Funnest Time with our Cousins!

This week Eric's sister Elyn and her little family came to stay with us. It was so much fun playing with her little sweeties and spending time with them. Check out how cute these little cousins are!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Shout Out To Kam and ALL that is good

I know that I have spoken about my good friend Kam Taylor before, but I was just looking on her site today and saw that she has added several new "Little Heroes" to her website. I was so touched by these sweet pictures and these sweet families who endure such difficult hardships but still manage to smile and show gratitude for these sweet little spirits that they have been blessed with. With the reminders of the tragedy of 911 and the many struggles that exist in our world today, I am truly grateful for small things that remind us that there are so many good people doing good and kind acts of service for others, and that so much good does indeed exist in our world today. So thank you my friend, for your example and your selfless acts of service. If you would like to check her out go to http://www.photographybykam.com, then click on her PORTRAITS link,then her GALLERIES link, and then her LITTLE HEROES link. You won't regret it, it is so tender.

Our Cruise!

Well hello my friends!! We have missed you all! We just got back from a week and a half long vacation, and already I am really missing the ocean! I loved every minute of the cruise, and especially loved seeing the new places and just hanging out with my little family and all of our other awesome relatives! We started the vacation off by driving to Sacramento to pick up my sister and her cute family. We miss them already, and it is crazy how much they have grown! Misty and I get together every couple of months, but it always amazes me how quick they are growing.Check out how sweet her kids are!






On Saturday we drove down to Southern California and stayed with my sisters' in laws, who were gracious enough to let us stay the night before we checked in for the cruise the next day. They also watched my sisters' boys so that they could bring Taylor and go on the cruise with us. (Thanks Kim and John for the amazing dinner! It was so much fun chatting with you and seeing your beautiful home and family! We have missed you guys, and loved spending the evening with you. Kim did you finish the book yet? AWWWWWWWW, I have been dying to talk to you about it! I LOVED IT~)

DAY 1

On Monday we checked in. The boat was awesome, and bigger than I expected. We went on the Royal Caribbean ship and LOVED IT, the people there were so much fun.There was music everywhere you went, and our little ladies were constantly dancing. So much so, that throughout the cruise people started calling them the "dancing girls". Everyone would always clap, and the girls were totally and completely convinced that they were famous! The girls were so excited we could hardly contain them. Here are a few cute pictures from our first day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

DAY 2

On the second day of the cruise we docked in San Diego. Since we go there every year, usually around the same time that we do our yearly Disneyland trip, we decided to stay on the boat and check out some of the fun things. The boat had this HUGE climbing wall, and my girls were so excited to climb it. Eric taught the girls how to repel when they were just tiny, but this was the first time that they went as high as they did. Eric of course did it with them and was so fast, but the real shocker, was that my sister did it as well. I know, I was shocked, but she was awesome, and I was so proud of her. She made it to the top and did such a great job! Way to go sis. Check them out!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

DAY 3

The third day was probably my most favorite. We went to Catalina Island. The weather was so awesome, and there was so much to do. The girls swam in the ocean, found fish, climbed up to a cave, and we rented a golf cart and drove to the top of the island. I loved it, and the girls agree that it was their favorite day as well. The only bummer part was that my wedding ring was stolen. I took it off to put sunblock on my girls, and left it in a public bathroom. I didn't remember it until about an hour later, and when we went back, it was gone. But the day was wonderful anyway, and Hannah is completely convinced that she will be moving there one day! LOL!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

After the girls had been shopping for a while, Eric and Marc were totally bored! So they grabbed our cameras and took off. Apparently they were playing a game where they had to try to get as close as they could to a stranger and take a picture with them without them knowing it. Some of the pictures were pretty good. The funny part is that Eric hates taking the time to take pictures, he would rather be doing something else fun, but I guess anything was better than shopping! LOL





DAY 4

On our last day of the cruise we went to Ensenada, Mexico. What a beautiful and humbling experience. It has the most beautiful ocean views, and such beautiful people. But it also has such extreme poverty. We had an adorable guide who told us a lot about her country and the people that lived there. This experience was very humbling for Hannah. We have taken them to homeless shelters before, but I don't think that she was quite prepared for the level of poverty that she saw. She came home with a renewed passion for wanting to somehow make a difference in this world.



This was also our last night on the ship. The grownups saw a fun singing and dancing show while the girls were preparing with the other children for a small pirate play. It was so cute, and they looked awesome. Tay Tay was a pirate princess and my girls were good 'ol tough looking pirates.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Meet Elaine

We meet the most beautiful and sweet lady on our cruise. Her name is Elaine and she has one of the most sparkly personalities of anyone that I have ever met. She was so lovely. My girls just feel in love with her instantly, and we loved having the chance to get to know her. She is one of those people that after you talk with them, even for a few moments, you leave feeling like a bettter person. So thank you Elaine, you were such a joy and blessing to our family!


DAY 5

Time to say good bye. I loved every minute of the cruise and loved spending the time with the ones I love. I would have loved for it to be a little longer, and want to go on another one some day! On Friday after we docked in LA, we said goodbye to Misty and Marc and we drove straight to Carson City, Nevada to spend a couple of days with Eric's family. We spent the day on Saturday at Lake Tahoe and got to see some of the sweet new additions to our family. Check out how cute these kids are!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So I guess that is about it. We sure miss you guys, and can't wait to see you all again soon! Love ya!

Annie's Gift

My sweet friend Annie took us out the other night to take my little ladies pictures. She did an amazing job, and made the whole experience so much fun for all of us! I just love her.She captured their little personalities perfectly, and I am in love with how the pictures turned out. This is why I love photography! It captures such a perfect moment! So thank you my friend, I love them all.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The First Day of School!

Well today was my little ladies first day of school! I have been dreading it all summer, but they had an absolutely great day! Both of them loved their teachers and were able to connect with all their friends from last year! So as much as I missed them today, I am so glad that it was such a great day! I loved seeing all the kids and loved all the hugs from all the little ones that I have fallen in love with from last year! So all in all, it was a wonderful day! (And for my sister and all my buddies who knew that I was going to cry today, I only did a TINY bit, which as far as I am concerned does not really even count! LOL!)

Make a Smilebox photobook

Behold, my lovely garden!

Today I AM SO EXCITED! It is almost the end of Summer (which is killing me! I absolutely love Fall, it is my most favorite season, but I am so sad that my kids are going back to school already! This summer has gone by so quickly!!!!!!anyways) and my garden has done so well. This is the very first garden that we have ever done and it has done amazing! I am not sure what to do with all of it,(so thanks Angie, for pointing out all the finer parts of gardening ) but WAHOOO! I know that this is going to sound cheesy and a little lame, but I am still so AMAZED that you can stick a seed in the ground and without doing ANYTHING in a few months you have food! IT IS SO COOL! EVERYONE should have a garden! It has been so much fun to watch how excited my little ladies and Eric are as well. I am hooked. Next year I want 3 gardens! LOL!!!
-

The Berry Ranch

Today we did the FUNNEST thing. My buddy Angie invited us to go with her and her girls to The Berry Farm in Nampa. The guys tried to make it but were both so busy. I am so bummed because Eric would have absolutely loved it`!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! I have never done anything like it. I grew up in the mountains in Southern California, so there were not many, if any farms around. We spent a couple of hours in mud up past our ankles picking the yummiest blackberries that I have ever eaten! I think that EVERYONE, should have the opportunity to go berry picking. The girls were adorable, and did a pretty great job of picking the berries. THEY PICKED A TON! They were COVERED in mud and berry juice, and looked absolutely adorable! After we were done picking the girls played in the irrigation ditch, so needless to say we had to totally strip them all down in order to get them into the car. BUT IT WAS SO GREAT! So thanks my friend, we loved every minute! I cannot wait to make some jam tomorrow! (CHECK OUT HOW CUTE THOSE BERRY FACES ARE)

Twin Falls Temple

Yesterday our good friends Brandon and Angie invited us to go with them to see the Twin Falls Temple Open House. It had not yet been dedicated so we were able to walk through it. What an amazing experience! It was wonderful to feel the amazing spirit there, and to watch how it affected my sweet little girls. The temple was so beautiful! Both of my girls had amazing experiences but in totally different ways. It was so neat for me to be there with them, and I will never forget the wonderful feeling of standing in the Celestial Room with my daughters and sweet husband. After the temple we went to the Shosane Falls, which are called the Niagra Falls of the West. They were STUNNING!!! All the little ladies had so much fun, and thanks to Angie we had the yummiest picnic. After seeing the falls we went to the twin Falls (which actually were just one fall, the other one had dried up). Then all the girls took turns rolling down the big grass hills. We ended up not getting home until after midnight, so even though the girls were pretty tired, it was a perfect day. So thank you my friends, for such a wonderful experience!

Make a Smilebox postcard

The Eagle Island Get Down!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Today my friend Elizabeth invited us and some other families to hang out at Eagle Island. The weather was great, and we ended up staying from about 11:30 to a little after 5:00. The kids swam non-stop and had so much fun with everyone! So thanks for a fun day my friend!

River Rafting

Last Friday our buddy Rick Sager invited Eric and 10 other of their friends to go white water rafting. Eric said that it was so awesome, and had a great time with all the guys. From what I understand Rick went flying to the front of the raft once and Steve Munson was thrown about 5 feet from the raft during one of the more technical rapids, but no one was hurt, and Eric says that Steve was laughing the whole time. (Which is not hard to believe, since all the Munsons always have such an awesome smile on their faces!)Then on Saturday we went rafting with the Sager and the Callis family. It was a blast! We rafted the same river that the boys all did the day before, which was awesome because Eric and Rick were able to prepare us for whatever rapid was coming. MY GIRLS LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! They were so cute, and so excited the whole day. We did not do anything more technical that a 3, but there was one time when my girls were at the bottom of the raft and they were totally immersed in water. I was a little nervous on that one, because for a minute I could not see my girls. But all was well, and well worth every minute! What a great day! By the time we got to the end my girls and I were ready to go back up and do it again! So thanks everyone for an awesome day!

Goose Poop Lake

On Tuesday a huge group of us got together to take our kids up to a, (well actually I am not quite sure what it was) lake, pond, reservoir thing. THE KIDS LOVED IT. It really was a fun place, not very deep, and had a ton of room to play. They floated in a raft, swam, caught tadpoles, and had so much fun with each other. I love how whenever we all get together that all the kids play with each other. Kids from 16 down to 2 all get along and have so much fun! I love it, and these outings give the moms a chance to hang out. So aside from the tremendous amount of goose poop, it was a fun day! So check out some of the fun pictures that we took!

Dinner & Dancing & Vampires OH MY!

Tonight a group of my favorite friends got together for a super fun girls night out! We all wore black (in honor of Edward), and went to Bajios for a yummy dinner, then went to see the movie "Mama Mia"! IT WAS SO AWESOME, I love movies where you can hardly sit still, and that make you want to jump up and dance! It was so funny, so if you have not seen it yet,GO!If you were not already a fan of Abba (Natalie, LOL) you definitely would be after seeing this movie! It is a perfect movie to go to with your girlfriends! After the movie we were off to our Vampire Prom! Tonight was the release of the fourth book in the "TWILIGHT SERIES", YAHOOOOO! So we all wore tiaras and hung out at Hastings Book Store until midnight when the book was released! It was awesome, and I loved hanging out with all the cool ladies tonight. So thanks everyone for a fun night!

Make a Smilebox slideshow