Putting in a Sprinkler System!

Over the long weekend we decided to get our sprinkler system put in. Kirk, along with alot of friends and family were able to get it done. Thank You to everyone for all of your help!

After finishing the front lawn this is what we saw on our porch, all of the Rollie Pollies in the dirt had climbed up onto the porch, there were hundreds of them, it was quite a sight.
When we started the process, I gave Kaitlin the camara and told her to go be the photographer of the process, this is what she ended up with. You can see what her attention span is like.

This photo says it all!

The final product of our labors

Retirement Party

My Dad was given a retirement party this month after working for the same company for 38 years. It was alot of fun! My Dad was givin the highest respect from his colleagues they payed him some very nice comments there at the party.

Blessing Book

This last year in October, a tumor was found in my Dad's head. For his birthday this year I decided to make this little book about the whole process that we went through, thoughts, feelings and some of the things we experienced. I left blank pages between each page hoping that my Dad or anyone else looking through it will write down their experience also.

This is the front cover of the book, our motto through this was always "Git er done" How greatful I am for the priesthood. My whole family was able to have blessings of comfort, & healing. It was so special to have my Dad ask me if he could give me a blessing, even though he was the one going through the main issues, he knew that I needed a blessing.
This page is just a page of feelings and thoughts. My Dad, Mom and I were able to go to a session at the Manti temple before we met with the Dr.'s. You can't get much closer to our Father in Heaven then at the temple.
After finding out about the tumor, I did some research on the Huntsman Cancer Institute site and found a Dr. Randy Jensen that specializes in brain tumors. We first were sent to see Dr. House, and I remember telling my dad that everything would be fine because "Dr House" fixes everything, for those of you who watch House, you'll get it. So we went to see Dr. House at the University of Utah and he said that he could do the surgery but that he would also refer us to another Dr. if we would like. So we mentioned our research on Dr. Jensen and he said "I work with him all the time, let me call him and see if we can get you in" he came back to us and said, he can see you in an hour. I'm sure you are all aware how hard it is to get into the specialists. Dr. Jensen was a wonderful man, you could feel the spirit with him whenever he was around. He made us feel very comfortable, and we knew that our Dad was in the best hands.
My Dad is doing wonderful, he had very minimal problems after his surgery. We know that he was blessed, and that the Dr's were blessed to take care of him.

Ice cream after the concerts

Derick's Orchestra

Derick has been playing the violin now going on his third year. A friend in our Ward found out in that he was interested in learning the violin. She said "I have a violin of our daughters the he can use". So we talked to the school and they signed him up. They told us that he would have to be tutored after school to catch up to where the other students were that year. Derick caught on really fast and within two weeks, he was ready to join the class. His second year he went on to advanced orchestra. and by his third year he joined the Chamber Orchestra. Derick loves playing and we have enjoyed going to his concerts.

Kaitlin's Happy Mother's Day book

This is what the Mother's Day book Kaitilin wrote says.

My mother is beautiful. My mother has beautiful blue cristools in her eyes. She has nice hair. She is good at lots of things. She is a great artist. She is a good singer. She is good at the piano. She is a good cook. She does lots of things for me. She feeds me alot. SHe helpsme draw stuf. She does my hair. She is good at growing. We love to do lots of things together. We love to go to the museums. We love scrapbooking. I have the best mother in the whole world. There is not another mom as marvelous as mine. I love mother so much.

Thanks Kaitlin, I love you too!

Happy Mothers Day!

Lately I've been dreading Mother's Day. I guess I have too high of expectations on that day thinking that everything should be perfect HA HA HA. Last year I remember yelling down the stairs to the kids, after they had be fighting about who knows what, to stop what they were doing and by the way "THANKS FOR A HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!" in not a very happy voice. I'm trying this year a different approach by not being so selfish and not expecting anything but the normal around here. Now that were home from church and everyone is hungry and tired, I'm trying to ignore all the grumpiness and yelling while trying to make a nice dinner.

I guess instead of Mother's Day being all about me, I'll write about what Mother's Day should be about to me, My Mom. My Mom is a great example of what a Mom should be, unselfish, loving, giving. I don't remember my mom ever complaining about hating Mothers Day, maybe we were all perfect little angels, NOT!, no it's because she did everything for us not her. My Mother in Law is the same way, she would drop everything she is doing to help.

I love being a Mom and I need to remember all the little things like Kaitlin being the first to tell me "Happy Mothers Day" this morning,ready and dressed for church without being asked, Tyler who was full of hugs, kisses, and I Love You's, and Derick just taking my hand and holding it for no reason. That's why I love being a Mom.

The picture is of the card that Tyler made for me at school. Make sure you look at the word he used for the last "I" in HEIDI. When I asked him about it he told me that the dictionary said that it meant something nice, and then was in tears saying that he was going to change the word to something else, I finally convinced him that I wanted to keep it that way and that I love it!

Happy Birthday Balloons to Heaven!

We all wrote a note on a balloon and sent them up to heaven.

Happy Sweet Sixteen!

We celebrated Nichole and Michele's 16th birthday. We decided that since they would have been turning 16 we wanted to do something special. So we went to the Happy Factory and made toys for different countries and children at the hospitals. For most of the children that recieve these toys this is their first and only toy that they have and will ever have. It was so fun to do this service.

I have the best Visiting Teacher, Bonnie Jones, she took me and the kids out to their farm on Wednesday to see the baby lambs. We were hoping to see one be born but it was too windy. It was so fun to take a step out of our busy lives and go to a farm where you feel like you step back in time and everything is slower and more peaceful.

Pirates of Penzance performance

Kirk and I and a couple from our ward were able to go to the St. George temple on Friday. It's been a long time. How great it was to be able to renew our covenants we have made there. We take for granted having a temple so close to us where there are so many that are so far away from any temple. I always come away from there wanting to be a better wife and mother. I am so greatful for the eternal marriage that I have and that I am able to be sealed to my family for eternity. I look forward to seeing our twins, Nichole and Michele, and those who have passed before us again.

Pirates Practice

Pirates of Penzance

For the past three months, Derick has been doing the play "Pirates of Penzance" through the college here. It was performed by all kids, and was a blast! We were able to go see him perform the other night and is was GREAT. Derick was one of the cops, and he was hillarious. He had a hard time keeping a straight face during the play because of all the laughing in the audience, Mom being the loudest.

Couldn't Resist

Saying goodbye to Grammie

Dad will always be our HERO even if his cape flys off!

What an ending to a day of mishaps! We were just getting ready to leave and Kirk, trying to show his kids how young he really is, jumps from the pipe to the ground. After he left the pipe he then realized that the ground was further away than he thought. OOOPS!

The Sinking Sandbar

I wanted to take a picture of the weathered logs under the pipe, so looking around I found what I thaught was a solid sandbar to step on to so that I could get a closer picture. I stepped out onto the sandbar and I just sank to my knees in an instant. Believe it or not I came out of there with my shoes still on my feet.

Right off the bat when we get there Kaitlin takes her rock and (who by the way throws like her mother) smack's Tyler in the back of his head. The only one who ended up in tears was Kaitlin. Therefore she got a lesson (from her dad) on how to skip a rock.

Throwing Rocks in the River

Throwing rocks in the river at Leamington has been a tradition of ours ever since the kids could pick up a rock. While we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa Evers we did just that! Now that the kids have gotten older they have graduated from throwing rocks, to seeing how far they can skip the rocks.

Relief Society Birthday Party

Yesterday we had our Relief Society Birthday party. It turned out wonderful. We had been planning and preparing for this for almost a month. Our theme was "Bloom where you're planted". We potted pansies in cute little tin buckets for our gifts to all the sisters who came, and they were used as our table centerpieces and decorations. For dinner we had a huge salad bar, bread sticks, and raspberry lemonade, then we served strawberry shortcake for dessert. We sang the very first song sang by the Relief Society, "The Spirit of God", and then we had five sisters talk about different sisters throughout time who "Bloomed where they were planted". First was Rebekah from the Old Testament, Mary from the New Testament, Abish from the Book of Mormon, Eliza R. Snow from the Restoration and then Marjorie Hinkley for our Modern Day Sister. The sister who had Eliza R. Snow sang the song "Oh my Father" which Eliza wrote, it was absolutely beautiful. Our concluding speaker was our Patriarch who spoke on how we can become the women of our patriarchal blessing.

Look at her BLING

Kaitlin got her ears pierced today! I have been avoiding it because I thaught she would just "Freak" out in the middle of it. I speak from experience when it comes to freaking out because I've taken her for shots, and also to the dentist recently. But we finally did it today, and can you believe it, not a tear was shed, just a smile from ear to ear.

Noodle Night

Derick and I started a water aerobic class the beginning of February. It has been lots of fun to do together. Our favorite night is "Noodle Night".

Buckweet

Tyler has been Buckweets best friend for the past 4 years, we have never been able to provide a fenced in yard for him, so to prevent him from running off we have had to have him in a small 4x6 fenced area. Buckweet has been an outside dog and since winter we decided with Tyler that it would be better for Buckweet to have a home where they could provide a fenced in area for him to run around and play like a dog should. It was a very hare decision for Tyler, but in the end he knew that this is what was best for Buckweet. We will miss him!

Kirk's Favorite Dessert

We had a get together with about 5 couples in our neighborbood yesterday for dessert. I made four apple cream pies 1 1/2 for our guests and the rest for Kirk to enjoy through the next few days. If the kids and I are lucky enough and ask nicely he might share a little with us. The pie is super easy to make and is always the hit of the party! Try it sometime.

Tyler's Surprise Birthday Trip!

Tyler has been wanting a pet of his very own, that only he is responsible for. He has had certain responsibilities at home that he had to do to prove that he was ready. So we decided that we would take him shopping for his birthday down in St. George. We made him put a blanket over his head so that he didn't know where we were taking him. It was alot of fun and a big surprise for Tyler.

Bowling & Rock Climbing

#10 for Tyler!

Mom's always up for a challenge! We had to blend the two party themes, so here is what we came up with.

Tyler's Birthday Invitation