Twins (I am not announcing anything)!!

When Sian (my younger sister) and I were in Flagstaff we were standing by each other and this teenage girl looked at us and asked if we were twins. . . It made my day being as Sian is just about nine years younger than me.

Happy Birthday to my Dad!!

I am sure my dad will never get on here to read this, but just in the off chance that he does, I wanted to say Happy Birthday Dad!! I was always a dadd'y girl growing up. I remember going to stay with my grandparents at times during the summer and I would always get "dadsick." I did not miss home, I just missed my dad (and the rest of my family of course).

My dad loved/s us so much. I remember being younger and he would always want us near his side no matter what he was doing (now he is the same way with my kids). He is a peacemaker. If any of us ever got/get mad at someone else, he is always there to try to help us look at things from their perspective.

Another great quality my dad has is that he has a great sense of humor (kind of goofy somtimes). Growing up, he would tell us the same joke nearly ever single night at dinner just to get a reaction.

I also love his spiritual, sensitive side. He has always loved the gospel. I have always known that if I had some question about the gospel I could go to him and there was a great chance he would know the answer. He was always there and worthy to give us Father's blessings and one of my favorite qualities about him (which hopefully does not embarass him) is that I remember so many times when he cried with us when we were sad. He does not like to see those he loves suffering.

Happy Birthday Dad!! We love you so much!!!

California!!

This last week was great! We started off by taking the kids to Disneyland on Friday (the 5th). We left AZ at three in the morning so that we could get there not long after it had opened. The kids had so much fun (so did Richard and I we were just a little tired by the end of the day)!! It was pretty crowded, but that is the true Disneyland experience!! Arwen loved the princess castle and she loved the Matterhorn!! Jackson loved Space Mountain!! Oh and we cannot forget waiting in line to see the princesses for over an hour (longer than any wait for the rides)!!

After that first day at Disneyland, we headed to the beach house in Newport where we got to stay with Richard's family. This was a lot of fun and we spent a lot of time at the beach. We also went to the temple and one day all of the girls went to the District to go shopping. It was a fun experience!!

Jackson spent a lot of time running from the waves (Grandpa helped him out)!!Arwen tried burying herself!

Once the week was over, we ended our vacation going to Disneyland one more time (the next Friday)!! The highlight for Jackson was seeing Mater and Lightning McQueen and Mickey Mouse!!

Arwen and Jackson in Mickey's house!!

We had so much fun, but we are so happy to be home and to be getting back into a routine!!

6th anniversary!!

On Saturday, Richard and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. My parents have been so nice and they have had our kids up in SJ since Saturday (I am going up there tomorrow). We got to spend the weekend together just relaxing!! It was awesome!!!

I love Richard so much!! He is such a great man. He is an amazing husband and father. He works so so hard to provide for our family. He sacrifices a lot of his favorite things to provide for us and to spend his extra time with us. He honors his priesthood, he loves the Lord. He fulfills his callings. He is willing to do anything for anyone at any time. He loves me probably more than I deserve and is genuinely happy when I am happy and genuinely sad when I am sad. He is still so ATTRACTIVE and he knows how to make me laugh all the time. I am so grateful and blessed to have him as my eternal companion!!

Mom's 50th Surprise Party!! (A ton of pictures)

Today is my mom's 50th birthday. My sisters and I thought it would be fun to throw her a surprise party this last weekend!! I thought she would have caught on to something, but thankfully she did not. She thought she was coming to Jackson's birthday party, but boy was she surprised when she walked in to find, close to 50 family members, yelling, "SURPRISE!!!" (Sorry the picture is so dark. The lighting was bad and my c0mputer won't edit it any more than this.)

Aaron (mom's brother), Kris (sister), mom and Kelly (brother).

Here is all of my mom's side of the family that was here, unfortunately we are still missing a lot of family members cause they all live AT LEAST six hours away.

My cousin's wife Kelly and my cousin Jandee!! They are both so cute!!

There were many of my dad's side of the family in attendance as well!!

Jeanine (dad's sister) with baby RJ (Cassie's baby) and Cassie (my cousin)

Kayla (cousin) and Cody (cousin). Daniel (my brother) is in the background watching them jam out to rock band!!

More cousins, M and J (I am not sure if they want me to put their full names)!!

Lucia with Kendall and Satya plus their families were all there!!

Jessyka and Nate were also there!!!

There are many others who were there and I am sorry if I don't have a picture of you up!! Thanks so much to everyone for coming and for helping to make the party so awesome!!

The party kept going long after most of the guests had left. We played Rock Band and Guitar hero for quite a while and had a blast (thanks Liz and Jason)!!

Happy birthday Mom!! I love you so much!! You are such an amazing woman with so many talents. You are so smart, beautiful, you have the most beautiful voice, you are a great teacher. You are so selfess, you are always doing something for someone else!! You are such a great listener and I love how close you are to the spirit!! Thanks for giving me such a great example of what I need to do to be a great mom, wife and woman!! Thanks for being such an amazing mom and friend!!

Happy birthday to Jackson, Jessyka, Trenton and Brodee!!

Jackson just had his third birthday last wednesday. It is hard to believe that he is already three, but at the same time I have thought he was three for a while because of his size. We had a great day and my friend, Misi, was so nice and made us an awesome Mater cake!! It was so good that Jackson did not want me to cut into it. He started crying and said, "You are going to hurt him," but he sure was happy when he tasted the yummy cake with peanut butter inside. He got a ton of awesome gifts from family and he wanted to go to chuck e cheese for dinner so that is what we did.

The awesome cake:

I love this boy so much!! He brings so much joy into our home. He makes us laugh constantly and he is the best snuggler of all times!! We are so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with him!!

He is not the only birthday boy we love!! My best friends, Satya and Lucia, and I all had our boys within one week of each other three years ago. Jackson was born on the 6th, Trenton on the 11th (today is his birthday) and Brodee was born on the 13th. I love their boys so much as well and it is fun that the three of them love to play with each other (most of the time). I swiped this picture off Lucia's blog! Thanks Lucia!!
Trenton (Lucia's) Brodee (Satya's) and Jackson

Also I cannot forget to wish Jessyka a happy belated birthday!! She is such a great friend and person!! Thanks for always being willing to help us at any time!! You are so much fun to be around and you are so gorgeous!! We love you and hope you had a great day. Thanks again for spending some of your special day with us!!

Happy Birthday Satya and Lucia!!

I just wanted to wish a happy birthday to Satya and Lucia (even though their birthday is almost over). They are two of my most favorite people in the whole world!!

Happy birthday Satya!!! You are one of the most beautiful people on the inside and out!! Thank you for always being willing to do anything to help me. You are always so selfless, even though I know that you have a million things of your own going on!! You are an amazing mother and wife and you are one of the most organized people I know!! Thanks so much for always listening to me when I am struggling with things and for always making me feel better!! You are always one of the first people I want to call when I am having any problems. I love you so so much!! I hope you had an awesome birthday!! I am so blessed and thankful to have you as my friend!!

Happy birthday Lucia!!! You too, are so so beautiful on the inside and out!! You are such an amazing mom and wife as well!! You have always been such a good example to me. I have looked at you so many times and by watching you I know what choices I should make. Thanks for always being so quick to help. You are one of the most service oriented people I know. You are so much fun to be with and I am so grateful that we are still so close after all these years!! Thanks for always being there for me for anything I need at all. I love you so much as well and I am very grateful to have you in my life!!

I love you both so much!!!! You have so many of the same wonderful qualities, but you also have so many of your own unique talents and qualities as well!!