A Princess's Song

Once upon a time there was a blonde little princess who was six years old and not afraid of anything! (Okay, except maybe spiders...they will occasionally elicit a shriek or two!) The princess was asked to sing a song in the Thatcher 7th Ward Primary Program. Her mom was nervous...and asked if there was another prince or princess that would sing with her. Nope, she was to perform all alone--a solo. The princess wasn't afraid or even nervous, she was excited in fact! The song was her favorite of all favorites and she already knew the words by heart--I Love To See The Temple.

The days passed quickly and the princess practiced her solo with her Nana the Queen and any time she was in her royal coach. She learned to sing softly, then loudly, then on tune. Finally, the big day arrived. Again, her mom was nervous, but not the princess--only a look of excitement filled her eyes. First, she sang all the songs loudly and proudly with all the other kids in the kingdom. Next, she stood and said her part without flaw. Then, it was her turn to sing alone and she waltzed to the pulpit and opened her mouth. Out came the beautiful words of the song and then a precious smile crossed her lips as she realized she was finished. She had done it! Sang all alone and beautifully! Her family sitting in the back watching her had never been so proud! Their smiles radiated the love they felt for the princess's song and for the princess. It was truly a fairytale to remember!

The Princess even loves her naughty little prince of a brother!

Family Fun

Last Saturday, we made a trek to Tucson for a little fun family getaway. Our first stop was Disney On Ice Worlds of Fantasy. Jason had tried to say that ice skating shows were just for women and small children...but I convinced him this was a family excursion for all and it wasn't optional for him to miss out. (I was actually pleasantly surprised to see another family from our ward there--with the Dad in tow....men are so funny about these things!)
Cute family huh?! We stood in line to see princess dresses and all the things fairy tales are made of....Reagan loved this and we even got to see Cinderella and Belle (which was great since these are her two favorite princesses right now). Daddy and Travis weren't as impressed as us girls were...at least while waiting in line!
Reagan and I had been to Disney on Ice once before so we were prepared for the awe and wonder, but I think it really surprised and impressed Jason and Travis. Jason became the official photographer and I think I ended up with over 75 pics of the amazing event. It was broken up into four little segments: Cars, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Tinkerbelle. Travis was glued to the entire show and I don't think ever took his eyes off the ice. His favorite was Lightening McQueen and Mater of course....he was so excited to see them in person. (He loves to watch the movie and every night we read one of three Mater stories...I think he's addicted!) As for Reagan, she was glad to have a friend at her side--the C's joined our in our little getaway so Lucy and Reagan took turns singing quite loudly along with the performance. It was hilarious and so sweet at the same time! Reagan said her favorite was the Lion King part and she definitely sang the loudest during it...she knows the songs by heart. I just enjoyed the awe of it all...my kids being so excited, Jason and I being relaxed, and just taking in the amazing talent of the skaters/actors/actresses. It really was cool. We'll definitely do it again one day!

We finished out the trip with some shopping, a wonderful dinner at Carraba's, and a comfy night's stay at the Hilton (Yeah for Priceline!!!). The kids especially loved the pool! They are both still fish and loved the water, even though it was a bit on the chilly side! We all love home, but it was nice to get away for a day and enjoy some family fun!

Travis is 2!!!!!

WOW! Time sure flies when you are having fun...and I have to be honest--its been nothing but FUN since little guy came along. He is so funny, easy going, loving, crazy, and even naughty...I can't believe he's already 2! He is such a big boy, yet he's still so small and still my baby!

What a boy Travis is...he loves tractors right now so of course that was the theme of his party on Saturday. ( He knows green tractors are John Deere and those are his favorites right now which made decorating even easier since those are Daddy's favorite's too!) We invited family and friends over for the birthday celebration. Jason grilled chicken and I made a tractor cake and we were set!

After dinner, there was a pony race--I'm still not sure who won...and who just made galloping look good! Then was the coveted tractor train ride on Poppa's train. The kids ALL loved this! (Thanks for letting us borrow it and for the rides Poppa!) Next, was the pinata that was big enough to ride...Travis loved it and I thought he wasn't going to enjoy tearing it to bits, but I was wrong--he whacked that tractor with all his might with the best of them, knocking off the first tire! Travis got lots of fun big boy toys---tractors, trucks, tools, puzzles, and cute tractor pants. He was a typical 2 year old and hated giving up one present to open the next...and just wanted to eat his pinata candy and the bag of candy Uncle Tanner gave him so there were some tears and a bit of a fit--told ya he is naughty! He did love blowing out the candles on his tractor cake though and tried and tried unsuccessfully until he finally got some cousin and sister help! He also loved the tractors his Daddy bought him--we had to pry them out of his hand when it was time to go to bed that night! He also loved his workbench Jason built just for him, with tools and all...he is "fix'n" everything now! Too cute! It was a fun party! Thanks to all who came and shared in our fun...and thanks for the awesome gifts--Travis loves them all!

Naughty or not, we love Travis and are grateful to have him in our lives! Happy 2nd Birthday Travis! We love you!

Fair Fun '09

Oh, the fun of fair week! Reagan made cookies, drew pictures, and got a day off school. Yeah! Then, it was off to the fair parade to watch with the cousins. Next, we made the trek to the Fair...I'm sure there was a cloud of influenza floating over the top, but we still braved it--Reagan was dying to see her ribbons--and she got lots of blues and reds!!-- and get on as many rides as possible. Travis was just thrilled to see the chickens and ducks. (Him and his Daddy took their time admiring all the weird breeds!) It was exciting, but about 3 hours of fair fun was about all we could stand...

Saturday morning, Jason blessed baby Kaela Belle, my sister's little 4 month old girl. It was a beautiful blessing and I'm glad Tanya knows the importance of this special ordinace. I hope and pray she continues to raise Kaela in the gospel...

5K: Mosquitoes & A Simple Lesson

Okay, so I don't have any pics to prove I was there.....but I did the Fair 5K with the other crazy valley runners on Saturday. It was a beautiful cool morning, but the mosquitoes were out in full force. The run was fun--even saw a few good friends. I even manged to finish in 29:53...slow I know, but it felt fast to me...maybe just because I was running to get away from the mosquitoes! (Too funny--the mosquitoes were all on Powerline Rd. by my in-laws house which we ran right in front of!)

Two little twin boys ran ahead of me most of the race. They looked about 4, but later their Dad told me they were 6 (told ya I was slow!). These boys ran and ran...one boy would often get a bit side tracked and slow down and even vear off the beaten path. The other boy would often have to stop, turn around, and guide his brother's attention back to the task at hand by putting his arm around his shoulders or holding his hand. The side-tracked boy would be guided back and then later sprint ahead and the cycle would start all over. The scene was priceless--I was amazed by the determination of the guiding boy and the perserverance of the side-tracked one. It reminded me that I don't run alone...I don't go through life alone...I have a big brother named Jesus Christ that will lead and guide me too...and he'll even help me when I get sidetracked like I often do. What a great reminder of a simple lesson on a race day!

Being A Boy....

Being a boy means playing hard...and sometimes falling even harder! Check out Travis's black eye and nose and lip scrapes 3 days after falling off the swing set at Nana's! Poor kid! He cried lots when it happened---guess it really did hurt! Travis is such a boy!

An October Tradition...

Mine and Jason's first date involved pumpkins....so it is fitting that we have kept pumpkins in our family traditions. We made our beloved (at least by me and the kids--Jason thinks its a bit of a racket) trip to Apple Annie's in Wilcox. There is just something cool about riding a tractor out into a field and picking your very own pumpkin....Reagan even cut her own and Travis did his best too. Of course, it was quite the search for the perfect pumpkin, but since the weather was cool and beautiful--in the 60's--we didn't mind at all!

Travis was a bit leery of the corn pits, but Reagan loved every minute of getting buried in the dirty stuff! The sunflowers were in full bloom and the kids loved seeing all the bees on them. We enjoyed some kettle corn and had endured a bit of long line to get Reagan's 3 little "hand" pumpkins...she insisted she needed some pumpkins that were small enough to fit in her hand--silly girl!

Our day just wouldn't have been complete if we hadn't gone on into Wilcox for the Rex Allen Day's Tractor Pulls. Jason took his little orange tractor to show it off, but decided not to pull. So, we along with Kent and Rose, just sat on the side lines this time and watched. They had just a few antique tractors pull and then some supped up ones from all over the US pulled--very exciting, but very fast and loud! Travis loved every minute of it! Guess it was no surprise since tractors are his favorite right now!

So it is--a pumpkin and tractor tradition that we are keeping alive...and enjoying!