Shelby turns 5!

Shelby wanted a Diamond Castle party. So I did what I could considering this Barbie movie is over 3 years old and they don't have Diamond Castle stuff anymore! So I made this cake...

Then we decorated mirrors (that's a big part of the movie)....
Shelby had her cousins Elayna and Brianna over, as well as Emily... They made Heart necklaces...

... we also potted flowers (I don't have a picture of that). Here is my cake again. I made this way easy Marshmallow fondant, and it was SO fun to do! This is my attempt at making a Diamond Castle cake! (Thank you Caitlyn.. Shelby's friend from Idaho... who gave Shelby this cake topper as a farewell gift!) Shelby loved it, and so did I!!! I love making cakes for birthdays, and now that I found this recipe... my imagination is having a party!!


These pictures upload in a very non-order way! But we also had little sandwiches, which I used a cookie cutter to cut the bread, cheese and bologna. None of the girls ever liked bologna sandwiches before, but they all ate them up! I guess if you cut everything out in flower shapes, then they are more fun to eat! It was a fun party.

Celebrating our Countries

My absolutely beautiful girls!!! What a blessed mother I am!

Hailey got on the table and dumped all the Parmesan cheese out. She had a great time playing in it!

So for Canada Day, we went down to Princess Island Park for the festivities. We enjoyed our time in the sun and with our cousins.. but were kinda disappointing in the lack of patriotism we felt. Oh, there were lots of flags and people out, but it just isn't the same as the USA. None the less, we are grateful to live in this free land and have all the freedoms that our America enjoys. We are truly blessed.
Hanging out with the Lee's listening to an awful performance on the stage! We just had fun laughing at her! (bad, I know!)

Because of the sorry July 1st we had, I did my best to make July 4th good. First of all, I was in tears the entire day, just thinking about being in Idaho Falls, and doing all the traditions that we did. So we tried to do them here. We put up the tent like we always do, brought out the mattresses, tv and fan. We had a Family Home Evening on America. We sang the anthem and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Then watched our movie. We attempted to sleep out there, but being in Canada is a little different than Idaho. When the sun set around 11pm, the temperature dropped, and we all froze. So we all came inside! :)

Inside our tent.. yes, I flew the flag that day too (on our porch). I also made a flag cake we had for dessert. Such a fun day!


And here is the clan. We are pretty much always together. It can be crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our 11 year Anniversary

This year I was in charge of our anniversary. So at the very last minute, I decided to take us south to Cardston and Waterton. These pictures are all out of order, oh well. First we went to the Temple and did sealings.. kinda just to remember the promises we made when we got married and remember the blessings that await us as we live our marriage and lives righteously. Then we headed to Waterton to camp. It was SOOO beautiful and refreshing and wonderful. I couldn't be happier to be there with the most amazing man. I am so blessed to have Chad as my eternal companion.

We hiked into this waterfall. On the way in, some hikers were coming out and said, "did you see the bear?" Ummm, no. We got scared for a minute and turned back for a short while, but decided to push on anyways. It was well worth it. Such a beautiful waterfall. We never did see the bear on that hike, but on the way out of the canyon, we drove by it!! Gotta love seeing bears in the wilderness!


And of course we couldn't pass up the chance to fish in the crystal clear river. He didn't catch anything, but it sure was nice to be out there!

Here's the picture of us in front of the Cardston Temple.

Emily's Birthday

Emily turned 7 this year! Crazy! We went to Grandmas for a family party. She was lead by a string to the backyard where she was surprised to find a bike! Thanks Grandmas for a wonderful party and gift!!


Daddy helping her learn and Riley watching! Go Emily Go!!

This is the only picture I have right now of her friend birthday party. All the other pictures are on my phone and I can't get them off right now, so we'll do a catch up later. But Emily wanted a Chef Party! It was so fun. I made all these aprons, and the kids made their hats. Then we each made our own pizzas, smoothies and cupcakes! It was so much fun! Her friends were Caleb, Loren, Sydney and Jocelyn.. and of course Shelby!!

The four cousins! Laying in Riley's bed watching a movie.

Hailey.. growing up so fast!

Don't forget the helmet! :)

New Piano - Mother's Day

Well, my wonderful mother gave me the family piano. I couldn't be more thrilled and happy. So many hours as a child I spent on this piano, and now it is in my home! I can't wait to teach my children how to play and see which one will love it as much as me!

For Mother's Day this year, Crystal and I decided that we would treat my mom to lunch (since she always treats us on our weekly Wednesday lunch get together) So we went really different and got East Indian Food. It was.. interesting. Not my favorite, but definitely good. We are so blessed to have my mom as our Mother. She is special and wonderful in so many ways, I couldn't begin to list them here. I'm so grateful that I am living so close to her and have her in my daily life. Love you Mom!!


This is Emilys school project that we made. She got to do some research on Zebras (the animal of her choice)! It was fun to create this together.

Such pretty girls I have sitting at the piano. Reminds me of when Crystal and I would sit and play all our duets, or sit and sing our favorite hymns.

Cub Cars to Easter

Here is little Miss Hailey looking so pretty in the blue dress.. just had to get a picture because I don't think she'll wear it again!


Mommy and all her princesses! Such sweet girls I have!

This is Riley's cub car that he and Chad created. I think it is totally awesome! Half American, half Canadian.. same as Riley! Too bad that it wasn't very fast.. kinda slow..kinda the last car slow! :(




Happy Easter!! We kinda forgot to color eggs until the last minute before Easter! So just before bedtime we were busting out some eggs! I don't know why Emily is on this kick of making funny faces in pictures! Oh well. Easter was wonderful. We had a big childrens party on Good Friday at the church, then on Saturday we had our own little easter egg hunt. Then on Sunday we went over to my moms for a yummy dinner and a big easter egg hunt over in the park! It was all so fun and wonderful to be with family again on this beautiful holiday.

Just had to throw these pictures in. It's not very often I get to dress up. Chad took me on a date this night. We went to Swiss Chalet for dinner. I remember going as a little kid, and of course Chad never has been, so it was fun and nice. Gotta love going on dates!

Our Trip to Utah!

Well, we surprised our children on Saturday night and took them to Utah. They had no idea! We sat them down and asked them what they would like to do for Spring break and Emily said Swimming, and we said, sure! Riley said, "go to Utah" and we said.. "Hmm, okay! Let's go!" And they all flipped out! We packed them into the car and off we went! We drove to Great Falls that night, and the next day we headed to Idaho Falls!! As we drove into the city, I burst into tears. I knew that we shouldn't have come here. It felt like coming home. Our first stop was with the Hydes! Chad and Derek sat down and picked up right where they left off... playing Halo!

Darcie had a wonderful lunch prepared for us! It was so nice to talk and catch up. We love this family!

The girls played and played, then fought, then played some more! Just like old times!




After our visit with the Hydes, we headed over to the Droegemuellers for dinner! It was so wonderful to see our other best friends! And again, everyone got right into playing! Our friend Emma and Heather Douglass came to see us too! It was so much fun!


Then my darling Ausia came over to see us. She brought her little baby Emma! What a sweet little baby.



Me and Sarah, my dear friend. Thank you for the yummy food and wonderful visit! We love you all!

Then next day we headed to Utah. We decided to stop in Brigham City for some lunch. But we took the wrong exit and got the scenic tour of the city. We laughed so hard when we saw this sign. "Welcome to Brigham Gateway to the World's Greatest Wild Bird Refuge".. not the home of it, but the gateway! "keep on driving and at some point, you'll get there!"

Riley and Kole, best buds forever!

We went to the Dinasaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was so much fun, and the kids loved it! They had this wonderful table full of sand and water that the kids loved to play in!




We had to get a picture infront of the shark. When Riley turned one, we took him here for his birthday and got some video of it. So, 8 years later we come back! It was great!

Say Cheese Chad and Mike!

Poor baby girl. She had such a rough trip. She hardly got naps, and bedtime was at midnight everynight. Everytime we got in the car after that first day, she conked!

Riley and Atticus. Riley, as usual is so good with his little cousins. They had fun in the hallway of our hotel!


Emily and Sydnee. They played hard and good all week. There were occasional melt downs. It's funny how two girls can be so similar!

Emily and Matty. Matty was a fun little one to play with! We all love her!

Morning pictures, not so great. But thanks Papa Dean for letting us come and invade your house! We love you!!

Chad, Kolby and nephew Jordan! These three had much fun together. We love you guys too!

Me and Marcie, as beautiful as ever. How nice to have a sister like her. One who understands the fun that comes with being a Dean wife and mother!! Love you!!

And finally, as we headed home, we couldn't not stop in Ogden at Grandma's grave. We were there on April 3, three years to the day of when she passed away. Life is just not the same without you Mama Dean! How we love and miss you!

So all in all, our trip was fun and wonderful! We were able to see and visit with many people that we love and miss. It is sad to live away from your family and best friends, but we find much comfort in knowing we are where the Lord wants us to be. Perhaps the greatest part of the whole trip was to come home to Calgary, and all of us actually feel like we are home. :)