The Poor Man’s Vacation

Kent and I took the kids camping at Jordanelle Reservoir over Labor Day weekend.  It was so nice to escape the day-to-day grind. 

On Saturday we took grandpa’s boat out for wake boarding and water skiing.  We were lucky to have some of Kent’s family join us for the water activities.

Here is Kent wakeboarding.  He is so fun to watch because he loves the water.

Ady spent several hours playing in the sand on the beach and was covered in mud from head to toe.

So was her brother and cousin Ben.

Grandpa was nice and went REALLY slow while Ady was in the tubes because she hates to go fast.

Ben got bored and laid down.  Can you see his head?  Ethan decided he would try to surf in the tube.

Sunday we went to Cascade Springs.

The best part of going to the Springs was the air conditioned drive in the car!

After the springs we came back to camp and roasted hot dogs and ate in the shade.

Then we took the kids on a walk and taught them how to skip rocks.

And some of us even climbed rocks.

Each night we roasted mallows.  Treven made several s’mores for me and insisted I eat them.  When he wasn’t looking I would throw some of the s’mores into the fire!

Ady found her way into my sleeping bag one night.  She helped to keep me warm and toasty.  I am definitely no sleeping beauty!

 

Kent was a very happy camper.

I would say our first camping experience as a family was a success.  We didn’t burn down the forest and we only ran to the store 3 times for items we forgot!

My Ady Girl

(Ethan, Trev, Zach, Nathan, Ady, and Ben)

My sweet Ady is completely surround by boy cousins.  I sometimes wonder how she holds her own against this rambunctious group.  And then I remember how much these boys love Ady.  They are kind to her and make sure she is always included in the fun.  Nathan and Ady are especially close.    

Ady pushing Nathan on the swings.

I never lived close to my cousins so at times like these I look at my children and pray they are making life-long memories.  

A New Invention

Our 4th of July was fantastic.  Not because we went to a great neighborhood breakfast and parade.  Not because we met up with our good friends Jason and Emily (that was a blast).  Not because we had an amazing view of the fireworks.  No, our 4th of July was fantastic because we came up with a new invention.  This invention has not been patented yet so please don’t sell our idea. 

Ladies and Gents without further adieu,

The Corn Sword

 

This is not your ordinary everyday corn on the cob holders.  These are ergonomically designed as a 3 in 1 corn holder, tooth picker, and gum flosser.  It’s kid tested and mother approved.

Great Grandma Monson

This past weekend Kent’s grandma came to town for a family reunion.  Grandma Monson is 96 years old and always sports a pair of crazy glasses.  She also wears a pin that says “I heart Ken” in remembrance of her husband. In a lot of ways she reminds me of President Hinckley.  She is sharp and possesses a great sense of humor.  Trev and Ady were so excited to see great grandma.  Kent made a special appointment so we could have some one-on-one time with her. Grandma is a busy woman with 11 kids, 55 grandkids, and who knows how many great-grandkids.  It is sad to know there are so few left from Grandma’s generation.  I hope Trev and Ady will be able to remember this remarkable woman.

The Karate Stage

Trev is going through what I label the “karate” stage.  His imagination is full with superheroes, cops and robbers, and he has plenty of karate moves to fight his enemies.  He is six and I might want him to stay six forever.  I love that Trev wants to be a big tough man but is still a little boy who makes his way into my room every Saturday morning to cuddle.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed my silverware seemed to be in short supply.  I shrugged it off as needing to do the dishes again.  When the weekend came, I told the children they needed to clean their rooms.  Kent went to Trev’s room to help him and he discovered about four forks and four knives in Treven’s closet.  When questioned about the silverware, Trev’s reply was that he needed weapons to fight any bad guys that come into our house. 

I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of my six year old with a butter knife and fork in his hand scaring off an intruder!  But I’m glad to know he loves his family and wants to keep us safe.  What more could I ask for?!

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.