28

To celebrate 28

my sweetie planned THIS super fun and memorable activity!

I had been wanting to zip through the nearby forest for some time and

it was the perfect surprise birthday gift!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... see me here when I was a wee one.

Mr. Handsome had secretly arranged babysitting with TWO other mothers who cared for our THREE little chicks while we were out.

(Thanks again Angie & Leslie, this was made possible by your willingness to watch the girls.)

In addition to the zip lines we crossed these narrow bridges which connected to various trees as we made our way through the course.

Join us on the zip line above!

Tomorrow we will celebrate Pioneer Day.

Happy Birthday Darling Daughters

Dear Brinley,

You are 6 years old now and are growing into such a remarkable young lady.

Remember when we went around the table and each took turns sharing

6 things we love about you? One thing that Avery shared was how she loves it when you read her books. You sure have become a skilled reader.

You are developing such important character qualities like humility, patience and service to others. We can see how good you feel when you choose the right and we are proud of the good choices you make!

We appreciate your diligence each morning as you complete your chore pack with a cheerful attitude and in a punctual manner. Avery is really learning by your positive example!

You are sensitive and tender to Aspen and capable of holding her all by yourself. When you see that she is fussy and hand her a toy or change her position it is very helpful.

Do you notice how she has a smile on her face when you are near her?

It's because she knows that she is safe with you.

(PS- If you click on the collage it will enlarge so you can see the pictures better)

Brinley, we are so thankful that Heavenly Father choose to send you into our family 6 years ago. We love you dearly and enjoy seeing you grow!

Love Always & Forever,

Mom & Dad

Dear Avery,

In just a few days you will be turning 3. We are happy that you wanted to have a special joint birthday party with your big sis. You sure love to be with her.

Avery, we love your sunshine smiles and spunky personality.

You like to crack lots of jokes every day and we laugh together a lot. Sometimes you feel very sad and you cry and scream, but even in the midst of your sad sounds you can start cracking up with laughter. You have an ability to pull some very funny faces too.

We are glad that you really know how to be happy.

You are learning to be responsible for getting yourself ready each morning with your chore pack cards. Even though you still need some help, we know that you feel happy when you are able to do chores by yourself and that certainly helps our family.

Mommy enjoys when we fold the laundry together. Isn't it exciting how you have learned to be precise as you fold the clothes! Now that you are almost 3 you have the opportunity to unload the clean silverware in the morning and we can see how successful you feel as you complete that task.

Sweet Avery, our family would not be complete without you and we are excited that you will be able to go to pre-school next year!

Love Always & Forever,

Mommy & Daddy

(A HUGE thanks to Dan Walton for taking such great pictures at the girls joint birthday party this week!)

Urban Iron #7

Looking through our window late at night for one week every three months you may happen upon ME...and I may happen to be memorizing every single wingle pre-choreographed second of a new Urban Iron release...

(Each page represents 1 track. Each class consists of 11 tracks.)

and I may look very tired and it may seem like I want to quit all the memorizing and re-memorizing (when we mix the past tracks with the current after teaching the new release for 3 weeks)...

and then I will wake up on Saturday morning and head off to the gym and teach this class that I love so much and feel energized by the members in class and then I will remember that this class has made a difference in their lives...

and then it is all worth it...

and then I will make more fresh pesto and mix it with shredded chicken, spinach from our local farmer, cranberries, olives, roasted red peppers and tortellini and my children will eat it and my husband will love it and then my day will be complete!

Our 4th

Daddy = Post call (that means worked all night), tired yet still happy and willing to attend out lill' local parade.

Local parade = Friends & Candy, not much in the way of exciting floats...actually no floats, but the girls loved the candy! I will forever miss my growing up 4Th experience. You would too if you grew up HERE and went to a grand parade like this!

Kids = Very cute all lined up on the side of the road.

This picture includes about half of the kids that sat with us at the parade.

Me & Miss Angie Poo

My friend Kelly created this darling star shape in her daughter's hair using

festive blue ribbon.

5pm = Rain begins to fall.

5:30 - 9:30pm = BBQ at our Pad. Six families, lotsa little ones, delicious food and no major accidents as we gathered inside for our rainy day BBQ festivities!

Culinary highlight = Homemade Creme Brulee by Cory Christensen.

He even brought a real kitchen torch to crystallize the sugar on top, then added fresh raspberries he had picked earlier in the week. It was seriously incredible!

8pm= Sparklers in the wet grass.

9:45pm = We headed off to a park close by to enjoy the city fireworks.



Above = More hair-styles this week. Simple, quick & matching.

CREATE

Things I CREATED this week:

Lotsa hair-dos...every week.

12 Birthday invitations.

Blueberry and bannana breakfast with rolled oats and whole almonds, sweet potato baby food & sweet potato pancakes. More fresh pesto with basil from our garden.

(We all created this happy little squished in the corner of our backyard garden)

The girls created "hope you feel happy" pictures for our dear Jill who will undergo

hip replacement surgery in less than two weeks.

Why create? See here!