Our Forever Family

Day 2 We were welcomed by thes e lovely creatures when we arrived Wednesday night. The animals that my dad shot in Africa. They were great conversational pieces! The Gemsbuck, Kudu and Warthog. There are 2 more on their way. My mom was willing to let the animals be a part of their home until my dad builds a "man cave" to put them in. She is hoping it is sooner than later!! Lovely place for the warthog I think!! Some people walked in and didn't even notice the warthog. It must blend in well! Family started showing up and didn't stop all day until that night. Heather came over with her kids. Then Alise's family, then Grandpa Floyd and Janie, Colby and Tyson's family and then Seth joined us at the end when he got off work. The girls LOVED riding horses. You couldn't get any of the boys on, but the girls were in heaven!! Grandpa was always so good and took the girls whenever they wanted to go. I am still nervous on them after being bucked off in h...

DAY 1 We had such a great time in Washington visiting family for the 4th of July weekend. We left Wednesday morning. The drive seemed VERY long. Our DVD player is jammed, so I went to the library before we left and got some books on CD for the kids. We listened to 3 1/2 hours of Junie B. Jones, First Grader both ways. Melanie was really in to them. The other ones weren't great hits and so they didn't last long in the player! We also jammed out to Taylor Swift. My girls are already in to music! It was good ole fashion traveling! Thursday morning we helped my mom pick her raspberries. With such a cool summer, the raspberries did great this year. Don't they look delicious? Yum!! We went and visited G & G McGary. The kids loved the endless candy bowl and toys downstairs. Then we headed over to David's sister, Melissa's house. I always forget to take pictures while we are there. The kids LOVED to swim in the pool. It was very relaxing!! The wii came o...

Good Things to Come Click on this video to watch. I needed it today. It's a great one!!

We celebrated 9 years together Wednesday. Has it really been that long? That seems like a big number! I don't know about David, but I remember when we were first married I thought I, me, myself knew everything. I was ALWAYS right. My way was the only way. HA! Well, then there came a time when I wondered if I knew anything! David knew everything, was the expert at EVERYTHING and I felt like I didn't measure up as a wife and mom. And now I have come to realize and accept that I don't know EVERYTHING, but I do know SOMETHING. I am not perfect, and neither is my spouse. We are both learning and growing together. He still will say I think I am always right (which sometimes I am). The stubbornness comes out in me! I can't help that I guess. But I have learned in some ways to back off. Not let the little things brew. The biggest thing David has taught me is how to communicate. He still doesn't think I am great, but I am better than I was 9 years ago! We c...

Continuing with following our family summer calendar outings that we planned a couple months ago, our first outing being temple square, we decided to go to the Salt Lake library and Liberty Park, both in downtown Salt Lake City. We went to the library first. Finally after circling the block 4 times, I found the underground parking entrance. Have I mentioned before how I hate downtown parking? The reason we went to the library in Salt Lake City and not just the one next to our house was I had heard how cool this library was! And it didn't disappoint. I forgot a stroller so I carried Jenna in her infant car seat, diaper bag over one arm and needing to capture every moment, the camera bag on the same shoulder. When we walked in Melanie said, "this isn't a library!" It really looked like a museum! I heard how cool and fun the elevators were. All glass so you could see everything! We had to try it! And it was cool! Cameron didn't think so much! He held on ...

Conversation between Cameron and Melanie yesterday: Background-Neighbor girls come over with their dog (a chihuahua) and Cameron is scared around it. It's a hyper dog! Cameron- That dog has to go home! Melanie- Cameron you are just a scare-d cat! Cameron- Melanie, Dad said when he is gone that I am the man of the house! And that dog needs to leave! Melanie- You are not a man! You are a boy! Cameron- I am 1/2 man and 1/2 boy! This kept me laughing all day! Had to post it to remember!

Sunday was a fun and busy day for us! Alyssa's birthday fell on Father's Day this year. We are so glad Alyssa is in our home. She makes our home full of laughter and spunk!! She is such a ham and we LOVE her cheesy smile!! She has such a fun personality and I love to see her developing in to such a cute little girl. David got a little spoiled for Father's Day. He took me out for some delicious Sushi on Saturday. Out of my comfort zone, but I let him pick and so he jumped on the chance to get me to eat raw fish!! When I looked at the menu it looked all foreign to me. I let David order. I liked mine better than his choice. It was nice to walk out of the restaurant not totally stuffed like usual though since sushi is so light. We went over to Costco since we had a little time. They were selling some outdoor gear and really nice down sleeping bags for +0 degree weather. They were 60% off of what they sell at other retail stores. David will be going on lots more ca...