Fun Weekend

Don and Jill's kids had their Spring Break the last weekend of March.  They only got Friday, Monday, and Tuesday off so they decided to come play with us Friday night and Saturday.  My kids were so excited to have their cousins spend the night! Don and Dennis went to the legacy to get a work out in while Jill and I visited and the kids played.  The next day, Dennis and Don went back to the legacy for a long swim and when they came back they decided to take the kids swimming too.  Even Eli went and LOVED it! Jill and I went window shopping and out to lunch.  Then David and Carolyn came over and we all followed them to the model home of the house they are going to be building.  Don and Jill went home from there and then I went to the Women's Conference with Mom and out to the Olive Garden afterwards.  The Conference was absolutely amazing and I was truly touched with the Spirit testifying of the importance of womanhood!!

19 years!

I really can't believe that we have been married for 19 years! It really has flown by (at least for me;) I love this man more than I can ever express and I know Heavenly Father sent him to me at the absolute perfect time in my life.  I always wanted to marry someone who loved Heavenly Father and all people and I found that in Mr. Dennis Ralph.  He inspires me, helps me, and just loves me the way I am which makes me adore him.  I love that he puts the Lord first in his life and I also love the way he loves our children.  We are SO not perfect but we ARE perfect for each other!! (oh and I usually don't put pictures of us kissing in print but I wanted to have at least one for my book;)

Cookie Cakes

Chelsea (David and Carolyn's oldest daughter) was so cute to make these huge cookies for Brad, Whitney, and Reagan for their birthdays.  Brad LOVED his and ate most of it himself (which is surprising because he's not one for sweets normally). I think he felt special and enjoyed this cookie cake:)

Longer Hair

Ava has been growing her hair our since we went extremely short on our last hair cut.  I love it short but she wants to be a princess and all her friends have long hair.  Her hair seems to grow very slow but we can finally put it into piggies so she's a happy girl.

Broken Hand

I'm not so sure this boy should play basketball anymore! Last year it was his ankle and this year it's his hand.  He broke the ring finger bone in his right hand (good thing he's a lefty). He chose a purple cast the for the first 4 weeks and then a lime green for the last 4 weeks and he just took off the black brace that he had to wear for 2 weeks for support. Crazy!

Pipster

How can anyone look at this precious face and think he's ugly?  Grandma Merrill thinks Pip is a homely pup but we love his quirky looks. They match his quirky personality.  Today, Rachel pointed out that he has a Mohawk going all the way down his back with the hair on his sides laying down flat.  He is a trouble-maker and so naughty when he gets outside without a leash. He's hyper and loves to wrestle and play. And you CANNOT pet this dog. He still play bites constantly when you try to pet him BUT he is lovable and gentle with Eli and is so smart.  He almost plays soccer with the kids, loves to play fetch, and will stand on his hind legs and keep a balloon in the air with his front paws and nose.  So calm, no but a lot of fun and energy, Yes!

Our Model

Seattle Talent announced they were coming to Salt Lake again this year and Jake loves the idea of being a t.v. star.  So I told him we would take him to listen to what they had to say. He had to read a part in front of one of the agents and sure enough we got a call later that night that they wanted Jake to come back the next day (Sunday). I've never wanted any of my children to get into acting because all childhood stars end up a mess. They told us at that first meeting that we would have to go to Seattle and L.A. a few times each year to train and meet agents so that pretty much did us in. Whew!! But I am so glad we took Jake and was so surprised to see him so confident. I hope he can find something he's passionate about that we can afford to support;)