Pinal County Fair

We went to the Pinal County Fair on the night of Grant's birthday. My parents joined us and we had a lot of fun eating food, riding rides and checking out the animals.

These motorcycles were funny. When the ride started it went fast really quickly. The kids faces were hilarious.

This little girl was feeling a bit sassy that night.

I wish I had some picture of the petting zoo. There were way too many animals in one small space. Abby kept spazzing out because the animals were getting right in her face and Clara decided to throw wood shaving on the backs of some of the sheep. I'm sure the petting zoo workers were glad to be rid of us.

My little man enjoyed people watching and seeing all of the bright lights. He also enjoys eating fry bread!

Grant's First Birthday

My sweet little boy turned one and I'm sort of in disbelief--where did the last year go?

This boy is the light of our home. He brings such a special spirit into our family.

He weighs 19 lbs. and has 12 teeth.

His sisters absolutely adore him and he's crazy about them too.

He's such a sweet boy. He's very friendly and gives his smiles freely.

He loves to play with balls. I saw this big one and knew he'd love it. (Sweet wrap job, right?) He also likes cars and music.

He's mischievous and a climber which make for a frightening combination at times. He's taking lots of steps and will be walking before we know it.

He LOVED his cupcake(s). It was hilarious. He just shoved them in without taking a breath.

We just adore this boy. I mean, how could you not? Look at that face!

Clara is THREE!

The day before Clara's birthday, she was rocking a fever and I was feeling so sad that she'd be sick on her special day. Fortunately, she took a really long nap and woke up feeling pretty good and then in the morning, she was still doing well. (Unfortunately, all of our kiddos are battling this little bug right now. There is a lot of nighttime coughing.)

We had some balloons blown up in the living room and had her gifts sitting on the kitchen table. She came into our room and said, "Why are there balloons and presents?" We said, "Why do you think?" She said, "For my birthday?!? " 

She slowly opened her presents throughout the day, which is becoming a great tradition. The kids can enjoy each gift and make the fun last all day.

Clara choose to go to Chick-Fil-A (aka the one with the play place) for lunch. Sam was able to take a long lunch and join up which was a lot of fun.

She took another long nap and was ready to open the rest of her presents when she woke up. We call Clara the puzzle queen so these Frozen puzzles were the perfect gift. Abby has been happy to help Clara try out all of her gifts.

She got this Elsa doll from grammy and grandpa and she loves it. She has been sleeping with her and wants to bring her everywhere.

Clara choose to have hot dogs for dinner. What can I say, she's a cheap date.

We surprised Clara with an Olaf cake. I wish we had a picture of her reaction. She thought it was pretty awesome. We used this tutorial. Sam shaped the cake and I baked and decorated him.

We invited two of Clara's little friends over for cake and ice cream. All three little girls have birthday within a month so Clara got to show them how it's done. 

It was such a fun day celebrating our sweet, funny, spunky, beautiful girl. We love her so much and are so blessed to have her in our family.

The Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration

During the past few months, I have had the amazing opportunity to help the youth in our area prepare for an event celebrating Arizona culture and the opening of the new Gilbert, Arizona temple. We learned songs and dances in smaller groups and then came together for the big show on Saturday.

The forecast had been predicting rain all week (which we haven't had in MONTHS) so we were a little nervous.  The weather was bipolar all day: sunny, cloudy, drizzling, windy but not much rain. However, about 30 minutes before the show was going to start, it started pouring. The kids were incredible and performed their very best despite being soaked, freezing and muddy. The Spirit was so strong and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it.

These pictures are from the dress rehearsal. I didn't want to pull my camera out in the rain.

A sunscreen assembly line. I managed to get a little sunburned and completely sopping wet all in a few hours.

I've grown to love these kids. I hope they know how lucky they are to have participated in this event.

There were about 12,000 youth participating in the show. When they were all out on the field, it was truly awe inspiring.

My favorite part of the show was when all 12,000 kids were on the field holding up their Titles of Liberty. They had each written down what they stand for and how they will live their lives to get to the temple one day. To see them all standing there holding their flags was incredible.

You can watch the event at: http://vimeo.com/87972564