Happy Birthday, Dad and Grandpa!

This is a picture of my Dad on the left, if you don't know him he is a pretty awesome guy. He married my mom when I was 2 and adopted me and later I was sealed to him when my mom and him went through the temple. I guess he's the only dad I've ever known so he is my 'real dad', but honestly, if no one told me I probably would have never known. He has always been a really great dad, I never felt like I was treated any differently, well, except that I was the oldest so the difference in the amount of chores I did and Kaitlin does now, well, no comment. Ha! Ha! Anyways, I just wanted to thank you dad for taking on me and mom, I know it was more than you bargained for, but you are an awesome Dad and Grandpa to my kids, we love you so much! Happy Birthday!

Swimming Lessons

Summer has officially started when swimming lessons start!

Today, I was able to go to swimming lessons and watch since I didn't have Tyler today, so it was a real treat to actually see what the girls were learning and accomplishing, even though they think they can already swim! LOL!

This is a pic of Felicity and Jocelyn blowing bubbles and kicking.

This is a pic of all the kids standing in line and Felicity jumping in the water to the lifeguard, everyone got their turn except for those kids that did not want to, I was so proud my girls are so brave!

This is the best part! The teacher asked if anyone wanted to jump off the diving board and if they did to get in one line and those who didn't to get in the other line. My girls went in the diving board line without hesitation! I remember being freakin' scared to jump off the diving board when I was younger and I only did it after my mom threatened to take away my new swimming suit if I didn't do it! It was addicting after that, I guess, that is probably why I was a lifeguard in high school. By the way, that was one of the best jobs ever, I could get up, get a swimming suit on, grab a towel, sunglasses, and sunblock and it was off to work with no makeup. I also got to go to work with all my friends and eat snowcones and nachos all day! Awesome!

This is a picture of brave little Felicity, I just smiled and waved and off she went! I love that little girl, and I'll tell you why. She is always a little worried about the future, at least it seems that way when she asks questions. She asked Breton the other day, "Dad, who am I going to marry?" Seriously. He said, "I don't know, but you shouldn't worry about that right now anyways it will be a long time before that happens, hopefully". Then Felicity says, "Well, I can't get married yet, because I don't even know how to cook anything so will you tell mom that she needs to teach me?" I don't know where that came from, but I have been inviting them to help me in the kitchen a little more since then! She is so cute!

This is Jocelyn attempting to jump off the diving board, before she jumped in she told the lifeguard where she was going to jump and to come a little closer so that she would be sure to catch her. After swimming lessons were over and we were getting in the car both of the girls said, "Mom, we jumped off the diving board and we didn't drown and die! Yay!" I guess I have instilled some fear in them by being a little too honest sometimes, but at least they know the consequences of will happen if they jump in the water without mom around.

Kika Graduates 8th Grade!

This is my youngest little sis, Kaitlin or "Kika" as my kids call her.

This is my youngest little sis, with her neices and nephews. We are so happy to have you Kaitlin and are so proud of the beautiful young woman you are becoming! We just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done! Hope you come and stay with us sometime this summer when you are not so busy!

What we've been up to since I last blogged, hmm, alot!

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 25th Anniversay on April 14, 2009!

This is the most recent picture of our family. This is what my parents have started and accomplished. We love you mom and Dad and you guys are so awesome! We hope we can follow your example!

The girls joined Dance!

They started at Precision Dance in March and love it, mostly because they get to go somewhere without mom and get to play with all their friends.

This is a picture of Jocelyn and Felicity in their dance recital costumes, they were so adorable!

This is a picture of Jocelyn and Felicity outside right before their May Dance recital, I love having twin girls, it is so wonderful to have a sister!

Felicity and Jocelyn after dance practice showing Tyler and I some of their dance moves and giving us a little preview of what to expect at the upcoming dance recital. Tyler seemed very impressed and he is very sad when we have to drop them off at dance class.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Tyler turned 2, March 9, 2009!

We can't believe our baby boy is 2 and not a baby anymore! He is definitely turning into a little boy. He keeps us on our toes, he is so busy and curious and if his sisters' can do it, so can he. He is talking, potty-training (when mom wants to), saying prayers, and just growing up way too fast! I've really been able to enjoy my little boy, it seemed that when the twins were born there was 2, I was working full-time, Bret was in school full-time, and we were just always in a hurry and couldn't wait till they got to the next stage of childhood. Now that we've realized that there is good and bad about every stage we wanted to enjoy it a little more along the way with Tyler, but it still doesn't stop them from growing up so fast!

Happy Valentine's Day!

. . . Home is the place where we grumble the most, but are often treated the best.

I love this quote because it really helps me to realize that I need to appreciate my family more. This quote is definitely true in our home. I love being in my own home. I feel so blessed to be so loved. I also feel so blessed to have a family of my own to love and take care of.

I substituted for the sunbeam class this last Sunday in our ward and the kids that were in the class were so cute. My sister Kaitlin helped during Sunday school and Breton came in during Priesthood to help so it went really well. When it was time to take the kids to closing exercises I took them into the chapel and Breton went to change Tyler's diaper and this little girl, Mariah, in the class leaned over to me and asked, "was that man that came into our class your sweetie?" Of course I said, "Yes" and she just smiled really big, it was so cute. I think sometimes little things like that happen in our lives to bring a little smile to your face and remember how much we love the special people in our lives. Bret is definitely special. He is my best friend and is so good to me all the time, he is "my sweetie". He is so fun to be with and I feel so lucky that I know that I am married to the perfect person for me. Bret is not perfect, but I know one day he will be because he is always trying to do his best. He inspires me to be better everyday because I want to be better for him and our children. He is the best husband and father I could have ever imagined him to be. He is so helpful with everything and most of the time I don't even have to ask, he just offers. I know that when he comes home from work he is tired and probably doesn't feel like doing anything, but he is always willing and that makes me feel special. I just want him to know how awesome he is! Happy Valentine's Day!

These are my other "little sweeties!". I feel so blessed to be able to have children and even more blessed that they are happy, healthy, and just so darn cute! I hope that I can show them more often how much they are loved and wanted in our home. Happy Valentine's Day!

New Year's Resolutions 2009

"Now matter what happens in the past, the future is spotless."

I feel like this is a good quote to start off the new year with and to carry through the whole year. How many times do we start new year's resolutions and never finish them because we mess up one time and think we've failed? Well, this quote just says what we all need to hear, just because we mess up doesn't mean we can't start over again and again. Looking back on this past year I feel like I have accomplished a lot or at least a lot more than I had thought I had. I know there is much more that I want to do, but looking back on a whole year I really did a lot of things that I wanted and had been meaning to do. So, I thought I would write about my new year's resolutions for this year. I was reading the January 2009 visiting teaching message, 'Stand Strong and Immovable in Faith' and I thought it was just an awesome message to start off the new year because it pretty much listed what our goals should be if we are not already doing them. So I have incorporated some of those goals into my goals for me and our family this year. . .

1. Be a positive, happy person most of the time.

We all have our days, but I have realized again and again that I have a pretty awesome life. I have a wonderful, loving, helpful, and dependable husband, 3 healthy, beautiful children, and that's just the start. I have no reason to complain or be negative so I've decided to be more positive. I know that when I am happy and positive it doesn't matter what situation I'm faced with as a wife, mother, or nurse I can just handle it so much better when I am positive.

2. Love Myself.

I know that sounds self-absorbed, but how can you love anyone else if you don't take care of or love yourself? I want to be better about helping me and my family eat a little healthier. I want to continue to work out at least 2-3 days a week because I feel better and I think that makes me want to look better. I also need to do the things that I shouldn't go without on a daily basis: Reading my scriptures and saying my personal prayers so I can have that spiritual strength I need to be better each day.

3. Live like Dave Ramsey.

I don't know if you know who he is, but he teaches some very important principles to live by financially and he's proven it. Bret and I have been working on his steps and it feels really good to reach some of our goals and be comfortable in our finances, but we can always be better!

4. Live principles of self-reliance and provident living.

This is one that I took from the Ensign, but it is something our family has been working on this past year and that I'm getting better at with experience. I've learned how to 'can' all kinds of things, thanks to my mom and mother-in-law. It is actually easier than I had imagined and it can be kind of fun, especially when doing it with your family and friends. It feels even better when you have your cupboards full of things you did yourself and are working toward a year-supply for your family. You never know when you might need it.

This is a picture of my sister-in-law, Joni, me, and her sister, Cassie after a long day of canning chicken. We started at 8:30am and finished at about 8:30pm. The jars of chicken you see are the fruit of our labors! "Whew! I don't think we will be doing that again for a while!"

5. Be worthy and worship in His temples.

When Bret and I were first married our goal was to go to the temple once a month, which we were lucky enough to be able to do until I was pregnant with our twins. We just couldn't seem to stick to our goal of once a month for various reasons. Since then we realized how important those temple trips were to strengthening our marriage and our family as a whole. We have made a new goal which we have been doing and hope to continue to stick with this year. We will both hold and be worthy to hold a temple recommend. We will also go once every other month or more if possible this year. There is so much to learn in the temple and the more often you go, the more knowledge you gain, and the more we will be prepared for our own Gila Valley Temple. We are so excited that it will be so close, so maybe we can go more often!