First Day of School

Sammy and Andrea are at the same school this year!!!  Life has been great!  The first day of school, I was ready to make dinner at 3:30...last year we would get home from picking up Sammy at 4:00 and we get home by about 2:25 this year!  It is so nice, I can't even explain to you how much easier my life is this year over last year.

Both girls ready to go to school!

Andrea's first day of 1st Grade!!

Samantha's first day at KW and 3rd Grade!

Andrea waiting to walk in with her class.  Sammy went too fast so I couldn't get one of her with her class!!

8 is GREAT!!

Sammy made the choice to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when she turned eight.  We believe that children become accountable for their actions at the age of eight and are given the opportunity to be baptized at that point.  We had a fun day filled with family and friends and we are very thankful for those that were able to travel to Vegas to be with us and we missed those that couldn't come.

When I told Sammy we were going to take a picture in her baptism clothes she told me she didn't want a picture "in this"!  I just laughed...apparently it wasn't girly enough.

Our family

She finally got her own scriptures!  She has been asking for them for over a year!

Sammy turns 8

A week after Ben's birthday, Sammy had her turn.  We had a movie party with her friends and got to celebrate with family on her birthday!

Eating pizza with friends

Dancing during the movie

Sammy and her candy barrel cake.

Opening presents!!

Happy Birthday Sammy...We Love You!

Ben turns 1

Ben turned one the end of July.  It has been a long year and it was full of ups and downs but his cute little smile made it all worth it!!  We LOVE you Ben!

Ben getting checked out in the NICU

This picture makes me tear up.  This is how Ben looked the first time I got to go see him.  He had was breathing really fast so they had to put him in the NICU for eight days.  It was the longest and hardest eight days of my life.  It is hard to be in the hospital recovering from having a baby and not being able to take care of the baby...and then to have to go home from the hospital without your baby...makes you feel horrible to have to leave your baby!

Ben LOVES water so we got him a water table.  He loved it!

I think this picture says it all!!  He is the first one of my kids to LOVE his cake on his first birthday!

A Visit to the Zoo

No trip to Utah is complete without a visit to Hogle Zoo.  This year they have a new exhibit called Rocky Shores.  We loved seeing the new animals up close!

This Polar Bear LOVES to swim right up to the window and pop up.  I have heard lots of people say they have seen the bear do this.  The kids LOVED it!  I think the bear likes to hear the kids all scream!!

Andrea needed a picture with the wolves because that is her school mascot.

I took this picture a little too soon so you can't see everyone.  It did get Josh and his buddy Joey!  Josh loves going to visit his boy cousins in Utah...he talks about Isaac and Joey all the time.

We LOVE playing at Grandma and Grandpa's House!!!

Lazy Summer Days

I miss being able to relax outside in the evenings and sitting in a backyard full of grass, trees, and other green things!! This is why I took the kids and escaped Las Vegas to spend a few weeks at my parents house!