Face It. . .

I don't deny it.  She's cute.  And will always be in my book.  Thanks Great-Grandma P. for the new birthday shirt!

"Celebrate You!" TaVaci Concert

Adalyn and Mieley had their Spring TaVaci concert last Saturday.  And as always, I think they are super cute and Adam and I are always so proud of their performance.  I can't help but smile while they are up there singing their hearts out!

A Reunion and Tora's 2nd Bday!

Last weekend, we went to Park City for a family reunion.  It was short and sweet, but lots of fun.  The first night, all the kids gathered on a bed to watch a movie.  Ahh. . . .reunited and happy to be together.

The next day was Tora's 2nd birthday!  

 Peek a boo!

She started happy that day, but it quickly turned into a long day, with no naps, and a grumpy 2 year old.  I guess, it was her birthday and she'll cry if she wants to.  And she did.  

In the afternoon, we went bowling.  The kids alongside the grownups all had a great time.  

Here's cutie patootie Karlee.

 Tora bowling with Grandma.

Sweet Kinley

 Nice form dad.

 My always smiley Mieley.

 A cheering section.

 I think my brother Justin is sad here because all the little kids are scoring as high as he is.  :)

Check out Tora's intense expression there.

 Adalyn showing off her skills.

Squeezable Miss Ellie.

 And here's just one of many, many pictures of tired Tora.  Still cute though.

After bowling, Tora took a much needed nap, and the bigger kids went out for a swim with Grandma and Aunt Megan.

Thanks Megan for the fun pictures.  

Finally, after dinner came the cake and ice cream for Tora.  

Look at my brother Matt's expression in the background.  I think secretly he wanted to be by all the kids and help blow out the candles too!!!  :)

Tora was so fascinated by the flame.

 

Finally, some smiles from the 2 year old we adore.

Adam wasn't able to make it and we missed him so.  Here's Tora leaving her dad a message on the phone.  She gets so excited to talk to Adam.

And here's a few moments before the girls and I had to leave the next morning.  We had to leave early to make it home for their TaVaci concert.  Here's all the grandkids.

We just love this crazy bunch!

Reason #62 Adam's the Cooler Parent

He bought our kids this:

They love it.  They love Adam.  And continuously sing him praises and shower him with "I Love You's."

Sigh.

It is pretty fun though.  I'll admit it.  As long as they don't break anything on it. . . .

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the women out there.  My own mom sent me this quote given by M. Russell Ballard in 2008 yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you.

"Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments.  There will be hard times and frustration times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush the fleeting moments.  She said ' The biggest mistake I made (as a parent) is the one that most of us make...I did not live in the moment enough.  This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.  There is one picture of my three children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day.  I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.  I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed.  I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.'"

Then my mom ended with her own wonderful words: "Love you family just where you are now." 

I LOVE YOU MOM!!  And I love Adam's MOM just as much.  We are so blessed to have our lives and our children's lives so enriched with such loving Grandma's and Great-Grandma's!!  Thank you, thank you for all you have done for us.  

I walked outside to see this today:

I have the greatest family!

The Ball vs The Muffler

The offending ball:

The culprit:  Raise your hand high:

And act sorry for your actions:  Um. . . close enough

The victim:

The story:
Last night, Tora and the kids were all in our back patio, "cleaning" Adam's pickup's mats with water (more like a water fight, but that's besides the point).  Adam had to leave really quick for a few minutes to meet someone, and decided to take my car.  Tora was standing behind the car, and when I went to grab her out of the way, she shoved a rubber ball she had in her hands into the muffler.  As I could see the ball, I didn't think it much of a problem -- we would simply reach in and grab the ball out.

Have you ever heard the story with the monkey who puts his hand in the cookie jar and can't get it out because he has a hold of too many cookies??  Well that was us.  ALL of us, including all three girls, had our hands in the muffler trying to get this ball out.  But as soon as we had a hold of it, we couldn't get it and our hands out.  We even made Tora stick her arm up to her elbows to get the ball out.  Nothing was working.  Not using sticks, or metal rods, or screwdrivers.   Then the ball moved forward more and we could no longer see it. Tora found this all more and more amusing.  Adam and I were getting more and more, shall we say, less amused.

Adam talked to a local car repair shop and they quoted us $250 to get it out.  $250!  I was beginning to be more and more content on just letting the ball make the muffler it's new home.

So to make a longer story short, as a last resort, Adam drove the car up on a curb and luckily the ball came rolling back again into site.  Adam carefully used his fingers, and with a lot patience, the ball FINALLY came out.

Moral of the story - don't let Tora near your muffler!  It's a good thing she's so cute (and currently the youngest) so she didn't get in too much trouble.  And though, even after baths, my girls hands are still black, we are just glad we finally did get that ball out and can laugh about it now!