our little SWEET AND SASSY lady...

So the past couple of days I have been alittle bit sad about how fast our little baby girl is growing up. Everyday she looks older and bigger to me. She is 1 going on 16. She definitly has got her own agenda. She loves baby dolls and pushing around her shopping cart. Her most favorite thing in the whole world is shoes...I have no idea where she got that!!!! all day long she is bringing me shoes, then she will turn her back to me as a clue for me to pick her up so that I can properly put on her shoes for her. Yesterday she brought me some of bradens spongebob square pants underwear so that she could try them on. It was a fabulous sight to see. If you can picture it, she had a chocolate pudding mustache, some slippers that were way too small for her and some sponge bob underwear on over her diaper. I think after yesterdays outfit she will for sure be in fashion design. She loves to let me do her hair and She loves to have her toe nails painted. She is the sweetest little girl and so easy to love and take care of. You never hear a peep out of her until her brother is trying to steal a toy....she is definitly not a push over...thats why I call her the sweet and sassy little lady. These pictures are a few of her as she has grown the past year and a half....enjoy!!!

HOORAY FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!

I love this time of year....the summer is on its way out, the leaves will start turning soon and most of all, college football has begun. The greatest memories I have from growing up were watching BYU football. My dad is a huge cougar fan and made us girls huge fans too....we really had no choice cause we only had one t.v. so we were forced to watch, but I must say at least I now have an appreciation for some good old college football. Josh is probably more excited then I am. We will be cheering on our favorite teams...ASU and BYU. Hopefully they can get to a bowl game this season!!!!

Just thought this was cute...

Braden mowing the lawn with josh... Josh mowing the lawn when he was super cute and little

Just was looking at some pictures and stumbled across this one of josh mowing the lawn when he was little, then I remembered we have the exact same one of braden...so I thought it was blog worthy...:)

These pictures alone will reduce teenage pregnancy.....

AAAAhhhhh yes, the joys of motherhood. Need I say anymore? You know I have often heard people say "be careful what you wish for"...did I ever listen? NO. The other day I was whining and complaining through many texts messages to my poor busy husband that I was in fact "BORED". As I was sitting having a, in my mind, very appropriate pitty party, I realized that I didn't know what my two very curious little children were up to. I also realized that they were very quiet. When I found them I almost passed out. After seeing the mess and seeing the fun they were having sliding around in yoke, Braden decided it would be even more fun to throw an egg at his "bored" mommy. All I have to say is thank goodness for lysol wipes.

Mackenzie is FINALLY walking!!!!

My much needed get away....

I know this doesn't look like a pony...Braden was just doing some "mutten busten" Isn't the jam so pretty?

These are my first four loafs of bread....one of them I made into a cinnamon roll loaf


I am a bit late posting this but still wanted to anyways. For the fourth of July, and our anniversary, Josh and I took the kids up to beautiful utah to visit with both aunt Amys. We had a great time. Josh, the kids and I were introduced to Amy's new boyfriend Eric. He is a great guy and fun to be around. I also was lucky enough to go to lunch with amy on her birthday. It was alot of fun. Mackenzie and I really enjoyed our lunch with the birthday girl. The next night I went up to Amy's birthday party in South Jordan. Meghan threw the party for her...it was a great party with alot of her closest friends there. It was alot of fun seeing Meghan up there too. Since I was staying with my sister amy in pleasant grove, she offered to watch the kids while I went to the party. I love my kids, but it is nice to be alone sometimes. :) Another couple highlights of my trip were going to Thanksgiving point to the animal farm. It was a super hot day but we had alot of fun. The kids got to ride the ponies there. Braden had a blast!!! I also was taught by my BROTHER IN LAW David how to make jam. I have always wanted to learn and this was a great opportunity for me. We made strawberry jam. It was so much fun and so much easier than I had thought it would be. I will always laugh whenever I make jam because I will remember that my "macho" brother-in-law taught me how. Thanks dave!! Once I got home to durango, I started teaching myself how to make homemade bread. It is a lot of fun. I have lately become extremely cheap and obsessed with trying to stretch a dollar. I think that if I can do something, or make something myself I will do it. It only costs me $.84 to make one loaf of bread. I know thats not saving much and some may think its not worth the trouble, but its a great way to get out aggression :) also, it makes me feel like I accomplished something. This summer has also been "the summer of chocolate covered strawberries". I am absolutely obsessed with making them...there are so easy and absolutely delicious. Josh doens't complain one bit....he likes them more than I do. If I keep basing all of my new hobbies around bread and chocolate I will be over 500 pounds soon....I better take up running or something.

a nation without heros is nothing.....

Josh lately has been recording all of the band of brothers movies on t.v. and it has been driving me nuts because it takes up so much of my dvr space. I feel alittle bit stupid and ungrateful for complaining now. I got this story from my friend rushele and it really hit home. I think as americans we can sometimes forget how lucky we are to have the freedoms that enjoy...we also forget who won us those freedoms. When I lived in arizona I would often complain of senior citizens driving too slow in their golf carts in front of me....but I think if we realized that most of those men and women that sometimes frustrate us gave up so much for our freedom, we would react differently. Here is a good story, I don't know if its true or not, but it makes you think.
We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services. I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers. Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know> who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat. Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made. Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped. At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped. I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem .." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day. I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say. I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach. He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this. Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer. There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center . No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television. And that's not right.Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward> this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans. Rest in peace, Shifty. "A > nation without heroes is nothing."> (Roberto > Clemente)