Russell's 1st Day of Preschool

Well my little Russell has now started preschool! I can't believe how fast my boys are growing up. Russell has been very excited to be able to go to preschool and his teacher said he did very well for being one of the youngest in his class. Now Samuel and Russell will be gone on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:30 - 3:00 p.m. and it will just me and baby James at home.

A Great Couple

So I have been thinking lately about life and the events that happen along the way. For me my life has turned out for the most part how I had hoped it would. I am a wife and mother. I think these were the 2 things I wanted most out of life. Most the women I know want the same things. I have come to learn that life doesn't always allow the same opportunities to everyone. I have a wonderful sister-in-law who is a great friend to me that has not had the opportunity to have children of her own. Mandy and her husband Jake are amazing, loving, kind, caring people. I wanted to share their link with everyone in the hopes that their lives may be blessed.


My sister-in-law Mandy and brother-in-law Jake.

They have been able to adopt one little boy, Luke, who just turned 2 in July. They are currently looking to adopt another baby. Here is their link to the adoption site, https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/23028372/ourMessage.jsf Mandy and Jake live in Idaho and are members of the LDS Church. Mandy is a stay at home mom and Jake drives truck. Mandy is one of the few people I trust leaving my children with. I know they will be trated with love and kindness and my kids love going over to stay there. As I have watch Mandy and Jake raise Luke I have seen the love they have for him and their desire to adopt a sibling for him. They are great parents and wonderful people. Feel free to check out their profile and pass their information along.

Samuel's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Samuel's 1st day of kindergarten. I was more nervous about it than he was. He has been so excited all summer long to go to school and ride the bus and today was the big day. So off he went on his big adventure of starting school.

He loved it! He came home and had some treasures to show me that he found on the play ground. They were rocks and a stick. I gave him a jar that he could put them in and keep his special treasures from the playground in. Then he showed me that he had homework and explained how his folder worked and everything. He is most excited about the fact that I am supposed to read to him for at least 10 minutes a day. This is something I want to do with my kids and now have a motivation to do it on a regular basis. I am glad he likes school and his teacher but it is sad to see my little baby grown up and going to school.

My 7 Year Wedding Anniversary (8/17)

So it has been 7 years. At times it seems like it has been much longer and at times it seems like it was just yesterday that we were in the Portland Temple being sealed. We have had our good times and our fair share of rough times but through it all we have come together and are trying to develop a strong, loving, and fun marriage. This year Will decided we should have a little get a way so off to the Black Swan Inn we went.

We got the Garden Suite and it was very comfortable and relaxing. We had taken a tour of the place beforehand and this was the largest room and the one we liked the best.

The room featured a huge jetted tub. As a mother of 3 energetic little boys I needed a nice relaxing bubble bath. We decided to go out to eat at Red Lobster which is funny because neither of us like seafood. I do like clam chowder however and we had a gift card. And they have the best virgin strawberry daiquiri I have ever tasted.

It was nice to celebrate our anniversary. I look forward to celebrating many, many more.

Good News To Share

I received a phone call from my Dad on Friday that I never expected I would ever receive. He was calling me to let me know that him and my Mom had decided to get baptized! In just 2 short weeks I have seen them change and become happier people as they have accepted Christ into their lives. I am so looking forward to the opportunities that await me and my parents as we draw closer as a family and they learn more about the gospel. So we are headed back to Oregon for their baptism that is planned for August 29th.

4th of July

We had a great time camping with family at Will's dad's pond. The boys did better than I expected them to do which was great because Will was not there the 1st night. The 4th of July is also Will's birthday and he likes that we are always with family. We went to the Rexburg Parade and also had a family reunion on the 4th. I caught a small bass and threw it back. I enjoyed taking Russell on the 4 wheeler and Samuel loved riding it by himself. We are all sunburned and tired but had a blast celebrating.

Biggest Loser Update

So I know I said I was going to blog about this every 2 weeks when I weigh in...well things are busy and I get lazy. So here is my update.

On April 30th I started and my weight was 191 1/2. At my last weigh in on July 2nd my weight was 171 3/4 so I have lost almost 20 pounds now. I am currently in 1st place and intend to stay there for the duration of the contest which ends November 5th. My next weigh in is on July 16th and my goal is to be at least 168. I am trying to lose 2 pounds a week. The prize pot is now at $1054.00 and continues to grow.