So you think you can dance!

This was my first season of SYTYCD and I loved it! Going to the concert was the icing on the cake. I haven't yelled that loud in forever. I totally loved every minute of it!! I went with Dan, Angela and Melissa and met Heidi, Jolynn, Brad and Suzanne there. Brad took all the good pictures with his incredible camera, but I managed to get a few before my camera battery died.

Aside from loving the season, I think Hailey was the biggest fan. She watched and re-watched each episode. To this day, when she hears any of the music to one of the dances, she can tell you who danced it, what costumes they wore and even some of the judges comments. He very fav was Bleeding Love with Chelsea and Mark. I think I agree with her!!!

The kind of person I want to be...

I was blog hopping this morning and came across this quote by Margorie Pay Hinckley on my friend Lora's blog. Lora, I have to say, is one of the most inspiring people I know so I wasn't surprised to find it there. I loved this quote and it really hit home for me so I'm stealing it to put on my blog. I want to remember it and try to apply it in my quest as a mother, wife, sister, friend, etc... I've read some of Sister Hinckley's books and just love the example she was to all of us. What a wonderful Christlike person she was. I will always remember her and President Hinckley and their dedication to the Lord's work.

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived. " — Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Primary Childen's...Take Two

McCall finally had her surgery to have her ear tubes removed last Thursday. She was scheduled to have it the same day as Tanner in August. But, overnight, she had got the stomach flu. Anyway, Tanner got her up to speed on what would happen (toys, games, slushies...pretty much an amusement park in their eyes.) I am so grateful to the doctors and nurses there that make the experience so positive and even fun. McCall did fabulous. She made a hospital buddy, played with the doctor tools, picked her sleeping smell, rode in a wheelchair and a wagon. I think we are done with Primary's for a while and are grateful to be in good health.

Remembering...

I know all of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 2001. I know I do. This now part of our history should never be forgotten. We took the kids to the fields of flags in Sandy last night to talk with them about what happened and why we are at war against it. It was pretty amazing to see the tribute that it is to the military troops and to the fallen people in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It was certainly a reverent feeling and it gave us as parents a good chance to remember those events, and talk about our country and this history with the kids. Hailey and McCall were most interested and touched by what they saw. The most touching aspect for Hailey was seeing the Flag of Honor. This flag has printed amoung every white and red stripe all of the names of people killed on 9/11. I don't think before then she recognized the whole magnitude of this terrible tragedy. On the ride home we talked about how important it is to tell each member of our family how much we love them. We never know when it will be our time to leave this earth and we want our family to have no regrets in saying, "I love you" enough or treating each other with love. I am so grateful for the country in which we live and for our freedoms. They don't come free and we owe that to faithful and dedicated men and women who are willing to fight to keep them. We can, in a small way, repay them by never taking their service and our freedoms for granted.

Our family standing in front of the Sept. 11, 2001

field of flags and picture of Statue of Liberty.

All of the kids standing by the flags to honor our fallen

heros who fought the war against terrorism.

Stoney and Hailey looking at the Flag of Honor.

Change of Seasons

I am a definate summer lover and am always sad to see it leave. I really dislike (that's an understatement) being cold, so summer is the best for me. But, I would truly be sad without being able to experience all four seasons. All of them definately have their own good points. Our earth is incredible and I feel truly blessed to be on this beautiful planet that Heavenly Father has created for us to enjoy. I'm trying focus on the things I'll look forward to as summer passes. The days of baking, hot cocoa, warm soups, jackets, cute boots, cozy blankets, the crisp smell in the air, beanies and scarves, football games (did I just say that), family get togethers, the holidays and the list goes on. I'm going to try to be positive as I have to put away my shorts, flip flops and swimsuits this year. There is so much to love with every season.