It's The Most Busiest Time Of The Year!

Uncle Ryan and his family had a very creative gift- a box of wipes, but there was money taped together inside so Kemp was surprised to pull out the $ instead of wipes- so cute!(who is that weird lady in the background?)

Grams and Papa Smith went on an 6,000+ mile road trip back east and brought us home some souveniers and we watched a slide show of everywhere they toured-really coolKemp requested a cookies n cream ice cream cake.

Kemp's Birthday and Ordination

From Halloween to Christmas it doesn't stop in our family. For some reason a lot of moms in our bunch like having babies in the fall. Christmas has always been enjoyable for me and hardly ever stressful-o.k. maybe a little. But this year Curtis has taken Christmas by the reins and I have not had to endure a bit of stress. I think he senses that this year is tough without my Dad and being pregnant. He has just made it so easy for me to enjoy the season and not feel bombarded by the hustle and bustle. Plus it is much easier for him to go out shopping or buy things over the internet when he is hundreds of miles away from his loved ones! I find that as I get older I dislike the mall more and more with every year. My patience and sanity are precious to me these days. I only go there if I am specifically taking my children to play on the play land or get a pretzel.

O.k. new topic: Cami's class was going to a WSU b-ball game for school and she was crying her eyes out because I couldn't go, it broke my heart and made me a little irked at the school. They said that Chris would not be able to go, even though this was not a field trip chaperoned by parents which means we could just go if we felt like it. I was planning on driving myself and taking Chris with me. They told me that if they let me then all parents will think they can take their little children on field trips. Which I think is ridiculous because whether I show up or not really doesn't matter! I am not assuming responsibility of watching any other students while I am there so who cares if my 2 year old comes. And it is just a basketball game it's not like they are going somewhere dangerous for a 2 year old. I just believe that under certain circumstances there are always exceptions to every rule. So there is my soap box for the day!

New Topic: We had a fabulous Thanksgiving spent at our home with Curtis' parents and Kemp celebrated his 12th Birthday and Priesthood Ordination that Sunday (it was so special seeing him receive that great blessing on his b-day)). Is he really a young man? no way I don't believe it, it can't be 12 years since he was placed in my arms. It was so cute to see him pass the sacrament at church for the first time, so nervous and unsure of himself, but he did an awesome job. He was spoiled for his b-day this year: a new suit, Wii game, and an air soft gun. I have learned a few things from my children lately:

1. Being loved and giving love is the most important gift we have to give.

2. Recognizing and feeling the Spirit of Christ is one of the most tremendous gifts we all have been given.

3. Having empathy for others and putting their needs above our own truly brings us the most joy possible.

4. Service is so important to our health and well-being. Putting money in those red Salvation Army pots every time you pass, even if it is pennies, really makes you feel good! Helping with my sister Lesley's Down n Out Diner also makes you feel really good-ask me about it if you want to help.

5. It is o.k. and helpful thru grieving to say we miss Grandpa every day and especially for Christmas, and talk about what we will miss cuz that helps us remember what we love and appreciate about that awesome man!

side note:I had my 20 week ultrasound and stayed strong and did not find out the sex of our baby. We will have to wait and see what the Dr. says in the delivery room. At first I thought it was a crazy idea and I would chicken out and want to know, but now it is all very exciting.

2 Birthdays+Halloween=Tired Mom & long post

Aunt Lesley taught first grade so she knew just what to get Kerstyn!
Christian adores his Aunt Lana!

Cousin Brittany made the CUTEST Halloween cupcakes!

Those candles didn't stand a chance!

Is Kemp the perfect Napoleon or what!

Two Birthdays the week of Halloween can get a bit chaotic. Chris turned 2 on the 24th and Kerstyn turned 7 on the 29th. I don't think they mind, because Kerstyn told me she was the luckiest in the family cuz she gets 3 parties! Chris woke up on his birthday just looking so much older, that depresses me. Kerstyn was so excited for him to open his present. She carried it around all morning saying "Chris, are you ready for your present?" She was more impatient than he was-having to wait all the way until church was over before he opened it. He loves cars, so he got a Lightning McQueen remote control car. He is talking so much more, and hasn't lost his "ham" of a personality. He giggles all the time now. He pulls these faces that just tell you what he is thinking and I have never had any of my children be so expressive that way. He is the MOST mischievous child I know. We all have this panic feeling when no one knows what he is doing. If I am in the kitchen and he is back in the bedroom it is like-Oh no, what catastrophe is waiting for me?? For instance, one morning I thought he was happily watching Mickey Mouse while I was getting ready for the day. I walked into the kitchen and saw his little hands swimming in a pile of oats on the floor and a huge grin on his face. Then I say, Oh no-Chris, what happened? And he gives me the "Crap- I'm in trouble face".
I love it when he yells at his siblings if they are arguing with each other. He comes to me and says, "Bubba(Kemp) and Tertyn(Kerstyn) be mean". I have learned a great deal about patience and being able to laugh more with having Chris in our family. He is just a complete joy to have around and I know this next baby was meant to be cause he will need a bro or sis to play with for the years to come. Happy Birthday to our sweet little bubby!
Kerstyn has matured and grown so much this year (so has her mom). I have seen her transform into such a responsible girl. Kerstyn is such a free spirit she doesn't care much for boundaries and being told what her limits are. This can scare a mom at times, but I have learned to focus on the things she can do and what is allowed; and she has been able to see that I am not just a meany-mom. Our family has been going every which way lately and this time of year sees Curtis traveling almost every week, so we decided to head up to Heber City for Kerstyn's B-day and spend the night at a hotel (Dang it we forgot the camera, sorry Kerst!). We had a free night's stay- thanks to Dad's club points from his traveling. Kerstyn is ALL girl with a lot of sass to her, but we wouldn't want her part of our family in any other way!

Happy Birthday, Kersty-Bersty!

Halloween was a blast, we love spending it with our families, seeing the creative minds at work in all the costumes, and doing all the Halloweenish stuff. My favorite part of Halloween night was a middle-aged couple, maybe empty nesters, who were decked out as hippies (way cool costumes). They had a fog machine on their walkway, music playing, a mechanical witch moving back and forth in front of the door, and they were just dancing and grooving on their porch waiting to pass out candy to the trick or treaters. They just were having a total blast-Oh yeah- the husband was talking in like a John Lennon-Beatles kind of accent-very cute! I told Curtis as we were walking away that I wanted to be like them in the future. There is something refreshing about seeing people just enjoying life, so when I start feeling stressed and sad at this time of year I will remember this fun couple, and put on some of my favorite holiday tunes and just groove with my kids in the living room.

Happy 80th Birthday Dad!

This picture makes me miss how my dad was always with his family (even though that looks like Christmas Day), and that cute toddler in the pj's is me!

It is my dad's 80th birthday today and I think of how big of a party we would have had for him and it makes me smile. He always talked like reaching 80 would have been such a monumental thing, and he was shy just 8 months. We are still going to have a celebration for him anyway. My dad and mom loved to dance together. I remember growing up in California and they would go out dancing or to hear certain artists perform at local clubs (Bill Medley from the Righteous Brothers wished them a Happy Anniversary on one occasion). I also loved that they would chaperon our dances and go out on the dance floor and boogie, not only the slow dances but the fast ones too! I know if my dad was here for his b-day (with a strong hip) he would get his groove thing on! I have caught myself talking to him in my mind lately. A lot of things that are causing me so much confusion in my life right now, so many questions that I would love to hear his opinions and answers to. He is someone who was always such a wealth of knowledge to me and I am really missing that. There was a really cool scripture I read the other day that made me think of my dad and all the excitement we will feel when we see each other again.

D&C 138:14-15 "All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his only begotten son Jesus Christ. I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand."

Happy 80th Birthday Dad, Love you and miss you!

Why does my husband believe in lucky numbers and why is it #5?

I use to get migraine headaches a lot when I was a teenager. They faded away in my early 20's and I noticed that I would get them just in my first trimester of pregnancy. In fact I knew I was pregnant with two of our four babies, just because of the headaches. At the first of August I went with my mom to Montana to see my older brother Reid and his family. The week before we left I had a couple of bad headaches and of course the first thing that ran thru my mind was- you've got to be joking-I am NOT pregnant. I had just gone off birth control and was planning on starting again the following month once I got a new prescription from my OB. We were being pretty responsible, but it is definitely true that it takes ONLY ONCE! I started feeling tired and sick on our trip to Montana, and due to start my cycle at the first of that week and yep you guessed it-nothing! I felt very overwhelmed by this news since I felt so content with 4 kids. I didn't tell Curtis until Kemp and him got home from Scout Camp. All he said was "Awesome! Five is my lucky number!" Curse him and superstitious numbers-just kidding. I have had a strengthening of my testimony through this. I know that the Lord is looking out for me, because it is like mothers have come out of the woodwork to tell me that either they felt they were supposed to have more children and didn't and regret it or that there last child (which was usually the 5th one)was a total surprise and that there family would never be the same with out that child. I ran into Kemp's 5th grade teacher (take notice of the #5) at the school one morning on a day when I was feeling especially stressed out about another baby, and she ran up and gave me a hug and said "Congratulations, I heard you are expecting". I am sure she didn't sense much excitement in me, so she quickly said that she thinks I have the sweetest and most adorable kids and am such a good mom, how could I help but have more children. What a tender mercy on that day! She sure was in tune and I will be so grateful to her for reminding me of what are truly the most important things to me- my family and my attitude. Even in my own family my parents were floored by the news of twins (my mom's 5th pregnancy) especially when it was not planned. How could our Garrett family be complete without Lana and Lesley? So I have the faith that in years to come I will look at this 5th member of our family and be so grateful for lucky numbers!

Darn those alarm clocks!

At 7:00 am this morning I heard the girls' alarm going off and then one of them starting to yell at the alarm "Shut Up!" I was laughing hysterically outside their bedroom door. I couldn't tell who it was, so at the breakfast table I was trying to get a confession. No such luck, both refused to admit it was them. I can't blame them I feel like yelling at my alarm too!

Back to School

Sending my children off to school this year was bittersweet.We had a nice big breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon. Curtis gave them a father's blessing and I remember how I felt such an appreciation of being given that kind of gift from my dad growing up. They are always so excited about school which makes me happy for them, but I am sad to have them gone all day long, and so is Christian. Kerstyn is in first grade and I can't believe I am back to having only one child at home. Cami is in 5th grade and she is so giddy when school starts, she just loves every second! Kemp is in 6th grade and is applying for a job in his class (isn't that cute-they even have an application for the students to fill out). He did a great job explaining why he would be good as a class officer. I was impressed with how well he knows himself. Christian will definitely be a regular at the library for story time, maybe they can get him to sit through an entire story!

FOLLOW-UP ON KEMP: he made Vice President in his class, but not peer leader, his class voted for all girls. Kemp feels plenty busy with his class job. They are in charge of planning class parties for reading and such.
FOLLOW-UP ON CAMI: she is the Journalist in her class- they get paid by how well they do in class (behavior and grades) and how committed they are to their jobs. Then her class gets to spend their pretend money in their class store, I love that they are learning this stuff!

Why am I a mother?

I had one of those days of being a mother when you ask yourself-who in there right mind decides to be a mother? Oh yeah, me that's who. Sometimes I feel totally competent at my job and look at my kids and think o.k. we are doing pretty good here. Then there are days like today when I think, I don't know what the H I'm doing and my kids are going to be failures because they had a nut job for a mom. Well thank goodness for the good days right? I have to learn how to communicate better with my third child, she is my head strong, confident, "I don't care what anyone says about me" personality. Which in many ways will serve her well, so I try HARD not to change her. I just wish that she and I could put ourselves into each other's shoes better. I need to apologize to her for being to impatient with my words. As soon as she sees me get the slightest bit frustrated or about to give a synopsis on why she needs to obey her mother, I see this switch go off in her brain and I know she is not listening. And then I think of myself with my dad. He kind of had a habit of lecturing and going a bit overboard to where I would just tune him out and take my thoughts somewhere else. I realize I am repeating that negative behavior and I need to change. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, so that explains why I feel so crazy! I am going to try some new things with her and see what results we get. Prayer is also something that I rely on so much as a mom-but I don't think I exercise enough faith in the Lord that he can help me be a better mom. I think I just use him as a sounding board but don't listen for his counsel and words of wisdom. Boy do I have a lot of weaknesses that need to be made strengths! But how grateful I am to know that I have someone who knows just how to help me and knows me better than I know me. After all he promises to make our burdens light. I need to work on my relationship with my Savior, I think I have been forgetting him lately. And that always makes everything more difficult when you are not keeping him as a close friend. So as Burt would say from Mary Poppins- "you've got to grind, grind, grind at that grindstone". Tomorrow is a new day and thank heavens for that!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

I have decided that I have a love/hate relationship with summertime. I love grilling, playing in the water, eating watermelon and corn on the cob. But then there is the flip side of summer-it is HOT and I am a sweater (which means I have very active sweat glands), so if we are not outside and swimming then I am sweating up the wazoo! The kids don't like the heat either if we aren't doing something wet, so then I hear from 3 children and one crying toddler that everyone is (drum roll-the dreaded word) BORED! If there are some ideas out there of fun activities for summer send them my way or if you have any cool websites for summer activities that are free or cost minimal that would be grand!

Father's day/ Our anniversary- long post!

Cami made this breakfast in bed and a cute card that all the kids signed

For Father's Day I surprised Curtis with the

Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy game

We couldn't get over how HUGE the field is that they play on

David Cook performed after the game and it was raining a little, but we still had a great time!

Father's Day was going to be hard without my Dad, I knew it- and I was planning on it. But I decided that I have a pretty awesome husband who happens to be a pretty terrific dad, so I needed to spoil him and make him feel special and not let my sadness overshadow that. We barbequed with our family and made cupcakes for Curtis' dad and visited him. I thought about my dad and the words I would have expressed to him about being such an outstanding father, and how much he would have loved the big hug and kiss I would have given him, and I felt happy remembering him even though I am sad he is gone.

Then On Saturday June 26, Curtis and I went to the Salt Lake Temple for our anniversary, we haven't been back to that temple together since we got married. I am so glad we did, it was such a spiritual experience. I had a girl sitting by me that was getting married the following weekend and she was there for the first time. That made me reminisce(sp?) back to my wedding day. I could not have prayed for a more peaceful and sure feeling that day. That memory is what gets me through the days of wanting to rip Curtis' head off! You know I love you! Then we went to the Skybox sports grill at the Gateway because USA was playing Ghana in the World Cup. Even though we were sad about the loss (LOVE you-Donovan, Dempsey, and Bailey) it was a total blast sitting in front of all the big screens and yelling with the whole restaurant! Thanks much to my sister Lesley and her hubby who I think have started a little tradition of taking our kiddies for our anniversary, and they just love it!

Awards Assembly for Kemp and Cami

Kemp, along with several other 5th graders, won the Nat'l. Presidential Fitness Award- they had to do push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, sit and reach, run the mile, etc. Kemp was receiving the award with some boys who had been giving him a hard time about not being as athletic as them, Curt and I were saying-Ya! you go Kemp!

Kemp earning Scholar of the Year

When they called Kemp's name up for the award

he was a bit shocked!

Cami earned Citizen of the Year

We were very impressed with her hard work this year!

I forgot to post about Kemp and Cami's awards at the end of school last year and realized with the new year coming-I never did! (that is summer for ya) So here are some pics from the assembly where they received awards. It was funny when Kemp was given his award, because his teacher made it clear he was getting his award for being the smartest, NOT the most responsible-he always forgot his assignments! He really turned things over the last half of the year. Kemp is the type that needs a little push sometimes or he just sits back and enjoys the ride (being content isn't a bad thing either son)! Cami is definitely the responsible type, she is so self-motivated and determined. I love how she plays soccer with the boys at recess, but lip syncs to Taylor Swift at home with the girls. She is such a perfect blend of a 10 year old-I love it! Can't wait to see how they blossom this next year!

Trip to Minnesota

We grew up together in California with our cousin Lacy and her family (they live in Oregon now). We were really close as kids because we only had each other to see for holidays. She was in Minnesota at the same time for a baby shower, so we were ecstatic about seeing her!

Lana and Will chasing each other down the walkway at the airport

Best cousies- Just chillin'
Chris was trying to yell to Grandma and Aunt Lana who were down below having lunch, it was so sweet!

I didn't realize that Christian's shirt probably made everyone on the airplane cringe, until one passenger said to Chris, Uh-oh are you trouble? I should have picked a different shirt for the plane. Oh well, he IS trouble; but he did just fabulous on the plane!

I love seeing my family in Minnesota. Christian and I went with my Mom, Lesley, Will, Lana and her hubby Craig on the trip. The little toddlers were such a hit and I am glad that we got to bring them along. My family from Minnesota is such a breath of fresh air. I love to visit with all of them and hear the same positive, optimistic attitude in each and every one. I wish I could have known my Grandpa and Grandma Follensbee, raising 14 children in poor circumstances and have them grow up to be so spiritual and have such amazing outlooks on life; is a wonder to me! My children have no idea what a huge extended family they have and my goal is to get my whole family back there SOON! My cousin Deanne was so gracious in letting us stay with her. She made these little toy snakes for the boys and they loved 'em. We taught her how to play Greed and had a blast, of course there was loud laughter the whole time. One thing I enjoy about being with family is seeing how genetics and personality traits play a role in who I am. I have noticed that there is a coined phrase that all of them use quite a bit, (I hear it comes from my grandma) "It's not the end of the world!" That truly is how each of them deal with life and all its uncertainty (also believing that God takes care of us). We got to enjoy several relatives that we have never met and that was special! A little side note to family: as you can see I didn't get a lot of pictures with my camera, so will you please send me some of your pictures from the trip, thanks.

5 reasons to be grateful today

1. It is a rainy day, I will TRY my best to be grateful for this because I can relax at home and enjoy having a roof over my head.
2. My mom is going to her first appt. today to discuss treatment now that her cancerous tumor is gone, all tests were negative for any remaining cancer, so no chemo, she gets to keep her rockin' hairdo-yea!
3. Cami tried out last night for a comp team for soccer and she made it, so fun to see her love for the sport.
4. I am going with my mom and sisters back to Minnesota (mom's home state) to see relatives (Memorial Day weekend) always grateful for that- my mom's family is the BOMB!
5. Chris is showing signs of being interested in the potty, glory hallelujah if he could be trained by end of summer!

Mother's day and one heck of a mom!

I bought pj's from Sam's Club and my mom loved them, so we bought her a pair for Mom's day!

I had a fabulous Mother's Day! I was given the cutest little gifts by my kids & hubby-

• Kemp gave me breakfast in bed (Raisin Bran Extra, toast with jam and a banana), he knows that this is tradition in the Garrett family.
• Cami gave me a vase with some beautiful silk flowers and a picture block-she heard me say that I wanted a picture block, what a sweetie.
• Kerstyn gave me a tile with her hand printed on and her name, and a picture of us holding hands and a message saying I was smart and special-cute!
• Christian made me a cute little pink bracelet with the help of the nursery leaders, and I got lots of kisses from him!
• Curtis gave me a corsage (which is another tradition) and also remembered my mom, he is such a sweet man. He gave me foot cream, (he promised a massage) a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, and we went for dinner to Texas Roadhouse on Saturday, yum! All in All I know my family loves me and appreciates me as a mother, that is everything I could ask for.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

My mom is one of those people that everyone admires for her optimism, faith, testimony, and I could go on and on. She has been teaching me so much these last few months about knowing that God is in charge of this world and is guiding our lives. Every challenge she faces is with a belief that everything will be o.k. and that she will be taken care of by her Father in Heaven and he will help bring peace to her soul. She is having a cancerous lump removed in her breast this Wednesday, and we are praying that all goes as planned. The Dr.'s are very positive that it has not spread, but will know for sure once they operate. After she and I left the surgeon's office she said that she knows that the Lord is taking care of her and blessing her. In church on Sunday we have a class where we meet with other women and she announced that she had good news and told about her cancer, and that it looked very favorable that the cancer will be removed and she will be fine. Afterwards another woman made a comment that only Barbara Garrett would consider having cancer to be good news! She looks for the positive in every situation. She could be so angry and devastated, but that just isn't my mom. I am so thankful that I have been fortunate to have such a woman as my mom!

Happy 10th Birthday Cami!

A whole decade since our little Cam-bo was born! Sunday, April 25 was her b-day and we were going to have a party for her the Thursday before, but she got the stomach flu. So we had to reschedule her party and we had a little family party on her B-day ( kids don't like having their b-days on Sunday). Two weeks later she finally took her friends to Classic Fun Center in Layton for a party! They skated and did some other activities. We had a good time, I scootered around the rink with the kids and we sang to Taylor Swift's "Love Story". One of Cami's best friends hung out next to me the whole time on the rink, and he said that I was a really fun mom- aaww! What a sweetie, he earned big points with me! We came home for pizza, presents, and cake. Here are 10 wonderful traits about Cami:

1. Imaginative- as soon as she was talking she was using her imagination

2. Obedient- she just does what is right automatically

3. Hard worker- she gives a 110% to everything

4. Honest- comes in handy when her brother or sister is not

5. Charitable- she shared her brand new DS with her bro- that says alot!

6. Responsible-she takes care of her things, and helps without being asked

7. Fearless- she didn't even flinch her first time changing a poopy diaper!

8. Strong-willed- when something is set in her mind, don't even try to change it

9. Sweetheart- not a day goes by w/out lots of hugs, kisses, and I love yous!

10. Kind-spirited- she always looks out for the underdog!

Cami,

We are so pleased with you as a daughter, and we know that your Father in Heaven looks down on you with a big smile every day! You are pure joy for our family!

Women's Conference 2010

After several years of wishing I could go- I FINALLY went to Women's Conference in Provo at the BYU campus. My mom has been attending this for 15+ years now and I am so glad this year I got to share it with her. It was such a great experience! I got there Thursday evening in time for the concert and it was so much fun. The LDS music artist Hilary Weeks was the MC for the night and she did some funny little things about the endless amounts of laundry that we mothers do (oh how I can relate!) and then they had some amazing singers and the Fab 5 cloggers from America's got Talent (they are from Morgan) also performed and they were awesome. Then we stayed overnight in a hotel with some long time friends of ours. We will have a little inside joke forever now about "the P stuff". The classes we went to on Friday were amazing! The Primary General Presidency spoke about raising children to want to be obedient to God's commandments. They really stressed on how families need to take their time back to spend with each other. Dinner meals was an important topic they discussed. That one on one time with our kids while we have them around the table eating is crucial to our relationships and most families have gotten away from it, so they challenged us as mothers to make it happen. The other class that my mom and I loved was about loving one another under any circumstance. The speaker for this class was incredible, her spirit could be felt by everyone there I'm sure. We cried through most of her talk, because it was a subject that anyone could relate to. She shared stories of situations where a person had been difficult to love and how you get past their personality to really be able to truly love them and care about them regardless of their actions or choices. Our perfect example is Jesus Christ he was so full of love and it was never conditional. He loved because it was his very nature to love. I figured something out during this talk. It isn't all about how you love others who make it hard; What if I have been a difficult person to love? What can I do to make it easier for others to love me? What would I need to change? Then at the end of her talk the speaker shared this quote from Les Miserables (I think it was when Jean ValJean was dying) "To love another person is to see the face of God". At that moment I felt the spirit so strong and I felt Christ's love. When you are in a place with 15,000 women at once you can't imagine the energy you feel, so cool. Dallin H. Oaks and his wife were the final speakers and they talked about a garden of faith, teaching our families to have faith in god's plan and to be doers of the word. Also Elder Oaks talked about service, my favorite quote from his talk was, "It's amazing how much you can get done when you stop worrying about who gets the credit". He challenged us to serve because we love and care for others not because of duty and recognition. Then after Conference ended we went to P.F. Chang's and ate some yummy chinese. All in All this conference was just the medicine I need for life! I was glad to share this experience with my mom, she is such a woman of faith and courage. She is going through a health trial right now and her example of trusting in the Lord and finding peace in her adversaties will be a gift to her posterity forever. We love you so much Mom!

Historic sight-seeing in St.George

In front of Jacob Hamblin's home (early settler to St. George, he served missions to the Indians)
Cute story about this bed. The mattress was filled with cotton and leaves from trees, so the kids would have to take a big rolling pin (it is on the top of the headboard in this picture) and smashed out any bugs that were in their mattress. I wish I had a picture of my kid's faces when they heard this story. I have fun saying "Don't let the bed bugs bite" to them now at bedtime!

That quilt was in excellent condition it was made in the 1800's!

We went to the St. George Temple, Brigham Young's home and Jacob Hamblin's home. The kids heard some really neat stories and saw some cool antique pieces that I think really caught their interest. They seemed to be very intrigued by the stories of how people used to live back in the pioneer era. We enjoyed these experiences so much. I think we will be more grateful for running water, soft mattresses, and flushable toilets now! playing on the grass by the Temple

He LOVED all the grass to run around on

playing tag

I have a special respect for this Temple, to think of such minimal resources back then for building, and this was the first Temple dedicated in Utah. It was breathtaking!

Families are Forever-YES!

Happy Easter!

What impressive egg finding skills!

Kerstyn finding one by the sandbox

Eggs were hidden in the branches

This was Chris' first egg he found!

On your marks, get set, GO!

Kerstyn was being such a trooper (she was so--o tired), but what kid is going to be mad waking up to a basket full of candy.

This littel guy immediately started pushing his basket around the floor-vroomvroom!

Good mornin' sunshine

She is going to hate me for this bedhead picture.

If looks could kill-haha!

In our pictures the kids look like they were forced out of bed to find their Easter baskets, well o.k. they were. I think they would have stayed in bed much longer, but we wouldn't have it. The Easter bunny went thru way too much trouble to bring the goodies! Bubby-boy was totally into it, especially when he saw that he had a Lightning Mcqueen basket full of candy and a truck. The kids got way more candy than I would have given. They loved hunting for eggs at Aunt Lindi's, she had some cool hiding places. We loved listening to Gen. Conference and the conversations that it sparked between us and our children. The Apostles were so right when talking about how we need to teach our children. So it is up to me to accept that responsibility as a parent to raise my family in righteousness and not assume that other people are teaching them what they need to know. To teach my children that God is real and he can answer their questions and grant desires of their hearts. We have already had a few experiences like that in our family and I just hope and pray that as they grow that they can depend upon those memories to buoy them up when their faith is challenged. Easter season always brings the feeling of starting new for me, maybe more so than resolutions in January. Jesus Christ is my light and my life. I am going to remind myself to share that more often with my children, and be a better example as a mom, and daughter of God.