Baby wanted to say hi:

The only problem? I was so sure it was a girl that I don’t have any boy names – any ideas for me?

What’s new with us? Well we’re super excited to be finally going to visit two of John’s sister on the east coast over spring break. We’re taking two weeks and flying out to Boston to spend a week with Laura and her family and then driving to NYC for a couple of nights before heading to DC to stay with Katie and her family for a week. We’re really looking forward to it and hope that Laura and Katie aren’t dreading it too much!

But the real reason I’m posting today…my cousin called me last week and was desperately seeking some custom party circles (I didn’t know what they were…do you?) for her ward’s Relief Society Anniversary party. I had so much fun making these for her that I just had to share!

Other than that we’ve been up to the usual…I really hope to update this little blog a little more often so keep checking in on me!

We got to go to Montana for a whole week and play on my parents boat. The weather was fantastic and I tried wakeboarding for the very first time. And guess what? I got up on my first try! I didn’t last long but I still did it. I got up a second time too but then I couldn’t get up again. My legs just got really shaky (I think from nerves and cold) and I just had to get out of the water. But next year I’m totally doing it again! It was FUN!

We also decided that it was time for us to start acting like mature, responsible parents so we traded in our Pilot (so sad) and got a new minivan. I was worried I wouldn’t like it but it has enough fun new options to distract me from the fact that I’m driving a minivan! And there’s so much more room -it’s really easy for my kids. And the ride is much smoother than in the pilot so I’m dealing with it!

Some other fun news…some of you know that I’ve recently gotten REALLY into digital scrapbooking. Well as of Sept. 1 I opened a store selling templates for digital scrapbookers. It’s been so much fun. If you’re interested in that stuff you should definitely subscribe to my scrapping blog and like me on facebook because there will be lots of freebies and chances to win my kits!

I’ve also decided that I really want to get back into selling Lia Sophia so if anyone wants to have a party, give me a call, send me an email, or even comment on this blog post!

We arrived in Drumheller at lunch time and tried to get some lunch at McDonalds there was an entire Hutterite colony there plus about half the population of Drumheller. Instead we went to DQ where there were 3 other people in the restaurant besides us. Anyway, we drove out to the museum and started out but joining in on a game show they were doing. We didn’t last long there though because of course Denver got bored about 5 seconds in.

Doesn’t everybody look thrilled?

Isaiah and Black Beauty – a T-rex whose skeleton turned black because of manganese.

I love this picture of Denny.

Denver had dead legs.

Emma did NOT like the monkey. It came off shortly after this picture was taken.

Once we were done with the museum, “dead-legs” Denver was dying to go hiking (don’t ask me why) so we drove down to the Hoodoos and did some hiking.

They have these handy little shelves for your camera so you can take a picture with your whole family in it! Genius!

I love this picture of Isaiah.

And my little dead-legged hiker.

I LOVE these kids!!!

Emma is such a daddy’s girl. John says it’s because he’s a novelty.

I have to admit, I was extremely nervous watching those two little boys climbing around up there.

We had a good time and are looking forward to a fun week in Montana next week. We also finally got some landscaping done in our yard – stay tuned for some before and after pictures!

This week’s photo challenge at i heart faces is water. I just took some pictures of the boys in the rain last week and I LOVE this one of little Denny. He had so much fun playing in the rain.

Check out the other entries here.

My kids’ Dad is pretty awesome too. He does a lot around here (when he’s home). When someone needs a diaper changing or lunch made or owies kissed he’s the first one to step in do what needs doing. He’s a fabulous example to both of my boys of how a real man should act. He is greatly missed while he’s away at work but all four of us!  He’s a super fun dad too. He loves to play with his kids (which is more than I can say for myself – let’s just say I’m not the get down on the floor and play type!) They all love to wrassle with him and when Denver was about two John taught him how to tackle (actually, looking back, I think that was a bit of a mistake). John is the kind of guy that kids LOVE and are drawn to. He’s just so great with kids (sometimes it’s almost like I have four kids though…JK!) John would do anything for his three little kids. He sacrifices so much for us and I think it’s amazing. Here’s to another great dad!

I may be biased and I think there are at least three other people out there that will agree with me but I think I have the best Dad out there. I know Father’s Day is coming up but it was also my Dad’s birthday this week so I thought I’d like to write a short tribute post for him.

My dad is a stand-up kind of guy. He’s the guy you KNOW will be there when you need an extra hand with anything. He’s there whether you’re moving (he’s been there for EVERY single one of our ten moves) or laying sod or building a deck or dealing with rising water levels in your backyard or needing someone to watch your kids while you drive your husband to the ER for the third time that year. And there’s never any question either – he’ll drop anything to help someone out.

My dad is pretty serious most of the time but he has a really great fun side too. I love it when he gets to relax (like on vacation or Sunday night) and his whole personality changes. When I was little we used to have “beat-up-Dad night” every Sunday night after dinner. All four of us kids would just go to town and he actually let us! Some of my greatest memories are all the awesome family vacations we went on and how fun my dad was! I also always knew that if we were out just the two of us I could ask to stop and get a slurpee and he’s probably say yes.

Since I’ve had kids I really enjoyed watching how my dad interacts with them. It truly warms my heart to see my dad hanging out with my boys or trying to get Emma to give him the time of day. (Emma’s pretty stingy with her affections.)

So now you can see that my dad is pretty awesome but this just glanced the surface of the amazingness of my dad.