Family is Forever

I have wanted to write a post dedicated to my sister Noelle for a long time but just have been able to find the words to express how I truly feel. Words just feel like they can't do her justice or fully express who she was to me.

I know she is close and watching over us all but at times it feels like she has disappeared into thin air. Too often, Heaven seems so far away.

She was the best daughter, mother, sister, friend and teacher anyone could have asked for. Always serving and never complaining! I really feel that was her motto. I'm so Thankful for the example she was to me and for the unconditional love she showed me.

I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for sending me the best big sister anyone could ever ask for. How grateful I am for the gospel in my life and for the knowledge I have that one day I will see her again. I can't wait until that day(although, I'm not ready to leave this earth quite yet) but know it will be a joyful day when I can finally embrace her in my arms and tell her how much I've missed her.

I hope she knows how much I looked up to and admired the person she is to me. She truly was inspiring to me and all that knew her. LOVE YOU FOREVER & EVER NOELLE!

Kindergarten 2010

I can't believe I have a Kindergartner! Ashlyn started Kindergarten the beginning of September. Since we started later then most of her cousins and friends she had be anticipating it for weeks. She was soooo excited when it finally got here. I guess the school usually has, "meet your teacher day" which usually happens the day before school starts but didn't this year. So I was able to go with her on her first day. It was fun to see her in "big kid" school. I am so proud of her and the beautiful girl she has become.

Oh yeah, we are so excited about her teacher Mrs. Weller. She is a veteran at the school, professional story teller, sings and plays the guitar, licensed parenting adviser and is also in our ward(which is very rare for around here)! She is wonderful and Ashlyn loves her!!

Summer FUN!

Where oh where has this summer gone........I can't believe its the end of August and school is about to start! It has been a great summer. We enjoyed having my sister Kayleen and her kids Chandler and Malia here for a few weeks. We spent many days at the beach, lake and playground. We also went to Disneyland which was a great way to end their visit. Can't wait for them to visit again soon!! Love you guys!

Backyard Lizards

We have Lizards everywhere in our backyard and we have discovered they are very social(but hard to catch). They like to peek out from under the air conditioning unit and watch the kids play. So we built a little fence around our tomato plants(to keep the bunnies out) and the lizards thought it was a new place to explore and would crawl under the fence to get in and climb through the fence to get out. Only problem was the squares on the fence were to small for their back legs to get through and they would get stuck. So Mike being the nice guy he is would have to use wire cutters and clip the fence to free them. In the process of freeing one he was able to catch it and let the kids touch it. Quincy loved touching it and guess who didn't want a thing to do with it...yep, Ashlyn!! I wonder where she got that from....not me! Ha ha ha

Ashlyn's swim lessons 2010

Visiting Aunt Kay

Here are a few pictures from when we visited my sister in Utah. Mike was out of town for work and so for the past two years we have planned to go and visit then. Thanks Kay for keeping us for just over a week. We love visiting you guys and miss you already!!

Quincy was in love with their cat Mushu. He would follow him everywhere. The poor cat couldn't eat without him in his face. He really is the best cat I ever know(and I don't like cats)!

We went to a couple of Chandler's baseball games(which by the way, was Ashlyn's favorite thing we did). He is getting to be a really good baseball player. I know that next year he will be hitting home runs and pitching no-hitters!! Way to go Chandler!