Hats off to you…

You guys are the best to host the BBQ on Conference Sunday. It was so fun to see everyone enjoying each other. The kids were having so much fun they didn't want to stop to eat. A few casualties aside, it was a memorable evening. I just had a couple of pics on my camera I wanted to share, so am posting them for you. Your apple pie was delicious - I was wishing I had another piece around midnight! (I am the original night grazer) Thank you for hosting and here's hoping we'll do it more often. love you.


Stacie feeding Emersyn

Three of our crazy girls, Faith, Rylee and Madison

Tetherball wars

Jordyn helping Carson while Chance, Aden and Lauren get away in the little rhino

Our Cruise!

As you can see from the slide show we had a great cruise! We enjoyed every minute of being together! I am going through with drawls of being together 24 hours for 8 days and now he is at work all day. We appreciated being together even more because Richard almost didn't get on the ship. This is the story! We had a good day Saturday traveling to Ft. Lauderdale and renting a car to drive down to Miami. We stayed the night at a hotel close to the port. We slept in and then got ready to go to the ship. We wanted to get on as soon as we could but realized we had forgotten our digital camera. Can't go on a trip without a camera so we found a radio shack despite all the one way streets and bought one. (Richard needed one for work anyway so I didn't mind if the company was buying) Then we returned the car and headed to the port. We walked in to security and they checked through our bags and escorted us up to the line to get through the second security point. There were already tons of people waiting in line cause the ship wasn't ready to board yet. They told us to wait right there and we would be the first to go through. We were so confused why we got put in front of everybody but oh well we were excited. As soon as the ship was ready we were sent through first! First in line to check in we were feeling pretty good, then they looked at his birth certificate and told us this was not acceptable. I didn't realize I had the hospital issued birth certificate for Richard and not the AZ state issued one that was required as of 6 months ago. So we were devastated. I was all upset. We then tried to make plans to get me on the ship and have him get the right birth certificate and fly to San Juan to meet up with the ship. In the meantime Heidi and Kam were searching our house for the right certificate which they found and faxed to Royal Caribbean. I went from being devastated to so excited! Yeah we got on!
Ok that was a long story, but it really made us appreciate being together even more. I must of told him 50 times how glad I was he was with me! So off to San Juan we went. The ship was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed hanging out at the pools, hot tubs, rock climbing, ice skating, surfing, and just hanging out in our room ordering room service at all hours of the night. It took us a while to figure out where everything was and how to get back to our room! We enjoyed the balcony and often sat out on the patio just looking out over the ocean. We walked around old town San Juan in Puerto Rico and got back on the ship in time for dinner and the ice show which was amazing. Then off to St. Thomas where we went on a private sail boat charter with only six of us passengers. We sailed over to St. John and snorkeled by the beautiful beaches. It was really relaxing and beautiful. The next morning we were in St. Martin or St. Maarten which is half Dutch and half French. We went snuba diving there which was our favorite. We went down about 20 feet to the bottom and got to see lots of coral, fish, octopus, and sunken ships. I can't wait to get our underwater pictures developed. We had a great time! We then took a taxi to the French side and went to the famous Orient Beach. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen. We didn't want to walk too far over cause there were nude parts of the beach, not exactly what we wanted to experience! Then back to the ship for the two days back at sea.
We couldn't have asked for a better vacation except for a few minor hiccups! We almost didn't get off the ship cause I left my birth certificate in our bags that were already taken off this ship waiting for us to pick up. I didn't realize we had to go through customs and prove our citizenship. We really need to get out more =) Then one of our bags was missing and we ended up finding it in the corner of the room because someone had taken it off the carousel and left it. What fun! All in all we loved it loved it loved it! Richard didn't even come home to a disaster at work so we were thrilled. Our kids had a great time with Heidi, Kam and Chad, Grandma Susan and Grandpa Don, Granny, Grandma Lorie and Grandpa Paul, and Bob! Thanks so much to all of you who made it possible for us to go. Our kids were well taken care of and had a great time. We really appreciate all your help so very much.

In the meantime, back at the ranch…

The kids have been very good with all their surrogate parents. It was fun to get to know their personalities even more as we woke up, (what is it about daybreak kids love?) ate breakfast, got ready for school, went to school, came home, did homework, played, watched TV, ate dinner, took baths, got ready for bed, read and went to sleep. Some of us slept better than others. I have recently said how much I admire each one of my daughters. They are all uniquely gifted to know just what their particular children need. None of us think we did (or are doing) a perfect job raising our kids, but it only matters that we did (do) our best. No one can take the place of the mom (okay, and dad) when it comes to knowing what to do with their children. Of course parenting involves a lot time on our knees since the Lord blesses us with his inspiration and comfort. While it has been fun, at times frustrating, tiring, insightful and educational this week, I am grateful for the wonderful job Stacie, (and all the girls) are doing with their families. Sweet children (most of the time, and always while they are sleeping) are too young yet to know how blessed they are to have such capable mothers. Other grandparents took my place tonight and I will sleep soundly at home I'm sure. I'm not used to small faces staring at me in the middle of the night saying they had a bad dream. But I do remember when that was a part of my life. Long ago and far away. I'm getting too old for this.

the Countdown

So just a few more days and we are off on our Cruise! I am busy trying to pack and get ready and leave my house somewhat put together for all the wonderful family who is helping us with the kids while we are gone. Heidi and Brooklyn came for a visit so we are making time to be with them as well. Needless to say I am stressed trying to get it all done but it will all be worth it. Richard and I will be gone from Sept. 20-28th! We will post lots of fun stuff when we return =)

Peaches!

Thanks to the help from my wonderful mother-in-law I was able to can 28 quarts of peaches! She came over Thursday and helped me do the first box and I finished on Saturday all by myself! Aren't they beautiful! Now I can add to the dozens of canned fruit we did last year (peaches, pears, pie apples, apple sauce, and tomatoes) Now I have to go finish my homemade peach ice cream and cobbler I have started with the leftover peaches.

The silly cousins on our fun sleepover!
They all had fun in the playroom as you can see!
We had Faith and Chance over for a sleepover over the holiday weekend while their mom and dad took a much needed weekend away! They all had fun and Carson cried when Tawna came to pick them up.

Our weekend Fun!

After picking up the kids from school on Friday we jumped in the car and told them we were going somewhere. Megan being the curious one of course noticed the suitcases packed in the back. They were full of questions! We ended up at the AZ Grand Resort in Phoenix. They were so excited. We spent a few hours at their Oasis Water park and then to dinner and then back to the room to crash. They did not crash. All the kids were so tired but could not go to sleep. Here are a few of the fun pictures from our trip!
Carson was so tired and ready for a nap.
The three silly kids
Megan coming off the big slide

Rylan playing in the water splashers
Carson just chilling. I learned he is quite the bully with a pool full of kids.
He loved the wave pool.
Trying to get a little rest!
Watching a movie before bed!

Plug that nose Carson!
Isn't this a cute picture. They loved the lazy river together. Austin going down the big slide.
All in all we had a great time. It was fun to surprise the kids and do something way out of the ordinary. Mom and dad learned we need a major dose of patience. Anybody know where to get some??