Families Are Forever

Saturday I had the oppurtunity to attend a family sealing in the temple. It was the first one that I've ever been to and it was incredible to say the least. The spirit that I felt was amazing. To see this family link their hands together and receive this holy ordinance just overwhelmed me with emotion. They are a beautiful, wonderful family and I'm just so very happy for them. And I have been weepy off and on ever since. It was re-confirmation to me that as families we can be linked for eternity. Yes, we can be sealed to our spouses for eternity, however, it has reminded me that the parent/child linking is just as important and special. I know from the center of my core that I not only want to be with my husband for all eternity, I want my children, whom I love with every breath and heartbeat, to be linked to me for all eternity as well. Steve and I were sealed 3 years ago and now my goal is to be sealed to my children. My family means the world to me and I'm so greatful that Heavenly Father has given us a plan so that we can be together forever. :)

Looking Too Grownup For Mom

Dakota came home from a church activity last night, loosened his tie and plopped himself on the chair. I looked at him and thought to myself he looks way too grownup. He's my youngest and I'm not sure I'm ready for him to look so grownup. I love the expression on his face. He looks so serious and I'm not even sure what was on TV. It might have been a commercial. :)

A Ton of Fun and A Ton of Pics

Last week we went to Disneyland to meet up with my sister and her family. It was soooo much fun. We got there Wednesday morning and headed straight for California Adventure and spent the whole day there just the five of us. The very first ride we went on was the Tower of Terror. I can truthfully say that is the last time I ride that ride and that's all I have to say about that. :) Once my heart was back to beating at a normal rate, I let my family talk me into the California Screamer. I, infact, did scream the entire time with my eyes closed. I may or may not do that one again next time, we'll see. After dinner I went back to the hotel around 8:00 that night while the rest of the fam went to Disneyland to ride some of the bigger rides.

Thursday morning we got in line right as Disneyland opened and spent the whole day there. My sister and her family met up with us a few minutes after the park opened. We had so much fun and Missy's girls were quite the thrill seekers and went on all of the bigger rides. (Claire is 10 and Ava is 6) After spending the day riding rides and buying souvenirs we all had dinner downtown Disneyland at Tortilla Jo's after which Missy and her crew headed back to Oceanside where they were staying and we headed back over to Disneyland in time to see the fireworks.

The third and final day we met up with Missy and her family again in Oceanside to do some fun in the sun at the beach. Only there was no sun as you can see by the pictures. Very overcast and gray, however, that didn't stop us from having the fun part. :) For a late lunch we ate at a resturant at the end of the pier which was very cool. We then headed home later that day very exhausted and very happy.

Life is good!!

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school. Devynne's senior year, Dylan's junior year and Dakota's 7th grade year. I have mixed emotions about this. Usually I look forward to the kids being back in school. I like the routine of it. Family prayers in the morning, normal bedtimes, the kids having a structured, learning environment to go to each day, seminary and so on. This year a part of me still feels this way, however, the realization that they are growing up is upon me today. Not much longer and Devynne will be flying the coop and Dylan isn't too far behind her. It makes me a little sad. :(

It's also hard to believe that Cadie is now a sophomore (actual high school where she lives), Cody is in the 7th grade (official middle school for him)and Carson is now a 6th grader. Anyhoo, here's to a great school year for all of our kids.

The token "first day of school" pictures. :)

Just a Little Late

I realized today that I didn't blog about Cody's birthday. We didn't forget his birthday, I just didn't blog about it. Cody turned 13 on August 4th. We can't believe he's officially a teenager. Crazy I tell you. He's a great kid and we love him tons.

C-caring (extremely)
O-over the top about the Jazz
D-darn cute
E-extremely kind

M-middle child (like his dad)
A-animated
N-nutty sense of humor

Happy Birthday Cody. :)

Ahhhhh Satisfaction

I feel such a sense of satisfaction when my kids' bedrooms are clean. I just love it. I know it's crazy and it's such a little thing but I love when their rooms are clean. They have to clean their rooms and make their beds everyday (or they are supposed to anyway) but they never do it the way I do it. So I hit all their rooms today since my sister and her family are coming tomorrow for a short visit on their way to California. And I've also been looking for a colorful ceramic fruit bowl for the last couple of weeks and I found one! At Pier One on clearance. Yay! It really is the small things. :)

Dakota's

Dylan's

Devynne's

Colorful fruitbowl

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Steve made these scrumptious chocolate chip cookies and they are the best I've ever had. They have the right amount of chips and were baked to perfection. They are slightly chewy with a slight crisp at the edges. They were made from the simple, basic recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag and I'm not sure what he does differently from me but the kids and I agree that they are simply fantastic! Just look at them, they even look perfect. Yum-my!

**Correction, Steve just told me that he didn't use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag. He used his "twist" on the Betty Crocker recipe. He's our chef alright. :)

A Day of Golf

While some of us were vacationing in Cheyenne and experiencing EFY in Cedar City, Steve spent a day golfing with his friend Doug. One of the places they played was near St. George, Utah. I think the course was called Sky Mountain and while playing Steve took some pictures on his phone. They surprisingly turned out really well so I thought I would share them since the scenery was really beautiful. Here you go. :)

Dylan Goes to EFY

Dylan spent last week in Cedar City, Utah attending EFY for the 3rd year in a row. He had a great time and is still missing it. He took tons of pictures and so I snagged just a "few". He had really great classes and did the same service project that Devynne did went she went to Salt Lake (coloring mats for children). He met some new people and got to see some that he knows from the prior two years. Both Devynne and Dylan truly have wonderful experiences when they go and I can't wait for Dakota to be old enough so he can experience EFY as well. It had been almost two weeks since I had seen Dylan with my Wyoming trip overlapping his EFY trip so I'm very glad he's home. :)

By the way, the date on his camera is not right. :)