Friday, September 23, 2011

Happy Fall Ya'll!

Today was wacky hair day at school for Adam's class. He has been so excited to make his hair super spiky. I didn't get pictures taken until after school, so his hair had deflated a bit.
We have been so anxious for Autumn to arrive! We love watching the colors change on our mountains, cooler weather, football, and yummy fall food! To welcome the first day of fall, we made a treat! The kids made acorns out of doughnut holes.
Tessa was the official taste tester
Love the tongue!

The finished product!



Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Pajama Day!

Adam has been so excited for today! He got to wear his pajama's to school and he also had to take a baby picture to share with his class. He chose a picture from his first birthday "cause it's just so cute". He thought not getting dressed to leave the house was pretty cool...although I think he was annoyed that I still made him make is bed and brush his teeth.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Mommy Moments

My favorite thing to see every morning!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Remembering....


This weekend has been an emotional one for me. September 11th is always a difficult day for me to relive, but for some reason, this weekend being the 10 year anniversary has been even more difficult. I think a lot of it has to do with my children and having Adam now old enough to understand what happened that day. I have a book of pictures from September 11th and Adam loves looking at it and asking questions about what happened. It is hard to explain to a 5 year old the impact that day had on my life, my family, and our country. That day changed everything.
Yesterday we went to the Healing Field or Freedom Field. Every year on the anniversary of September 11th, a flag is placed in a large open field for every victim of those horrific events. It is a humbling sight to see. Each flag has a tag with the name and age of each victim and a small paragraph telling something about that person. I wanted Adam and Eric to have the chance to see the flags and learn something about the innocent people and the hero's that were lost that day. Eric was on his mission on 9/11/01. He says it was difficult not knowing what was really going on in our country at that time and not having accurate information to understand the impact it had on us.


As I have reflected on that horrific day over this past week, my heart aches for the innocent people that lost their lives that day. I hurt for the families that lost loved ones, and I am frustrated for those who are alive but still suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally from the events of that day. I pulled out my journal this morning to see what I wrote about September 11, 2001.
I told of the events that occurred and how horrible of a day it had been. I remember that being the longest day I have ever had at work! I just wanted to be home with my family. Before I went to bed that night I wrote,
"I watched the news from 8:30am to 11:00pm. I was so scared this morning cause no one knew what was going on. The country has literally shut down. All the Federal buildings and skyscrapers have been evacuated all over the country. It is amazing when you realize how close you are to losing your freedom, how fast you appreciate it. It has been an indescribable day! President Hinckley held a Memorial Service tonight and the Mo-Tab sang. Grandma Wanlass called freaking out saying how it was just like Pearl Harbor and Grandma Lemley called freaking out about Danny being shipped out. At this point Danny is on standby. We just have to wait to hear if, when, and where he will go. (He later served a tour in Iraq and a tour in Afghanistan.)
I never thought I would live through something like this. We have seen history in the making. I've seen movies where New York or DC get attacked, but the movies are nothing like real life. It's a scary day for our nation, but one that will bring us closer together. This is an amazing country and I have no doubt we will overcome and come back stronger!

Ten years later we still have not forgotten. I am thankful for the brave men and women who serve our country, fighting and giving their lives to keep us free! To my brothers, Danny and Matt and to my Brother-in-law, Jake, and their families, a special thank you! Thank you for your time and service and being willing to leave your families behind to serve your country!

September 11, 2001 will be a day I will never forget and a day that holds a special place in my heart. It is a day that reminds me to be a little kinder, to be more gracious, and to never take my loved ones for granted! I am thankful to know, that no matter what happens, we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy and who wants the best for us. Even amid tragedy, there is always hope and thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, healing.

"Great necessities call out our great virtues"
~ Abigail Adams~

God Bless America!

Oktoberfest!

We had a fun day with the Lemley's yesterday celebrating our German roots!
Every year we try to get up to Snowbird to celebrate Oktoberfest. The whole family hasn't been able to go together for a couple of years, so it was nice to spend the day together.

The whole crew! We are only missing David-pretty good for all 15 of us!
(Tessa is behind everyone, refusing to be in the picture.)
Tessa feeling Daddy's "sprinkles". She calls his stubble "sprinkles" cause it glistens in the sunshine.
Almost everyone got to ride the ski lift and slide

Eric had a hard time convincing Tess that she was not allowed to ride all by herself. Her quest for independence is too much to handle sometimes!
Adam and Katy

Tessa loved the polka music! She just wanted to dance all afternoon! Her uncles were good sports! Uncle Ben is pretty good at the polka.


Uncle Matt dancing with Tess
Adam and Tessa doing the polka!

The best part of Oktoberfest-German food! So yummy!!!
Tessa enjoying her pb&j sandwich and string cheese. My German grandparents would be so disappointed!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Labor Day 2011

We ended the summer by spending a few hours on Utah Lake in Pa's canoe. It was a beautiful day for canoeing and everyone had lots of fun!

Adam got to take the first ride of the day with Aunt Katy and Uncle Matt.
Katy, Adam, and Matt
Katy and Adam
Tessa was so anxious for her turn! She waited so patiently!


Tessa ready to go!
Aunt Katy and Uncle Matt played "Chicken" with the kids.
Adam and Pa
Tessa is finally in the canoe! She was pretty mad we wouldn't let her paddle.
My brilliant siblings decided to capture a floating log in the middle of the water. (The water was freezing!)

But they got it!
Katy, Adam, Matt, Tess, and Ben

Our sunbathing beauty!
Then they decided to turn the log into their own canoe. Adam was pretty bummed when they didn't go anywhere on it.
Uncle Ben getting sunburned
While Tessa waiting for her turns in the canoe she decided to start digging for treasure with a paddle. We asked her what she was doing and she said, (like a pirate) "I need treasure!!"

Ares decided to get in on the action too.
Thanks everyone for a fun Labor Day!