New Years Eve Weekend 2011

We were lucky enough to have visitors right before the New Year. Tony's brother, John, niece, and his brothers girlfriend and son came down and spent a couple days with us. We had some fun at Grafton, his girlfriend, Danni had never been to Zions or anywhere near there so we had to go! What a beautiful day it was to spend in Zions!

We hiked to the top on the Canyon Overlook trail..... I forgot how nervous it makes me to have all my little kids up there!

Kamren showing off her hiking stick her dad HAD to let her have! Spoiled!

Tony and his brother

The crew! We all finished to hike without any problems!

After that, we ended our year with the Wrights and the Maxwells coming over for games. The kids ended up just messing around the whole night and watching some fireworks outside. We played Scattergories....I don't think we are going to get Marty to play that game with us ever again! He isn't a fan of how me play!

Kenzie and Ruby had fun with Mosaic Art!

Crazy kids! Only in St George can your kids be outside playing on New Years Eve!

We ended the night early...telling them it was time about 11:30...they ran outside and banged some pots and pans and that was it! The year is over!

Here's to a fabulous 2012!

Steam Train

Every time we go to O-town we HAVE to go to the Union Station to see the trains. Most of the time, the kids just climb all over the trains that have been parked there for years. Not this time! A real steam train was pulling into Ogden and there was not way that anybody in this family was going to miss it! They were so excited!

While we waited for it to make its appearance, they found plenty of junk! That kept them entertained, since we showed up an hour early! ;)

Grandma and Papa waiting for the trains!

Apparently I thought this girl was extra cute today because I have lots of pictures of her!

It finally arrived! They actually pulled it in backwards, which was anticlimactic! I guess it is easier for it to make an exit when it is already pointed in the right direction! This thing was loud! Daxton was so excited....until it actually got close enough that he could hear it! He b-lined it for the fence and stayed stuck against it until it had moved past us! Kind of funny that Train Boy didn't know how loud steam trains are!

Here are the two train boys! They both were like giddy little kids! I think it is so fun that Papa and Daxton both love trains so much! We had some hot chocolate and donuts and let the kids climb on the trains for over an hour. That should keep them satisfied until the next time!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We trekked up North for the holiday, since we aren't going back for Christmas since it is too much hassle! The kids were so excited to go that we found them all in the car before Tony and I had even gotten out of our pajamas! They love to go to Grandma and Papa's house!

I am so grateful for these little people! They teach me so much! I can't even imagine my life without them!

We made "Turkey Oreo's" after the big meal! I can't believe I didn't even get a group shot of dinner! Oops!
Kenzie made her own version! Chocolate free, of course! She is still holding strong on her Chocolate Diet!
Me and Grandma D! This lady has been a great grandma and an awesome example throughout my whole life!

Kenzie and Zackie! My kids had so much fun playing with their cousins all weekend.

Grandma and Papa and all...well most...of their grandkids!

Friday we caught a movie. We went for Arthur Christmas this year. It was cute and a good way to get into the holiday spirit!
Saturday night, we headed to downtown for the annual Santa Clause parade. We were all bundled up, thank goodness! It was cold! Nobody complained, though. We just couldn't feel our feet! My kids were sad that they didn't get to see the Christmas Village this year. They took a long time to light it up this year, after the parade. We decided to skip it. We will have to make sure we plan better next year because they love to look at all the houses.

It was a great time...but we were so glad to go home! It is WAY to cold for us Southern Utah people up there! I think they need to all come to us next year!

Time Out For Women Times 2!!!

I was so lucky, this year, to have TWO Time Out for Women experiences! In 2 different cities.

First, I took a solo trip to Virginia to go with my amazing and wonderful friend, Dion! I don't think when I told her I was coming several months ago that she even believed that I was serious! I don't know that I thought I was serious when the thought first came about! But we had some points so I could get an airline ticket for $12, and I stayed with her, so the trip was pretty cheap! Virginia is beautiful this time of year, and my visit was so fun! We ran together, stayed up way too late, enjoyed good food, and just laughed. It is so fun to be around somebody that you know you can be yourself around and that they are going to do the same. I miss having her close. We went with some girls from her new ward, and though it wasn't quite like the old days of all of us Southern Utah girls going, it was a fun experience. My visit was WAY too short and I truly wish I would have had at least a couple more days, but I was so grateful that I got to go, and so grateful to my husband and mom and sister, who took care of the kids. Funny though, that it took 3 of them to do my job! Ha ha! Just kidding, you guys are amazing! Thanks for being willing to take on my crew!

My TOFW stalker picture for this time was Brad Wilcox. I love how this guy can bring the scriptures to life and make you feel the love that the Savior has for each of us individually! He has a wit and a charm about him that I love.

My favorite thing he talked about was about the word sacrifice. He said that in Latin the word sacrifice means to make sacred. We have to be willing to take the extra steps to become closer to Christ by doing. It is a choice whether we sit back and let live go by, or do something to make our life reflect what Christ expects and sees in us. When we are not willing to make a change for the better, we are denying the redeeming qualities of the Savior! I loved this!

I also loved a talk that Merrilee Boyack gave. She gave a talk on "Becoming U". She outlined how to do this, and I thought it was great advice.

B-Be bold. We are all leaders in our own ways. With God by our side we can do anything that we are commanded to do.

E- Eternally minded. The decision to stay true and faithful can affect generations to come.

C- Creative. Each of us can create great things in our own special way.

O-Outward focused. Seek for those around us that are in need of help. As we seek for this, we will be guided by the Lord to be able to find and help those in need.

M- Meek. We can reject pride by being meek and humble. We came here to learn to love our Lord, our neighbors, ourselves. We need to focus on accomplishing that instead of meaningless things.

E-Enlightened. Ask the Lord what He needs us to do today and He will guide us!

U-Unique. We all have a unique purpose here on this Earth. We need to seek to find it and do the very best we can to live our or Heavenly Father's individual destiny for each of us.

So many times we try so hard to be what other people are, and yet we are never supposed to be somebody else. I am so grateful for the gifts and talents that my Heavenly Father has given me and so grateful for His guidance on how I am supposed to refine them. I came home so grateful for my family! They make me so happy and so crazy all at the same time! I am always so excited to have a minute away, but once I am away from them I miss them like crazy! They are my world, and I am so happy that I get to live in the Eternities with them.

A month later, I got to do it all again...with different friends! Mandy and Jess came from up North and we got to say in Jess's In-Law's amazing house. Wow! We could have stayed there for a week and never got bored! Again, we ate good food, stayed up way to late, and had lots a great girl time! I am so grateful to have so many amazing examples and great friend to look up to and turn to.

Jason Wright gave a great talk about having your eyes open for opportunities to serve others, there by serving the Lord. We all have our eyes wide open now!!!

My stalker picture this time was Hilary Weeks! We had to wait in line twice to get a picture with her, but it was worth the wait! Hilary is my favorite part of TOFW. She is just as much a presenter as all the rest and I feel like I always get just as much, if not more, from her as the others. I love that she is so down to earth and always brings the Spirit through her music. She makes all of us better moms and wives with her words. She also did this experiment with a hand counter, that was awesome. Each time she had a bad thought she would click her little hand counter and see how many bad thoughts she had in a day. She did this for a week and then did it the other way, clicking her good thoughts... I think I need to try this. It would probably be embarrassing how many negative thoughts I have in a day!

Thank you girls for a fun weekend! Can't wait until next year! Vegas, baby!!

I Heart Faces | Black

I forgot how much I loved these pictures of Kenzie until I saw the theme over at I Heart Faces this week! In fact, this picture reminds me how much I love taking pictures of this sweet girl! She is always so patient and willing to put up with my antics! I love her more and more each day! It also made me wish I had taken the time to do mini photo shoots with this years Halloween costumes! Maybe I can still get away with recreating them, right?!! It is only the first week in November!!! You can see other great BLACK pictures by heading over to I Heart Faces!

I Heart Faces | Tickled Pink!

I have been wanting to use this photo for on of the weekly photo challenges since I took it! Today I think it fits with the theme! I love this girl and her bright smiley disposition! She makes my heart happy!

You can see more photos from this challenge by clicking here!

Finally! She lost a tooth!

Kamren has waited, and waited, and waited for a tooth to fall out! This poor girl made it all the way to 2nd grade without a lost tooth. She was the only one in her 1st grade, and 2nd grade classes that had not lost one! I even asked her dentist at her last visit to check and make sure she had adult teeth in her head! Well, the wait is finally over! While we were in Las Vegas this last weekend, it finally fell out. It has been loose for going on 3 weeks and she kept wiggling it, but that thing wasn't coming out easily! Her other tooth had already made an apperance, so I told her if it didn't fall out this week, she was going to the dentist. She didn't want that so she wiggled harder. How funny that it happened while we were eating at Carl's Jr yesterday?!! It started to bleed and Tony noticed it was starting to hang, so he used his "kid charm" to get it out! He seems to have way more patience for these kind of situations than I do. She was so excited! She put it in a little bag, folded it up, and couldn't wait to put it under her pillow.....AFTER she got to show it to her teacher! I asked her why she needed to show her and she responded with the fact that Mrs Mace had waited almost 2 whole school years to see her lose a tooth. We compromised by having Kamren send her an email with her picture attached. I love that her teacher is so cute with her and responded right back to her. I am including the e-mails in this post because they are adorable! She woke up at 6AM this morning, crying because she thought the Tooth Fairy forgot. I found the money under her bed and she was happy! Thank goodness for Tooth Fairies with good memories!

Oct. 16 2011

Dear Mrs. Mace,

My tooth came out! I just got home from Las Vegas at 8:00. My tooth came out when we were eating at Carl's Jr.

I'm so excited for you to look at the picture of my tooth! Oh boy! You won't believe that the hotel that I stayed in had swans! See you tomorrow!

From,

Kamren

To Mrs. Mace

October 17, 2011

Dear Kamren,

I'm so excited for you! That tooth really held on for a long time. I'm excited to see your new smile at school today. Thanks for sharing your news with me. I'm impressed that you included all parts of a friendly letter: the date, the greeting, the body, the closing, and your signature. You are such a smart girl!

See you soon,

Mrs. Mace

Now her other bottom tooth is loose! I guess we are going to be doing this often again! I love their toothless little grins!

Our Angel is 15!!!

15 balloons! I can't barely stand the thought of Kenzie actually being 15! I hope she stays 10!
Kamrens' first loose tooth is just about out!

Kamren decided this year to write a letter to Rylan. It was so sweet. In it, she told her what a good baby she was to us and that she can't wait until she can meet her again.

I can't even imagine having a 15 year old in our home celebrating a birthday today! Though I can't even comprehend what it would be like, I can dream about it! I dream of a beautiful brownish blonde long haired young lady, so excited about what she and her friends are going to do today to celebrate. I dream of her listening to her talk about what boys she likes and what cute clothes she can't wait to wear. I dream of listening to her tell us what she wants for her birthday and just having a teenager in our home all the time. I know these dreams are not reality, her earthly body would not have even have been capable of any of these things, but it is still nice to dream.

I was lucky enough to be put back into Young Women's today at church, as the Miamaid Advisor. It is funny that it didn't even dawn on me that my Heavenly Father was giving me another "tender mercy" until I was sitting waiting to bear my testimony to these Young Women in class. I just had to smile to myself to realize that I was given the calling to teach the same age group that Rylan would be in. It is amazing to me that even though there are sad times, my Heavenly Father always puts some glimpse of happiness and hope in every situation. It was amazing for me to sit in the back row and watch the beauty that is in these young girls. I know that my daughter is just as radiant and just as full of life as these girls are. I know it will do my heart good to see her though these girls. I am so nervous to take on this calling, especially since we are new to this ward, but I know that my Heavenly Father put my in this place, at this time, for a purpose.

I have had so many glimpses of His mercy lately. Only a few weeks ago, I felt prompted to call a couple that had recently lost a baby. Not knowing why or what exactly I was going to say, I just did it. I felt good about it, but still hung up wondering why I needed to make the call. It wasn't until later talking to the wife, that I got conformation from the Spirit why. In losing a child, there are phases that you go through. There is anger, there is extreme grief-the kind that makes you feel like your heart is going to burst and that you won't be able to get out of bed in the morning, there is sadness, there is questioning, there is bitterness for every person out there that has a child, and then there is a point where the light begins to shine again. You realize that you can love again, you can laugh again, you can be happy again! You realize that your Heavenly Father didn't do this to you to punish you, that He really thinks very highly of you and trusts you immensely in giving you this trial. I was able to answer just a few simple questions for them and give just a few suggestions, but knew that it was what was needed at the time. My heart aches for people going through those first few days, months and years after the loss of a child. They are moments that I still remember as dark times in my life. This year has taken me to a new level of acceptance. I woke up on the morning of her death, not even thinking about it being the day I found her in her crib. I only thought of it being my little sisters 13th birthday(another tender mercy from the Lord). There was no sense of loss, or feeling like my chest was tight, or sadness. It was just another day. That is huge to me. I do have days when I still feel all of those sad emotions but they are few and far between. I now mainly feel a sense of excitement for the day when she will be mine again to hold and raise and love. For now, the best way I can honor her, is to keep doing what I am doing. Fulfill my church callings, teach her siblings to be faithful, go to the temple, and so on. Us being able to return to our Heavenly Father as an entire family unit is the greatest "birthday present" we will ever be able to give her.

I feel so blessed to have my testimony grow every year that passes. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me and my struggles individually and that He is aware of my heart. I am so grateful for the places I have been and the trials I have faced. They have made me who I am today. I am so glad that I can look at the earthly loss of this little girl and KNOW that I will see her again! I am so grateful for being able to look back and see the things that Heavenly Father has helped me to accomplish because I can empathize with so many people on a level that is inconceivable, until it happens to you. I think that our greatest trials actually help us to understand what our Heavenly Father and Savior try and teach us all. They teaches you compassion, and acceptance, and not to judge because you never know when you could be there. They teach us about Eternal love, and sacrifice, and charity. I have been amazed at how our trial has helped me again and again and again to feel His presence as I reach out to other people.

Happy Birthday, Chunkamunka! I can't wait until the day I can say that to you face to face!