1st ride on Trax

The twins' first ride on UTA Trax. Grandma Turley and I took them to Temple Square, their first time there too.


Livy loved looking outside at everything we passed.

Bridger was pretty unsure about the whole thing. I mean, why do we need to even leave our hosue? What's the point of all this adventure? It just freaks me out!

Then, the insecurity wore off and made room for the real emotion: fatigue.

Fourth of July fun!

Here are a few photos from our fourth of July:

Colton showing off his muscles!

Look how beautiful the mountains are!

All of the little kids had just about enough of the party before the fireworks started.

Classic Dinkus

Shoes and Bridger

I came into my room sometime this summer after putting the kids to bed and this is what I found:
Those just happen to be Bridger's flip flops next to mine.

Tonight, I asked him to take his tennis shoes out of the living room and put them in his closet. He walked into the living room and saw my shoes sitting behind the rocking chair. He said "Mom, will you please put your shoes in your closet? Okay?" I am happy to report that I was immediately obedient to his request!

Colorado

We always go to Colorado over Memorial Day weekend, but this time we also celebrated my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. We always have fun, but this time we came together to celebrate our family. It was so much fun!

My Grandpa giving a speech.

All of the great-grandkids singing "I Am A Child of God"

My Sister's Baptism

I have missed posting some of the important things that have happened this year. I blame it on my crappy computer and crappy internet. Now, thanks to my father-in-law, I have a good computer, but have not had time to get it up and running. What's a girl to do?

Anyways, I wanted to post the pictures and some of the awesome events that surrounded my oldest sister's (Ellyse) baptism. She is the last of all of my siblings to be baptized. As most of you know, Ellyse was with me during Chad's last week and last breaths of life. I can't imagine what that would have been like without her. I spoke to her on the phone while Chad was still in the hospital. I don't even remember why I said it, but I just said "Get on a plane now." It is not a request I have ever made of her and I'm so glad she was obedient! During her stay, we talked a few times about the church and she went to sacrament meeting with me each Sunday. It was really really really really really REALLY hard to let her go home.

We continued our conversations about church, but they soon evolved to the gospel and to our Savior. Then, the bishop challenged each member of our ward to pray for a missionary experience. Each time I prayed I felt that there was already someone in my life ready and willing. And there was! I kept encouraging Ellyse to pray to know what she should do, that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and will answer our prayers. We looked up her ward and she went to church. Then she went again, but before she went, I told her to find the missionaries. She did just that and on their first meeting (ono a Monday), they extended an invitation for baptism (that Friday). She called me crying and I thought "oh no! They already scared her away!" Then she told me that she was crying because she knew I couldn't be there if they did it that Friday. I told her I had saved some money so I could be there for her.

I took the babies to the Matina's, my awsome Kaysville homies, and hopped on a plane to Texas just a few days later.

Ellyse was baptized by Elder Park, who is actually from Holladay, UT. It is one of my treasured experiences.

The missionary work didn't stop there. Since Ellyse's baptism, my oldest nephew, Tyler, has been baptized. He is now enjoyin early morning seminary and being the president of the Teachers Quorum.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?

Bridger almost lost his life (again) this weekend. I've decided he has a thing about hanging on things. If you are not sure what I am referencing, read my post "This Scared Me to Death". So, on Saturday, we are just hanging out at home enjoying our newly finished front room when Bridger says "Oh, Mom!" And I look over to see one of my cabinet doors in his hands! Yes, one of my cabinet doors from my not even 3 months old cabinets in the front room. Apparently, he had been opening the two doors that are together, stepping just inside, then putting the doors under his armpits. This positioning allowed him to hang from the doors. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!? It took all I had to not end his life right there. He spent 20+ minutes in time out because I wasn't sure he would live if I let him out. He must have known too, because that is one of the few times he stayed in time out with no arguments.

I called the cabinet shop and had to leave a message. The guy called me this morning laughing and asked "So, what happened?" I think my message must have been something like "My crazy, out-of-control 2 year old boy ripped a door off the cabinets. Can you please, please, please fix it?"

I am not ready for destructive children and all of the costs included.

Finally Finished!!!!!

For most of the year, I have been working on a project to "remodel" my front room. It may not look like I did much, but the whole feel of my house is different.

This first picture is to give you an idea of what the wall with the fireplace looked like. So it's the best I have for a "before" picture.

And now . . .

New gas fireplace (with remote control!), custom bookshelves and matching mantel, canned lights, some ceiling fans (I put a new one in the kitchen too), art work, throw pillows, and curtains. Voila!

I officially finished it today because I had a carpet guy come and stretch the carpet to the bookshelves, so everything is now done.

I thought as a thank you, I would post some information as to who I used and where I bought a few things:

Fireplace: Hearth and Home - they have locations north and south in the valley, were the most resonably priced and had a great selection.

Bookshelves: A-1 Kitchens and Tops - AMAZING is all I have to say. Solid, hardwood material. Beautifully stained and painted. They beat the price on everyone. Even the cheap stuff at Home Depot would have cost an additional $800 and no matching mantel and I couldn't get exactly what I wanted. When I get to remodel my kitchen, I'm going with these guys!

Wiring for sound and lights: Lance Beard - he just started his own company, but has been doing this stuff for years (10+). Did you notice any cables from my TV to my equipment? All Lance. He was always on time, effecient, and cleaned up after each work day.

All the frew frew (?): My new favorite home decor store is Home Goods in Brickyard Plaza. That's were I got the piece above the piano and the pictures. Great deal and always find unusual stuff that I never knew I was looking for. Also, found great throw pillows at Walmart - who would've thunk?

Carpet work: The Carpet Fixer - they were great! They were able to come just a few days after I called. They offer a "bid and do". Meaning they'll come and bid each thing you want done right on the spot and then you can choose what you would have them do. They were very efficient and the carpet looks great!

A big THANK YOU to my friend, Erin, who tolerates my lack of decorating skill and is always up for a challenge.