Valerie's first Homecoming dance!!!

ok, so I'm a week late on this....we had too many things that happened last weekend to post them all, so I'm finally getting around to posting a very important day in Valerie's life.....her first homecoming dance!!! It started 2 weeks before when us girls (bunny, cat, val and I) went to shop for that "perfect" dress. I took some time off during the day from work....what a blast! We went to 3 different places and ended up buy the dress she found at the first place "Modest by Design"....and can I just say to all you girls and moms out there.....there are choices for beautiful MODEST dresses!! I loved this place's slogan...."clothes your father would approve of".....she looked like an absolute princess in this dress as you can see in the pics!

So back to the dance day, (Oct 17,2009). She and Justus went on a day date with her bro michael and his wife bunny...they went to the Gateway Mall and saw the movie Stepfather. They had a great time there...Then it was time to get ready for the big dance.....Let's just say we came home with a day of shopping with the little ones and Cat, and there was Justus's family sitting outside in front of the house....I guess they had been wait for an hour to take pics.....(hey, it takes time to get ready for a dance right???? lol) So I went in and Bunny was still doing her hair. When she walked out, I got tears in my eyes.... Icouldn't believe that was my daugher......wasn't she like 2 yesterday??? Now she was about ready to go to a dance!!! I can still remember my first dance like it was yesterday!!! So as you can see we took tons of pics, and sent them on thier way....it was an awesome night...dinner at stanza's a nice restaurant in tooele, then to the dance.....It was fun to hear the stories when they got home....then the next day they went to church in their attire....they make such a cute couple!!! I love these days with my kids!!! Enjoy every minute of every stage (yes even the terrible 2's)....they don't listen to you and grow up right under your feet!!! Love you Valerie!!!

Tyler and Jenn are engaged!!!!!!!

Sunday October 18, 2009



Our oldest son Tyler proposed to the love of his life tonight! He went shopping earlier this week for that perfect ring and found it. He brought it up to my work, and we were all amazed! He had done this all on his own! IT is beautiful! (see pic) So, anyway, he kicked us out of the house after church, so we all went to my sister's house. (well thad and I went on a date....I know....not a good Sunday activity, but we had a good time...minus the incredibly dumb movie we watched....don't go see Zombieland...sorry honey...I hated that movie!!) ok...sorry back to the important stuff...Tyler made a spaghetti dinner for Jenn. They then went to temple square. It has been one of their fav places to go....they were able to view the movie that the sister missionaries were showing...together forever. (perfect for the occasion!) They also went and viewed the beautiful Christus.....then for the important stuff......They went and sat in front of the fountain......Jenn said Tyler started talking really weird....like the tone of his voice....so she knew what was going on....she buried her head in his shoulder.....He asked her if she knew how much he loved her....then he slipped down on his knee and grabbed the ring out of his pocket and asked her to marry him!!!! .....and the answer was ......drum roll please.....the answer was........you guessed it .....YES!!!!!!



They came home and we all congratulated them and hugged them....what a fun time for us! the girls were screaming...I tried to get some good pics but they didn't cooperate!!! Tyler and Jenn did though......aren't they the cutest couple???? WE are so excited to have her in our fam....she is amazing!!! They are thinking about a March wedding in the Salt Lake Temple! We love you Tyler and Jenn!!!!

Jackson's 2nd Birthday!!!!

So yesterday, October 3, 2009, our youngest Jackson turned 2 years old!!!! It seems like yesterday he was just born!!! We had so much fun yesterday. We went to Wheeler Farm ,thus the farm theme! We have never been there. It was so much fun for both the little ones and the older ones...well most of them....My nieces Becca and Carissa really wanted to be somewhere else, but they were such good sports staying and helping us celebrate the big day! We got to go on a wagon ride, milk the cows, feed the ducks see cute animals, go through a hay maze and pick out pumpkins! Holland LOVED milking the cows! She kept standing back in line to get another turn! Jackson loved it too..everytime he saw an animal, he would say "moo or quack" or whatever the animal said. After the farm festivites grandma went and got us chicken and salad to eat yummy!!! We had puppets that my good friend Kristy let us borrow, and we sang Old McDonald. We play duck duck goose, and the funniest part of that is seeing Michael our 6'8" son "slide" into his spot before the "goose" touched him....it was a crack up!!! Jackson had fun with balloons and bubbles and just running free! WE then sang happy birthday to him and he made a wish and blew out his 2 candles (with a little help from all of us!) I was pretty proud of the cake I made...for all of you creative cake makers, this is not something too great to look at, but for me it was a huge accomplishment!!! :) It was a barn and sheep, pigs, and chicks...I got the idea off the internet! By the time we were done, it was dark, so we loaded in to go back to the house to open presents....he got so many cute things including tool set, books, bath crayons, a letter magnet to put on the fridge, a farm set, farm animals, a big chunky puzzle, a lace up animal set.....lots of fun things for such a cute little boy!!! I wanted to list some things I love about Jackson!

1. his kisses and hugs

2. his cute smile!

3. his blue eyes (reminds me of my daddy's)

4. the way he talks out of the side of his mouth

5. his boundless energy (unless it is 2:00 a.m. and I'm trying to get sleep!!)

6. the way he runs to me and says mommy when I come home from work!

7. how he hugs and kisses holland

8. how he says all our names

9. how he says his abc's

10. when he cuddles up to me at night

11. the way he folds his arms and says prayers

12. the way he brushes his teeth...so cute

13. when he gets me books in bed to read to him before we go to sleep.

14. he is such a great gift God has given me....one of His precious elect children....I'm honored to be his mom!!!!

Thanks Jackson for coming to our family! We love you!!