VIva Las Vegas!

Our trip to Las Vegas over Valentine's weekend was had a double purpose. I was able to attend my high school reunion and get away with my hubby. It was so much fun.

This is us at the Trevi - an Italian restaurant inside of the mall @ Ceasar's Palace.


Reunited with my best friend, Amy, from Vilseck was an absolute treat. It was so much fun to see her again and after a few minutes, she and Jared were talking like old friends. That was the best part.

Some of the crew after dinner...

Amy and I enjoying a photo op. I have to tell you - it was COLD while we were there. As we walked (and walked and walked and walked...) looking for the Cheesecake Factory, I could feel my toes going numb.

Ahhh... Romance! Just a moment with my Sweetheart!

Seeing The Blue Men Group was one of the big highlights of our trip. The show was completely unexpected, and extremely entertaining from start to finish.

We spent some time rubbing shoulders with famous people at Madam Toussauds.

One of the places that can bring out the child in anyone is FAO Schwarz. Not only is is a great store, but it has all of the things that I used to have in Germany as a kid. Here are a few of the photos we snapped inside, just goofing around.

So, I didn't know that this place existed. It is like taking a 12 hour flight and landing right in Munich, Germany. Welcome to the Hofbrauhaus - a truly Bavarian place to eat and enjoy. We even found some chocolates to bring home to the kids from Germany. Go Milka Bars! Everything about this place was authentic, which made it a fabulous place to have dinner with some of the crew from Vilseck. Welcome to weekends at my high school...

The Um-Pa band (as my brothers always called them) played German and American favorites. The American songs had a German twist and everyone was singing, "Sweet Caroline" , "Right Next Door to Alice" and "Sweet Home Alabama" while swinging beer mugs and dancing on the benches. It was a riot.

Amy teaching Jared some of the cool things that he can now do with his new i-phone.

Don't worry, Amy drank enough for the both of us - and Jared and I kept refilling our Root Beers!

I was so happy to see Amy. It was like it hadn't been a decade since we had seen each other. She was a breath of fresh air in my HS experience since she moved to Vilseck from California. We ran together (cross country), sang together (choir, girls ensemble, musicals), traveled all over the place Romania to Czech to Wurtzburg Prom. She could always make me laugh at myself and stop taking things so seriously. As I watched Amy and Jared interact, I realized that they are A LOT alike. Funny enough. It may be years before we see each other again, but I am sure that the next time we meet up, it will feel like hardly any time has passed. That is the blessing of friendship.

As Jared and I drove away from Vegas, the skies were gray and the weather was dismal. That has happened every time we have driven to Vegas together. We had a wonderful trip, talking and laughing and enjoying every single moment we were able to spend as a couple.

May we have many more fun trips and weekend get-aways in the future! There are a few more shows I want to see in Sin City and I wouldn't mind another trip to Munich - without the long plane ride. I'd love to hit the Hofbrauhaus again.

Joy In The Journey - Recap

Since I haven't posted in a long time, I decided to do a Recap post with just a few of my favorite Joy in the Journey moments. I love that I have pictures and little memories from every day. This has been such a great goal for me.

February 17th - Hyrum in his car box. This is one of those little things that just makes me laugh.



February 14th - My Valentine's Day in VEGAS! How cool is that?!? I got to spend a great holiday with my Sweetheart and my Best Friend from High School! We had a yummy Italian dinner and Cheesecake!!!

February 5th - Jadyn Lost Her 1st Tooth!!! I know - she isn't even 5 yet! She was at Nana's house and she was so excited to show it to me when I came to pick her up.

January 28th - Jadyn's first written music... She floored me when she showed me this "song" that she wrote and started singing it for me. It was about a Princess that loves to dance. I really need to get this girl in piano lessons...

January 18th - Daddy Time! Sunday is a great day because we get to spend it with Daddy.

January 19th - Hyrum sliding all by himself. He was having a great time just going down the slide like his big sisters. He laughed so hard, that I came outside to see what was going on. There was Hyrum, hanging on to the slide and showing off that little belly. Too Cute! I had to get a picture.

January 29th - Even when she is sulking, Jenna is very cute. (She was sad that she couldn't have all of the sand toys and had to spend a few minutes sitting with Mom until her attitude improved...which it did.)

January 30th - A Boy and A Puddle (enough said)

I love my life!

Jared Turns 30!

It is hard to believe, but Jared just hit 30 years old. Wow! Where did the time go??? Here were a few of the things that we did to celebrate Daddy's big day:

The girls got up early to "help" mom fix breakfast.

Daddy got to open his gifts from the kids that were each picked out just for him. Great job kids!!!

The big surprise came when we all went to Daddy's office for lunch. Soly provided lunch for everyone and we brought cake, ice cream, and balloons. The kids decorated Daddy's desk with a Batman table cloth and yellow paper products. Jared was such a good sport and wore the birthday hat.

We brought him a special gift: 30 Things We Love About You.

If was full of little things that the kids have said about their Daddy. Some were journal entries, some were recent statements. Jared loved it.

We had such a fun time celebrating with the Birthday Boy! The kids were great and never let the 'cat out of the bag' as we planned his birthday party.

I know that I am biased, but I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. He is my perfect match and I am grateful every day that we are married. He is an amazing father and his kids absolutely adore him. He gets a "Rock Star" greeting every time he comes home. I can't think of anyone that deserves it more. 30 years... here's to many more wonderful birthday celebrations!

Happy Birthday, Jared! We love you so much!

When Mommy is Sick...

When Mommy is sick...call Jadyn.

Yep. Jared had to work yesterday. I was sick and Jadyn (at 4 years old) took charge of the household and everyone in it. She:

• Got bottles, drinks, and snacks for Hyrum and Jenna
• Changed out Movies so that Mommy could rest
• Got herself and Jenna dressed and ready for the day
• Fed the kids Breakfast
• Made PB & J for the kids for lunch
• Took care of Jenna's injury (scratch) with a kiss and a band-aid
• Helped pick up
• Reported to Mommy about every 5 to 10 mins.

This is what the house looked like around 3 p.m. Not bad for me being out of it all day.

I think the kids ate too many Popsicles, from what I could tell, but they seemed pretty happy about it.

Jadyn tried to take care of me. She made sure I always had a full water bottle. She would come and rub my back or my shoulders and say,

"You'll feel better soon, I just know it."

But the best line of the day from my little Miss Mommy was,

"Don't worry, Mom, I've got it all under control."

And she did.

Thanks, Jadie! You were a huge helper yesterday.

Joy in the Journey Week 2

This week has been a good week and it all started with Sunday... I love the 2nd Sunday because it is my day to teach. I LOVE my calling. I LOVE my relief society sisters. I LOVE the chance that I have to really study a gospel topic every month.



January 11th - Teaching Sunday. The lesson was really wonderful. We had such a fantastic discussion, I was sad when it had to end. I felt like we were really touching on some great things as we discussed leadership.





January 12th - After being up most of the night with a sick girl, it was so sweet to watch her sleep the next morning. It reminded me of when I used to watch her sleep as a tiny infant almost mesmerized by her breathing. Sweet girl!

January 13th - Hyrum and the fridge. He loves to empty the fridge. Any chance he gets, he is in there and "rearranging" things for me. Thanks Buddy! Oh... did you see the shoes that he put on himself???

A close up of the shoes... This boy really likes playing with shoes.

January 14th - The girls had some friends come over and they dressed up and played, laughing for almost an hour straight.

January 15th - After Jenna "helped" Hyrum take off his clothes and his diaper, this is where I found him - naked except for his socks, playing with his cars, and watching Barney.

January 16th - The perfect moment: arms outstretched, running down a hill with your face in the sun!!!

January 17th - Jenna offering to "share" her yummy Popsicle. Thanks for being so nice, Sweetie!

As you can see, I had so much to be thankful for this week.

Joy in the Journey

I have really been struggling lately. I have found myself barely hanging on by a thread. It has been a long time coming...about a year to be exact. I did the best that I could for so long. My husband works a lot and I have 3 small, demanding children. To say that I have been overwhelmed would be an understatement. The day to day dealings with my young family have been a real challenge for me to handle (mostly) alone. However, through it all, I have been offered great support by my extended family and friends. I have found strength that is beyond my own through prayer and spiritual comfort. My husband has also really tried to understand where I was coming from and help me through this time, even when he can't actually be home to help.


As I sat down to write my official "GOALS 2009" list, I realized that all of the ideas that I had were beyond my capacity to work on right now. I would love to set a time frame for working out and loosing those last few pounds... I would love to set goals about meals, scripture/gospel study, family time, keeping a cleaner house, etc. I stopped myself. I don't want to be overwhelmed again by good goals. So I decided on only one goal for 2009.

My goal for 2009 is to Have Joy in the Journey. Along with that, I need to: find something every day that I am thankful for, something that made me laugh, or brought me joy and take a picture of that thing (person).

I figure that if I can do that, my attitude will improve as I constantly seek to have joy in the day-to-day happenings in my life. I won't miss the little things that I love about my children at this age even though I am constantly struggling to keep up with the messes that they make. I hope that by setting this goal for myself, everything else will come with time. I wanted to face the new year with a better attitude and not feel overwhelmed.

These are my first "Joyful" photos for 2009. Just looking at them has made me laugh all over again.

January 1st - Jenna helping me juice some oranges! She loves to help. That is something that I need to appreciate more.



January 2nd - Jadyn requested that I grab my camera and take some pictures of her. She took me outside where she had set up a blanket in the grass. She is at such a fun age.


January 3rd- Jenna playing with the water hose in the backyard. Granted, she got Hyrum and the wall behind her pretty wet, but she laughed the entire time. Simple joys.

January 4th - Oreos and Milk.

January 5th - Jenna is such a beautiful girl - even with her chopped hair.

January 6th - Hyrum sticking his tongue out. He does this all of the time - especially when he is concentrating on something- and I love it.

January 7th - Even with a messy face and messy clothes, I love this little boy! It really isn't important that he stays clean as long as he is happy, right?

January 8th - Cousins. I love that we have Razzie so close and that she plays so well with both of the girls. She and Jenna had a blast driving the car off of the patio. They laughed and did it over and over.

January 9th- Horsee! Jared came home early enough to see the kids before bed. After we do family prayers, he is the Horsee. The kids were so excited to have Daddy home for this family tradition. Since I couldn't choose between the photos, I had to include one of each child.

January 10th - Zoo Lights. Daddy got off work around 8 so that we could go to Zoo Lights this year. Hyrum kept saying, "Wow" and "Whoa" with all of the lights. He was the cutest watching the musical light show. He was dancing in the stroller. Here he is with Daddy on the carousel. He normally doesn't sit on one of the animals, but with Daddy with him, he was brave enough.

January 11th - Jadyn went to a birthday party with her friends/cousins. She saw me taking pictures and blew me a big kiss. Thanks, Jadie!

If you want to add a list to your goals for 2009, this is something I recommend. I am already doing better. I am noticing things throughout the day that I appreciate even more. I am finding that my journey is already becoming more joyful. I appreciate the excitement of my kids. I reach for the camera instead of despairing when things are rough. One photo a day is kind of hard, but I am looking forward to this journey.

Anyone else want to join in?