Bella's baptism and birthday

Bella turned 8 years old April 13th.  We had a birthday party for her the day after.  I let her invite some girls from her school and church class.  We had a good turn out.  Only one person wasn't able to come.  Such a difference from last year.  She had a rock n' roll party.  Her cake is supposed to be a music note. 

We made paper plate tambourines, played freeze dance, Just dance on the Wii, and karaoke.  The girls had a lot of fun.  They were actually a pretty mild group.  But it was nice for Bella to be able to get to know some more girls better.  Thank You Marnie for all the fun ideas!

Bella was baptized May 5, 2012 in the Tooele North Stake.  It was a beautiful baptism.  We thought nobody would be able to come, but a lot of people were able to come celebrate with us.  The talks that were given were well done.  Especially one done by a 13yr old who bore strong testimony of the importance of baptism.  I was impressed.  Al gave Bella a beautiful blessing, unfortunately it was hard to hear what he was saying because the noise in the room was so loud.  Also people walking outside the room were being noisy.  So I couldn't hear much, but the spirit was still there. 

Grandma Ann took Bella to pick out her baptism dress.  Bella had so much fun trying on all the pretty dresses.  Unfortunately I don't have a full picture of her in her dress so we can see the whole thing.  I will take one next time she wears it so I can post it next time.  It really is beautiful!  Bella did a good job picking it out.  I didn't get much pictures of her baptism.  I'm not very good at making sure these things get done.  Next time I think I will assign someone to take pictures.  I'm always so busy getting things done or ready I don't feel I can stop to take pictures, or don't think of it.

Joshua's Birthday! And the Zoo

Joshua turned 5 last week. I can't believe he is already 5! He is such a good kid (when he wants to be) and we are so greatful he is a part of our family. We had a party at our house and invited family. He wanted a Diego birthday party.
So we played rescue the animals relay race, pin the badge on Diego, and pinata. Joshy said his favorate part was the pinata. He also had fun playing with all his cousins.

Thanks to all who could come!

At the Zoo!

We went to the zoo the last day of Feb. It was a free zoo day. So Myndie, Marnie, a friend of Marnie's, and I all went to the zoo. It was a fun experience and I'm so glad we went. We almost didn't go because it was so windy and cold that day. But once we got to the zoo it wasn't that bad. Thanks to Myndie for letting us know about free zoo day!

We moved!

It has been a busy January. We moved!!! After 7 1/2 yrs in our little apartment. We moved. And we thought we would only be there for 6 months. Ha, Ha. It's funny what life brings you compared to what you want in life. It was a good 7 + years though. We had Joshua and Gideon. Sam, Ammon and Bella went to an awesome school That we loved. We were part of a great ward where we felt like family. We learned a lot, and were humbled a lot. Even with all the job losses, and financial struggles it is a miracle that we were able to stay there so long. Even though there were times I felt cramped and wished we could just move, I feel it a great blessing to have been there so long. We moved into our new house Jan. 11-14. We are actually still moving. Little by little we are getting things from our storage unit and other places. We still don't have pictures, but I'm feeling more settled. It feels good to have so much room. Joshy is having a hard time adjusting. He's scared in our big house, but at the same time he likes it. Gideon took a little bit too, but the rest of them are loving it! I think they love having their own rooms a little too much. Al and I had fun decorating our kitchen. We went to D.I. and found some treasures and then to the dollar store. We went with a country farm kitchen theme. We still need curtains for our kitchen, but that will have to come later. Gideon turned 1 Jan. 4th. But we were so busy getting ready for the move, moving, and getting everything situated that his first party had to wait. We celebrated with family on Jan. 28th. It was our first party here. It was fun to have a party at our own home. It was a lot of work too. Were not used to having parties at our house. Gideon loved his cake so much he licked the plate clean. He is such a joy to have in our family. He is so mellow, and calm (most the time anyway)it is nice to have him around. He still isn't walking, but is realy close. He seems scared to walk. He's just happy getting around crawling like lightning super fast.

Al and I recieved new callings in our new ward. Al is an advisor in the decons quorm and assistant scout master, and I am the 2nd counselor in primary. I'm finding it very difficult being in a leadership position not knowing who anyone is. So I'm learning a new calling and a new ward all at once. I guess this is a good way to get to know who people are fast.

Our New House To Be

Today we had our offer accepted on a house in Tooele. We are very excited to be moving forward toward closing now, rather than still looking for a house. We expect to be moving now within 3-4 weeks. That is if nothing goes wrong along the way, which since this is us we are talking about, who knows what will happen. In other words it's not over until I post the colors on that flag pole. That will mean that it is ours.

Sam's Birthday

Wow! My first born turned 12 yrs old on Oct. 16th 2011. What an important year for him. He recieved the Aaronic preisthood and his first temple recomend on his birthday! What a special birthday! We were able to celebrate in style at Planet Play. They had a ton of fun playing games, eating pizza, and doing various attractions. It was a fun party! Thanks to those who could come to either or both and make it special. For Sam's birthday we gave him a new bike. It was much needed since his last bike was given to him about 5-6 years ago.

Sam also got a friend party at our house. A few friends came and they played capture the flag, maffia, mind games, and ninja. We ate pizza and ice cream and cake. I asked Sam if he wanted a theme. No theme for him. He's getting too big. Sad, Sad. My boy is growing up too fast. It was a fun party though. I think they all had a good time.

Sam is having a lot of first with this birthday. First time going to priesthood session of confrence. First time getting the priesthood. First time going to young mens or scouts. First friend birthday party at our house. First temple recommend. First time going to the temple (we're going there soon, I hope).

odds and ends

Back in Aug. We went to a Starwars Party at the library. It was a lot of fun. They had games and crafts for the kids. Ammon came in second place for the costume contest. He went as Han Solo. He had fun coming up with his costume. First place was a little girl dressed as Yoda. Sam wanted to go, but was at scout camp.

In Sept. I took Bella and Shahayla and her Mom, Tonya, to tempel square. They have lived here most their lives and have never been. It was a nice outing with just us girls.

Also in Sept. Samuel went on his first backpacking campout. I was so scared for him. Thankgoodness Al went with him. I think that pack wieghs almost as much as he does. It was an extremely difficult hike and he did pretty good for his first time. Dad on the other hand twisted his ankle on the way up. Ouch!

A couple weeks ago we went to see the witches at gardner village. My kids look forward to going there every year. It was a georgeous October day. This witch was just dieing to get a picture with my kids! Joshy wasn't too sure and didn't want to get too close.

These pictures didn't turn out so good. I don't think my flash was on. But I had to add them anyway because they make me laugh. Gideon got his first taste of some colorful buble gum. Some how he had opened his from grandma and thought it was great! One big one in his mouth, and one in each hand. Taking turns from hand to hand licking the different buble gum. He was quite the mess, along with the carpet. But ohhh the joy from that baby!



One fall day in Oct. we (Joshy, Bella, and I) decided to gather the leaves and have some fall fun. They had fun running and jumping in the leaves. And then burying each other in them.


Gideon didn't know quite what to think of the leaves. He was a little scared at first.





Last night for family night we carved our pumpkins. Bella and Ammon designed the faces. Sam and Dad cut them. We all helped get out the goo, and I separated the seeds for roasting.

I found my Camera!

My camera has been missing for a long while now and that has been my excuse for not blogging. But alas, my mother in law found it at her house. Yeah! Not that that is good excuse to not blog, but I'm happy to have it back. So here are some pictures.

Sam, Ammon, and Bella took swim lessons this summer for the first time. They really enjoyed it. Being older they learned real fast.

Joshy did T-ball this summer and Al coached his team. We saw a lot of the above picture. But Joshy did get in some good hits and some good throws. Sam and Ammon assisted Al, so it was a family afair. Bella took a lot of pictures of Gideon as we watched.

Gideon loves to suck on his toes. Those feet of his are so "handy". He even holds his bottle with his feet so he can use his hands to play with other things.

Look at those Big eyes! How beautiful. I hear this comment a lot. I have to agree. Gideon is getting so big. He is doing the army crawl and climbing on furniture. and into everything. He is such a good baby though. I can't complain.

About a month ago we started back to school and this month Joshy got to start preschool. No pictures because my camara was lost, but they are enjoying it. For discovery this term Bella, Ammon, and Sam all get to do fishing. Al gets to go with them to Tibble Fork Lake to fish this week. Joshy is loving preschool. He talks to me for hours about it. I'm so glad he gets this opportunity.

Also a little miracle. Al got an unexpected raise just after my birthday. This makes it possible for us to start looking for a house. So we are now in the prossess of looking at houses. We found one so far that we like, but are still looking. It's been fun to look, but also it's hard to imagine leaving our ward and school. We love them so much and have lived here for over 7 yrs. Change is always hard, but it can also be rewarding. I'm just excited to get in a house we will fit in!