Quincy's sweet testimony

I wanted to write this down before I forgot. Several months ago in fast and testimony meeting Quincy leaned over to me about 5 minutes before the meeting would end and told me that she wanted to go up there. I was shocked and instantly panicked, because I knew that would also require me to go with her! She is braver than I am and I was not planning to bear my testimony this day. I asked her if she had in mind what she wanted to say and we talked for a few minutes...a few too many minutes because then the counselor in the bishopric stood up and closed the meeting. She was disappointed to say the least. For the next month she asked every week if it was the meeting where she could go up and bear her testimony. It was actually two months later because we were out of town the following fast Sunday. Finally the day came and she marched up there right at the beginning of the meeting. She did it all by herself and bore a very simple sweet testimony. She has gone up every week since, including the week of her baptism while Grandpa and Grandma Southwick were attending church with us. They were impressed with her courage. I know that she does truly have a testimony. Very simple and new, but nonetheless a testimony of her own. For this I am truly grateful.

Cindy's Funeral

In May Cindy passed away. She faught a most courageous and amazing battle with colon cancer for 8 years. I have never witnessed someone with cancer live a more full and active life than she was able to, even right up until the end. She had amazing faith and was always hopeful and positive. She was a great example to all of us and we will definately miss her in our family. My heart goes out to Dave and her girls. So grateful that we have the gospel and know what we do about eternal families.

I love this picture of Quincy, Brinley and Lilly. So cute!!

Everyone except for Mike Corry and John and Debbie's kids were able to come and be there for the four day weekend. We all stayed at the same hotel and it was a fun weekend together in spite of the circumstances we were there for.

The cousins took advantage of the pool at the hotel.

Cindy will definately be missed but we are so happy that we know where she is!!

Family Pictures 2011

We have been trying to get our family pictures done each year. Chris takes them with his camera and he does a great job. This year he added a remote control to his bag of camera toys so we got to have our pictures taken with the click of a button instead of him racing back into position. The only problem was trying to hide the remote. It sneaked itself into a few pictures! We decided this year we wanted to have them taken in our neighbors barn. We asked permission and set the date. All was working well until the wind started blowing. We were all pretty much freezing and had such a hard time holding all of our "girl" hair into place. Unfortunately there was not a super family group picture where the wind wasn't causing problems!! Poor Binley had a hard time keeping all of that long blonde hair out of her face.

The kids being a little bit silly!!!


This was my favorite picture. I think they all look so cute holding hands! Kade thought he was going to die, but he lived through it. You will notice that he really isn't holding Quincy's hand but rather her whole wrist!!

Brinley...our whistling dixie!!

Brinley learned to whistle!! Great accomplishment for a 5 year old!

Chris is the best whistler ever. When we were first married and lived in an apartment we had neighbors above and on both sides of us. They would tease Chris because they could hear him singing "armies of Helamon" in the shower every morning and they could hear him whistling as he came home from school every afternoon. They used to say that they knew it was him coming long before they could see him!! Well, Brinley is growing up to be just like her Daddy. Chris is a very proud papa right now. Our other kids really can't whistle very well, but she is becoming a pro.

The other day we went somewhere and when we got there Brinley had fallen asleep in the backseat of the car. Chris woke her up to get her out. Still half asleep she sat up and started to whistle. She is one funny girl!

Brinley graduates from Pre-School!

This is Brinley's pre-school class. She has attended the USU child development lab on the Brigham City Campus. It has been an awesome pre-school. She loved all of her teachers and made so many new friends.
She carpooled to school with two of our little neighbor kids (Kate and Jackson). They were the only group that came together as a group of 3. They were nicknamed the "three amigos". They were all very proud of this. Brinley was so funny. We saw Kate at Walmart one day and she said, "now if we could just find Jackson we would have all 3 amigos here".

This was supposed to be our photo opp but Brinley wouldn't look up! Her teacher Kelly is giving her a diploma. She is out of school a full month before the other kids. We are both a little worried about how we will fill our days now with just the two of us together all day. She is anxious for the other kids to get out of school too.

Great Job Brinley...you make a cute graduate!!

Quincy's Baptism (April 30th)

Quincy officially became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Saturday April 30, 2011. She was excited for her baptism day. This picture was actually taken the day after her baptism before we went to church. I think she looks like an angel.
Quincy and Chris before the meeting started.


Quincy on her special day.



We were lucky enough to get the church reserved for our lunch after her baptism. It was a cold day outside and we didn't think we could fit everyone in our house. We are grateful Grandma Wyatt could make it. She left Grandpa in good hands and was able to come spend the afternoon with us.

Quincy, Brinley & Maddie. Cute girls!
We have a great family and lots were there to support Quincy. We had Grandma Wyatt, Grandpa and Grandma Southwick, Grandpa and Grandma Tom & Barb, Chris & Jenni & kids, Clint & Heidi & kids, Alex, Bill & Marci, Alecia and Alex. Sarah, Emilee, Alecia and Kylee. Beautiful girls!!

Lots of yummy food.

Grandpa and Grandma Southwick and Bill and Marci were able to be with us. Grandpa and Grandma stayed and went to church with us the next day. We had Bill and Marci come back on Sunday and have dinner with us. It was a wonderful weekend!!

Quincy was baptized and confirmed by her Dad. Those who were able to stand in the circle and help with her confirmation were Uncle Clint, Uncle Alex, Grandpa Southwick, Grandpa Tom, Uncle Chris, and Uncle Bill and our Bishop.

Everyone helped to make her baptismal program special. Grandma Barb played the piano, Emilee led the opening song and Kylee led the closing song, Grandma Southwick gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, Grandpa Southwick and Grandpa Tom were the witnesses for the baptism, and Kade gave the opening prayer.

We are proud of you Quincy for your great decision to become a member of the church and make those special covenants with Heavenly Father. We love you.

Quincy's 8th Birthday (April)

In our family, on your 8th birthday you get your own set of new scriptures. Quincy knew this and was actually very excited for them. She made a request for "the small ones". All of the other kids have the standard size but we honored her wish and got her a small print set. Hopefully her eyes always stay good!!
She got some new summer clothes from Grandpa Tom and Grandma Barb. She also got some money and a nice card in the mail from Grandpa and Grandma Southwick and Grandpa and Grandma Wyatt.

Quincy had a friend party this year (this was our 3rd friend party in 2 months...so hopefully no more for years to come!). She invited 7 little girls and we had a giggling party going on. She had a butterfly themed party. They played butterfly relay games, wrapped each other up with toilet paper like a cocoon, made butterflies with watercolors and coffee filters, ate butterfly cupcakes and decorated little fabric bags. The only thing that didn't go so perfect at the party was the fact that they went outside and had a little fun on our tire swing. Our kids are used to it and it doesn't bother them so they forget that others might not be the same. One little girl puked on the way home in our suburban and we heard later that another little girl threw up when she got home. They both said they got sick on the swing!! Oops!

Happy Birthday Quincy...We love you lots!!

Easter 2011 (April)

Coloring easter eggs! I am so grateful that even my big kids still love to do things like this! I love to see all of them doing things together. Kylee, Emilee and Kade were every bit as excited to do eggs this year as Brinley and Quincy were!







You can't color easter eggs without at least one cup of color landing on the floor! Brinley was the proud owner of this spill! We now have pink tile grout. It will remind us of the memories I guess. I must be an old mom, this would have completely freaked me out several years ago. Brinley and Quincy have the older kids to thank for mellowing me out!!





Sunday we celebrated by waking up to treats from the Easter Bunny. He left candy in baskets and flip flops for all the girls and a backpacking survival kit for Kade.





I am grateful that Easter is always on Sunday. Going to church helps remind us of the real reason we celebrate Easter. It was nice to go and reflect upon the resurrection of the Savior and all that it means for our family. I am so grateful for the blessings that come from the gospel. We are very blessed.

And the room turns GREEN...BRIGHT GREEN!!! (March)

Emilee has been begging to repaint her room. She claimed she just could not stand my pale yellow choice for one more day. Sooo we came upon a compromise. She agreed to repaint her room for a personal progress 10 hour project. She also had to clean and reorganize it. She did a great job. She learned how to tape, cut in, and roll on the paint. She did most of the entire project on her own.

She wanted it bright...no pastels... and she definately got it!! It glows!! She loves it.

Kylee's Jr. Prom!!! (March)

Kylee got asked to her Jr. Prom. So fun!!! We knew we would have a hard time finding a dress the right length to fit her so we opted to rent one. We found a cool place in Bountiful where she had over 900 dresses to choose from! I was a little worried that we would be there for a couple days with that many choices, but she did great. She found her perfect match in only 1 hour!!! It fit her like it had been made for her. She looked sooo beautiful. Just like Cinderella.
Just a funny little story. Kylee and her friend both agreed to wear their dresses on the Sunday after Prom. As we walked into the chapel that morning for Sacrament meeting, every little girl watched her from the time she walked in until she sat down. A little 3 year old girl was sitting across from us. She kept peeking at Kylee out of the corner of her eye during the whole meeting. A couple little girls came up to her in the hall and aksed if they could touch her dress. It was so cute. Kylee decided that when she "grows up" she wants to be Cinderella in Disneyland!


Her date...Jared McRory. He's a cute boy. She had a good time.


Not a great picture, but this is them at the Promenade. She looked beautiful!

Brinley's 5th Birthday (February)

Brinley is 5!!! How did my baby turn 5!! Time goes by way too fast. This year for her birthday she wanted a ladybug cake.

I was at a volleyball tournament in Kaysville with Emilee all day the day before her family birthday party. Kylee volunteered to make her cake. I assumed she would just make a regular cake with frosting and sprinkles. Brinley has the greatest big sister. Kylee asked Brinley what kind of a cake she wanted and then went online to find an idea of how to make a ladybug cake. After 2 trips to wal-mart and several phone calls to me, they had one adorable ladybug cake!

The most favorite present of the day was the box of cookie crisp!!

Brinley got to have her first ever friend birthday party. It had to be postponed until a week after her birthday because on the day it was scheduled to be she woke up sick!! When it was finally here she had a great time with her friends.

Just a little side note. The boy in this picture is Jackson Faerber. He lives down the road and is in her same primary class and they also go to pre-school together. They have become great friends...friends, that's what we keep telling her they are!!! She told us awhile ago that Jackson was her boyfriend. Then one night after we had babysat him for a couple hours she informed me that they had gotten married!! I dug up a little information from her older sister (whom I found was behind all of this) and found out that they had indeed been married...complete with a toilet paper ring and a kiss on the cheek!! Oh my! Jackson's dad is in our bishopric. The following Sunday it was his turn to conduct testimony meeting. He told the story about Brinley and Jackson getting married to illustrate the fact that even though it was a little pre-mature, he was glad his children had a good view of marriage and family! Brinley was sooo embarrased and she got several comments after the meeting was over. If you know Brinley, this story won't be too shocking to you!!!

Happy Birthday Brinley. You are the cutest 5 year old I know!! We love you!

Valentines Day!!! (February)

I have the best husband and my kids have the greatest dad!! This year for Valentines Day we had a dinner. Brinley and I found a table cloth, fun valentines plates and napkins, and some balloons. Brinley was so excited for everyone to come home and see. I made homemade alfredo sauce with grilled chicken. Before we all sat down to eat Chris made us all leave the room and he brought in a dozen roses and set them in the middle of the table. He said they were for all of his girls. Four for me, and two for each of his daughters!!

Brinley with her first roses...from her Dad!!
Quincy with her first roses...from her Dad!!


And Kade with a king size candybar. He didn't forget his son, just didn't want to give him roses! He liked the candybar a lot better.



Happy LOVE day!!!

Kade's 11th Birthday (February 1st)

This year Kade wanted a friend party for his Birthday. It's been awhile since he's had one so I let him have a party. He invited 7 boys and we had a crazy party in our basement. They played the candybar game, built towers out of marshmallows and toothpicks, popped balloons and ate lots of pizza and ice cream. The noise level coming from the basement was pretty impressive. They are a cute group of boys. I am grateful that he has good friends even if they are all a little crazy when they get together!

He had a family party too. I guess we forgot to get the camera out for that occasion. He got a backpacking backpack. He is so excited to go backpacking with his dad this summer. He is in the process of saving up for his sleeping bag. I'm so glad he has a dad who gets to take him camping and freeze with him...one job I don't want!!

Happy Birthday Kade...you are a great kid and we love you lots!!!

San Diego Christmas Trip (Dec 26 - Jan 2, 2011)

We had so much fun going on vacation with Bill and Marci and their family for Christmas last year that we decided to do it again. We couldn't go with our travel partners because Marci was recovering from major back surgery, so we decided to venture out on our own. We did it a little different this year. Instead of making it a surprise for Christmas morning, we told the kids about a month before. We thought they might be able to have a little different experience by being able to look forward to and plan our trip. Everyone was excited except Emilee...she was excited for the trip but wished that we had kept it a secret and surprised her like last year. Sorry Em!!

The trip was fabulous. It was sooo good to get out of the freezing cold weather and see some California sunshine. San Diego is such a great vacation spot. Each day was packed. We saw a lot and had a lot of fun. We also decided to make this a little different trip in that we did not go to any theme parks. We did more of the "tourist" things to do. We weren't sure how the kids would like this, but they loved it! Here is a little of what we did...

This is the "Mormon Battalion Historical Center". This was awesome. So well done. There were interactive talking picture frames, panning for gold, an old time family picture and we even found the name of one of our relatives!

"Old Town" San Diego was a big hit for the kids. We could not believe how much they loved it. If there was ever a spare moment, they wanted to head back to Old Town. We ate homemade tortillas on the street, shopped for HOURS to spend the $10.00 they each had and toured several museums. Quincy and Brinley bought guitars with their money!!

Amazing tide pools!!

Brinley and Mom in the sky tram at the San Diego Zoo. She didn't think she should smile for our picture!!

San Diego Zoo

We had pretty good weather...except for Wednesday. It poured almost all day long. We are in line for Scripps Aquaruim. Good thing we found some indoor things to do this day!

Can't see the people in this picture, but they are there! Love the San Diego temple!!

We walked out on a 2000 foot pier in Oceanside that had a diner at the end of it. We got milkshakes when we finally got there.

I thought this was a highlight of the trip. We went on a 4 hour whale watching cruise. It was awesome. We saw 4 groups of whales. Ous ship followed them and we got to see them surface out of the water several times.

We toured "USS Midway" a huge naval ship. We enjoyed lunch on the deck of the ship.

For three of the days this was our transportation around San Diego. This is our double decker bus. We were always the only ones on the bus and Betsy our tour guide was awesome. We would call her on our cell phone, and she would come pick us up.

Homemade tortillas sold on the street in Old Town.

So grateful for the time we got to spend together. Best Christmas gift ever!!!