Memorial Day

Utah Lake

Liberty Land

The Marina

Noah's golf lesson

We had a wonderful Memorial day! First-We went to Liberty land to play a round of Miniture golf, then had a bbq lunch, the boys swam, we went to the park up at harvest hills (which is incredible because not only is it pretty much a brand new park but from up there you have the view of the entire utah lake and its surrounding cities its breathtaking!!) and finally we headed down to the lake to see the water , people watch and just relax. It was awesome. We thought alot about the soldiers and all those who have fought for our freedom. We are very grateful for their service and dedication to serve our country. It was a perfect day!

Inspiration

Its amazing to me where you can find inspiration. Lately I have been able to see it all around me and then I realize it has been here all the time but my eyes were not open to see... to see the opportunity, dream, vision, hope, and destiny that were right in front of me.

I have been running and running in search of pure truth and destiny, for the divine, for purpose for speed and strength to do ALL that I need to do --to be everything I need to be to accomplish my mission on this big beautiful earth! The resistance has been so strong I'm hanging on by a thread but I will burst through all barriers!

I find my self listening to Eminem "Lose Yourself" over and over ...every day.... its a song to run to, a song to embrace ... a song with too much meaning and energy. It is my theme song believe it or not. I have always and I mean always despised Eminem until this song and now I can't stop listening to it. It motivates me to action like no other song. I see all that I need to do but get hung up on the "how" --- in the end I will accomplish all my goals!

Preschool Graduation

It was so great to see Noah's preschool graduation! He's been going since January and will continue through the summer and next year so... I didn't feel like he was really graduating BUT the teachers still wanted him and his class to be a part of the ceremony. I thought it was going to be similar to a small class party however I was really wrong. It was adorable and a complete program. The kids sang several songs, they discussed what they learned over the course of the year and then handed each one of them their diplomas. Noah did great! the garbage bags as robes was very creative. The teachers did an outstanding job especially considering the small amounts of funds they had to work with. We are very grateful to them for all their efforts. We were delighted to see Noah sing and participate in the ceremony and look forward to another year of preschool before he goes on to the "big school".

More gardening!

"After shot" from the backside
"After shot" from the front

Ground cover
The grogeous new breed of flower

"before shot"

"Before shot" side view

"After" this photo doesn't do it justice!

Its an enromous difference with yellow violas included along with 3 different varieties of lillies (12 in all) that should come up in the summer. We didn't have alot of money to spend after the first project but its a start!

Rabeka and Cj helped us transform our flower garden by the front door and it came out great! We have recieved so many compliments its amazing. She mentioned that each time she came to visit we'd tackle another part of the yard however this area was becoming more and more of an eye sore as the days continued especially compared to the front area. The lampost is seen by all we just couldn't ignore it any longer!!! There's so much I would love to do with this area but we really need to stick to our budget and plant one step at a time so we don't break the bank. All in all it has been a great experience and I love creating and giving back to the earth.

The Pool

It was a good start and quite the project

They were so excited!

BUT there was no way they were swimming in that!

We bought a pool for the boys to enjoy this summer - one -because what is the point of beautiful sunshine and summer if there's no swimming and laying out and 2- people keep getting sick from the community pools like we did last year. It was brutal and really too gross to describe here. So we spent the afternoon setting up our new pool. We were all very excited and even Noah rushed upstairs to put on his bathing suit not realizing that this is going to take hours to set up and fill up maybe even days. So they splashed around while it was filling and helped out a ton. We went out to work with Brandon (prospecting) hoping to come home to a sparkling pool. To our surprise that is NOT what happened.....
It was soooo funny!! We thought we could save a few bucks and fill our pool with irrigation water (after all I do have 3 boys that would swim in gross lake water if they could) and boy was that a bad idea!!!! It takes almost 4,000 gallons to fill the pool so we thought hey we pay like $9 flat/month for the city stuff.Why not?? At first it wasn't bad -- I did notice that the water had a yellow tint and thought well after it is filled we'll run the filter and be fine--but by the time it was filled it was dark green and brown!! We had a laugh attack and are now draining it. Brandon kept joking that we now have a pond and should buy some lily pads, frogs and some fish! So...we'll fill it with "good" water as soon as we can. (It is taking hours to drain.) It'll be expensive but oh well swimming in the summer sun is so worth it!!

I'll have to post a pic soon! It was too funny! We sure learned our lesson ; )

By the way there IS a lesson we learned: in small quantities nothing seems bad- everytime we use the hose the water appears crystal clear- but in large quantities truth is revealed whether good or bad one can see the larger picture.

Growing up TOO fast!

Doing the drums
Hanging out listening to some tunes!
By the way this is what a boys bedroom looks like almost every day until it gets cleaned preferably by them.

Just before Cj and Rabeka arrived for mothers day we were getting their room ready (Jordan's room) and all of sudden I see Noah already down there listening to music. He loves all kinds of music but the age appropriate cutesy ones the most. So I see him bobbing his head and signing along and I say what are you listening to. He looked up at me in that "Duh mom" way and said "Weezer" as he rolled his eyes! AND he knew the words too!!!! Crazy! Sometimes he seems so little, my little bundle of joy -- after all he is only 3 1/2!!!! then because he has older brothers and a mom and dad who like to listen to "their music" from time to time-- he is exposed to a lot older music-- more than I thought apparently! So he likes weezer and come to find out Bob Marely too ; ) Kids are great!

Hope of America

Simply amazing
Below is a number they did using flash lights.



Jordan had the opportunity to be a part of "Hope of America". He and his class were a section of the lower white strip on the flag. I believe it was over 4,000 students who made up the US flag. So what's it all about: well this was part of "America's Freedom festival at Provo" who's mission is to celebrate, teach, honor, and strengthen the traditional American values of family, freedom, God and country.

The Hope of America program was held at 7:30pm in the BYU Marriot Center on May 6th.
It stated on the program:

In its fourteenth year of production, Hope of America Student showcase is one of the festival's most popular educational programs. The Festival provides curriculum to 72 schools teaching American values, responsible citizenship, physical, mental and moral fitness and talent development through music and stories.

Jordan participated in 15 numbers - some in sign language. Apparently this was broadcast through the armed forces network to military around the world as a tribute to them and all they do!

Motherhood

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Fitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last weeks mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I see then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile

Happy Mother's Day

I am so very grateful to be a mother. I love my children with all my heart. Words alone cannot fully express my love and devotion to them. Motherhood has been the ultimate experience. You lose yourself in the service and love for another. Your entire view of life transforms and you see the world through different eyes. Through the ups and downs of motherhood you become a woman of strength and learn more than you ever could have by simply reading about life. You grow to fit this divine position which requires your whole soul. After you truly have become a mother, in every sense of the word, you feel as if you couldn't even breathe without your children. Love is such a powerful force. I want to take a moment to say "thank you" to my mother who has been a great example to me and has taught me so much about love and life. Thank you for all that you do and all that you are. I also want to thank all the mothers in my world for I am always watching and learning from you. Happy Mothers Day to you all!

My dear sister

This post is for my dear sister Tammy. Three kids is tough but its also a great joy. Somedays you get everything on your list done, you feel like super mom, you did it all, the hugging, the stories, the love, you cleaned, you cooked , you taught them something, you had fun, you did errands etc etc and life is grand and then.... there are those days ...you know what days I am talking about... the days when you are ready to scream or pull you're hair out, the house is a mess, you can't seem to catch up, you are overwhelmed, they are talking back , no one is listening or obeying, you feel like a taxi cab running from school , to scouts, to soccer, baseball or whatever (lets not forget the homework)... and you are very ready for your own time out or an escape!!! Well those days come and go its the happy picture perfect moments that carry you through. No one enjoys being behind but once you tackle that big pile of laundry somehow life is beautiful again and you can breathe -you have a sense of accomplishment and you feel like a good mom but as I remind everyone in my household I'm a mother but not the maid!! We ALL need to pitch in to get it all done. I joke with Brandon ..."what if I just showed up at your office grabbed all the papers on the desk and threw them up in the air!" and I did that every day, at some point, you didn't exactly know when but you knew I was coming... well thats life with kids you clean up, they make a mess, they "HELP" you clean up and somehow its a bigger mess.... but ohhh those little "I love you's" and hugs are so worth it! So here's to being the maid everyday!!! ; )


~By the way the clothes in the picture -- the giant pile-- is ALL clean and I still had more in the washer and dryer.Notice it is almost as tall as the washer. And that's only from one angle the rest of the room was a mess too! Luckily my dear husband knew I was overwhelmed and folded it ALL. He is so sweet!

Blue Plate Diner

Andy and Don took us all out to the "Blue Plate Diner" in Sugarhouse for dinner. She had seen it on TV (food network I believe) who was doing a special about Diners and Dives. (You can even look up how they make their vegan burger on youtube.)It was a quaint little place with a cool atmosphere and the food was delicious. They also serve to our surprise a lot of vegan food! So if Sean ever comes up to visit we'll have a great place to take him! Andy had the Salmon club which was soooo good and I tried the vegan burger with avocado slices. It was also tasty and very filling. We had a great night out and got to try something new to boot! Thanks Don and Andy!

Xander Ryan Adam's Blessing

We are so happy to welcome Xander Ryan Adams into our family. He's such an adorable baby with a sweet spirit. We are very grateful to be a part of his blessing. We love you Xander!