Funny Daisy!

Today we came home from church and saw the evidence of our dog around the house. She had found a small garbage can and emptied it. Luckily it wasn't very full. Then we saw that she was chewing on something. She looked like she was sucking on a binkie! Hilarious!!! What do you think she is "chewing" on?

Happy Birthday to me!

Here it is....my birthday! Where has the time flown? I feel so amazingly blessed in my life, so I thought I would list all the things I am thankful for, one for every year of my life. The only problem with that is that everyone will then know how YOUNG I am. Oh well! Here are the 41 things I am most grateful for:
1. Jesus Christ
2. My dear husband, Brian
3. Rachel, my darling, sweet daughter
4. Daniel, my handsome, funny son
5. Daisy, my dog
6. My wonderful parents
7. My four sisters
8. My five brothers
9. My dear parents-in-law
10. All my in-laws
11. My home
12. My friends
13. My good health
14. My testimony
15. The Book of Mormon
16. Our prophet
17. The sanctity of marriage that has been preserved
18. Good music
19. The opportunity to be a piano teacher
20. My husband's job
21. I am a homemaker!
22. I am a stay-at-home mom!
23. The hot summer temperatures are gone!
24. Autumn is here......my favorite time of year!!!!
25. I was raised in the gospel
26. 35 pounds less than I was last year!
27. Sunsets
28. My marriage in the Salt Lake Temple 13 years ago.
29. Temples
30. My heritage
31. Exercise
32. The scriptures
33. Family love
34. Prayer
35. Hugs from my children
36. Good books
37. Education
38. Being married to my best friend...Brian!
39. Being sealed to my family forever!
40. Chocolate :)
41. My life of 41 wonderful years!!!!!

Halloween Fun!

Here it is almost one week late, but here are some cute pictures of our fun Halloween! (even though I hate Halloween, I consider it successful if my children look good!) What do you think? I think they looked pretty darn good!













Rachel was NOT Pocahontas...she was an Indian princess! Daniel was a Knight in shining armor. This was a fun Halloween!

Prop 8 Wave Party!!!

Tonight our family joined many of our ward members in waving signs for Proposition 8. We stood on a busy street in Clovis for one hour cheering and waving to people to encourage them to vote. It was so much fun to be united with our friends in a common cause. It also restored our faith in humanity to hear so many people honking and cheering us on in support of what we were doing. It was a great experience! YES ON PROP 8!!!!

We ended the evening at In and Out Burger with quite a bit of our friends for a great dinner! What a great way to end the day!

Our Photo Shoot!

Last week, a good friend was doing a portrait project for her photography class and asked if we could be the subjects. Since Rachel and Daniel are sooooo adorable and take such great pictures, I said sure! So here are some of the best ones. I love my children! They are such great blessings in my life!!! Thanks Jana for taking these great pictures! I love them!

Friends!

I have always had good friends in my life. I consider this to be a great blessing! I remember my first best friend when I was just five - Cherie. We were neighbors, and we spent all our time together. Then she moved away in third grade. There was all my "Madrigal friends" in High School. That was a fantastic time! There was Becky, Allyson, Thayne, Brent, Reid, Dave, Taylor...my life was shaped by these people! After High school, there was sororiety at the University of Utah when Natalie came into my life! We were inseparable! Laurie was there as well as tons of friends! After I got married and moved to California I met Candee...we were so close and shared many "mothering" experiences together. Now there are so many friends in our wonderful ward, I hardly know where to begin!
But all through my life there has always been Chari. We met in eighth grade Mr. Willams english class, and we developed a friendship that is eternal! The whole reason for this post today is because of Chari! I found her again! We have not had any contact for NINE years! Yikes! That is almost a lifetime. After much searching, we connected again, and I called her on Sunday. We talked for hours; we laughed and laughed as the years erased away! I felt like she was just around the corner again and we were heading off on another crazy adventure! Chari became a part of my family, and spent more time at my home than hers. How fun to reconnect with her and hear all about her life as a mother. I miss you Chari and can't wait to talk to you again! Let's get together and do lunch sometime! Love you!!!

Skiing in Clovis!

Sierra Summit came to our elementary school today, and Rachel got the chance to snowboard! She was excited, but a little nervous as well. She is in leadership at school, and that's how she got this opportunity. After getting fitted and given a board, they had a quick training session on the grass. Then they all lined up and waited their turn.

Here she is getting ready to ski down the hill. She was pretty nervous at this point, but we were all cheering her on. This hill felt like cold, wet, fake grass that was colored to look like snow.

Look at that smile! Good job Rachel! You gave it your best shot! Now you know (sort of) what it feels like to go snowboarding! Sure wish it felt like snow outside! It was about 85 degrees....Whew!