Lunch with some Old Friends

You know you have a good friend, if you can pick up where you left off, even if you haven't seen each other in a long time. This is how it was with my friends Melissa and Sarah when we went to lunch a few weeks ago. I missed Sarah's baby shower because it was the same day Tanner got baptized, so we did lunch before the baby would be born and really it was only a few days before it was born since he was born that next week. We ate at Olive Garden and chatted for I think it was almost three hours getting caught up since last time we got together was when Max went on his mission and he is now been home since May. It is so fun to have such great friends!! Until next time, but lets not make it so long next time.

Swimming Lessons

Tanner is in the black swim suit!


Bodie on the end and Brylee in the middle.

We thought October was a slower month and a good time to do swimming lessons for the kids. Tanner is in Level 2 and doing Great!! Brylee is in Preschool A/B class and doing Awesome! They love it, other then Tue/Thurs nights are pretty busy, we eat early, go to swim lessons, come home and get ready for bed!! Bodie and Brylee are in the same class and many of the days Brylee says "do we do swim lessons today," if I say yes, she gets all excited and jumps up and down and says "Yeah!! I get to see Bodie today!!" Then the entire time we are watching Tanner swim she askes like 10 times "when is it my turn, is it my turn yet?"

Conference at Bear Lake

It was another BEAUTIFUL year at Bear Lake during conference weekend this year. It is our last camping trip for the year and my most favorite time to go. The guys go shooting guns and hit golf balls into the lake and then go in the kayaks or snorkling to find them. The kids played football, hide & seek when it gets dark, and Brylee learned to do the kayak all by herself. I love the chilling and eating yummy food. I made carmel corn this year as I had been craving it, so thought it would be a good time to make it so I wouldn't eat it all everyone could help me eat it. Leslie and I took our beads and made a few bracelets until the wind kicked up, so we had to put it away. It was a smaller group this year; Darla & Curt, Leslie and her family, Eric and his family, Chuck, Leda & Tim, and us. We took Dylan with us this year and we all had a great time.

D is for Dinosaur

D is for....Dinosaur Park!!!





We did another field trip and went to the Dinosaur Park with the Wards and had a great time. We checked everything out, the kids played, we ate our packed lunch, and the kids played a little more. It was a fun time and I love being able to just by the little things we do teach Brylee. Her newest thing is she was given a watch by a cousin and has to wear it all the time, so I ask her what time it is all the time and she is doing pretty good. We love to play play dough and spell words is our newest informal way of doing preschool, and our art last week consisted of frosting sugar cookies. We sing the abc letter factory song all the time and she loves to draw and write her name. Stay tuned until our next kid adventure F is for.............

Best Birthday Gift Ever

Well so you know how a birthday is your day? I like my birthday and I like people to be nice to me that day and this year rather then me, it was not necessarily all about me on that day. We went out to dinner a couple of nights before to celebrate and that was good for me, because On my actual birthday Tanner got to be baptized. I can't believe he is 8, but he is and I am so proud of him that he decided to be baptized. With his birthday being in September and they usually do the baptism on the first of the following month and it was General Conference weekend I asked if we could do it the week before instead of the week after, and they said we could, so I was extra excited that it would be on my birthday. I could not have asked for a better birthday to have his baptism that day. We had a very nice baptism with Grandpa Ray doing the talk on Baptism and Grandma Bowen doing the talk on the Holy Ghost, the cousins sang "I Am A Child Of God" No practice, just thought it would be fun to have the kids sing a song. Tanner decided on the whole program and we sang "When I am Baptized" & "Love is Spoken Here" Aunt Jenna said an open prayer and Cousin Max said the closing prayer. Grandpa Bowen and Grandpa Ray were witnesses, and Bishop Snarr conducted. I held everything together good until the closing song, but I couldn't even sing I was so choked up with joy. We had many family and friends that we love share this with us and eat lunch after at our house as well. Grandma Great Miner even felt well enough to make it out, and bought him his scriptures. It was a GREAT Day! Later that night was the RS Broadcast and thanks to Ana we met up to go and went for ice cream afterward. I am so grateful for so many amazing friends and great family that made this day a special day for Tanner and our family. This is a birthday I won't ever forget and hope Tanner won't either.
I am soooo grateful for the Gospel, I don't know where I would be without it in my life, it has brought me peace, joy, happiness, and a knowledge that this life is more then just living. As we work hard, go through trials and hard times we can grow from them, do better, learn from them and become better because of them and after this test which may seem like forever we get to return to a better place with all the people we love. This same day a dear friend of mine passed away Diane Stanger. She was an amazing lady but now free from the pain she was in and trial of health problems she was faced with in this life. What an amazing example of what a person should be for me. Sad to hear this happen on my birthday, but I heard that when she passed the song "Nearer My God to Thee was playing" could not have been a better song to pass to the other side. We have a Loving Heavenly Father who is aware of each of us and loves us; an Amazing Brother Jesus Christ who knows and has felt all that we have felt so we are never alone because he always understands. We have the True Gospel today because an Amazing young boy, Joseph Smith, who had the faith to pray and then through God restored this gospel. I don't know how people live without The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, because I know I couldn't. I know I look forward, but not ready yet to see those I love who have passed and also meet face to face and give a big hug to my Older Brother and Savior, Jesus Christ!

ALL Nighter, well sort of.....

How did we do it when we were in college?!? I don't know, but I do remember getting a call at 9 or 10 at night and that was the start of the evening and then not getting home until the wee hours of the night. I can hardly stay awake after 10 now. Well I could hardly stay awake then either, many times I was asleep on someones couch whatever we were doing. hee hee
While Heidi was in town we decided to do a girls night start with dinner and then go to Diana's after for an all nighter. Well it was sort of an all nighter, I guess an all nighter for married girls with children. I think we headed home around 2, so that was good. We talked, ate, talked more, drank smoothies Kent made, Did our fingers and toes Thanks to Heidi's cute flower toes, talked more, and it was just a great time as always when we get together.
I look forward to next time.

Princesses

Brylee got invited to her friend Kaylee's Princess Party and she was soooo excited. Thanks to her talented Aunt Jenna who did this outfit for her daughter when they were little, so she dressed up as Cinderella and was the cutest little thing. I had to take a few shots of just her before I took her and then the other few girls were so darling all dressed up. Alexa, Kaylee, Brylee, & Reese. Breille came after I was pulling away, so I missed her in the picture. They had a fun princess party!!

Play Date with Lillian

I am so glad that Brylee has found a connection with my good friend Heidi's daughter. They will have sporadic play dates with her living in NYC and us here, but they were in town so we were able to get the girls together a few times to play. They both like the same things, so it was so fun watching them play together. We met at the park to feed the ducks with our stale bread. Then we continued by playing school at my house and had a tea party just in time for Tanner to come home from school to join in. Lots of playing with babies/doggies/etc.