seven years

"She will always be with you if you remember what she taught you." Land Before Time

My mother and my grandparents have been the most influential people in my life by far. I hold their teachings, examples, and memories dear. I miss them. Lately I've missed my Mom the most during the happy times. I loved sharing everyday life with her and there are so many things I wish I could share with her now. I know she is there and aware of us. I just really miss her and think of her always! Thank goodness for the plan of salvation.

memorial day tradition

my mom passed away on memorial day seven years ago. since then we have made it a tradition to go burley, idaho as a family to view cemetary where she was buried. this year was a quick trip. all of my siblings came! jake and angela just moved back from nebraska (angela just graduated from dental school, go ang!). we stayed a night at the fairfield inn, kids swam, adults stayed up late playing rummikub, we had lunch with my cousins' family (thanks lana!), and visited the cemetary. it was cold. the wind was bitter. i still love being there. i love remembering her. i love telling my children about her. whenever we hear the song, "somewhere over the rainbow" we think of her. we listened to that song a lot the summer after she passed and we listen to it every year on our trip to burley. on our way home it was very fitting that we saw a lot of rainbows...

suncrest pool grand opening

we've lived in suncrest for seven years and we are finally getting our pool! yay! the grand opening was a big, freezing cold party! we can't wait to spend the warm summer days at the pool just down the street from us...

seminary graduation

baylee spoke at her seminary graduation in front of hundreds. the theme was moving forward with faith. she is a great example to many of this. her talk was perfect... powerful, mature, spiritual, & uplifting. i've had a lot of proud moments over the years, but this one is at the top of the list. (reminder~ ask baylee to write my future talks). she ended her talk with a quote by President Monson,"fear not, be of good cheer, for the future is as bright as your faith!"

the kids and i

my weekend with the kids consisted of cleaning house, finding fossils at the dinosaur museum, dinner at a friends (thanks fran!), picnic at wheeler farm with a bouncy slide bonus, smoothies, a late night watching a movie in my bed, church, & family dinner! i love these kids with all my heart even though i'm exhausted by days end.

date night

jason and i try to have a weekly date night, usually dinner and a movie. we are spoiled to have the best babysitters in the world! i missed my hot date this weekend. he is in lake mead with the boys. i'm glad he is having fun in the sun. i've had a fun weekend with the kids but i really do miss you, jas!! i love that you are always my hot date! (sorry for the cheese)

mother's day

griffin spoke in church on mother's day (last minute).

unfortunately, jason and i already had our getaway planned and we weren't back in time to hear it. i was really, really sad to miss it. i heard from several that he was their favorite speaker. he spoke on 3 qualities that my mom taught him. the first being love. he shared a story about one easter, he fell asleep watching a movie and i took him down to his bed. when he woke up in the morning, we thought he had pooped the bed. he was covered in brown stuff. my mom loved him so much she was willing to smell the sheets only to find out that it was chocolate. i had laid him down on easter candy that had melted and smeared everywhere. we had a good laugh. my mom had a lot of patience and love for her children. the second being example. he shared the story of my mom going to church even though she had sores on her feet from a reaction to chemo and couldn't wear shoes. she always stood up for what she believed and taught us the importance of keeping the commandments. the third being positive attitude. he told about the time when he and baylee came home from school and my mom had shaved her head (due to losing her hair from treatment). he remembers being a little horrified when they saw her and she just laughed at their reaction. i know that losing her hair wasn't an easy thing for her but she always had a positive attitude. always.

i'm grateful for the memories we have of her and her example of motherhood. being a mom is not easy (speaking from experience) but it was for her. when i came home from park city, i was showered with homemade gifts and notes from the children in my life. i feel so blessed. i'm working on being a more patient mother. thanks to griffin for his sincere talk that helped so many others get a glimpse of the kind of my mother my mom was. Happy belated Mother's day to you!

eleven years

jason and i had a fabulous weekend celebrating our 11 year wedding anniversary. one advantage to getting married on may 6th is it is during park city's off season so we got an amazing rate at the st. regis hotel in deer valley. the hotel was spectacular. you have to take a tram ride to get there. the furnishings and details were exquisite. they even had a t.v. in the bathroom mirror! it was surprisingly warm enough to lay by the pool one day. it was crazy to be out swimming while looking at the view of snowy mountains. it felt like we were the only ones at the hotel. we dined like rock stars- butchers chop house, ruth chris, and delicious room service! we got manis & pedis, went to the movies, shopped, napped, & talked. the two of us together can talk! it was fun reflecting on the past 11 years- good and bad. it's been eventful and i'm excited to see what the future has in store for us. i love you jas! i can't imagine my life without you! it was a happy anniversary!