Kindergarten Graduation

On Friday, the kids graduated from Kindergarten.  We of course drove down to their school to be part of their graduation and enjoy their program.  They did an amazing job.  I especially loved one of their songs entitled “Fingerprints.”  It was so cute to see them up in front of everyone performing.  I am sure all the kids and especially the teachers worked hard to put it all together. The only thing that makes us sad is that the videos of them singing are too big to upload, and because of the distance of the chairs to the stage, some of our pictures turned out blurry.

 

 

 

 

 

Here the kids are receiving their Kindergarten diplomas.  Holy Cow!  They are officially first graders and I am feeling OLD!

 

 

 

 

 

Here are their great teachers.  Ady’s teacher is Mrs. Davis.  She was great to help Ady and taught her so much.  Mrs. Mitchell was Treven’s teacher and she seemed to take him under her wing.  They both love their teachers so much.

 

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS

KIDDOS!

 

Projects

Last weekend, Trev and I worked on the back brakes on my car and the front brakes on Ashley’s car.  If you can believe it, my car has lasted 163,000 miles and this is the first time I have EVER had to replace the rear brakes.  One would think that would make me have to change the fronts really often, but that isn’t so.  I only have to replace the front brake pads every 50-60,000 miles.  I love these pictures of Trev helping.

 

 

 

While we were changing the brakes, Mom and Ady were stripping the paint of an old dresser.  We got this dresser from my brother and sister-in-law and decided to paint it.  The paint was not terrible, but not in the best of shape, and we decided to make it our own.  We finally finished it last night.  Below are some before and after pictures.  We could not paint the top because it was made of a plastic material, but I think it actually gives it a nice contrast.

BEFORE

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER

Our Newest Addition

We recently had a new addition come into our family.  We got our very first family pet.  It is a beta fish and we named him Louie. The best part of his name is that he is actually a she.  It is a female beta fish, but the only name we all could agree on was Louie.  We make her feel better by telling her that it is short for Louise, but let’s be serious; we could care less.  We like the name Louie and that is what she is stuck with.  It is also sort of sad, because we refer to her as a him quite often as well.  Despite all of that, we love our very first pet and think “he” makes a great addition to the  family.  We let Trev pick out which fish we would take home.  He looked past all of the ones with the beautiful fins and colors.  He said, “this looks like a nice little fella, let’s get this one.”  It was funny at the time, but I think that shows a lot of Trev’s sweet, gentle nature.  He definitely is one who can look past outside appearances.  This can be a side of him that he protects from the world around him, but he is a very tender hearted little boy.  We now know he made the best choice and love our family pet. While Ashley is an old pro and has had many family pets, this is the very first pet the kids or I have ever had.  Welcome to the family Louie!

Wedding Pictures

 

I had THE perfect wedding day. Everything went off without a hitch and was better than imagined. I was completely calm with no wedding jitters of the sort. Surprising, huh?! I was prepared for a February snow storm but look at how blue the sky was that day!

  

I was so pleased with our wedding ceremony.  We didn’t know our sealer beforehand and I was concerned he wouldn’t give advice that was tailored to Kent and I because he didn’t know us personally.  I couldn’t believe how strong the spirit was during our sealing.  It was amazing to hear the blessings and responsibilities we could have through the covenants we made.

Trev and Ady were so excited for us to get married after many months of dating and doing family things but not being an “official” family. I heard they had a hard time holding in their excitement while we were in the temple. After I came out and was greeting everyone, Trev and Ady stooped down to lay my dress just right. It was adorable.

I have been so fortunate to develop close relationships with many women.  I was ecstatic to have some of these girlfriends fly in from all around the world. And my friends living in Utah were so kind to dedicate the entire day to the wedding events.  Thank you girls.

All of Kent’s siblings and all of my siblings (minus Jeff on his mission) were there to celebrate and show their support.  I have married into a great family and I think Kent has married into a great family as well!

 

 

Aren’t we a good looking couple? I mean seriously?!!! I have to say I LOVE my wedding dress. It fit like a glove and I didn’t want to take it off for the luncheon.

 

 

This is one of my favorite photos. Our luncheon was inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building; here Trev is with his cousins looking out to the temple and watching us below.

It is tradition in Kent’s family to roast the bride and groom instead of toasting. Kent comes from a family of six boys and one sister, so it only made sense that the youngest (Kent) would get picked on even if it was his wedding day.

I was royally embarrassed when my brother, Tyler, and sister, Kim, roasted me. However, it was hilarious because it was all true.

 

 

My colors were silver, black, and baby pink.  I wanted Ady to feel special because it was a significant day in her life. I decided she would be the only one to wear pink.  She is such a doll.  I am lucky to have her in my life. 

Our reception was at Noah’s. It is contemporary, spacious, and has a dance floor.  It was everything I envisioned with pink roses, votives, hurricane candles in the windows, and dropped down lighting.  It was so beautiful.

 When I was little, I went to a cousin’s wedding where there was dancing.  I remember my dad wanting to dance with me but being too shy to get out on the dance floor.  I’ve always regretted not dancing and made sure we danced on my wedding day.

 

I’m so happy to have finally found Kent.  He is a wonderful, righteous man who loves the Lord and loves me.  I’m excited for this new chapter of my life with Kent. 

Thank you to all our friends and family for your constant support and love.  

A Mother

For fairly obvious reasons, we celebrated Mother’s Day on the Saturday before the actual holiday at our house.  For a few weeks, the kids and I worked on a homemade DVD and a homemade (Snapfish) book.  We laid out the story of how Mom came into our lives and how much we love having her in them.  The kids were so excited!  I have to express how grateful I am for my wonderful wife and the Mother of our children.  She didn’t have to give birth to them to love them as her own.  In fact, it is truly one of the things that I find most attractive about her.  She has “mothered” so many children and they all seem to flock to her.  She Mothers in such a natural way and shows so much attention and care.  I am truly blessed to have her as my wife and for her to be the Mother of our children, now and in the future.  She definitely has challenges to deal with and hardships that some Mothers may not, but that doesn’t stop her.  I think that is the true definition of a Mother; they never stop loving, even when it may feel like everyone else has, or even if it is difficult.  By that definition you will not find anyone who is more of a Mother then Ashley.  I am so grateful for Ashley and I KNOW that Trev and Ady are as well.

I am also very grateful for my Mother-in-law.  I am convinced that Ashley would not be the woman and Mother she is today without great parents.  They have certainly taught her well.  They have accepted me as their son, and my kids as their grandchildren.  They have shown nothing but love and support and are continually great examples to us.

Finally, I want to express my gratitude for my own Mother.  I know that I have tried her patience more then anyone’s over the years.  I am grateful for her warm smile and her kindness.  I am grateful for the laughter we have shared and for all the things she continues to do for each of us.  Her love seems to know no bounds as she shows it to 7 children, 6 in-laws, and 19 grandchildren.  We are truly grateful each moment for her.

Race for the Cure

This morning, we woke up really early and met Ashley’s parents at the Trax station.  We all rode downtown together to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K.  Ashley’s Mom beat cancer a couple of years ago and we were happy to walk with them and show our support.  Ashley even made these cute little t-shirts for the kids to wear during the race.  The kids were real troopers and we all had a great morning together.  We found it fitting that the race was the day before Mother’s Day.  We had a lot of fun and participated in a great cause.  Most of all, we are glad Grandma is a part of our lives.