The Corn Maze-Round 2

Thanks to the Salter's, for inviting us to go to the Corn Maze with them for F.H.E, last night! My girls were so excited that they got to do all of the stuff we didn't have time for the first time we went this year! Thanks for letting us enjoy your birthday's with you, Kyla and Jayli!




Look at me!! I'm a DAXTON sandwich!

This was pretty funny!!! There was an unexpected muddy speedbump on the train ride! Good thing Tony gave me his NEW white hat before this ride!


We ended the night with a cheap ice cream cone from Artic Circle! I love cheap ice cream!

U.E.A Weekend

We are getting really good at playing "let's see how much we can cram into one weekend!!" Here are some bits and pieces of our adventures!!

First stop, The Hogle Zoo!
This was Daxton's first trip to the zoo, and he loved it! He was so excited to see all of the animals! They other kids had fun too-they haven't been to the zoo in a while!

The two cheesers of the family!

Some of us in this picture knew where to look!

Troy and Kamren apparently weren't too happy about this picture!

How nice is it that if I just had longer arms, I would be the same size as a gorilla!

Tony's mom and some of her grandkids!



Next Stop, a crazy Halloween party at my sister's house! Apparently, every year she has this party, we have just never been up for it! We had a lot of fun, though! I was so glad that Tony and the older kids decided to go to the Utah game so that I could go and spend the day with my family!


Under that crazy wig is my brother!



The party throwers! They make such cute Spiderella's!



Last up! A baby blessing for Tony's great-Nephew! Hey Tony! Did you know you were a great Uncle!


Wow! I am tired from just posting about all of that! Thanks for putting up with ALL of us for the weekend, families!

Happy to have my pictures back!

Kamren, at 13 months

Kenzie when she was 3!

This is Kenzie's 1st day of preschool when she was 4.

Do you think I could get Kenzie and Karlin to pose like this now? Probably not!

This is Kamren right after we moved into our first house on Crimson!

Karlin when she was 2! So cute!

About a year or so ago, our computer completly crashed-taking with it ALL of my pictures from the last few years! I know! I know! Why didn't I back up my computer, use an external hard drive, etc. etc. etc.?!!! Because I am an idiot, is the correct answer! Anyways, I was so bummed when the computer store told me that they could not retrieve anthing from it, but when the Wrights' informed my that the Geek Squad had found info on there crashed hard drive, I figured it was worth a try! Well, they found my pictures! I was so excited! I am a little less excited because there weren't nearly as many pictures as I had expected. But having some pictures of my girls from when they were little makes me so happy. And makes me miss their cute little chubby toddler faces! They are growing way too fast!

My little lady that wouldn't be so little anymore!

The gang this year. Kenzie(7), Karlin(6), Kamren(4), and Daxton(20 months)


Kenzie could never pass up 2 chocolate cupcakes!

Today would have been Rylans, 12th birthday! I think I freak out a little each year that goes by, just with the very thought of actually having a child that old. But, this year was especially poignant! My daughter would be in Young Women's this Sunday with me if she was still alive. I look at those girls every Sunday, and I really can't fathom her being one of them! I am completely aware that she would not really be like any of them, because we have no idea how her disabilities would have affected her as she got older, but it is still mind boggling to me, even at the very thought.

I love all of the questions my girls come up with each year as we do our annual balloon/cupcakes at the cemetery thing. So I am going to share a few of our experiences.

Kamren wanted to know how she got the balloons that we let go, and Kenzie chimed in with,"Of course, the clouds open and she catches them in Heaven".

Karlin is always so worried about the fact that she wants to give Rylan a cupcake too.

And Daxton was just so upset that we made him let go of his brand new balloon that his mom just gave him. He kept trying to jump in the air after it.

I am so grateful for their little testimonies. They undeniably KNOW that they will see their sister again. Every year they ask me again when Rylan is going to come back and how old she is going to be. I know I don't have any idea the answers to those questions, but it is nice that I do have a little guidance from the gospel. In this years manual from the prophet Joseph Smith it reads:

Parents who lose children in death will receive them in the resurrection just as they laid them down.

I quote, "A question may be asked-'Will mothers have their children in eternity? Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children; for they shall have eternal life, for their debt is paid."
"Children....must rise just as they died; we can there hail our lovely infants with the same glory-the same loveliness in the celestial glory."

To me, those are amazing promises. They give me a new perspective as to how old she is going to be, but it also gives me hope for all of those people whose lost child wasn't an infant. To know that a 2 or 3 year old that was lost, or a child on a mission, or whatever age your child might be, will be brought back just as they were when they died is an amazing promise, and one that I will look forward to!

My favorite section in the Doctrine and Covenants is 137. I love how Joseph explains what he sees and how beautiful the Celestial Kingdom is. I especially like verse 7, where is says" Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God."

At least that is one child I won't have to worry about, she already is guaranteed all of our ultimate goal! I can only hope for all of us in this family, that returning to her and our Heavenly Father remains as important as it is today. I cannot wait to one day look back at this life, and think that I learned a lot from this trial about myself and my Heavenly Father's plan for me. I have already grown a lot from the young 20 year old who had this little girl, and I am sure I have a lot more growing to do from this experience

For now, I am just glad that I have this moment every year to reflect and grow from it.

Happy Birthday, Chunkamunka! Next year she would have been a teenager! Wow

The Corn Maze

For FHE this week, we went to the corn maze/pumpkin patch! I figured if we went early this year, it wouldn't be so busy, and I was right! We spent nearly 2 hours there, and really didn't have to wait to do anything. If you go, make sure you have a jacket! I put ours in thinking we probably wouldn't need them, but I was really glad I brought them! It is cold in the corn maze!

I am not quite sure how sliding down a slide into corn is entertaining, but I think my girls could have stayed there all night!




This is the best and only picture I could get of Daxton, he is becoming famous for running anytime I have a camera in my hands

Marathon Saturday!

I don't know how anybody can come away from the St. George Marathon not feeling like they could run! After you see those people, fat, skinny, tall, missing limbs, old as dirt, and others you then know that ANYBODY can run if they put their minds to it and train! Or maybe not train! I now know of two crazy guys that didn't train and completed the marathon, but I think they are insane and their bodies are definitely both screaming at them tonight! Every year, after I go and see those crazy people come across the finish line, I think, for about a nano second, "I could do that"! It only lasts for a fleeting second, bu it is seriously inspiring! I saw a man today that had a shirt on that said, "84 and still running"! 84! 84! He should be dead, not running marathon's! But he was doing it and I was mighty impressed! I also saw an old neighbor of mine while we were walking back to the car. She had just finished her 7th marathon and she looked amazing! I think the girl was 50-75 pounds lighter than the last time I saw her! I am not saying I will ever do this (my nano second has already passed), but I am very intrigued by this accomplishment and who knows, maybe someday my kids will make me insane enough to even to that! Spending some quality time more often with my running shoes and my I-pod doesn't sound all that bad! It is the blisters and the half dead looking friends of mine from a few years ago during the marathon that makes me rethink myself! Maybe someday!

The other thing that makes me want to do the marathon, is my stinking husband! He goes out there every year and says," I could do that without even training!" I am calling bull crap, but I would love to see him try and be brought to his knees either getting into the paddy wagon not finishing, or crossing the finish line and collapsing! He is so sure that you don't have to train for a marathon that I seriously might sign us both us, just so that he can't use that line another stinking year! Even if I have to run/walk the thing, probably more walk the thing, I think it would be worth it just so that he can see it is not that easy!

Time Out For Women

I really need to take a few minutes and share my experiences of this past weekend before I forget them or move onto the normal everyday dishes, laundry, kids!!!! Time out for women was amazing this year, as always! I was very impressed and inspired by the speakers and the music. Hilary Weeks brings a spirit to these events that makes you feel like you can do anything! I love that she is so down to earth! She has this song that is to the tune of "My favorite things", that is hilarious! It says nap time and bed time in it about 8 times, and I love that she takes everyday mundane things and makes jokes out of them. Her music makes me feel my Savior love in a very real way.She really makes me feel like what I do everyday IS important and that the Savior does knows about my struggles and fears. I could listen to her live everyday.

I also loved Amanda Dixon! She was so funny and witty and crazy, at times! I loved that she talked a lot about how our best IS good enough! And that if we are doing everything we can, we ARE doing enough! All He expects from us is our best! I was very inspired to try harder to just do what I can, and not try and do everything perfectly. I seem to always say "yes" to everything, and try and figure out a way to fit it all in, AFTER I have already said "Yes". In the mean time, I am really cheating my kids, my husband, and myself of my sanity! I can't do everything, and I really need to stop trying!

There was a song that Hilary sang off of her new CD, called "If I only had today", that really hit home to me. I wish I could put it on my blog, but of course, it is not on Project Playlist yet, so I can't! It has a great message in it, and talks alot about what she would do if she really only had today with her kids. Would she spend her time doing dishes or talking on the phone? Probably not! I think a lot about this, because I wonder what I would have done differently had I known when Rylan's last day was going to be. I always wonder would I have stayed up all night holding her, and telling her how much I loved her, and how much she has changed our lives? Yes, I would have! I know I can't get that last day back with her, but I can make all of the days I have with the rest of my children matter more. I CAN spend more time holding them, and reading to them, and loving them. They are right here, and I need to be better about making sure they know how much I want to spend all my time being a better mom to them.

I am so grateful that I have a husband who was willing to spend 2 days taking care of all of the kids by himself, so that I could go! For those of you, that have never been, GO!!!! It is so worth your time and your money! They also told us that they are coming to St. George next year in November! I am very excited to not have to travel to go next year, but it kind of takes all of the fun out of the shopping after the seminar! They are also coming to Ogden next year.

I want to tell my mom and sister, thank you for making the trip down here to go with me. I am so lucky that they are two of my best friends. They are so great and we had a great time!

This is us at the hotel! We actually look more awake than I was feeling! We got up before 6 AM two days in a row for the seminars! I am definitely not used to that!


Us with Hilary Weeks. My mom and sister thought I was crazy to want to stand in line and meet her, but I was so happy we did. She is amazing and she was so generous with her time. She genuinely was interested in every person I saw her come in contact with. Maybe she was fishing for song ideas or something, but I was greatly impressed with her.


This is us with Amanda Dixon. She even was a goof ball in this picture. The lady is just funny and quirky. I would love to spend a day with her just to see if she can keep this act up for a whole day, or if, even SHE gets irritated and down sometimes. I am sure she does.