CAMPING?! ME?! Who would have thought!

I'm sorry about all the pictures. This is for my sister as well. So a picture gallery is what has to happen I guess!

FINDING FIREWOOD!

NIGHT TIME MAGIC!

MORNING DIP!

If you know me, you know that I am not that fond of the camping thing. Unless it involves a trailer/ camper of some sort with a mattress and a bathroom. Tents? Not my thing. Bugs? Hate them! Toilets dug out of the ground by my 9 yr old? NO THANK YOU!!! So against my better judgment, I agreed to a camp out with my sisters family. Not wanting to look like the wuss. Aside from the things I hate most, I have got to say I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually a lot of fun. Lots of work but also a lot of down time to just relax as well. My sister and her family have a boat that we take out on the lake every time we visit. We always go around and in between islands with campers doing their thing and we thought it was our turn for the adventure. It's a lot of prep work to get everybody out there with tents and food and blankets, pillows, life jackets ect, ect. It's a wonder we got it all done to enjoy ourselves. The night was the best part for me. kids asleep, us next to the fire enjoying each other. Romantic in a way. The kids had fun swimming and looking for fire wood. They all became campfire experts. It was hard to keep it safe some times. The highlight for them was the s'mores though, I'm sure. In the morning after the Daddy's woke up, it was tubing time. Everybody took turns in the tube that was pulled by the boat. Lot's of fun. I.m glad it was for just one night though. Sleeping on the sand is ruff on the hips and back. Nobody got a lot of sleep but it was worth it. Great fun!!!!!!!

I didn't get pictures of some of our highlights like the tubing and the s'mores. I was afraid to take my camera out on the boat and I was to busy with s'more building to stop for pictures. Sad I know but I got some great photos.

My Truck!

We bought this Power Wheels Hummer almost 3 years ago as a Christmas present for the boys. Brigham was 6 months old then. They got to ride it once before the battery died and never came back to life. It has been sitting in our back yard all this time just waiting for us to get a new "whatever" to help it work again. Part of our delay I think was that none of the children seemed to care much if it worked or not. But Brigham has always been interested in cars and would climb on in pretending that it would work. Well, one day last week Daddy came home with the new "whatever" that was needed and fixed it for Brig so he could really enjoy it. He loves to take rides in "daddy's truck" so it's not surprising that he calls this toy "my truck". He rides it everyday so far. All day if he can help it. He loves his truck!

If you have one of these power wheels, you know that the battery doesn't last forever. And eventually needs to be recharged. When the battery is low it will just stop moving not having enough power to to keep it going. If you let it sit for a while the power builds up just enough to go for a bit more and it starts all over again. Well a 2 year old doesn't understand this, to him it's just broken. When it would stop he would run to me to tell me that his truck was broken, that he needed to fix it. Screaming this to me as he is looking for tools to use to work with. He found a screwdriver and some pliers and got to work. He would work on it for a bit and get back in. And to his surprise his truck would move. Until it ran out of "juice" and would stop. Then he would start all over again. He is just to cute for words. Really, he keeps me smiling!

I don't know if you have ever done this....But sometimes I look at a picture of my children and see the future. Something was captured in that split second that revels an older version of what I see before me. In this picture it is Brigham. The way he is standing looking over the car. Something tells me I will see this again Someday!

Where did my baby go?! 5 is for big kids!

Seriously!!! Where did he go?! In just one year! The picture on the right is from his 4th Birthday party. Just look at that sweet baby face. And the big kid with all the grown up attitude is from this year. What a difference. It happened so fast! :(

He got the birthday hat at school to wear for the day. He took that literally and wouldn't take it off. I think he went to bed in it that night as well. There's nothing more important then Birthdays when your 5.

For his birthday he wanted to go to a new family fun place that just opened up in town. It has those enormous jumping castle like things in a big warehouse. Lots of running and jumping and climbing. Great for letting them burn a lot of energy. A few friends and his brothers made up the guest list.

Brotherly love.

They all enjoyed Don joining in the fun. I would have as well but didn't have the right foot wear. Socks are required. Next time I will remember that. It looked like fun.

This was what most of my pictures looked like. I felt like I was always chasing them. "Stop kids and pose for the picture!"

Just one cute kid.

The tallest slide there. You have to admit, that does look like fun!

Then we headed home for cake and ice cream and presents. He had a wonderful time. And it was worth all the planning. Birthday #5 is always a big deal. I hope he will always remember it. I sure do love my big 5 year old.

For sweet little Jansie!

Jansie is 8 months old and is allergic to milk. She has spent a lot of her little life in the hospital just trying to find out what was wrong. There were other problems as well but as soon as they figured the food allergy out her life became a whole lot better. Her mother asked me to make her a cute bracelet for her to wear, and of course, I can't pass up an opportunity to make small little girly things. I made it with rainbow colored beads so that she could wear it with mostly anything. And it has a magnetic clasp so it will just pull apart when tugged on or is snagged on something. This was very fun to do. And I need more little girls to get my fix of "the girly" stuff that I don't get nearly as much of as I would like. Oh well, maybe someday.

A gift for a new mother

I feel like I have been away for a while. Sorry about that. Life gets busy. I made this necklace for a friend who wanted to give it to her friend who was becoming a mother for the first time. I'm very happy with the way it turned out. And even more excited when I found out that the NEW MOM loved it too. It makes it worth it in the end. I like how it is 3 different pieces but come together to look like one. I love it! I can't wait to make more!!!

Babies, Sisters and Friends......... OH MY!!!!!

My Utah trip was awesome! All I was concerned about was taking care of my sister Tiffany, hanging out with my family and taking pictures. I got to do all of these things and by the length of this post you'll see I mean it. I had way to much fun with my camera. I have some adorable nieces and nephews that I really just couldn't resist. I had fun trying new things and learning new things about my camera. We had a few photo sessions and I was happy to see the kids just as excited and helpful to have there pictures taken. We had fun.

Isn't he adorable?! Cohen Warner was born April 20th. And he was 6lbs 15 oz. He was a shorty at 18 inches long. He was so much fun to hold and watch. Pretty content until mom wanted to nap then for some reason would find his lungs. He was very photogenic for such a little tike. I had fun snapping picture after picture of this sweet angel.




Tiffany is my youngest sister and sometimes I have a hard time not thinking of her as a little kid still. But she truly amazes me as a mother. Very loving and giving. And those kids listen to her. Something they wouldn't do for me. (I didn't mind though) She was just coming home from surgery and was having a hard time. But she was determined to have fun with us and not be left out. Sometimes I think she could handle anything.


My sister Mandy and Cohen. We all loved holding him.

Chris is a wonderful father and husband. It was fun to get to know him better on this trip.

So I was all dolled up. With Mandy (the hairdresser) there to do my hair and Natalie there to do my make-up I was set for the runways. Of course that wasn't going to happen so the front room would have to do. I went first and then it was Mandy's turn.

This is how our nights were spent. Siting down in front of the TV. Watching a girly flick. Laughing, taking pictures and eating chocolate. This was the best part of the trip. Just being with my family. My Aunt Linda was there also because she lives close to Tiffany. She is my mothers oldest sister. They are so fun to watch. They always act like they're 13 yr old when they get together. Always hugging on each other and giggling. I wonder if my sisters and I look like that to our kids. That's a funny thought. Anyway, I think they were the true entertainment.

On Sunday Natalie and I got to Temple Square while we were there. The flowers were gorgeous and the buildings amazing. It was a cold day though and we didn't have to long to dilly dally. I can't wait to go back. Very beautiful!

These are some pictures from the photo shoots that I had with the kids.

Anzlie was wonderful with the baby. She loved to help out her mom.

Landon is a very sweet boy. And funny. He reminded me a lot of my boys so I had a special place in my heart for him.

And this sweet little girl Ciera, stole my heart! I couldn't get enough of her. I would just follow her around thinking that I wanted one of those. My sister Mandy would do her hair so cute and I just wanted to kiss her and squeeze her and call her mine. She got sick while we were there with a high fever. And when she just wanted me to hold her it made my trip. I miss her.

Mandy's little man,Tyson! The youngest of the group. He was stuck to Mandy like glue. So very cute. A sweet personality full of wonder.

We had such a good time. But I was ready to get back to my kids and my life. I've never been away from them for this long. I'm glad I did it though. It's good to be away so you can appreciate what you have. I haven't told my husband this yet but we have started a tradition of getting together every year from here on out. Something that we can't deny ourselves anymore. I'm going to have to make that up to him somehow. I will! I promise Honey. You were wonderful through all of this and I thank you!

Ok! Now it's your turn!

Babies, sisters and friends..........OH MY!

Sorry it's been so long. But I had 2 trips back to back that left me to busy to blog. But I'm back and fully recovered and cant wait to show you all my pictures. Both trips went perfectly. Don was awesome with the kids and taking care of everything while I was gone. I'm so grateful to have him. After he excepted all of this I think he was just as excited as I was. Which just means I wont feel so guilty for next time.Hee hee!

The first trip to Ohio was nothing less then extraordinary. It's not every day that you witness miracles. I was fortunate enough to be there for my sister (in-law) while she delivered her first child. Having done this 4 times myself, I always wondered why people always acted like it was such a phenomenon. I think when you have 9 months to prepare yourself for that exact moment and your working and focusing so hard to just get the baby out already, it takes away from the "phenomenon" your so much a part of. It's not that I took it for granted before this, just that now I understand it from a different perspective and it is amazing. It's more of an awesome site when you don't have to work for it. (I hope I explained myself alright. I don't want to be getting any hate comments) Hayden Avery was born on April 15 and she was 8 pounds, 5 ounces. She had a very full head of hair. And the most beautiful skin I've ever seen. She is absolutely gorgeous. I got to hold her and and then hand her to her fabulous mother after the nurses cleaned her up for the first time. SO AWESOME!!!. Kari was amazing. She had to push for 3 hours and I could see her losing endurance. She was exhausted but she never complained. She took it like a trooper. Singing along to the country songs in the back ground between pushes. Funny, right? She is an amazing mother already. (I knew she would be) She asked me to be there for her to help out but she really didn't need me. She knew what to do. I just was there to encourage her. Maternal instincts are another miracle all on it's own. I am so proud of her. Thanks again Kari.

Before her first bath at home.







Home for the first time. Zion, their puppy, was so excited to greet her new sister with a kiss.

I also got to see some old High School friends while I was there. My trip was short, so my visits with them were also short. I really wish I had the time to really enjoy everybody on a more intimate level but I'll just have to save that for next time. I took my camera with me when I went to meet up with my gal pals Emily and Becky. We met at a park so their kidos could play and have fun while we caught up on the last 15yrs. YIKES! That just made me sound really old. Anyway, The setting was perfect for pictures. The sun, a playground and happy children. What could be better. These pics are for you guys. I love you!

Tomorrow the second part of my trip. It was a sister fest. With all of my sisters and my mother and her sister. A very girly weekend. Every girl should have one of these. It's just that fun!