~The Best 10 years~

Just saying that puts a great big smile on my face! Wow, I can't believe Aaron and I have been married for 10 years now! It seems like just yesterday that Aaron and I went to the movies for the first time together. I miss the days when we could just hang out every minute of the day. The days when we would sneak in after curfew. The days when it was so hard to leave each other at the end of the day and couldn't wait until we were married so we never had to any more. It was just yesterday that we grabbed breakfast and went to a nearby park and he asked me to marry him! That was the beginning of the best days of my life.

The last 10 years has been awesome, and I am so blessed to have such a great husband. Sometimes in life I feel like Heavenly Father puts great things right in front of me to trip over that really blesses my life and Aaron is definitely one of them. I am so happy in life. We all have hard times sometimes, but it's who you surround yourself with that can make all the difference. Aaron sure makes life good!! I'm grateful for all the "firsts" we have experienced together and the great memories we've made so far. We have 2 amazing kids who bring such happiness in our lives. I couldn't be happier!

To celebrate our 10 year, we spent the night in Park City at Westgate Resorts. It was awesome. We had so much fun hanging around the town, going out to dinner and swimming. The best thing we did was the Hot air balloon ride. They only do them in the early morning when the weather is the most stable, so we had to wake up at 5:30am. It was definitely worth it though. I can't believe how big the balloon actually is, and despite how cold out side it may feel that early, it's really hot in the balloon with the fire going. We were up in the air for about an hour. It was so quiet and peaceful and so so beautiful. We absolutely Loved it!!

Here's to the next 10 babe!!

Love You!!

Kobe lost his first tooth!

Well it was actually back on July 7th that he lost it. This loose tooth has been a long time coming. It has been loose FoReVeR!! Kobe would sit and wiggle that thing all day, every day, trying to get it a little looser. We even rented the movie the Tooth Fairy to get him all excited about loosing his tooth.

We were in the mall of all places and Kobe showed me how loose it was really getting. It was just barely hanging on so I told him he should just rip out. Well he did!! Man.... what a bloody mess! He couldn't stop smiling and jumping around and the blood was just running down his chin. The lady at the Kiosk gave him some tissues and a little bag to hold his tooth in.

I thought he was going to loose that dang tooth before we even got home. Luckily we didn't, and that night he stuck it under his pillow for the tooth fairy. Kobe even made us keep Tripp in our room that night because he thought Tripp would scare the tooth fairy away.

The next morning Kobe woke up to some bubble gum and $1 under his pillow. Way to go Kobe!!

Some major catching up to do....

Man... am I ever lame!! I am so far behind on blogging.....as you are about to see, but for journaling purposes of printing these off at the end of the year into a sweet book, I have allot to catch up on. So..... sorry about all the posts, ENJOY!

Pioneer Trek

Wow! With so much preparation, planning and activities for Trek it has come and gone now. I'm always so sad when it's over. Aaron and I went 4 years ago as a ma and pa and were lucky enough to be asked to go again this time too. If you have ever heard me talk about Trek you know I could go on and on about what a great experience it is.

We were able to go to Martins Cove in Wyoming again this time. Growing up in British Columbia I got to go as a youth, but the Stake just mapped out a trail somewhere in the mountains. It was fun and a good experience but it wasn't the same as Martin's Cove.

The Pioneers began their Trek West to escape religious persecution, to find refuge here in the Salt Lake Valley. They didn't come for Riches or for Gold but came to be in a place where they could worship God. A place where they felt safe and united with one another. Many came across the Ocean from Europe, and then made their trek west.




We go on trek so we can gain a testimony of the pioneers, and the sacrifices they made for you and me. We learn of their faith and how to apply it in our own lives now. Our Faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father is strengthened. It's pretty amazing!!

While on Trek we learned about the Martin and Willie hand cart companies who got a late start in the season. They had a lack of supplies to start with and leaving late in the season meant getting caught in violent snow storms. Many froze to death. Their food was rationed to as low as 4oz. of flour per adult per day. Many died of starvation.

We started in Martins cove and walked some of the same paths the actual pioneers walked along. We could feel their spirit there, and we gained a testimony of there faith and the sacrifices they made. Among my favorite places we visited was The Sweet water crossing, Martins Cove and Rock Creek Hollow.

When they reached The Sweet water crossing almost all of them wanted to give up. It was deep with great ice chunks floating in it. Many had already lost loved ones and felt they couldn't possibly cross this river. Four Young Men made a great sacrifice to spend all day carrying Men, woman and children across that river. Later all died because of effects from that heroic act.

Martins Cove is where the Martin Handcart company took cover in the mountains from the snow storm awaiting the rescue team from Salt Lake. Many died that night. Their loved were often buried in shallow snow graves because the ground was too frozen to dig proper ones.

Rock Creek Hollow is where the Willie handcart company found shelter as they waited for rescue teams from Salt Lake. They say that Wyoming doesn't have a temple but Rock Creek Hollow is their Temple. It is a very sacred place and I became overwhelmed by the spirit I felt there. It Truly was amazing! One of the boys in our trek family was related to Bodil Mortinsen, a 9 year old girl who died in Rock Creek Hollow. Her story is spoken of quite often. Pretty neat! One of my Favorite parts of Trek was when we did the women's pull. During the pioneers trek West there was many instances when the woman didn't have there husbands or brothers. Some had died along the way or were called to be part of the Mormon battalion. During our time on trek we had a time when all the guys left us and we had to pull the handcart all on our own. I became really emotional as Aaron gave me a kiss goodbye. I thought about how hard that would have been for a woman to lose her husband or children to death or even if they had been called away to war. Imagining losing Aaron and thinking about having to go through something like that without him was one of the hardest things ever. He is my Rock and I love him so much. Those pioneer women were STRONG, no doubt about it. For The Woman's pull we had to pull it up this sandy hill that seemed like it went on forever. As we were reaching the top, we came around the corner and saw all the men and boys standing along the trail with their hats over their hearts in Silence as we pulled that handcart up the hill. I couldn't hold back the tears. It was an Amazing experience. I couldn't have been prouder of my girls. With blisters covering their feet, hardly able to walk, and yet they never gave up.

There are so many great stories we heard of while on trek, of pioneers that showed great Strength and unyielding Faith. I am so Eternally grateful for the sacrifices that they made which allows me to be where I am today. I know what we experienced on trek is nothing compared to what they went through, but it does give me a little taste, and for that I am so grateful for. I hope I will never forget the sacrifices they made for you and for me, and that I can have that unwavering Faith they exhibited. I am so grateful and proud to be a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. I know it to be true with all my heart. Just like the pioneers awaited rescue teams from Salt Lake, Jesus Christ is my rescuer. He has paid the price for you and me. He is there to lift me up when I can't go any further, and I know he will always be there when I'm in need of being rescued.

With July 24th (Pioneer Day in Utah) coming up I thought I would record a quote given by President Gordon B. Hinckley

“We must never allow recognition of their trials, of their sacrifices, of their tenacity, of their faith and their prayers in establishing this great community to lapse or be forgotten. …
"In all of our celebrations of the 24th of July, let us never forget it. Let us remember with gratitude and reverent respect those who have gone before us, who paid so dear a price in laying the foundation for that which we enjoy this day."

Happy 6th Birthday Kobe

I can't believe I have a 6 year old. He is growing up so fast. This year things were pretty crazy. Aaron and I were leaving the next week for the pioneer trek and had been so busy preparing for that that Kobe's birthday really crept up on us. We decided we better get something together fast since we were leaving in a couple days and we wanted him to have fun before we left.

The night before, after Kobe went to bed, Aaron was in the back yard wrapping Kobe's dirt bike up with that sticky packing wrap stuff. Kobe was so excited the next morning when he walked into the back yard. He wanted to get on his bike right away. The last dirt bike we had, we put training wheels on it so Kobe could ride it by himself. He has grown allot since the last one, so we didn't need training wheels this time. By the end of the day he was riding it all on his own. I hope I'm not raising a Dare Devil who will have broken every bone in his body by the age of 16.

That afternoon we took him and a few of his friends to Toy Story 3. They had a blast, eating popcorn and treats and laughing so hard! He has such good friends. They all have so much fun together. We then came home for cake and ice cream and presents.

What a fun birthday. We sure Love our little guy!! He's such a blessing in our home.

Childrens Garden at Thanksgiving Point

I took the kids to meet their cousins at the children's gardens at Thanks giving Point. I had no idea how cool it was there. They had a cool Noah's Arc Ship with water to splash in which was so nice on that hot day. Kobe's favorite part was the mazes. He ran around in those forever. Don't ask me how, but we even got lost in them for a while.

They had this cool river that ran down a hill and the kids could race these little boats down it. They had caves, a lighthouse, sandbox, and goldfish you could feed. There was lots to do there and the kids had so much fun! We will have to make another trip before the summers through.

Kylee's War wound

Kobe and his friends love riding their bikes. One of their favorite things to do is start at the top of our neighbors driveway which is kind of a hill. They will ride down and then jump their bikes off the skateboard ramp. Well Kylee has begun trying to be like the big kids and this one morning I was outside spraying all the melted Popsicles off my front steps when I looked up to see where the kids were. Kylee happened to be parked at the top of the neighbors driveway ready to fly down the hill on her little bike. I went booking it across the circle in bare feet trying to get to her as I could. As I was about half way there she went flying down the hill. I never made it in time, she totally rolled the bike smacking her head on the cement. She cried and cried, I felt so bad for her. This picture totally doesn't give her credit for her war wound. It was huge! My sister in law taught me a cool trick. If you put Vaseline on a bump right after they hit their head it won't bruise nearly as bad. It really works! Darn it Ky, I'm sorry!