Kent, Mariam and co.

I often forget how much I love modern technology.  It seems like you never appreciate what you have until it is not there.  Case in point, my digital camera.  It is not broken, but I left the recharger cord at my moms.  Well, my batteries went dead, and we had a fun little adventure this last weekend.  I was sooo sad not to have my camera, so I did the unthinkable.  I used a FILM camera.  I haven't used it in years though, and the batteries were dead.  As it turns out the batteries were about $15.   We spent the weekend in SLC with my in-laws.  The kids had so much fun ridding the elevator, swimming in the hotel pool and exploring every nook and cranny in the hotel room.  The next morning we went to the Discovery Center and the Gateway.  The kids had a blast, and they were so cute.   I wanted to capture all the fun memories, so I pulled out my old camera.  It was so hard.  I couldn't see what I was taking a picture of, you only get one shot, and the camera was big and bulky. ...

We had our first cook-out of the summer.  Some friends invited us for a little hot dog roast last Friday.  The kids had so much fun.  Food is always so much better when you cook it on a stick. Monday was D's last day of school, and it was also his water party.  (I was so excited he was finally having his party since he talked about going non stop for the past week).  The kids had so much fun.  Here Ms. Jami is shooting a water rocket with the kids.   Kent and I came to help out and we filled up so many water balloons that Kent's fingers actually started bleeding.  The kids had so much fun though.   Later that night, D had his preschool graduation.  (He's the one with the black hat putting his fingers up).  Like a true player, when the teacher's teenage daughter passed by he very loudly said, "Wow, you look beautiful today!".  He likes the older ladies.   Preschool has been so good for D, and his teacher has been so patient with him.  Here is a movie with D...

This is a little long and nostalgic, but. . . My grandpa passed away  last Sunday.  He has been in failing health for the past several years, so his passing brought peace and comfort to the family. Still, it is always hard to say good-bye to someone you love.   You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but grandpa had the heart of an adventurer.  He loved to travel everywhere and anywhere.  He especially loved the huge dessert in southern Utah, an area of the world the rest of us have a hard time appreciating.   Grandpa did not grow up in a family of comfort.  He was raised in a sod dugout on a small farm in Nebraska.  (for those who don't know, a sod  dugout is a small house dug out of the side of a hill, they had a buffalo skin for a door).  The family was very poor.  Grandpa talked about how he could still remember the bitter taste of the boiled weeds they gathered to eat.   Grandpa worked hard to create a better life for himself and his family.  He worked really hard, and put...

We have had many milestones these past weeks.   D has learned how to read!  I am so proud.  We haven't really worked on reading, but he seemed interested so we checked out some easy readers from the library.  To my surprise, he sat down with me, sounded out the words and read the book.  I couldn't believe it.  He is a smart boy, but we are still not sure about sending him to kindergarden.   K got a new tricycle.  It's pink, purple and so cute.   She loves to sit on it, but she is still working on peddling.   Everyone knows a princess is not ready to ride without her sparkling sunglasses. K CAN WEAR PIGGY TAILS!  I am so excited that she finally has enough hair to put piggies in.  She thinks she looks pretty cute too.  I don't know what it is, but these little pig tails make me so happy.   I guess that all the fun has tuckered K out.  She was playing one min., the next she was out cold.  

If you ever wondered what hundreds of fondant flowers looked like, here it is.  By the way, there were way to many flowers. I finally finished the wedding cake for Sheena.  It was technically easy, but time consuming.  It looks different than any other wedding cake that I have seen, but it is whimsical and cute, just like Sheena.  I am just so relieved that it is finally over.  I can finally relax, well at-least until something else comes up.

We are finally home from Arizona.  We went for my grandmother's funeral.  The funeral was really nice, and was a good experience.  Although the funeral is the reason we went, I don't have any pictures, but I do have lots of other pictures.  The following posts are from our trip to Arizona.   On a side note, I have to thank my cousin for letting us stay in her guest house and taking such good care of all of us.  

We were able to spend a day and a half at the cabin.  It is one of my favorite places on earth.   Here K is getting a scrub in the big laundry room sink.  There are pictures of all of us getting a bath in that sink.   D remembered feeding the ducks at the cabin, so we had to do it again.  It was a little cold, but the kids had so much fun.   The hammock is another favorite at the cabin.  I am so glad we were able to spend a little quiet time there.