Embrace LIfe!

So lately I've been thinking a lot about life. It's so often that we get so caught up in the normal routine of our busy days that we forget about the most important things and really what we should put on the top of our priority list.
This picture is the only picture I have of Payton out of his "one year" pictures that I took. Why??? Because I hadn't had my digital camera too long before I took these and I was loading all of them on my in laws computer. (It was a lot faster and newer than ours at the time). I had printed this one picture out for the grandparents but hadn't burned a CD of the rest. Somehow my mother in laws computer got a virus on it and there was no way to recover the lost pictures. So yes this is a scan of the original, and it's a picture I cherish.

On this memorial day we will be thinking and reminiscing of our great memories we have of our sweet little angel boy. I miss him so much and always wonder what he'd be like today. But, I am so thankful for the 14 1/2 months I had with him here on this earth. He really was an angel! I also think about Payton and how I really need to reach out and go the extra mile in service to others, studying the gospel more, and always living and doing things that allow me to grow and strengthen my testimony. (sorry I'm getting a little deep here)

So embrace life, get your priorities in order, and learn from my mistake and make sure you burn all of your pictures onto CD's before you erase them off of your memory cards. (since pretty much everyone shoots digital now).

My next goal is to take all of my CD's and thousands of pictures and have them printed. I'm embarrassed to admit it but I've hardly printed any of Bailey's or Beau's pictures. They are all on my external hard drive and on CD's. So lets print and preserve our memories. This post was mostly for me to give myself a good kick in the pants to get myself started on scrapbooking and organizing again. So... thanks for listening.

My Li'l Cowboy!

Here's a little sneak peak of some pics I did of Beau. If you want to see more go to my photoblog.

Bailey & Beau in the dunes!

We went to the Sand Dunes last weekend and I took some of the cutest pictures of my kids. You'd never know they were really dirty and the wind almost blew us off the hill. They didn't last too long but long enough to get some good shots. I'll post some more later when I have time. I'm swamped with graduation pics, weddings, families, kids, you name it. I'm going crazy but it's also a lot of fun.

A little late, but well worth it!

I'm a few days, and a few months late on this post.
First, a few days late from making a post about my mom on mother's day to say how lucky I am to have a mother who is not only my mom but also my best friend. She is the type of mom and grandma anyone would ever wish for. She has taught and still teaches me so much about life, love, education, the gospel, parenting, and pretty much anything. (Jeremy says that she's the smartest woman he knows and that she needs to go on "Are you smarter than a 5th grader", or "Who wants to be a millionare", because she'd bring home a million with her brains.) She is always there for me whenever I need her, or just "want my mom".

She's the best Grandma because she loves being with her grandkids. When she doesn't see them for a week or two she calls and says that she needs a Bailey and Beau fix, and she gets it. She (& my dad) kept the kids this past weekend for us while Jer and I went on a little overnighter in Midway for our 7 year anniversary, (hopefully another post soon to come). It's nice to not have to worry about your kids and know that they are in the best hands.

Second, my mom graduated with her Masters from USU this past December. I've been wanting to do a little post about how proud of her I am for her accomplishment. She never ceases to amaze me. She's an amazing teacher not only to her 4th graders, but also to her children and grandchildren.

Mom, I love you and hope you know how much. Happy Mother's Day!

Beau's party!

Here are a few pics from Beau's birthday party. I'm surprised he didn't get sick, he ate so much frosting. Beau is such a sweetheart, he's always smiling, and super happy, I love him so much even thought a little bit of an aggressive side is coming out. (click to enlarge the collages)



Beau and Noah, their cousins and only a months apart.

Happy 1st Birthday Beau!

For any of those who missed the news clip last night,
and for those of you out of state, here is the link
to view the video of our interview.
I thought they did a great job getting their point
across about Spot the Tot!  It was informative,
respectful, sentimental, and very touching.

When you open up the news website the video is
on the top right, just push play!

http://www.kutv.com/content/news/specialreport/story.aspx?content_id=51095dba-dbc1-4ccc-8691-13b1c1f7629c&articleID=38705

Payton still touches lives!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Channel 2 news came out and interviewed us about our experience with our sweet angel boy, Payton. At first I was fine with sharing our story with everyone, my first thought was "of course, I will do anything to help make people more aware when backing up. If we tell our story maybe it will help someone else not have to go through the same pain we did." Then, as it got closer to them coming for the interview, I started second guessing myself. "Do I really want to do this, it's not going to be easy, maybe I should call and cancel." Well, we ended up doing the interiew, and it went a lot better than I expected. It was still hard, very emotional, but in many ways therapeutic. Shauna Lake was the one who did the interview and she is very personable, nice, and easy to talk to. The interview lasted over an hour so I'm not sure what they're going to share on the news, or what direction they'll go with it. It's also about making people more aware of "spot the tot" a program that has been started to make people more aware of their surroundings when backing up, anywhere. So, we'll see.

The way I look at it is, this little boy has touched so many lives already, when he was here on earth and since he left this earth, so why not share his story and let him continue to touch people.

IT WILL BE AIRING ON TUESDAY, APRIL 29TH ON THE 10:00PM NEWS. I'm a little nervous to see it because when you all see it, it'll be my first time seeing it also.

Here's a picture I love of Payton, he just looks so sweet . It makes me think of him looking back at us to let us know he'll always be watching over us.

Trip to Texas!

So, my Mom, me, Bailey, and Beau all made our way to Texas this last weekend. If you didn't know I was born in Texas and have to make it known since I am a 7th generation Texan, and proud of it. (For you Lali) We call my grandparents Lali and Pop and it was so good to see them. I have the best relationship with them and talk to my grandma about at least once a week.
I'm so glad I was able to take Bailey and Beau to visit their Great Grandparents. We had a great time! (Get ready this is a super long post)

I love this shot I got of the 4 generations of us girls!


Bailey and Beau just checking out the grounds around the Retirement Community where my grandparents have moved to. It's a really nice place that is well kept and we know, that they are well taken care of.


Pop and Me!Lali and Me!

My beautiful little girl!
Lali enjoying holding Beau while he's still drinking his bottle. He doesn't hold still long so we had to take advantage of it .
Pop with Beau
Pop giving Bailey a sweet little kiss on the cheek! Precious
Bailey, just watching some cartoons, in my Uncle's old rocking chair!
Mimi (my beautiful mom) and Beau on the plane.
Bailey and Trinity (her new friend she met on the plane) watching Mariposa.
Out back again, Lali and Pop just loved watching the kids.
My handsome little guy, he's so close to walking, but not quite.

80's Dance Party!

Here are some pictures from the most memorable "High School" dance ever. From couples pictures, to karaoke, to slow dances, the Chicken Dance, Electric Slide, and Boot Scootin' Boogie, to memories made, and memories reminisced, to the "Name Game", and Dippity Doo, it was such a fun night and it wouldn't of been the same without all the friends that came! Thanks to everyone who came to "relive the 80's" and broke it down on the dance floor. You guys are the best.

This is a poem that one of Jeremy's good friends from High School wrote for him. Whenever we get together with his high school buddies "40" always writes and shares the best poems.

What Used to Be Is Now

by Jeff Forsyth aka "40 OZ."

What used to be Friday football at MV field

and Five Buck pizza for our meal

disecting frogs in biology

and trouble not mentioned

or we'll be booked at county.

Is Now

Sippy cups full of juice

Happy meals and terrible two's

Elder's Quorum makes you think

Dirty diapers really stink

And all the rest that plays this game

Thirty years is still the same.

Some has changed and some has not

and Peterson is still on top

Terrific wishes to you from me

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

Jeff reading his poem he wrote to Jeremy along with the "keg" of root beer that he put his own label on, titling Jeremy and the "Diamond Player". That's another long story.

My HOT birthday boy in his 80's gear!

This is one of the few ways I get in a picture, to take it myself. Jer and Me and Misty and Me.

An irresistible photo I had to take of Daddy (Mike) dancing with his baby girl. (Sawyer)

Thanks for remembering some of the traditional and "not so traditional" high school dance poses. These a hilarious, and may I say I think I'm much happier with the styles now. I know a lot of the 80's styles are back in, but some of these we're pretty extreme but the night wouldn't of been the same without the 80's attire. Thanks for dressing up everyone! (almost)

You have to click on the images to look at the outfits closely. You have to no tice the side ponytails, bright lipstick, big hair, leg warmers, tight jean shorts, pegged jeans, loafers, jelly shoes, bandanas, vests, and much much more.

A little bit of Karaoke from Jeff "40 OZ", and Pete joined by some break dancing by Shawn.
A little more karaoke from the girls singing "Girls just wanna have fu-un!" And some of the boys singing "Pour some sugar on me-ee!"

The decorations, the food, and the friends who made it so much fun!

Everybody dancing the night away. I was afraid nobody would dance but that wasn't a problem especially with my brother Shawn leading everyone in the "African Anteater Dance" from Can't Buy Me Love" Pretty dang funny!

In the bottom picture look in the background on the right, yep that's Mike doing a toe touch. I got lucky to catch him in the air.