Saturday, July 18, 2009

Just Hanging Out



Well, this is the result of our Dean Girl Spa day. My beautiful Emily looked SO cute with her hair all curled. I hope that she lets me curl it again!




My beauty queen, always posing for a picture.




And here we are, just sitting on the couch relaxing. Gotta love having girls!






And of course, we can't leave out the handsome Riley! He was busy playing his Lego Star Wars while we were doing hair! (smart boy)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The 4th of July and Some Summer Fun!

So my Dad came down for the week to visit. It was so fun to see him. We had fun just hanging out, swimming in our little pool and getting ready for the 4th.

Shelby took to Grandpa right away and didn't even play shy, which was really nice. Here they were just playing and being silly and reading all the library books that we got!

We went down by the river to have lunch and feed the ducks. There were hundreds of ducks and geese and they took the bread right out of our hands! It was fun, and lunch was really yummy too!


Our family tradition is to sleep out in the tent on the night of the 3rd before July 4th. And my husband, of course, does not do ANYTHING half way. So we had the matteresses from our beds, and the TV and DVD player. We watch a movie then attempt to go to sleep with all the many fireworks going off till 1 in the morning! (I actually got kicked out of bed and couldn't sleep, so I went inside to my own bed!) You can tell that the kids love this tradition and how happy they were by that top picture of Riley kissing Emily... that would NEVER happen on just any old day! It is so fun. Then in the morning we get up and go to the parade, come home and take a nap, then off to the river to sit till the fireworks! This year Grandpa went down to the river early to save our spot - more like fight off everyone who wants to steal our spot! Then we go down about 5 and cook hot dogs, eat candy and just people watch! The fireworks are the best EVER, and totally worth waiting there for 5 hours! It was great fun this year having Grandpa with us. We even got to meet Jordans girlfriend Thresia! What a fun 4th of July!


Chaddy loves to set off fireworks. We did our own the night before the 4th. Shelby was scared at first, but by the end she loved them. They loved to hold the sparklers, and this one firework called a snake. But it was very fun!



It took some convincing, but finally the girls were able to hold the sparklers and know that they wouldn't get hurt. I was the same way too!


So on the 4th down by the river they had a little carnival thing. There was facepainting, but it was 5 bucks a face, um, no thank you. But the kids wanted to have their face painted. So on Monday I bought some face paints. This was our first attempt. Since then, I have tigers running around my house... and of course the neighbours want to have their face painted, so, it's a whole coven of tigers around here!!



So Emily's birthday was on June 24th. We celebrated in Boise when we were there. But she has a good friend Abby, whose birthday is on June 29th. They have the same friends so we decided to have a joint birthday party! It was fun. Abbys mom made a unicorn pinata which was very cool. I made this rainbow cake out of cupcakes. It was a hit and very easy for the kids to eat! I can't believe Emily is 5!! Crazy.










Well some of the fun that we've been doing this summer is some good ol' fashioned fishing! We take the kids down to a little creek, or just down to the Snake River (where yes, I did catch my very first real live 12 inch fish on my daughters fishing pole using bread as bait!), and the kids love to look at the fish they "caught" (daddy usually catches it and the kids real it in).

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Proud To Be An American



Finally, our trip was over! The kids enjoyed icecream at the McDonalds in Jerome. When we got home, our good friends the Droegemuellers decorated our fence with America decor. I was so excited. It was a perfect ending to a great trip!



I'm grateful that my family was able to be there with me. I hope my kids will remember this day and be proud that I was able to join them as citizens of this country.









Well, I did it! I have finally, after 9 years of marriage and almost 10 years of being in this country, taken my oath and have become an American citizen! It was a long road with many forms and much money, and alot of tears and headaches! But it feels so good to have it all done. Truly I do love this country and all that it stands for.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

My Week At A Glance







This past week we have all been pretty sick. But we have managed to fit in a wedding reception and an X-Box party! This reception is of one of my young women (when I was in YW), Raquelle Packer. She's the first to get married. She looked beautiful and I thought her wedding colours were very unique - bright pink and green - it was really pretty though. She got married in the temple so I'm very proud of her. Then I just snapped a picture of Chad and his buds playing. You will notice that there are three televisions. I think there were about 12 people here this night. They have a blast. I try to limit the parties to once or twice a month. The young men are always calling Chad wanting to game, but once in a while I do have to say no - I like to spend time with my husband too! Anyways, not too much happening but all is well none the less!

Friday, June 5, 2009

It's Always Fun When Grandpa Comes!







This week our Grandpa Dean came to visit us for a couple of days. That was really fun. We first went and got snow cones at our favorite spot, but that wasn't good enough. We then had to go to our favorite ice cream shop Reed's Dairy for some ice cream too! The next day Grandpa took me and the kids to a Pizza Parlor for dinner (Chad had to work) and we all had fun there too. The kids rode on the merry-go-round, played air hockey and got squishy balls out of the vending machine. Oh the joys of childhood! It really was a blast!

Friday, May 29, 2009

It Was A Miracle
















For those of you who know, my trip to Boise for my citizenship interview was a little scary. And you should all know the story. I just want to testify of how miraculous this was. The Lords hand was guiding the entire interview and the outcome. I KNOW that He does hear and answer our prayers. I also know that you can never be TOO honest. Always do what is right - let the consequence follow. And if it is right, the Lord is bound to bless you. And blessed I was. I will be privileged to become an American on June 25th. How I love the Lord and His endless mercies and boundless blessing! These pictures are of Chad and I at the Boise Temple. It really is a beautiful temple.

Spring Is Here!
















I can always tell spring is here by the blossoms on my tree. This is my favorite tree because when it blossoms it looks so beautiful. The color is a little hidden in these pictures because of the shade but you can still get the idea. It is usually in full bloom by Mother's Day. This year it was a week later. I just love spring, and I love these picts of my kids!