Happy Anniversary...

We stayed at the Seven Wives Inn B&B
in St. George.

This was our private little cottage. It is located just
behind the main home. We even had our own private parking.

Sorry it turned out a little blurry!

This dog was a guest on the upper level of the main
house. We actually thought he was stuck for
awhile. He was not.

St. George Temple is one of my favorite.

Russell and I have been married four years now.
It really seems we have been together forever. We really enjoy being together.
Our family is growing so fast. I can not believe that Abbie will be 15 in May. Weston turns 13 in December. Trevor will be 12 in February. Ty turns 3 next month and Tate is 18 months. Where does the time go?
Russell I love you and have enjoyed our journey together so far. I look forward to our future.

The Pumpkin Patch

We once again visited the Red Barn for our annual pumpkin search.
This is a tradition that we all look forward to. We were sad that Justin and Nadine's family were unable to join us this year. Maybe next year!

What a good big sister...

Abbie really is a lot of help with the two little boys.
They loved playing with the side walk chalk with her.

Tate, has a hard time staying focused on one spot and
is always on the go.

Abbie is really like another mom. She is very helpful.
Her little brothers really do love her.

I love watching them at this age. They are so curious

about everything. I love being a mother. I wish I had
more patients. Sometimes its hard to remember that
those little things that stress us out, and make us crazy
are the exact things that one day we will be laughing at.

They grow so fast...

Ty has always loved playing on this step or laying there

when he is tired. When I saw him laying here today, it occurred to
me how big he has become. Before you know it he wont fit on this step
anymore.

I hope these two little boys will always be best buddies!
Or maybe I should say I hope they become best buddies!

Back to school...

Well we survived the first week of school. Abbie started the 9th grade this year. Weston joined his sister at the junior high. He is in 7th grade this year. Trevor is starting his last year as an elementary student. The day went well for all of them. Abbie was happy to find that her lunch hour is full of old friends. She was excited to return to school. She told me that this year there were not any scary 9th graders. I informed her that was because she was now one of the big scary 9th graders. Weston seemed to like school also. He was nervous even though he would never admit to it. I know this is true because he asked Abbie to meet him at his locker for lunch. He ended up doing just fine. He opened his locker found all of his classes. I hope that being at a new school will be a fresh start for Weston. Trevor was not real excited about having Mrs. Maughan for a teacher. That was Weston's teacher and I think he had heard of Weston's troubles and was a little nervous about how much of what Weston said about her would be true. I how ever loved her and thought she was great with Weston. By the end of school Trevor informed me that he really liked her. I was not surprised she is just the kind of teacher Trevor likes. She is calm and fun yet strict and expects a lot from her class. I really like her a lot. I am glad that school is back in. Not because the kids are back in school and I have some time with out them. I just like that it gives us a little more structure. I like routines and summer always feels crazy to me...fun just busy and schedules are never kept. I guess that is life with a family the size of ours. It is fun having a big family but very busy. I love every minute of it.

I want to be like my Dad...

Ty loves his Dad and wants to do everything he is doing.
I loved these pictures. We bought Ty this little lawn mower and
he loves mowing the lawn with his Dad.

Abbie

Abbie had her wisdom teeth removed today. She was very nervous about the whole thing. We met with Dr. Christopher Burton yesterday who explained the procedure. She thought about it the remainder of the day, and by bedtime had made herself sick. I am blessed to have married a man who is worthy and holds the priesthood and is able to give priesthood blessings whenever we feel the need for one. After Abbie's blessing she got ready for bed I told her I would be down to say goodnight. When I went down to her room to tuck her in she was crying. We talked for a little while I told her this was a good opportunity to exercise faith and let her blessing work and put herself in Heavenly Fathers hands. I left feeling like she felt better and that she would be fine. Not more than 5 minutes later she came up and asked if the wind could make her bed shake. Not likely since her room is in the basement. Again I explained she was just nervous and having a hard time relaxing. She ended up sleeping in Trevor's bed. (he is Oregon) This morning when we got to the oral surgeon center she seemed in better spirits. Still nervous but much better. As they prepared her for her surgery and asked us to leave again the tears returned. She did just fine 45 minutes later the came to get us. She was so completely out of it. It seems so strange to me that she is 14 years old. It truly seems like she was just beginning kindergarten. She has been involved in Utah National Guard military kids. A few weeks ago they took a road trip they went down the Colorado river. Stopped off at Zions national and also visited the Indian ruins in Fremont. They plan to visit Morocco next year. She is really growing up. She finally got her own cell phone. Of course it comes with a wonderful monthly payment, but finally she is like every other kid she knows. She is such an amazing girl. She is responsible and has her head on straight. She know what she want out in life and knows what she needs to do to get there. She gets good grades and is so helpful to me with the little boys. I am lucky to have her as my daughter. I am very proud of her and all she has accomplished to this point in her life.