Beware....this may take a while

I know I am behind AGAIN..... we have been pretty busy over the last few months. We had a great summer. It all started off the day after school got out. We drove to Arizona for Bristol's family's reunion. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins. We even managed to get a family picture with the entire Rhoton family. This hasn't happened in years....

I know this is a small picture but it is the best I have....

We also received a family pass to Thanksgiving Point...needless to say we spent most of the summer there. We were able to take many friends and neighbors with us.....

Sydney had an eventful summer....She turned seven and finally lost her first tooth...She has been waiting for two years for that to happen...It was her top tooth. Since August the count is two teeth now...

Kaley also had her fair share of adventure this summer....We had our first broken arm...yes Kaley broke her right arm, just above the wrist. She was riding her bike and fell off. I was so upset about the fact that she wasn't wearing a helmet and had her one day old glasses on that I wasn't too sympathetic about her arm. After a few hours of complains about her arm I told her I was going to take her to the doctor.....Well she begged me to go. I felt like such an awful mom. It was broken and had to be casted for six weeks. At least she had a cool pink cast, and it was even waterproof. She went swimming and all.

The kids are having another great school year....Kristyn is in 6th grade....how is she that old? Kaley is in 4th grade, Sydney in 1st and Blayne is in Kindergarten. I love having all four kids in the same school. I feel like a spend most of my time at school. I am there so much the principal actually asked me if I wanted to work there. Maybe next year I will take him up on that.

We have a new addition to our family....We received Max on July 14, 2009. He is the cutest dog ever.....even when he is chewing on my shoe and tipping over the trash can....I kids saved up for almost three years for a dog....We are having so much fun with this little guy.

Seriously...So Blessed

I am almost overcome with emotion right now. I am wanting to share my feelings without sounding sappy or whiny. My family has been so blessed lately. Not that there hasn't many bumps along the way. But blessed in a way of feeling peace and comfort. I truly love this life. We are blessed with the opportunity to come to earth, gain a body and increase in knowledge. I am blessed with four amazing children, who I can learn from and hopefully teach them in return. I want to live me life in a way that through example they may gain their own testimony. May days I know I fall short of this, but I have been blessed with tomorrows. I have to chance to wake up and start all over. I know Heavenly Father is mind full of us. I know He hears our prayers. I am thankful for the knowledge I have that families are forever. I am grateful for my trials, I would not want to trade them with any one else's.. Heavenly Father knows what I can handle, even though at times I am not quite sure...Through the experiences I have had my love for my husband has grown. It has brought us closer together, when there were times I felt like everything else was falling apart. I just feel like I need to be thankful for the time we have together on this earth, try to remember that everyday is a gift from a loving father in heaven...I am seriously so blessed......
Please continue to pray for our sweet friends the Huish Family. (sadiehuish.blogspot.com) They are amazing examples of strength and courage...I have learned so much about enduring to the end from their sweet little girl Sadie. I am thankful for the opportunity I have to know them and love them.

Game of Random Catch Up!!!

I have been quite a slacker lately. There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to let alone spend time updating my blog...after many comments from friends and family I am finally going to update...Just a warning this will be the longest post ever!!!! (4 months of catch up)
In March I was able to go to a baby shower for one of my best friends in High school. Two of my friends flew up from Arizona to come. If was tons of fun..I haven't seen these girls in about ten years..They haven't changed a bit..Me on the other hand..quite scary...None of them had any children yet compared to my four...I blame my weight on that. It was wonderful to see them and catch up on their lives over the last few years.

In March our family had the wonderful opportunity, like many of you did to attend the Draper Temple open house... We had the last appointment of the night. The temple was amazing...such a spirit of reverance was there. I am so grateful for the chance we had to be there as a family. I hope our children left the spirit there. I want them to feel the importance of the covenant that we make at the temple...I know the kids were grateful for the cookies at the end of the tour.

On March 24 Blayne turned five years old...I truly can't believe my baby is five...He has grown up so much over the past year....he went to preschool (without me) he already knows what he wants to be when he grows up...can you guess?.....A fireman...we visit the local fire departments on a regular basis (at least twice a month) He can't wait to get up in the morning at work in the yard. He mows the neighbors lawns already as a little side business to earn money for his mission and his own riding lawn mower.....I just love this guy...I couldn't ask for a better son...Happy Birthday Blayne

We spent most of spring break in the hospital. Blayne had two seperate surguries. But before his long stay in the hospital we took the kids to Salt Lake to see the sites on temple square. We went to the conference center, and the museum of church history, the temple visitor center. While at the visitors center the missionaries had us think of a name of someone who may be interested in the church....We all thought for a while then Kaley came up with one of her friends names....We are happy to report the family is interested in the gospel and are wanting the missionaries to visit them...She is such a great missionary already in her youth, much better than her mom is...
I need to learn from my children's examples and not be afraid to share the gospel...

Pony Express put on a production this year of Seusicall the Musical. Kristyn played the part of a "Who." It was a great show. It was a story about the Cat in the Hat and Horton, who heard the whos. The kids sang and danced...the teachers who produced the show put in hundreds of hours of work to make the show come together...It was an amazing show...I watch it all three nights. People who came to watch the show for many different places all agreed it was the best elementary play they had even seen, it even out did many of the community and high school productions around...Way to go Kristyn...You were awesome!!!

I know we are already three weeks into our summer break..but here are some picutres of the last few days of school.
Sydney's class did a bat man dance for the last day of school..super cute.
Sydney's LAST bus ride...She had the sweetest bus drivers ever...She called them Grandma Jill and Grandma Sally...We couldn't have asked for anyone better, they were so loving and kind. Sydney got tons of cuddles and hugs on the bus.

Blayne also was able to ride the bus this year..even though his preschool was three houses away..his bus driver was Mr. Earl..Each morning Blayne was able to shut the buses door...He thought his muscles got bigger each time his shut them.
His teacher was a big cow girl, which Blayne loved.....on the last day of school she brought her horse for all the kiddos to ride...Blayne didn't want to get off...

Can I just say.. Kaley had the best teacher ever!!! After a very rocky start to her third grade year...we switched her classes and she loved it...Mr. Morley was just what she needed...He showed so much love for his class...He helped Kaley gain a love for school..Thanks Mr. Morley!!!

Kristyn had another great year...like always she never has to try too hard, school comes so easy for her. She scored in the top 1% in the nation on her testing..I am not sure where she gets it..Smarty pants!!! She made so great friends that continue to fill up her social calendar this summer...
We have had a great couple of months. Our family has been truly blessed...I will try not to get so far behind on our life...thanks for reading the post that never ends.

Pay It Forward...

I got this idea from my cousin's wife...she is such a cutie.
SO--Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!
It sounds like a fun idea so I thought I'd give it a try too...thanks for playing.....

I need to brag... just a little........

OK it just isn't fair, how can my sister look this good the day after having a baby?

On Thursday I got a call from my youngest sister Kelsey..she was scheduled for her regular Dr.s appointment earlier that day.. She called and said "it's a girl." Well of course she is... We have known she was having a girl for a few months now...She said no, she is here.. she has a little bit of hair and blue eyes... I was so surprised. ..Aly Jane Wiedmann was born two weeks early....Lucky duck Kelsey...She is just perfect! I was able to go see the baby on Friday night.. I even got to hold her for a few minutes before her mommy wanted her back.

Isn't she the cutest thing?.....I know it is shocking how much she looks like her favorite aunt Lindsay isn't it???

You really need to shave

Every time Stephen or Kurt see Blayne they tell him he needs to shave. They tease him that he can't go to primary or preschool unless he shaves. So this year for Christmas Blayne asked for a razor. We found one for him that even came with a small bottle of shaving cream. As soon as he opened it he was upstairs shaving. Then he came in and asked me if he had missed any spots. I told him to looked great, I mean how much harm can be done with a squishy plastic razor. He loves it though... He still is shaving every day.

Christmas at Grandma's

What a great Christmas we had this year. Ashley's family came up to spend the holiday and help watch my kids while Sydney was at the hospital. Ashley's girls are so much fun. Sydney had a great time with Hailey. They were best buds. I love it when my children get to spend time with their cousins. They don't get to see many of them very often. I wasn't good at all this year with taking pictures of Christmas. I remembered my video camera but forgot to bring the regular camera over to my mom's. On Christmas Eve we all spent the night at my mom and dad's house. That way in the morning we could all open presents together.

Sydney.. Our little trooper

The Tuesday before Christmas Sydney went to Huntsman for more testing. They did a PET scan, which is a specialize test to check for lymphoma. Whoever scheduled Sydney's tests forgot to schedule with the anesthesiologist. The testing required her to be enclosed in a tube much like a CAT scan, only it lasted over three hours. The doctors like to patience to be asleep because it is just to hard to lay perfectly still for that long and not get scared being enclosed in the tube. Since there was not an anesthesiologist we could either reschedule (which meant after the first of the year when we didn't have the insurance) or try the scan with her awake. Sydney said that she wanted to try, she knew she wasn't suppose to move. She was so brave, she didn't even cry when they started her IVs, (even though the took it out and forgot about that the radiation need to be by an IV too) so they had to start another one. I wasn't even allowed to touch her because the radiation levels they injected into her body were so strong it wasn't safe for me. The doctors let me go in the scanning area to be with her. I wasn't able to touch her for the entire three hours, but I talked to her. We told stories and sang Christmas songs. I cannot believe how great she did. She never moved...not even once. After I was telling Sydney what a great job she did and how proud I was of her, she told me that Jesus had helped her be good, and also the fact the Santa Clause was coming the next day... I am amazed with modern medicine, although I wish doctors knew everything. There are still things that remain a mystery even to the doctors, at those times all we have is to trust Heavenly Father and remember that he loves these sweet little children just as much as I do and He knows how to help them.

Student of the month

Sydney has been waiting for me to post this for over a month now. She is so proud.... Sydney was the student of the month for Meadow Elementary. The school only picks one student per grade level. Sydney was chosen for the first grade. We are so proud of her. She is doing so well in school. Her speech is improving, and she can say so many new words in sign language. She goes around the house finger spelling words. It is great to see her learning how to sign and knowing how to spell words. Sydney has such a sweet spirit. She is so kind and gentle. What a blessing she is to us.

Am I really THAT old?

I am a month behind, again... But on December 15th Kristyn turned eleven. Can she really be that old? She planned her own party. I didn't even know about until a few days before. She invited only a few girls from school, then a couple more showed up. All the girls sang songs with the Karaoke machine. It was so much fun to listen to the music and watch the dancing.

Blayne thought the singing was just plain to loud. This is what he was doing most of the time.

We had a great time, it turned out to be such a fun night. Kristyn is such a responsible young lady. She is such a great helper to me. Sometimes I think I rely on her a little to much and forget to pass more along down the line to her sisters and brother. Kristyn is a strong girl, there isn't much of a grey area in her mind, things are either right or wrong. I never have to worry about Kristyn making the right choice, she knows what she believes in. I'm sure that will be a problem as she gets older and doesn't agree with her mom, but for now it is a great asset to have in our family. Happy Birthday Kristyn!! We love you.