The art of asking a girl to a dance. :)

Natalie came home to find chocolate kisses all over the floor of her room and roses with a note on her bed. She was so excited. She turned the kisses over to find the ones with letters on them to discover who her date was. She was extra happy because it was the boy she likes a lot, needless to say, she was all smiles the rest of the night. Now she is trying to figure out a cute way to answer. Any ideas?

First Day of School!!!

Because we had such fun and busy summer that I have not blogged in a long time. Hopefully I can post some of the highlights in the next few weeks.

The house is getting quieter. Johnny moved into his apartment last week and Josh goes up to BYUI this weekend. The remaining children are excited to all have their own rooms now. ha ha Joseph started 2nd grade, Caroline started 7th grade and now attending the junior high. Jake and Natalie are in High School in 10th and 11th grade. Jake and Natalie even have Chemistry together which will be nice for studying.

Cooling off in the Summer--Locks of Love!

Caroline decided to donate 10 1/2 inches of her hair to Locks of love, and organizations that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to medical reasons. I am very proud of her and thinks she looks all grown up with her new hairdo. Good Job Caroline!!!

Family Reunion

We celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary during our family reunion over 4th of July weekend. I loved seeing all my siblings and their families and watch everyone have such a good time together. I am sure my parents did not realize that 50 years later there would be 104 people in their family. I feel very blessed to part of this amazing family.

Happy 50th anniversary MOM and DAD!!!!
Everyone danced at the party!!! It was the best party--being in a room celebrating with all the people you are comfortable around and love. :)

Saturday everyone wore their reunion T-shirts and enjoyed carnival games, crafts,ice blocking, soccer game, and pizza at the park!!!

Opa and Oma with all the grand kids. It was a very memorable weekend.

Pioneer trek

AUGGGG!!! I couldn't get the movie to download-- to see a short video of this awesome trek I put it on my boys blog.

Last week I went on a pioneer trek with Josh, Natalie and Jake. It was a wonderful experience. It help us all gain a greater understanding of the faith and courage the pioneers had. I feel it helped my teenagers realize that they could do hard things too and that even though they do not have to pull handcarts across the country, that they have strength and courage to face their own challenges and trials. Before going, we read stories about a couple of our own pioneers ancestors-William Lobark Skidmore and Leopold Wirthlin.

Me trying a black powder rifle. :)
Natalie helping push
All dressed and ready to go----Natalie did not like the "grandma" clothes she had to wear.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho off to Topaz Mountain we Go!!!

On Memorial Day we went on a day trip to Topaz Mountain. Everyone had a great time searching for topaz. Joseph loved using his hammer and tools to break the rocks. We all came home with topaz. Josh broke open one large rock and found some really nice ones. This is a great family activity--better in the spring and fall when it is not so hot.

Girl's Camp--Moab

I helped with our wards girls camp last week. Natalie was a "kool-aid" and helped prepare and plan the camp. She did a great job!!! This was Carolines first time at camp--it was so fun to be with both my girls in this beautiful place. We went to Arches and camped for 3 nights right on the Colorado river. We went on hikes, played games, sang songs, waded in the river and had a fabulous time. The theme was "Born to be a queen...be strong"---the scripture was Joshua 1:9. The theme was inspired by President Utchdof's talk and Sister Dalton's talk given at Young Womens conference. Caroline favorite thing was the fiery furnace hike and Natalie's was the glow stick war she had with the other "kool-aids". Next month I will take 27 4th year girls from our stake on a hike through the Narrows at Zions National Park.

Joshua's Graduation

Picture of Joshua after graduating. We are so PROUD of him. He is heading to BYU Idaho in the fall and will be majoring in biology. He received a 4,000 scholarship. Way to go Josh!!!

Spring Break--California

I am extremely behind on the blog. My kids have been asking me when I am going to update it with all the events and things we have done. I guess I have been too busy living life to record it.

We went to Disneyland for one day (give a day get a day). We arrived at 7:30am and left at 12:30am. We had a fabulous time and were ready to relax at the beach the next day. Rick and Gemina were so nice to let us stay with them for a couple of days. We felt very pampered with the delicious food and cozy beds. THANKS Gemina and Rick!!!!! Natalie loved spending time with her cousin Madeline.

Prom

Last Saturday both Josh and Natalie went to Prom. Josh really liked wearing a tuxedo and he looked really handsome. Natalie looked beautiful too. I think her date was really nervous because he only said two words when he came to pick her up and continued to shake his head or laugh. Natalie said that she had never talked to him before at school so she decided to treat it like a blind date. hahaha She said that during all the slow dances she just taught him how to waltz so it wasn't awkward.

Her dress we bought at DI and I added the sleeves from the material of the slip underneath. They did not turn out exactly how I wanted them to and I envisioned her a little more covered, but she was thrilled with the dress. They both had a nice time and had fun getting all dressed up.