Oh Brother Where Art Thou!

My little/big brother got home from his mission on Friday. It was so exciting to see him. Two years seems like an eternity. It went by fast and slow just like everything else in life. He has been serving in the Nova Scotia/Newfoundland mission. We are all so happy that he is home. For about the whole first year he was gone Cruze kept telling me that he wanted uncle Chase to snuggle him. The kids love him so much, as do the rest of us.

Weekly Thoughts!

Many of you may know that I am the secretary in the Relief Society Presidency. I love my calling, the presidency I am so lucky to get to work with, and I love the sisters in our ward. This calling has been so great for me to be able to get to know so many more sisters than the ones that I previously worked with in YW and Primary.
So I am now doing weekly thoughts and/or quotes through our email and I have decided that because they are uplifting I am going to put them on my blog. Some of them have questions and I would love it if you added your two cents on my comments.

This quote is about the unity in our home and the effect that the mom's attitude towards her family can have. After you have read the quote ask yourself, How can I increase unity in my family?

"May I suggest that we give more of ourselves...It might be something as simple as smiling more in our homes. What would you think of speaking more cheerfully? Trying more often to say please and thank you? What would you think of finding an opportunity for one sincere compliment for each person each day and then watching them respond? What if you decided to be cheerful tonight at the dinner table and at bedtime, and in spite of what others do or say, hold to your course. " H.Burke Peterson Conference Report Oct. 1972

What a challenge, good luck!!

Star Valley

Enza playing on the blanket waiting for the fireworks to start.

Gauge playing at the park

Cruze going up the ladder on the slide. The kids played at the park as well and had so much fun. Poor Enza had to hang with me instead, because there was no sand just little choking sized rocks.

Earlier that day we were outside playing on the dirt bike and exploring grandma and grandpa's yard. Star Valley truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth.


We went to Ethan's old stomping ground and had the boys race around the track. For those of you who don't know Ethan was an amazing track star in junior high and high school. He placed at state and could have got a variety of scholarships but chose to work and save money for his mission instead. I would like to say that he was blessed with me for his efforts. He is still a very impressive runner. I wish I had that problem.



Every year over the 24th we go up to Star Valley Wyoming to be with Ethan's family for pioneer day. They have mountains, fields, and the ultimate Candy Drop. In case you do not know what a candy drop is you are truly missing out. It is when a small airplane flies overhead and drops candy to all the waiting kiddos. They love it and rush to find candy, however my kids were so enamored with the big airplane that was flying low that they didn't get much candy. I kept prompting Ethan to go and grab some candy for them. Either way they loved it and keep talking about it.

All in all we had a very nice trip and the drive wasn't too bad. Bless the portable DVD player.