BC Parke Family

Rylan turns 8!

2010-10-20T11:02:00.003-07:00

My little man turned 8 on October 17th! Oh how I love this kid! My friend Kimberly was kind enough to take some pictures for his baptism announcements. Here is a few of my favorites! She is amazing huh!

Here is a few details about Rylan! He is a really good athlete, and a natural competitor! He tries so hard to be kind to everyone and loves having so many friends. He is my smarty pants and school definetly comes eay to him. He loves to snuggle on the couch and watch movies with me. He also wants to be EXACTLY like his dad. I feel so blessed to be his mom! Love you Rylan!

hmm blogging.

2010-06-21T13:59:00.001-07:00

All the nieces and nephews at the temple! This is such a normal pic of them ha ha!

I have been such a blog slacker. I have been working way too much and having way too much fun living life. My baby sis got married in May at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in Utah. I got to be her official stylist. Making her beautiful isn't hard!!

Here is one of my favorite wedding pics!

This one is my favorite engagement pic!

The best part was that all of my family was together for the weekend!

Halloween Business

2009-11-29T11:07:00.001-08:00

We had a ninja, a pink unicorn, and a punk all visit our house on Halloween.

Their awesome pumpkins!
Brandon means business when carving pumpkins! I have to say, he is pretty good at it!

Rylan turns 7!

2009-11-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Rylan's birthday was October 17th! I have just been so horrible about posting lately. Maybe one day I will get better. He had a fun birthday at Grandmas house with the cousins!

His spider cupcakes! He loves having Halloween so close to his birthday!

We love you buddy! I can't believe how big he is!!!!

Miley Cyrus concert

2009-11-01T08:18:00.001-08:00

WE finally made it to the Miley concert. There were so many people there. It was quite the production. Lots of lights and high tech stuff.

She was so excited!

We had really good seats! I always love opportunities to hang out with my daughter and make cool memories!

labor day fun!

2009-09-15T13:43:00.001-07:00

We put the fire to use over Labor day weekend! We had a yummy dinner at the Knight's house followed by a football game and backyard fun! The total was 8 adults and12 kids!

Look at that cute couple!

Some hot mamas!

Brandon loves to see how big he can get the fire and then throw fire crackers in them. He is such a big kid!

The girls!!!!! Alliya was so attached to her new friend Britney!

The boys!!!!!!

It was such a fun night hanging out with friends!

The first day!

2009-09-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

I finally am posting pics of the first day of school about 2 weeks into the year!

Rylan is in 1st grade this year. He loves his new class and new teacher!

Miss Kaylee is in 5th grade. She was a little sad that her best friend is in another class, but seems to be excited just the same!

Miss Alliya needed her photo taken for her first day of preschool. (not really her first day, but she needed her picture taken too) One more year, and she will be riding the bus with the big kids to Kindergarten!

Summer nights!

2009-09-01T14:15:00.001-07:00

There is nothing better than wrapping up in a blanket when the sun goes down on a summer night! We love our neighbors and seem to end up in the backyard at the same time.. ha ha.

Rylan is roasting a marshmellow for smores!

Brandon built us a sweet fire pit in the backyard. We love that there are no neighbors behind us so it feels like living in the country where we both grew up!

Here are the two twins. There are some days, from a distance, I can't tell which one is my husband.

A good fire, an amazing sunset, good friends, and a little country music = a perfect summer night.

(and a lot of priceless memories)

Summertime

2009-09-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

We love summer and Lava Hot Springs!

Having a fun day at Rigby Lake!

Brandon was the master sand castle artist!

Aww he is such a babe!

Kaylee is a decade

2009-07-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Miss Kaylee had a long day of swimming in Lava Hot Springs on her b-day! Alliya's is the day before hers, so we try to make each day their own. After swimming all day, she just wanted a little baby cake and a lot of ice cream!

One of her presents was a the new Hannah Montana the movie soundtrack and attached to the back was tickets to see Miley Cyrus in concert. I had purchased them about a month before her birthday and I was so excited to see her reaction. She looked at the tickets and when she finally realized what it was she started to cry and giggle at the same time. . . . Did i mention it was worth it for that one precious moment!

The happy girl! Now only 2 more months to wait until the concert...what? All good things come to those who wait. right?

Alliya turns 4

2009-07-23T20:09:00.001-07:00

The big day finally came....the Dora Princess Party!

She wanted a Dora party but apparently so did every girl in IF cause they was not too much Dora in stock ANYWHERE.....Gosh mom if ya didnt wait until the last minute.....We are easy going and decided on two themes. ok Alliya did

The Knights joined us for the pinata celebration in the fabulous garage.

The result of all their hard work....and mine (stuffing a pinata can be tricky)

The official Dora cake!

I love our Miss Pippi (her nickname) We are so blessed to have her little spirit in our house.

The great adventure

2009-07-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

We went swimming at Green Canyon a few weeks ago. We went with our neighbor and friends the Knights. This is a picture i took on the way there.

This is a picture of the ride home! whew! how fun was that!

Happy Happy 4th

2009-07-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

On the 4th, my kids and I spent the whole morning getting ready for the big parade. We were in the Austin Kade Academy Candyland float. Whew! It was exausting.

Here is Alliya being a frosting princess with my friend Kayla!

Kaylee is a gumdrop princess. Rylan is the red m in the background.

My family came up for the occasion. It was fun to have a chill day with the family. We watched the fireworks from the soccer fields by our house. It is nice to not have to fight the trafffic. Here is my sister Aleshia with her boyfriend Nate.

My sister Heather and her friend Brandon.

All the crazy kids. They sure do love each other!

what a fun day.....until next year!

Special Guest

2009-07-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

I had such a great experience the other day at school. Phillip Wilson, an amazing hair artist and innovator, came to Austin Kade. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget. His wife, Mary, was able to give us a short class the next morning on relaxation techniques. Boy, do i need to breath more.

He is demonstrating a free form haircut.

We all dressed in black and white for the occasion!

Brandon's birthday the big 30!

2009-07-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

My hubby is 30! Its about time he joined the club. He had to work on his birthday, but we still had a little party for him. Thanks to my friend Hailey for babysitting, we got to go see Transformers 2. I love you babe!

Rylan's cast is history

2009-07-05T09:15:00.001-07:00

The big day FINALLY came! He was sooooo excited yet soooooo nervous!

That is one big saw!

It is off! No more casts please.

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-07-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Rylan is now a graduate! We are so proud of him. After it was over he said, " I am so glad I graduated, I can't wait to graduate from 1st grade." If only they made such a big deal about every grade.

Prom......Commencement.....Seriously

2009-05-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

I got to do hair for some of the high school's Proms. Which by the way, around here they call it commencement. What? Isn't commencement what they call graduation? The kids say that the name was changed in order to prevent kids from doing risky things just because its prom. Wow! good plan adults lets change the name and pretend our kids are idiots. Prom is Prom.....let it be.

I only wish they were in their dresses!!!
This was so fun!

She is a stunner!

Broken elbow!

2009-05-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Rylan broke his elbow riding his bike a little over a week ago! He had been such a tough kid through it all! I wanted to take a picture before it got all sharpied up with signatures!

His hand was so swollen for about a week. It was so gross!

This was Rylan 2 days before it happened. He was a basketball camp.

What a kid! I am so grateful it will be off before the summer really gets underway!

Happy Anniversary a little late!

2009-04-26T10:34:00.003-07:00

Our anniversary was April 7th, which happened to be the same day as the hair show. We didn't get to really have much of a celebration this year. This seems to happen almost every year around our anniversary. After 8 years, we have decided just to embraced it. I love every year I get to spend with him and the family we have made together.

Kaylee at 20 months! She was such a cute flower girl!

Logan Temple April 7, 2001

AKA Hair and Fashion Show

2009-04-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

This week we put on a hair and fashion show to benefit the Haven House in Idaho Falls. It took 6 longs weeks of preparation and countless people to pull it off. It was one of the best experiences of my life! I learned so much and had way too much fun ...... along with way toooo much stress. Would I ever do it again? HECK YEAH!

This is a pic of everyone that worked on our little part of the production.

......the Annie group.

Here is the whole cast including models and dancers.

Getting ready for the show! We started 12 hours before the show began.

Thats my cute little sister Heather. The things she does for me like having her hair manipulated and pulled tightly while wearing high heels for 9 hours!

David Archuleta

2009-03-31T19:44:00.001-07:00

Kaylee and I went to see David Archuleta in concert in Pocatello. It was her first concert and I figured that this would be a perfect one for her to go to. She only had a few questions like...."Why are all those girls screaming like that?" ....... "Where are they selling the shirts?" It was a fun night with my not so little anymore Kaylee.

Of course we had to take a picture of him!

Here is a some video of the concert.

Emily's Wedding

2009-03-23T11:02:00.001-07:00

Brandon's sister Emily got married a couple of weeks ago. I loved getting to do her hair and help her get ready! It was so fun. All of Brandon's siblings made it to her wedding which made it a really special day.

Here is all of them together, except the bride. It is always a sight to see all of them together. Brandon, Cheri, Becky, Julie, Chad, Tami, Travis, Rachelle, and Jonathan. What a beautiful crew!

Brandon and I posing for a pic together. Weddings always remind me of how grateful I am to be married to him! If ya look really close he has a black eye!! He got beat up by his 3 year old daughter. Who knew?

Hair show in Boise

2009-03-16T21:00:00.001-07:00

This last weekend I went to a hair show in Boise with Randi, Annie, and Stacey! Wow!

It was so awesome, overwhelming, exhausting, and most importantly FUN! We drove up Saturday after school and made it to Boise just in time to head to Cheescake Factory! There is nothing like carbs late at night! The next day was full of classes and ohhhh the products and tools! This is one of the classes we went to by Pureology!

Randi, Annie and I in the Redken class.

I hope to post a few more soon. Thanks Stacey for letting me steal your pics. (unknowingly)

Makeup class

2009-02-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

My school offered a makeup course the last two weeks and unfortunetly I wasn't able to take it. As sad as I was, I was still able to be a part of it, well a little bit. My cute sister Heather got to model for my friend Kayla. I got to be the assistant in the morning. Here is Heather right before the shoot. I will post pictures of the photo shoot when I get to see them.

Aww here is Kayla and Heather. They are both amazing looking huh! What an awesome career path I am choosing. I get to play dress up all day long.

My little cheerleader!

2009-02-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Kaylee decided that she wanted to sign up for the cheer clinic at Skyline High School. She loves to cheer and dance! (Great...I better start saving now) Here are some cute pictures with her BFF Remington.

Notice the cool hip knot! Who knew the 80's were back in?

These two are so cute! Can you image them in 5 or 6 years? I am in so much trouble!

Engaged!

2009-01-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I were engaged 8 years ago today. Wow! It really did seem like yesterday until I looked at these pictures. Here is our wedding announcement and another engagement picture. They were taken up Logan Canyon. A few little details from the day.........He wanted to go shopping in Logan so we went. When we got to Logan he just drove past the mall and said he wanted to show me something. We ended up at the temple around sunset where he got down on one knee and proposed in front of quite a few people. To this day, I still have never seen him that nervous!

Aww to be 22 again! ......Wait never mind......I just want my jean size back!

The infamous Challis ID

2009-01-05T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here's the back story: All growing up people would ask me, "Are you from Challis, ID", "Were you born there", "Have you been to Challis" ..... you get the picture. So, I decided that since I had never been there before, I would take the voyage for my 30th birthday. We dropped the kids off at my moms for the night and just the two of us left on our adventure. I was hoping for a little self discovery along the way. Now for the next 30 years I will have a different response to the never ending, redundant, and expected questions associated with my name.

(My parents got the name from a girl that my dad knew before my parents were married.

That is an entirely different story that I haven't got to the bottom of yet.)

My cute escort!!!

By the way, I officially visited Challis Park, as you can see! Somehow it was so funny while we were there. How many people have actually reach their own destination? ha ha

As you can see, it was a giant town. It is actually amazing beautiful this time of year.

As my CRAZY journey towards self discovery came to an end, I realized that I am no closer to discovering who I really am than before I left. What I did discover is how each day I am blessed to have an amazing best friend by my side to help me figure it all out. He pushes me to become better and embraces all the junk in between. Muah, love ya Brandon.

Family fun!

2009-01-02T10:46:00.001-08:00

My family came to my house for Christmas this year. My friend Buffy came over to take this fanastic picture of us all. It has been a whole year since we all have been together.

Here is all 5 of us! My older brother Mark and cute little sisters, Mandy, Heather, and Aleshia.

I feel so blessed to have them in my life! All the years growing up in the same house, and we still like each other......amazing isn't it.

Oh Christmas

2008-12-27T09:31:00.000-08:00

Hurray! Christmas finally arrived at our house. Finally questions were answered......Is Santa real?.... How will he get down our chimney?... Do reindeers really fly?...... What does Santa eat? ... whew! Christmas morning we were all believers. Kaylee was at her dad's but Santa remembered her too.

On Christmas eve, we all got new PJ's. Putting them on was the easy part, taking a picture was the challenge.

Sexy posing huh!
We are so blessed and feel so grateful for all we have this season and most importantly for each other!

Tagged-Seven things

2008-12-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

Seven things I can do:

1. I can read really fast .
2. I can braid.
3. I can remember crazy unimportant facts that I won't ever need.
4. I am amazing at multi-tasking
5. I can find amazing deals at the mall
6. I can talk ALOT
7. I can remember my fight song from high school!

Seven things i can't do:

1. I can't ever seem to lose weight
2. I can't do a back handspring
3. I can't sleep when Brandon works nights
4. I can't imagine being an only child
5. I can't whistle very well
6. I can't sing
7. I can't remember what life was like before having kids!

Seven things that attracted me to my husband:

1. His good looks
2. He has an amazing spirit
3. His nice body
4. He really had great hair when we were dating
5. Hard worker
6. A great kisser
7. He loves his family

Seven things i say often:

1. I miss you
2. I can't wait for a day off
3. I need a vacation
4. I love you
5. How are you?
6. Hey, what's up?
7. Show me how to do that

Seven people I admire:

1. My mom
2. Brandon
3. My kids
4. Carmel
5. Oprah
6. Anyone who can play the piano
7. Alicia Keys

Seven of my favorite foods & drinks:

1. Diet Coke
2. Ice Cream (gelato)
3. Anything my mom cooks
4. Grandma parke's cookies
5. Spicy mexican food
6. Homemade salsa
7. Shirley Temple's

Tagged......anyone (wow I learned alot about myself)

Temple Square

2008-12-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like starting out the Christmas season with seeing the lights at Temple Square. We went to visited our favs Nick and Lisa in Stansbury Park and they joined us on the trip. I also decided to pick up my baby sis to come with us. Isn't she so adoreable!

This pic was blurry but the temple in the background looks awesome.

Amazing lights, great atmosphere, our favorite people=A perfect night!!!!

Feeding my addiction!

2008-11-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

I went to see Twilight with my Mom and little sister on Wednesday night. I posted some of my favorite scenes in the movie.

I loved when they walked into school together and everyone was looking at them!! It reminds me of something I would do. Oh and Edward looked like a babe in the shades.

The first kissing scene. One word......WOW!

My sister had never read the book and she decided after the movie that she is waiting for Edward! Loved it! It obviously wasn't as good as the book, but it was still dreamy!

Christmas pictures already?

2008-11-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

I decided to get matching outfits and take pictures of my kids and my sister's kids for Christmas. Whew, what a project!!!!

Trying to get them all to actually stand together was the actual hard part.

I found this place about two miles from where I grew up! I know its about as country as it gets, but its gorgeous.

This one is my favorite!

The 4th folder

2008-11-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Rachelle.

Find the 4th folder and the 4th picture in it and blog about it!

This picture is when Alliya was born. It was Friday, July 8, 2005! AWWW! Rylan looks so little(he was almost 3). Although I look like crap, I so love this picture.

Tagged...anyone who wants to!

2008-11-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

I consider myself to be well informed on the issues and really like following politics. As much as I would love to give a big spill on my candidate of choice, I find that the most important thing is using your voice.... whatever it may be. I love that the people of our country are so different. I am proud to be a citizen of a country where WE get to choose our own leaders. On Tuesday our country spoke, and democracy was achieved. I am so proud to be able to tell my children, niece and nephews that they truly can grow up to be anything they want.

"My vote is my voice . . . and the voice of all who struggled, so that I may have my voice.”

Lyida C. Obasi

Halloween

2008-11-01T18:18:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun trick or treating. We got to go along with lots of our friends from the neighborhood. The treat buckets were full to the top!

Brandon stayed home to hand out candy. I had to talk him out of wearing the mask. He would have scared some little kids to death.

We went to the Zoo for the Boo at the Zoo event. We had never been before! It was so much fun!

What a fun Halloween!

New haircolor!

2008-10-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

I know I am going to cosmetology school and all, but I really am not into drastic changes. Needless to say, my hair is brown.

Change is healthy for the soul.....I think!

Pumpkin carving!

2008-10-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

This is a little tradition we started when Kaylee was little. Daddy helps the kids carve pumpkins. He is the most artistic and always helps them design an awesome pumpkin. Here they are making a game plan....

Kaylee is trying to get hers started

Their favorite part, cleaning the insides out.

It is so fun to watch them do this! Even though it is messy and a little smelly, its well worth it.

Princess and Pirates

2008-10-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

Rylan had a pirate and princess birthday party with his cousins! Whew! What an exhausting birthday weekend.

Halloween PARTY!!!!!

2008-10-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Rylan, Logan and Ethan all share the same birthday....October 17! What a awesome day. So, the mom's decided to have a big Halloween party for their birthday!

Their was musical pumpkins!!!
A little bit a "It's my birthday, yeah it's my birthday"
Fun Spider crafts and yummy cookies to decorate!
Eye ball toss!!!
There was even a haunted scary room which was to scary to show!!!

Overall it was a spooky good time!

Rylan is officially 6

2008-10-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

That's right, my little boy is 6. We went to Blast Off and Texas Roadhouse the night before his birthday. We had never been to Blast Off before and they loved it! Brandon and I were exhausted from watchin them!

He finally got to open presents on the morning of his birthday before school! What a good way to start the day.

Finding Joy in our Journey

2008-10-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

I really took the prophets message to heart about finding Joy now. It is the everyday trials, mishaps, lessons, tears, laughter, and exaustion that makes up our lives. Despite my silly complaints, I love my life and the people in it. I will choose to be happy everyday, laugh to spite my weaknesses and love with all my heart. Here are a few funny pictures of some days that Alliya got into something she shouldn't or made a fabulous mess. I now laugh at, and love, every one of these moments!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Rylan had a class trip to a pumpkin patch. Alliya and I tagged along with them.

They got to scout out the perfect pumpkin. Rylan really thought he was looking for the GREAT PUMPKIN because he could not decide on one. After about 20 minutes of intense searching, he found his. Whew!
Alliya got to pick one out too. Her criteria.....a little baby one!
Rylan got to help hold the poster on how pumkins grow! This was exciting because their class had been learning all week about pumpkins! Aww, the things we learned in Kindergarten.

Halloween came early...

2008-10-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

We got to have our fun neighbors Kennedy and Carter come play one night. I was pulling out the halloween decorations and ran across costumes. This kept them busy forever. Who says Halloween has to be only one day?

Good big brother

2008-09-29T18:05:00.001-07:00

The nice addition to Rylan's head was achieved through very graceful moves.......he fell flat on his face on the sidewalk! He managed to do this on his way to the bus stop. Thanks goodness the Madsens live right by the bus stop and Buffy made it all better with a car Bandaid! All Alliya kept saying was "What happened to my brother's brain" She just loves her big brother!

We had movie night and Speed Racer was so good that Alliya fell right to sleep on her bestest big brother! AWWWWW

We love the unexpected!

2008-09-18T19:22:00.001-07:00

Brandon decided that we needed to go see his Grandpa and Grandma Parke in Carey, ID. So we took them lunch and visited with them for the afternoon! We just love goin to see them. They always spoil the kids with treats! On the way home, we decided to stop at Craters of the Moon! I had never been there before! We really weren't prepared for the stop. We were all wearing flip-flops except Brandon. Meanwhile, Alliya fell asleep and wasn't so excited about wakin up!
We went into a cave called the Indian Tunnel. It was kinda scary for me but everyone else was fearless.
Brandon decided I needed to be in one of the pictures. Here it is.
The pictures don't really show how big this cave was until ya see Brandon on top of a bunch of rocks! This was a perfect day full of fun, laughter and great memories!

Campout!

2008-09-07T18:17:00.001-07:00

Brandon set up the tent in the play room so the kids could go campin!!!! Well, its as close to campin as we got this year. They thought this was just as cool. We decided to catch them on their best behavior.....asleep!

Braid Extensions

2008-08-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

I did my very first set of braid extensions on my niece Daisha. We started at 9:30 in the morning. We took an hour for lunch and finished about 4:30. It took about 6 hours and she was amazing. Thanks goodness for movies and treats!

Here is the beautiful results! She has never had hair fall over her shoulders before, so she kept flippin it back and forth. She went straight home and changed into her princess clothes, because she said she felt like a princess! That truly made my day!

First Day of School!

2008-08-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

Kaylee is now is 4th grade! Wow! Where did time go? She said she wasn't excited, yet she had a hard time falling asleep the night before! Most of all I am excited to no longer hear the lovely phrase; "I am bored there is nothing to do."

My little boy is in Kindergarten. He was sooo excited to no longer be a little kid. He even gets to ride the bus with the big kids in the morning!

School Photo shoot

2008-08-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

This week we had a photo shoot for school. It was actually so much fun! I love photography. Idaho Falls has so many awesome places for unique pictures. Here are some of the photos that we took. The locations are by the river and in the alleys of downtown!

We love cousins

2008-08-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Cousins and forever friends!

Brandon's family had a little reunion last week. We all stayed at our house for a couple days and went to Downey for a few days! I have more pictures but for time sake tonight here are a few of my favs. Alliya and her cousin Baylee hadn't seen each other for a year, but it was as if it was yesterday. They were so cute together!
Best Friends!

(they were my favorite part of the whole week)

New project

2008-08-08T18:57:00.001-07:00

I found this old window at a little booth at the McCammon Rodeo and I fell in love with it. So, my sister-in-law Rachelle took some pictures of us by the river and the temple so I could fill it. I love filling my house with pictures of my family. Here are a few of the pictures that we took!

Ya think that I planned the colors with the flowers huh! ( I had no idea )

Alliya isn't lookin at the camera, but I love it anyway.

I just love my little family!

Kaylee turns 9

2008-07-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kaylee!

Kaylee was at her dad's for about 6 weeks and we missed her birthday, so we had it a little late! She loved getting clothes, jewelry and of course teen magazines! Alliya's birthday is July 8 and Kaylee's is July 9, which always makes for a fun party. I was sad that she left an 8 year old and returned a big 9 year old. She was in good hands and had lots of fun with her other side of the family.
They missed each other way too much! I love that they adore each other!

New Chapter

2008-07-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

So I started school on Tuesday. What an adventure! I was scared to death and asked Brandon on a daily basis if I was doing the right thing. I NEVER thought I would go to school for cosmetology. I feel like this path has just crept up on me for the last few years, almost like it chose me. I feel like this is something that I could be good at and work from home so I can be there for my family. My motto for the year is "Family Comes First". If I can stay true to this, everything else will fall into place!

My love!

2008-07-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

My Husband!

This picture was taken in Lava Hot Springs. We had so much fun, but this picture means so much more than a trip to the pool! This is a tribute to my husband Brandon. He is such great dad. The kids adore him and always ask when dad is off work. I never believed in soul-mates before Brandon. I thought that there was a handful of people you could be happy and make a life with. I know we chose each other to share this life together. He makes me want to be better without saying a word. We are at a point in our relationship that we finish each others sentences and know the other persons looks. I truly love him and I am so grateful for the angel my Heavenly Father sent me almost 8 years ago!

Miss Alliya turns 3

2008-07-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Alliya!

We had a birthday party at Grandma's house with her cousins! It was a hawaiian party! So much fun!

We decorated the kitchen just for her! She even got a special birthday chair to sit on.

She wanted mini cupcakes for her birthday. The candle was bigger than the cupcake!

Rylan took this picture of us! I can't believe that my baby is three! Wow, time flys.

Tagged- highlight a friend from high school!

2008-07-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

My Wendi!

I got tagged by Jess. The idea is to highlight a friend from high school. My dear friend is Wendi. My world seemed to fall apart when she moved to St. George after 10th grade. A short 13 years later and we are still best of friends. It seems wierd calling her my friend when she is really like my sister. A month can pass by between phone calls and yet it seemed like just yesterday. Our lives seem to take on parallel paths like God put us here to experience life together. She knows my secrets, my fears, and all my hopes. (yet she loves me anyway) I am so grateful for her kindred spirit placed in my path to help in this crazy world.
I absolutely love this picture! It symbolizes so many things. To me, it is the magical bond that lies within families.
Tagged Rachelle, and Kim

July 4th

2008-07-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

We were all excited about the 4th! We watched the fieworks from the soccer fields by our house. They were actually really good. Despite my extreme allergies and Alliya's horrific fear of fireworks it was a great day!

T-Ball

2008-07-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

Every Monday and Wednesday are now consumed with T-Ball. Rylan loves it and gets up early every day that he has a game! Ya gotta love anything that gets your kids excited about life.

Rylan and his buddy Ethan

Dad catchin the play by play from 3rd base.

At least he has his game face on!

the falls

2008-06-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Falls!

We are still trying to visit fun things around our new town. Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market. Along the way, Rylan spotted a bridge across the river and a pathway to this little falls. They teach me everyday to stop and notice the little things in life that I would probably look over in my busy hectic adult life!

My mini me!

2008-06-28T14:04:00.001-07:00

Everyone calls Alliyah my mini me. Which I have embraced since Kaylee doesn't look a whole lot like me, and Rylan is a spittin image of his dad. I never realized how much she wanted to be me until the other day. She came downstairs with a bra on and said
"When I am a mommy, I will wear one of these things too!" If only the look on my face could be photographed at that moment!

Brandon's Birthday

2008-06-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 29 Birthday Brandon!

The kids want to help blow out those candles so bad! You can even see they are all puckered up and ready to blow.

He wasn't too thrilled for his birthday, until he saw his present! I know we are the last family on the planet to own one, but we like to avoid the hipe and overpricing. Even when 30 is knocking on the door, he is still a kid at heart! That is why we love him so much !!!

By the way, who knew that ice cream cakes would be such a bugger to cut into! Reed's dairy make the best ice cream, so I couldn't resist.

Idaho Falls Zoo

2008-06-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Ky loved the animals!

Daisha and Alliya !

Mr. Rylan!

Kenyon!

The whole crew!

Exploring Idaho Falls!

2008-06-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

The Idaho Falls Temple Visitors Center!

My mom and sister Mandy brought my niece and nephews to Idaho Falls to visit a few places. Our first stop was the Temple! It was so beautiful that day. The lawns were scattered with newlyweds capturing the first precious moments of their marriage. The girls were captivated by the dresses and all the excitement!

Jensen's Grove

2008-06-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Summer has finally arrived! I decided to take Rylan and Alliya to Jensen's Grove to play for the day! It was so fun. Alliya saw a little family playin next to us and yelled REALLY loud....."Hey Mom, they speak Spanish!" Thank goodness for Dora the Explorer :) ha ha

MV Graduation

2008-06-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

My sister and sister-in-law graduated from Marsh Valley High School this year. This event brought back really great memories of my graduation, but also the sad realization that time is passing so quickly. It seems like the class of 1997 just graduated last year, not 11 years ago! I am so proud of Tami and Aleshia, and I am so excited to watch the next chapter of their lives unfold.

Latest Family pics

2008-06-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last fall we got some pictures taken by Gugelman Photography in Rexburg, ID.
Alliya wasn't quite so thrilled about having her picture taken, but we ended up with some good pics anyway. Needless to say, we won't be doing it again for awhile! I love photography and my kids are getting used to me putting a camera in their faces all the time!

The new house

2008-06-06T11:23:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to be in our new house! The building process was so fun and yet very exausting. Now we just need a yard to go with the house. We have been in Idaho Falls since February! It has been a fun new adventure and we are excited for our new life here.