Roadtrip 2009

South Dakota continued.......

Mt Rushmore.

Nothing like icecream on a warm summer night.

I guess this is what happens towards the end of a funfilled, nonstop, crazy roadtrip. Too Cute!! I love them!

What wonderful memories.

Post Edit: It's time to scrapbook again:).

Roadtrip

Nauvoo was awesome.


Off to South Dakota......Buffalo's galore!

The wind cave

swimming at sylvan lake

Roadtrip

Trail of Hope....probably the most touching part of Nauvoo for me. What incredible faith to leave everything behind.


The water lilies were in bloom, and they were beautiful. Scott promised to get me one. What an awesome husband!

Roadtrip

I'm trying to be selective in the pics I post....... there were just so many of them, and because I don't have much time to scrapbook anymore this is a good way to preserve our memories for now:).


One of my favorite statues at the women's gardens.

The Mississippi river

Pioneer games in the park

What a beautiful temple......too bad the walk by photographer cut out half of it:(.

Roadtrip

Note: someone please tell me how to post more than 4 pics in one post, this is frustrating:)


Carthage Jail - Matthew couldn't get enough of Grandpa Ross.....he's been missed.

Nauvoo Temple after an early morning session.

We were privileged enough to receive a special tour of the bell tower thanks to Scott's sweet parents. There were speakers up there to produce fake bird sounds to keep birds away.......who knew?

the kiddos at one of the Nauvoo plays, "Anna Amanda"

Roadtrip

3400 miles + 6 different states = one awesome roadtrip and lots of wonderful memories:)

Some highlights from our trip:

Grandpa and grandma Ross at the Nauvoo pageant. They are currently serving a mission at the Nauvoo temple. It was a treat to be with them again. They always treat us so well. We love you both!

Matt and Dallin at Carthage jail, standing in front of two incredible brothers, Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

Inside Carthage Jail where Joseph Smith was martyred.

My wonderful dad with my sweet sister Skyler.

A big thank you to my parents who mostly made this trip possible. My mom is the ultimate travel agent........ she goes to extremes to make sure we have the best time, and see as much as we possibly can. Every trip starts with a binder in hand and our itinerary planned down to the minute:). We stayed in an awesome house in Nauvoo, and even ventured two KOA's, bugs and all.

birthday wishes

Happy birthday to a sweet sister. Jamie turns the big 3 0 today:). My wish to her is a Wonderful, Lovely day. You deserve it! I love you.

Oh and btw.......it's my birthday too:). In case you were wondering.....33. Sharing birthdays hasn't always been a fav of Jamie and I, but I couldn't pick a better person to share it with.

As for my wishes....... happiness, good health, sweet family memories, crazy spazzy sisters who I love to be with, wonderful parents who make me feel loved and spoil me rotten, donuts (thank you Kellie, and kiddos for DD's and a birthday serenade), a wonderful husband who loves me, children who wish me a happy birthday and give lots of kisses, thoughtful lovely friends, massages with my sweet sister in law, Kayleen (thank you), shopping sprees, and fresh cut flowers on my kitchen table..........I think I got everything I wished for today! xoxo

BitterSweet

Sometimes life is bittersweet. As I was sorting through some of my pics tonight, trying to get somewhat organized I came across this sweet picture of Dallin, and Kate. Dallin is my sweetheart. He has always remembered to kiss me when saying goodbye. He is the one to always give me a hug and say I love you.... just because. He's always checking on me to make sure I'm happy, flashing me that darling grin of his, dimples and all.

But.......today, as we were leaving the swimming pool, for the first time in my life as a mother I had a child tell me he hated me, and yes it was Dallin. I was shocked. All over a stinkin' snow cone that I said no to. I just couldn't take the whining and complaining anymore, and so I said no. When I heard that word fly, I couldn't help it... I started to cry. Hence the bitter part of life.

After a long drive home in silence, a bucket of weeds to pull for each of them (for the whining and complaining), and lots of apologies (Dallin had lots of remorse and I'm pretty sure.... regret), the night ended with kindness, no fighting, I love you's, and happiness. Life is sweet......at least for tonight.

Eye woes

So, a while back I had mentioned that my eyes had become hypersensitive to contacts :(, hence the lovely glasses I have had to wear for the last few months. Kate had gotten a hold of those things one to many times and Scott had to work his magic over and over to fix them. They have some sort of metal post in the middle Scott drilled in just to get them to stay together, supported by lots and lots of super glue (My husband is pretty handy). Anyways, we decided Lasik would be the next step......no more contacts and no more glasses! Pretty exciting, right? I was thrilled.
To make a long story short, I went through with the procedure, endured the scariness of it all, wore the ugly goggles afterwards, religously used the gazillion eyedrops they prescribe only to have to go and do it again. Yes, I am discouraged. For some reason my eyes were overcorrected, and now I am having eye strain issues, focusing issues, and headaches. I traded in my glasses, only to get other woes. I apologize for the vent, but I was hoping I'd be blogging about perfect eyes, but for now I'll have to look forward to sharing that in another few months or so:).

Strawberry Jam

Mmmmmmm..........Gotta love strawberry season!


Halle enjoyed herself thoroughly mashing up those berries, and got quite carried away at times.

We recruited Kellie, Brook, and Kaylie to join us. Some pretty cute little domestic divas!


We got quite a bit of jam done that night and had a great time doing so. I swear by the Ball packet for making jam (my mom's wonderful find). 4 cups of strawberrys, 1.5 cups sugar, add packet and stir for 3 min. and walla......Strawberry Jam. See even I can do it:).

Girlfriends

Why I am posting this awful picture of myself is beyond me. It just might explain what happens when I stay up until 2:00 in the morning sewing. :) Amber planned a fun getaway, and Keri inspired me to do yet another project. It's always so much fun to be with my friends, we don't get to do it often because of our little families, but I'm always so happy when we get to. Thanks Amber, again!


Keri and Amber sporting their projects. Keri sewed a couple of cute shirts for Lily, and Ambs started working on another darling quilt.

And Ta Da! I made a dress for Kate. Unbelievable.

Halle's Dance Recital

Papa and Grammy Cox are always supportive. Thank you for being there:)

Halle is growing to quickly, I wish I could just push pause to these years. She blesses our lives in so many ways.

Halle is a beautiful little dancer. She really has a lot of talent. We are so proud of her hard work.

Happy BDay Sweetie

One year older, and wiser too.......
Scott celebrated his......, well maybe we're starting to get to old to share that info :) We did have a good time enjoying dinner at Chili's, and a late night movie, Star Trek.


I hope all your wishes come true.... I love you!!

Cowgirl Kate

"I wanna be a Cowgirl......."


I couldn't resist posting these. Everyday we find Kate sporting a different look with various types of shoes. She is always trying on someone elses shoes running around. Today well......the pictures speak for themselves.

I must say, she makes a darling cowgirl!