A “Ladda” Love

Dbacks game!

2009-09-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time with friends and family at the dbacks game!

We decided to ride the light rail down to the stadium. It was deffinately an adventure!

Braiden Loved watching the game!

The kids all down by the field watching the Dbacks starting pitcher warm up.

The kiddos they all had so much fun together!

Football Time!

2009-09-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

We love our Miners! Another season of football, It's been supper buisy and tons of fun!

Here they come!

Cousins came to support Braiden and the girls at the game!

Brooke is a cute Miners cheerleader and Briana has been alot of help being a junior pep leader! Briana has taught the girls some really cute dances. It's been fun!

Where has the time gone??

2009-09-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I have updated the blog. Life has been so hectic and a little out of whack lately. In the midst of all the transitions that Otis and I have been going through, I have tried to maintain some normalcy and to remember to "Enjoy the Journey". It is not always easy but when I sit back and look at the past few months I realize one thing... and that is how much I am blessed with a wonderful family and great friends who are always there to love and support my along the way! I hope you all know how much I love and appreciate your love and friendship! thank You!!! Enjoy the last 5 months of our life!

First Day of school!

2009-09-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

School has begun! We are a few weeks into the year and it has been great so far!

They were all excited for the first day!

Braidman! 4th grade!

Brooke cookie! 2nd grade!

Beautiful Bri! 8th grade! wow! I have an 8th grader!

Cute friends at the park waiting for the bus on the first day!

Birthday girl Brooke!!!

2009-09-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Brooke is 7! We had a fun Birthday with cousins and friends!

Brooke came up with the idea that she wanted to have a "polka dot" party! so we decorated in "polka dots" had a polka dot cake.

....and we made "polka dot" flip flops!

They truned out pretty cute!

Happy Happy Birthday Bri!

2009-09-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

My cute Briana is offically a teenager!

We had dinner at Cafe Laguna with friends then we went and saw a movie!

Cute auntie Allison joined the party!

Sisters!

2009-09-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm glad they have eachother! They have so much fun togehter. Briana has fun fixing Brooke's hair and picking out cute outfits for her and Brooke loves sleeping in big sisters bed!

Briana is now taking tumbling classes as well. This is Briana and Brooke on there first day of tumbling together!

4th of July in Show Low!

2009-09-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

If we are home for the 4th we always try to go up north for the 4th. It's just to hot to stay in town. The wheather was beautiful! We had so much fun!

We had a great time with our good friends, The Milkey's and Bodell's!

I feel sorry for the guys on the bottom!

Otis's Birthday!

2009-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday! Hon! Otis Birthday was on June 14th, we rode the light rail down town phoenix to the old Spaghetti factory. It was an adventure!

There's more: Press "old posts"

Swim Team!

2009-09-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Briana and Braiden had so much fun doing swim team this summer! It was a great way to stay active.

Get set!

Go!

Summer Fishing!

2009-09-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day swimming and fishing at the river! Never did catch anything but it was fun!

Last day of school!

2009-09-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

This year was a great year for Braiden and Brooke. Although, they were glad the school year is over and they are ready for a break.

Braiden did so good this year! I was so proud of all his accomplishments. This is an award he got for getting 100% on every spelling test the entire year. Good job Braiden!

Braiden and some of his 3rd grade buddies! Now on to 4th grade!

My little Brookee did good, she got an award for outstanding effort! She always tries her best.

This is Brooke's 1st grade teacher Mrs. Williams.

Brooke's Tumbling Recital

2009-09-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Brooke started taking tumbling in January and loves it! I can't get her to stop catrwheeeling around the house. This was her first recital which was in May. They did a dance and tumbling routine to "I like to move it, move it".

National Anthem

2009-04-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

Briana's Choir group sang the National Anthem at "relay for life" at Apache Junction High School. they did a great job and sang their parts beautifully! Great Job Bri!

Wrestling!

2009-04-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Braiden has been doing wrestling for a couple months now. It has been so good for him to learn a new sport and to try something that is done individually. It is definitely a challenge for him but he loves a good challenge and he loves to compete in anything having to do with sports.

How cute in his singlet! I call it a onsie he he!

Checking out the competition!

I love this picture! they are both in the air! It's hard to watch! Briana and I were in the stands squeezing each others arms off! It's very intense for such little guys!

Easter Weekend!!

2009-04-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

It was a fun Easter weekend with my Husband and my kids. It started off Saturday morning decorating eggs! This is always fun!

Brooke wanted to show us an experiment that she did at school. Does a raw egg float in salt water? The answer is..... Yes it does!

I woke up Easter morning (and my Birthday) to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a Delicious breakfast, made by the kids and Otis. It was so nice, they really made me feel special on my Birthday! Along with the numerous call from friends and family! Thanks guys! I feel so loved!

My cute kids, in their Easter outfits! I actually got Braiden to wear a pink tie! Yeh! they match!

My Birthday!

2009-04-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

My birthday was on Easter this year. So about a week before my sisters Allison and Chery surprised my and came to pick me up for Dinner. they wrapped my with streamsers and said lets go! It was fun!

My Mom sent me this really pretty flower cake! thanks Mom I love it!

Derby Time!!!

2009-04-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time! I have had some issues getting my pictures off my camera. So here we go!

Braiden and Otis had so much fun creating the Pinewood Derby car this year. It's so neat to see them both out in the garage working together. I love it and so do they!

We have such a great group of boys! It was so neat to see them cheer eachother on and give eachother high five! It wasn't about winning or being the best it was about having fun! and they had a blast!

Here are the cute boys of the Goldfield Ward!

The Mission Reunion

2009-03-30T21:57:00.000-07:00

We are still trying to figure out how we did it but some how we were able to pull off a last minute Mission reunion in the mitts of a very busy weekend. With the Young Women Broadcast dinner and other activities going on it was a bit of a stress... but well worth it. I am so glad Otis had the opportunity to go and reconnect with old Mission buddies.

This is a picture of the Mission President, President Gonzales who is now in the Quorum of the Seventy. He spoke at a Fireside and to his surprise several of "his" Missionaries were there waiting on the front row to surprise him.

Left to Right: Smith, Powell, Lara, Blanchard, Hermana Gonzalez and Pres Gonzalez, Moffit, Sorenson and child, Stephens, Zwahlen, Ellsworth, Cubano and Bingham

Blanchard, Lara, Zwahlen, Aikens, Ellsworth, Cubano and Powell

This is Otis's MTC companion, Elder Gleed. He was very surprised to run into him at the fireside.

They met at "Elder" Blanchards house were they ate traditional Ecuadorian food, and they talked......

They looked at old pictures and talked........

and talked ..................

and talked....................

Otis called me after the first night and informed me that they stayed up until about 3:00am just talking and telling stories. I didn't think guys could talk like this??? No wonder why Otis was a zombie when he got home.

I know that Otis had a great time.

Spring Break in a nutshell......

2009-03-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

During Spring Break the kids and I went to Utah to visit family. We had lots of fun just hanging out and playing rockband for hours at a time. Funny thing is Rockband is what we did most but I didn't get one picture of us playing it. Oh well it was a blast!

Here are some of the other things we did during the week:

The kids got to walk on the moon at Hanson Planetarium.

They also walked on Mars!

We got to go see the kids cousin Shane in the "Music Man". Great job Shane!

We went and ate lunch at the Lion House and took a tour of the Beehive House, which was Brigham Youngs house.

We walked through the Joseph Smith memorial building.

We went roller skating.

We went to Walmart at Midnight in our PJ's to wait in line for Twilight..

We got Twilight! Yeh!!!!

We just hung out all day helping Shane paint posters to run for Student Body Officer which I think was the most fun of all!!

Father and Son Campout

2009-03-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

My two Cute boys!

What a fun overnighter! Otis and Braiden had a great time on the father son campout. It was such a good bonding time for them. They both came home covered in dirt and with at least 3 loads of laundry for me to do but it was well worth it.

This is where they camped out. Beautiful camping area not too far from home.

All the boys found big sticks as weapons and had a big "battle". Not just the little boys the big boys too (dads)!

Otis actually caught a little cat nap in the hammock.

After the cam pout was over and everyone left they pulled out the guns and did some target shooting. This is a picture of my friend Janeans little boy Britt and her husband Blake. I think this was his first time shooting a gun! Look at the smile on both of their faces, too cute!!

Black Powder Gun Shooting!

2009-03-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

For our Priest/Laurel activity we went black powder gun shooting. We got up early and headed out to Oak Flats for shooting and some good food! It was a great turn out and lots of fun!

What a pro!

Are you sure it was your first time Janean??? You did good!

Good job Jenny! You hit the target! If you listen real close you will hear the "ting" that's the bullet hitting the metal target.

Botox!!!!!

2009-03-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

Otis and I went out on a hot date to a basketball game Friday night and the entire game he kept saying is my lip swollen? I never noticed anything. So, the game was over and we were heading to our car and I glanced over at Otis and his bottom lip was about doubled in size. He said it kept itching the entire game he couldn't figure out why?? so, we came to the conclusion that it is some type of allergic reaction to something?? We think it might be the raspberry lemonade that he drank at dinner. Looks like he is going to the doctor for some allergy testing, he's been having some weird symptoms lately. His eye keeps swelling up whenever we go to soccer practice at the park. I told him, "hey people pay allot of money to have lips like that!" free botox!

80's day at Peralta Trail Elementary!

2009-03-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

Today was 80's day at school. Brooke and Braiden had fun dressing up!

1st grade performance!

2009-03-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

Brooke had her first grade performance. It was really cute. The songs were written by the music teacher and he based the songs off a children's book called, "Something Good". It is a book about a little girl who is sick of her dad going grocery shopping and only buying healthy food, she wants, "something good" like soda and cookies. It was so fun and they did a great job!

Here's with Brooke with some of her friends. (Left to right)

Angel, Brooke, Lauren, Sydnee

Brokee and Mommy!

Blue and Gold Banquet

2009-03-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Blue and Gold Banquet! Braiden loves going to Scouts. It is the highlight of his week. Braiden and the boys in their troop wear their scout shirts to school every Tuesday (which is scout day) they are so proud to be a boy scout. I am so grateful for this program and the opportunity Braiden has to be part of it.

This years theme for the Blue and Gold banquet was an American theme. Each boy had to decorate their own cake. Braiden decided he wanted to make a big American flag cake. The Bishopric judged the cakes and Braiden got the award for the "most fruity." It was a fun family night. By the way... Braiden was having a tough time smiling as you can tell, he just had 5 stitches in his chin the day before, he was in a little bit of pain.

Go TMMS!

2009-03-02T21:29:00.000-08:00

Briana made the Thunder Mountain Middle School cheer team. She has been staying after school everyday practicing and cheering at games. It has been allot of work, but she has had so much fun and we have had fun going to all her games and cheering her on! Good job Bri!!!

Not bad for a middle school team. They do full extensions (which means they are able to extend their arms strait up when holding a girl up) Briana is in the middle group.

To the snow we go!!

2009-03-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

Presidents day we went up near strawberry to play in the snow. We went with our good friends the Powells. It was a beautiful day! with just the right amount of snow for sledding.

Briana's friend Bryce came with us. These two have been friends since first grade. They are good buddies!

Brooke and Lauren two peas in a pod. What would they do without each other???

Braidman, the entire day looking for the fastest most challenging slope. We really need to get this guy on ski's.

Jenny and I getting ready to go!!!

Of course the day ended with a nice hot meal at Wendy's down in Payson. What a fun day!

Valentines Day!

2009-03-02T21:27:00.000-08:00

Braiden and Brooke getting ready to go to school for their Valentines parties. I think they like Valentines parties better than they like the Christmas parties!

It has been a tradition for the past 4 years to take chocolate dipped strawberries to school for Valentines day. It's a fun treat and the kids look forward to it. In fact, one kid in Brooke's class eye's lit up when I brought them in. He said, "hey! I saw those in a magazine once" I was glad to give him his first taste.

The kids and I decided that for Valentines day we were going to go Heart attack the car while Otis was working at the restaurant. So, we snuck to the back of the restaurant and put hearts all over the car. We also surprised him with one of those big heart shaped cookies from Paradise Bakery. It was fun!

Peter Pan!

2009-03-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

We went to Apache Junction High School for the annual play that they do every year. The kids look forward to seeing what they come up with year after year. This year it was Peter Pan with a ticking Alligator and all!

My little Brooke!

2009-03-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Brooke was the Character Trait Student of the Month for the Month of January. The Character trait that she displayed is Responsibility. Brooke works real hard at being responsible while at school and home. Good job Brooke!!

National Pie day!

2009-03-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not there is an official national pie day! January 23rd!

"Created by the American Pie Council®, National Pie Day is dedicated to the celebration of pie. As part of our American heritage, this day is a perfect opportunity to pass on the love and enjoyment of pie eating and pie making to future generations."

This is the official national pie day poster.

My friend Cindi found out that there is an official national Pie day. Since our 2 boys love pie and are just a little bit obsessed with pie we decide to have a little "pie party" in celebration of national pie day. So we picked up some yummy pies and surprised our boys with a pie party. We ate pie and played some games, it was a fun night! Thanks Cindi :)

Steelers won the Superbowl!

2009-03-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

I know! I know! we live in Arizona how can we not be cheering for the Cardinals?? Well, Otis has been a Steelers fan since he was 8 years old and he has passed the love for the Steelers on to Braiden. Although, when the Cardinals play anyone but the Steelers we cheer for the Cardinals. So, to us it was a win, win situation. this was a great game!

A Light Bulb Moment!

2009-02-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

I was shuffling through some old Ensigns that I had and I came across this article written by M. Russel Ballard entitled, "Daughters of God". It caught my eye because for many reasons at this particular time in my life, I feel as though it is a time of great transition and discovery and I think just knowing that I am a Daughter of God puts it all in great perspective for me.

Elder Ballard asks the question; "What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?" The key word here for me was "enjoy."

He goes on to say:

"First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments." There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.
Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past 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, ages six, four, and one. And 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” (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

I love how he pointed out that the joy comes in "moments" when I looked the word moment up in the dictionary it said:

Outstanding significance or value; importance: a discovery of great moment.

I never thought of the word moment in this way, but when I think of moments in time with my kids they are very "Significant" and I do "value" these times when my kids.

When reading this article I thought about my kids and how they are still young and I still have plenty of time to "live in the moment" with them. Although there are already "moments" that I miss. Like having my Braiden as a toddler look up at me with arms stretched out grunting for me to hold him, or bathing my kids, or tripping over toddler toys strewn all over the floor and yes even changing a diaper. (surprise) And no I am not baby hungry nor am I contemplating the idea. ha ha

I decided that if I miss those times which were just a few short years ago then what am I going to miss that they are doing right now , that I really need to enjoy. So I thought about it.

I love the sound of my kids in my home. I love hearing the stomping of there feet up and down the stairs. I love hearing Briana playing the piano while Braiden is playing video games and Brooke is watching cartoons all at the same time. I love when their friends come over and raid our fridge for capri suns and otter pops. While this might drive most people nuts ( and on some days it even drives me nuts) I realize that these are the Moments with my kids that I love and someday I will miss.

So as I was constantly striving for structure I realized that there is a time and place for structure just like there is a time and place to enjoy the moments with my kids and that's what I love. This is as Oprah says it my "light bulb" moment. This is what is important to me. To be happy and "in the moment" with my husband and my kids and those I love and trust the most. And most importantly remembering along the way that I am a daughter of God.

My Valentine!!

2009-01-17T20:39:00.001-08:00

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I am

2009-01-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

I am
I am... A Child of God.
I think...about how much I love my family.
I want...to have no worries in the world.
I have... A wonderful hubby.
I miss...My Dad.
I fear...losing my children or husband and scary movies!
I feel...tired right now (it's late)
I hear...Otis watching Hannity and Combs.
I smell...A scentsy burning.
I crave...anything sweet.
I cry...allot lately, don't know why???
I search...for solutions to my worries.
I wonder...when he comes again, will Herold angels sing (lalalalala) My favorite primary song.
I regret...not finishing college in Utah, we would probably still be there.
I wish...I could go on a nice long vacation.
I love...my family
I care...about how I make people feel.
I always...say my prayers in the morning with the kids before school.
I worry...about the economy and the leadership of this country.
I am not...going to spread myself too thin this year
I remember...how wonderful my wedding day was.
I believe...families ARE forever
I sing...Songs from Mama Mia
I don't always...read my Scriptures like I should (I'm working on it)
I argue...when I am passionate about something
I write...on my blog
I lose...my phone all the time!! grrr!
I listen...to my children laugh and play. I love it
I can usually be found...at home or at Cafe Laguna! Come eat Fry Bread!
I need...to just be happy. plain and simple.
I forget...to call people back .sorry:(
I am happy...with my family.
Tag! You're it! (Yep! That means you...who ever reads this!)

Nothing like QT and skateboarding!

2008-12-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

I took Braiden and his buddy Christian for some much needed "boy" time. He loves hangin out with his girls cousins but I think after a whole night being the only boy he needed to do something ruff and tough. So we went to every mans favorite stop, "QT" (at least my husbands favorite) and then we went to the skate park. We have the neatest skate park here in Apache Junction and it's free! They had so much fun.

His Body just doesn't work like it use to

2008-12-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

After watching the boys skate for awhile, Otis decided to give it a try. I was cracking up when this happened I don't know how I managed to get pictures. Just another sign that we are getting old.

It took a few trys but after awhile he had it down pretty good.

Cousin Sleepover

2008-12-30T18:18:00.001-08:00

Last night we had a fun Cousin sleepover. I had been telling my kids they can have a sleepover during Christmas break. So we decided to have everyone all at once. We just hung out at home, the kids had fun jumping on the trampoline and watching movies. I think the best part of the night was when we decided to go for a walk in our PJ's. It was about 10:00pm, we got bundled up, we got flashlights and we walked around the neighborhood. Before we left I told the kids that there are snipes that live out in the desert(for those who don't know there are acres and acres of open desert land right next to my house) anyway I told them that the snipes come in for water at night. I told them there might be something nipping at there ankles so watch out! So the whole time they kept saying,"did you feel that?" or "I think I just saw something run by!" It was so funny.

Then we ended the sleep over in the morning with french toast and sausage for breakfast! It was a fun night!

Christmas Day!

2008-12-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

We had a nice dinner at my house. We had homemade creamy potato soup served in bread bowls( a great idea we got from my sister Nikki Thanks Nik!). It was perfect for a cold and rainy Arizona day.

The girls had fun getting dressed up in their cute Christmas outfits before heading off to the movies to see Bedtime stories.

I just love this picture of Blake(my nephew) with his cute little teeth showing. He is so... cute and so much fun!

Christmas Morning!

2008-12-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

It was a very relaxing Christmas Morning. we actually got to sleep until 7:00 am. I know it still sounds early but anything is better than 5:00am like years past. Otis made us some yummy

cinnamon rolls, with fruit and orange juice and chocolate milk.

Otis and I had so much fun just sitting back and watching the kids open presents. Believe it or not, the first thing they wanted to open was found in there Christmas stocking. It was one of those whistle suckers with the stick on the bottom that you pull up and down to make different notes. (like the ones we had when we were little) I haven't seen those for years, I just had to get them one to see what they thought. To my surprise they thought they where pretty cool.

It was a wonderful Christmas. This year was different than others. Otis and I decided that we were going to make an effort to really focus on the things that are important and to sit back and enjoy our family. It was hard to keep things simple at first, but it was so relaxing and I was really able to enjoy the holiday season instead of stressing. I have so much to be grateful for. I have wonderful family members who love and care about me and my family. There is so much peace in knowing that. Thank you to all of my family! I love you guys!

Christmas Eve Eve!

2008-12-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

After our Wonderful Christmas dinner we all went home to get into our Christmas Jammies. This year I decided to start something new. Every Christmas eve I let the kids open one present. This present is usually something more sentimental. One year I made them each a blanket, another year I got them each a CTR ring etc.. Well I was running out of ideas so I decided that I was going to get them each a Christmas Ornament that reminded me of them at this time in their lives. I explained to them that every year they will get a new one with their name on it and by the time they are married they will have a collection of ornaments to have in their home.
So this year I got Briana a sparkly heart because she loves anything that sparkles (including Edward), I got Braiden a snowman on a long spring the bounces up and down, because he is so full of energy and is always bouncing around, and Brooke a cute little teddy bear because she likes to cuddle. I explained to them that in years to come these cute Ornaments are the things they will remember, not all the presents even though presents are fun to get. In five years they won't remember what they got for Christmas but I am hoping they will remember the year that they got there first Christmas ornament.

Of course the kids (including dad) had to go outside to see if they could see Santa.

Christmas Caroling

2008-12-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

I just had to post this picture. The kids wanted to go caroling to a few of the neighbors on Christmas Eve they were so excited, unfortunately no one was home. So they all stood at the door and knocked and we acted surprised as they caroled to us.

Christmas Eve Dinner!

2008-12-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Christmas eve dinner at Allison and Jason house. We had Ham and all the fixins'. It was delicious. It was fun to sit around and chat with everyone while eating a nice dinner. Allison was so creative she had questions hidden under every ones plate. We each took a turn going around the table and answering our questions. They were questions like, "Whats your favorite Christmas treat?" etc.. It was fun!

We took lots of cute pictures through the night. Then my sister Chery read a story of the symbols of Christmas and each child and the dads held each symbol and read what their symbol represented. This reminded me of when I was little and my mom would read us a cute Christmas story every Christmas eve. One year she went all out and had the pictures put on slides and showed it on a projector. It was fun to re create those traditions for my kids.

Here's all the cousins, I think they were singing a Christmas carol here. This was my first Christmas here in Arizona with my Sisters it was so fun to do the things together that we did growing up and also to start a few new traditions.

After Church Christmas Activities

2008-12-22T00:24:00.000-08:00

Today after Church we decided to squeeze in a few more Christmas Traditions before it was too late. We put together gingerbread houses, the kids had so much fun making a mess and being creative. Otis and I sat back and listened to their conversations as they talked about, how they wished they could live in a house made of candy and what kind of candy they would have on their house. We were remembering having those same conversations when we were little kids.

After that we broke out the chips and homemade salsa and watched one Christmas movie after another. (Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman and Here comes Santa Claus.) We usually watch each of these movies at least once during the holiday season and haven't had a chance yet. So, we decided to watch them all on one day. It was a fun relaxing day full of Christmas traditions and memories!

Ward Christmas Program

2008-12-22T00:05:00.000-08:00

Today was our Ward Christmas program. It was so neat to see Briana up there singing with the ward Choir, she's getting so old. We have such a talented Ward with lots of musical instruments and special musical numbers. It was very spiritual meeting. Every year I look forward to "Christmas Sunday" to be reminded once more of the meaning of Christmas just before Christmas arrives. The Primary Children also sang a cute Christmas song. Brooke was grinning ear to ear and Braiden was singing along. It was a nice Christmas Program.

Today I also decided to visit Young Women's so I could hear Briana play the opening song. She played, "Joy to the World" she did such a good job. I am so glad she is becoming more comfortable in sharing this talent. Just another sign that she's getting older and so am I.

My All Time Favorite Holiday Treat!

2008-12-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

Candy Cane Hershey Kisses! MMMMMM!
Okay! I admit it! I have probably eaten an entire bag or two of these myself this Holiday Season. I just can't help myself. I crave them. I will be sad when Christmas is over and you can't buy them anymore. Anyway, I felt guilty and I needed to get this off my chest. If you haven''t tried them do it now before it's too late!

14 Wonderful Years!

2008-12-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

Today is our anniversary! Happy anniversary hon! Otis and I were married on December 16th, 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I remember it being very cold and white! It was a beautiful white Utah day. I was so excited to marry my best friend. I remember just hours before we got married my Mom and Dad telling me that this was just the beginning and that our relationship would continue to grow and mature and in years to come we will feel a whole new kind of love and respect for one another. At that time I couldn't comprehend what they were saying but I knew they were speaking from their experience in 43 years of marriage. Now, after 14 years of marriage I have an idea of what they are talking about, I'm still along way from 43 years years and I'm sure their is still so much to learn. I do know one thing I truly do feel like I am married to my best friend. Otis is such a good person, such a wonderful Dad, I am so blessed to have him. I can't wait for the next 14 years.

Recently I was at a church meeting were our Stake President was speaking to a room full of women. He gave us a bit of advice that I think is so powerful, he encouraged us each to go home and tell our husband that he is a good man. These words are something I often think, but I don't know how often I really say them. They need to be reminded of this , they need to know that we think highly of them and that we love and respect them. This was the best advice I have ever received. I think everyone needs to hear how wonderful they are every once in awhile. I try to remember to tell this to Otis often. As we go through our ups and downs I know that there is one thing that is constant and that is that he is " a good man".

I Love Christmas!

2008-12-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas lights!

The tree!

I like Pie!!

2008-12-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

I don't where they came up with this but, Braiden and his friend Christian have this little saying they always say, "I like Pie". I was substitute teaching their Sunday School class last week and I was asking them questions about the Jaredites, ex. "why where the Jaredite people destroyed? They both answered because, "they like pie and they ate too much" Every answer was about pie !! I told them the better not do that when there real teacher is there. (little smarty pants) So, I decided to surprise them both and make them an, "I like Pie" t-shirt. They were so excited to wear them to the Ward Christmas party.

Ward Party

2008-12-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

The Young Women helped the Primary kids with some Christmas Crafts during the ward party. Brooke loved it she sat there the entire time making crafts. Briana enjoyed helping! It was a great Ward Party!

Temple Lights

2008-12-01T23:37:00.000-08:00

We went to the Temple lights Saturday night. It was beautiful! We got to see Brooke White from American Idol flip the switch for the opening night. There were lots of people yet it was peaceful walking on the Temple grounds.

My Favorite Family Home Evening of the Year!

2008-12-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

Decorating the Tree!
We put on our Favorite Christmas music turn off all the lights and hung the decorations on the tree. I love it!

Brooke got to be the lucky one this year to put the star on top. She was so excited to climb the ladder and do it all by herself.

Christmas always makes you feel warm and fuzzy. It brings back so many fun memories!

Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Chery's house. We all have so much to be Thankful for. We were so blessed to have Allison with us who was literally being released from the hospitol just hours before Thanksgving. It was a fun relaxing day!

I didn't take alot of pictures at Thanksgiving. I think I was just too excited to eat. I did get this one of Otis and Briana pouring the Sparkling Cider for our Thanksgiving toast!

Go change your clothes!

2008-12-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

Most Men (or boys) want to change their clothes the second they walk in the door from Church. Not Otis and Braiden they don't waste any time they head strait for the backyard to play some football. This just cracked me up Sunday after church to see them out there in a shirt and tie throwing the football around! I guess they have to get their wiggles out!

Twilight Night!

2008-12-01T22:49:00.000-08:00

It was the night we had all been waiting for! Twilight at Midnight!

I dropped Briana and some friends off at 6:00pm to wait in line for seats. They meet up with Emalee, Ashlee, Chery and Allison. Then I went to Church meetings and meet them back there at 9:00pm. I meet up with more friends from church. It was so fun there were at least 18 of us. We all sat together, we got some greats seats after some confrontation by a psycho lady. It turned out great, we had a fun night!

Being Silly with the Sista's (It was after midnight what do you expect we were delirious!)

The Dude Party!

2008-11-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

I asked Braiden what he wanted to do for his Birthday reminding him that after 8 years old we simplify our parties. So he said he wanted to have a "Dude Party" with just a couple friends over to play football and video games. This was the easiest party I ever threw! they played football in the backyard the entire time. I had a hard time even getting them to stop long enough to eat pizza and open presents. It was great! Braiden has some good little buddies, 2 of these boys he has been friends with since he was 2 years old. I reminded them all of when they use to wrestle each other and sit on each others heads. They just busted up laughing. Little boys are so fun.

Since we played the wii, Braiden came up with this great idea to have a wii remote cake. I am no artist but I tried my best and Braiden thought it was the coolest cake ever! I guess that's all that matters.

Cupcakes for school. I asked Braiden what he wanted and he said, "I want cupcakes with a big letter "B" on them for Braiden cause it's my Birthday!" I said you got it! He had fun handing them all out to his classmates. Happy Birthday Braidman!

Little Buddy!

2008-11-14T13:20:00.001-08:00

On this day 9 years ago at 5:39pm this whopping 9lb 11ouncer came into our lives. It was a happy day for both Otis and I. Otis was so excited to get his son to play football with. Yes, they play or watch football any chance they get. I was so excited to have a little boy to cuddle and kiss on his cute little chubby cheeks! I am so greatful for Braiden and the wonderful blessing he is in our life. We love you Braiden! Happy Birthday!

This picture says it all. It was a rough delivery to say the least. He was very swollen from so many hours of being pushed on. I guess it isn't very natural pushing a almost 10lb baby out. We did it and he came out just right!

"Let your light so shine before men"

2008-11-09T21:58:00.001-08:00

The following message was written by my Sister Tricia, it was so well written I had to share her thoughts with everyone!.

Stand firmly for what you know to be right. In standing for the right, we must not be fearful of the consequences (Gordan B. Hinkley)

I thought allot about this past week with the controversy on proposition 8. I have watched as thousands of protesters have lined the streets in Salt Lake City surrounding Temple Square. I have watched thousands that have surrounded the Los Angeles Temple in protest. I have felt so sad! I thought to myself I didn't vote for President Obama but the people have spoken(its the democratic process)I will support him and definitely give him a chance, after all this is our country in which we live. This morning I woke up early, 5:30 to be exact and turned on the early news for just a few moments and there again they reporting the backlash against the Mormon Church. It showed Salt Lake City and the Temple and all those yelling profanities and throwing things...I was kind of shocked but them the news show zoomed out and there was the Beautiful Temple. Its lights glowing in the darkness. I felt a chill come over me and immediately in my mind I recalled the words

“A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. “Let your light so shine before men,I know that is exactly what we are doing. this is The Lords work, not President Monsons, not the leaders, its The Lords work!!!! The church is taking a standing of that which is perverse....It will always shine no matter how much opposition is around it!!!!!

This has always been my favorite Temple. This is the temple Otis and I where married in. It has saddened my to see the turmoil surrounding it. When I read this message from my sister it gave me peace in knowing that the Temple still stands strong and is more beautiful than ever. The Temple will always shine, just as each of us can continue to shine in a darkening world.

We have the Best Mom Ever!

2008-11-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

This quote says it all!
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts"

Thanks for coming to visit Mom! We love you!!!

I Love Halloween!!!

2008-11-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

It was a fun Halloween! Braiden was Indiana Jones, he came up with this one on his own. He dug through the dress up box and used Dad's hat. Good idea Braiden! Brooke was Hanna Montana, any excuse to wear glitters and sparkles! And Briana the beautiful roaring 20's flapper girl.

My Mom came to visit for Halloween. Except the kids had no idea she was coming. So , some "lady"(my mom) showed up to trunk or treat in a scary witches costume and she decided she was going to hang out with us. The wierd thing is she didn't say a word. After awhile the kids started saying, "Mom who's that Lady?" I just played it off and said "I have no idea". They were a little freaked out and then all of the sudden this "lady" ripped off her mask and all the kids said "Grandma" and went running to give her hugs and kisses. It was a fun Suprise! I am so glad my kids have a loving Grandma who genuinely loves and cares about them.

Jason's Birthday

2008-11-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

Otis and Jason went golfing for Jason's Birthday and then we all meet up for dinner! It was fun to get together. Happy Birthday Jason! Who's next??

Out Playing!

2008-11-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

Braiden and Otis went out to play last saturday. They set up targets out in the desert and acted like they where in some war movie. They had secret had signals and everything. I'm glad Otis still likes to get down and play!

2008-10-26T20:43:00.001-07:00

Time to Blogg, It's been awhile!

2008-10-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Okay! I know it's been awhile so here's what's been going on in the past month in a half or so.

Youth Conference!

The theme was, "Hero's who inspire excellence". We did a video road show. Each ward had to pick a hero and film a "movie" based on this hero and how they inspire excellence. It was a really great activity. Saturday night we had a movie premere/ Hero Awards red carpet event, Limo and all. Brother Layton and I were the red carpet "interviewers".

We had some special guests come and present an award. Napoleon, Kip and Pedro! I wonder who pedro is??

Crazy Hair Day!

Briana and her friend Tyler on Crazy hair day! Briana got creative and came up with the idea of putting little "twisties" all over and then attaching candy wrappers. Tyler has short hair so we let him wear the "pedro" wig!

Keep going there's more.

Football!

2008-10-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

Yes! Football season is still going strong! Braiden and the girls had a great season this year! Braiden made his first touchdown. It was a 63 yard run touchdown! We are so proud of him, he really played with heart! And of course the girls kept the team spirit going strong!

It became a traditon to go get dinner after the games! This is Braiden and his buddy Christian after a game at In "n" out. Yummmm!

Keep scrolling down there's more!

Allison's Birthday!

2008-10-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

We has a fun night out for Allison's Birthday! We went to Red Lobster because Allison wanted Crab for her Birthday dinner. It was yummy!

I love my Sisters, They are so fun to be around! We are all so buisy going in different directions it's hard to find the time to be together! I'm hoping life will slow down a little once football is over.

The cute cousins! I love this picture!

The "hot" husbands who put up with all of the "Davidson" wierdness!

You guys are the best! Jason's Birthday is next! Good excuse to go eat again!

The girls loved their crab!

still more! keep scrolling

Golfing!

2008-10-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

We went to go take the kids golfing and we got to the golf course and it was closed to re-seed for winter grass. :( So we did the next best thing and went Minature golfing! It was a fun day!

keep scrolling!

More Football!

2008-10-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

Go Miners!!!!!

We had a pep rally the night before the play off game. We watched highlights from the season on a big screen at the park. Then walked over and watched the AJ high football game. As you can see by the look on the boys faces it was a fun night!

Me Braiden and Brooke being silly before the party.

Keep going!

Ice Skating with the Scouts

2008-10-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

I took Braiden's scout troop ice skating to help them earn the ice skating belt loop. These boys crack me up!

click on older posts there's one more!

Football is offically over :(

2008-10-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

I do have to hand it to our Miners Cheerleaders! It's hard to stand out there and cheer when it is 110 degrees out! They did great and cheered our team on untill the very end!

Braiden and Bailey after the last game. They were trying so hard to smile they just weren't happy. They are sad to see the season end!

I love this picture of Braiden. It depicts how we all feel. The mixed emotions about the football season being over. Football has been such a big part of our lives for the past 3 months. We have created some great family memories together. It was stressfull this year trying to squeeze it all in but we made it work and it was fun! I am going to miss sitting outside watching the boys practice with the great friends I have made through football. I hope we can keep our boys playing together for years to come!

The End!

Go Miners!!!

2008-09-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

It's our Favorite time of the year. It's football season!
Briana,Brooke and cousin Ava are cheering for Braidens team the Miners. So far we are 2-0 and we are looking like a really solid team!This is Braidens 3rd year playing for the Miners and it has been so fun seeing him grow with the other boys on the team. We love it!

Go Miners Cheerleaders!

Here's Coach Otis in the huddle after our first win! You can just see the excitement in their faces!

Cafe Laguna on the News!

2008-08-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

We got to the restaurant last week and Chanel 12 was there. They wanted to do a news clip on the restaurant. Click on the link below to see it!

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2008/08/11/20080811gourmetfrybread08112008-CR.html

Brookeee's Birthday!

2008-08-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

It was the premiere night of the Hanna Montana 3-D Movie, so we decided to make a birthday party out of it. We called it a "Late Night" Party and all the girls (and Braiden) wore their
Jammie's.

Briana and Brooke made and decorated the cake all by themselves! Good Job girly's!

Okay so the main purpose of the party was to watch the cool 3-D movie with the cool 3-d glasses. They thought it was fun............................................

for about 15 minutes!!

Then they were on to bigger and better things. Like pillow fights! What's a girl party without pillow fights right???

Overall it was a fun and exciting. Okay and maybe a little exhausting but it only comes once a year. And Brooke was happy!!!

He did it again!

2008-08-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

Bishop Holyoak has been known to bite heads off fish. I saw this once before on video and almost puked. Then I saw it in real life!! even grosser (is that a word??)

We had a priest/Laurel "Survivor" lake activity. One of the kids found this fish floating in the lake and decided to Dare Bishop Holyoak to bite the head off. From this video you will see he had no problem doing it!

I cut it again!!

2008-08-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

Yes I cut it even shorter this time! At first I hated it. I think it is growing on me now! It's way easier to fix and doesn't end up in a ponytail everyday!

First Day Of School!!!

2008-08-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

The kids were so excited to start school this year! Here are some pictures of them on the first day of School!

My little Brooke! A first grader!

My Handsome Braiden!

My grown up beautiful Briana! You will notice I had to take hers from the car she would have died if I would have gotten out to take pictures. Briana just found out today that she got a part in her school play that she tried out for. She is soo excited!

Brooke and her 2 little friends Addie and Lauren.

Braiden and his buddies on the playground at school!

Family!!

2008-08-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

Yeh for Family!!!

I now have 2 sisters, yes that's right 2 sisters that live in Arizona!! After being here in Arizona without any of my Sisters for 12 years I now have 2 Sisters here!!! I feel like I hit the lottery! Can you tell I am so excited. Anyway, my Mom and Sister Nikki came down from Utah for a visit. It was so fun to have them here. They happen to be here the weekend of our Grand opening so it was a little stressful but I could not have done it without them! It's funny how things work out. Thank You Mom, Chery, Allison and Nikki for being here to support us!

Grand Opening Celebration!!!

2008-07-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

We would like to invite you to attend the Grand Opening Celebration of our restaurant Cafe Laguna! Friday, August 1st 2008 from 6:00-9:00 PM. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony, balloons, face painting and free mini sweet Laguna frybreads!!

http://lagunafrybread.com/

Everyone is Invited! Bring Your Friends!!

I know I am a Slacker!!

2008-07-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 2 months since I have done any blogging:( I have been so busy between summer vacation, girls camp and opening a restaurant I have not had time. In fact I can think of a million things I could be doing right now but I am forcing myself to sit down and update. So here goes.... everything that has happened in my life from May 22nd until now!!

Water Day at Peralta Trail! Every year the kids have Water Day to celebrate the end of the school year. I got to go and help with the Water Day festivities. The fire department came and sprayed all of the kids. It was fun!!!

Brooke having fun on the slip and slide.

Braiden with his buddy Haley.

Next was the last day of school:

Here is a video of Braiden getting an award from his 2nd grade Teacher.

In case you didn't understand. Braiden got an award for teaching the class everything they needed to know about football through sharing his journal writing to the class. Yes! he is a little obsessed! football season starts in 2 weeks!

Brooke's last day of Kindergarten! They had a little program in their class room. It was cute!

My Briana. Now a 7th grader! They grow up so fast.

Otis went to Scout Camp! Camp Gilchrist for 5 days! He had a great time. I am so glad he had the opportunity to go.

Girls Camp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is part of the reason why I have not posted for so long. I have been either planning girls camp or at girls camp. It was a blast! I love girls camp, I love being with the Young Women and seeing their Testimonies grow. It was such a neat experience. The stake staff was the best! I know I created friendships that will last a life time! I love you guys.

Janean and I, this is as good as it gets at girls camp!

Skit night was so much fun! The theme for camp was, "Oh the places you'll go" a Dr. Suess theme. Each Ward was given a different Dr. Suess book, along with a scripture and a value that ties into the moral of the story. We had to get dressed up like weird Dr. Suess characters for the skit, hence the funny hair do's.

The best part about going to camp was that I got to be there with Briana for her first year at Camp. This is a picture of my cute little ward and the best YW President ever!!

Vacation to the Beach!

We had a relaxing, much needed vacation on the beach. We did nothing but sit on the beach everyday! I think this was our best vacation yet! We went with 2 of my sisters Allison and Chery and their kids. We all had a great time together.

Brooke and her cousin Ava!

My two cute boys on the beach!

Braiden having fun boogie boarding!

Braiden wiping out boogie boarding!

My 3 cuties on the beach!

The cousins on the beach.

The Hot Lifeguard!

Okay! I had to post this one. All day Briana, Ashlee and Emilee wanted to get a picture of themselves with a "hot" life guard., but they were too shy to go and do it. So, at the end of the day I said come on girls and I walked up to the life guard and I said these 3 girls would really like to get their picture taken with a "hot" lifeguard can I take your picture with them? They were so embarrassed that I said that. Maybe next time they won't be so shy!

Finally:

Briana's Birthday! She is officially 12! yeh

Thanks to Tricia Burrell (I stole her idea and her recipe) we had a really fun facial party for Briana's birthday. We had chocolate facials, chocolate fountain, we made lip gloss, and we ate lots of junk food. It was fun.

Soo.. relaxing.

Cute girls!

We made the cake to look like their faces!! Yummy!

Well That's it! That's my last 2 months in a nutshell!

What's next on the list of thing to do?? The Grand opening of our Restaurant. July 21st is our Soft opening and our Grand opening/ Ribbon cutting is July 25th at 6:30 everyone is invited, So come and get some good food!

Coming Soon! Second Location!

2008-05-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Otis's parents own a restaurant called, "Cafe Laguna". Well Otis and his brother Nick as business partners are opening up a second location, and hopefully a few more over the next few years. We are really excited! It has always been Otis's dream to own his own business.

So... If you live in the Phoenix area come try us out. We are located on Power just south of Baseline by Bahama Bucks. We will be opening in the beginning of July, I will post the exact date soon. The picture above is one of our featured menu items:

"The Gourmet Laguna"
Hand tossed Fry Bread topped with romaine lettuce, seasoned pinto or refried beans and cheese, your choice of grilled marinated chicken or steak, sautéed onions and bell peppers, with sour cream and salsa.

4th year campout, Swing!!

2008-04-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

On our 4th year camp out some of the men decided to get together and make a swing hanging down from a huge tree in our camp. Everyone took turns standing on the back of the truck and then letting go as they swung about 3 feet from the ground. (When your on it it seems allot higher) It was fun! Even President Leavitt did it. This is him swinging from the tree. He was actually one of the first ones to try it. (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video around and make it the right way)

Rock Solid 4th year Adventure!

2008-04-27T23:28:00.000-07:00

Otis and I went this weekend on the 4th year high adventure camp out! The theme was "Rock Solid" Testimonies. It was a really neat experience and allot of fun! We had a great group of Young Women who really came together and supported each other on our 6 mile hike. I will always remember this experience!

Books on Wheels!

2008-04-27T23:16:00.001-07:00

Braiden and Brooke had the Books on Wheels Parade at school. They picked a book and made a float that represents the book. Brooke wanted to do Snow White, so we made a giant poison apple and Brooke dressed up like snow white.

Braiden's book was Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets. He had uncle clay come over and help him draw some giant attacking toilets. Then Braiden dressed up like Captain Underpants minus the underpants (he was too embarrassed to wear underpants on the out side of his clothes like the Captian underpants from the book.) It was fun and the kids were really proud to be part of the parade. Out of 500 students in the school only about 20 participated. So they had a big crowd to watch them parade through the school.

My kids have been Tagged!

2008-04-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

So, Thanks to my good friend Tricia Burrell my kids have been tagged. It has taken me some time to respond but I knew I would eventually get around to it. I am supposed to write 5 things my kids love, so here we go!

Briana

1. Briana loves her cell phone. We broke down and got her one just before school started to help out with the communication for the carpool to and from school. It's helped out allot and it's kind of fun because I can text her in the middle of the day during school just to say, "have a good day". Anyway, that thing is glued to her hand, did you notice I didn't say ear, well that's because she never actually uses it to talk she just text's.

2. Briana loves piano, she actually just sits and plays on her own without me bugging her to practice. (I love listening to her play)

3. Briana loves to write. She loves to write short little stories or poems. In fact right now she's writing a children's book called, "Grandpa Al". It's a story of my dad and all of the funny things he used to say and do.

4. Briana loves to have her Brother and her Sister sleep in her bed with her on the weekends. It has become a tradition they love to stay up late laughing and giggling. good thing she has a full size bed.

5. Briana loves (likes) her best friend Bryce. They have been best friends since 2ND grade. If you ask either of them who there best friend is they will say each other. We tease them and say we have to take lots of pictures of them now so that we can put together a cute video at there reception. (he he) They just laugh. By the way you've probably guessed it, that's Bryce in the picture.

Braiden

1. Braiden loves football! He loves to play it, watch it, collect cards of it, play it on video games! He loves football! He's pretty good too! He's one of the hardest hitters on his team, his nick name on the field is, "Little Bull".

2. Braiden loves to play guitar hero! He is obsessed! I have to give him time limits. He has almost every 80's rock song memorized thanks to that game!

3. Braiden loves to play out side. Riding his scooter or his skateboard with the boys in the neighborhood.

4. Braiden loves scouts. He always looks forward to scout day!

5. Braiden loves to read. There have been times when I thought he was asleep at midnight and I see him hiding under his sheets with a flashlight reading because he can't put down the book. I guess that's a good problem to have.

6. One more for Braiden! Braiden, "likes Pie". Braiden and his friend Christian have this little inside joke, they go around everywhere saying "I like pie" in a nerdy voice. I have no idea why they say it, they just think it's hilarious. For scouts last week it was Braidens turn to take the treats, guess what he took?? Pie! He wrote a big sign and stuck it to the top that said, "I like Pie". Weirdo!

Brooke

1.Brooke loves to sing, dance and cheer around the house! The louder the better. The funny thing though, her teacher says she is so quiet in class she can hardly get her to speak up when she raises her hand to answer a question. Sounds like her Mom, (doesn't like to speak in public.)

2. Brooke loves to cuddle and give big kisses smack dab on the lips.

3. Brooke loves to ride her scooter and her bike. In fact, She has been afraid to ride her bike with the training wheels because one of the wheels were loose once and she fell over. So, it has been a year since she rode it. Well, 2 weeks ago she asked her dad to take the training wheels off and within 30 minutes she was riding it without the training wheels. Go figure??? She loves it now!

4. Brooke loves Kindergarten especially her teacher Mrs. Washington! She loves the songs they sing everyday and she loves doing centers, especially art centers.

5. Brooke loves her Big Sis Briana and her Big Bro Braiden! She's lucky to have them, they really watch out for her.

So, now I get to pass on the Tag! I am going to pass it on to the Watkins, and Both Halls!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-04-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

Today was my Birthday it was a busy but fun day! It started off at 7:30 am with breakfast in bed. (French toast and bacon mmmm!) Then we went to our Stake Emergency Preparedness Fair. Next, we went to Briana's piano recital. Finally, later that night Otis and I went out to Cheesecake factory for dinner/date night. It was a nice night out. When we got home the kids were waiting with a, "Happy Birthday Mom", sign that they made while we were out. They also had a chocolate zinger on a plate with a candle stuck in it. As I walked in the door they sang Happy Birthday! It was really cute and meant allot that they would think to do something like that for me. I love those guys!

Briana's Piano Recital

2008-04-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

Briana had her piano recital today! She did so good! I love the music she brings into our home. It's so nice when things get crazy at our home when Briana sits at the piano and begins practicing a Hymn. It reminds me of what life is really about. I am so grateful for this talent she has developed. Thanks Bri!

Did you notice anything different??

2008-04-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

After growing my hair out for 2 years I cut it!! I didn't even really plan on it. I was just out one day and decided I was going to do it. So, I stopped by this hair cut place where a few of my friends go and I just did it. I think I'm having a little, "Cutters remorse" but I'll get use to it. I cut over 4 inches off. It's not too short but it's definitely shorter.

Dress like Mr. Laprise Day! Do you see the resemblance???

2008-04-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

Every year Braiden and Brooke's school has Dress like Mr. Laprise day. Mr Laprise is the school principal. This is pretty much how he dresses shirt and tie. So, the kids went to school dressed like Mr. Laprise. I must say they all looked pretty sharp! My kids always look forward to this day! The principal is a good sport about it and really has fun with the kids. I took this picture of him off the school web site (I hope that's okay??) Do you see the resemblance? Pretty good imitations Hugh?

Scout Service.

2008-04-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

Braiden needed to do some service for scouts. So, I arranged for him to pull some weeds for our next door neighbors who are an older couple. It was a great learning experience. About half way through the project our neighbor Norm could tell Braiden was feeling discouraged and wanted to be done. He came over and talked to Braiden and explained that if you learn to work hard when you are young then when you're old like him it won't seem so hard. So with the help of little sister Brooke and his friend and fellow scouter Christian they managed to pull all the weeds and really make the yard look nice. Our neighbors really wanted to do something nice to repay the boys so at the end of the project she came out with little treat bags made for everyone. It was very nice and a great learning experience for Braiden. I am so greatful for programs like these that put me into situations that help me to teach my son.

Good bye Cousins!

2008-04-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

The kids have been lucky to have there cousins living a few houses down for the past 5 years. Well they just sold there house and will be moving out next week. Auntie Becca had a slip n slide going away party for her girls. The kids had fun! They will miss being so close to there cousins.

Pinewood Derby!

2008-03-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

We had a blast participating in our first pinewood derby. Otis and Braiden worked for weeks on his car. They named it Blue lightening with the number 55 on it, ( of course! that's his football number) Then Otis decided to make one for the girls at the last minute just for fun. They made a pink car with an army guy painted pink with red barbie hair glued to the head for the driver. (they couldn't find a miniature sized Barbie) It was funny! We love scouts it has been so good for Braiden!

My Beautiful Pre-Teen!

2008-03-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have a almost teen. Briana is getting older. It makes me sad. She is such a sweet girl with a good head on her shoulders. I learn more from her then she will ever know. She is really developing into a beautiful Young Woman. I love you Bri!

Kindergarten Performance Time!!

2008-03-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Brooke's Kindergarten class put on their annual performance this week. They sang songs based off of Children's books written by the school's music teacher. They sang a really cute song based on the book, "Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom" and the book, "No David" it was adorable! We always look forward to performance time! This is a picture of Brooke with her Bestest friend Lauren. These two have become two of a kind, I don't know what they would do without each other.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Easter came up so quickly this year, I was scrambling to pull it all together. It turned out great! It was a beautiful Easter Sunday! The weather was perfect here in Arizona. We had a nice weekend that started off by going to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant, Which was beautiful as always. It is nice to have the pageant to remind us why we celebrate Easter and to reflect on our Savior and his Sacrifices.

Beautiful Day!

2008-03-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

The kids are on Spring break this week and since we are staying home they each got to pick one thing they wanted to do.

Briana's choice was either the Zoo or the movies. We are going to the movies Friday with friends, "Horton Hears a Who" looks like a cute movie.

Brookes thing was to have a cookie and lemonade sale in the front yard. (they earned $22.00 wow!).

Braidens thing was to go hiking or visit Dad at work (Dad was in manager training and it didn't work out so we went hiking) It was a beautiful day. We went to the Superstition Mountains which is right in our backyard. The girls had fun picking wild flowers on the way up and Braiden lead us on the trail. Notice Brookes mouth wide open, she sang and picked flowers the entire hike, it was soo... cute! Braiden wanted to hike up to some caves we found on our way up but Brookes little legs just couldn't go any farther. We had a great time!

Our Little Scouter!

2008-03-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

Braiden loves being in Scouts! We were just getting ready to attend his first Blue and Gold Banquet. The theme was Chinese New Year and each boy had to bring a cake to go along with this theme. Otis and I happened to be at Epcott Center the week before so we were able to get some Chinese decorations for his cake. We are so grateful for the scouting program and the great scout leaders Braiden has!

Good Job Otis!

2008-03-06T14:21:00.001-08:00

Otis was awarded Recruiter of the year for his company! We were invited to attend Presidents Club in Orlando Florida with all of the other company award recipients. This is a picture of Otis holding his award with the President of his company. Good job Otis! We are grateful for all of your hard work this year!

Valentines Day at the Lara's

2008-02-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

Otis and I surprised the kids with a Valentines Day Breakfast. We decorated the table and made heart shaped pancakes. Then the kids got dressed for their school Valentines day party. This year Briana said it was too babyish to wear a cute Valentines shirt but she wore a silly heart headband that has flashing lights(??) I guess that is the cool 6th grade thing to do. And of course Braiden is still trying to figure out why they don't make Valentines Day shirts for boys? So he wore red, that's as close as it gets. Then there's my cute Brooke who will wear whatever her Mommy picks out. Unfortunately Brooke woke up with an ear infection (she doesn't look to happy). I took her to the doctors and then to her first school Valentines party late.

We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet!

2008-02-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

It has been over a week now since we have heard of the passing of our dear Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. What a great man he was and still is. Our family will be forever greatful for his acts of love and service. His challenge a few years ago to get the members of the church to read the book of Mormon in a month challenged my family to be more consistant in reading the scriptures. Although, we fell short and did not quite complete the task, we have been reading together every morning since his challenge. His guidance lead our family down the right path. I will forever be greatful for this. He was a sweet man with a great sense of humor and the kind of love that could be felt by all. The picture above depicts what I invision of him now, with his sweet wife Marjorie for eternity.