8 YEARS OLD

Lauren's Baptism

Lauren was baptized on Saturday, June 21st. This is the invitation I made on my computer. I took the photos on the Vernal Temple grounds. Her baptism was such a special day. Her cousins came out from Salt Lake City and friends from our ward came. Lauren played a piano solo, "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" she did such a wonderful job. Her dad baptized and confirmed her. We are so proud of her, she is such a kind, helpful girl with a beautiful, radiant spirit.

Sisters

Ever since Tess could talk she called her sister Lauren "Norlen". At Lauren's school program she kept on shouting out "Hi, Norlen!" I did not stop her because I thought it was sooo adorable. (I am sure not everyone thought it was). Well this past weekend Lauren, Tess and I went out to Salt Lake City with my friend Audra and her daughter. On the drive out Lauren decided to teach Tess how to say her name correctly. After many attempts she finally got it. Tess was so proud of herself, she kept on telling people that her sisters name was Lauren or Laaaauren as she says it now. I have to be honest, I was so sad when she learned how to say it correctly. I guess it's just another sign that she is growing up way too fast. This picture was taken at Lauren's school program. I love my two girls!

Pinewood Derby

It's not just about winning... It's about values, learning to do your best, improving yourself, spending quality time with a parent, teamwork and helping others. Whatever! The boys (dads) are all there to win. Well we (I mean Josh) won! FIRST PLACE! Not only did he win his den but he took first overall in his pack. It was a double elimination tournament and he won every race. Each boy also had to bring a cake that they (their moms) made and decorated. Josh (well, I) made an IPOD cake. It turned out pretty cool! It turned out to be a fun night.

World's worst blogger

Yeah, yeah, I really shouldn't post so often. But I just can't help myself. Honestly, I never should have started this darn blog, it is just one more thing I have to feel guilty about. So much has happened in the last two months including an 11-day road trip to California, our wedding anniversary, Tessa is potty-trained, Josh gearing up for junior golf, Lauren got a cute perm, Brian received an award from work, I got a new pink laptop and camera from my super nice hubby, and our puppy Boozer is officially on the "Bad Dog List".

Maybe I will fill you in on everything with a little more detail, or maybe not. For now I am just proud of myself for getting this much info onto my blog.

Happy Birthday Dad!

It has been two weeks since I posted this picture on my blog and I have been wanting to add some words to the photo but I have been so busy. But in this crazy, busy world we live in I feel like it is important to stop and pay tribute to those who deserve it, and my dad deserves it. My dad is the kind of person that is always thinking of and helping others. He is always helping his family; his parents, his sisters, his neighbors and his children, rarely thinking of his own needs. When we were little kids every holiday he told us that all he wanted were new socks and a toothbrush, so that's what we gave him for 18 years, (thoughtful isn't it?) Happy Birthday Dad. I may not live near you but you are always in my thoughts and prayers and I pray that you will be healthy and happy, because you deserve it. You are loved by so many!

ELVIS is in the building...

the Downtown Dodge building that is! We attended Lane's (Grandpa's) Grand Opening of his new business venture. Gary Showalter hired an Elvis Impersonator from Las Vegas to perform at the event. I am not a huge Elvis fan and my kids had never heard of him, but this guy was really good, he was quite the entertainer! Tess and Lauren had a great time, and Josh was listening to Elvis songs on the Sirius Radio station the next day. All in all it was a great Friday evening with good food, lots of people, and tons of fun! I added an Elvis song to my playlist "Burning Love", (Lauren picked it) if you want to listen, just click on it in my playlist.

The newest member of our family

Here he is, our own little "Boozer". I felt like we should introduce him since he was not in our family picture. He is a Miniature Schnauzer. We named him after Carlos Boozer on the Utah Jazz. We are big Utah Jazz fans in our home. Tess wanted to name him "Popcorn" or "Chalky Ba Ba". She still calls him those names sometimes. He is still a puppy and he is getting a little expensive with all of the things he is chewing up; headphones, shoes, RockBand cords, toys, chair legs, baskets. Regardless, he sure is fun to have around. And the poor guy has to put up with an energetic two year old tormenting him all day long. We sure are glad we added him to our family, he has changed our lives for the better. I almost forgot to mention that he is a brother to "King Louis" (Jeff and Stephanie's puppy). They are so adorable!

Introducing our new family blog!

Here we go... After seeing some of my friends great blogs, I wanted to start a blog for my own family, not knowing how or where to start, I gave up. This weekend my sister Shelley came out to Vernal with her three kids, and we decided to go for it, we both started our own blogs. We have been having so much fun making them. I think the kids had fun with their cousins too, but we really haven't been paying much attention to them. Just Kidding... we did feed them occasionally.

My inspiration for this blog...