Photo Shoot

We have some good friends that are staying in the same place as us up in Park City.  (See "Woods" on my sidebar.)  Anyway, the mom is good at all kinds of stuff, including taking pictures.  One night while soaking in the hot tub she happened to mention she was doing a little photo shoot for her family.  I asked her if she would be willing to snap a picture of our family and she was so kind to say, YES!  It was the easiest family picture we have ever had.  The setting up here is so pretty that you can pretty much take a picture anywhere.  I didn't have to stress over what to wear (since we are on vacation I had to go with what we had packed) or dread the photo shoot for weeks.  (Yes, I usually DREAD family pictures.)  She just told us where to be the next day, and wham bam, we were done.  And amazingly ALL the kids cooperated.  I haven't seen the final product yet, so I guess I shouldn't be TOO excited, but they are done and I am thankful!  After the photo shoot I decided to take individuals of the kids with my camera.  I was low on batteries and light, but it worked out.

 I just thought this one was funny with him squinting due to the blaring sun. 

Joshua

James

Michael

Mom:  "Luke, hurry, come get your picture, the sun is going down fast!"  

Luke:  "Look what I found, Mom!"

"Okay, fine, I will let it go.  I thought we could bring it home with us."  (As if we don't have enough tumbleweeds in Idaho." 

Luke, so excited to have his picture taken.

Annie, not in the mood for another picture.

Didn't even try with Sophie.  Not worth getting out of the carseat!  

And that's a wrap!

Conference Weekend

It has been a great weekend.  Of course, General Conference was inspiring and the new age for missionaries is exciting. (The age for young men was lowered to 18, and for young women to 19).   I had a "human" reaction at first of, "No fair, I wish the age would have been 19 for me!"  I saw a few others "lamenting" the same thing on Facebook.  Then I thought of all my friends that joined our Church later in life and have told me more or less "No fair, I wish I would have had Primary and the youth programs you had growing up, I would have been able to avoid so many mistakes I made in my youth."  I also thought of those who waited for years to have the full blessings of the Gospel and to be able to hold the Priesthood.  My mind then jumped to the Pioneers who could say a big "NO FAIR" to just about everything we have now....."No Fair that we didn't have cars in our age...it sure would have made the whole march to Salt Lake thing a LOT easier."  Anyway, I am VERY excited for all the young folks that will be able to serve missions right now. It is truly an exciting time and I am thrilled and grateful for the exciting news.

Here are a a few pictures I snagged off my iphone.

So sad, Daisy kept trying to hide from us when we were trying to get out of town.  I swear they know they are getting ditched for the family vacay.  As we were running around the house trying to find her on one of the occasions,  I could relate more and more to the Romney's strapping their dog to the top of the car.  All these people that mock that plan clearly don't travel with a big family.  Strapping the dog on top of the car seems pretty darn compassionate.  At least they took the dog along on vacation!  

 \

I took these four on a little hike this afternoon to get out of the condo.  It was a beautiful day!  This picture is high on the dorky scale, but they are my kids, so I still think they look cute. 

Annie, always willing to strike a pose at any moment.  No editing this sky...it was so blue and the leaves were so beautiful!

I just thought these pictures were funny.  I walked in the house and Annie was laying on the couch like this.  She is often doing various gymnastic moves on the couches so I thought she was just resting.  Then I realized that she had actually fallen asleep!  The pictures don't capture how funny she looked!

I wonder what the kids would think if they came home from school and found me sound asleep on the couch like this.  (Especially with the skirt up and all.)  Seems kind of tempting.  Speaking of sleep, I need to get some!  Good night!

Party Time

I never posted about Michael's actual birthday celebration.  I must say he had a pretty sweet birthday.  I don't even have pictures of everything he did.  Sometimes I feel like I need to document it in case these kids try to claim they never get anything...I can pull up these pictures for PROOF!  (Ok, that sounds a little crazy, but today was one of those days that I heard a lot of, "You guys are so mean!  You make me work so much!, poor me, blah, blah blah.  The kids are out of school for a couple of days and some how the few jobs I gave them seemed to RUIN their life!)  

On Michael's actual birthday we had donuts for breakfast, he brought treats to school, and then we had Trout for dinner.  That night I took him on a little date to Target and we stopped by Sonic for treats.  It was fun to spend that one on one with him!  

 The next morning we had his birthday party at the zoo.  It was a perfect morning for a party! Some of these guys were a handful, but I think they all had fun!  The zoo was perfect for a birthday party.  

We did a scavenger hunt around the zoo, played some games, and had a special visit from a giant penguin. 

Michael has never liked cake and isn't even a big ice-cream fan.  A few weeks before his birthday he went to a party and they served cake from Sam's club.  He told me that he decided he liked cake...it was the BEST cake he had ever tasted.  Thanks a lot buddy, glad you like those store bought cakes and not the HOMEMADE ones.  I don't get it, but I got him one from Sam's Club to celebrate the big day because what is a birthday without a cake! 

The zoo also came by with an animal to share with the kids.  

It was a great couple days and Michael milked the "but it's my birthday" for at least a week!  

Friday I hosted a surprise birthday luncheon for my sister.  I don't know how well we pulled off the surprise, but we had some great food and it was fun to visit with all her friends.  

Jennifer's wonderful neighbor and friend, Heather, made these cupcakes and I think I just might have to post the recipe.  They were so good and looked so professional!  They were perfect. Everyone helped with the food.  

Menu:

Chicken Salad Crossants

Chips and Salsa (From her favorite restaurant)

Fruit Salad

Southwest Chicken Salad

Strawberry Limeade

The most delicious pumpkin cupcakes with fluffy cream cheese frosting

Heather holding another friend's baby. 

The twins were looking so cute at the party!  They are so curious and enjoy exploring everything.  

The ladies...

I asked my mom to bring a few framed pictures of Jennifer to put around the house and she brought all these.  It was awesome!  (I don't know if Jennifer appreciated this part of the luncheon...some of the pictures were not her favorites.)  It was fun for everyone to see her through the years though! 

My favorite.   

Annie was bummed she missed most of the party. She was at Preschool.  She was mostly devastated that she missed the cupcakes.  (That is why I need that recipe!)

And that's a wrap for the birthday parties.  

Happy 40th Birthday, Jennifer!

Jennifer is the oldest sibling in my family and she is paving the way for the big 4-0 today!  I swear it seems like just yesterday that we were talking on the phone and chatting about how we couldn't believe she was turning 30.  I had fun going through some pictures of us through the years. 

I thought this one of us was especially appropriate.  We are living in Leavenworth, Kansas I believe.

She must have been just four years old in this picture of her holding me.

The three sisters...Jennifer, Heidi, and Natalie (looking dazed and confused).

Jennifer and Heidi looking so cute!

My mom still has these costumes at her house.  They have sure gotten a lot of use over the years.  I thought they were so risqué back in the day.

This is our family when we lived in Alabama.  Man, my parents look so young!

Lookin' good in Germany.  (I bet you totally could not tell that from the picture!)   We are proudly wearing our drendel dresses.  I love all the facial expressions going on with us girls.  David looks the most normal.  (If you can call wearing lederhosen normal.)  

I sure have a lot of funny pictures of us all around Europe looking pretty much like this.  Mom...I am digging your hair.  I am not quite sure what I am doing, but I do remember digging my sweater vest at the time.  You  know what the problem with pictures nowadays is?   We take like 200 pictures at each event and delete the bad ones.  Back in the day you got what you got, no retakes.  It sure made for much funnier pictures!  Anyway, as you can tell this is at the border of Czechoslovakia at the time.  (Obviously before the Berlin Wall came down and the events that followed.)

We did a lot of traveling as kids.  I don't have specific memories of every place we went, but for some reason I do remember this day at this hotel in Holland.  I love the curlers in Jennifer's hair and I remember making sure I get those bangs just right as much as I remember the windmills. 

Jennifer was the first to go off to college and it was so fun when she would come back during the summer.  Jennifer always had the best clothes and I would beg to wear this or that.  (She has been known to make me do crazy things and fulfill her every wish to borrow an item of clothing.)  She had a plethora of Laura Ashley dresses and the like.  I thought the dress I had borrowed in this picture was pretty much the best thing ever.  I have a confession...I wish they would come back in style!  What could be better than a tent dress?  PS We are just being silly in this picture, but I am not sure quite what we are doing. PSS I am also not sure why I would want tent dresses to make a comeback.  Look how big my booty looks and I think I was probably about a whooping 100 pounds in this picture.  Wearing a dress like that now could be dangerous.

Jennifer was also the first to get married.  It was all so exciting as a younger sister.  Being a younger sister is so much fun.  Watching the older sisters go to prom, be on the drill team,  and do all these major events first is almost as much fun as doing it yourself.  They always seemed so much older and so "cool".   They know all the cool songs, the cool movies, and they have all the cool clothes.  If you want specifics-Cool songs that remind me of Jennifer would be: Chicago, "You're the Inspiration", Lots of Erasure songs, "Take me up to the Spirit in the Sky", and so many more!  Cool movies?  That's easy, "Pretty in Pink"!  Cool clothes?  Esprit, Benetton, and of course Laura Ashley. 

The five of us on the big day...

It was always fun to come back to Idaho Falls for holidays when I lived in California and our older kids were little.  I guess we thought we were pretty special here because not only were her two daughters matching, but so were we.  :)  

I love this picture of her with our Great-Aunt Louise.  

Jennifer also came out to California to visit on several occasions.  This was taken at Avila Beach near San Luis Obispo.  Warning: Pictures resembling a beached-whale ahead.  

For vanity reason I must keep this picture small.  I am HUMONGOUS and very pregnant with Luke.  The only reason I included it is because A) It is Jennifer's tribute and she looks tiny and cute B) It shows us giving each other a hand, helping one another out and THAT is what sisters are for!

Jennifer and Heidi at Bear Lake with a bunch of our kids.

Here we were earlier this year at the Romney Rally you can read about back here.  All these months later and the first debate is tonight!  I can hardly wait!  

It is fun living near Jennifer now because we get to see each other all the time!  

Happy Birthday to an AWESOME big sister!

 Thanks for always leading the way and setting such a great example for all of us to follow!  We love you lots and hope you have a wonderful 60 years to come! 

XOXO

PS Thank you to my awesome husband for scanning all the old school pictures!