4th of July Weekend!

Celine Dion

Rick surprised me by taking me to Celine

Dion concert. I was shocked. We have lived

in Las Vegas for almost 8 years and this is

our second show we have been too. The

ending was amazing. She sang "My Heart

Will Go On". I won't tell you the rest in case

you go see it. Thank you Rick!

New Tree

We had to replace a tree this weekend. Rick

decided that he was going to pull the old

stump out with a chain and the van. I laughed.

It wasn't that I doubted Rick's knowledge. I had

seen to many America's Funniest Videos where

the engine had come out. Well I am happy to

report the endeavor was successful. The old

stump came out and the new tree

was planted!

Food and Fireworks

On the 4th we went to a Friends house. We had good

food, company, all the snow cones you can eat and lots of

sparklers. We tried really hard to not set our friends

backyard on fire.

Kate came and asked me if she could go

to America. I said, "We are in America".

She then said,"No Mom we are at our home".

I laughed. Moms really don't know much

I decided.

I'm so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy

and for all who made it possible! Happy

Birthday America!

Birthdays!

Mindy
Mindy turned double digits on May 1st. She is now 10
years old! She is my sweetheart! We went to The Springs
Preserve for her birthday because she loves nature and animals.
We also asked her a couple of questions about herself.

* Favorite animal--Dog because they are friendly
* Favorite clothes--blue plaid shorts, cheetah PJ's,
baseball shirt.
* Favorite Food-- Macaroni and Cheese
* Favorite Primary Song--"I am a Child of God".
* Favorite Movie--"Mega Mind" and "He is Risen Up".
* Favorite Family Tradition--Going to Emery and playing
in the tree house.
* Favorite Family Vacation--Lego Land
* I like school because-- Mrs. Strahler is there. She is Mindy's
teacher.

Brittany

Brittany turned 6 on April 26th. She is a pure
joy to have as a daughter!Here are some questions
we asked Brittany.

* Favorite Pet--Unicorn, because the have magic
* Favorite Clothes-- Cheetah shirt, yellow soccer shirt
* Favorite Food--Chicken
* Favorite Movie--Pocahontas
* Favorite Primary Song-- "I Love to See the Temple".
* Favorite Family Tradition--Family Home Evening
because giving the lesson is so much fun!
* Favorite Vacation--Family Camp(Meldrum Reunion)
because she gets to hike
* What is Love--When you are kind

Easter!

The whole month of April it seemed like we did a lot
Easter things. We did things from decorating eggs to talking
about why we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior.
We also planned a fun day at the park to roll hard boiled
eggs down the hill.It ended up snowing that day! Who
knew it could snow in Vegas, in April! My regret is we
didn't get pictures of the snow. So you will have to take
my word on it! We ended up going to a friends house to
wait it out and decorated cookies! Oh the adventures!

Temple Square!

We went up to Utah to be with Rick for Spring
Break. We decided to go to Temple Square.
There is really a special spirit there. I think
my girls felt it. My girls really liked the Book
of Mormon exhibit. They also thought it was
cool to see where conference takes place. Did
you know they have a whole forest on top of
the Conference Center! They also have a
miniature replica of the Salt Lake Temple. It
was really neat!





The flowers were so beautiful!

Frisbee Golf !

For Rick's Birthday in March we went and played
Frisbee Golf! We had a blast! I wondered why we
didn't do it more often. When I was growing up
my uncle Joesph played Frisbee Golf with us many
times up in the mountains. When we were first
married Rick and I would go to a course on the old
Springville highway. In Las Vegas they have several
courses to go to. We ended up picking one. I was surprised
at my good Frisbee throwers!


Competitive!



Distracted!



Score keeping!



Prepping!

Really?

So today was the kind of day that you would wonder what could happen next! The day started crazy as usual getting kids out the door for school. Once my oldest two were gone, Brittany got ready and I took her to kindergarten. I just have Kate with me after that. We came home. I parked in the driveway and unbuckled Kate in her car seat . She wanted to get out by herself. So I left her with the van door open and walked in the house leaving the front door open. I walked to the kitchen table and set my purse down and picked up something else. I then realized Kate hadn't come in yet. Mind you this was a matter of 1 minute. I walk out side and my van is gone! After pulling myself out of shock. I see Kate in the middle of the road in the van. She had put it in neutral and it had rolled a little ways down the road. Fortunately it had come to a stop hitting NOTHING! I ran quickly to her and asked if she was o.k. She then replied, "Mommy, I drive it" with a smile of her face! Being the good mommy that I am I tell her never to do it again and then I got my camera and took a picture! That was the beginning.

I then get a phone call from my mom telling me Rick had an accident. Side note: Rick is working in SLC during the week living with my parents. So I'm thinking horrible things in a split second. She proceeds to tell me he burned his eyes and parts of his face from boiling an egg in the microwave. He opened the door and 3 seconds later it exploded. It was on the ceiling and floor and unfortunately on his face. He can see and will be o.k. Rick told me he has done it in our microwave just fine on a low setting. I say kids and adults don't try this at home!

During the phone call I happen to be watching my neighbors kids. They are not getting along. They start fighting over a balloon and the one girl cuts her finger on the string. She is bleeding and screaming for her mom. It took a long time to calm her down. So their mom comes and we start talking inching our way out of the doorway. The kids, including mine run across the street to the park while we are talking. My Friend and I decide to go get the kids. When I get back I realize I left the door still open. There is two pigeons flying in my house banging there heads on my window and pooping on my carpet!! At this point I'm thinking Really? So I chase them out and clean up.

The positives are: it is afternoon and my kids are still alive. Kate didn't wreck into my neighbors house, car, or anything else. Rick is not blind. My neighbors kids are alive. I didn't have to kill pigeons in front of my kids. I didn't say any bad words.

I know my family and friends have wondered where I have gone since my last post was in March. I'm still here and much has happened since. Life has a way of doing that! I have been really sick trying to function normally with a smile not wanting anyone to know. My digestive system has had problems here and there. It eventually go worse and worse. I will spare you the details of my digestive system's woes however! So I decided to be my own doctor because of lack of insurance. Through talking with good friends and family I decided to go gluten and dairy free and then see what happens.If you know me giving both up is a big deal! I love homemade bread and a big glass of milk. I mean who doesn't! After what seemed like an eternity of mortal pain, my digestive system is feeling much better. Even though it doesn't solve all my health problems, I can function at a higher level. I'm so grateful for that! So instead of catching up with everything through the summer I thought I would post the most recent events.
Kate's 3rd Birthday
(November 13)
She is so lucky! She shares
her birthday with her aunt
Amber!
Five things I love about Kate!
1) She is very animated!2)She is
so loving.3) easily distracted.4)
Loves being outside5) Says the
cutest things


The air show at Nellis Air Force Base.
It is really cool to see the planes. You even
get to go inside some of them. We did loose
Brittany for a short time period. It was a little
scary. A family found her crying. I was so glad
she was o.k.

St. George

We went to see our friends the Groomes get

sealed as a family. It was wonderful! Not a

dry eye in the room. My aunt Marianne lives

there and was so nice to let us invade her house.

She also took us to see her horse at her friend's

place. The girls loved it! My aunt had surgery

five days prior on her leg. It was nice of her

and my uncle to spend time with us.

Halloween Fun!

Soccer
Our Stake does soccer and baseball.

It's free. The shirts are donated. It

is such a wonderful idea. My kids

love it!

Rick helped coach and ref.

Brittany's first year! We enjoyed watching her!

This is what kate does at the soccer fields!

Jenna's Birthday!
Five things I love about Jenna are

1)She's my built in babysitter, 2)She's outgoing

3)She's motivated.4)She's friendly

5)Loves to try new things

Disneyland

We went to Disneyland! We were excited!

This was my kids first trip. We did service as

a family and received free tickets to Disneyland.

We had a great time! We also went to the beach.

I decided you can't go to California and not go

to the beach. It was a much needed trip and so

fun!

The Beach