A New Haircut

Vanessa, finally, told me a few weeks ago that she wanted her hair cut short. I have been trying for over a year to convince her that we would all be better off if her hair were shorter. If she had her way, she would never have to brush her hair, and she would be content to just let it hang in her face all day long. So, now the battle over hair in the morning is finally over (at least for now).

She went from this...

to this

and she really seems to loves it! I wish all of our battles could end this way! :)

Trip to Ohio

So, here are a few pictures from our trip to Ohio. It would take too long to explain all of them, and of course, there are a lot more. I will just say it was good to be home to spend time with family and visit some of my favorite places. Good times!

First Day of School

Well, the first day of school has come and gone,... two days ago. This summer has absolutely flown by, especially the last half of it. What's even better, we are still in the same place a year later. Vanessa gets to attend the same school, with many of her friends from last year, and new ones she has made over the summer. She was actually excited to start. In fact her words were, "I am bored with summer." She is starting the second grade.

Evan on the other hand is starting a new year at a new school. The class he was in last year was not quite the right fit for him, so we are starting him in a different class in a different school, but in the same school district. I hope things will be better. Unfortunately it just doesn't seem like the school district really has a place for him that would be ideal. The upside is that Evan just started an all inclusive autism therapy program that I take him to once a week (I wish I could do more, but it's just so dang expensive as all his therapy treatments are.) This program is supposed to help me with Evan at school, home, and in the community. So far, I have been very impressed with them, and the progress he is already making. I am confident things will be very different with Evan in a year from now (in a good way). So anyway,... here is Evan bright and early before his bus picked him up at 7 am! It was cold and windy, but at least he had a smile on his face.
Because he left so early, I didn't get a picture of Evan and Vanessa together. Oh well,...

So, I look forward to another crazy and busy school year. It should be lots of fun, and hopefully I will get to see a lot of progress with both kids.

Oh, and our trip to Ohio was great. We really did have a lot of fun. I will post a slide show of pictures soon.

Updates are coming soon!

Well, I know it's been a long time since my last post. I plan to update soon. I have been in Ohio visiting my family for the past two weeks, and still have one more week to go at this point. It's been almost 3 years since I have been back here. So far, we have had a great time and we have been super busy. So many places to visit, and just barely enough time. I will post pictures as soon as I get back to Utah.

Twelve Years and Still Counting...

Yesterday was one of those "Two For One" holidays. Yesterday was Father's Day, of course, but it was also our anniversary. We have been married for,... any guesses? Well, we have been married for a pretty darn long time,... TWELVE YEARS!!! It's been quite a ride. We have had some amazing times, and some amazingly difficult and trying times, but we have survived. It is crazy to think where twelve years has taken us and it is really mind-boggling to think where we will be in another twelve.

Twelve years ago we looked like this (and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into :)

And now twelve years, 3 kids and gray hair for some (me), and less hair for others (not me), later...


We are still happy, and together,.... for forever. :)

Our First Baptism

Well, my oldest was baptized on Saturday. It really was an amazing experience for all of us. Of course, we couldn't begin the occasion without a little drama first. We needed to be at the church a half hour early to get Vanessa and Marty fitted into their baptismal clothing. We asked Marty's parents if they would watch Evan and Ben at our house so we could do this without them running around the church. Vanessa's baptism was to begin at 9:30. At 9:25, Marty got a call from his dad telling him that Evan was lost and that they and some of our neighbors had been looking for him for the past fifteen minutes. Well, needless to say, we had to drop everything and rush out of the church in a bit of a panic. Just as we were pulling out of the church parking lot, we got a call again saying that they had found him. So, we got started a bit late, but hey, I guess the incident just makes the day all that much more memorable. Sigh....

In all the craziness, I didn't get a picture of Vanessa and Marty in their white jumpsuits. I have been a bit bummed about it since, but I know I will have the image of my little girl dressed all in white engraved in my head for the rest of my life. She really did look like a little angel.

I hope Vanessa will remember her special day. I know I remember mine. I am the youngest in my family by about eight years. My dad is a convert. I actually got to witness my dad being baptized a year or so before my own. Consequently, I was the only one of my siblings who was baptized by my father. I also remember one of my older sisters giving me a yellow rose that day. It was just a few months later, that she passed away unexpectedly.

It is so strange to me, to now have my own daughter being baptized. It really doesn't seem that long ago...



Time sure does fly! I am not sure if I can see a resemblance or not. I had some crazy permed hair back then!

The rest of the program was wonderful. She had some amazing talks by her uncle and grandfather (Capa) and her dad gave her a beautiful confirmation blessing. Afterward, we took Vanessa out to lunch with her Nana and Capa to one of her favorite restaurants.


Anyway, it was an amazing day for our entire family. And luckily by the time it was all over, we still had every member of our family present. (no runaways! :) )

My Little Helper

In between the rain, and cold spells we have had this spring, I have tried to get a little work done in our yard. It's a good thing I have Ben around to pitch in...

He takes his work VERY seriously.

But no picture captures his true personality like this one does...

He is all boy, and so much fun! I am so glad we have this little guy around.

My Oldest is Eight!

Vanessa turned eight on Monday! I just can't believe it! We gave Vanessa a choice of having a birthday party with her friends, or going to a special day camp called "Kid vs. Wild". She chose to go to the camp and she had SO much fun. It was right up her alley. They went to Cabelas and learned about wild animals. She got to explore caves, and build a shelter in "the wild", where they had lunch. She also got to do some rock wall climbing, which was her favorite. She really loved it, and it was also a great learning experience for her as well.

On her actual birthday, we left Ben and Evan with a babysitter, and took Vanessa out to dinner. She really seems to love it when we just take her. We love Ben and Evan, but they aren't the most fun to take out to a restaurant.

She enjoyed a big platter of shrimp. She is such a seafood lover! Later, we had the servers come and sing her happy birthday, and they brought her a big ice cream treat. She was pretty embarrassed, but I know she loved it.
Later we came home, had cake, and opened her presents. There is a long story that goes along with the cake she asked me to make her. Let's just say a caterpillar she caught last summer on a camping trip made quite an impression on her.

She loved all her presents. She has not outgrown her love for stuffed animals. She sleeps with about 20 of them every night. And of course, she loves her video games.
Overall, I could tell she really loved her birthday this year. In her prayers that night she thanked Heavenly Father at least 3 times for giving her such a wonderful birthday.