Utah

We've been talking about going to Utah for conference ever since Hannah turned 8. It's only taken us 3 years to actually go. The trip was too short but we had a great time.

On the way we stopped at Zion. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and although it was crowded because of the St. George Marathon and Conference we had a wonderful day. Here are a few pictures:

Then we continued the rest of the way up to Salt Lake City. Saturday morning we traveled back down to Provo for a little breakfast reunion with my BYU freshman year friends. After losing touch for many years we have reconnected on Facebook. It was so fun to catch up and meet everyone's spouses and kids. A picture of the group:

After the reunion we walked around BYU campus and went to visit Aunt Missy, Uncle Dan, and cousins Lindsay and Ryan. Uncle Drew joined us for dinner at Spaghetti Factory.

We had tickets to the Sunday afternoon conference session. Bill stayed with Sophie while Hannah, Eliza and I attended conference. Eliza was worried she wouldn't be able to sit through the entire session but we were all amazed at how quickly the two hours passed. We felt so lucky to be in the beautiful conference center listening to the words of our prophets. If only I had pictures!

We can't wait for our next trip back to Utah!

1st Day of School

School started on Monday. The girls were all ready and excited to go back and see all their friends. Sophie is now a big kindergartner and mommy is home all alone (token sad face followed by a big smile) . Here are a few pictures of the big day.

Gotta get a picture of the new school shoes...

Ready to go.

Walking to school.

Big sisters pose again with Sophie
before taking her to the kindergarten classroom.

Sophie gets to write her name on the white board.

Eliza is ready for 4th grade.


Hannah, a 6th grader, and smiling even though she claims to be the
ONLY girl without a cell phone.

Then mom and dad went home all alone...

We need a bigger couch

We now have TWO dogs. Yes really. We have TWO dogs that hog our couch. We added Figaro to our family a few weeks ago and he is great dog. We are all in love with him already. We thought Ashes was lonely so when we had to board Ashes while we were up visiting Family in No Cal we mentioned getting another dog. This was the same place we got Ashes and guess what... they happened to have Figaro who was looking for a new home. He is another whippet, 7 1/2 years old and a retired champion racer. Here are a few pictures of him.

Here is a picture of Figaro racing. He's the one out in front.

Happy Birthday Bill

This is the interview the kids did in Primary for Father's Day. I meant to post it then but never got it done so here it is for his birthday.

What is something you daddy always says to you?
Sophie: "I love you."
Eliza: "He works."
Hannah: "Ummm.... NO!"

What is your daddy really good at?
Sophie: "Uhhh...Doing Work."
Eliza: "Fixing bikes."
Hannah: "Golf"

What is your daddy's favorite food?
Sophie: "Waffles with whipped cream on them...and I like waffles with shipped cream on them, too!"
Eliza: "I don't know."
Hannah: "Meatloaf." (Opps... Bill hates meatloaf... that's mom's favorite!)

If your daddy was a cartoon character, who would he be?
Sophie: "A car racer."
Eliza: "I think he would be his own character."
Hannah: "Popeye."

How old is your daddy?
Sophie: "5"
Eliza: "40"
Hannah: "41"

What is your daddy not very good at?
Sophie: "Uhh...doing laundry."
Eliza: "Hmm...he's pretty much good at everything."
Hannah: "Painting my nails...he won't do it, because it smells so bad."

What makes you proud of your daddy?
Sophie: "We go swimming."
Eliza: "Uhh...umm...I don't know...I think it's everything."
Hannah: "He's always happy."

How do you know your daddy loves you?
Sophie: "Because I'm smart."
Eliza: "Cause he tells me."
Hannah: "He tells me."

Happy Birthday Bill!

15 Years!

July 16th is our wedding anniversary!
.... a few pictures of our wedding day 15 years ago.

Conversations with Sophie

Sunday afternoon....

Sophie: Whippets get their ears pierced sometimes.
Me: No, whippets don't get their ears pierced.
Sophie: Yes, someone told me that.
Me: Who told you that?
Sophie: I went in my room and prayed and Jesus told me that Whippets get their ears pierced.

Today in the car....

Sophie: I want to have a lot of children.
Me: That's great Sophie!
Sophie: I want 3 children
Eliza: 3 is NOT a lot of children!
Sophie: Mom, is 3 a lot of children?
Eliza: NO Sophie, 24 is a lot of children!

Happy Birthday Eliza!

My 4th of July Baby is 9!
Happy Birthday Eliza, you are beautiful inside and out!!!!