...And Then...

Picking up from where I left off (chronologically)...

We MOVED!

We did it. We left our Sunny St. George behind. Deb captured these pictures the week before we moved and it--to me--is our life in St. George. Happy. Summery. Good. Beautiful.

A few of the girl favorites...

Some Jack favorites...

Me and Russ...

And, as Bob Wiley says, "The Fam!"...

Goodbye St. George. We miss you. It's true. BUT. We feel soooo good about our move. Heavenly Father guided each decision, and we are happy. 

Here is some randomness in our new life...

Strawberry eating (from our own little patch)...

The chalk wall (that we all have fun with)...

Around the house playing...

Hallie Turned 3! 

It happened. She left the terrible-twos behind. She has now entered the terrible threes. Haha. Just kidding (mostly). I love this girl. She is a doll. She loves to be into things. I don't think I have ever had a more mischievous little tot. But her heart is good. She is my little buddy, and as much as she tries to be tough, her tender side is just as sweet. As much as she gets into bullying, she loves that much to help and do good.

Birthday cake making...

We had a pretty strict rule about not picking flowers, but on her birthday she sensed she could get away with it...

A lot...

She also got away with this...

Much to Jack's dismay. Can you see his pleading gaze?...

Some more Random Summer Fun...

And not so random--but quite spontaneous--we took a California Road Trip

The Sequoias (yes--that's a tree)...

And that's the biggest tree in the world...

And this is Hallie looking for the Grumpy Old Troll (who lives under the bridge), seriously...

Camping in Yosemite...

Dirty Happy camping faces...

And with 40 hours in the car, you can imagine we made a few other stops. Grandpa's house--Sacramento Zoo--hotels--gas stations--food places--yada yada. Good, good times. We had a wonderful trip. 

And there is soooo much more to blog. I'll get there. 

When it Rains...

It pours.

It seems as though everything happened at once. I'm afraid to start posting. There's so much to say. too much to say. The big question: One post? Five? TEN?? Alright, I think I'll tackle it in one (if I'm lucky). Okay, here we go. For posterity's sake (or mine in ten months--when I'm bored and want to reminisce):

We had a visit from Krissy! Which was completely awesome. Russ's sister came all the way out from North Carolina. Something happy happens when family gets together...




Our Beautiful Brecken turned eight years old! 

(hair straight down, unadorned, per her request)...

Her baptism day truly was special. She is an amazing girl. Really. She has a good heart. Brecken, I love you.

Her and Daddy...

Russ Finished School! That's right, baby! We are  he is done! Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say, these next pictures, they're worth a thousand hours. Each. Of hard work...

His mom...

My dad...

This is four generations right here...

And we are ALL glad he's done (go Dixie!)...

Couldn't be more proud, babe. You're amazing!

Let's see... a family reunion in Disneyland!!!

Just a few of our favorite pics...

Luke boy!...

Parade watching (and for me: Hallie watching--she was enthusiastically adorable)...

I'm pretty sure princess-meeting has ceased to be about the girls. This is Russ's the family favorite...

And this was adorable...

What Disneyland trip is complete without a lollipop?...

At our traditional Jack's Surfshop stop, the girls enjoyed hat modeling...

And that was California. More or less. I know I said I'd tackle it all in one post, but, there's a lot more coming. Later. Another day. So, until then :)

A Little Excursion

I love warm, summer days when...

Russ decides to take work off early.

We hop in the car for a spontaneous Zion trip.

On the way to Zion Russ sees a "Helicopter Tours $29.99" Sign.

And once again our plans for the day change. Again, for the better...

I stayed back with the two sleeping kiddos while Russ, Breck, and Tay had the helicopter ride of their lives. Which is a pretty safe statement considering it is the the only helicopter ride they've been on. Ever. They loved it. I am worried that my children will have a warped sense of childhood normalcy though... 

Zion, we'll catch you later. I love summer. I love my kids. Russ, I love you too.

Chapstick

At least, it used to be chapstick. Until I went outside where my children were playing (in the dirt) and one of them said, "Oh, Mama. Is this yours?"

That was mine. I tried to restore it. Then I gave it to our garbage can. Ahhh, kids. 

Jack

Oh, my little Jack. Not enough pictures. I've tried to determine why. I think it's because any time I have spare time, I'm holding him and not my camera. Mostly because I want to. Yes, yes. I am spoiling him. But he's just so adorably, squishably holdable. These are some pictures I made myself take at six months (so just barely)...

Lovely. Lovely, lovely. I'm in baby-love.

Christmas and... Happenings

For starters: Christmas.

Though it was long ago, I still remember it. And it was beautiful. Here are the girlies Christmas Eve...

And magical Christmas morning, each of the girls opening their treasures.

Hallie Ann...

Tay..

Brecken...

Mom and Dad got them this...

And here they are playing with it...

After Christmas Dalton Came Home!!!!!

I missed my bro. A lot. And, I have a picture or two of the stud, but for some reason my computer has chosen to distort those images upon uploadal. Next post. Next post (gear yourself up for him looking WAY different... wait, you've probably all seen his facebook pics, yeah he looks exactly the same).

Derek is engaged! This is going to be my new Sister-in-Law. Which I'm pretty stoked. Basically... I loved her before Derek did. But only 'cause I knew her first. :)

Derek & Nikki...

And *cough* Nikki...

And Jack.... gets his own post. Because.