24th of July

Here in Utah, the 24th of July is Pioneer Day and is almost as big as the 4th. I had no idea the date even existed as a holiday until we moved here. What a fun and great holiday it is. We had so much fun.  My Dad was there. It has become a tradition for us to spend this holiday with Grandpa. I am not sure if the kids enjoyed the fireworks more or having Grandpa there to watch with. This is the first year Josh was there to celebrate.  It was wonderful. The Mapleton fireworks were FANTASTIC!!! We will go again next year for sure and invite you to join :)

Sllllooowww Dooowwwnn

As many of you know out of the past 7 weeks we have had visitors for 6 of them. I have loved every minute of it. I love building those relationships, watching my kids play with cousins, laughing etc. This past week we had to ourselves. I can tell my kids needed it. Layla, had a hard time adjusting to sleep and by the end of our visitors REFUSED as many of you witnessed. I am pretty sure that didn't help my mono (I hope it is gone). These past few days I actually mopped my floor and folded laundry which felt nice. The other day some cute neighborhood kids set up a stand selling homemade Lolly Pops. Here we are enjoying a few on a relaxing afternoon. Visitors are great and being your own little family is amazing as well. We need a bit of both.

I love my children so much. I feel so blessed in this crazy economy to still be at home. What a blessing it is to have my two sweet children. My life has changed over the last few weeks after following this story Patrickandashley.blogspot.com of our friends little niece. Although, we don't know this amazing family personally I am in awe at these parents strength and testimony. I have never second guessed being at home or having my children, but after reading their story it gave me a new appreciation for God trusting me with these two amazing spirits. I have also come to realize that as we go through out our lives we need to do all we can to stay close to God and help our testimonies grow. We are mortal, lifes trials will come our way but so much of that load can be made lighter the closer we are to Our Father in Heaven. There is a sense of peace and comfort when we come to  truely understand Gods plan. I hope to always be worthy of such a gift.  

July Fun with The Perriton's

So the first few weeks of July felt like one big reunion. We had the chance to see a lot of Josh's family. Sondra and Joey have been here for the summer, Cale and Suzettes family came for the 4th, followed by the Bells coming and Mom/Dad in Cheyenne for Uncle Alan's and Auntie Mary's homecoming talk. Where we got to see a lot of cousins and extended family. What a sweet blessing family is. We had so much fun going on a hike with the Cale's family and watching fireworks. I had a blast planning games with sweet Maci for Summer's birthday and every time Josh's parents come to visit I am humbled to know my kids and I are blessed with such selfless and loving Grandparents/parents. It was also amazing to hear Uncle Alan and Auntie Mary's talks. What a honor it is to have them as role models. I hope to one day serve a mission with my husband. Actually, I can't wait for that day.

Layla loved sparklers

Liam fractured a little bone on the top of his foot right in time for visitors. I have no idea what happend. The kid cried for maybe 2 minutes tops...

Layla doesn't mind the dirt :)

Fishing with Grandpa

It is safe to say that Liam has the BEST Grandpa in the world. He took Liam fishing and Liam caught his first 3 BIG cat fish. He had so much fun and is still talking about it. Love you Dad and Frog Grandpa. You really are the greatest!

It's a Wonderful Life

I haven't been very good at recording the little things which are going on in our lives. Here are a few details about Liam and Layla.
Liam is such a sweet heart and has the greatest manners. He tells us often how much he loves us and how happy he is. He loves life. He has been trying to figure out how things work lately and is convinced he needs to jump into the TV so he can be with the Backyardagains. One night while Josh was with both kids alone, and Taryn (our niece) while I went out for a girls night, he was laying Liam down for bed. Liam asked him if Josh would lay down with him. Josh told Liam he couldn't because he had to go take care of Taryn because her Mommy and Daddy weren't there. Liam replied, "Dad you don't need to help everyone. You're not a super hero!" Sooo cute. He says things like that daily. We are always laughing.
Layla is a crack up. She wants nothing to do with being a baby other then her pacifier. She crawls out of her crib, refuses to sit in a high chair or booster, wants to drink out of a regular cup, buckles part of herself in her carseat, helps get herself dressed and the list continues. She is such a wonderful helper. You can ask her to clean up and that girl gets to work. One day while the kids were playing outside Layla was following Liam around cleaning up after him. When ever it is time to go she runs and grabs matching shoes for everyone. She loves to make people laugh. Her new word is "disgusting" and it is so funny when she says it. I love that little girl to pieces. She really has blossomed into the most fun toddler. I wouldn't change a thing about both my kids. They are perfect in every way and perfect for me. I hope I can make them as happy as they make us.
Josh is hard at work both around the house and in the office. He loves to study the gospel and help others. He really is amazing.
I am slowly recovering from mono. Although it doesn't seem to be getting better, only worse. Whenever I think it is gone my body tells me differently. Other then the mono June has been one of my favorite months. Josh and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. I really admire my husband and all that he does for our family. He is so selfless and humble. I can't believe how wonderful this past year has been with him. By far the best year of our marriage and it was all him. Our kids are so blessed to have such a wonderful Dad. Josh is so great at playing with them. Liam loves to play with him and Layla is a TOTAL Daddy's girl.
Also, my sisters came to visit this month as you will see in the following post.

The Fun Never Ends

The past three weeks have been so much fun, full of memories, and exhausting all that the same time. The Wells girls were together again with 6 little extras for almost a whole month. The oldest of the 6 was 3 years old (Liam). It was so much fun, crazy busy, and worth every moment.

One of my favorite sister memories was when we did a triathlon together. It was so wonderful. My sisters promised me they would go at my pace. I hadn't been feeling well for over a week and even went to the InstaCare the night prior to the morning race. We ran the whole time, biked the full amount (Tara rode a kid bike, April rode a Mountain Bike, and I rode my dads huge cross over bike), and swam with out touching the ground all with out stopping. It was the greatest. We laughed a lot and didn't get last :).

The day after the tri I got some test results back to find out I have/had mono. What a roller coaster that has been. I keep thinking I am better but then my body tells me different. Luckily, I had my sisters here to distract me from the way I felt and keep me busy. They were wonderful. I love my nieces and nephews. It was so fun to see all the cousins together. I had to distract myself from crying today when I said goodbye. It was time for me to head back home and get some rest. I hate that we all live so far apart. April is in Arizona and Tara Oregon. It just seems wrong that our kids can't play all the time and I can't have my sisters near. I hope that we can all live near each other one day. Both of my sisters are such wonderful people. Tara is so sweet, kind and talented. She reminds me so much of our Grandma with her determination. April is so funny, happy, and smart. There is never a dull moment when you are with April. They really are my best friends. There is something so special about a sister bond.

Here are some pictures of our time together. My wonderful Mom (also my best friend) planned an activity each day for the kids while we were at her house. My favorites were the bounce house and shaving cream. We had a lot of fun with my Dad (Frog Grandpa) in his backyard swimming, jumping and playing. My kids are so blessed to have the Grandparents and Aunties they have (so am I).

My favories were seeing Bryce at the bounce house and how much the sweet little boy loves his Mom. Taryn and her love for ANYTHING girlie (those of you who know Tara and Steve understand why that is so funny). Kathrine and her love for life. She is always smiling and willing to try anything. Dereck eating more then everyone combined. The list goes on. I love my nieces and nephews.

Loving Boise

We had the opportunity to go visit Summer and Jared in Boise. Everything about Boise is wonderful. Weather, city, people, and location. The cousins all played so well together. It was so kind of Summer and Jared to house everyone for the long weekend. It couldn't of gone better. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back.

For The Beauty of The Earth

I was in a bad mood this morning when I woke up to dark skies and flakes of wet snow floating down. Seriously?!?!? I was quick to tell Josh that we are moving to St. George. I couldn't handle the lack of sun the last 6 months any longer and to top it off was the end of may. But then that afternoon the guilt set in for my bad attitude. It was beautiful. I have never seen such a bright variety of colors. The white next to the blue sky and the green grass is what made it so breath taking. Had it not of been spring time when we experienced this snow the greens would not of been so green, had the snow never come it would of never caught my eye.
While taking these pictures I realized that today is much like life. We need to weather the storm. The light at the end of the tunnel is well worth the trials we face. Those trials are what make us beautiful people.
I know God will never give us a trial to big to handle.
I know it is silly of me to speak of trials when I have had such a blessed life. The few hardships I have faced I wouldn't take back. They make me who I am in today and believe what I believe.
"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: ye shall have eternal life" 2 Nephi 31:20

I wish I could have seen the reaction of my Grandma seeing what I saw late this afternoon. She was a phenomenal artist and had a true appreciation for the Beauty of the Earth. This song was sang at her funeral,
"For the beauty of the earth
for the beauty of the skies
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flow'r,
Sun and Moon, and starts of Light
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild,
Lord of all, to thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise"

For the Beauty of the Earth
text: Fulliott S. Pierpoint 1835-1917
music: Conrad Kocher 1786-1872
LDS Hymn book page 92

The Mind of a Three Year Old

So Liam has been saying some pretty funny things lately. Today, after I got out of the shower and dressed I went to sit by him he smelled my hair and said, "Mommy, you smell good. Good like a hot dog." Hmmm... Maybe I should jump in the shower again.
Some other funny things he says:
"I love you as big as candy!"
"Mom, did I lose the privledge back?" (he loses privledges for not listening)
Me: "Liam will you read me this book?" Liam: "But Mom, I don't know how to talk about it!"
"Daddy, I have a great idea, why don't you go find your hair on your mission!?!?" (Liam doesn't want to go on a mission because he is afraid his hair will fall out. He once heard Josh tell someone he started to lose his hair on his mission.)