50th Anniversary

My parents are the best!  I have been so lucky to have them in my life.  This weekend we celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  It was so nice and don't they just look happy!!!!

We had a meal and then we pulled out the desserts!  YUM! YUM! All the grand-kids were in heaven with this table!  It was so fun to watch them go back for seconds, thirds, etc.

Not everyone made it to celebrate but it was great to see the posterity of my parents.  They have quite a few grand-kids.  Each one feels loved and appreciated.  What great grand-parents!

All my brothers made it to celebrate with my parents!  It was really touching to have them all there with my dad.  There is just something special about a brotherly bond.

So all of us except my sister, Kara, made it.  I have to laugh at this picture!  I think every family has a goofball in pictures.   In our family it's my brother Ryan.  When I got this picture I asked him what the heck he was doing and he said "I was just having fun!"  Thanks Ryan for making our family fun!

This is my favorite!  I love having our spouses in the picture because they are my siblings too.  We really have a close relationship!  My brothers and sisters all choose to marry the perfect person for them and it makes our family great!

So thank you mom and dad for starting this crazy, fun, loving family that we have.  It all started when two people fell in love!  We are so grateful that you made it work!! Happy 50th anniversary!

Service

One of my favorite things about being LDS is the importance of service. Sometimes it Can Be a little overwhelming but it's So great That we teach or kids from a young age to serve others.

This week I got to drive my 12 year old son around while he did fast offerings. It was a tender time for me.

Bryce Canyon

A couple weeks ago we took a day trip down to Bryce Canyon.  It was so beautiful!  We loved it!  Here are a few pictures of us before everyone but me hiked down into the canyon.  I was having an Addison's attack or sorts and decided it would be better to stay up top.

If you have never been to Bryce Canyon, you should go. It's breathtakingly beautiful!  I so enjoyed my time alone just pondering the beauty of this world we live in. 

As I sat and pondered, I had a little friend come visit me.

This tree fascinated me.  It looks like the dirt around the roots has been washed away.  Yet it still lives!  It really made me think about my own life and the troubles I face.  Do I still have the ability to thrive?  Do I make do with what I have? I don't know all the answers but it definitely
 made me think about them.

We decided to take the scenic route home.  Here we are at an overlook again just enjoying Mother Nature!

Graduation BBQ

After graduation McKenzi wanted to have a family BBQ.  Thankfully we could use the fire station to host this at.  Brian cooked a ton of chicken while everyone arrived.  We ate, visited, and just had a great time.

After dinner Brian got up and spoke about Kenzi.  I wish I would have taken a picture of her face as he was speaking.  She just radiated happiness!  It was beautiful!

This is the only picture I got with her diploma.  Congratulations Kenzi!!  This goes to show that you can do hard things!!

Graduation

Well it's hard to believe but this cute girl graduated from high school this past weekend! A month ago we weren't sure that was going to happen.  She had about given up on one class.  Luckily she persevered and finished strong!

We got her this cute dress at Rose Wholesale. Check it out.  They have cute stuff for not very much money.  The only thing to consider is that shipping takes a while.

       

Once she was all ready we took her picture in front of our door.  For some reason that seems to be the place for our pictures.  Check out her cap!  Isn't it cute.  It fits McKenzi to a T!!  She is a hunter and she loves bows.

                            

I made Kenzi a Money Lei and Brian gave it to her.  It turned out so cute!  She loved it and still has it hanging in her room for that time when she needs a little extra money.

As parents, Brian and I couldn't be prouder of Kenzi.  She is amazing! We love you Kenzi!!

These two are such goofballs!  They wanted their picture taken together.  Neither one of them knew what the other was doing in this picture and yet they both pulled faces. Funny girls!  But they definitely have become best friends!

The picture above and below show how excited McKenzi was to graduate.  I love how they captured her true feelings!

A trip to the Cabin

I love summer time because that means we get to go to the cabin.  It's peaceful and beautiful up there.  We decided to go ahead and try to get up to the cabin.  A week ago, you couldn't get in so we weren't sure what would happen.  Sadly we didn't even have to drive through any snow to get there but luckily for us there was still a few piles left.

Bryson is all boy and had to try out this snow pile as soon as we got there.  It's not much of a pile but he got to play.  He's light enough that he could walk all over it and not sink.  Although it was still really cold when he fell in it.

There is always work to be done at the cabin.  This time it was pretty relaxing although we did have to unload some brick to finish the fire pit.

The strangest thing was that this was our family.  It is a little weird to be missing my oldest two children.  This is the new stage of life we are getting to though so I guess we will just have to get use to it.  Oh and check out my awesome hair!!!  I just had to pull it out of my face and I didn't care what it looked like.  That's the best part of being in the mountains.  It just doesn't really matter.