Timpanogos Temple

Ethan and Chani want to get married in the Timpanogos Temple July 20th of this year. They also want to have their reception right across the Temple at the Amphitheater. It's an old, beautiful park with lots of room. So Jake, Ava, and I went with Ethan one afternoon to check out the park and of course we had to walk the Temple grounds. The daffodils were all in bloom and smelled absolutely delicious. There was only a handful of other people there because it was a Monday. Such a beautiful Spring day.

Curly Hair for a Day (April 2019)

Ava wanted to try having curly hair one day so she had me braid her hair in tiny braids all over her head and then slept in them. The next day she took them all out and she had beautifully crimped hair just the way she wanted it to look.

Ava with an admirer in the background

Her hair is getting so long! We need to trim up the ends.

Playing Tag is Dangerous (March 2019)

Eli was begging us to play tag with him one afternoon so Jake and I played with him. He is super fast and I can never outrun him but I give it a valiant effort. Well, we were playing and Jake and I took off around the kitchen counter with Eli barreling after us. He rounded the corner and slammed into the garbage cans. What a mess! He hurt his elbow but was right back up and at it in no time.

Color Festival (March 30, 2019)

Every year in Spanish Fork, the Hindu religion does a Color Festival (at least it's at the Krishna temple there). Hundreds of people go and dance and throw colored chalk or flour all over. I'm not exactly sure what they are celebrating or commemorating but people of all faiths go and have fun together. Ethan and Chani went this year and had a blast.

I had to get a couple of photos of these two and all their bright colors.

They had a great time!

Brad's final Woodworking Project (March 2019)

Brad took woodworking this Senior year. He actually went back to school a few days after he graduated and worked on it a few hours each day until he finished it. It's a beautiful Alder nightstand. He has it in his room and plans on passing it on to his children. He said he really enjoyed woodwork and thought maybe he would like to be a carpenter some day. I'm glad to hear of his ideas of what he would like to do for a living someday.

Graduation Dinner for Brad and Birthday Dinner for Jesse (March 2019)

I wanted Brad to know how proud we were of him for graduating from high school since it was such a struggle to go during his 10th and 11th years with his health. So I sent everyone a text or a call and had a ham dinner. Everyone was so sweet and pitched in. It was also Jesse's birthday so Rachel brought him a cake. (They had been in St.George with the girls for softball so Jesse had been staying with us. We took him bowling, and out to eat and bought him a little cake from "Nothing Bundt Cakes" and also some air cartridges for his airsoft gun.) I hope they both felt special and loved.

Jess getting ready to blow out his candles.

Mom and Dad enjoying the ham dinner and listening to all the chatter.

Dave, Dean, and Alisa

Tyson got such a kick out of Mom's story of the "cat in the bag". He was dying. We all get such a kick out of Mom telling her stories of how she and Dad got engaged. 

Brad's class ring (March 2019)

Brad ordered his class ring back in January or early February and kept checking the mail for it. It finally came in March right around the time he heard from the district that he could graduate with a 24 credit diploma. So he is now 18 and graduated from high school. He is working with Dennis and will be talking with his Doctor about whether or not he can serve a mission. He is really hoping to so I hope he can. But if not, there are other acts of service he can help out with all of his life. He also wants to start college soon. He's just not sure where he wants to go. He said he would love to be on a Search and Rescue team so maybe he will look into that.

Crazy Kids! (February 2019)

I have no idea what possessed these kids to stick pillows down their pants but they laughed and laughed and had such a fun time together dancing and running through the house. We were all dying!

The mastermind behind the activity.

Ava had to follow big brother

Of course Eli couldn't be left out

Brad becomes an Adult (18 yrs old on Feb 26, 2019)

Brad turned 18 on the 26th and all he wanted was a Playstation so he and Dillan could play games together even though they live 30 miles apart. (our old Xbox died after 7 years). I made his favorite meal, pork lo mein, and his favorite cake, Texas sheet cake and we sang to him as well. He had a blast getting that Playstation set up and has enjoyed having it to link up with Dillan.

Cancun (February 2019)

Artistic Stone was given a free trip by Contempo Tile to go to Cancun with a bunch of other contractors. Darin said they would pay for me to go with Dennis so off we went. We had a blast together and did a couple of exersions this time. We went to see Chichen Itza and we also swam with dolphins (She absolutely loved Dennis). Dennis even gave me a few swimming lessons on our last day there. We walked along the beach and in the ocean a bit too. We stayed at an all inclusive resort called Unico and man, it was the most gorgeous friendliest staffed place we've stayed. Dennis thought they were a little too attentive since it seemed someone was always knocking on our door to see if we needed anything. I thought it was lovely.

Shuttle ride from the airport to the resort.

some of the lounge areas at the resort

such a nice room

They had a jacuzzi type tub out on the balcony.

Chichen Itza did not disappoint. We found out there is a huge sink hole underneath it and another building just like it inside but they haven't disturbed it because of the water underneath it all.

view from our balcony

front sitting area

the bridge leading out to the beach from the resort

miles and miles of beach and warm water

the pools and dining area (for companies to reserve)

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my hair frizzed the entire time with all the humidity

Dennis and his other girl on this trip. She loved him and wouldn't leave him until the trainer finally blew his whistle. It was so funny.

Obviously we both thought something was funny. She was one of the oldest dolphins there and so well trained. She pushed each of us through the water as we laid on a boogie board with just her nose. So powerful!

Emergency Room yet again! (Jan 2019)

My husband sometimes forgets he's not a 20 year old anymore. He went with the kids and Ethan and Chani to a trampoline/gymnastics place and they asked him if he could do a backflip. Of course he said he could and then landed on his head. They said he couldn't get up for quite a while and then couldn't move his neck when he got up. Well, we thought maybe it would go away but when it didn't by the second day we decided to take him to Instacare. When the staff at the Instacare heard what had happened they immediately called for an ambulance and wouldn't let us drive him to the hospital. They did a CT scan to make sure his neck wasn't fractured or anything else. He luckily escaped any serious broken bones but not the hospital fees and ambulance cost. I keep thinking, "If we could all just have one healthy year, we might actually get ahead in life." LOL

Jake goes to Sweethearts (Jan 2019)

Jake was asked to Sweethearts by a cute little girl. I think she's in some of his classes. I know he posted some pictures on his instagram page so I will have to see if I can get some to add on here. He had a great time and loves being with people and friends.

Jake and Ellie

Andrew, Ella, Isiah, Mariah, Jake, and Ellie

Being cool.

Homemade rolls (Jan 2019)

My boss gave me the best roll recipe. I tried cutting them out like cookies and folding them over like Dad use to back on the farm but they rose so much that they unfolded and became soft little pillows. The taste is amazing and I like the look of the pillows. Then I used the same recipe and looked up different orange roll recipes and combined a couple and I can not even tell you how tasty these were. (I even made a batch for Dad to take to the people he ministers to). 

Crazy Hair Day (Jan 2019)

My hair has grown out a lot and Ava girl wanted to "style" it. So she put in a bunch of pony tails and it was quite the sight. 

Our 11 year old Beehive (Jan 2019)

Ava girl was so excited when the Prophet announced that 11 year olds could go to the temple and join the YW and YM. She went right in to the Bishop and got her recommend and we tried to get into the Timpanogos Temple right away but every other youth had the same idea. It was always a line out the door and they had to turn people away when the wait was over 2 hours long. But, we eventually made it and she's been 3 times now. I love her enthusiasm!

Random photos by Jake 2018

I love this boy's spunk.

And his chocolate eyes.

My sweet Ava girl.

Or as her friends and cousins call her "Avacado" (Tyson Pace started the nickname and it stuck.)

My good looking Jake. He doesn't like to smile showing his teeth but he has a gorgeous smile either way.

I think his socks were a bit soggy but it made for a good picture.