First Day of School!

Parker and Brooklyn started 3rd and 5th grade this year. They both seem to really like their teachers and enjoy school. Mom was especially happy for school to start.

Summer Highlights

Posing With Cousins: We are having so much fun with my sister Amy and her kids here from Florida for a visit. This is in my sister-in-law Jodi's cute backyard and a bunch of really cute kids.

Train Ride to the Gateway: We toook a fun train ride to the Gateway Mall with a bunch of the cousins and they had a blast on the train and playing in the water fountain.

Swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's: One of the best summer memories is swimming at my mom and dad's pool. It is a family tradition and the kids love it. Darin especially loves throwing them in and seeing how high they can fly!

Fun at Mueller Park Canyon

Cook-Out at Mueller Canyon:

What great mountains we have here in Utah. I love the clean fresh smell of being in the mountains and the sounds of the creek, and the especially fun sound of cousins playing together!

Twilight Party

Twilight Party: Yes, I will admit I am a "Twilight" fan. I got sucked in right from the start and have read the first 3 books twice over, so when the 4th book was released, it wasn't hard to talk me into attending the party the night before it was released. What fun to go with fun neighbors and my sister Amy and sister-in-law Jodi out to eat and then to the party at Barnes and Noble. Thanks to Jodi for arranging the whole thing! I loved the 4th book just as much as the first three. What a fun escape they are and reading has become such a passion for me lately. Thank goodness there are authors like Stephanie Meyer who write good, clean books that can be enjoyed by all!

Hogle Zoo

Wendy's work reserved the Zoo for the night and we had a blast!

Parker's Baptism!

Parker was baptized on May 31, 2008. We are so proud of his decision. It was a really neat day for all of us - and especially momentous because this is our last "baby" to be baptized! It seems weird that we are old enough to have our baby 8 years old! Oh well, time does fly. One of Parker's good friends, Connor, was baptized with him. Parker's Grandpa Jim and Grandpa Dennis were the two witnesses. He is so lucky that they both were able to be there. His grandpa Dennis is getting quite frail after having MS for many many years. Parker was excited to have Darin give the famous baptism talk where he has two shirts on (one dirty and once clean) to show the difference it makes to be free of sin - it is a family favorite. We were lucky to have lots of family and friends there and we had a fun get-together afterwards in our backyard. It was a beautiful day (although maybe a little too much direct sun - which has since motivated Darin to plant 2 more trees in our backyard). We hope Parker will remember the special feelings he had on this day and that he will remain faithful to the promises he has made.

Vegas and St. George

Over Spring Break we went to Las Vegas for a few days and stayed in the Luxor Hotel. The kids loved the cool slanting windows and the neat decor of the Hotel. We did lots of fun site seeing. On the way back, we took a hike in Snow Canyon which is a family favorite.