Happy Birthday Chaser!

 Happy Birthday to the "best oldest kid" ever!  I can't believe how time flies.  When Jeff and I met Chase was 16 and today he turns 22.  I would have loved to watch Chase grow up!  I feel blessed to have had the time I have had.  It seems like just yesterday Chase and Jeff got into Chase's car and drove cross country to Virginia to move him to college.  Today he is a Senior at Virginia Tech.  In one week Jeff and I will make what is likely our last trip to visit Chase at school (other than when we go to his graduation).  I CAN'T wait to see him.   There are so many things about Chase that I adore.  He is a hard worker!  He worked full time this entire summer (other than the few weeks off after falling of scaffolding)!  Adam gave him a job working for him and we were so grateful for that.  Thank you Adam!  Chase learned a lot!  Chase also works hard at school.  His program is NOT easy and he puts in hours and hours at school.  He is a great example of diligence!

 One of my favorite things about Chase is his relationship with his dad.  They are SO much alike.  They are both funny, relatively laid back and super considerate.  Chase has turned into an incredible adult!  Sometimes, one some random weekday, or late at night I will get a nice text!  It truly fill me with joy!  Chase puts up with me.  I worry, get over protective and do all those things that drive kids crazy.  Especially adult kids!  When he leaves after the summer I cry on his bed and text him and tell him to come home!  He totally wins a medal for putting up with me!

Chase is an incredible brother.  The younger kids think he is the bomb!  They all look up to him and always want to hang out with him.  He is definitely a great example to all of them.

Chase is athletic and dares do anything!  He snowboards and wake boards like a maniac.  He loved to hike and camp in the wilderness.  This photo is from this very day!  Cut himself in a flag football game and needed stitches.  Chaser will never say he missed out on life.

Happy Birthday!  We love you and are so grateful for you!

Jordan's Baptism!

On September 1st at 9:00 a.m. Jordan was baptized and confirmed!  It was one of the most wonderful, peaceful days in my memory!  Jordan was beautiful and truly felt the special spirit of that day.   She had so many of her family and friends there to help share the great occasion!  

 Here is a copy of the front and back of the announcement we sent out.  Jord picked out the pictures and colors.  Hollee Evans did the announcement and it was beautiful!

 Jordan truly looks like a princess.  Jeff baptized and confirmed her and did a beautiful job.  Jordie had been talking about this day for months and she said it lived up to all of her expectations!  Here are Jeff and Jordan prior to the baptism.

 Grandma and Grandpa were, of course, there to support Jordan!

 All the "littles" with Jeff prior to the baptism.

 Jord's good friend Avery came to support her.  Her friend Sicily also came but I didn't get a picture of her!

 Jord had great family support at her baptism.  Her Grandpa Elden and Grandpa Forsgren were the witnesses for the Baptism.  Her Priesthood support was incredible!  Jeff confirmed her and Grandpa Elden, Lance, Ryan, Shea, Adam, Bob,  Grandpa Forsgren, Ben and Bishop Brown stood in the circle.  Our Primary Presidency were there and so were her current primary teachers, Sister Lindley and Sister Simmons and her past primary teacher Brother and Sister Sorenson.  The Sorensons have a special place in my heart as they followed all of the girls Jord's age through primary for 2 years.  I think they were friends in Heaven!  Jordan's favorite school teacher happened to be there playing the piano and her daughter sang as part of the program, which was super "tender."

Here is Jord and Mannie!  Samantha is SO excited for upcoming baptism.  She was SO cute and supportive of Jordan.  These two absolutely make my heart swell.   The babies are getting baptized!

 Malee and Andres posing with Jordie.  Maelee LOVES her big girl cousins!

 Jeff's sister DiannaMarie drove down from Idaho Falls to support Jordan!  Her brother Bob and his family also came from Salt Lake but had to head back before dinner because their kids had to work!

 Here is my family minus Lance who was down at the gas station getting ice!  I have the most incredible family and am grateful for them everyday!  My Aunt Carolyn and Jen also came but could not say for dinner!

 Jord with Jeff and I and Grandma and Grandpa.  Every once in a while our Heavenly Father blesses me with a day that feels "perfect."  That is how this day was for me.  When I was helping Jord change after her baptism I wanted to keep her in that dressing room forever.  She was perfect and she knew it!! Those minutes were some I will never forget!  We are so blessed to part of such a pure Gospel.  Only the truth can create a peace that can permeate your soul!  Thank you Jord for providing all of us with such an incredible day and making such a great choice.   Thank you Jeff for being a worthy Priesthood holder and being able to perform these sacred ordinances and thank you for supporting Jordan in every way and loving in the way only you can!  Thank you to everyone who loves Jord!  Jord LOVES her family.  She stops at her Aunt Kim's house every morning before and after school just to check in, get a treat, a hug and squeeze the baby! Jord was born at a tender time, a time when her extended family stepped in and loved her like no one else could!  Those years have shaped her relationship with them forever!  I am grateful to that and grateful for the life Jordan has lived!  I can't wait to see what this cute girl throws at us next!  I love you Jord!!

Happy Birthday Mitchy!

 Mitchell turned 12 on August 30!  We were lucky enough to have Mitch with us on his birthday this year!  He and Jeff spent the day together.  Then we took the entire family (about 20) of us to Chuck-a-Rama.  Mitchell and the other kids had a blast!  Mitchy got a new air soft gun, vest and ammo, new scriptures, lego stuff and a gift card to Game Stop!

 Mitchy is the funniest, most loving kid!  He keeps us all in stitches with his hilarious one liners!!

 Jordan got to pick a "guest" to read a Christmas story to her class last year.  She choose Mitch!  It was SO darling.  He did such a great job.  He, Jordan and Taylor have gotten along SO well this summer!

 Mitchy loves his family!  He LOVES it when Chase is here and truly looks up to his older brother.  Mitchy is super fun and has some really good friends in our neighborhood.  The kids always ask Jordan on the bus when "Mitch will be here."  They love him!!!

Mitchy loves his cousins.  He and Hunter have became great friends this summer and "hung out" for hours and hours and had countless sleep overs!  Mitchy is so great to have here and every time he leaves our home is a little different.  Mitchy started building me a "lego creation" every time he leaves and he puts in on the mantle.  I leave if there until he comes the next time and then be takes it down and builds me a new one.  I sure love this boy!!  Happy 12th Birthday Mitchy!!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Jordie!

 Jordie is 8 today!  Wow!  I can't believe how fast time goes by.

 Jordan is SO excited to get baptized!  She talks about her big event endlessly and we are so excited for                                                                                          the great decision she has made. Jord is such a beautiful girl with a big spirit!  Jordan LOVES her cousins!  Jordan LOVES her entire family!  Jordan LOVES her friends!  She prefers to be playing with someone or going somewhere!  

 In the last year Jordan took ski lessons, swim lessons, piano and violin lessons, played soccer and softball and is taking dance lessons!  She is definately a fun girl who prefers to be on the go!!  Don't get me wrong..  Jord loves her down time.  She can often be found with a blanket covering her lap, sitting on a chair while watching televisions.  FERN!

What I hope to remember about Jordan's 7th year of life.

 Jordan worked SO hard in school and made great gains!

 Jordan's sense of humor.  Her one liners keep us laughing all the time!

 The look on her face when she hugs someone she really loves!

 Jordan's tender heart.  Underneath all her silliness is a very tender little Spirit!

 Jordan's work ethic.  She is the hardest working and most helpful child I have!  

 How much Jordie is loved by everyone!  At home, in the neighborhood, at church and 

 school..  Jord has a special place in so many people's hearts!!

 All of the activities Jord participated in. We attended piano recitals, swim lessons and  

 countless sporting events!  Go Jord!

 Thank you  Jord for making our home such a fun and incredible place to be.  

We love you and look forward to many great years of fun and adventure!

                          

                          

Summer 2012

I know it is impossible to cram an entire summer into one post.  But because of my slackerness I must do that!  It is long so please feel free to skip!!

 Jeff ran Rangar again and loved it as usual.  It is such a fun event!  Their team did great and finished faster than ever before!  I think they placed like 21st in or something like that!  AWESOME!!

                             Jill, Tonia and I volunteered at Ragnar.  I truly is such a fun time!

 We spend a few weeks at Bear Lake.  I love Bear Lake!  It is quite possibly one of my favorite places on this earth!  The kids were in the Raspberry days parade and loved it as usual.  We spent a lot of time on the water in the boat and loved our first summer with a boat!  Both Taylor and Jordan got up on the wakeboard and hopefully will keep at it!  Hunter became nearly an expert and Reg improved a ton!  Chase continued to do all sort of tricks and flips!  I don't have a picture but Mitchy feel in love with this kayak that my dad bought.  He paddled around in that for hours!  It was really fun to watch!

 Carolyn, Steve, Jen and Jer and their kids joined us at Bear Lake for the 4th.  Baby Leah's first time at the lake.  She LOVED Taesha.  It was so fun to watch!  I love both of these girls!

 Jord played soccer and softball.  Both seasons were SO fun.  The Wellsville girls were always  SO good in softball and Jord's team did not disappoint!  She played on Samantha's team and they had a blast!

 Taylor continued to play soccer and has improved so much!  My sweet little violin player is super aggressive and truly on of the better players on her team.  They made it to the championship game at the Cache Cup.  It was SO fun!!  I have had the opportunity of spending a lot of time with these girls and LOVE them all!  This team has parties and spends tons of time together which I love.  I consider these families some of my dearest friends!  Tsunami soccer is a huge blessing in our life.  A blessing that has nothing to do with winning or losing and far more to do with character development and friendships!

                                                              Tay sporting her medal!

                   Some of my favorite Tsunami Mommy's!  Great ladies who I love spending time with!!

It is sad when you have a boat and the only photo I have is of it being pulled in the parade.  We had SO much fun with our boat that I had to put it in as one of the highlights of summer!!

 I just had to add this photo!  I love it!  Mitchy always rides in the front with Lance at the parade!

 I was able to go to girls camp this year as one of the directors.  What an amazing, incredible experience!  These Young Women are incredible!  The future women of the church are strong, we are in good hands!  I fell in love with every one of these girls!  We went to a high adventure camp and they really had to stretch both physically and mentally.  It was a blessing to feel their spirit and "SOAK" up the Son with them.

The greater blessing was attending camp with my Taylor.  She is a brave, incredible girl and is truly a leader among her peers.  She was among the first to do all of the activities which made me proud.  But the truly telling moment was when she was among the first to bear her testimony.  Every once in a while parents get a payday.   That was definately mine!  I told Kim that being a camp director is such a cruel calling!!  You work with these girls for months getting ready to go, spend an incredible week with them and then it's all over!  I seriously had withdrawals for several weeks.  The good news is that I created a relationship with each and every one of them and they will all have a special place in my heart always!

 I couldn't find a picture of Jordan's swimming lessons.  She took from the same lady that taught me to swim!  I loved watching!!  Jord became a great swimmer this summer!

The Summer of 2012 was incredible for so many reasons!  This was the first summer I was a "stay at home mom"  Wow!!  What a lot of work!  I wouldn't change it for all of the money in the world!  I was grateful every day for my sweet husband who makes it possible!  I absolutely love caring for him and our kids and try (not always successfully) to never take any of these sweet moments with my family for granted!

First Day 2012

I know!  I know!  I have not blogged since April.  My family is mad at me because they love reading the blog and my intention in starting was to create a history for my family.  Well, nothing tugs at my heart strings more than the first day of school.  It was so great, it inspired me to get back to blogging... At least for today:)

Here are the kids at the bus stop.  I know I say it all the time but I just can't overstate how grateful I am to live in this neighborhood.  You can see Jord towards the right hand side, standing by Reg and Sammy.

 Tay on the way out the door.  She is going into 7th grade and did not think that I should take a picture. She is such a beautiful girl and was SO excited for school.  While she was at school her young women leaders brought by the cutest little gift!  Again, how blessed are we?

 Tay and Brytan!  It seems just like yesterday that Heather (Brytan's mom) and I took them to Kindergarten together.  They have gone to school on the first day together ever year since then, 8 years! It hit me hard today that we are more than half way through their schooling.  They are growing up so be great young women and still BFF's!  Another blessing!!  When I took this picture was the first time I cried today.  The second time was shortly after when I saw Hunter's bus pull away!  He was going to a new school and I just took on his anxiety for just a minute!  When I saw him after school he said he did great!

 Jordie getting ready for 3rd grade!  She is so pretty!!  She was not totally excited as school is not her favorite thing.  In fact, her Grandpa Elden called her last night to tell her to have a good day and she replied, "I highly doubt that!."  She did however have a great day!

 Jordie and Kinnicko (as the kids call him).  She doesn't walk anywhere near Kim's house without picking him up.  We all love that baby!!  I'll bet he had a great day because he didn't have 5 kids in his face all day long!!

 Reg, Jord and Mannie!  Love, love these girlies!  It is so comforting to send them to school together.  Check our Mannie striking a pose!

 Jord getting off the bus.  Every year she limps off...  This year it was blisters!  That girl!

                                           Jord, Avery and Sicily.  Our neighbors and friends.

 Jord and Sicily, BFF's.  Sicily is Brytan's sister and I can't overstate how grateful I am for this family!

All of the kids at the "Snack Shack!"  Best neighborhood tradition ever.  My picture taking was weak because Mannie did not get off the bus!  She thought either Kim or I was picking her up because it was dance day so we had a moment of panic until we found her.  She was waiting at school!!  Jeff even came home from work to go to the Snack Shack but again, no photos because of trying to locate Mannie!

Every first day of school is a day I will never get back.  Mitchy will start school in the next few weeks and Chase left for his Senior year at Virginia Tech a few days ago.  This summer was particularly hard to let my Chaser go because he will graduate and move onto who knows what!  But he will likely no longer be coming home for the summer :(!  I took some laundry down to his room on Tuesday and had a vitrual melt down.  I just sat on his bed for a while.  Then I sent him a text and told him to drop out of school and come home!  He knew I was kidding!  Jeff and I are so proud of him!!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Happy 12th Birthday Taylor. I am taking a break from blog catch up to post for Tay's birthday. Taylor has had a HUGE year. She started middle school and gets all A's (okay one B). She has turned into a young woman. She worries about boys and how she looks. I could have done without that for a few more years. We moved and so our backyard touches her BFF. We took a video of when we told the kids we were moving. For the first time in Taylor's life she cried "tears of joy." Taylor has a special sense about her. She knows how to help and interact with people in such a sweet tender way. She is very kind. A few months ago we were out of town at a soccer tournament and taking some time at an arcade. She spotted a girl who was alone and looked sad. Without my even knowing she went over to the girl and gave her all of her tokens. Taylor also has "crushes" now. The great news is she talks to me. I would not trade the time from 2:10 when Taylor gets home to 3:50 when Jord gets home for anything. Taylor and I have nearly two hours. That time is precious. Taylor is so determined and resilient. She is one tough little nut and is bound to make a difference in this world!!

Taylor loves the "finer things in life." She recently got a foot spa and loves it. When she asked me for it I about died! But she really wanted it and begged until the Easter Bunny finally showed up with it. She loves her hair done, make up on and cute clothes. She is definately turning into a teenager!

Taylor has fun no matter where she goes or what she is doing. She is a natural leader and I love to watch her guide a situation. She is funny and silly and makes me laugh!

Taylor loves her violin. This photo is after one of her violin concerts. She is playing for the fourth year now and getting very good. Taylor also loves her Grandparents. When we go on vacation she always wants to sleep in the same room as Grandma. I will often her Taylor's voice still talking Grandma's ear off at midnight. Those conversations are precious! We are so blessed that Taylor has grandparents that she loves and sees very often, grandparents that are part of her daily life! Taylor is pretty.. Grandma Tamra calls her porcelain. She is just beautiful. A large part of that beauty is the light in her eyes. She will enter Young Women's tomorrow and I have cried off and on all day. She is so excited! I pray that passion for the gospel grows stronger as she gets older. She is never afraid to look someone square in the eyes and tell them what she believes is right. She has an incredible testimony. It is often Taylor who reminds us of scripture study and family prayer.
Taylor recently started playing competitive soccer. She has made some of the most incredible friends and the experience has been fabulous. She has become so athletic and its so fun to watch her and these girls! Go Tsunami!
Taylor has the most darling friends. I love their innocence and wish it would stay that way forever. They are good for each other and promote good things. They are also silly and funny. I recently read a book entitled "6 ways to keep the little in your girl." One of them was "be the carpool queen and party mom." In other wards, have your kids friends at your house, talk with them and spend time with them. I am so lucky there girls spend so much time at our house! I love it and I love them!

Taylor is SO good with little kids. She loves her little cousins and begs to spend time with them. We always tease that Maelee has been on "Tay's hip" since she was about a month old. Taylor recently took up driving the rhino at the ranch and there is always 3 or 4 kids in there with her. Her Aunts and Uncles love Tay because she is always such a help with the little kids.

Taylor truly is an incredible young woman. My motto in raising her is "do no harm." If I can just stay out of her way she will do incredible things!! She is so driven and has such a strong internal compass... Which I hope she continues to strengthen. Happy Birthday Tay. You truly make my life a better, more meaningful place.