I woke up on Memorial Day....
the day we were going to leave for Yuma. Elena had already been up and busy packing her backpack. I had to
snap a few pictures of the contents of her backpack. 
Jewelry, Polly Pocket Princess Dolls, and Several Pair of Princess Shoes. Oh and don't for get the tooth brush, 
tooth paste and book light. This girl knows how to travel light...Just the necessities!!!!!
so sure if we should be spending money on stuff like that. So we decided to stay home for the weekend. But the next week we figured since the kids are out of school, we would go to Yuma with Matt for work. It is kind of like a little vacation for all of us...yes Matt has to work, but he loves that we are there in the hotel when he comes home. The kids love to be in the hotel and watch Nick Jr and Cartoon Network. The swimming pool there felt like a hot tub....in 107 degree weather...it's not really that refreshing, but the kids loved it!!! In fact, the water was so warm that Elena finally decided to put her goggles on and go under water. 
She was a great little swimmer last year, but the early spring (cold) water had made her a little bit nervous again. She calls going under water diving and once she got started.....she could not be stopped. She kept saying I LOVE DIVING!!!! I couldn't find my camera when it was time to leave for Yuma, so there are no pictures....until.... We were driving home, a little over an hour away from home and our tire blew!!! Matt was in his suite still and was on the phone with one of his employees. 
He calmly pulled over and kept talking to the lady 
on the phone and a few minutes later told her that he would have to call her back. He hung up and started striping down and put his shorts and T-Shirt on. Elena was asleep, 
Cody was watching a movie. I grabbed the car manual and we left the car running and headed out in the 115 degrees sunshine to figure out what in the heck we needed to do. We finally figured out how to lower the spare tire and unhook it. Then it was time to jack the car up. Matt wanted to leave the kids in the car with the AC, but I specifically remembered my dad not letting me in the car when he had to jack it up. He said that any movement could cause the car to fall off the jack. Fortunately Matt said "Good Point" and we turned the car off and got the kids out. 
We really were in the middle of nowhere, but where ever we were, there were hundreds of seashells on the ground. Strange I know...the middle of the desert and no water anywhere to be found and yet they were everywhere. Elena was in Heaven and picked up tons of shells. By the time Matt was done we were all sweaty and hot and way way thirsty!!! I had to snap a few pictures with Matt's phone..as you c
an see it was quite a blowout. And our spare tire has never see the the sun in the five years we have had this car. We loaded back up and headed strait for McDonald's and got us all the biggest drinks we could buy. Although it was super hot and we ended up missing Cody's karate class, it could have been so much worse. We were grateful that we were all safe and to make things even better, it was a new tire and still covered under warranty.
consider my self musical, but definitely not a musician. I played the flute in 5th grade...but really didn't practice much. I remember watching my music and playing whenever the "F" note came along. The band teacher was a BIG lady and had very very jiggly arms. When she would lead...I just didn't want to be there anymore....one day she picked up my flute and 
played it....Yep...I was done. Coming from a highly musical family....my love for music was 
definitely still very much alive. My years to follow allowed for me to sing in many choirs ending with being able to sing in the Mormon Youth Chorus (left side, third row, second one in) (probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life) In my early years as a mother, I got certified as a Kindermusik Teacher and taught for four years out of my home. (couldn't find my other Kindermusik pictures). Matt also being very musical and much more of a musician than I am with his music theory background and mad skills on his silver trumpet....and yet neither of us are piano players. We have decided that piano lessons are not optional for the kids...the benefits way surpass the cons. As Cody is fast approaching his 8th birthday, I started looking into piano teachers for him. I had heard about a lady in our ward who teaches traditional private lessons and Lets Play Music (a class I want to put Elena into) I knew she would be a perfect fit for our family. I also knew she had a waiting list, so I emailed her and was surprised when she happened to have a spot open up that was a hard time for most people to commit to. 
Cody had NO desire to take piano lessons. I tried to explain to him that he would be so good at it, because it is a lot like video games....you use your brain and your hands. But with no avail...this is the face he gave me as he walked up to his teachers door for his first lesson. After his lesson his first words to me as he he stood smiling holding his new piano books were...Hey mom, it turns out that I love Piano. 
Now fast forward three months and you have last night where attended his very first piano recital. This picture totally shows how Cody felt going into his recital....like he was going to throw-up. He really did amazing....minus the fact that he played his song an octive lower then he was supposed to. 
But I blame ourselves 
because we have a little keyboard at home, not a real piano. I was also amazed at his ability to not rush his song. At home I was always getting after him to play his song slower and give 
each note their proper counts. I guess he really does listen to me...(maybe even to the extreme in this case.) When I complimented him on this, he said that he just wanted to make sure he gave each note its counts and make it sound smooth. Such a cutie!!! His teacher also had all sorts of fun prizes and 
certificates at the awards ceremony. He even got a medal. His teacher also gave each student a rose to give to their mother...I then gave it to Elena. That girl LOVES flowers, despite how she tries, they somehow always turn out to 
look like this. We are so proud of our kids and the many talents they each have!!! I could not get the video to load, so I broke it into two segments. Enjoy!!!
A few hours after Allison and Keith left. We picked up my Sister Karen, her husband Bruce and my niece Madison from the airport. Elena was fascinated and shy with Madison and would refer to
her as the daughter. But she quickly became unshy and could call her by name. That night we went to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple. We 
have enjoyed this for several years now (you can click here for past years) and it was great to finally be able to share it with some of our family. And of all the people there, we happened to run into Karen's friend/ one of her Relief Society Counselors. The next day we went to the Musical Instrument 
Museum. Karen's family is VERY musical in that her and their kids all play amazingly on several different instruments. Karen has taught Suzuki violin and they even have a couple of CD's 
out. So it was great to go with people who actually have a great appreciation for music. The kids were great too and really enjoyed it. You wear these head phones and as soon as you stand by a display you will hear the music and video that is being shown, 
along with being able to look at the actual instruments. Sometimes you can't help but dance a little. I was able to contain myself, however I caught the kids several times dancing away. Bruce treated us to Oregano's
and Cold Stone for ice cream. Friday night before we went to Cold Stone I snapped this picture that has to be a new 
classic. It is also quite fitting as we show our support to Apple as my nephew Martin (Karen & Bruce's son) had just got word that he got an internship at Apple. 
We had a great time lounging around the pool and enjoying each others company. Again, sad to see them go, but we had a great time!!!
am at that point where I am behind on several blog posts. So I will just kind of post them as I get them done. 
We had a crazy three weeks where we had a constant stream of family visitors. It was a blast!!! We started out with Matt's Sister Allison and her husband Keith and three kids. Our kids and 
their kids are joined at the hip when they get together. They all play so well together. It is like a vacation for us when they come, because we pretty much don't have to do 
anything for the kids but provide them some food. They all just disappear into their play world. Although the water was kind of cold, it didn't stop them from having a great time swimming. At the last second I threw together some prizes and did an Easter egg hunt in the pool. 
It was really fun, but I didn't get very many pictures. The girls loved coloring and doing clay outside. They all ate lots and lots of Popsicles. 
While they were here it was April Fools so we turned their drinks into Jello,and gave them odd kitchen utensils to eat their dinner with. The girls slept
in the 4th bedroom (just an extra room we keep all our extra stuff in) They loved fixing up the bunk bed like a fort and setting up the stuff animals just so. They got to sleep in the same room and were pretty good to settle 
down and go to sleep. I love the picture of them asleep in their fort. Caitlyn is sleeping with her American Girl Doll and Elena chose some foam paint brushes??? 
We also
spent time at the park. Went for a ride on the ranger, and did lots of sidewalk chalk. Time went by way too fast and soon
it was time for the tears to start as they had to say good bye. With all the sadness that goes on after the cousins leave it makes me wonder if it was all worth it. And of course it was and we would do it over and over again.
After a hard day of play, Elena loves to wash her feet off in the sink. These pictures remind me of a story about myself that my mom wrote down when I was Elena's Age. 
This is what my mom wrote...As I walked passed the bathroom, I noticed Lori sitting on top of the counter with her feet in the sink. When I asked her what she was doing, she said..."I am giving my feet a drink. They are hot and thirsty and they need a drink."
happiness and sadness that my baby is now this beautiful little girl. Her goal of being a "Space Scientist" ( I have no idea where that came from) when she grows up is just tip of the iceberg of what this girl can achieve. She learned....well overheard us talking to Cody about what "flippin the
bird" means. She practiced it on us the other night. As we tried to tell her not to do that, she said...."What???( in her 4 year old teenage voice) my thumb was up too." This one is a smart one I tell you, she does not miss a beat!! She can have us wrapped around her little finger one second and throwing our arms up in the air the next. I don't know what I did in heaven to deserve this little girl, but it must have been something pretty good. I LOVE HER!!!
practically seems like yesterday that we were married. But then when I think about all that we have experienced through the years, I guess it really has been 13 years. Well if the cruise was not enough to celebrate our 13 years of Marriage, Matt also got tickets to Wicked. I got these way back on Christmas Morning, so we have been anticipating this for several months now. 
We had a matinee showing on Saturday the 10th. It was Amazing! We both thoroughly loved it!!! Who would have thought....The Wicked Witch and the Scare Crow??! Anyways, afterwards we went to my favorite...The Melting Pot...I know, we should have venture out and tried something new... but we didn't, and I am glad!!! 
A couple of weeks ago, I had read something on my friends facebook status. It said something like Marriage isn't hard...life is hard and together in our marriage we can help each other through it. At first when I read this I thought that statement was wrong....I had always been told and had the mind set that "marriage is hard". But then through out the next few days I really started thinking about her little statement. I Loved It!!! and really felt it to be true for me. Yes we have had our "discussions" throughout our marriage....but it is life that is hard...not being married to my best friend. He is the best part of my life and our children that we have been so greatly blessed with. Even in just the past week or so... going through the daily things that come up. I have loved looking at my marriage with this new perspective. We really are such a perfect fit. So here we are... 13 Years Closer to Eternity!!!!
