2015- Week 11

 Another Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I almost forgot to leave out the treats from the leprechauns.  Luckily I remembered at 5AM so that the kids didn't wake up disappointed.  Some of my friend's were complaining about moms like me who celebrate all the holidays like this- but to them I say this whole celebration took me less than 30 minutes to prepare- that included shopping for the little treats and putting out all of the footprints.  I have used the same footprints for years.  So there is very little prep involved.  I have also come to realize that your kids grow up at lightening speed.  They even change over night.  Making childhood special and magical and memorable doesn't take long, but it will stay with them forever.  So even when they are gone and that will be sooner than I like- they will have these memories to lean on and build upon and cherish forever.  

TRADITIONS BUILD FAMILIES!

 Ashtyn did a little photo shoot with her favorite person.  She adores this dog.  I do not regret for one second getting a dog.  That doesn't mean that I don't hate nearly every minute of owning one.  I am not an animal person in the least.  She drives me crazy always wanting to be right next to me, following me around, keeping me up all night, puking on my bed, getting into candy that she shouldn't, barking at every person that comes through our door- BUT- she is sweet, she is kind and loving and for the most part very obedient.  Mostly though she is a dog that brings my kids mounds of happiness.  They worship her.  They want her to love them the best- they take care of her and love her to death.  So it's worth all the hard things I have to endure.

 Here are a few more pics she took of her and Whitney.

 Ashtyn asked Nana and Papa to take her and Whitney to the temple this week.  They were happy to obliged.  When they got back they asked Ashtyn to take a picture of them for our their tree wall at their house.  Tom was being crazy and silly.  

 Sharon hated this picture but I thought it was tender.

 My March date with Jeff was to go to the temple.  We actually ended up doing an endowment session because I have family names that needed to be done.  I love the temple and I love it even more with my hot hubby!  Afterwards we went to In N Out for dinner.

 Our family filled out NCAA brackets this year- well except for Ethan who had zero interest.  Here is my bracket and it is doing surprisingly well. 

2015- Week 10

 This week Whitney competed in the Bear Country Invitational at Utah State University.  We got a hotel room and stayed the weekend.  Whitney took 5th place in her bar routine and 5th place in all around.  It was a really fun weekend.

 Her score on bars.

 Waiting for her turn on the vault.

 Her score on vault.

 Jeff and the girls went to the Logan temple to do baptisms.

 I have always loved Logan.  There is so much history there and so many cool old homes to see.

 The kids loved swimming in the pool at the hotel.

On our way home we stopped to take pictures in front of the Brigham City Temple.  These are all Ashtyn's artistry.

My dad came to stay with us this week.  We haven't seen him in a few years.  I love my dad.  He is a hard person to love.  He can be stubborn, rude, inconsiderate, critical and obnoxious- but he can also be kind and loving and helpful and knowledgeable and spiritual and a whole bunch of other things.  He has taught me to look for the good in people.  There can be people in our lives like my dad that don't act or speak the way we think they should.  They have gruff exteriors that make it hard to see the real goodness inside of them.  They show love differently then you expect- but they do show it.  My dad shows love by doing things for you.  He is super smart and he knows how to fix anything.  He is a whiz at electrical work, computer work, home building work, car repair, and much more.  When he visits me he is always looking for something he can do for me to improve my home, computer, car etc.  He has poured a lot of money into projects for me that I never asked him to do- he just does them because that's how he shows love.  He can drive me crazy sometimes, but he means well.  He tries hard.  He is different from what you expect a dad to be and I have learned to love and accept that about him.  I wish everyone could have someone like that in there life to teach them patience, unconditional love and tolerance.  I wouldn't change him for the world.  

I am grateful he is my dad.

In other family matters I found out this week that Jeff and I are 6th cousins 1X removed.  His 5th great grandfather and my 6th great grandfather on our dad's sides are the same person.  Andrew Eccles is our common ancestor.  The kids thought this was disgusting that we married our own cousin- ha ha.  Gotta love family history work- you never know what you will discover!