The Week From Hell

Monday morning we were all up, dressed and ready to walk out the door to go to the gym when I noticed something amiss with JoeJoe. I took his temperature and sure enough it was 101 degrees. I canceled the gym and planned on staying home. For the next two days I had a horrible time controlling his temperature with ibuprofen and Tylenol. On Tuesday Kayla also started complaining about feeling sick. By Tuesday night little Joe's fever spiked to 104.5. After a visit with the nighttime doctor, the test for influenza came back positive. For those that don't know, influenza is the actual flu. Headaches, stuffy nose, runny nose, body-aches, cough, upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea and FEVER. Of course it's a virus and you must start the anti-viral medication within 48 hours of onset. Lucky for me, we were within the 48 hour window. Unlucky for me, it was 9 pm and the only pharmacies that were open were out of stock. So, one by one, the influenza took them down. JoeJoe was already feeling like crap, clinging to me and constantly saying "Mommy, I need you." By Wednesday Kayla started with the Fever and Joe came home from work early. By Thursday they were all a mess. In the middle of the night Kayla's fever spiked to 104.7. Kayla missed school Tuesday to Friday and Joe missed work Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. Thank goodness he was already off Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Even today they're still walking around and sleeping like zombies.

As if the influenza wasn't enough for JoeJoe, he had to fall and hit his eyebrow and split it open. I am so glad I wasn't at home when it happened because I probably would've taken him for stitches. Joe stopped the bleeding and appeased Joe with a "Cars" band-aid. Today a nice black eye appeared.

Amid all this there are so many things I am thankful for. I have an amazing husband who blesses our family with his priesthood. There were two particularly unnerving nights with really high fevers and each child received a father's blessing. It almost seemed instantaneous that their symptoms were lightened and were able to get some rest. As I said my prayers last night I felt as though I was begging Heavenly Father to please help them all to get well quickly. As I said that I wondered about all the families whose little ones didn't get well and why they were not "blessed". What if one of my little ones were not "blessed". It was a testimony to me that there is a plan for each of us and only Heavenly Father knows what that plan is. We just need to live with faith in knowing he will take care of us.

So, an under-celebrated event happened among all this chaos. Kayla lost her first tooth! It had been loose for such a long time but she didn't dare just pull it out that one day it was just so loose it fell right out. She almost didn't even notice it. The tooth fairy visited her that night and the next morning she told us she saw the tooth fairy and got to talk to her. That must've been the night she had the REALLY high fever and hallucinated.

So, this week I canceled visiting teaching, had to reschedule our white elephant party and gingerbread house making as well as miss Joe's work party, our Ward Christmas Party and dinner and "The Nativity" at my mom and dad's. Surprisingly, I only woke up with a mild sore throat this morning. Let's hope that's all I get.

Remembering Grandpa

My sweet grandpa Hubbard passed away last night. It was quite unexpected for me. He was 94 years old but I thought he'd live to be over 100 since his mom lived to be 105. He went to the hospital last week, two days before Thanksgiving because something just wasn't right. It turns out that he had pneumonia but didn't manifest any symptoms. A few days later they started worrying about his kidneys...he started having kidney failure. Sunday night he slipped away into a restful sleep forever. I know without a doubt that he has been reunited with my amazing grandma (his sweet wife) and his own parents.

I have fond memories of grandpa that I will never forget. Once, right after he returned from his mission to Washington, he took me for a ride in his 2 door Toyota Celica, manual. He decided to show me how to make the car "jump". He proceeded to let the clutch out very quickly and the car jumped forward with a skid. I remember going to his office in downtown Salt Lake and playing with his cool machines. I also loved that grandpa called grandma Hubbard "Chris". Like a little pet name. It wasn't until I was a lot older that I finally figured out he called her that because her maiden name was Christiansen.

It was always comforting to be around grandpa. He loved everyone and enjoyed anyone's company. He is an amazing pianist and even when he went legally blind with macular degeneration, he continued to play by ear twice a week at nursing homes. He motivated me to continue playing the piano even when I wanted to quit a hundred times. I loved going to his house with my stack of music and playing until I got bored but he never got bored of listening.

This was the last picture I took of grandpa on Halloween, surrounded by family, grandkids and great grandkids.




Grandpa was an amazing person and he will not be forgotten.

"I've got it!"

Every day my kids say things that absolutely crack me up and this was no exception. I said to little Joe, "Let's get a tissue so we can get those boogers." Joe says "It's ok mom, I got 'em with my tongue."

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today was a wonderful day of thanksgiving for our family. We have so much to be grateful for each and every day. I tried to post something every day that I was thankful for but I was really horrible at doing that. Here are a few things that are always on my mind...

1) My family ~ Joe, MacKayla, Little Joe, my parents, my brothers & sisters & spouses, my nieces & nephews. Each one of them have brought something into my life for good. I love my husband and my kids more than anything. My parents have helped my little family is so many ways and it seems that my never ending "thank you's" just don't make up for all they've done. It's wonderful to be so close to all my siblings, knowing that at any moment we can rely on each other. Our friendships with each other are amazing and they are very important to me. I wouldn't trade my family for the whole world! I love you all!

2) The Gospel of Jesus Christ ~ I have built my life around my testimony of the gospel. It brings light, peace, happiness, direction and so much more into my life and my family's life. With all the despair in the world today, trials, discouragement and more I am grateful for my Savior and the amazing degree of hope that comes from Him.

3) My home, neighbors & ward ~ Not only have we been blessed with this amazing home, which we have dreamt about for years while in school, we have incredible neighbors and a ward family that far exceed the expectations that we had.

4) My friends ~ My friends are probably more important to me than I should allow them to be but they are. Late nights at Applebees, Book Group, Girls Night Out, Movie Night, Shopping, Lunch at Home, Family Dinners, Listening Ears, Shoulder's to cry on, Hugs, Friendly E-mail's, Encouraging words. My friends shape and mold me as much as my family and I'm grateful to have each one of them.

This day was wonderful! I'm glad I was able to spend it with my family. This picture is MacKayla & Little Joe along the Farmington Lagoon Trail today. Happy Thanksgiving!

November 19, 2010

Today I am thankful for my little man and playing with him. I was fake sleeping in his bed this morning and he comes in and says 

"Cock-a-doo! Time a wake up!"

Braids, Braids and more Braids!!

The other night we were watching a movie and I suggested to Kayla that we put her hair in a bunch of tiny braids so it will be wavy. I was completely shocked when she said yes. So, 45 minutes later we have 18 braids.



After washing her hair and sleeping on it overnight to dry (yes her hair takes that long to dry), it came out like this. I think it looks so beautiful! If only we all had naturally curly hair... I know, I know...grass is always greener.

November 18, 2010

I really am horrible at this being thankful stuff. I really am thankful for so many things. So, today I am thankful for little girls. I was taking MacKayla and her friend Suzanna to school today and I said "Hold on to your lug-nuts, it's time for an overhaul!". Suzanna asks, "What's an overhaul?" MacKayla replies, "I think it's a tornado."

Here's a picture of the two of them playing dress up. They are really quite hilarious!

November 12, 2010

I haven't been very good with my "I'm thankful for" 's... I have a lot to be thankful for and I'm trying to recognize those things every day. Today I am incredibly thankful for my book group. Not only are they wonderful friends that I love spending time with, we have read an array of books that I would have never touched otherwise. These books are an eye-opener to the luxuries that we savor each and every day. Just the other day Joe said to me "we live in a lap of luxury". I said, I don't think it's luxury and he said, "Yes it is!" I guess when you think about it, we have so many things that many people in the world would never even dream of having. They're just grateful if they had a little food that day... or week. I am grateful for my life and my family and the luxuries we so often forget are luxuries.

November 10, 2010

I am thankful for my adorable nephew Mack. Happy 1st Birthday! He is the snuggliest, cutest, happiest kiddo ever! Love you Mackers!

November 9, 2010

This snow is so beautiful! However today I am thankful for my warm heater. Oh and Joe called me from work today just to make sure I was able to get a copy of "Call of Duty - Black Ops" - for any of those who understand or care. :)

November 8, 2010

I love this weather today! Get's me excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas! However, today I am thankful for my huge umbrella!

November 7, 2010

I'm grateful for the simple things in life. We finished watching Superman the Movie tonight and started Superman II and Kayla says "Wow, these Superman movies are great!"

November 5, 2010

Today I am thankful for sunny and warm days in November. Sunny skies and high 60's today. Awesome!

November 4, 2010

See...this is why I do this...it forces me to analyze my life for the good. Today I am thankful for technology. Although it's a love hate relationship.

November 3, 2010

Today I am thankful for my nice, comfy, cozy bed. I am so tired and looking forward to bedtime!

November 2, 2010

Today I am thankful for lazy days at home even if it's because one of your kids thew up.

November 1, 2010

Today I'm thankful for an incredible loving and supporting husband. He's my best friend.

Happy Halloween!!

We had a great Halloween this year! We all visited Grandpa Hubbard who is 93 years old and then had a visit with Mom and Dad. Then we came back to our house and Trick-or-Treated in the pouring rain. Little Joe only lasted about half hour but Kayla was out for at least an hour and a half. Her bag was getting so heavy she couldn't carry it. She was very satisfied with her hard work. :)

Kayla's Kindergarten Halloween Party

MacKayla had her class Halloween party yesterday and I went to help out. We split the kids up into 4 groups and had 4 stations. We had Halloween storytime, ghost making, cookie decorating and pin the eye on the monster and Halloween songs. I brought pin the eye on the monster and the kids loved it - they kids kept flocking to our station. This is a picture of Kayla and all her classmates.

Halloween Lately...

It's become a tradition for us to visit Pack Farms Pumpkin Patch. It's no 9-cent/lb. pumpkin... you are definitely paying for the experience. They set up a maze with their hay stacks, which the kids love and are somewhat scared they really are lost, even though they can see mom and dad up on the bridge overlooking the maze. Then there's the whole searching for the "perfect" pumpkin in their huge patch. There are baby pumpkins, weird gourds, white pumpkins, large carving pumpkins - so many to pick from. They have fun carts to load your pumpkins in and the kids always manage to get a free ride too. We had a lot of fun and glad we did after spending $20 on pumpkins!!Gardner Village has the cutest set up for Halloween. They have witches set up all over the village. It is definitely decked out! It was fun to see all the witches, especially "Witchy Poo" - so sad I didn't take a picture. The kids thought the witches were so cool and a little terrifying. Kayla went on the pony rides and had a blast. She even took her hands off for a brief moment but kept them really close just in case she needed to grab a hold quickly.

Zoo!!

We went to the zoo today. We got rained on just a little here and there but it was really nice and mild weather. My sister Marie, my nephew Mack, my sister-in-law Sara, my nephew Oliver and my niece Phoebe all came with us. MacKayla and Oliver were the ones that did the most posing. The picture with the gorilla was the most freaky! We were right there, just a thick piece of glass between us. He even gave us a huge yawn and showed us all his teeth. He kept watching the kids run around. It was funny to see his eyes dart around to keep track of them.

And of course, the playground! Who can leave the zoo without playing on the playground? I can. Ironically we hit the playground first this time. The kids loved it.

It was fun walking around in the drizzle, being with the animals.

MacKay Family Photo

Front Row: Grace MacKay, Kate MacKay, Oliver MacKay
2nd Row: Spencer MacKay Anna MacKay, Thomas MacKay,

Phoebe MacKay, MacKayla Ruganis

3rd Row: Penny MacKay, Mark MacKay
4th Row: Mack Christensen, Marie Christensen, Michelle Pyper,

Amy MacKay, Mindy Ruganis, Sara MacKay

Back Row: Kevin Christensen, Derek Pyper, Matt MacKay, Marc MacKay,

Joe Ruganis, Little Joe Ruganis, Mike MacKay

"Under Contract"

Here is a picture of the house in Woods Cross we are buying! We are hoping to close on August 18th and move in August 20th!! It's a California-Split with 3 bedrooms, 1 & 3/4 bathrooms upstairs and an unfinished bedroom and bathroom downstairs. Additionally...a full kitchen and dining room, formal living room, family room, laundry room, crawl space, 2 car garage. Let's hope it's smooth riding from here on out!!

Update...

Ok, for those that are wondering...here's what's going on with our move. Grandma's house did sell. My cousin Aaron and his wife Sharee are buying it! Yay! We're glad it's staying in the family and I'm sure they'll do fabulous things with it which is already under way. So, that means we are on to a new chapter of our life. We've been searching for a house for at least 2 months now (really since last November but with an agent for the last 2 months). We've made offers on three homes, none of which have panned out. Thanks to our agent Blake (who by the way is fantastic!) for being unbelievably patient with us. We are a LITTLE on the picky side so our pickings are slim. So, where are we going and when? We'll be moving sometime in the next 2-3 weeks and we're moving to a teeny tiny 2 bedroom apartment in Bountiful. Why you ask? Because we're cheap! We'd rather save our money quickly and get into our own home sooner than squander our money away on an extravagant 3 bedroom townhouse. We're going to keep attending our current ward until we move to our permanent home. No sense in going to a new ward and have to try and learn a couple hundred names for just a couple of months, right? So, we're still around and we'll still be close.

We're Moving!

The time has come...a chapter is closing... We're moving but we don't know when and we don't know where. We know it'll be sometime in August and we know it'll be somewhere in Bountiful or Centerville. We've been here in grandma MacKay's basement for 3 1/2 years. We will be forever grateful to grandma for sharing her home with us. We will miss the amazing ward we've been a part of and the friendships we've made and hope they will continue on even though we're moving on. We'll miss the awesome sledding hill in the backyard but not shoveling the great and spacious driveway. We will miss the cool quiet evenings on the back patio with the breeze in the trees but not the hot un-air-conditioned basement. We'll miss the huge yard for the kids to play in and the orchard like a forest for the kids to roam but we won't miss the almost 3/4 of an acre lawn to mow. We are excited for our new adventure and those who will be a part of it.

Crazy July!

Ok, it's been a while since you've heard from me and it's been quite the busy time but isn't July always like that. So, here's a little of what I've done and a few pics to follow:

• Eclipse - opening night 9:00 pm showing - WAHOO!! Loved it!!
• BBQ with Quinn, Meg and boys - We'll win "Scene it" next time!
• I actually worked for the first time in 2 months!
• Centerville 4th of July Parade - Kayla got so much taffy
• Kiddie Pool get together with Claudia and her 2 kids
• BBQ with my brother Marc and a few rounds of "Settlers of Catan"
• Kiddie Pool get together with Meg and the boys - Cayden split his chin open and ended up getting 3 stitches on the inside and 11 stitches on the outside
• Eclipse and dinner with the neighborhood girls
• Zoo with Meg, Kristen and the kids
• House hunting and vacating the premises while house-lookers come to grandma's
  

Here's a picture of the boys playing in the pool (Joe, Cayden, Cooper, Cole) and Meg's sexy legs!!

Here's the kids at the zoo. Joe, Kayla, Cooper and Cayden.

Joe Joe in his diaper walking around in MacKayla's high heeled sandals.
He loves shoes! And please let him be potty trained within the next 6 months!!

We've been so busy that we can't seem to get enough sleep. As you can see Joe fell asleep while I was reading him a book. It's also been so hot in grandma's basement that we're constantly in the kiddie pool just to cool off. Oh how I long for my own air-conditioned house. I know you're out there...we'll find you soon!!

Retro Joe

We have one picture of Joe from before 1994, the year we met. Thanks to Joe's cousin Melisa she found a few of him and here is one of them. He is such a cutie! When I first looked at this I was shocked at how much little Joe looks like big Joe. Crazy!!

This is the one picture we had from when Joe was a kid. Seriously his hair kept growing and from what he says...he just kept growing a mullet. Nasty!

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

We had such a late Spring and went straight from 50's to 80's. We were so excited for the sunshine and looking forward to swimming...and then Kayla broke her arm. So, what do you do? Well, purchasing an air-tight cast cover was out of the question...$27 for 4 weeks of use? I don't think so! That's when duct tape comes in handy. So, we wrapped her cast with a hand towel and taped some plastic bags around the towel. Voila!! Mostly air-tight cast cover and it cost maybe 50 cents. We spent the day hanging out at the kiddie pool in our backyard and having a blast!! That girl is going to have one heck of a farmer tan.

Pink Kink in your Think!

Kayla got her cast on today! She's so glad it wasn't a cast that went up past the elbow. She was so excited to get it on and then when we were in the room and they were ready to start, she lost it! But only for a second...once they got started and she realized it wasn't going to hurt she wouldn't stop talking. If anyone knows Kayla they know that you don't have to say one word and the conversation won't stop. She chose pink for her cast...her favorite color. We are constantly quoting "Pink? Pink? I think you have a pink kink in your think!" From Incredibles bonus features. Only 4 more weeks without swimming... at least it's not all summer!

Hungarian Dance No. 5

My sister Marie put together a music recital for our 93 year old Grandpa Hubbard for Father's Day. All of the Hubbard family was invited to participate with their musical abilities. We had piano, guitar, recorder, violin and vocal numbers from 3 years old to 93 years old. It was entertaining and fun to see everyone and share their talents. Grandpa says we get it from him. :) Here's a video of Marie and I playing our duet...

It's finished!

When grandma passed away we inherited a fantastic piece of furniture from her... a beautiful dresser and hutch. It's perfect for a little girl's room! The only problem was it was a dark brown stain with old, intricate gold knobs and pulls. So, I painted it! A primer coat, 2 semi-gloss coats and 10 hours later, here's the finished product. I used satin nickle knobs and pulls to make it that much cuter! The best part is that Kayla loves it just as much as I do.

It's broken!!

Well, 36 hours after falling we decided to get Kayla's arm checked out. I took her to Primary Children's ER yesterday. Luckily it was dead (no pun intended) so we didn't have any wait. Two hours, 2 x-ray's and one arm splint later, we were done. She fractured her radial and ulna bones and has a buckle fracture. She's in a temporary splint until next week when she'll get a hard cast. Unfortunately she'll be in a cast for most of the summer...no swimming for us for a while.

MacKay Family Gathering

Well, if we can't get together once a month we'll try for once a year... We manage to have one BBQ with my whole MacKay family once a year in June. It seems to be a lasting tradition. With everyones crazy schedules and busy lives, we're lucky to fit this in and get most everyone here. This year we even had a surprise visit from Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Ken from Iowa. They were here to pick up my cousin Scott from BYU (since he graduated). We celebrated Aunt Sherrie's 29th birthday. She's the one in the lower left corner in the white shirt and black pants... She can pass for 29, right? wink wink

Everyone had a great time catching up, visiting, dealing with throw-up from one of the kids (yes that nasty flu bug is going around and will probably hit each one of our homes). The kids played on the playground and dug in the volleyball pit, making sand castles. They each took turns blasting at the pinata. The kids were having a so much fun!

Sadly the night ended abruptly for us. Joe was working so it was just me and the kids. Kayla was crossing the monkey bars and fell, using her hand to break her fall. We still aren't sure if it's broken or just sprained. Joe wrapped her wrist tonight and we'll check it out in the morning.

We Survived!!!

We had our very first camping experience with our kids this past weekend. It was quite the experience considering it rained the entire time. You think I'm kidding but I'm not. It was either a sprinkle, drizzle, constant rain or complete downpour. It's funny that the two worst times it rained were when we set up the tent and when we took the tent down. Funny how that works. We were soaked to the core!! Little Joe's hands were freezing the whole time. We couldn't get him quite warmed up. We'd try to get him close to the fire to dry out and warm up but then we'd have to keep him from falling into the fire.

We went with my sisters family (Marie, Kevin and their 6 month old baby Mack) my brother Marc and Kevin's brother Steven...Oh and three others you'll hear about later. The best part about the whole trip was when we headed home....I mean...the fire! Kevin brought up enough firewood to last for a week. Not for us though. The boys built a bonfire and kept it going till bedtime and throughout the morning. Despite the constant rain the fire never went out.

The other three that joined us on our wet adventure were Titan, Hercules and Bart. Three of the cutest, sweetest, well-behaved, HUGE Great Danes! Titan is the tan colored one, Hercules is the tiger-stripped one and Bart is the black one. The kids loved them! MacKayla and Titan bonded. When Steven showed up with the three dogs my sister says "Look! There's a herd of deer!" Me, being the gullible one says "Where?!?" and started looking around. I looked like a fool because she was clearly referring to the dogs.

It was a short trip, thank goodness. At least we know we can survive in the wilderness for the most part. I'm glad we had a nice hot shower and a sleep-number bed to come home to!

Searching for a home...

We never thought this time would come. When you're in the heart of school, living on student loans, living in grandma's basement, hoping for time with your hubby amid the mountain of studying, you dream about the day you will be "FREE" again. We would dream about where we would live, what kind of home we would have, the 60" TV we would own, the family vacations we would take. Well, slowly we are taking those steps. We've recruited our friend as our realtor and it just so happens that his wife is our loan officer as well. It's nice having them both there when we're looking because we get home and loan questions answered without having to wait. We've looked at a few houses the past couple weeks and surprisingly early we think we may have found a house we want to buy. With butterflies in our stomaches and excitement galore we may be moving along. To be continued...

Little Joe is a trooper!

Joe and I are ones that believe in wearing your kids out so they will sleep good. So, we took our kids on an hour and a half hike yesterday, making them walk the whole time. Then we went to a birthday party for their cousin Phoebe. They proceeded to play for two more hours endlessly. Well, at the end of the birthday party little Joe stepped on the root of a tree and his ankle slipped out and he sprained it. Poor little guy is limping around with these big sad eyes. He didn't even want to walk. We came home from the birthday party and he slept for an hour and a half. This is rare because I don't let him sleep for more than 10 minutes in the day or he won't sleep through the night. I just felt so bad for the poor kid. Luckily daddy is a physical therapist and knew just what to do. After wrapping his ankle he would walk on it with a slight limp. He's such a trooper!

Memorial Day Hike

Today is Memorial Day and we decided to take our little family on a nature hike. We went down the trail by the river just East of the Bountiful Temple. It was a perfect day for hiking...not too hot, just right! It was so lush and green! Kayla had a pouty face when she didn't get her way. We crossed the river a couple times and the water was freezing!!! Right after you got out of the water your feet stung just for a minute until you got the blood flowing again. JoeJoe had a blast throwing rocks in the water.

It's Official!

Joe has a been an employee with Lakeview Hospital for 2 weeks now...we're expecting our first paycheck any day now. He's got his new hunter green scrubs on, can you tell they're right out of the package? He looks so official in them, don't you think?

Where is Summer? More like, Where is SPRING?

It has been unseasonably cold this spring. We'll have one good day among 2 weeks of 50 degree weather. We managed to slip this good day in and filled up the pool. The water was freezing so I had to dump a couple huge buckets of really hot water to make it luke warm. The kids had a blast until they were shivering and turning purple. If only we could get more days like this before we start hitting 80, 90 and 100 degrees.
Mother nature...YOU'RE KILLING ME!

I'm slowly slipping into a depression coma from the constant overcast.

Joseph James Ruganis, DPT

After many years for undergrad, 3 years of PT school, lots of student loans, endless hours of studying and living in grandma's basement Joe has graduated with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. PT is definitely Joe's niche in life. I (Mindy) and the kids monopolized his time constantly, pulling away from study time and he still managed to make great grades and pass his licensure exam the first time around.

This is the invitation to the "Hooding Ceremony". Joe is being "hooded" below. The big shabang was at the Rice-Eccles Stadium Tower...wow! It was an exciting, amazing, incredible night!
We only had 8 tickets and three of them were for us (Joe, Mindy and Kayla - sorry Little Joe, you have to stay home for this one)...who do you take?
Joe's sister Michelle, Joe, Mindy, Kayla

Mindy's brother Marc, my mom Penny, dad Mark, Joe, Mindy, Kayla, Mindy's brother Matt

Easter 2010

Our kids are spoiled rotten. The Easter Bunny always brings them way too much and then they don't eat anything healthy for 2 weeks. However, looks how cute the baskets are...color coordinated. Pink for Kayla and blue for JoeJoe. Didn't "she" do a great job? And the kids look all cute too. :)

Little Joe turns 2!!

JoeJoe had his 2nd birthday on March 27th.
We bought this cute blue and green cake at Dick's.
What we didn't know at the time is that the cake itself was blue as well.
It tasted ok but we all had green pee the next day.

This is one of my favorite pictures of little Joe.
He has this "I'm trying not to smile"-smile.
He got this tricycle for his birthday and stuffed the backend
with his new dinosaur toys. He looked up at my dad,
all proud of himself, being two and all.

New Kids Pictures

Every Easter I get new pictures of the kids taken. This year I was so sad because Kiddie Kandids had closed down and they were my favorite. So with a heavy heart I took them to Target Portrait Studios. They turned out pretty good. Here are some of my favorites.

Dad's Surprise 60th Birthday Party!

For my Dad's 60th birthday this year (April 4th) we decided to throw him a big surprise dinner. We reserved a room at Ruby River in Ogden...his favorite restaurant. All of us with kids got sitters...YEA! No Kids!... We all arrived early to set up. We had party hats, fun straws, party bags, confetti (all put together by my sister Michelle). My sister Marie put together a fun photo of the six siblings and we had it framed with a big matte. We each wrote a tribute/letter, etc to my dad on the matte. Something to remember each one of his awesome kids. :)

Something that we did for my mom's 60th birthday and decided to do again for Dad's 60th birthday was that we put together a fun DVD of pictures set to music.
We gathered pictures back to when they were kids and scanned them.
It's a little lengthy so that's why it's not posted here.
Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

~ The Whole Family ~

My nephew Mack was blessed in January.

It was the first time in a very long time that our
entire family was all together at the same time.
We got a snapshot of all the grandkids and the entire family.

These are all the grandkids. They look like angels but they aren't.
More like wolves in sheeps clothing.
This is my entire family!
And it is one of those moments when I am caught on camera
showing one of my most prized expressions...annoyance.
Whatever happened to 1...2...3...Flash?!?