The Big Sleep Out!

Hudson bought a tent with his birthday money and so of course they had to try it out last night. Brrr! The lows are about 28 - too cold for me. They dressed warm and got all of the warm sleeping bags and away they went to the back yard. I checked on them and this is what I found - - the big guard dog watching over his people as they slept.

The Recap!

Hudson's Birthday Party

Do you see a trend here? ---- A birthday, a slideshow, a recap.---- So, to keep up with tradition, I will share with you what we did on his birthday.

Grandma June (Brian's mom) came from Arizona to spend 3 days with us. Hudson wanted to celebrate with her so we had a party for him on Sunday while she was there. We had lasagne for dinner and Gma's incredible cream pies for dessert.

The birthday boy

He had great helpers with the opening of gifts

Coconut and Banana Cream Pies

YUM!

Abbi and Maggie waiting for their piece of pie

Caleb and Tess

Dani, Elizabeth and Weston with spoons in hand - ready for pie!!

This picture was taken before we left. He got work/hunt pants and boots from Papa and Nana (my parents)

We had a fun time celebrating Hudson's birthday. He was excited to be in Palm Springs for it. He is taking Hunter Safety now and we will be swimming again in May. (We took a break in April)

12

Happy Birthday Hudson!

While we were in California, we celebrated Hudson's 12th birthday.

Enjoy a slideshow of the past year.

We have returned!

We are back from our "Sunny" Family Vacation in Palm Springs. We had a great time. Will do more details in posts to follow. I have lots of catching up to do. Hudson had a birthday, I have been "tagged", and I have pics from Palm Springs (especially for my Park City (snow) friends) to post. So, keep checking in.

Honoring Our Dad

The Slideshow to Honor Our Dad

Remember the post about my dad "handing over" the business to my brothers and him "moving on" to other things? Well, Brian and I (mostly Brian) put together a slideshow in honor of him. We couldn't have done it without all of my siblings and their families sending us great pics from the past years. It is about 13 minutes long but definitely worth the watch. So, grab a cup of tea and enjoy!

http://www.bigcanyon.org/MDRTribute.html

Be sure to turn up the volume and listen to the words as you watch the pics.

The BIG Secret Is Out

I am 4 0 !

40 years ago on April 14th, my cute pregnant mom went to church with her loving husband and cute 3 year old son. She sang in the Easter Cantata. I am sure she sang beautifully. I was there and I know I heard her but I don't remember it. She went home from church and went into labor. That night, on Easter Sunday, at 11:44pm, I was born. If you ever see my mom and she happens to be wearing her charm bracelet, there is a "bunny" that represents me - check it out.

40 years and so much to be thankful for...

2 loving parents

3 amazing siblings

1 incredible husband

8 (soon 9) sweet children

gazillion wonderful friends all over the U.S.

Thanks to all of you who have been a part of my 40 years.

I love you!

We went to our favorite family restaurant - Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake.
YUM!

The clan hungry and ready to eat.

We had a number of people count all of the children and even a few stop by and comment on how well behaved they were.

Brian and Tessa

After Dinner - -

We went to Liberty Park. We watched the ducks and geese, we walked around and we played with the frisbee that I got for my birthday. That lasted about 15 minutes and then the wind carried it into the pond - gone!

Caleb reminding me of my age

Hudson watching the frisbee

Abbi testing the water temperature

Maggie looking all cute

Weston playing in the grass

Elizabeth holding tightly on to the shell she found

Dani Rae watching the geese

Tess posing for the camera



Brian having fun with the children



Ooops! Sorry Weston. (Yea, right)

FYI : Brian did fall into the lake trying to catch the frisbee. Just one foot wet but we all did have a good laugh.

Me and My Brood

So, for my birthday, I got a dinner "out" and I got a frisbee as you already know. BUT, the big gift is that we are all going to Palm Springs, CA. (We have friends that have a condo and are so sweet to offer it to us) We are going to play in the hot sun and swim in the cool pool. The countdown is on and we are all very excited. Another precious gift was that I heard Baby Z's heartbeat for the first time. Oh, so sweet!

I recieved this email from my younger brother. Great perspective. I will close on this note:

Good Morning Sis – Happy 40th Birthday! Hey if it helps you’d only be about 10% into your life if you lived in Genesis or Exodus! Happy Old testament Birthday!

I Love you and hope you have a great Day.

Brother, Grant

22's for 2

A Boys Dream Come True...

His very Own 22 Rifle!

Our neighbors that have 3 grown sons were cleaning out their shed found 2 22 rifles that their boys use to shoot. They thought of us and our boys so gave us a call and, of course, we accepted. The boys are thrilled to have their very own. (Caleb has taken Hunter Safety and Hudson starts his class in 2 weeks.)

The guns were a bit rusty so the boys and Brian shined them up and got them ready for target practice. This is the 3 of them after church. Heaven! (a boys heaven)

Brian and Caleb

Caleb

Hudson and Caleb

They completely shot up a Sprite can. They think it is the coolest thing ever and are keeping it as a souvenir - in their room. Boys!

Green!

Do you see what I see? Green grass!!! Our back yard is melted and our "barn" area is at ground level. Muddy but at ground level. For most of the winter we were standing on ground (snow) as high as the feeders. Yipee!