Mandy’s “Spa”cial Birthday Party

For her 8th birthday Mandy wanted to have a spa party and do manicures, pedicures and facials.

They did a yogurt face mask:

Soaked their feet and did pedicures.

Then buffed and cleaned their nails and painted them!

While they did all this they had special treats served to them, including strawberry smoothies!

And then of course there were presents!

Mandy loved it!

Family Portraits

I love getting a new family picture every year to put up above my piano.  It sits right across from my favorite spot on the couch.  Each time I look up at it, I am reminded of how much our children are growing and how grateful I am for Nathan, Dallin, Mandy, and Layton.  I can’t wait to take a new picture this year with Lily in it.

Thanksgiving 2013

Because we were not having a traditional Thanksgiving meal at lunch time like we normally do with extended family, we decided to have our own special Thanksgiving lunch.  Cajun turkey breast, roasted vegetables, homemade cranberry sauce, wild rice broccoli and mushroom casserole, green beans, and orange slices.  It was super yummy!

We have so much to be grateful for.  Elder Wirthlin said, “Gratitude turns a meal into a feast and drudgery into delight. It softens our grief and heightens our pleasure. It turns the simple and common into the memorable and transcendent. It forges bonds of love and fosters loyalty and admiration.”  I feel my greatest moments of love and joy when surrounded by my little family.  They make me beyond grateful to be a mother and wife.

So Tired

It is unusual for Dallin to ever take a nap.  But after a hard day of baseball, we found him passed out on the floor.  Baseball in the heat will take it right out of you!

No Training Wheels

Layton can’t stand to be the “little kid”, he wants to do everything that Dallin and Mandy do.  So it comes as no surprise that he is our youngest to learn to ride a bike with no training wheels.  He’s not perfect at it and he gets better all the time.