Regan had her end of the year preschool program and graduation. It was adorable as you can imagine. The kids did little skits and sang songs. Loved it. Afterwards, they had a little picnic for the families outside on the lawn. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the 70s. Beautiful. Regan had a great time in preschool this year. She cried any time she couldn't go. Hope that stays with her in the years to come!

Today Brennan had his graduation from middle school. It dawned on me recently that we will only have him at home for 4 more years. That really freaks me out. That's not much time at all. Time flies way too fast. I can't believe our little boy is growing up and isn't much of a little boy any more. He's gone through a voice change and a growth spurt. Doesn't even sound like himself anymore. We're so proud of him for all he is. After graduation, we got to grab a beverage with Jeff and then I took him for steak at lunch. He then got to go pick out his own graduation gift. He picked a wii game...of course!

These are some random photos I found of the girls. They really are beautiful. I feel so blessed to be the mother of these 4 children.

May Fun

2010-05-17T17:43:00.002-06:00

Been busy with end of school year stuff and pure laziness mixed together. I love that combination. Brennan and Brooke both had choir concerts. I love hearing my children sing! Jadyn and Brooke had Field Day...but I didn't get good pictures of any of that. BUT, I did get some pictures of our fun this past weekend.

Jeff's company gave us tickets to the Redbirds Minor league baseball game. We took the kids to our favorite Mexican food restaurant beforehand and got there a little late. Unfortunately, all the points scored for the whole game happened in the innings we missed. The kids were pretty bored. But it was a gorgeous night and we were together! No more 90 hour work weeks for Jeff, so I was loving every minute. After the game was over, they had a fireworks show that was pretty dang good. The kids liked that part. It rained a little, but it was still so enjoyable all being together. I love my little family.

Today we got to go over the my friend Amy Smith's home with some other friends. They have a heated pool. Still, I'm an Arizona wimp. I don't go in unless it's very warm. But Regan and her friends LOVED it. It's the second time we've been able to go so far. And although I now have to load up with SPF and sit under the umbrella more, I LOVE being out in the sun with friends enjoying the weather and good company! I love my friends.

Here's Regan in the middle with her friends Addisyn and Jalynn. Cutie pies!

Spring has Sprung!

2010-04-28T16:02:00.000-06:00

Jeff is still busy working his 90+ hours a week so it's just me and the kiddos on the weekends. The weather has been gorgeous (mostly). We definitely have to enjoy it while we can.

Since there's not much to do in Memphis, I decided to take the kids on a day trip to Jackson, TN about an hour from here. They have a cute little village with miniature golf, an old fashion ice cream parlor and little shops. It took us 2 hours to play 18 holes of mini golf, but we had a fun day. Gotta change it up a little in life.

Brooke's class had a field trip today at the zoo. I got to have my friend Tiffanie Emerson drive with me. We had such a good time. The weather was absolutely beautiful and sunny. 72 degrees for the high today. I loved being there and having some girl time with Brooke.

Here Brooke is with her sweet friends Alysse and Sarah Emerson. The girls were super goofy but had fun. We then got to enjoy a yummy lunch together and get her checked out of school for the rest of the day. I love days like today!

Easter

2010-04-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

Easter was wonderful!

At church, the activity day girls organized an easter egg hunt for the children. They did a great job filling eggs and hiding them. Even had brownies and water for an extra treat. They had such a good time hunting for those eggs. It was so cute.

Jeff has been in the middle of a shut down at the refinery. He's busy again working his 90+ hours a week. We haven't seen him much in the past month. Luckily, he came home in time to take me to a late dinner and then color eggs Saturday night with the children. The kids sure love it when he's home.

On Easter Sunday he surprised us and was able to stay home all day! This is the first time he's been home on Easter for the past 4 years. It was SO nice!

Jeff's parents went to visit his sister in Dallas, so we just did dinner on our own. My back is still sore from the surgery, so I wasn't really up for hosting. But that didn't stop me from being excited to do Easter dinner. We had homemade muffins with eggs for breakfast. Ham cooked with a cranberry orange sauce,homemade dinner rolls, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans with bacon for dinner. THEN... carrot cake made by scratch for dessert. YUMMY!!!

It was a quiet and peaceful day as we got to listen to conference and hear the words of our prophet, remember the Atoning Sacrifice of our Savior, and be together as a family. WONDERFUL!

Preschool Field Trip

2010-03-24T15:04:00.000-06:00

I love days like today. Beautiful sunny day - 72 degrees outside. I got to lather myself up with sunscreen (of coarse!) and go on a field trip with Regan's preschool group.

They had 2 police officers block traffic as we walked as a group from the preschool to our cute little downtown square a few blocks away. The kids walked hand in hand in the cutest little line you ever did see.

Then, they got to eat ice cream on the gazebo that sits in the middle of the square while the mom's visited. Afterwards, we walked over to the fire department on the square. The firemen were very kind and let the kids

go through the fire truck. For some odd reason, Regan wanted nothing to do with that.

The kids then lined up and walked over to view the post office and then walked back over to the preschool. Such a sweet and simple field trip. The kids loved it! I loved it! These are moments to remember.

Melanoma is NOT for the faint of heart - WARNING

2010-03-19T13:04:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, Jeff's boss went in to get his moles checked and found out he had Melanoma skin cancer. Which got Jeff and I thinking that we should probably get ours checked out too. Jeff saw a mole in the middle of my back that he was a little concerned about. After making a trip to the dermatologist, she did a biopsy of the same mole Jeff was worried about. A week later, I received a phone call confirming that that mole was melanoma skin cancer.

Kinda made me sick to my stomach just knowing I had cancer, but I knew I'd be okay. Luckily I have two wonderful friends who have been on this same journey. I was able to talk with them and realize what I was in for. So last Monday I went in for a scheduled surgery to cut out the melanoma. As I already knew, Melanoma can be an extremely dangerous cancer. If not caught early, it is fatal. Fortunately, Jeff caught it early.

Melanoma is a tricky cancer. The cancer cells don't really stick together. Some like to go off to the sides. So, in order to make sure they got it all out, they cut a large area. Dr. Tuli ended up cutting a big diamond shape in my back that ended up being about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide and about a half an inch deep. Since they just numb the area that they cut, I was awake the whole time and got to see my diamond shape skin put in the dish that would be sent off for more testing. It was really weird, but interesting. They ended up cutting all the way down to my back muscle. Jeff got to see it all. AND AMAZINGLY.... he did NOT faint!

After they cut the diamond shape out, they pulled the skin together and then sewed it all up. I ended up with this....

I have since learned that every little movement that I make seems to be connected to my back. Every reach, every stretch, sitting, even walking....which makes it so sore. There doesn't seem to be a comfortable position to sleep or sit in. Every thing is connected to the back. Yesterday was the first day that I could move enough to dress myself without any help and shampoo and do my own hair. Today I seem to be paying for it though.

I feel sorry for my kids. This week has been spring break and they've had to stay home and not do much. They have been amazing though. I am so proud of them. They are being extra loving and attentive and extremely helpful. They have really stepped it up! Love those kids.

And all in all, I really can't complain. It hurts, but it could be a lot worse. I don't have to do chemotherapy or radiation or anything. That is a HUGE blessing! And most of all, I still have my life. It may be a life that is different that before. Staying out of the sun is going to be a MAJOR adjustment for me! But, I'm grateful. A little pain can teach you a big lesson.

BIRTHDAYS!

2010-03-12T16:03:00.000-07:00

At the end of February, Jeff sent me to Arizona for an early birthday get away. I had the best time. The weather was in the 70's and sunny. It was gorgeous. So nice to go home and warm up. I filled my days with family, eating, movie, games, more family and friends. Everything I love! I even got to speak at Ethen, Elizabeth's son's baptism.

Since it was close to my 40th birthday, my sweet sister and dear friend Heather Biggs put a party together for me. We met at Laura and Brent's sub shop once it closed.

Laura is amazingly talented and decorated the place super cute with pink and green balloons, centerpieces, etc. The place was darling. She even blew up pictures of me through out my life, connected them with ribbon and made adorable garland for the walls. It was fun for everyone to see themselves in the pictures too. She is so awesome.

Then I was surrounded by family and friends. Some friends that I hadn't seen in way too long of time. We played a game of music from the 80s, enjoyed visiting and super yummy food.

I LOVED every minute of it. I have been so blessed with such amazing friends and family through out my life. HUGE BLESSINGS!!

It was just THE perfect trip ever!

The day after I got home, Brennan turned 14!!!!!

Holy cow. I cannot believe my little guy is 14. It's so scary how fast time goes by. Brennan chose to have his traditional chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Then he chose breakfast burritos for dinner and Jello cake for dessert. That night, he and I went to the movies together. It was so fun to have some one on one with the birthday boy. AND look at that cute birthday sign below. My amazingly talented sister made it. It is so darn cute. We got good use of it right away!

Later that week, I went down to Mississippi to have my hair done by my dear friend Mary Berry. She surprised me by having my other camp friends, Kriss Norris and Alayna Weiss there to celebrate my birthday. Alayna brought our favorite Mexican food. We had so much fun just laughing and chatting away while Mary made me beautiful. Wish I took pictures. Dang it! I just LOVE those girls.

On Friday of that week, my most awesome friends here had a birthday lunch for me. We went to our Italian food joint and had more laughs, conversation, and yummy food. SEE WHAT I MEAN? I have THE BEST friends!!!!!! I was so spoiled.

On my actual birthday, Jeff decorated the kitchen so cute with 40 decor everywhere. It was so fun. We also woke up to sunny skies and warmer temperatures. So, after eating my birthday strawberry shortcake for breakfast....we went HIKING!!! I loved it. And even though Brooke was making fun of me for being so old the whole way, it was so fun. Later we enjoyed lunch and movies with the kids....then date night with Jeff. It was FABULOUS!!! I couldn't have asked for a better 40th birthday. I felt so loved.

What a Winter!!!!

2010-02-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy winter. We have had 4 snow days and record low temperatures for the month of January. We have been FREEZING! Yes, I know I'm wimpy. But give me a break. I'm still an Arizona girl at heart.

Brooke had fun with her dad doing a science project on distillation.

Brennan made the honor roll for the semester! Woo hoo!

I helped Brooke's class make 4 fleece blankets for Youth Village where the children don't have any blankets. That was quite entertaining watching them. But they did a good job.

We've had school cancelled 4 times so far. Once we didn't have hardly any snow. Two days we had a major ice storm. It was gorgeous seeing the city in ice. BUT, we had major problems and damage because of it.

This is a picture of the city tree that is behind our fence. It got so weighed down with ice, it came crashing over our fence breaking it and our fence and covering the swing set. Hopefully they'll be out soon to fix it all. We also had a few days of several hours with no power in our city due to trees crashing on the power lines. We had tons of trees down all over the place. The longest period of time without power was 7 hours starting at 10 pm. We were very grateful for our handy generator that night! BE PREPARED!

We woke up today to another cancelled day of school because of snow. This time, it was real. Kinda funny because it took us all by surprise. Nobody was really expecting it.

I think we ended up getting a good 5-6 inches though and had so much fun.

Regan made me proud and actually played in it longer than she ever had before.

Brooke built herself a little man.

Jadyn lasted about 5 minutes. But she still looked cute.

Brooke and Regan were brave enough to make snow angels.

Jadyn is such a momma's girl.

Brooke and Brennan ganged up on me in a snowball fight.

All in all, we had so much fun...but so not equipped for snow. Without proper snow clothes and gloves, it is so cold. It's fun being able to have snow just a couple days a year though. But, I have a feeling we haven't seen the end of it yet.

Texas Trip and Stuff

2010-01-24T15:50:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas, the kids and I loaded up into our Yukon XL and drove to Houston. Jeff, unfortunately, had to stay home to work. But, one of my old young women, Allison Enright, was getting married and I had to go. Our dear friends, the Echards, were so wonderful (as always) and put us up in their beautiful home. It was great seeing them. The next day was Brooke's 10th birthday!

We drove over to Friendswood to go to our old ward. It was so fun seeing everyone there and seeing how much the kids have grown. Then, my fabulous friends Shelli and Todd Horman had us over for a yummy dinner and cake to celebrate Brooke's day. It was so sweet of them to make her feel special even though we were away from home. We loved being with them again. Brought back so many good memories of living there.

The day after that, I got to go shopping and do lunch with Stephani Echard. So much fun. Then went to quite the racy bridal shower for Allison. So much fun. I'm so proud of this girl. She chose a great guy. He is so lucky to get her! The temple sealing was wonderful and Allison looked gorgeous. I was so happy I got to be there to share that special day!

Skipping forward to 2010....determined to make this a fabulous year. So far so good. For MLK day, Jeff had the day off. Luckily it was a gorgeous sunny day. We took the kids to lunch and the zoo. All the animals were out and happy that they finally had some sun and warmth after record low temperatures.

The animals were having so much fun...including my animals. :)

We loved being out in the sunshine!

Love these little faces!

All in all...it was a near perfect day!

What a blessing!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2009-12-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

It's that wonderful time of the year where we run, run, run from one event to another! We have been BUSY!!! Some of the things we've been up to lately...Brennan's Middle School Christmas Choir Concert. Brennan is on the left 3rd row. One of the only 3 boys!

Brooke's 4th grade class had a field trip to the Pink Palace museum. The kids had a worksheet to fill out. We spent most of the time filling the dumb worksheet out which didn't leave any time to actually enjoy the museum. But, I enjoyed being with her. Here she is with two of her friends, Carson Rees and Sarah Emerson. We had a lot of fun going to lunch with them and all the rest of our crazy kids afterwards.

Here are the other kids that joined us that day, Carter Emerson, Regan and Ryleigh Rees. BOY was it a noisy car full!

Another day we went to see Brooke's choir sing on our cute little town square. They were supposed to be music for the fair on the square. Unfortunately, it was a very cold and rainy day. It pretty much ended up being just the parents that showed up to watch. We were all wishing we could move the concert to the warm school instead. No such luck! We got to enjoy all 10 Christmas songs in the freezing cold!

Regan's preschool had a little program for us where they sang cute Christmas songs. Here Regan (far right) is with some of her classmates. They were soooo cute! I was sad knowing that this was the last preschool program I'd get to have one of my children in. They are growing way too fast for me!

Here Regan is with her reindeer that she made for the program.

Jadyn had her Christmas class party. Isn't she so cute?

Brooke with her friend Alysse at her class Christmas party.

And of course, Regan had to have a picture taken with me!

That's just some of the fun we've been up to lately! Put on your running sneakers! At Christmas time you go, go, go!!!!

Rocky Top Tennessee

2009-11-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we took the kids out of school for few days and rented a cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN right next to the Smoky Mountain National Forest. This is the third time we've been there, and we loved every minute of it.

The first day we went miniature golfing, ate some good southern food for lunch, took a ski lift up a mountain and rode the slides down, and went to the Christmas shops. Then we went back to the cabin and made S'mores and played games. The kids and Jeff had fun in the jaccuzzi. (I hate them personally).

Here's Jeff and me at the top of mountain by the ski lift. So beautiful there.

The next day we went to do some hiking in the national forest. It was perfect weather. A gorgeous day.

We hiked on this trail for 1.5 miles up to a water fall where we ate some lunch.

I think the other hikers were jealous they didn't think about bringing lunch too. After the hike, we drove to the highest point of the National Park and enjoyed a gorgeous scenery.

As we were leaving the park, we saw this cute little guy up in the tree. No trip to the Smoky Mountains is complete with out seeing a black bear.

That night we took the kids to a dinner comedy show with Christmas music. It was a lot of fun. It was a perfect, beautiful, much needed vacation.

This week we had a great Thanksgiving. Jeff's sister Holly and family came into town. We had a great time with them at the zoo, shopping and of course turkey day. So blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Halloween and Race for the Cure

2009-11-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

I cannot figure out this new formatting for the life of me. Sorry for the mess. This Halloween was busy. Halloween morning I got to participate in my 2nd Race for the Cure for breast cancer. Once again...an amazing experience. This is my team, Postively Pink, above.

I got to race with my friend Nicole Rees (left) who was an awesome run/walking partner and see my friend Mary Berry (right) as well as lots of other women I love to death.

The neighborhood that we run in is so amazing. A lot of the neighbors decorate their homes to participate and support.

Here is an example of some of the homes that decorated.

It is such an emotional and empowering experience to see so many people come out in support, see the survivors and see the names of those who didn't survive. In all, Memphis had 16,000 participants in the race. And of course, my thoughts were with my favorite survivors Elizabeth Cluff and Cheri Sharp who have been such an example of strength and courage to me.

Brooke and Jadyn dressed up as pirates. Regan was a cute witch. Brennan was the candy passer outer. We told him he was too old this year. But, he did a great job.

The church put on a trunk or treat on the 30th. They had a chili cook-off and games and a costume parade. The kids had so much fun. Regan won a costume contest for her age group. They said she won for "Prettiest Purple Witch." I thought that was so cute.

Regan's preschool also had a party. Nothing cuter than a bunch of 4/5 year olds dressed up for Halloween. She loved it. It was a great Halloween.

Regan Had a Birthday

2009-10-27T14:12:00.002-06:00

Our baby, Regan Kylie, turned 5 on October 25th.

It's still hard for me to believe that 5 years have gone by since she was born.

Regan has never had a party with friends, so this year was definitely her year to have one. The day before her birthday, she had 9 of her closest friends at a party at Build A Bear Workshop. The girls had such a good time. I don't think they stopped smiling the whole time they were there. It was so cute. These are the girls that were in her playgroup and church. Her cousin Ruby made it as well. Look at all these cute girls! The next day was her actual birthday. It landed on a Sunday this year. It just so happened to be the Primary Program that day too. The girls did such a good job on their parts. Later, we had a birthday dinner. Grandma and Grandpa Danielson were able to join us.

Regan decided she wanted a princess party. She made EVERYONE wear tiaras.

Even Grandma and Grandpa! They were such good sports.

We are so grateful to have Regan in our home. She is such a smart and sweet girl and very easy going. We love her singing and dancing all around the house. She's even known to dance to all the primary songs in singing time every Sunday. She has been pure joy to all of us.

On a side note....the kids got their grades last week. They all did well. But Brennan had grades all in the 90s. I would say he got all As, but one of his grades was a 90. Here, a 90 is a B. I think it's crazy. So in my mind, he did get all As. We're so proud of him getting on the Honor Roll. He worked so hard. We knew he had it in him!

Fall Break

2009-10-19T16:16:00.002-06:00

The kids had Fall break last Monday and Tuesday. We had some fun together. The weather was cold and rainy, but we managed to have fun anyway. On Monday I took the kids to Incredible Pizza. Here they are being goofy.

Tuesday we met Jeff for lunch and then came home to make caramel apples. I learned, I have no clue how to make caramel apples. I blame my sister in law Laurie for moving before teaching me! ha ha Here's Brennan with his. OH....and Brennan got contacts. Can you tell? :)

Brookie making her apple.

Here's the end result. They were so big, we all got very sick from eating them. Didn't even finish half of them and we were still sick. And the kids enjoying the hard work. The fall break wasn't long enough, but we enjoyed the time we had.

Soccer Fundraiser Lawn Fun

2009-10-09T13:13:00.006-06:00

I am completely overhwhelmed with how far behind I am on here. My sweet Grandma keeps getting on me for not blogging. So I decided...don't try catching up all at once. Start from now. If I can catch up later I will. So, here it is Grandma. I love you and I'm glad you motivated me to get back on here. Thanks for reading it!

The elementary school had their annual fundraiser of having the kids walk around in circles and do an occasional dance. I don't get it personally. But, the kids have fun. I had fun watching. Jadyn's class were Busy Bees. Look how cute that face is. Brooke's class was Carpenter's Court. They had king and queen cloaks on. Super cute. Here's Regan, Brooke and me. Here's Brookie with her queen outfit and Regan's cute little smirk.

Brandon Smith in our ward put together a soccer team for the interfaith soccer league. It's a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds from both of the Collierville wards who play against other churches in the area. Regan isn't very aggressive, but she LOVES it.

The team isn't doing very well so far..but they sure are cute. That counts for something, doesn't it? Here's Regan with Cara Rees and Addisyn Stubbs. As you can see, Regan is a little short of stature compared to the other girls.

Look at Reggie's cute little face. Aww. Who cares if she hasn't scored a single goal!

Jadyn had fun posing for me when we were outside enjoying the gorgeous weather. Here's my beautiful 8 year old.

And another.

And another. That's all for now. Maybe I'll catch up on the summer later. We'll see! :)

May in a Nutshell

2009-05-31T17:08:00.002-06:00

May was full of lots of end of the year stuff. Jadyn's class had a field trip to the Nature Center. I loved being able to go with them. Jadyn and I had some fun mommy/Jadyn time. Here she is with her friend Hannah. Cute girls. Just the two of us! My big 2nd grader in my sunglasses. After the field trip, I checked her out of school and took her to eat Mexican food. Just the two of us. She LOVED it. This is one girl that just thrives on one on one attention. We had a great time. I have to say, out of all my children, Jadyn is the most like me. She could eat Mexican food every day and never be sick of it. The other kids shy away from salsa. How can they have my blood in them? But not this girl! Yay Jadyn! It was a great day.

Brennan had his end of the year choir concert. It's 7th/8th grade combined. His sweet cousin, Kaisey Skipper, is also in the choir. I love that he can share this experience with her. They are also both in the honor choir.

I LOVE being able to see him sing in choir like we used to.

Get away without the kids!

2009-05-25T13:44:00.004-06:00

Last Wednesday Jeff and I got to get away by OURSELVES to Destin, Florida. It was AWESOME! The weather was overcast and a little colder than I like, but not too bad. We had afternoon showers, but it only lasted for about one hour each time. We pretty much just layed around on our beach chairs all day long enjoying life by the beach that we miss so much.

We just loved having this time together. So grateful for my mother in law and Laurie who helped take care of the kids while we were gone. It was a much needed vacation for the both of us. We just wish it could have lasted longer.

Zoo Day

2009-05-18T22:18:00.006-06:00

I have so much to catch up on. Don't have time to do it all, but I had to post these pictures right away. Regan's playgroup had their final play day today. We decided to go to the zoo to celebrate. It was a gorgeous day. Sunny and 73 degrees for the high. As we were walking, I caught Regan and her friend Ryleigh Rees holding hands. Here are the pics I got...

So cute, huh? And here is Regan with Ryleigh's sister Cara. Cutie faces! Love the big cheeks!

Regan is such a poser! Some of the girls hanging out. Regan has been so blessed to have such great friends. This playgroup has been such a great thing for her. We'll miss it a lot!

Updating at last!

2009-05-10T20:03:00.003-06:00

Been super busy lately with end of the school year things, softball games, reunion planning, and planning for girls camp. Here's my update so I don't forget what has been going on. Two weeks ago, I had playgroup at my house. We were busy doing the usual stuff when it dawned on me that this would be the LAST time I ever do playgroup in my life. Next year Regan will have preschool and won't be a part of it. It's hard to believe that my baby is growing up so fast. Even harder to believe that she's my last and this stage of my life is done. I'm going to miss it. If you don't know...we're not a very athletic family. This is Brooke's 3rd year of playing softball. We usually go the whole season not seeing a whole lot of action coming from her. A few weeks ago, she told me that she wanted to be MVP sometime this season. I just fed her some nice positive lines about how if she practiced real hard, she could do it...hoping that I wasn't being too optimistic for her. Wouldn't you know, the next game she played in, she had her chance. Bases were loaded. There were two strike already and Brooke came up to bat. My stomach just turned as I watched her nervously. It was the end of the game, we were trying to catch up, and the team was depending on her. The girl ends up smacking the ball, got on first base and got a RBI. The coach, the team and I just looked with our jaws open then screamed and screamed. Brooke got MVP that night! Dreams really do come true! One of my best friends from Houston, Shelli Horman, came to visit me for a few days. I LOVED having her here. She is such a wonderful friend that is always positive and happy. Just love being around her. We had such a fun time together. Reminded me of the good ole days. We went to Beale Street, BB Kings....

Decided not to pay the $33 to go inside Graceland, but we went and saw it anyway! We got pedicures and went tanning. Made lots of SONIC runs. Stayed up late talking. Showed her all the best places to eat in town, and went to Collierville Fair on the Square. I really needed a visit! Thanks Shelli! THEN, lucky for me, I got to have my wonderful cousin Jason Clement come. He was in town for business with Nike, but had time to do dinner. He served his mission here, so we had to get him some famous Memphis BBQ. Then he came over to the house for a nice visit. We got to remember all the good times we had growing up fire extinguishing people, going to the airport and torturing people there, elevator jumping, watching videos in the desert and taking Communication classes together at ASU. It was SO good seeing him again. Wish I could see him more often. LOVE that guy! Thanks for taking time for me Jason! Love you!

Easter 2009

2009-04-16T14:20:00.004-06:00

We had a great Easter this year. The refinery is having major problems right now and Jeff has been working every day very long hours. But luckily, he was able to come home late Saturday afternoon in time to dye eggs with the kids. They had fun and were so happy to see him.

Regan told us she needed to stretch after dying eggs. I guess it was super strenuous for a 4 year old.

Sunday morning Jeff and I got to sing with our ward choir at church. We got to sing more difficult songs than normal which was great. It actually sounded pretty decent for a ward choir. AMAZING. It really made the meeting beautiful. Right after church, Jeff had to go back to work. That makes 4 Easters in a row that he's had to work. What's up with that? Here are the kids in their Easter clothes. So cute!

I went with the kids over to Jeff's parents house for a nice Easter dinner. It's such a blessing to have family close by. Especially on holidays when Jeff is working. Here are my boys. So handsome!

We had a short little Easter program at Jeff's parents and were reminded once again of the great blessing of our Savior's Atonement and Resurrection. I am so grateful for Him. It was a lovely Easter day.

The madness begins!

2009-04-10T18:11:00.002-06:00

It's softball season again! Brooke and Jadyn have both signed up this year. Between the two of them, I feel like we live at the softball fields.

Luckily, Jadyn and Brooke both have great coaches that are fun and realize it's just a game. Last night was their first games. Jadyn was so nervous since it was her first time ever playing. She struck out the first time up to bat. But, after a great pep talk from me, she lost some nerves and made a hit the second time up to bat. I was so excited! I have been to many a baseball games never seeing any hits! Unfortunately, the girl that caught the ball had an amazing arm and got her out. In the end, they lost the game 6-2. BUT, she loved it! Brooke is in her 3rd year playing softball. She's now with the older girls ages 9-11. It's amazing how much bigger 11 year old girls are than 9 year olds. The girls on the team call her Little Brooke! This year is actually pretty exciting watching their games. They have the girls pitch, and are allowed to steal bases.

Brooke was up to bat twice. She was walked to first both times! Good eye Brooke! The first time up to bat, all the bases were loaded. SO with that one, she helped score a run! AND, she stole the 2nd and 3rd base both times. It was so much fun! Her team ended up losing 8-7. So disappointing. I thought for sure they had it. It was a great time though. Jeff has been working 18 hour days this week without a day off. Haven't seen much of him. We were all excited when he showed up in the middle of Brooke's game to join us. It was so nice being together.

Jadyn and I had fun goofing off at the game. It was a great night. In two years of watching games, we haven't seen a win yet. Here's hoping for this year! Wish us luck!

Spring Break Fun!

2009-03-25T15:40:00.003-06:00

We had so much fun for spring break this year. Jeff couldn't get off work, so the kids and I decided to go off on our own. We had fun enjoying the warmer weather and sunshine. It was a beautiful week. Mid week, I decided to take the kids up to Nashville just to get away. It's such a fun city. We went to Opryland hotel...went miniature golfing.... jumped on beds at the hotel....(Shhh. Don't tell Jeff!)

Went to Opry Mills Mall and the Rainforest Cafe

Just had fun dinking around and not having a schedule. It was great!

Birthday Fun

2009-03-18T06:14:00.002-06:00

March has been full of fun. On March 2nd- Brennan became a teenager! AGH! He turned the big 13! Wow! I know I'm way behind my friends and family on this, but I'm still freaking out that I'm old enough to have a teenager. Wasn't I just a young adult the other day? Time goes by way too fast! This was a year for a family party. We celebrated with the extended family here the day before. I took him for some shopping after school on his bday, then went to dinner. He had a great day. Two days later, I got to fly to Arizona for my 39th birthday. I really got to have an extended birthday. Five days of fun. This was an itinerary waiting for me when I got there. Just cracked me up. Wouldn't that have been fun to do? Especially the bungee jumping and eating at Krazy Sub every day!I really had the best time in Arizona. It was such a fun time. I got to be with some of my favorite people in the world. I got to go shopping, play games, be sung to by the local band seen below (who were fabulous!), see a movie, eat out at my favorite AZ spots, go hiking in the mountains, etc. It was the best! These are the fabulous women I got to be with in the day on my birthday. It was so much fun being with my mom, Elizabeth, Laura and Heather. We just laughed and laughed and had so much fun. Nothing beats that. I just love these women more than they could ever know! That night Todd and his family and my Grandma came over for quite the party. It was great! Loved being with them. One of the highlights of the trip was the time I got to spend with my best friend Elizabeth. She's still in the middle of getting chemo right now. She is going through so much physically and mentally with this huge trial in her life. I know it's terribly difficult for her. But, despite that, she's incredibly upbeat, positive and such an inspiration to so many people that surround her. I know she has been such an incredible source of strength and has touched so many peoples' lives. Elizabeth - I love you! You amaze me!

AND - I can't thank my sister, my mom, and all my family in Arizona for making this such a fabulous trip. It couldn't have been more perfect. I am SO blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people that make me feel loved and make me laugh! THANK YOU!

More SNOW!

2009-03-04T04:22:00.002-07:00

We woke up to blossoms on all the trees last Saturday. Saw some green coming out on the grass. Later on that same day, we came out of the movie theatre to find it SNOWING! We ended up getting about 6 inches of snow all together between Saturday and Sunday. Church was cancelled because the streets were iced over. We had so much fun playing in the snow and having snow ball fights! The kids came in later and I made hot chocolate while they were taking a warm bath. We're just not equipped for snow.

We had such a gret time. I LOVE snow when you only have to deal with it a couple times a year!

DOGS!

2009-02-27T13:38:00.004-07:00

The other night Regan came into our room telling us that she had a nightmare. She ended up sleeping on the floor by our bed. The next morning, she came and sat on my lap and said, "Mom. I had a bad nightmare. I dreamed that Grandma's dog bit my shirt. She's a big evil dog. I don't want to go to Arizona anymore!" I then explained to her that she has never seen Grandma's new dog. I also explained that Grandma has a little chihuahua puppy that is so small and wouldn't hurt her. She then said, "No. She's a big evil dog." I then told her she was wrong. I told her the only pets she has seen of Grandma's are her cats. Then she went on and on about Grandma's evil cats that are mean. She's scared of them, and doesn't ever want to go to Arizona. As hard as I tried, I couldn't convince her of the truth! It's funny what little ones think of.

THEN, last night we had a big thunderstorm. Our dog Maddie HATES thunderstorms. They scare her to death. So, for hours she kept going from Brooke's bed to my bed jumping on it and trying to get some love from us to help her. She kept changing her position on the bed. At one point I put my head under the pillow. She wanted to be petted so bad and comforted. I think it freaked her out that she couldn't find my head. She kept looking for it, putting her nose under the covers trying to find me. Needless to say...DOGS are preventing all of us from getting any sleep around here!

Western Dance - YEE HAW!

2009-02-23T17:27:00.002-07:00

Brooke had a Western Dance to go to at her school last Friday night. When I first walked in, I kinda wondered if it was a dance, or just a bunch of kids running around chasing their friends. They had line dancing, snacks, and a hula hoop contest. Brooke concentrated SO hard. She lasted a long time, but didn't quite win. As you can see, Regan wanted to dress up, but not as a cowgirl. She's our princess cowgirl I guess. She was so cute though. She followed Brooke everywhere and wanted to dance just like her. It's so fun to have sisters.

Jadyn came too. This is Jadyn with her friend Rebecca. Such cute girls. Despite the chaos, it was a fun night.

HELP! It's camp time again!!!

2009-02-21T17:08:00.002-07:00

HELP!!!! It's camp time again and I am feeling blocked. I'm trying to come up with some fun activities and spiritual activities for girls camp and am having a MAJOR mental block. Everything I look at, I feel like I've already seen before.

Does anyone have any good ideas? The theme is "Hold your torches High" with olympics as a side theme. Please share your thoughts!

It's a world of Love!

2009-02-18T14:51:00.004-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Valentine's Day around here. Regan really wanted a party since her sister's were having one in school. Somehow the girl talked me into getting a pinata too. She must be the youngest! I made some sugar cookies and invited some of her friends over. For some reason, Regan decided she needed to wear pajamas. She got frosting on one set of pjs, then went and got a second pair! Silly girl. The kids had fun though.My friend Nicole Rees and I were in charge of Brooke's class party. They had pizza, played bingo, decorated cookies, and read their valentines. It went well. I ran over to Jadyn's class half way through the party time, but got there too late. They were way faster than they should have been. Poor Jadyn. Here she is with her cute valentine's box. Here are some of Brooke's classmates with the cute bags they made. She really isn't the only girl.

Jeff ended up having a big catastrophe at the refinery on Valentine's Day. He was gone all day and didn't get back until 9:30 that night. I tried to make the best of it and had fun with the kids. We had the Skipper cousins over to decorate cookies.

I made them heart shaped french toast and colored them pink. We went to lunch together. Then I took them to see Pink Panther 2 at the movie theatre.

Jeff had ordered me my favorite flowers for Valentine's day. Since he was at work, he had his sweet sister Laurie get them for him and bring them to me. Thanks Laurie. Even though we missed Jeff a lot that day, it made my day to know he was thinking of me.

Busy Week of Wedding

2009-02-11T15:44:00.002-07:00

Last week was one of those incredibly busy weeks. I read to both of the girls' classes at school. I ate lunch with both of them on different days too. Ran around to try to get things done for family coming in town and prepare for Laurie's wedding!!!! Yippee! I had a bridal shower for Laurie on Thursday night. She wanted to got to Carrabas. We had a great turn out and had lots of fun. Here's my beautiful mother- in-law, my sister-in-law Laurie that I love to death, and me at the shower! We embarrassed her a little, but I think she had fun!Friday I helped decorate the church for her wedding reception. With 8 weddings under her belt, my mother in law had it down to a science. We got the whole thing done in just 3 hours. It was beautiful. I got to have Holly and her two cute daughters here as well as the boy cousins that are Brennan's age. It was so much fun! I took some of my nieces to go buy stuff to decorate the car after our family breakfast on Saturday. Here's part of the end result. Jeff had a great time teasing David (the new hubby). Somehow my camera got turned over to black and white. You can't see how beautiful the colors were here. Laurie looked absolutely beautiful. The kids were so cute. I had so many of my friends comment how they have never seen Laurie smile so much. She just beamed from ear to ear!

Here they are with all the color! Aren't they gorgeous?

Maddox looked so cute kneeling down like that! Overall, it was a beautiful wedding, and a wonderful weekend with the family. We are so happy for Laurie!

Weekend with Little Sleep!

2009-02-03T13:47:00.005-07:00

It's camp planning time again!!!!

This past weekend we had a slumber party here for the Camp Stake Staff and all of the YCLs to start planning camp. We had fun eating pizza and cookies, then got busy planning.

The girls came up with "Hold Your Torches High" with an Olympic theme. I think it will be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to planning all the activities of camp with them.

We had about 15 girls here ages 15, 16, & 17. They are a fun group. I think they'll be great leaders.

That night, the girls got to bed around 1 am. All the leaders, who are wonderfully amazing women that I love to death, stayed up talking until 3:30. Then we went in our rooms and continued talking until 5 am and were up again before 8!

We're worse than the girls!! But hey, how many times do you get to have slumber parties with your girl friends when you're as old as we are? It was great!

Snow Day!!!

2009-01-29T13:50:00.003-07:00

We had a chance of snow the other night. Jadyn's teacher told her students to have their family members turn their pajamas inside out and it would snow. So, that's what we did...and IT WORKED!!!Funny thing is, it didn't even snow much. Just a couple of inches this time. School got cancelled anyway. They're kinda wimpy around here if you ask me. But, it's always fun to have a snow day with the kids. I made them blueberry pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Later that day, we met some of our favorite friends for lunch at CiCi's pizza. I really hate CiCi's pizza, but it's a good place to have a bunch of kids run around while the moms talk. It was fun. The kids played in the snow while I was making breakfast. We really aren't equipped for the snow since it only snows once a year here. Regan could only stand it for about 2 minutes. That's progress though. The older ones played for about 45 minutes, but then got too cold. At least they got to have a snow ball fight and have some fun in it before it melted.

It's great having to only deal with snow once a year! It's fun to play in, fun to look at while it's fresh...but such a mess!

Goodbye Pepto Princesses

2009-01-26T14:02:00.006-07:00

I really wish I took some pictures of this room before I tackled it. When we bought this house, one of the rooms was painted in a Pepto Bismol colored pink and had decals of the Disney princess all over it. I really didn't care for the room. BUT, my Jadyn and Regan LOVED it. Now two and half years later, Jadyn finally got tired of the princess. So, I finally got to fix the room. YEAH! Here it is now..

I calmed the pink down and added some green to match the bedspreads.Put some cute vinyl lettering on the walls with some butterflies. Added some hanging thingys on the other wall. Pretty easy changes, but soooo much better! Now to tackle the Sponge Bob bathroom!

Locks of Love-ly change!

2009-01-20T16:14:00.002-07:00

My girls kept telling me they wanted to cut their hair short. I didn't really believe them because they kept going back and forth on the idea and absolutely love their long hair. Brooke especially. She has never even wanted more than a couple of inches taken off her hair. I guess all the knots she has been getting in her hair was the deciding factor. They did it! They chopped their hair. I know they also really wanted to do it so they could donate it to locks of love. Since they know my best friend Elizabeth has lost her hair from the chemo she's getting, they have felt a bigger urge to help out. I know it really made them feel good. Here are the results.... Jadyn

Brooke..... if you look at pictures right below from before, you can see the dramatic change this was for her especially! Even Regan got into it, though her hair wasn't long enough. Thanks to my great friend Mary Berry for making these girls hair look so good. It turned out very cute!

Family Pictures

2009-01-16T17:16:00.009-07:00

Just thought I'd share some of our family pictures for those who haven't been able to see them. We took them last November. Isn't it beautiful here in the fall? Married 14 years and still kinda like each other a lot! Isn't that the cutest little 4 year old face?

Jadyn Joy getting bigger at age 7.

Brooke Elizabeth age 8 almost 9.

Brennan Riley age 12. Handsome guy.

Together.

Our cute kids.

4 + 5 = 9

2009-01-10T15:43:00.006-07:00

Jeff left last Friday to go to his Grandma's funeral in Utah. His sister Laurie also wanted to go, so I volunteered to watch her five children on top of my own 4. This is what I ended up looking like after the four days of having 9 children.....

Just kidding. I actually had a great time with them. The kids are really very good kids that are about my own children's ages. They all get along really well and love being together. I must say, it was interesting having 7 children doing homework every night. It astonished me to see how quickly we went through milk and fruit. And of coarse, no one wants to go to bed at night when they have their cousins there to talk with. But, thanks to Kaisey's help (she's the oldest), and a quick change of the sleeping arrangements, it went real well. We even managed to have family home evening without any problems! After they left, my house was A LOT quieter, emptier, and cleaner... but I kind of missed them. It was fun to be a mom with lots of kids.....temporarily.

And the fun continues

2009-01-02T14:33:00.003-07:00

Our sweet Brooke turned 9 on December 27th. She wanted to have a birthday party at Incredible Pizza. I knew the place would be packed on her actual birthday since it landed on a Saturday. So instead, we had it on the 26th. She wasn't able to have all of her friends there since some of them were out of town, but she had a good time anyway. Uncle Ben and Aunt Holly were still here, so they came with us with their kids. She had a great time! The next day, on her actual birthday, we had a fun day shopping with her and eating her favorite foods. I guess when you have a birthday that close to Christmas, the fun never stops! Here's the group that was able to make it. Regan, Bailey, Hailey, Sarah, Brooke, Scott, Jadyn, Taelyn, Madison and Natalie. Since Incredible Pizza is kind of far away, we ended up having this group for almost 4 hours. Luckily, they're a great group of kids. She's blessed to have such good friends. We are blessed to have such a sweet daughter. Brooke has always been kind, sweet natured, a little sensitive and really the peace maker of our home. She is a beautiful girl inside and out. We are so blessed to be her parents.

Jeff had another week of vacation left at work. So, from Christmas day on, we've been able to have him home. We've had a fun week together. The weather finally got warmer and sunny. I was so grateful. I hate the cold. So, we tried to spend as much time together outdoors as we could. One day we went to the zoo. The next day we went hiking. Here's the girls with their walking sticks.

My boys.

Me, Brennan, Brooke and Jadyn enjoying our time in the sun! Luckily, we have a big park down the road with some amazing walking trails that go around a big lake. We got to jump over mud, walk on little bridges, cross over water on a log, and Regan got to learn how to pee in the forest. Luckily we learned from last time to bring toilet paper with us. Funny thing was, we dropped Jeff off at the airport today so he could go to his Grandma's funeral in Utah. On the way home, Regan needed to go to the bathroom. I told her she had to wait a while because we were on the freeway and not near a bathroom. She then said, "Well mom, just find me a tree!" Too funny! Overall, it was just so nice to be together as a family. No little friends. No phone calls. No interruptions. Just time together. Heaven!

Some of our Favorite Christmas Moments

2008-12-26T16:25:00.005-07:00

We had a fabulous Christmas this year. It was our first Christmas that we have spent in Tennessee. Jeff's sister Holly came into town from Dallas with her cute family. We loved having them here. We really missed everyone in Arizona a lot. Wish we could have Christmas in both states. But, we are grateful we have family here. We've had many Christmases without any family. It's much better with. The week started with the kids making Aunt Laurie's famous graham cracker houses. They always have a great time doing this. Once again, I had a great time eating the candy while they were creating! Here's Brennan, McKay, Kaisey, Abby Blackham (friend), Uncle Ben, Jadyn, Bailey, Taelyn, Brooke, Regan, Emma, Gracie, Scott. Fun group of kids! Monday night we got together with the Danielson gang. We were going to go Christmas caroling. Unfortunately, Jeff's Grandma Stay passed away that day so the mood kind of changed. On top of that, it was around 13 degrees outside that night. SO, we decided to carol to ourselves and share favorite Christmas moments. Very enjoyable.

Christmas Eve we decided to do a progressive dinner. We started at our house for appetizers and a cousins' Christmas piano recital. Very talented group of kids. Then we went to Mom and Dad Danielson's for yummy dinner and the nativity. Here's our group below. We then walked across the street to Laurie's house for dessert and play. It is so fun to live so close to each other where we can do things like that. Afterwards, we went to look at Christmas lights and had the kids open their jammies. It was such a fun night. Here's Jeff trying to get a little Christmas action. Think he got lucky?

Christmas day I heard someone up at 6 a.m. I walked upstairs to the game room and found Brennan. Turns out the kid woke up at 12:30 am and never went back to sleep. Crazy boy! Had the kids open presents then had the Collierville family over for our traditional chili egg puff breakfast. YUMMY! Can't break tradition. Especially when it comes to food. Our Christmas miracle....Brooke got some boobs.....

Cutie Jadyn with her new slippers.

Look at the cute sisters sharing the love.

Jeff got these awesome pants from a friend in the ward...."SEE THESE PANTS?" - Napoleon Dynamite

Our wonderful children must have been good this year since they didn't get any coal from Santa. The rest of the day was spent at the movies, being with family and a small adult party playing games with chips, dip, and salsa once the kids were in bed. Good Christmas!

Party, Party, Party!

2008-12-20T15:29:00.006-07:00

It was a week of party party party. Sound familiar? But first, this is an advent calendar my mom made us years ago. My kids absolutely LOVE hanging up the ornaments day by day and counting down the time for Christmas. Each child takes their turn and looks forward to it. As you can see though, the top of the tree is up pretty high on the wall. Last Sunday I got a glimpse of this....

My sweet Brennan had Regan on his shoulders helping her put the ornament on for her turn. He's a great big brother! My primary class earned a party for good behavior. They decided to make sugar cookies, have pizza and watch Christmas movies. We had a great time. We did miss Carson though. Wasn't quite the same without him (our only boy). I just love this class and feel blessed to be their teacher. Wednesday after school, Brooke's 3rd grade teacher had her class bring gifts to the Adult Alzheimers home here in Collierville. They then sang a bunch of Christmas songs for them. It was really cool. Afterwards, Brooke got in the car and said, "I feel so good inside Mom. Can we go there again sometime?" I'm grateful she has a teacher that gave them such a wonderful experience.

On Thursday, both Brooke and Jadyn had class parties at school. Here's Brooke decorating her cookie.

Jadyn's class also had a little Christmas program for us. SOOO CUTE! Jadyn did a great job and loved dressing up for it. She also has an amazing teacher. What a blessing!

Friday night we had our ward Christmas party. Santa Claus came for a visit. Regan seemed to enjoy it. Jadyn loved talking with Santa too.

Brennan thought he was too old for Santa, but liked being a goof ball with him.Brooke, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with Santa. She was afraid of him and didn't like everyone starring at her. Here she is after we forced her to atleast stand by Santa for a picture. NOT HAPPY AT ALL! I also got to go to a cookie exchange party with some of the women in the ward. Also enjoyable. Although busy, we had a fun week spending time with family and friends. Aren't we blessed?

Friends

2008-12-16T19:35:00.004-07:00

I love to read my family and friends' blogs. It is such a fun way to catch up with everyone and see what goes on in their lives. Interestingly, it seems like lately there has been a reoccuring theme with everyone.....friends. Funny thing is, I've been wanting to post about the same topic for a while now. Now I'm even more impressed to blog about my friends. Ever since I was a little girl, my mom has told me to pray for good friends. I have always done that. I must say, it works. I have been blessed with the most AMAZING friends a girl could ever have. It has been such a huge blessing in my life. Here's a picture of one of them. Miss Elizabeth Cluff (aka Libby).

Elizabeth and I have been friends for 20 years now. We met each other at Ricks college our first year out of High School. She followed me to Arizona after that. Elizabeth has been one of my sweetest, dearest friends. We have been through A LOT together and she has always been by my side. No matter how far a way we are from each other, it doesn't matter. Our friendship has always been strong. Through roommates and boyfriends and getting married and trying for children and then having those children.... she has been there. Right now Elizabeth if fighting breast cancer. Once again I have been amazed by her. Don't get me wrong. She has her bad times, she has her pain, but she is such a source of strength to all who surround her. Despite all of her trials and difficulties, she remains positive. She is such a blessing to all of us. I can't imagine my life without her. Thank you Elizabeth for years of laughter, tears, joy, frustration, and more laughter. You are an amazing blessing in my life! I love you! This girl below is Heather Biggs. She and I have been friends since the 7th grade. She has also been through a lot with me too. Heather was around when I lost my father. I can't tell you how much she meant to me during those dark, dark days. She stood by me through the most difficult time in my entire life. Through the years after college we stayed in touch, but our lives went different ways. Recently, we have gotten to be close again. It has meant the world to me to have our relationship strong again. She too has had a lot of health problems lately and lots of trials and difficulties associated with it. Once again, I stand in awe as I watch how she faces these problems. She too has her bad moments, as we all do. But her overall attitude is so optimistic and full of faith. She is such a wonderful example to me. I am so grateful to have her in my life. When I'm having hard days, she is one of the first I want to call. Heather, I am so grateful for you. Thank you for putting up with me over the years, not giving up on our friendship and staying a huge part of my life. I love you!

AND THEN, I have all of my OTHER friends. I seriously could write a blog devoted to all of them. I have had so many special friends that have shared such important parts of my life. I have friends that are there with me in my own trials, laugh with me in the good times, friends I can confide in and know they will be there for me no matter what. To Stephani and Shelli... thank you for filling my days in Texas with so much joy. Your friendship means more to me than you'll ever know. To all my friends that live here... you are an amazing bunch of women. I am so grateful to be surrounded by such fun people that enjoy having a good time and yet strive to live a good life and stay close to the Lord. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the friends I have here. Thank you for all you do and who you are! To all my friends in high school... thank you for supporting me through such difficult years. I couldn't have survived it without you. To my very best friends (besides Jeff)... my sister and my mom... no one gets me like you do. You are my favorite people to be around. I can never thank you enough for EVERYTHING! Okay... this is way too long. But my point is, I am very, very blessed. To all my friends ..... THANK YOU. My life has been touched because of you.

Gingerbread Houses

2008-12-13T19:29:00.003-07:00

Regan's fun Aunt Laurie has a tradition of having the preschoolers to her house to make "Gingerbread" Houses made of graham crackers. She puts the little houses together before the kids get there and all the moms bring a bag of candy to share. We had about 12 kids there this time. The kids had such a good time putting the houses together and use their creativity. The moms had a good time eating the candy and chatting. It really is a win win situation. We love doing this. Thanks Laurie!

Here's Regan with some of the kids.... Ryleigh, Alayna, Regan and Cara. Such cute girls. Of coarse Laurie's game room was a total disaster after they played in there. I went up to get the kids to clean up. The only one cleaning was Cara Rees. I told Regan she needed to get up and help clean too. She was in the corner standing by the rocking horse. She just looked and me and said, "No Mom. I need to stand here and watch the rocking horse to make sure nobody gets on it." What kids will say to get out of cleaning! You gotta admit, she's creative.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2008-12-08T16:18:00.005-07:00

It's that most wonderful time... RUN, RUN, RUN as fast as you can to be at all of the wonderful events that pack the month of December. I really do love this time of the year, but sometimes it gets a little crazy. Last week we got to go to Brennan's Christmas Choir concert. I'm not really impressed with his choir teacher, but the kids did a good job with what they are working with. It was fun watching Brennan sing. I love hearing him sing and am glad he finally is embracing that talent...even if he is only 1 of 4 boys in his middle school choir. Go Brennan!

I also got to go to a couple of Christmas parties this week. One was for my Jazzercise class. Kinda funny to see how much really junky food people bring from an exercise class. Oh well. It's Christmas, right? Here is the husband and his "helper" of the lady who hosted the party. They were a crack up!

On Saturday, Jeff and I had the privilege of going to the Temple to do sealings. Once again I was reminded of what wonderful blessings are in store for us if we keep our covenants. It amazes me how much our Heavenly Father loves us. The spirit was SO strong. It bore witness to me once again that this is truly His work and His house. What a blessing!

This month was also our wards month to clean the temple. So, when we were done with the sealings, we cleaned with a large group from our ward. IT WAS SO COOL! There is not much more rewarding than cleaning the Lord's house. It made us feel incredible inside to be a part of it. On top of that, there is nothing better than cleaning clean. I was in heaven! (Are you jealous Laura? Remind you of your old job?)

It amazed me how clean the place is. I mean there wasn't even a particle of dust coming down from the ceiling fans that I dusted. INCREDIBLE! It made me realize though that my house that I think is usually very clean probably isn't as clean as it could be. The whole experience was really cool. Something I highly recommend if you ever get a chance!

A Time of Thanks

2008-12-02T15:10:00.007-07:00

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving week. Luckily for us, we have the blessing of living by family and had lots of visitors this Thanksgiving. Jeff's brother Joe and his wife Melanie came in from Pennsylvania with their two kids. Laurie had some cousins from North Carolina come. Then, while we were playing games at our house on Thanksgiving eve, the doorbell rang. We were surprised by a visit from Jeff's other brother Carl from Utah. It was so much fun having everyone here.

Wednesday we went bowling. Here are the cousin bowlers and the adult bowlers. We had 4 lanes for two hours. In the end we decided that two hours was way too long bowling. I was hurting that night. Used muscles I don't normally use I guess. We had fun though. That night was when we did games and had the cousins spend the night.

Thanksgiving morning all the grown boys went to play football with the ward and got beat up, but had a good time. I made breakfast moms (or breakfast jacks) for all the little girls in my home after I went and grabbed a newspaper and a beverage (my favorite tradition). We watched the Thanksgiving Day parade as the kids circled what they wanted in the newspaper ads and I made homemade rolls. We then headed over to mom and dad Danielson's for a DELICIOUS dinner. These pictures are of the girls making Grandma's traditional apple turkeys. Also Jeff with ALL of his brothers. They haven't been all together for a few years. The Danielson Boys - Jeff, Steve, Carl & Joe. That night we went to my house for a movie and went to bed stuffed. Friday Jeff & I hit the stores for all of the sales. We aren't die hards... we left our house at 9 am. We (or should I say I) just like being out with Jeff after being home all day. I kinda go stir crazy staying home for that long. We had a great time together and got a lot of shopping done. That night, Laurie & David (her fiance), Rommyn's cousin Eric and wife Christa, Jeff's parents, Carl and Jeff & I went down to Beale street to BB Kings for yummy food and wonderful music. When in Memphis you have to do BB Kings. It's so Memphis. Anyway, Christa, David and I had a fun time doing the "Electric Slide". Later on I had this old guy that seemed to be 100 years old call me out to the dance floor to dance with him. IT WAS SO FUN! He was such a riot. He wanted to dance every song and kept pointing to different women to come dance with him. It was a great time. Saturday we spent the WHOLE day setting up for Christmas. All in all it was a wonderful week. I am SO grateful for everything I have and acknowledge that it is all from the Lord. One of the biggest blessings - family. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful family. Both the one I came from and the one I married in to. How blessed am I?

Our Twins

2008-11-25T20:26:00.003-07:00

We have always thought that Regan looks just like Brooke when she was young. Now we have proof. I was going through some old pictures today. Regan saw this picture of Brooke and kept telling me it was her. She didn't believe me that it was Brooke. To tell you the truth, there are times when I can't tell the difference. I showed Jeff this picture of Brooke and he said, "Are you sure that's Brooke? I think we have that purse." He couldn't believe it until I showed him the date on it of 2002. It's amazing how much they look alike. I think they're twins born 5 years apart!

Weekend Getaway - Time Out!

2008-11-20T15:38:00.004-07:00

I kind of feel weird blogging right now about trivial things when there are much more important things going on right now. BUT, knowing those people I'm worried about, they would want me to go on and have a moment not worrying. I must say first, Elizabeth, we love you so much. Words can not express how much your friendship has meant to me in my life. Our prayers are with you. I have to thank Jeff for posting for me while I was gone last weekend. He did a great job. I missed that great announcement that was posted in our bulletin at church and will miss that class a lot. Now to catch up. Last weekend, I got to go to Time Out for Women in Nashville with these gorgeous ladies below. We had such a great time. We were fed spiritually by wonderful speakers and talented singers. On top of that, I got to enjoy great company. My friend Nicole set us up in her time share that was close to Opryland. It was spacious and comfortable. We even fit 3 of us in a bed very comfortably. Here's the group... Nicole Rees, Erika Bailey, Tiffanie Emerson, Sheryl Varnedoe, Cheri Sharp (who was really with the other group, but we needed her gorgeous face in this shot), Amy Smith, Marianne Rickabaugh and Me. As you can see, it is a very mixed group of women. As I sat listening to the messages and was surrounded by these girls, I realized how blessed I am to know each one of them. We all come from different back grounds and have had different trials in life. But each one of us has great attributes and outlooks that have strengthened me so much. I loved getting to know these women even better and loved being around them. After we were fed spiritually, we were fed physically at Macaroni Grill. YUM! Marianne had a birthday in two days and had these boys eating out of her hand. That woman is a kick in the pants. SO MUCH FUN! She had them sing to her, bring us extra dessert that we didn't pay for and had them kiss her on the cheek. It made them blush, but they loved it.

Here we are enjoying our dinner together. What a cute bunch of girls.

That night, Nicole really wanted to go line dancing at the Wild Horse Saloon down town. Most of the girls were tired from staying up talking the night before, but Marianne and I went with her. We had SO MUCH FUN! We made lots of friends along the way, danced and danced and laughed even more. Our sides just ached from laughing so much. It's so nice when you can do that. It doesn't happen often enough in life. Marianne in her 64 years of life is so spunky and high energy, Nicole and I had to try to keep up with her.

The next day, we had fun walking around the inside of the Opryland hotel seeing all of it's beauty. It was a great way to end the trip. Thank you Nicole for putting this together. Thank you girls for making this trip so memorable. Let's do it again sometime!

The Church has Canceled Gossip Essentials :-(

2008-11-16T13:55:00.007-07:00

When we arrived at church today we learned from the Ward Bulletin that the Gossip Essentials class has been canceled.

We are so disappointed. How are we going to keep up with what is going on in the Ward? I guess we will have to see what the other classes have to offer...

Free dog anyone?

2008-11-13T16:13:00.003-07:00

This is our dog Maddie. We rescued her from the local shelter. Most of us love her dearly. Regan, our four year old, unfortunately does not. For some reason Maddie doesn't realize that she is below Regan on in the dog pack order. The majority of the time Maddie is very sweet. She is the coolest dog I've ever seen. When she gets outside, you just have to call her name and she comes right back. We NEVER have to chase her around the neighborhood or anything. She's a very lovey dovey dog that loves to follow the mom of the house around EVERYWHERE and needs lots of loving. Sad to say though, Maddie has snapped at Regan a few times. The other day she actually bit her on the nose when Regan pushed her. She didn't draw any blood or leave a mark. BUT, she is our daughter and we're concerned. We would hate to see this continue to escalate and do some permanent damage to our little one. She has never done anything to any of the other kids. Just Regan. I think it's because she's about the same height...and Regan doesn't like her. SO, if there is anyone who knows someone that wants a dog... preferably no one that has kids younger than 6, we have a free dog. Please ask around. She really is a good dog. We'd hate to give her back to the shelter.

Save the Tatas - Race for the Cure!

2008-11-05T13:35:00.004-07:00

I wanted to post about this earlier, but I was waiting on some pictures from my friend. Now that I have them, here I go. On Oct. 25th I got to do the coolest thing and participate in the Race for the Cure for breast cancer. It was really an amazing experience. Our group was a bunch of LDS women from the area (seen below). We have all been really touched by our friend Cheri Sharp who has been battling breast cancer this year. She found out she had breast cancer while pregnant with her 4th child. She's only 32. (I hope I got that right Cheri). Anyway, her courage and strength has inspired everyone that surrounds her. Luckily, she did remarkably well and is cancer free and just finishing up with a ton of radiation right now. On top of that, my best friend Elizabeth Cluff that I have been friends with for 20 years was diagnosed with breast cancer in October at age 37. She's at the beginning of her battle. As with Cheri, I am awed at her wonderful attitude and amazing strength. These are women to look up too. I love her so much. So, when Patty Michaelis put this team together, I just HAD to be on it. It is just crazy how many people I know have been affected by this horrible disease. It made me feel an urgency to try to do SOMETHING.

The two women in pink above are our LDS breast cancer survivors. Cindy Forsyth is to the left, and Cheri Sharp is in the center. Do you see her smile? That's what I'm talking about. She's wonderful!Here I am in front of the pink horse with the names of all the women I was running for. Now, another cool thing about this race was the involvement of the community. The race was a 5k that went behind a shopping center and into a neighborhood in Germantown (the city next door). Turns out, the neighborhood got completely into this. We had cheerleaders and a band from the local high school rooting us on. As we went through the neighborhoods, many houses were all decorated in support of the race. There was pink everywhere. It was SO cool. There were pink flags, pink flamingos, even pink Halloween decorations. The house with the Halloween decorations had pink spider webs and pink spiders with pink ghosts and a sign that said, "Save the BOOOBS!" The picture above is a family that dressed up like the rock group KISS that had a sign saying, "KISS breast cancer goodbye!" I thought that was so cool.

This is kind of hard to see, but this guy was dressed up like Elvis and had a huge pink ribbon for breast cancer on his roof top. He was doing his Elvis moves and cheering us on. Other neighbors just sat out on their lawn chairs and clapped for us. One house had the music from the movie "Rocky" playing to motivate us. Another house even had a sign that said, "Save second base!" I thought that was hilarious. I tell ya, it was such a cool experience. Seeing all the women in pink that are survivors gives you hope for a cure and motivates to try to take care of yourself. Here are my friends Vickie Mecham and JoAnn Briscoe who stuck by me through the race and weaving in and out of the other racers because I wanted to go faster. They were troopers! This was actually the end of the race, but we were accidentally standing under the wrong sign. I highly recommend doing the Race for the Cure if you ever get a chance. I know I'm addicted.

Halloween Fun!

2008-11-01T17:24:00.010-06:00

We had a very eventful week that was a lot of fun. Jeff's mom started a tradition of making "scary" food around Halloween and getting together to eat it. She was out of town, but Laurie and I decided to continue the tradition in her honor for family home evening on Monday. Here's our food. I made some witches brew soup and some mummies....

Laurie made these very yummy candied apples for the kids. Not scary, but yummy.

She also made these cute ghosts to dip in a spider web of guacamole dip. It was fun to get all of us together and enjoy the beginning of Halloween week.

On Wednesday, the young women in our ward put on a trunk or treat night with dinner and activities. We still don't have an activities committee in our ward, so we were grateful they were willing to take this on. We all had a great time. Here's my little princess Regan.

Jeff had fun passing out the candy while I took Regan around.

Here's my cute primary Valiant 9 class at our ward activity. I have my cute Brooke, my niece Bailey Skipper, Madison Bailey, Melissa Ault, and our one and only courageous boy Carson Rees in the back. This group is a lot of fun. I just love being their teacher.

The cousins also got together to carve pumpkins during the week. Everyone bailed on carving the pumpkin except for Brooke. She did the whole thing by herself and loved every minute of it. Here's her great creation.

Brennan was sick for Halloween so he missed out on the fun. Poor guy. Jeff stayed at home with him and passed out candy while Laurie stayed at her house with Maddox since he was done after just a few houses. SO, I had the great privilege of taking these cute kids trick or treating by myself. Here's Kaisey & McKay in the back. Taelyn, Jadyn, Brooke and Bailey in the middle. Maddox and Regan are in front. We went all the way from their neighborhood and looped up and down through many streets until we got to our neighborhood. It was quite a walk, but we had so much fun. Regan squealed and laughed with delight as she pranced from door to door. Later she said, "Mom, I can only hold 3 candies in my little hand!" I just LOVE going with these kids and watching them. It's my favorite part of Halloween.

And here's all the candy they got without Brennan's help! Regan must have eaten more than we knew because she ended up throwing up at 1 a.m. That was fun. We had enough candy to send a big bag with Jeff to work, and two other big bags with the girls to their teachers on Monday and still had a ton left over. Hopefully I can keep it out of my sight! I just LOVE Halloween.

Happy Happy Birthday Regan Dear

2008-10-25T19:24:00.003-06:00

Today was our sweet Regan's 4th birthday! It's hard to believe she's already 4. We had a great day celebrating with her. Jeff bought some donuts for her this morning. She got phone calls from both her Grandmas. We had her favorite macaroni and cheese for lunch. Then, we went to see High School Musical 3 with her Aunt Laurie, David and cousins. She loved the movie and was singing and dancing in the aisle. We then came home and had the kids decorate cupcakes and had ice cream. Later that night, she chose to eat dinner at Red Robin. She wasn't too happy about them singing happy birthday to her, but loved the balloon and the ice cream sundae. I think she had a great birthday. Here's Kaisey, McKay, Brooke, Brennan, Bailey, Regan, Taelyn & Jadyn with their master pieces. Here's Reggie Lu on the carousel she went on the other day while shopping with me. We are so grateful that she has come to our home. She has such a fun personality, is so smart and sings and dances ALL the time. Even in the stores! I have to admit though, I've been a little bummed out lately thinking of her turning 4. She's my baby that is not quite a baby anymore. It's going to be very difficult not ever having a baby in the house again. I am mourning that this time of my life is now officially at an end. I just hate that these little ones grow up way too fast.

My Young Republican and more

2008-10-20T13:40:00.008-06:00

I was very sick last week, so I'm a little behind in posting. Here's catch up time. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately. We've been able to enjoy just being outside with the kids tossing a football and riding bikes. Last weekend we had a ward camp out, but since I was still not feeling great, we decided not to go and do our own backyard camp out. Luckily, Laurie, Jeff's sister, had the same great idea so we all got together at her house. Laurie made some yummy chili and had the kids cook up hot dogs. We later roasted marshmallows and made 'smores. Here's the gang cooking away! By the way... that big guy in the middle is David. He just asked Laurie to marry him! Yippee! Here's Jadyn and Taelyn fighting with their sticks. Maddox had to get into the picture. Here's our tweens. McKay - 11, Brennan-12, and Kaisey is actually a teenager at 13. My pictures got out of order some how and I don't know how to fix that. BUT, the next night we had pumpkin carving and carmel apples with our home teachers and the Rees family(our friends and the other family they teach). Very clever home teaching. I think the kids enjoy this kind of home teaching a lot!

Somehow, Jeff got abandoned and left to carve the pumpkin by himself. Nothing to hurt himself over though. Here's Regan, Jadyn and Taelyn eating the great food they made and actually got away with not burning anything! Good job guys! Here's my fabulous sister in law, Laurie with Regan and me. I have loved getting to know her better and having her and the kids around. It's so fun to have cousins for my kids close by. Jeff and the girls hard at work. Laurie had also pitched a couple of tents in her back yard. We had the cousins sleep together in the tents while the adults went and slept in our own beds! What a way to camp! It was a great night. We all loved it. And here is my young republican. A while ago I was unloading my car full of groceries when I hear Regan singing in the front yard. I went to see what it was all about and found her doing this... I had to have her do it on camera.

It's amazing how these little ones pick up on everything you say! Unfortunately, a couple of days later, this sign was stolen from my yard! What crazy Obama people are running around my neighborhood stealing signs?

Life

2008-10-10T23:42:00.002-06:00

This has been a crazy, crazy week. It seems like tragedy is surrounding me. I'm grateful that I haven't personally been through anything, but it seems so many people I love and care about are hurting. I just wish there was more I could do. A couple of my dearest friends are having major health issues that I wish I could just take from them and stop them from hurting. Another one of my close friends just lost her baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy. That is a pain that any of us who have miscarried just are heart broken to hear about because we understand how deep that pain is and would never want anyone else to have to have it too. We also had a very sweet man in our ward, Val Jessop, pass away at the young age of 67. As I attended his funeral I was touched by some words that he had written to his wife a few months ago. He said, "Could life be any better than this with such faithful children ... I have to pinch myself daily to assure myself that all this is real and because of you I have been so bountifully blessed. I love you most now for the fact that we can yet spend eternity together, with such a beautiful family legacy, our children truly do bring us complete and eternal joy beyond measure." It made me think of words my dad said over and over for several months before he was suddenly taken from us... "Live each day as though it were your last. You never know when you are going to die." Wouldn't that be wonderful if we all lived that way and treasured every moment we had here on earth? I want to live that way more than anything. And yet, I find that I get in the way and forget way too quickly. I wish it were easier.

Disturbing Sights at the Zoo

2008-09-29T14:07:00.005-06:00

On Saturday, we decided we had to have a family day. Jeff has been gone a lot in the past few weeks so we were determined to spend some time together. Luckily for us, the zoo was having their Harvest Fest. They had lots of different demonstrations, "fishing" for the kids, music, and all the rides were free. What we didn't expect was the "extra" feature that was added to the zoo that day that was quite disturbing. What a sight! Here are the kids having fun on the rides.... Regan driving the boat....

Jadyn and Brooke enjoying the Polar Bear... still very enjoyable. Jadyn and Brennan playing in the kid farm area... still a good time. Regan, Jadyn & Brooke being goofy on the train... goofy, but not disturbing. Wait for it, Wait for it....... Here it is!!! The zoo decided to feed the Python that day! EWWW!!!! Apparently, the python has to eat something live. So, they threw a live pig in there. After squeezing it to death, it begins to eat. Yes, that is blood all over the ground.

And this is the Python's big ole' mouth eating the head of the pig. Makes your stomach turn, doesn't it? It's one of those things that is so gross, but you can't help but look at. Needless to say, we got a little more than expected from our trip to the zoo.

Fun with the Kiddos

2008-09-26T15:30:00.004-06:00

Jeff went to Louisiana last weekend to help with cleanup efforts after hurricane Ike. I wanted to do something fun with the kids since they were missing their dad and it was just mommy time. Brennan still had some chicken pox that hadn't scabbed over, so we were home bound. But, we made the best of it. We rented some movies, got a bunch of candy, built a fort and hung out together. The kids thought it was so funny to have their mom in the fort with them. What can I say. I like a good fort. Today I went to read to Jadyn's class. The school also had their annual fundraiser called the Tiger Walk. Pretty much you give money to the school and go watch your kids walk several times in a big circle in the parking lot while listening to music and doing cheers. I really don't get it, but it's something they enjoy. Each class is named after their teacher. Jadyn's is Agnew's Alligators. Brooke's is Page's Patriots. While reading to J.J.'s class, Mrs. Agnew was trying to talk Regan into being their mascot while wearing this costume. I think Regan was a little scared by the costume and wanted nothing to do with it. She had Jadyn try it on to show her how cute it was, but Regan had her mind made up. It is cute though, isn't it? Here's Brookie with her class ..... Jadyn with her class..... Regan and her friend Cara got in on the act and walked and danced along with them. I do think it is a strange fundraiser, but it was a very enjoyable day. It's one of those days when you just love being a mom.

Lawn Mowers and Neighbors

2008-09-18T13:23:00.005-06:00

My grass has been getting super tall and out of control. Jeff is usually the designated lawn mower in the family, but he's been very busy the past few weekends and hasn't been able to get to it. Then, we found out that he is needed to go do some clean up after the hurricane with other church members down in Louisiana this weekend. SO, he can't get to it again. On top of that, he has to go to San Antonio next week. I very reluctantly decided to do it myself, knowing that if I didn't, it wouldn't get done.

Now I know many of you women that read this love mowing the lawn and do it all the time. Usually, I don't mind it much myself. HOWEVER, we have a very hilly yard here in TN with a huge hill on the side of our house. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. BUT, I decided to attack it. It was a losing battle! I tried pushing that lawn mower and was having a terrible time. My feet were way over to the left and I pushed and pushed and barely got that thing moving. I kept feeling like I was going to lose it and roll down the hill with the lawn mower! I finally decided going backwards and going up and down was a lot easier. That freaked my neighbor, Mike out a lot. He came over and told me I was going to run over my feet. I told him thanks for caring, but I could barely do it the other way. On top of that, I had already been mowing over an hour and barely made a dent on the lawn. Fifteen minutes later, Mike came over with his riding lawnmower and did my whole lawn for me!!!! YIPPEE!! He knocked that thing out in no time. He even re-mowed the mess I had already made. What a wonderful neighbor! I was so grateful for such a small act of kindness that meant a lot to me. It gives me hope for this world!

Happy Late Birthday/Anniversary

2008-09-16T13:00:00.003-06:00

With all of the crazy events happening in the past couple of months, I've not posted about Jeff's birthday and our anniversary. We were in Southern Utah for our family reunion while celebrating both. Jeff turned 36 on July 28th. It was definitely a unique birthday, but he enjoyed having all of his family around to help celebrate! Happy late birthday to the most wonderful man I know. Thanks to Mary for helping me get the cake! On July 29th we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it has been that long. Yet, sometimes I vaguely remember my life before being married. It was a miracle how the two of us ended up getting together. I know with everything in me that the Lord definitely wanted us married. I can't thank Him enough for bringing me the best husband a girl could ask for. Here we are 14 years later. We've been through a lot. We've been blessed more than we could ever imagine. We are the parents of 4 children that we adore and feel blessed to have. Thank you Jeff for making the past 14 years the most wonderful years of my life. I adore you. I love you more now than before. You are my favorite boyfriend ever!

OH NO!!! CHICKEN POX!

2008-09-12T19:34:00.003-06:00

Brennan came home from mutual on Wednesday night and said he didn't feel good. Sure enough, he had a fever of 102. So naturally, I planned on keeping him home from school. The next morning he woke up and had quite a few "pimples" on his face. I thought it was a little strange since he hasn't had any before, but you know, he is 12. So, being the good mom I am, I went and grabbed my astringent to put on them and thought that would take care of it. Later in the evening, we were sitting eating dinner when he said, "Mom, I have another one of those things up on my head." I looked at it and saw a big blister. I had Jeff come over to look at it. He said, "That looks like Chicken Pox to me." Chicken Pox? I never even thought of chicken pox. I mean, all my kids have had the chicken pox vaccine. Of coarse, they did warn me that it wasn't guaranteed they wouldn't get it. I guess they were right. I then lifted up his shirt and looked and found many more of these blisters everywhere. Jeff took him to his mom's house and she said it looked like them to her too. I immediately looked it up on the Internet. Sure enough, he had the same blisters that I saw on all the pictures of chicken pox on the Internet. That's when it dawned on me that Regan had had a fever a week earlier and had 4 or 5 of those, but they were little. I thought they were just bug bites...like the blisters from the fire ants we had in Texas. I should have realized that wasn't it since there are no fire ants here.

So, then I had fun telling all the pregnant mom's of Regan's playgroup about the chicken pox, as well as my friend Cheri who is going through Chemo. I felt so bad. Poor Brennan woke up with a lot more this morning and seems to be getting more and more. He's got it from head to toe and is pretty miserable. These pictures don't do it justice. You'll have to click on them to be really grossed out. Of coarse, I had to take pictures to blog about it. As I was taking them, Brennan looked at me and said, "You're really enjoying yourself, aren't ya mom?" Sorry Brennan. I just couldn't resist.

Danielson Family Reunion

2008-09-05T16:43:00.006-06:00

This is long over due. Way too long over due. At the end of July we got to go to a family reunion with Jeff's siblings & mom & dad. We all had a great time. The reunion was at a ranch in a small ranch in southern Utah loaded with animals, horses, lassos, rodeos,cow and sheep riding, line dancing, a lake, and much more. My kids were in heaven and had a great time bonding with cousins. Here's most of the gang. We were missing Shawn (Jenny's husband) Joe & Melanie and their kids. Pretty good looking group I might say. Grandma brought presents for the kids every night as a special treat. Here's Mikele, Jadyn, Alyssa, Bailey & Regan having fun being "Bandit People". The kids had a great time learning how to be real cowboys... or should I say cow people. No, that doesn't sound right. Anyway, you know what I mean. Here's Brennan, McKay and Michael being the boy Bandits. They really did have fun together. Here's Brooke in heaven horse back riding. For those who don't know, she LOVES horses. Her room has horses all over it. This is the first time she has gone horseback riding. I think she ended up going three times. Apparently, she still loves horses. I don't know if you can see these pictures or not, but if you can magnify them, it's actually quite funny. Some of the men were brave enough to do cow riding. NO, not bull riding...cow riding. You think it sounds easy don't you? Well, I thought so too until I saw this. I don't think any of them stayed on more than 3 seconds. They all got pretty beat up too. I can't even imagine how those crazy bull riders do it. Cows are bad enough. The kids rode sheep and they were just as mean. Most of the kids got tossed off fast and trampled over. Kind of a weird rite of passage for them I guess. Here they are learning to lasso. Good job Jadyn! Not very easy to do. Brooke again with the horse. She just can't get enough. I wish I could post all of the pictures I took. It was a great time. Fun to bond with the family and be outdoors in the nice cool air. I'd have to say though, my favorite part... the line dancing. Thanks to Steve & Carl for being great partners! You're the best!

Gmail problems and Republicans

2008-09-03T23:13:00.004-06:00

My gmail account has been wacky for two days now. On my google page I see I have 19 messages waiting, but I can't get to them! Do they not understand how much I need my email? What did we ever do before email? It's just madness!

As a complete different side note -GO SARA PALIN! She rocks! Zero, Zero,Zero !!!! Can we vote her as President instead? She makes me want to vote!

Actual Child's Birthday

2008-08-29T12:56:00.004-06:00

I"m feeling like the greatest mom right now. (sarcasm) I posted about the bear's birthday before I posted about my actual living daughter's birthday. So, here I go trying to make up. Miss Jadyn Joy came into our lives August 15th 2001. For the past 7 years, she has lit up our home with laughter, happiness, and lots and lots of singing and dancing! We have enjoyed every moment with her in our lives. This was a year for a family party for her. She began the day wanting homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I later ran down to the school with some Taco Bell for lunch and cupcakes for all of the kids in her class. We had a great time. Later, I picked her & Brooke up from school early so we could go to Sweet 'n Sassy to have pedicures and manicures. They loved getting lots of fun colors on their nails with butterflies and toe rings to boot! She is definitely a girly girl. Later, we went with just our family to eat at the Crepe Maker then met the Danielson gang at the house for cake and presents. Jadyn wanted a chocolate cake decorated yellow... her new favorite color. I found a yummy recipe online that was delicious but only to be eaten once a year if you know what I mean. Later, she ended up having Taelyn and Bailey (cousins) spend the night. She had a great birthday and kept saying over and over, "This is my favorite birthday ever!" Thanks to everyone that made it a special day for her!

Happy Birthday.....Bear?

2008-08-26T12:19:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Regan came in and woke me up to tell me, "Today is Bear's birthday!" "It is?", I said. Then she continued to tell me that yes, it was Bear's birthday and we needed to have a party for her. She then reminded me that we already have the balloons and streamers up for her that are still up from Jadyn's birthday, so apparently, everything was set. So, I decided to go with it. I mean, how many times do we get to celebrate Bear's birthday? I ended up asking Regan what Bear wanted for breakfast and lunch, and made them especially for her. We then went to the store and had Regan pick up cupcakes for Bear. She really wanted me to call and invite her Grandma's and Grandpa's, Aunts and Uncles, and all of her cousins for the party. I reminded her that some of them were in Arizona, and the others were probably busy with their own family home evening. Luckily, she was content with that answer and enjoyed every minute of us singing "Happy Birthday" to bear, and celebrating her birthday. Apparently Bear is 3 now. Here Regan is helping her blow out the candle and loving every minute! How cute is that?

Drug Dealer?

2008-08-20T13:08:00.005-06:00

While in Arizona, we ended up having problems with our van and got a great deal on this Yukon XL because no one really wants a gas guzzler right now... except for us. Anyway, my family and I have had a running joke about how this car kinda looks like a drug dealer car. I mean, whoever had this before us totally pimped it out. It has super dark windows and they even took of the GMC/Yukon XL logos. It's kind of a scary truck I have to admit. But we love it. Unfortunately, I have found out the hard way that we're not the only ones who think it looks like a drug dealer's car. Apparently most law enforcement officers do too. Have you heard of profiling? Well, apparently there's such a thing as auto profiling. Here's how I found out. The day after we bought this, we got pulled over in Kanab. Apparently the tint is too dark and is illegal. Never knew you could have illegal tint. The worst came last week when I was driving back from my friend Mary Berry's house in Mississippi. I was cruising down the highway, chatting on the phone when all of the sudden I saw blue lights in my mirror. I was kind of afraid to pull over because it was an unmarked sheriff's car. Luckily, I saw another sheriff's car on the right side a little ways up and pulled over in front of him. I explained to the sheriff's deputy that I was nervous to pull over and began chatting with him. We were having a pretty good time talking while he was checking out my license/insurance and asking me a bazillion questions when all of the sudden I realized I had four sheriff's cars behind me and lots of deputies standing behind my truck. Next thing I know, I had a K9 dog with a deputy sniffing around my truck for drugs! The deputy talking to me said my truck fit the profile of a drug dealer and since I bought it in Arizona, they just wanted to make sure! WHAT? Holy Cow! I never in a million years would have guessed that to happen. THEN, he told me the dog got a hit on the truck for drugs and they continued to search through it and had the dog in the back and everything. I told the officer that that was the funniest thing I had seen as I had 4 cars, several officers and a very angry dog surrounding me on the side of the road. Do I look like a drug dealer? I told them I would really love to take a picture of the whole thing for my blog, but he said I couldn't because they were in the middle of trying to catch men selling firearms to children and didn't want them to know where they were. But he did say I had a good story to share with my friends. I'd say. He then told me I was lucky for not being pulled over in Memphis because since the dog smelled drugs, they had the legal right to tear my truck a part. Fortunately, Regan was a sleep in the back seat and they were super nice and let me go telling me to get it checked out further when I got back to Collierville where I live. The K9 unit here in Collierville is on desk duty right now because the officer's shoulder is hurt, so I still don't know where the drugs are but was told to try to find them myself. Yeah, good luck with that one. Haven't quite had the time to look for them yet, but I'll keep you posted. It was crazy!!! This picture is actually after we got the tint on the side/back windows fixed. Moral of this story, when buying a car, if you think it looks like a drug dealer's car... it actually could be. BE WARE!

PSA -Public Service Announcement

2008-08-07T15:40:00.002-06:00

Okay, I know I still have lots to catch up on, but this takes priority. I have to warn the public of this strange occurrence that has recently happened to Jadyn and could happen to thousands of girls across the world. Apparently, backs of earrings can get stuck inside of ear lobes! That's right. You heard me. Earrings can and do get stuck in the middle of ear lobes and can't get out unless surgically removed. It all happened like this. I noticed that Jadyn's ear looked infected while we were in Utah for a family reunion. Upon us returning to the homestead where I could actually take care of it and change out her earrings, I went to remove them and was shocked and amazed when I couldn't find the back of the earrings... IN BOTH EARS!! That's when I noticed that I could feel the backs inside of her earlobes, but could only see the tip of one of them. Jeff messed with the one for a while and finally got it out, but try as we may, could not get the other. Long story short, we spent many hours trying to help this wounded ear. The pediatrician tortured her for 30 minutes, the E.R. Dr wouldn't even try and sent her to the ENT specialist. The ENT specialist said that it was lodged in her earlobe and stuck in tissue so it had to be removed in the hospital during a surgery! HOLY COW! Is that the weirdest thing you ever heard? Apparently, they see this all the time. Everyone told us that until one stops growing, the skin is constantly changing and can grow over the earrings unless they are twisted every day to prevent this from happening. What? Isn't that crazy? They have even seen this problem with teenage boys/girls that have any kind of piercings. Huh! Really? Would have been nice to know BEFORE this happened! Why doesn't anyone tell us these things? She has had these earrings for almost 3 years without any problems. Would have been nice to know. Here she is in the hospital this morning. So, 3 Doctors, several hours and thousands of dollars later... lesson learned. BUT HEY, she did get this cute bear, a green Popsicle and some mint smelling gas that gave her a good nap. AND, they didn't have to cut her ear at all. He just used forceps to get the thing out. He said he had to pull it gently, kind of like delivering a baby. That's one man I KNOW has never delivered a baby. Consider yourself WARNED! Warn others! Funny thing is, I can hear my Dad's words in my head saying, "If God wanted you to have holes in your ears, he would have made you with some!" I have to admit though, give her some more years and I'm sure she'll end up with earrings again... when she can take care of them and twist them herself!

Surrounded by Crazies!

2008-08-05T22:50:00.002-06:00

I have so much to catch up on with the continuation of my trip in Arizona and on to Utah for more family fun. It's late though, but I had to quickly put in these pictures of my Krazy Krummenacher family. My sister married into this wacky world. I have to admit, they are a lot of fun. Here's some quick shots of Nate and Brent (my brother in law) having some fun. Nate decided to dress up for his sister Sarah's 15th birthday. She had a nice "quincenera" for her birthday. Nate and the kids dressed up like Mexican singers and sang Happy Birthday to her in Spanish. It was so cute. Wish I got a picture of the group. Where do they come up with these ideas? Here's Brent being.... Brent. Not sure what he's thinking. Brent and Nate are together for this last picture. I can't even remember why they did this. It was just some random thing they did one afternoon. (Yes, Sarah, I said random). Brent even wore his new physique to the restaurant that night. My sister's family is so much fun to be around. We all just crack up all the time watching them. Just a reminder that it's okay to be silly in life. It sure does make it fun.

Pure Talent - The Krummelsons!

2008-07-21T23:10:00.004-06:00

We were surprised tonight with a wonderful talent show put on by the Krummenacher cousins & my kids. Here's a glimpse of what we got to enjoy.... I actually have lots more video, but it takes way too long to upload it. I know,I know. Don't cry with disappointment that you can't see them all. It was actually so cute to watch each one of these kids put on an act of some sort. We got comedy, magic, singing, dancing, skits, more singing, more dancing, more comedy. It was a lot of fun to see them all do this together. Quite a night of entertainment

Kristen Needs

2008-07-20T23:55:00.002-06:00

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was funny. You google your name with the word needs after it and see what it says. Some say it should give you enlightenment. I think it's pure silliness. Here's my first five after Kristen Needs. 1. Kristen needs to rethink the top. 2. Kristen needs to lay her egg. 3. Kristen needs a new connection petition (what?) 4. Kristen needs to practice big fun in the sun solo. 5. Kristen needs to giggle, quite a lot. Not sure exactly what that's supposed to teach me, but whatever!

Some of the things I love

2008-07-18T00:12:00.004-06:00

I have been so blessed this past week! I have been able to do some of my most favorite things. I love rainy summer nights in Arizona. A few nights ago, we had a big storm pass through. As you can see, the kids didn't hesitate to take advantage of the rain. They went outside to play in it with their cousins and got soaked! I had a fun time watching them with my mom, brother Todd and Sister Laura. We sat and chatted and had a good time while enjoying the smell of summer rain and the sounds of laughter. I love being with my family and feel so blessed that my parents raised us to be close to each other. I have the best family! I also love a good pedicure. I wish I could get them more often. July 14th was Laura's birthday. I had such a fun time with her that day getting pedicures and going to lunch. It was so great, you would think it was my birthday too. Aren't these cute pedicures? (I think we have the same feet!) I just love, love, love my sister. She has always been right beside me through trials and joys. She is my rock. She is a best friend. I stand in amazement at all she does and all she is. Thank you Laura for being the best sister anyone could ever have. I love you! I was also able to get together with some of my friends. This is Shelly, Lynda and Karla. We've been friends for a very long time. We haven't seen each other much as the years have gone by. But, as I visited with these friends and thought about the relationship I've had with them, I've realized again how truly blessed I've been to have them in my life. These 3 girls were some of those who were by my side during the most difficult time of my life...my Dad's sudden death. Words can never express how much they helped me, loved me, and were there for me when I needed them most. AND, although time has gone by and we only see each other once in a while, we have a bond between each other that not many others have. I am so grateful for these girls.

Krazy 4th of July

2008-07-07T12:12:00.004-06:00

Yeah! We're in Arizona visiting family and enjoying time together. We had a "Krazy" and very non traditional 4th of July this year. We usually have a big BBQ/fireworks thing with the whole family including my Grandma & Aunt Janet & cousins. This year, everyone was gone. My brother Matt moved to Utah. My brother Todd & fam were on a cruise (I know, poor guy). The rest were off in other places. SO, it was my sister, Laura, & famiy and my Mom & Frank. Laura & Brent just opened another Krazy Sub shop right across the street from the only place in Mesa that was having fireworks. They thought it would be smart to have their new shop open during the fireworks. SO, we grabbed the games and went over to Krazy Sub to enjoy their yummylicious subs while watching the fireworks accross the street. It was a very different 4th of July, but fun anyway. They stayed really busy at the sub shop, the kids had fun with their cousins and we had great seats that weren't by the crowd with unlimited pop and ice cream cones. Who can ask for more?

Girls Camp!

2008-06-26T22:20:00.000-06:00

Okay. Now that I've finally recuperated from Girls Camp, I can finally blog about it. Of coarse, I brought a camera to camp that didn't have a battery working. Thanks to my friend Nicole (the blond - aka reeses pieces) I have some pictures from camp. Thanks Nicole! This year I must admit, camp almost killed me. It ended up being a lot more work than I had ever anticipated. This year we lost two of our most loved Stake Staffers (Alayna Weiss & Mary Berry) but gained two other wonderful women- Lori Anderson & Vickie Mecham. We had a lot of hurdles this year that were very unexpected. BUT, thanks to the wonderful women I have the privilege to work with, and the help of my dearest friend Heather Biggs who gave me lots of great ideas from her many years of experience, it all worked out extremely well. I loved having fun with my friend Tiffany Sandridge who did a lot of work with me in getting the YCLs to lead the activities. They all did a great job! I was so proud of them. I loved staying up late talking to my dear friend Kriss Norris, our stake camp director, who I just love more and more with each day that I get to spend with her. I could feel Heavenly Father's presence with me in every activity I was in charge of every step of the way. It was AMAZING!!! Every night we had a good fun activity followed by a spiritual one, which was wonderful. We had a great service project making lots of kits that were needed at the Target House that houses families with children getting care at St. Jude's hospital. I was very grateful to have Alayna there encouraging & helping me along since I did her job that she had last year. Then, when my wonderful friend Mary Berry got there, it just made my week. Mary has the amazing capability of being a wonderful helper and is funny as heck. She just keeps us rolling with laughter, which is just what we need when dealing with camp! Thanks to Sis. Cerveny and the kitchen staff, we were all spoiled with wonderful food. She even slipped me extra brownies! Our priesthood leaders, Pres. Goodale & Bro. Cerveny were fun and patient as always. When one of our tiki torches caught fire late at night and we thought the tree was on fire too, they stayed calm and collected. They are the best! The picture above is Pres. Goodale, Nicole Rees & me while listening to Mary Berry's wonderful mini class. The one with the teal poster board is some of us stake staffers doing our very famous synchronize swimming skit! It was a HUGE success! The man in the pink shirt is our faithful Bro. Cerveny. Doesn't he keep his eyes on us well? The other with the girls in yellow is a picture of me after leading the five mile hike with my friends Nicole & Sheryl Varnadoe. I love my friendship with them! One of the best nights at camp was the night of our silent hike. We had a bunch of questions stapled to different wooden stakes posted along a trail that made a big circle around the camp. Each question asked the girls different things about the progress they're making in life as well as their relationships with family members, friends, and their Heavenly Father. If the girls answered, yes, they were doing a good job in that particular area, there was a bag full of popcorn kernels that they could get to fill their lanterns they had with them that they had made during craft time. It was to symbolize filling their lanterns with oil like the ten virgins. It was completely silent,personal, very sacred and a special night for the girls. I think it was a wonderful way for all of us to see if we were doing our part to prepare for the Bridegroom. They ended the hike with each lantern lit with a little candle inside as we sang hymns and had a short devotional. The spirit was amazingly strong. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for friends who help me along my path in life, for His help in all I do, and for the blessing of being a part of girls camp. It was a wonderful experience that blessed my life! Maybe I can do it all again next year!

Updating at last!

2008-06-17T00:31:00.001-06:00

Okay, I know it's been forever since I've last blogged. SO, I've tried to catch up. Since it has been so long, I've had to work backwards in catching up. The next few blogs has everything you missed out on. Hopefully, I won't bore you all to death as I play catch up. Now that girls camp is over, I will do better. (I hope!) Anyway, here it goes for all who care. March was a great month. Brennan turned 12 on March 2nd and received the Aaronic priesthood. That didn't freak me out too much. What freaked me out is that he is now doing combined activities with girls at church. Weird! Brennan did a great job passing the sacrament for the first time. Many people came up and told me that he did a good job. When I said, "Yeah, he did, didn't he?" They all responded, "We weren't looking at him, we were looking at the big smile on his proud Mama's face!" We are proud of Brennan for being worthy of holding the priesthood and taking his responsibilities seriously. Brennan also had a sleep over with his friends for his birthday party. I have never smelled such stinkiness coming from my game room! Little boys make such great smells! They had a good time. I must say though, it took a while for that room to recover! Also in March, the kids had spring break. Jeff was working his crazy hours of 14 hour days 7 days a week for two months during that time. (Yes, it's hard work making your gas!) I wanted to go somewhere. SO, I packed up the kids and went to Nashville with them. We learned from our mistake last time with Laura to not get a two star hotel. We stayed in a nice safe one instead. We had a great time dinking around at the mall, seeing a movie, spending time at Opryland hotel and eating at Rainforest Cafe. It was nice to just get away and be with the kids. We also had a good Easter. Jeff was still working, which was a bummer. But, we had a nice visit with Holly and Ben (Jeff's sister & hubby) who visited from Dallas right before then. Also in March, we got snow! That was strange. We usually get snow once a year, but it's usually in January. We thought we were going to miss it this year. We got a nice surprise. We love snow once a year. The kids get out of school even though it's just a few inches at most, we get to play in it and not have the mess! It's great! The picture below is after the snow melted a bit, but you get the picture. Anyway, March was great! Continue reading below if you want the rest of the updates!

April 2008

2008-06-17T00:16:00.000-06:00

April was gorgeous weather. We took many trips to the zoo with my friends Nicole, Tiffanie and sister in law Laurie. Of coarse, everyone else in Memphis had the same bright idea. It was too gorgeous to stay in side. I also had to include this cute picture of Regan's Playgroups friends. We had such fun switching off houses and letting the girls play together. Of coarse their favorite thing to do...dress up! The girls in order are: Alayna Sharp, Ryleigh Rees, Regan, Cara Rees, Samantha Jessop & Keira Peterson. The girls are good friends and played well. Of coarse, I did have one play date that was crazy in April. I happened to be taking care of my sister in law's 5 kids while she was at a single's conference in California. I was pretty impressed with myself taking care of 9 kids all together (hers and mine). We had a great weekend. Even made it to church early! AND THEN, Monday came. Same day that I had play group. Long story short.... I got locked out of my van TWICE. Once while trying to get the kids to school. I had fingers crushed in a chair, another chair break, naked boy on my new leather chair, finger nail polish on my couch, toothpaste smeared everywhere in the bathroom, and poop all over the bathroom floor and down my stairs! Yes, that all happened in one day! So much for being impressed with myself!

May 2008

2008-06-16T23:56:00.000-06:00

May was incredibly busy. Isn't it for everyone? Not only was I swamped with getting ready for girls camp, but the month was filled with school events, room mom stuff, recitals, games, etc. Some of the highlights... Jadyn's 1st grade class did a Mother's Day program. It was the cutest thing ever. Makes every mom's heart just burst with pride! The picture with the two girls are Jadyn and her good friend Kendall. Aren't they cute? Also in May, Jadyn and Brooke had a piano recital. Both did a great job! We hope they continue on developing this talent. The kids also all had fun with their school field day. Of coarse here they call it May day. Same thing. The kids were so fun to watch running all around doing their relays. It's great being a Mom. But, the most exciting thing about May was that we surprised the kids with a trip to Disney World. (See slide show below) I've always wanted to surprise our kids with a trip like that. They have never been to any Disney park (ok, Bren had. But he was barely 2 and didn't remember) We found out that the kids' grades were turned in the Friday before they got out. So, we took them out a week early. I packed up all their stuff without them knowing. Jeff & I woke them up at 4:30 in the morning, gathered them in the same room and yelled to them that we were going to Disney World! It was awesome! They had no clue. It was a fabulous trip (minus the van breaking down) and one that we'll remember forever. What were their favorite things? Regan - It's a Small World, seeing the Princesses, and riding the carousel. Jadyn - going on the Journey into the future at Epcot (lame, but the kids loved it!) Brooke - Space Mountain. She rode it many, many times. Brennan - riding the monorail. Yes, that's right. Riding the monorail. Yeah. The tram that takes you to the parks. No, he's not much of a dare devil. Whatever floats your boat I say. He just rode that thing and kept singing the song from "Rent" when they were riding the subway. Kinda funny, huh? It was a magical vacation though. The kids were troopers, didn't argue, and didn't complain! Yea Disney!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-16T22:45:00.000-06:00

Houston Trip

2008-03-14T18:27:00.000-06:00

In February we decided to take a quick trip over to see our friends in Houston. We haven't been there since we moved a year and a half ago. We had such a great time. Our good friends, the Echards, were good enough to put us up for the time we were there. Stephani, John, and the kids were off on Friday and were able to go to Kemah Boardwalk with us. It was a little rainy, but fun as always. The kids had fun on all of the rides there. Brooke has wanted to go on a rollercoaster for years, but has never been tall enough. Go figure. Finally, she was big enough, and Kemah had a new one for us to try out. It was a wooden roller coaster that looked pretty mild. Looks are deceiving. That thing was so compact that it made everything so fast. I swear and had major whiplash afterwards. It was bordering on not a fun coaster at all the way that it was. Because of that, Brooke didn't enjoy it one bit. I don't blame her at all. I felt so bad that her first roller coaster ride turned out to be so torturous. I tried to convince her that most roller coasters are not like that. Hopefully she'll give it another try. Saturday we went to Galveston with Stephani and the kids. John went to Japan on business. The kids wanted to go to the Rain Forest Cafe. Once again, we paid way too much for mediocre food. The kids loved it though. It is a fun environment, I admit. Afterwords, Jeff was kind enough to watch the kids while Stephani and I got pedicures and went to Target. Stephani even treated me! It was soooo enjoyable. It was great to be able to relax and have time without kids. Sunday, we went over to our old ward in Friendswood. It was so great to see everyone there. The ward seemed to have shrunk quite a bit which was very sad to see. BUT, it was great seeing all of our friends that were still there. We had some really good times living there and being in that ward. It was fun to see how much the kids have grown and changed. Those kids are growing up so quickly! After church, my wonderful friend Shelli and family had us to their house for a yummylicious dinner. Shelli and I have kids close to the same age that have been good friends. Her sister, Allison also has a daugher that is Jadyn's age. She was able to make it over with her new hubby Jeff. It was so much fun catching up with them. It seemed as though no time had gone by at all. The funniest was watching these two girls - Regan and Avery. Shelli and I were pregnant with them at the same time and had them just 6 weeks or so apart. They haven't seen eachother since they were around 19 months old. You would never be able to tell. They acted as though they have always been best of friends. It was SO cute. I absolutely loved spending time with them. Overall, we had a great trip. I feel so blessed to have Shelli and Stephani in my life. The two of them have been such wonderful friends to me that have been there for me no matter what I've been through. They are true friends. I love them so much and am grateful to have them in my life.