Play Date with Kaylee

Hannah invited her cousin Kaylee over to play. They like to pretend to be princesses, doctor up sick animals, catch butterflies, do gymnastics and generally make a bit of noise. So when the house was as quiet as a mouse, I became concerned and went up to check on them.

This is what I found...

Ahhh, the magic of a book!
Awesome isn't it!

Rulon Gardner- Stop beating up my family!

Do you see these bruises. That one up there is my husband.
This one down here is my son.

Do you want to know who gave them these bruises?
Rulon Gardner did!
Yes, that wrestler with the missing toe who crashes planes into Lake Powell.
(Those were my sister's words)
By the way, he also won an Olympic Gold Medal and he can pick up
my husband like he's nothin. And my hubby is a good sized guy with lots of muscle.
I told them that the next time they go to wrestling they should
NOT volunteer to be the one Rulon demonstrates on!

Insightful Girl and Notes From Hannah

Today in church Hannah wrote this note for me:

You are prettier than a flower
You are prettier than a daisy
You are prettier than a heart
You are prettier than a heart chocolate chip cookie
I Love you so much

McKell has been blessed with wisdom beyond her years.
She is insightful.
She is beautiful and kind.
Sometimes she feels out-of-touch with other girls her age,
but I am so glad to have been blessed with such a wonderful daughter who
always wants to do what is right!
She will get it all figured out and in the end I think that she will be very thankful to be the incredible daughter of God that she is!

Hannah is Seven

Hannah's Birthday Highlights!

Hannah had a luau party for her seventh birthday.
It was so much fun!
She was so excited to have her friends over to spend this special day with her.

Laura, Kylee, Hannah, Sara
Mckenzie, Cousin Kaylee, Aleena

Lots of Awesome decorations, a super cute cake, Hula dancing and games!
Hannah I am so Proud of YOU!
This past year you have learned and grown so much.
You finished first grade and you didn't miss a night of homework.
You have the funniest sense of humor I have ever seen in a child your age.
You are our little girl in this family of teenagers and adults and I love that you can
tease right back!
You make us laugh. You make us happy.
You learned to ski this past year and you are AWESOME!
I love it when you get air on those little jumps.
And I love it when Grandpa Day tells you that you are going to get a speeding ticket for skiing so fast and you just laugh and tell him that he is going to get a "slow ticket" for going too slow!
Thanks for being such a wonderful part of our family!
Happy Birthday Hannah!

I am the weather.

McKell shared her testimony yesterday at church.
She talked about the importance of family
which is something which has really been on her mind since Dillan left.
She also said that I am the weather.
If I am happy then there is sunshine in our home.
If I am not.... well you get the picture.
I hope that most of the time I am sunshine- I think that I am.
But I am determined that there will be more sunshine, more pleasant breezes.
Or even those days where you have sunshine, light rain and beautiful rainbows.
I am sure there will be a few thunderstorms here and there.
But I want my children to remember sunshine and warmth when they think of me.
They certainly are the sunshine in my life!

Cutting the apron strings... It hurts!

I LOVE THIS KID!

Shoot! I always put my pictures in backwards!
Oh well, we'll just go back in time!

Colorado or Bust!
Dillan and Ben and the U-haul trailer off to
Parker, Colorado.

"No Dillan, I wont put the camera down!"

One last shot of all the kids and dogs (at Dillan's request) together before Dillan leaves.

***
Dillan left last night.
He will be living in Colorado for the summer to work and to write music.
He and Ben are anxious to get the band off-the-ground.
Being in two different states wasn't working very well as far as the band thing was concerned.
Sending him off was bitter-sweet.
I know that until he gives this chance his best shot he will not be happy. And the cool thing is that they are really good! I am excited for him and pray that he will make good choices.
His dad gave him a beautiful father's blessing before he left.
I think that he has great things in store as long as he can make wise decisions and work hard.
We will miss him....
very much.

Till We Have Faces at Muse Music!

June 3 @ Muse Music in Provo.
Dillan and Ben doing what they love most!
They had a few technical difficulties but they were still
amazing!

Ben at the keyboard and Dillan on Guitar.

Small crowd but they all

loved them and their fun and funky music.
So did I.
You can hear some of their music at...
www.myspace.com/tillwehavefacesofficial

Our day off..... .Today we were all home for a change. Considering our busy schedules since taking care of Gary and Orie. So today.....

I pulled about a million weeds. Well it felt like it anyway.

Father and Son (and dog) bonding time.