Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

My mom and dad celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year! I feel so fortunate to have such long standing marriages in my family. Both sets of Grandparents have been married for 50 years and then my parents with 30. John and I are working up on 9. I sincerely hope that 20 years from now I love him as much or more than I do today.

To celebrate mom and dads anniversary we all went to Brian head Utah and stayed in what has to be the most beautiful cabin I have ever seen. This place had everything from a kitchenaid standmixer to central heating.We arrived at the cabin to a lot of snow!! Had to shovel the driveway for us to even get into the house. It was such a great weekend. All the kids sans Jack had a blast with me and my dad out in the snow. Well they had a blast with dad, I was taking pictures.

Grandpa pushing Mariska down a little hill

AVALANCHE!!!!!

"Mariska, it would be easier to make a snow angel if you were laying down."

Mariska and Matthew

Dad throwing himself down the hill.

The aftermath.

The driveway was not that steep so the kids didn't go very fast but they usually made all the way across the street before they came to a stop.

I went too!

Mom brought some craft projects for me and my sisters to do. The kids had fun playing with all the toys that the cabin had including the Foosball and pool tables. On Saturday night we had a family home evening. Each individual family had to prepare a little presentation to share. It was so nice to be in such a beautiful place with the people I love, and to feel the spirit as strongly as I did. I tried to make waffle from a brownie mix that night. I didn't like them that much, they were just really hard cookies. On Sunday Dad offered a devotional and that afternoon we came home.

I sure do love my family! Thanks mom and dad for bringing me into it, and thanks for letting us celebrate your big day with you! Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary!!!!

Dance Class

Guess who started taking dance lessons!

She really surprised me by picking the blue. I thought for sure she would pick the pink. It is really fun to see her dancing and she loves it. The class that she is in is a tap/ballet class so she has both ballet and tap shoes. It's so fun to have a girly girl.

Springs Preserve

We found a fairly new place to visit and had a lot of fun when we went. Very kid friendly and kid oriented but plenty to do for adults also. The kids had a blast hanging with Grandma and Grandpa and their cousins.

First day of school 2011

We are one year away from Kindergarten. Cannot believe how time has flown.

Nap time

My sweet little boy

Flynn Ryder

Just had to brag, I have met the real Flynn Ryder. Would you believe he auditioned for the part at Disneyland and didn't get it because his nose wasn't right? I'm just saying.

Aurie's Wedding

July 9, 2011, the day my baby sister was married. What a sweet occasion. She made such a beautiful bride! I was so happy that we were here to be apart of the occasion.

It was like a Fariy Tale for Mariska seeing her Aunt at the temple. She wanted so badly to give Aurie a hug as soon as she walked out of the temple with Austin but you know how it goes pictures have to be taken and so Mariska waited. We were fortunate enough to get pictures from both angles of the hug Aurie gave to Mariska.

This little girl sure loves her Aunt Aurie!!!! I think the feeling is mutual!

Welcome to the family Austin Jennings!!!!

April Fools

April first was a day full of adventure. The kids and I along with three other moms and their kids drove down to Salt Lake. We had 4 moms, 3 cars, and 11 kids. It was quite the ride. We were on the road at 7:20 AM which should have put us in Salt Lake around 7:00 PM. We didn't arrive until midnight. Mariska got carsick for the first time ever. We came upon a pretty bad accident just out of Ontario Oregon. We were at a complete standstill for about an hour and a half. We let the kids out and had them clean up the trash that was on the side of the road. Finally after all the waiting we were directed to a turn around and went back about 10 miles to highway 201. We finally got to Ontario grabbed lunch and were on the road again.

In Mountain Home, Idaho we stopped for a bathroom break and my friends van started making an awful noise when she started it. Two gentlemen came over to help. As I got talking to one of them I found out he was LDS and had just moved into our ward. He stayed, with his wife, for a little to see if we needed anything. Before they left, to get back on their way, they pulled out a set of cars and tracks for the kids to play with. It was intended for their Grandson but they insisted we take it so the kids would have something to play with while the car was being fixed. The other gentleman that helped us actually replaced the part was broken in the car. His name was Charlie and he said that he had never stopped at that station before but as he was driving he became so thirsty that he had to stop for a bottle of water. The car was fixed we were on the road again, several hours behind schedule. It felt good to know that the Lord was watching out for us. I really appreciate all the prayers that were said on my behalf. I joked with my friend about it being April Fools day. The joke was apparently on us.

Like sister, like brother

It was really fun to walk into Mariska's room and feel like I had traveled back in time. It is amazing how different my children are from each other, but sometimes Jack does things that remind me so much of Mariska.

Field trip at the farm

Back in March we went with Mariska's school group to a farm. The kids had a blast and it was fun to see the baby goats. I think the highlight was getting to ride on the horses. Thanks Kate for taking the pictures. The picture of Mariska and Jack has become one of my favorites.

Mariska Mariska Mariska

What can I say about this little girl. She makes me so happy and frustrated all at the same time! Most the time she is such a good girl but she has her moments just like we all do.
She walked out of her room the other day with the Mr. Potato Head glasses on her face. she then went to the rocking chair with a couple of books and sat down to read. I was laughing so hard it was so funny.

Primary has been a lot of fun for Riska. She gave her first talk last Sunday and did a really good job. i felt bad for the leaders having to use the Microphone. I am sure all kids put their mouth on it the way Mariska did. The Sunday after Halloween she got a new teacher in Sunbeams. When the Sister asked Mariska what her name was she told her "I am Tinkerbell" and refused to tell the teacher what her real name was. So during class time Mariska was called Tinker bell. A few weeks later there was a substitute. Again when asked what her name was she said "My name is Sally Car." The sub asked what her "What do your mom and dad call you?" Mariska then said, "My Grandma calls me cupcake." These poor teachers. A couple weeks ago Sister Riggs the music Leader asked a question. Mariska raised her hand and when called on immediately forgot what she was going to say. Her answer became this, "Um, um, um, I love you." Sister Riggs, bless her heart, said well I love you too and moved on with singing time.
I have to say she is such a good little girl. I lead the music in Sacrament Meeting for the last time last week. Jack was sick so John stayed home with him. Mariska sat in our Pew all by herself during the first part of Sacrament meeting. She was so quiet and reverent. I had several people come to me after and tell me how good she was. She is also a really good sharer (most the time.) We had a sister and her two daughters sit with Yesterday. She is a new member and was just baptized last weekend. Mariska shared her cookies and crackers along with her papers and crayons. It really did my heart a lot of good.

She loves to sing and has sung this song over and over again since she learned it.
Mariska knows just how to make me smile and I am truly grateful to have her in my life. I love you Mariska and I am so glad you are mine!

Visiting Teaching

I have really grown to Love Visiting Teaching. I really appreciate my visiting teachers and I am sad that one will be leaving me this summer. I decided this month to do something special for my sisters that I teach. I wish I could say it was my idea but it wasn't. I found a website that I love called small and simple things. That is where I got the idea for the cone. I had already made the roses and was looking for a way to utilize them. This seemed to work great.

Getting Healthy

I started working out in the mornings. It has been great. The best part is Jack and Mariska started to work out with me.We are doing Jackknives. Mariska has always done them with me but I first noticed Jack doing them this last week. It is way fun to have them "helping me" stay motivated.