Father's Day

Daddy- It's been 21 years of awesomeness. You have been there loving, protecting, and supporting me all along the way. I am so lucky to have a dad like you. Thanks for all the hard work you gave and still give to provide for our family. I have learned so much from you. Thanks for all your time. You were my hero and always will be. I still miss the days of seeing you right after you get home from work and giving you a big hug. (I'm teary as I write this) I can't wait to see you again.

I love you Dad!

Pioneer Trek

Last week, I was blessed to be asked to go on a pioneer trek for our stake. It was so amazing. This was my second time attending one. The last time, Cade and I were a "Ma and Pa". This time I was an "Aunt" with Pres. and Sis. Levie. It was so amazing. We had the best kids. (Now I'm sure that everyone is partial, but I really believe that we had the best.) We had three kids from our ward who were such good examples to our "family". We got there Monday afternoon. It was such a beautiful place. It was so great to get away from the world with all of its distractions and really focus on growing spiritually and those who went through the trek West so long ago. We were able to push a handcart. Our boys were so great. They insisted on pushing whenever they could. We had to ask to let the girls push. They were so great about helping set up everyone's tents and getting everything ready. I really appreciated it. The girls were so much fun as well. They were ready to do whatever was asked of them. Pres. and Sis. Levie were such spiritual beacons. It was a huge honor and blessing to be with them and hear the stories and lessons they gave. Everything was so well prepared, too. There was so much thought and consideration that went into it. We were so blessed to have such wonderful people plan, prepare, and be working everything behind the scenes. It was such an amazing experience. We were able to have these baby dolls that were made out of wheat. They were heavy enough to feel like a real baby. It was so neat. We couldn't put her down and had to have her with us at all times. We had to bury her on the last day of walking. It was so hard. Pres. Levie had a great lesson on the Resurrection. It was so spiritual. It made me realize again how lucky I am to have to gospel in my life and to have the knowledge that I do. To know that we can be with our families forever. To know that families who did not have the chance to be sealed together on Earth before they passed away can be sealed together. I am so grateful for the gospel and the learning and growing I have to do. I am so grateful for the pioneers who had so much faith that they were willing to walk so far to be able to practice this faith without persecution so that I might be able to today.

Mom's Trip Out

She was helping me pick through my load at Halloween. She always made our costumes. She's so talented.

Isn't my mom gorgeous?!?!?!

Near the end of the softball season at the high school, my mom came out to see me for a week and a half. I was so excited. I was able to have her all to myself. (That never happens) It was pretty cool. She was able to watch me coach at a couple games: 1 away and 1 at home. After that it was time to play, we went to the Redlands temple and did a session. It was so cool to do that with her. We hadn't been able to go to the temple together since my wedding. After the temple, we went out to the Outlets. It was so much fun and so exhausting. We went out to San Diego to go to the beach, Deseret Book, and Cheeburger Cheeburger. (Now for those of you who do not know what Cheeburger is, I implore you to check it out. It is one of the best burger joints I have been to.) We were able to have some good FHE's together. It is always nice to add someone new to the mix when it's usually just two of you all the time. It was so great to just be able to kick back and watch a movie (Bride Wars) with my mom like we used to. She was able to see that my life is crazy, yet simple at time same time. And that's the way I like it. I can't wait to see her again. We were able to just be mother and daughter for a while. Instead of worrying about all other kinds of hassle, we were able to just spend time. I really miss her being around all the time.

Love you mom.

Disney Vacation '09

My Viking brother

I got to meet Sleeping Beauty. Now how cool is that?

My mom and me in "Germany".

Waiting in line for "Test Track"

"The Tower of Terror" is the coolest ride around.

My Mawmaw Champagne with Pluto

Spring Break '09

My mom and dad heading to the monorail for a day of fun.

Dad trying to wake me and my sister, Leigh, on our first morning. I was resistant.

Me, my brother Steven, and my sister planning what we were going to be doing.

Mawmaw was taking the picture. The fam taking a boat cruise in the lagoon.

My handsome Dad and my beautiful Mom.

My mom and dad called me up on April Fool's Day to see if I would be willing to house-sit for them while they went on vacation to Disney World. I obviously agreed seeing as I wouldn't want some random person to watch my house for over a week. My dad starts to giggle and as he's handing the phone to my mom says that he can't go through with it. My mom tells me that if I am going to go that far to watch their house, I might as well go with them. I was totally shocked. They had already called Cade to see if it would be alright and the sweet man that he is said "of course". So I left on the night of the 11th because my grandmother was going to be going with us and my siblings didn't know. After a horrid night of stand-by's and broken planes, I finally made it in at 3AM. I know. I looked like I had been hit by a bus, it reversed, and went again. But we had to leave by 3:30 to get to Orlando in enough time to enjoy the day. So I ran in the house, nearly giving my grandmother a heart attack, took a shower, and we headed off. It was such an amazing trip. We hadn't all taken a family vacation in a very long time. It was so much fun. We were able to take it slow because we were going to be there for 8 days. It was amazing. The food was so so good. The rides were awesome. I couldn't believe that I had been there only 4 months earlier with Cade. I had so much fun. Cade doesn't understand, but I grew up on Disney. I watched all the VHS over and over. I watched the Disney channel religously when I was younger. We went together 2 when I was growing up. It has a lot of sentimental memories for us. We were able to make it back 10 years later. It was an absolutely wonderful adventure to have with them.

I will post more pics next.