She makes me laugh!

Wagon

Blacksmith

Nauvoo

If you haven't visited Nauvoo....You NEED to! And you can even visit us on your way there! :)

We left early friday morning and drove to Nauvoo. What an amazing experience that is. I thought I appreciated the pioneers...but after leaving Nauvoo and hearing all the stories and seeing this beautiful city....my appreciation goes so much deeper. I only hope I can be more like these amazing pioneers....like the women. They took such care of their homes, their children, worked so hard and had so much faith...despite all the hardships and trials they went through.

I am in awe of the amazing temple they built...it is so beautiful, massive and they didnt have big trucks and machinery or power tools to build it. It was all done by their hands and hard work....dedication! They had such a beautiful city and were finally living in peace. They worked so hard to build their homes....made bricks one by one. And when their home was finally finished after so much work....they had to clean it, dust it and close their doors to leave because they were no longer safe there. How sad! Yet they kept the faith. They simply believed!

I pray that I can be more like them.

I have so many pictures to share!





What is below the statue......
(click on to enlarge)

Had to add this because he is just cute!

Its been a while...

I havent posted for a while....just not in the mood lately!

My mom is here...its the first time she has seen my sweet boy Sawyer. We are having fun sewing....I havent sewn for 10 years and I am learning all over again. I will post pictures of my projects later.

For now, here is a picture of my movie star on set! J/K...They were doing a video for Ladds presentations and here he is in between filming!


I am so in love!

New Neighbor....

I saw Miles and his friend laughing their heads off at some ball thing in the road today. I went out to look at what they were doing and saw they had found a turtle. They played with the turtle for a while and then the rest of the neighborhood kids were playing with him for quite a while.

I guess the "Box Turtle" is the state reptile and quite common.

Here is the little guy....

Special Shelf

I have had this shelf for about 6 years now and just NOW put it up.....I finally decided to paint it and hang it.

This shelf is very special to me.

My dad made it for me for my birthday about 4 months before he passed away. It was a pure act of love. He was SO sick, frail and fragile. Yet he went out to his shop and made this shelf for me. How sweet and special that was to me. He was so excited to give it to me. It reminds me of him so much...carpentry and furniture was so much of his life.

I remember when I was growing up, I would go out to his shop and just sit and watch him make masterpieces. I would sit there for hours on saturdays...not saying a word...just watching in amazement that he could make such things with his own hands. One time he let me use his nail gun.

I love my dad and so grateful that I have this to remind me of him and who he was everyday.

And I love that pictures of my kids are hanging on this shelf that their Grandpa made!

Getting caught up...

Sorry for all the pictures....This blog is more of a journal for our family....thus the reason for all of the pics.

We had a fun weekend a few weeks ago....We kept it all a surprise from the kids so they never knew where we were going next....

It started out going to the grand opening of a Harley Davidson factory...one of only 10 in the US. They had all kinds of bounce house stuff for the kids to play on, mini motorcycles to ride, people doing motorcycle tricks (Miles favorite part) and you could tour the factory. It was pretty cool to tour the factory and see how they build these motorcycles from scratch, starting with roles of steel(or whatever they make it with) for gas tanks. And they even build the engines from scratch and we got to see it all. No wonder these motorcycles are so expensive and popular....

And we saw enough motorcycles in the parking lot to last me a lifetime!



Then we went to this cool little park that does train rides for 50cents a ride. The kids were so excited when they saw the train when we pulled up. I think Lauren was the most excited!


We ended the day at Old Settlers Day here in Olathe. A festival that has been going on for over 100 years consistently. We rode a few rides and it made me feel old...I was so sick after riding just 2 rides with Lauren. I was seriously gagging at the end of the second ride.....



And some pics of our cute little guy!!!!

Sawyer's Broken Bone

Sawyer broke his collar bone about a week and a half ago. He was a very sad boy. I guess it is the most common bone to break in kids. They dont cast it, just put a sling on and wrap it up so he doesnt move his arm. He was back to his happy self once he was all wrapped up.

A little update...

Its been a crazy few weeks.....I will update with pictures later on (my card reader broke and I am too lazy to actually download the pictures off of my camera...I need to get the "umph" to do it)

Quick update.....

Sawyer broke his collarbone...Sad boy...and I thought I was going to die in heartbreak for him!

I was asked to serve in Young Womens for my church (youth program) as the 2nd counselor. I am very excited and have always LOVED working in there.

My niece Nicole who was burned in a fire a few months ago is not doing too good...she is on my mind constantly, along with her parents and brother. Please pray for them if you can. Angi is one of my most favorite people and I am very close to her. I love them all and it is hard to watch them go through this.

You can read their story here http://angiandjohn.blogspot.com/

Stay tuned for some pictures...I figure if I say I am going to post picture, then I will be forced to..... :)

Some pictures this week.....

11 Years!

Where do I even begin? I dont want to get too cheesy here...

What a wonderful 11 years it has been. Ladd, you are my rock...my best friend. I am continually amazed at the love you give me, of our marriage, and how wonderful it is! I never knew I could love someone so much...I love you more than I knew I could love someone!

Thank you...

For being You!
For sticking by me through our struggles
For being an honorable priesthood holder
For being an amazing father
For being my best friend
For loving me the way you do!

I look forward to the next 11 years of marriage!

And for memories sake...here are some pictures of our wonderful day!









And in honor of our Fathers who both passed away within 2 months of each other.......

Going Private...

I really am this time! Please leave me or email me your email address!

Grandma Sue left today.....

We are sad around here....We had lots of fun with Grandma Sue this past week....it went by way to fast! We miss you Grandma Sue!

Thanks for coming to visit us and for all the fun we had! We cant wait to see you again!

Sad that she is gone!

Time Flies and School is in!

School started last Thursday for Lauren and Miles and preschool started today for Izzy Belles!

Isabelle loved it and didnt even look back at me. She seems like she grew up all in the 3 hours she was gone today!

Miles and Lauren both love their teacher. Lauren was wishing school started 3 weeks ago. I am glad she loves school. Miles has his best friend in his class which he is happy about. His teacher has 5 boys of her own! I was praying that he would get her for his teacher this year. From what I have seen so far, she is wonderful and exactly what Miles needs right now!

I am loving the extra time I have with just Sawyer in the mornings and look forward to having some time to get the little things done that have been sitting on the back burner for a while!

Sawyer LOVES his daddy!

Sawyer always loves when his dad comes home and talks to him with a voice I never hear during the day! He definitely knows who Ladd is and loves him!