Joseph~North Ogden's First Community Play~August 2016

Last summer North Ogden put on it's first community play, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was so sun to be a part of. Bennett and Mylie got to be in the children's chorus, and they loved every minute of it. I was able to be one of the narrators. It was a great experience and so much fun to be in a play with my kiddos! The last play I had been in before this one was 11 years earlier when I was narrator in Joseph and was pregnant with Bennett!
These pictures were taken almost exactly a year ago on August 4, 2016. So fun to look back!
The kids are all dressed up and ready to go:  
Nora had to get in on the fun. She enjoyed coming to every performance and knew all the songs!
Waiting "backstage" for the play to start. Mylie had one of her good friends in it as well!
Me with the other narrators, getting ready to go on:

June 2015~Hip Surgery, 5k, and Talent Show

Here's a look back at June of 2015. I had hip surgery at the very end of May, and so my June was pretty much spent lying down, trying to recover. (A recovery that I am still working on to this day, unfortunately.) At least I am not as debilitated as I was back then!

On one of the many days I was spending lying around tethered to my ice machine, I was watching a movie with my kids. Nora sat in this little container for the whole thing. It was the first picture I took with my big camera (that had been gathering dust) since my surgery. Dear Russ was mopping the floor for me that day as well. He sure had to be Mr. Mom there for a few weeks. Going through that surgery and not being able to do almost anything as a mom and homemaker for several weeks was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced!


Pretty much my first outings after surgery were on Founders Day. Bennett ran the 5k, as did many other members of my family. I didn't get to train at all with Bennett this year, and am at a point in my life now (almost 6 months after surgery) where I don't know if I will ever be able to run much again! (Ironic because the surgery was supposed to help me to be able to run and exercise more without having pain anymore.) As of now, I am finally getting so that I can run a few feet at a time. I hope someday I will be able to run with my kids again. Even Nora can run faster than me! Bennett didn't have his best race this day and was very disappointed this year. Hopefully next year we will be able to support him better in getting ready for the race. He still did an amazing job and ran 22:32! Here's how they really felt after the race :) Later that same day, Mylie sang in a talent show with her cute friend. They sang a song called "Read me a Memory." It was so sweet and they did such a good job! I am grateful for the good friends my kiddos have.
I am glad my kids are able to pursue their talents and have so many opportunities to do so. It is so fun to watch them learn and grow and experience life! And I am grateful that I am in good health to be there for them and to experience life with them. Having surgery and not being able to do anything has really opened my eyes and made me so grateful for the health and abilities that I do have!

My Magnolia Tree

Saying good-bye to my Magnolia tree was probably one of the hardest parts of moving. Even though the house is not "mine" anymore, I think I will always still consider the tree to be mine. Moving is so hard when you have put so much of yourself into the home and yard. My mom has a beautiful Magnolia tree so when I had a house of my own, it was one of the first things we added to our yard.


Look at the growth! We planted it summer of 2006. We moved in July 2014. It is amazing to see how it grew!
Here's Mylie with it at two separate times. The first when it was in bloom in 2010 (kind of like the half-way point) then when it bloomed for the last time before we moved in April of 2014.
Here are some more pictures I took back in April of my beautiful tree (and daughter). We are planning on planting another one at our new house. It will be so hard to wait for it to grow again...

Belly Pic at 34 Weeks

I am 38 1/2 weeks pregnant as of today, but here is a belly shot from 34 weeks! Of course I have grown even since then! We are getting so excited to welcome our little girl here this week! And I am getting so excited to not be pregnant any more! Don't get me wrong, overall I really love it and feel so immensely blessed, but pregnancy number four really hurts! My body is worn out, it aches almost everywhere, I have struggled with breathing almost the entire pregnancy, and the muscle cramps, charlie horses, and false labor contractions are pretty painful. I am ready to be able to hold my kids on my lap again, cook dinner or work at a sink/counter without having to hunch over or stand sideways, and give real hugs to my husband! I will miss feeling a baby move inside me, miss how kind people are to me when I am pregnant and all of the nice things they say when I don't feel like I'm looking that great, and just miss the overall excitement of pregnancy. It is almost sad to know she will be here soon, and before I know it, she will be grown up just like my other kids! The newborn stage just doesn't last long enough. I feel like it takes FOREVER for them to get here, then once they're here, they just grow up too fast. I am a little nervous for having 4 kids; life is already crazy, hectic, busy, and I find myself longing for that time I had when I welcomed my first baby. I laugh at how busy I thought I was then! I really just want to hold this baby forever and not have another care in the world, but I know that is not reality. At least we will get to enjoy the holidays and Christmas break not too long after she is born. I told Russ he gets the three older kids, and I just get to hold the baby to my heart's content while he is home for the break. Maybe I'll give others turns to hold her, too, but we will just have to see ;)

Easter Hunt at Home

I'm feeling like I'm one of the only ones left who ever blog anymore. I guess a family blog is becoming a "lost art" because of facebook and istagram. Well since I am so "old-fashioned", I will try to continue this for anyone that cares. But mostly it is for me because it motivates me to keep on top of my photos so they will be ready when I am able to finally get them in a book. I am only a few months behind on here, but a couple years behind on my books...So anyway, here is our little Easter hunt at our home. It is always so fun to see the kids' excitement for traditions

(P.S. In case anyone is wondering just how old-fashioned we are around these parts, I don't have a facebook account, I don't have an iphone or any kind of smartphone--we have tracfones~gasp, and we watch TV using an antenna!)

Thirty!!!

Well, I made it to Thirty!

I celebrated my big 3-0 last month. It was a great weekend,with fabulous weather and company! On my birthday, Russ took me out to eat at a Japanese Tepanyaki Restaurant (Kobe) that was so incredibly delicious! We did a little shopping then we went to see the Hunger Games—very great movie, by the way. The next day, we got to enjoy seeing Mylie dance at her first little Dance Competition. Then because the weather was so great, we invited some of my family over for a little barbeque. The kids had a great time playing together.


So I thought I would tell a little more about myself.

So here is my list of…

Thirty Random Things about Me at Thirty:

1. I am the fourth of six children and I love having a big family!
2. I have always been “short” and am 5’ 2”, although at a recent physical I actually just found out that I am really 5’ 2.5”. Half inch taller than I have always thought!
3. My favorite colors right now are yellow and coral. I have a hard time resisting things in those colors when I am shopping!
4. I am a Mormon (or more specifically, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and I am so glad I am!
5. I don’t really like to bake. I wish I did!
6. My favorite candy is Peanut M&Ms.
7. I got my degree in Elementary Education. I taught 6th grade for one full year. But luckily I got pregnant and had a great excuse to quit :)
8. I love online shopping ---probably too much!
9. When it comes to things my kids get, I really hate suckers and things that have glitter.
10. In most instances, I would prefer a bath to a shower. Nothing like a nice, long, hot bath! Feels so good on my achy back and hips!
11. I drive a minivan, and I am not ashamed!
12. I have run one marathon (4:29) and one half marathon (1:47), but if you asked me if I am a runner, my answer would probably be “no.” But I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of doing a marathon again someday.
13. I really love to sing.
14. For the most part, I never text. And my cell phone is mostly just for backup. I know. I’m so weird!
15. I also don’t have a Facebook account.
16. I love, love, love my kiddos! And I love babies. I would really like to have 5 kids, but I haven’t completely ruled out having 6. Also I figure the more kids I have, the better chance I have of getting lots of grandkids someday!
17. I really like my house clean and organized. Three kids has forced me to let up a little, but I might be what you would consider a “clean freak.”
18. I love throwing things out! Filling up a bag for the DI (thrift store) brings me such satisfaction. In fact I just filled one today.
19. I am very health conscious. I always read food labels. I will almost always pay extra for the healthier version of something (i.e. whole grain, less fat). Even Bennett has started reading food labels lately. Wonder where he picked that up? I have let up a lot though, and even buy my kids Happy Meals sometimes.
20. I think kissing my kids is my favorite thing to do. I probably kiss them a million times a day. Something about those soft, squishy cheeks, especially when they’re babies. Luckily Bennett will still kiss me every day at the bus stop, even in front of all the other kids. It doesn’t even faze him. Hopefully that will last forever :)
21. I have a terrible habit of pushing snooze when the alarm goes off. I even set my clock 10 minutes earlier just so I can snooze.
22. I love lipstick! Always have, probably always will. Although it can get in the way when I want to kiss the kiddos…
23. I play the piano. I actually even was my two younger brothers piano teacher for a while when I was in high school.
24. On the weekends, I love movies and popcorn on the couch with my hubby.
25. I worked in the Software Engineering Field for 10 years. When I had Bennett I started only working 8 hours a week. Once Coy was born, I started staying home full time. I still miss that job, though.
26. I manage our finances, bills, and budget 100% and I prefer it that way. I think Russ prefers it, too, so it works out good.
27. I’ve led my Ward Choir for almost six years now. I also am the Primary Chorister, and have had that calling for almost 10 months. Doing both is a lot of work!
28. I won’t let my kids go anywhere without their hair combed.
29. I love soup. I think my favorite thing to cook is soup. I get major cravings for it when I am pregnant, which can be a problem when it is summertime.
30. And now that I am thirty, I have officially started using an anti-wrinkle cream every day. I started using it a couple months ago. I hope it works wonders :)

So there you have it. Thirty wonderful things about me. I am sure there is a lot more, but that is just what I came up with for now.

Bennett asked me the other day what age I wish I could be. I honestly could tell him 30 because there is no use wishing for things that won’t happen! I’ve had an amazing 30 years and I am excited to see what the next 30 bring!

And just in case you've made it this far, here is my birthday in pictures!

Getting ready to go out

Just a note about my big purple necklace. Mylie picked it out all by herself to give me for my present. She was so excited and gave it to me three times on my birthday. Once in the sack it came in from the store, then in a gift bag, and then wrapped properly in wrapping paper once Dad got home to help her wrap it. And she sure made sure I wore it all that next day! Luckily I snuck out to church the next day without it. She did notice and made me put it on when we got home.



Sure am grateful for my sisters (and sisters-in-law).








Russ did put 30 candles on a cake for me. Look at all that smoke! Good thing we were outside.