Rylee's Baptism

Rylee had her baptism in August 2011. We had family come in from California and Utah for it. I think that it was the most spiritual baptism I have ever been to. When Jason baptized her, you could feel it so strong. She even got emotional. There is really something special inside this little girl. She has such a tender little spirit. I was emotional the whole time, which hadn't happened in a long time. I was so proud of Taylor because she sang a song with Aunt Laurie and did amazing!! The talks were by Grandma Gloria and Hayli, her cousin. They were awesome! We are very proud of Rylee. She is such a good, good, fun, affectionate, sweet, happy, loving girl. She is a true light. She can always make me smile. I love her! Can you tell?

Happy 8th Birthday Rylee!

Roo turned 8 in August. She got to invite a few friends to the dollar movies to see "Rio". I took them all in my suburban and the girls had a blast. They laughed and giggled the whole way to the theater. We also made almost every single green light on the way there, which was amazing, considering it is a 20 minute drive. The girls thought it was so cool.

The theater is at a mall, so we parked in the busy parking lot and there was this lady who told me I had my hands full and offered to help me get everyone through the parking lot safely. She was so sweet. She was about to tell me a story when we got to the sidewalk, so she didn't notice the curb that stepped up and she tripped and fell over the curb and onto the concrete. I had all the girls sit over under a tree while I helped her and rubbed her back until she could breathe calmly again. She got some bruises and I'm pretty sure she broke her finger. I'm glad it wasn't her hip or anything like that. When she felt good enough to get up, she went to find her daughter, who she said was probably spending all of her money. Luckily, she was tough and feisty. I felt so bad. She did her good deed and then got a broken finger and bruises out of it.

So, even after that sad adventure, the party was an absolute hit. It was simple and I was on a budget and it still worked out perfectly. After the movie, we went home and had pizza and cake and opened presents. Then I put on music and the girls had a big dance party. They all had such fun personalities, just like Rylee does. She is such a fun, happy girl. She always sings, laughs and makes me laugh. She has this zest for life that is addicting and she gets excited over the simplest things. I love her positive attitude and her sweet little angel singing voice. I am a lucky Mom.

Activity Days 2011

At our church, there is a group called Activity Days for girls ages 8-11. They meet twice a month for activities and complete goals, learn skills and give service. Once a year they do a "stake" activity with everyone in the area. This one was for the mothers and daughters together. We went to three amazing classes, had lunch and made a craft. We also got to play "dress up" for these pictures. I loved attending this with the girls and watching them learn and grow and feel of Heavenly Father's love for them. We try to always teach them how much they are worth and that they are daughters of our Heavenly Father and He knows them and loves them unconditionally. It was crazy being the mom at the activity and not the daughter. Life flies by and I was happy to have these few hours to just focus on them and the spiritual things that really matter. We all left feeling uplifted and ready to face this crazy life again.

Taylor Turned 10

July was an eventful month! Taylor also celebrated her 10th birthday with a party at a fun pool with her friends. They had a total blast and it was fantastic to see Taylor happy and positive and outgoing and just letting go and having fun. She loves to be the leader and the entertainer, but also recognizes anyone in need. She is so sweet and self motivated in her life. She is responsible beyond her years. I'm happy that she always chooses good friends and she always chooses to be a good friend. Love you Tay Tay!!

Snow Day - Phoenix Zoo 2011

There are definitely some unique things that Arizona does to beat the heat in the summer. One of them is Snow Day at the zoo. The zoo here is a lot of fun. It is big and has some great exhibits. We always get a membership and have used it a lot. I took my niece and nephew with us for snow day and we got there by 7am. We are crazy! It was more like ice day. The snow hardens up a lot and hurts I guess when it is too warm outside. Rylee found out the hard way when Tay rubbed a chunk on her back trying to be funny. Plus, it was pretty dirty by the time we got there. So as much fun as snow sounded, we quickly left it and headed out to have fun at the rest of the zoo before it got too scorching. Made for some cute pics tho. Plus, they had some blow up toys for the kids on that day. Check out the video at the end of the post.

Balboa Beach July 2011

How can you not love the beach on a warm, sunny day! We broke up our Disneyland days by going to one of my favorite places on the planet....the beach. Balboa Beach was beautiful and the girls just played, played and played. Even the baby had a great time and didn't mind being covered in sand. The best part of the day was watching my honey love. Jason was so sweet with the girls. He took every one of them out in the ocean with him and they had so much fun together. Because of the baby, I spent most of my time out of the water, but I didn't mind. The view of him with the girls was spectacular and I was truly happy that day. Jason doesn't like his beach pics, but hey, I think he's pretty smokin and they are the only pics I have, so sorry Babe! Ha ha!

What a way to spend a birthday

Happy 6th Birthday to our little Boo Boo! What better way to spend your birthday then at Disneyland! She got to wear her birthday button, so all the cast and characters told her Happy Birthday where ever she went. She got 2 free sundaes with Mickey Mouse sprinkles. We watched the parade that day and all the characters and princesses waved to her and said her name. I got teary during the parade because it was so magical to see her get treated like the princess she is.

No Daddy, you don't get any!!

Birthday Telephone call from Goofy

We decorated our hotel room so that it was an instant party when she woke up on her birthday morning. I think she liked it!

This picture of Kam is my FAVORITE!! My favorite part with her was going on "It's a Small World" and having her stand up in the boat and dance the entire time. So cute, we had to do it twice! I know....we are crazy.

The 4th of July Fireworks at the park were kind of a bust...too many people, nowhere to stand, so we were there, but we missed them. Can't be too disappointed though because we had an amazing spot for the regular fireworks show another night, (which was WAY better anyway) and then we saw the Water and Light Show at California Adventure on our last night. It was the best show I have ever seen. The whole atmosphere and the detail they put into everything is just incredible.

...and we all lived Happily Ever After