I am in LOVE!

Have you ever been in love?  The kind where you are thinking about your love constantly?

A forbidden love - one that you know is no good for you?  

Well, that has happened to me.  I know I shouldn't, but I just can't seem to help myself.

I am totally in love!

and I think I'm going to need some help!

You're Amazing Ashley

I have always thought my daughter Ashley was amazing.  I thought it was because of our mother/daughter relationship, you know the kind, she is my daughter so she is loving, smart, kind, talented, can do nothing wrong kind of a girl, whereas, I am her mother so I am the sun that she revolves around.  Well, one day, not long ago we got a call from a good friend who also happens to be this amazing writer, and he says he wants to write a story about Ashley!  What! Now the world will know what I have always known, You're Amazing Ashley!

 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705397477/Young-hero-smiles-thrives-after-being-crushed-by-dresser.html

Check out the follow-up article, and yes, I am a bit jealous of the goodies she received from David Archuleta

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865554131/The-story-you-havent-heard-about-David-Archuletas-mission.html

Happy Birthday Honey

It was my husbands birthday today and I have to tell you, he is the most amazing man I know!  Not only is he handsome, but he is also kind, funny, generous, helpful, and too many other things to be listed here.  

Earlier in the month I asked him to give me a list of  things he wanted for his birthday - on his list he included what he wanted for dinner, grilled pork tenderloin, cheesy potatoes, green beans, and homemade rolls.  For dessert he wanted Texas sheet cake with one candle  (at his age it must be difficult to blow out THAT many candles!)

Apparently he couldn't wait for us to cut the cake, so he just digs right in!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Miss Emma

Found this paper in a old notebook yesterday, written almost 7 years ago on the day my youngest was born.  It was written by my then 13 year old describing her youngest sibling.  It is amazing to me how quickly children grow and change, and how many details we forget.  Thanks to Laura I have an (impartial) written record of what my baby looked like the day she was born

Miss E has changed so much in the past 7 years. 

Scotland

For my birthday this year my husband arranged for us to take a trip to Scotland.  We had a 10 hour layover in Paris, so we took the bus from the airport to the downtown area.

 We visited quite a few castles while we were in Scotland.  The one above is not a castle but the hotel we stayed in outside of Stirling.

You may recognize this castle (Dounan Castle)  it was used in the movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

This is the Urquarhart Castle located on Loch Ness (sorry, no sightings of Nessie)

This is Edinburgh Castle (could never get a good picture due to the unrelenting fog)

We spent some time traveling through the Scottish highlands and found this highland cow.

Some of the time we spent searching for our ancestors

and there is nothing quite like a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes!

Kite Festival

On Saturday our family went to the local park for the annual kite festival.

We scoped out a nice place for a picnic

J was showing us just how it was to be done

Miss E took to the kite flying like a pro!

Smash was more interested in getting a suntan!  It was a wonderful day!