Brooke's new hair

Brooke is still in Utah, but my Dad sent me an email today showing me pictures of Brooke's new haircut! She looks absolutely fantastic!!! I can't believe she's only 12. I see these pictures and realize just how fast time flies. Our babies grow up into young women so much faster than we realize. Sigh... She'll be off to college before I know it!

 

 

 

 

"United Breaks Guitars" - The song

A friend posted this on facebook and it cracked me up! As she said, sometimes when a company completely screws you over, the best thing to do is write a song about it!!

Fourth of July- 2009

We spent the day swimming and had a great BBQ and then ended the night with a bunch of fireworks!!
We all had a blast and the kids were tuckered out by the time we finally made it home.

Ye Olde Swimming Hole

With nothing to do, I loaded up the kids and drove them out to the lake to do some swimming.

We packed up a cooler and had a nice little lunch lakeside and the kids enjoyed being able to goof off for a few hours.

Diana was an absolute riot, apparently being able to swim and keep your head above water is the same thing as "not drowning". She was so proud of herself and kept yelling to me "Look Mom! I'm not drowning again!" The people swimming nearby got a good chuckle out of her!

This is Christina after laying down a little too long on the rocks.

Mom and Me!

Though seeing my parents once a year is very hard on me, it makes our visits all the more special.
The time is precious to me and I'm just so grateful that we ARE able to spend time as a family!

Lehi Legacy Center

This was one of my favorite memories from our trip this year! Whoda thunk it... Lehi has an amazing aquatic center!

We ended up taking Dom and Di to this center twice and each time was fantastic! The water depth was just perfect for Diana and she had no problem swimming around all day, Dominick enjoyed the bigger water slide on the other side of the center and Ed and I just enjoyed hanging out all day in the water under a sunny sky!

Bridal Veils Fall - Utah

My Dad recommended taking the kids to see this fall right before we headed back to TN. I'm really glad we went, it was just so pretty and the kids had fun exploring around the area.

VEGAS!

So this was exciting! Ed and I were able to steal away for a little time on our own! Now, I absolutely had my heart set on Staying at Caeaser's Palace or the Wynn, but when we got there, we found out (while trying to book)  that Caesar's pools were closed for renovation (a deal breaker) and the Wynn was almost entirely booked for some sort of computer conference, so we had to find a back up. Not knowing what else to do, we packed up the car and decided to wing it.

After touring the strip and checking prices, we eventually decided on Treasure Island.The hotel itself was beautiful inside and out, clean and the staff was so helpful!

On check-in they upgraded our suite to a penthouse deluxe suite! Ooh la la!  Our room was amazing and the views were just great! We were able to see the 'pirate show' from our room and the fireworks exlpoded just outside our windows!

The casino was par for the course in Vegas.

I found I have a sweet spot for the "Price is Right" slots! LOL Ed couldn't keep me away! All in All, we did well, we only lost about 10% of the money we'd brought to gamble with! We'd both been expecting to lose it all, so we feel like we came away winners! LOL

So, after Ed and I had adjusted to be childless for a few days we had a really great time!
We had an amazing dinner at "Envy", saw a great Cirque show and were able to spend some good ol' fashioned quality time together!
It's a trip I won't be forgetting for a LONG time!

This is my self portrait taken about 4:30am when Ed and I finally headed to bed after a fun night out! We'd just had the most amazing dinner and won some money in the casino! I was in my "happy zone"!!

Brooke's best picture!

We've all been missing Brooke this week, (She's with my parents in UT until August) so I thought I'd share this adorable picture I snapped of her right before we left to come home!

She's starting to look SO grown up!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

"My daddy is my favorite pal, and I help him everday.
It's plain to see, I want to be like him in everyway.
He teaches me that honestly is best in all I do,
I'm very glad that he's my Dad, and I know he loves me too!"

Growing up, those were the lyrics to my all time favorite Primary song. I can remember being a CTR and singing that song with as much pride as my little heart could hold! There was never a child prouder to be the daughter of such an amazing human being!
While I've not always been the picture of an ideal daughter, you've always been the picture of an ideal Father.
You've been a shining example for me throughout my life and for that I am eternally grateful.

You will always be my favorite spy, my favorite story teller and as corny as it sounds, the best Dad a girl could hope for!