The Age Old Question....

Do I look old??? I don't feel that old. This makes me feel old.....I received a wedding announcement, not for a friend or a family member, but this wedding is for the son of a friend! I don't even know the son, but I know one of his parents! That makes me feel old! I am extremely flattered that I was invited, but like I said, I don't even know the bride or the groom. It's a little bit weird. I feel like I am entering a whole new faze of life and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. It makes me feel old!

Self Perscribed Bedrest

If you have read my sisters' blog, you now know who got the humor in the family! It wasn't me, I'm sad to say. I wish that I knew how to be funny, but in the end I just end up looking stupid. So I try not to try. Anyway. I just want to write a little note and let you know how much I love my husband! He is pretty awesome! He is very supportive of me and always bends over backwards to make sure that I am happy. On Saturday I just couldn't get out of bed. At 11:30 I finally made myself get up, but after getting a glass of water, I went straight back to bed. My body ached all over and I just didn't have the energy to do anything. I guess according to Adelah, "I runned out of oxygen." So I went back to bed and curled up to a good book, "The High Country". It was good! Jon brought me lunch in bed. When Porter got hungry he would bring him in to me. He took the girls to the park. Then after awhile, I decided I better get up and do something, so I got in the shower and mozied around for a little while. I made dinner, and went right back to bed to eat it! Jon didn't complain the whole day, he just took it all in stride. Then after dinner and a little more reading, my friend Shari called and wanted me to come over. So once again I abandoned the children, and Jon, and I went to Shari's. We made brownies and watched "Pride and Prejudice". Just what I needed, brownies, and a good girlie movie. It was really fun! I had a really good time! Thanks Shari! And, thank you, dear Jon. I appreciate all your love and support. I appreciate your hard work! You do so much for me and I don't give you the appreciation that you deserve. I love you, with all my heart! You're the greatest!
Love Me

A Few More Memories

My dad designed my Grandma's funeral program. I'm not sure if he had help or not, but they decided to use some of Granma's pictures for the background. I thought it was really neat, so I thought I would share a little. This is my favorite picture that my Grandma painted. My dad also asked me if I would write a poem or a tribute to my Grandma, so that is why I'm sharing this page also. But if you know a few things about my Grandma the poem will make a little more sense. First of all my Grandma loved flowers and spent a lot of time tending to her flower gardens. She loved hummingbirds. She loved her dogs. Muffy was her first dog (at least the first one that I know about). She had Muffy when I was a little kid. Jonathan and I loved to torture that poor dog. Of course we didn't know we were torturing it, we just thought we were playing. We took her with us everywhere. Including the top of the haystack. It's kind of hard to get a dog up a haystack, so Jonathan took off his belt and put it around the dog's belly, then we hoisted her up the haystack with us. We put her in the drawers of our dresser. We put her in the tire swing and twisted it up. One time Grandma was taking Muffy up north to get a haircut, so she stopped by on her way through town. Jonathan and I wanted her to leave Muffy with us, so we snuck her in the bedroom and gave her a haircut ourselves!! I don't think my Grandma really appreciated that, but she gave us each a dollar for our efforts!!! It's a good thing we were so cute! ;-) Anyway, Muffy died, I think I was in college when she died. Then Grandma got a new dog, Scruffy. Grandma loved to Scruffy too. Scruffy took good care of Grandma too. He always seemed to know just what Grandma said to him. My kids love Scruffy and Scruffy loved chasing cats.
Grandma taught herself how to paint, and she has painted some really beautiful paintings. She has over 100 paintings that she has done.
Christmas trees! Hmmm. My Grandma was the pickiest Christmas tree picker ever! If she didn't like it, you would have to go back and pick another one. I was with my dad this year when he went to get Grandma's tree. We had to search quite a while to make sure we had one that was just right. Then, when we got to Grandma's we pulled three trees out of the trailer and let her pick which of the three she wanted. Luckily she liked one. But there have been times that she didn't like any!
Spunky....I guess you could say she was spunky! She painted her neighbor's garage door blue because she didn't like the light reflecting in her house from the white. The neighbor didn't appreciate that. She gathered a pile of dog poop and put it on the neighbor's porch because she didn't like their dog's pooping on her lawn. She wasn't afraid to tell you what she thought. If you gained a little weight she thought you were pregnant and wasn't afraid to ask. (Dr. Phil's diet, that's what she always suggested to me!) If she didn't like your haircut, she would laugh. She was a funny lady.
Kitties...my Grandma loved cats! She always fed every stray cat that came around. She had a few of her own, but she always made sure they were all fed. I guess when she lived out on the farm she had over 20 cats! But only one that was tame! But she always made sure they were fed.
My Grandpa died almost 16 years ago. September 25, 1993. She has been lonely without him, but she always wanted to stay home. Every year since he passed away, Grandma cuts fresh flowers from her flower garden and aranges them really nice and takes them to the cemetery for memorial day. I am glad that they are together again!
I just wanted to share a few more things about Grandma, maybe that will make my poem a little more meaningful for anyone who didn't really know my Grandma.

Adelah's Mourning

The night of the funeral, we came home and put the kids to bed. They were in their room for quite awhile. Then Addie just started crying. Jon went in to talk to her. He asked her what was wrong, and she just cried. Addie said, "I miss Granny Baker." Jon said, "I know, we all miss Granny Baker." Then Addie said, "And I just miss Scruffy. I really wanted to see Scruffy." (Scruffy is Grandma's dog, but she was in Idaho.)
Then Friday, after Mandy's open house, we told Adelah to say goodbye to Grandma Baker (my mom) and to give her a hug. But, she wouldn't do it. Jon kept trying to get her to say goodbye and finally Addie said, "No, I won't do it. If I say goodbye to her I will never see her again." So Jon told her Grandma and Grandpa were going to be around for a long time and she doesn't need to worry. It was really kind of sad.

A Day of Mourning

Today was my Grandma's funeral.
It is heart wrenching to say goodbye to someone you love. It's impossible to breathe when they are closing the casket and you know you will never see that person again in this life. I can't even describe how lost I felt as I grasped my Grandma's hand. It was so cold, so empty. It feels as if my heart has been ripped from my chest and stomped on. I have cried so many tears that my head hurts.
But as much as my heart hurt today, my Grandma is at peace. She is in no more pain. So how can I begrudge that. Her casket was beautiful! It was lavendar and she would have loved it. Inside there was a picuture of tulips, hummingbirds, and roses! All my Grandma's favorites! I'm sure she would love it! About 3 weeks ago, she told my Aunt Diann that she had a wish. Her wish was to be able to wake up one day, just one day, and not have any pain. Well, it took death, but that wish has come true. And it was probably a lot better than any of us could have imagined! And now she is reunited with my Grandpa! She's happy. She's pain free. And she never has to be lonely again. I wish I was happy too, and with time I will be. It's just so hard to say goodbye.
So thanks for mourning with me. I hope that I will have some more cheerful posts coming up soon. I don't want my blog to be gloomy and sad all the time. :-) I will work on that!
P.S. This song also reminds me of one of my best friends...Emily. When she moved away in the 5th grade I thought my heart would break. This song always reminds me of her and that day.

Spring Has Sprung!

It is finally spring! At least down here in the warm country! I would like to dedicate my first spring flowers to my lovely Grandmother! She loved flowers! Her flower gardens are something that I will always remember. In fact half of my flower garden came from her flower garden! (the irises anyway. I had some others, but they did not survive)! So a couple weeks ago, I was talking to Grandma and I told her how excited I was because the daffodils and the tulips were finally coming up. She told me to make sure that I don't let my kids pick them. I laughed! Living in a neighborhood with over 40 children makes that a little bit impossible. My flowers get picked every spring. And I can't really stop the culprits because it's always someone different and usually it's because of my children's example! And sometimes it's when I'm gone. Grandma said to tell them that they are for Grandma Baker and then they won't pick them! Nice try Grandma, I'm afraid with my children that will only encourage them to pick them faster! I can just see them running in with the victim flower and handing it to me proudly, "we picked this for Grandma Baker!" they would say. Sigh. It's inevitable. . . just a matter of time. So to prevent a bad reaction from a sad mother (and neighbor), I decided to take some pictures of my flowers. I am so happy that it's spring!! I can't tell you how much better I feel, just by having a little bit of sunshine and green grass and leaves on the trees and flowers blooming, and blossoms on the fruit trees! It just makes me happy! Grandma, these flowers are for you!

4-10's Forever...Unless...Heaven Forbid...I Shrink!

Ok, I have sat down at the computer several times, but I just can't make the words come. (I have suffered from some mild form of writer's block I guess.) First of all, I am so eternally grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ who has overcome death and made it possible for all of us to be resurrected and live again after this life!
I am going to miss my Grandma more than I can say. But here are some of the things I will always remember!
Grandma used to be a few inches taller than me, but as of late, she has been shrinking. So she is now the same size as me. . . 4 feet 10 inches TALL! So, I think it was pretty distressing to her because she called me one day and asked me how tall I was. I told her, and her response was Oh, no, me too! So after that she called us the 4 - 10's. I told her it was ok because our feet still reach the ground! She had a special pillow made for me at Burn's Saddlery so I could put it on the seat of my car because "there is no way that I can see over the dashboard!" So thank you Grandma! Just before I got married, I stayed with Grandma for a week because she had just had knee surgery. So I would rub her legs and feet with aspercreme (she loved aspercreme, couldn't live without it!) and then at the end of the day we would climb into bed together and she would tell me stories! My Favorite: Grandma was actually engaged to another guy when Grandpa met Grandma, so she called off her engagement and started courting Grandpa. They eventually eloped! And on their wedding night Grandma went behind a divider type wall to change, while Grandpa layed on the bed with his feet crossed and his hands behind his head and a huge grin across his face! Grandma didn't realize he had been watching her in the mirror the entire time!!! (MEN!)
I will miss Grandma's flower gardens. She knew every flower in those gardens. She loved the Jonny-Jump-Ups they were all so unique and had "such cute little faces!" Her snowball tree was always a favorite! Oh, and the snapdragons and the holly hocks and the one-eyed susans and the poppies and the irises! She loved flowers, I can't even name them all! I try to get my flower gardens to look like hers, and they never do, so I always end up tearing everything out (mostly because its all weeds!) I don't have a green thumb like Grandma, I only wish I did!
This Christmas I called Grandma and we were talking about our Christmas trees! Everyone knows that Grandma is the most picky Christmas tree picker ever, but I think I'm a close second, however, I haven't made anyone go back for another one....yet! She laughed when I told her how picky I was too, and I said I must have gotten it from her! She was really excited this year though. She liked the first tree my dad brought her! She said, "Heaps is probably laughing because he had to go back so many times for a better tree and Philip did it on the first try!"
After Grandma Sperry passed away in January, I realized my Grandma's weren't going to live forever, so I tried really hard to call Grandma at least once a week. We had some really fun talks! She always wanted to know what the kids were up too (she thinks I have my hands full!) Just before she went to Idaho she was in Orem at Aunt Sandra's for awhile. I got to go see her, as most of the family did, but sitting there curled up to her on the couch, somehow I knew that I wouldn't be able to see her again. As hard as I have tried to get to Idaho, it just hasn't happened. But I am so grateful for that afternoon, snuggling with Grandma, one last time! A couple weeks ago, Grandma called me! She just wanted to talk, so we did. She told me she was just sitting there with her feet up and the fire going. She asked if I ever got to put my feet up and relax! I told her not very often. And she said she wished she could trade me places, she hated being stuck in a chair! I think after one day with my kids she would be wishing for her chair! I love my Grandma, I am so grateful for the little moments I had with her and the times I got to talk to her. Last Wednesday was the last time I got to talk to her. I had been trying to call for a couple of days, but she was just too sick to talk. Then when I finally got to talk to her I couldn't think of a single thing to say. So I just told her that I love her so much. She told me that she loved me too! As much as I wanted that conversation to last forever, it was short and simple, but the message will last forever! I love you Grandma! I will always love you!

One of those moments.

I am sure that we all have those moments where you just want to scream lie down and give up. When it seems that no matter how hard you try you just don't quite measure up or make the grade. When your skills as a father are truly dispicable and as a husband you are unable to seem to be what you should be. You honestly try but the earth really could swallow you whole and it would not suprise you because that would be par for the course for that day. I always find it funny the ebb and flow of daily life. I hate bed time for instance it is adult torture to get my girls asleep. Its like you watch the history channel special on midevil torture and you think "thats not so bad if they really wanted to strike fear and pain into a mans soul try putting the allred girls to bed." How can something so cute make you so crazy. And no matter how hard you try to be a fine specimin of the perfect mormon priesthood holder husband/father you end up as the slug. I guess I should just pull myself up by my boot straps put on my big boy undies and wait till tomorrow who knows it might totally rock, who knows it could really happen. And while I am a slug I will completly avoid all salty foods because that melts slugs and though this is awesome to watch it looks very painful. So please no chips.

Grandma Baker

My Grandma Baker passed away last night at about 12:45 AM.

Life or something like it.

Life is busy and sometimes flies by so quickley that you can hardly blink and it is changeing chapters on you. I am really trying to grasp the concept of life and how the breathing end of it is just a short blip in the book. Kind of like Ether in the book of mormon short yet profound. I have not had to deal with very much death in my life besides my Grandpa Sperry's and that was hard and life altering evn though I was young. But now it seems like death is a major part of my life again. But even though my Grandma and soon Trinas Grandma have passed I can't feel like they are really gone but are just not as present. I see my Grandma in the things I do and in the things my whole family does. She truly helped shaped all of us into what we are and its not very hard to see her in all of us. And the same goes for Granny Baker she will always be herself and she is awesome. You can't help but love her. She can say the craziest things but you can't be offended because it is grandma and that is what she does. I will always miss her seeking out the smallest portion because "I could stand to lose a few". I will miss her laugh and her smile. But really I don't have to look to far to find it just look at Trina's Dad and there it is. If any girls miss her have someone ask if your pregnant when you definently are'nt and there will be Grandma. Thank goodnes those that have turned the page have left such deep marks so we can still feel there presence until we turn the same page and find them waiting for us. My Granny with a coke, Decaffeinated of course and Grandma Baker with a extra small piece of Pizza selected special for the fat kid. I am sure that it will be the best meal I have had in a long time. But I can wait because I still have marks to make in this chapter, hopefully it will be a long good read. I know there's is!

Broken Hearted

My grandma is dying. My already broken heart is being shattered again. I thought it would make me feel better to write, but it doesn't. I just don't know what to say.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday! I believe I have the greatest mom in the whole universe! She is amazing! I can't think of anyone I would rather have lead and guide me! My mom is the greatest Christlike example I have ever seen. She is always serving others, even when its hard. You would never know that she had anything else to do. If you need something she is right there to help you no matter what. I have seen her help people she doesn't even know! She never passes up an opportunity to serve! When the sign up sheet goes around in Relief Society, you can bet that my mom's name will be on it! She was staying with me when I first had Adelah, and she went to my ward that Sunday and she signed up to take a cake to a funeral! She just can't or won't pass up an opportunity to serve! It reminds of King Benjamin's speech in the Book of Mormon. When he stresses the importance of service and says "...when ye are in the service of your fellowmen, ye are only in the service of your God." My mom has been a great example of love and service to me! She never talks bad about other people and can always find the good in anyone. She is so humble and kind!
We always tease her about her "What's in This? Casserole" but somehow it always turns out a whole lot better than you expect! She is very creative! It takes a good cook to be able to make something out of anything!
My kids (and all the kids in the neighborhood) love Grandma Baker! She is never to busy to tell stories or play games with the kids! And nobody can tell a story like Grandma Baker! My favorite is "Little Black Sambo"! She is so patient!
So Mom, if you are reading this, I hope you know how much I love you and admire you! You are one of the greatest people in the world to me! If I could be half the woman you are I would be happy! I could never fill your shoes! I love you so much! Thank you for all the things you do for me and my family, and for all the things you have taught me! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Love Trina

Wedded Bliss

So, It was a wonderful day! Mandy and Kevin are very happy together. It's fun to see that kind of total twitterpation and young love! This morning Adelah said, "Mom, your cake is very beautiful, you did a lovely job. When I grow up and get married, will you make me a cake like that." I told her I would, then she said, "Will you call Mandy and tell her to come because I want my wedding to be just like hers!" I thought it was really cute. Four down, four more to go! I have had a great time, I've been very busy and I'm exhausted, I haven't been to bed before 2 or 3 AM every night this week, but I love being with my family. I am ready to come home though. Addie and Leighna are getting pretty homesick, so I think that they will be really glad to get home and play with the doll house (it is the highlight of their lives!) Anyway. . . it has been wonderful! Thank you Uncle Craig and Aunt Marylou for allowing me to invade your kitchen! I wouldn't have been able to get it done anywhere else! I love you! Thanks! Oh, thanks to Mike too for his ingenious idea of adding deer antlers to the cake...it really would be unforgetable...maybe someday! (Camron might like it)


Adelah, Mandy (of course), Leighna, and Taya.
My Wonderful Sisters!!! They are all so Awesome! Sarah, Me, Katie, Mandy, Ruth, and Heidi!

Oh, So Happy Together!

This picture of Addie was after the wedding. We were all unloading all the food and everything, try to get everything settled in, and I walked into the living room and found Addie, all dressed up! It was pretty cute!

Mandy, Me, and My Mom

Let them eat cake!

Here is a picture of Mandy's wedding cake. I did it in record time 25 hours! Wa Hoo, Thanks for all your help Katie. It was a lot of work, but very rewarding in the end! It was beautiful. Mandy was beautiful! Kevin was Handsome! All around it was a very great day! I am exhausted, it's 1:25 AM, but I had to write, I've been too busy to write this week and I have missed it. I have a lot of cute pictures and stuff to share so I'm excited, but I just can't do it tonight. Soon though.

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Sewer Trout????

The other day, my brother Jonathan called me to tell me this story... Have you ever made your kids tuna fish? Ruth made the kids tuna fish sandwhiches for lunch. Isaac took one bite and said, "Mom, I'm sick and this stuff is just making me sicker!" Braiden took a bite and said, "Oh, this is good......oh, this is really bad!" I thought it was pretty darn cute so I thought I would share!

My Best Gal.

She might be short but she always stands tall. She might be blonde but she is one of the smartest people I have ever met. She might be the boss but she is seldom bossy(except for yard work she is incredibly bossy when it comes to that, she can't help it yard work is in her blood.). She can Make a room light up just by being in it . She can be so kind and thoughtful that I have to make four illegal U-turns to give a homeless guy a dollar. (yes I grumbled and huffed but I still did it) She can make the saddest kid happy and not even try. She can cry on a dime but laugh for a penny. She is everyones friend and no ones enemy. She does everything for everyone and rarely gets noticed. She can be funny yet keep it squeeky clean. She can be a shoulder to cry on (if you sit down otherwise its akward). She is still the little girl that I grew up with while still being the woman that I want to grow old with. She is my hunting partner , my board crowner, my counseler and my friend. She is the reason I can't sleep at night when she is with me(because she needs to talk). And she is the reason I can't sleep when she is gone(because she is not here to talk). Most of all she is just My Best Gal. She is a little piece of all the best woman in my life. Our Grandmas Our Mothers Our Sisters and Our friends. But at the same time there is only one of her. And I am eternally grateful that the one of her is MY ONE. Whereever we are at WalMart or the mall at church or screaming our guts out at a BYU game I am always proud of her and who she is, my wife Trina.

Porter!

I don't have very many pictures of Porter on my blog, so I decided to add a few!

I'm A New Aunt

My sister Heidi had her baby last week! Wyatt Jason Carlile was born on February 25. He weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long! He is soooooooo cute! Jason's niece calls him Baby Quiet because she can't say Wyatt! We are so happy that he is finally here!

Heidi and Wyatt
Baby Quiet

Porter and Wyatt, Porter just got really huge!

Oh, tiny feet!

Me and Wyatt

Thirty something!

Yes it is official I am thirty. What the heck happened to time. I caught myself looking in the obituaries today for people my age. This is a very strange pastime that I think I got from my mom and grandma but frankly I think it is a little sick but I can't stop myself. The scary part is there was someone my age in there AHHHHHHHHH. It was a fun birthday my lovely wife set up a suprise birthday party that was awesome. I was really honestly suprised. The only thing that would have made it better was pony rides. But I am pretty sure I would kill it or cause permanent damage. Not to mention the lawsuits from P.E.T.A. and the humane society. So maybe nixing the pony rides was a good idea. It was a blast. I kind of was expecting the old age fairy to come down and sprinkle me with some midlife crisis dust but so far I feel pretty good. I don't yell at kids to stay of my lawn. I don't talk about the good old days. I have not had a overwhelming desire to buy a Harley or wear leather (I would probably get a rash). I already have a blonde trophy wife so I can check that one of my list. I still can remember where I put my teeth. And I have yet to be forced into a prostate exam or told the war stories that come along with said exam. All in all I think thirty is not to bad it is just a number and just as long as I don't see my picture in the obituaries I think I can handle it. After all none of us are getting any younger.

A Day With Leighna!

Today was a crazy day with Leighna! Adelah is staying with Grandma and Grandpa Baker for a few days, so I was thinking that today would be pretty darn easy, only having two kids instead of three! Boy was I wrong on so many levels. First of all, Leighna is a wild child, and second of all, I never realized how helpful Addie is with her! So, today we got our internet hooked up, and Leighna wasn't too bad for most of that, but she did sit under the computer table to watch the guy the whole time. I hope she wasn't in his way, but he never said anything, so I let her be. (Choose your battles, ya know). So then when he was done I had to go to St. George and run a million errands, one of those days, ya know. So I'm thinking, great, this will be a breeze because I only have 2 kids instead of 3! Wrong Again! First we went to Sprint because my new phone isn't working. So that was fine, but Leighna wanted to put all of their sample phones in her purse. Then they thought they got the phone fixed so I went out to the car and buckled both kids in their seats and tried to call Jon. And of course, my phone still wasn't working. So I unloaded the kids and went back into Sprint. They tried fixing it again, which took forever. So, they finally got it so they thought it was working and we left. Then we had to run an errand for a friend. So we got to that place, and as I was getting Leighna out she told me she was a titty tat (kitty cat). So I said come on Kitty, let's go. Well she got out and proceeded to crawl down the sidewalk toward the door. I asked her to get up and walk and she wouldn't because "I'n a puppy" I said,"please come on Leighn," "I'n not Neighna, I'n a puppy" so I said, "Ok, puppy, will you please get up and walk so you don't ruin your pants." And luckily she did. Next was the nutrition store. I had to pick up a few herbs, so when we got there I found out that my phone still wasn't working, but if I went back to the Sprint store they would give me a loaner phone. So we went in. Leighna had to take her fairy want with her, so she took that and she kept touching everything in there. So I kept telling her not to touch anything and she would say, "I'n NOT TOUCHING, Mom!" So I just tried to hold my breath and get out of there. All the people in there thought she was really cute, but that's because they are merely bystanders and don't have to deal with the fight! So anyway, I finally promised her a frozen yogurt if she would be good for just a few more minutes! We finally made it out, but the fairy wand did not! I have not seen it since then. I'm pretty sure that if it was me who found it I would hope that it would summon the Fairy Godmother. I could use one right now! So Then it was back to the Sprint store! (as a side note, the Sprint store is joined to a Jimmy Johns Sandwich place) So we are walking to Sprint, I have Porter in one arm, in his car seat, the phone and the box it came in in the other, and I'm trying to hold Leighna's hand. As we get to the door she starts crying, "not that one, mommy, I'n hungry!" I said, "we have to get a phone, and then we will go get something to eat." "No, mommy, I hungry!" And she layed down right in the doorway and would not move! I was so embarrassed, but I was trying to keep my cool, so I was trying to coax her to get up, when the guy behind the counter came over and offered to help with something. AHHHH! So then we got a new phone set up and I had to get her some lunch so I figured it was easier just to go to Jimmy Johns than have to load and unload the kids again. So we ate there, but she spilled her water, and she dropped her sandwich on the floor, and she rubbed her dirty hands all over the windows. Finally, back on the road, I thought briefly about stopping at Grandma Allred's office for a quick visit, but decided I just wanted to finish and get home (Sorry Grandma, maybe next time!) So then I had to stop at Costco to get Mandy's wedding pictures blown up. We got there and I realized that I hadn't fed Porter since we left Hurricane, so I got him out and was feeding him in the passenger seat. I had undone Leighna's seat belt so she could get around a little bit (another mistake) and she climbed up in the driver's seat and said, "I drive you mom." Well, after a couple minutes, she decided she was ready to go so she opened the door and climbed out! I called after her to get back in the car and she said, "I alright mom" and closed the door. So then I had to hurry and stop nursing so I could catch her before she got ran over. When I caught up to her she was trying to get into one of the cars next to us. So we went in and got our stuff done. When we got out, I left her in the cart while I buckled Porter back into his seat, and when I turned around, Leighna was on the hood of the car next to us!! I honestly don't know how she does it! She is so fast and she can climb anything! Finally she fell asleep in the car on the way home! (Tender mercy of the Lord) and then she slept for awhile after. (Another tender mercy) So then one of my friends had a little business presentation and I made yet another mistake and took Leighna and Porter with me because Jon wasn't home from Willard Bay. So, she was everywhere. She kept trying to draw on the white board while he was doing his demonstration. She kept trying to talk on the office phone and kept turning on their computer. I was so embarrassed, I probably shouldn't have even gone, or at least I should have gotten a babysitter, but I didn't think about it. We finally unplugged the phone so she could play on it. So she picked it up and said loudly, "No Dad, I not trouble! I Neighna!" And she ate about 1/2 of their plate of cookies, but again, everyone else thought she was really cute, so they kept pushing the plate of cookies closer to her. When we finally got home I was so glad because I am exhausted. We came in and I got her dinner, Macaroni and Cheese and a salad! (very nutritional) Well she decided to share with "Purt" (Porter). He had a big piece of lettuce in his mouth! But Jon is finally home and she seems to be winding down (I hope)! Maybe she will sleep good tonight. All I can say is I hope that I do!

P.S. I really do think Leighna is adorable, she is bursting with personality, and comes up with the darndest things, but she is a handful, I'm not gonna lie!!

My Dad...Community Hero...My Hero

I just have to say that I am so proud of my dad! He's just the greatest! He has always worked really hard to take care of my family. He has made sacrifices that I'm sure we don't know anything about. He has taught me to work, to love, to forgive, to live the gospel, to be Christ like, and last, but not least, he has taught me how to play. Although, as a teenager, I thought he spelled play, W-O-R-K! (Both 4 letter words, one, he liked, one, we liked!) As much as I disliked that then, I have learned to appreciate it now! I am so grateful for my dad, I have learned a lot from him.
Recently, my dad received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Utah Community Forestry Council and International Society of Arboriculture! He has worked so hard all these years, that he really deserves it. There is a big, long article in the Times News about him, so I just have to give you a taste, this is my favorite part.....
"Because of his efforts over the years, Philip has become a community hero in Nephi and has made contributions that will endure. He has changed our city for the better and is deserving of significant recognition."
The article says lots of great stuff about my dad, but who couldn't be proud when someone, besides me, thinks my dad is a hero! I Love You Dad, I couldn't be more proud!!

I'm Back!

I just got the internet today, so expect great things!!!!! I don't have time to update right now, but I am so excited, so I had to at least try this out!