The Greatest Nany in The WORLD!!

This past week my Mom and Dad came for Jayden's Birthday. Nany stayed the whole week so that she could paint the kids' room. My Mom is a wonderful artist and I have always loved her paintings. Another thing that I love is Chiapas, Mexico, where my Mom is from. I thought it would be so great to have some of Nany's artwork in the kids room so that they can look at their wall and always remember Nany. When I was a little girl my Mom painted CareBears on my wall and I loved looking at my wall.
Well, my Mom worked her magic and painted a jungle on the wall in Dallin and Elise's room. Their room is so beautiful. I love looking at their wall and I love thinking of how great my Mom is. She is the best Mom in the world, and such a talented artist. Take a look for yourself. Thanks for doing such a great job Mama. The animals are my favorite, they look so real.

The monkey swinging from a vine.
Lorenzo. He was Nany's parrot when she was a little girl living in Cacahoatan, Chiapas.
Dallin loves tree frogs from "Diego".
Nany also had a pet Iguana as a little girl.
The Crocodile is my favorite. He looks like he is going to creep up on you.
The Ceiba tree is just like the trees in Chiapas where so many stories take place.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE JAYDEN!!!!

I can't believe my little baby boy is already turning 1. It seems like so much has happened since he has been born. He is the happiest, smiliest, and cutest little baby that you will ever meet. I just love him so much. I am so grateful for such a fun little boy. He definetely has made me happy when skies are grey. I still remember when he was first born, I was a little overwhelmed with 3 kids, and moving to a new place where I felt like I did not know anyone. Dallin and Elise have moments where they love eachother, and moments where they are constantly battling with eachother and I feel like I might lose my mind. Well, one day I couldn't put Jayden down because every time I put him down he cried. My back was so sore. But I was attempting to make all my kids happy. So, I held Jayden all day, and I tried singing a song for Elise. As I was singing, Jayden looked up at me with his big blue eyes and smiled so big. I felt so loved. My back stopped hurting and I just felt so grateful that I am all that this little boy knows, I know he had his Daddy, but lets face it I am with him 24 hours a day from day 1. This is such a big responsibility, but one that I would not trade for anything in the world. I love my blue-eyed, blonde haired baby. Happy Birthday Jayden!!!.

Another Year of Joy School

I did Joy School with Dallin and he loved it so much. I was so excited to do it this year with Elise. Since Dallin is in afternoon Kindergarten he loves to help out. It is so much fun. Our little girl is growing up. The other day I said "Elise I don't want you to grow up", she said "I have to grow up so that I can be a Mommy". She is so fun, and I am so excited to do another year of Joy School with her this time around.

Our Great Camping Adventure

It all started when Dallin was chosen by his Kindergarten teacher to be the STAR STUDENT!! Dallin got to bring home the class mascot, "Jungle Joe"( a stufffed teddy bear). It was perfect because our ward was having a camp-out at Bucks Lake that week-end. So, we set out with "Joe" and all of our stuff for our first camping adventure with 3 kids. It was so beautifuland we had a great time roasting marshmallows and exploring.
Until night came and someone came around the campsite warning us about bears. They told us that there were a lot of Bears in these mountains, so we needed to make sure we didn't leave any food out. Justin said bears really like babies and are attracted to their cry. Well, I went to bed quite scared. Sure enough Jayden woke up in the middle of the night crying. I hurried and tried to do anything to keep him quiet. I hurried and fixed him a bottle and rocked him. As I was doing this I heard some branches crackling right outside our tent and the sound of a grunting BEAR!!! I was so scared. I couldn't believe it. Thank goodness that I can pray and feel safe. I prayed really hard that night. I am proud to say that we survived and had a great time, and even went canoeing the next day. It was so fun and "Joe" had a great time. However, I don't think that I want to go camping for a while. Maybe next year...