Peter Pan

Many times as a mother I am amazed at the skill, talent and bravery that my children exhibit- all on their own. This is one of those times! Last night Nicholas performed in "Peter Pan" and he was Terrific!! The whole play was magical and SO well done. I actually got teary watching these incredibly talented 3rd to 6th graders truly giving their all. A beautiful experience.

Clark turned Sixteen

Clark can date...weird!! He can't wait to get his driver's license; he is almost done with Driver's Ed, and should be able to get his license in less than two weeks. Clark was also ordained a Priest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so grateful for the man he has become!

LOVE San Diego!

San Diego was wonderful! We celebrated my mom's 70th Birthday, my parent's 40th Anniversary, and Thanksgiving! We also had a blast on my brother's 60' yacht! The weather was so warm and beautiful, and it was so fun to be with family. We were sad to leave.

Oh autumn, how I have missed you

One of the many wonderful perks of living in Utah again is to experience the Fall. I had all but forgotten how magnificent the changing seasons really are! Fall has always been my most favorite time of year. When we lived in Arizona I always longed for REAL autumn leaves every Fall, and many times my heart would ache for canyon drives to witness the beautiful Autumn colors.

For the last month we have loved getting cozy by the fire pit, drinking hot apple cider or roasting s'mores. We have loved having the kids play night games with huge groups of friends. We have loved watching Nicholas' football games in the early evening and feeling the cool canyon breeze. We have loved driving up the canyon on Sunday afternoons to soak in all the fall colors. Wow, it's good to be back.

September Birthdays

Nicholas (11 years old) and Nate (5 years old) had birthdays this month!
We were lucky to spend both birthdays with Grandparents and Uncle Peter.

Nicholas received his Arrow of Light award and is now a Boy Scout! He is also on a flag football team, and he is in the school musical Peter Pan as part of the Pirate Crew.

Nate started pre-school this month and LOVES it!

First Day of School

Clark is a Sophomore, Lauren is a Freshman, Nicholas is in 5th grade and Jack is in 1st grade. I love that they all are happy with their teachers, and have friends! It makes it easier to have them gone all day knowing that they are happy.

Pioneer Trek

This morning when I dropped Clark and Lauren off for Pioneer Trek, my heart was full. Ever since we moved to Salt Lake City, I have had numerous occasions where I've felt such reverence for this sacred ground. Our pioneer ancestors had a true desire for Zion and their testimonies burned with knowledge of this true Gospel, and their desire to live it. We had the opportunity to watch 17 Miracles before they left for Trek (sidenote: Dave's Aunt, MaryJane played Mrs. Loader in this movie!) and it was amazing! I think it was a perfect way for them to start their Trek.

Ava turned one!

Ava had a wonderful birthday! She squealed in delight the whole evening! Grandma and Grandpa Manwaring and Uncle Peter came over to help her celebrate.

Nate gets stitches

Our sweet little guy was kneeling on the arm of the couch and slipped and hit the desk right next to it! Nate was SO brave when we went to get his stitches! He held completely still for the shot of numbing medicine and stitches. The nurse was so impressed and said she had never seen a braver child! She grabbed a dollar bill out of her own wallet so he could get a sweet treat for being so brave. Of course, he didn't want to spend it and I got him a Bob's Brainfreeze(Best shaved Ice ever!). He thinks he looks pretty tough with the stitches!

Bonnets

With our Stake Pioneer Trek coming up, and with Ava's Birthday on Pioneer day, I had way too much fun making bonnets for my girls!

We love the Howards!

We loved having the Howard family come visit! They have the cutest kiddos!

Lazy days of summer

Just a few pictures of what my kiddos are doing when we have no plans, no schedules to keep, and the sun is shining!

Jack turned seven!

Jack had a super fun birthday! Jack is incredibly smart, loving, and charming. We love him like crazy!

How we have been staying busy

I have to say I don't reccomend moving with a six month old baby...it was kind of like moving with the use of only one arm. It took a little longer than I hoped to get settled in, but we did!

Dave is really happy with his job right now. Working for a University has been a really fun experience for him.

Within two weeks of moving I got called to be the Young Women's 2nd Counselor. I was so excited to still work with the Young Women! We got back from girl's camp a few weeks ago and it was so great. I absolutely love these girls!

Clark is diving at the U of U, and has made leaps and bounds with his diving. He has had no problem making friends here. We have girls knocking on the door to bring him goodies almost on a weekly basis. Yikes! Clark has enjoyed learning to snowboard and he loves being outside ALL the time.

Lauren has made some great friends, has enjoyed going to two different girls camps, and can't wait for Trek this August! She has enjoyed being able to go to dances now that she's fourteen.

Nicholas and Jack enjoyed taking a bus to school, and have made lots of friends! Nicholas earned his Webelos badge and enjoyed going to camp for a few days. Jack had about 8 field trips the last few weeks of school, so he felt like he was on vacation.

Nate has loved the snow, and is usually outside with Clark. He continues to smother Ava with kisses daily.

Ava now has seven teeth and is crawling. She can say a few words and always folds her arms for prayers. She has a crazy high pitched scream that she loves to practice too!

Hopefully I will get around to posting our summer pictures. Summer here is amazing!!

Much belated Easter post

Here are some photos of our Easter...