Christmas Day!!

We were very blessed this year. Not only did we get to open lots of amazing presents, we got to spend time together and with family. Each day I am amazed by some blessing or another. I don't know what I did to deserve such great children and a loving husband. More then all the packages of stuff, I am so happy we have each other to help us through this life. Each day is a gift to use as we will. I don't always use them wisely but I definately cherish each one I am given.
And I am thankful for the yearly reminder that our Savior came into the world and atoned for our sins so that through him, all things are possible. Hope is one of the greatest of all gifts. Christmas is a time for healing broken hearts and as we approach a new year, I want to go into it trying to fear God a little less and trust in Him a little more.

First Piano Recital!

Gabe and Raygen had their first piano recital on December 11th. They did such a good job. Raygen played "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and Gabe played "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". They looked so cute too! Gabe was very last and had to play his song 3 times. During the last time through, all the kids stood up and sang with him. He was very nervous about that, but did great! They really like their teacher, JoRene. She rewards them generously each week with nickels (for practicing) and quarters (for memorizing). And each month she picks a "Student of the Month". They have been it twice. They get a bag with a soda, bag of popcorn, and certificate for a free movie from the local video store. It has been great to watch them grow and learn! Grandpa Benton, Uncle Braydon, Aunt Brittney, Branson, Bridger, Uncle Brett, and Aunt Kathi all came to watch too! We are so lucky to have such a supportive family!

Christmas!!

We've started out the Christmas season with a lot of fun. While it has been hard to get in the mood this year, spending time together as a family helps. The day after Thanksgiving we participated in the annual Preston's Kids Day Parade. We had cousins and preschoolers dress up like Rudolph and pull Mrs. Smith in her sleigh. It was cute and tons of fun! Even though our red noses kept blowing down the street,we won "Most Creative" and each got a certificate for a free pizza. Then we headed to Salt Lake for the Festival of Trees. There were hundreds of cool decorated trees, a gingerbread village, activities for the kids, and Ridge even sat on Santa's lap!
This year we took the 4 wheeler up in the mountains and cut down our own tree. The kids rode behind us in a big sled and had fun shaking the snow off the trees to see if they were good. They are also old enough to decorate it now. All I had to do was put the lights on and they took care of the rest. We are trying to concentrate on positive thoughts this season and just thank our Father in Heaven for all of the blessings He sends us each day.

Baptism Bound!

Raygen is so excited to be baptized this month! She is such a cutie. I couldn't resist getting her a little white dress to be baptized in. And nothing is more beautiful this time of year then the fall leaves. So we struck out for an afternoon of amateur photography. It was tons of fun to spend time with my gorgeous, easy going daughter. She just smiled and did what I asked her too. I am glad to have gotten some good pictures to remember her this age. I may be biased, but she is stinkin' cute!!

Raygen turns 8!

Hard as it is for me to believe, Raygen is 8 years old. She counted down her birthday for days and was up before dawn waiting for us to wake up. The second I walked out of my room, she stepped in front of me and smiled. Half asleep I uttered, "Happy Birthday Ray" and she beamed. It was so cute to see her that excited. We went to church and she was thrilled that the primary gave her a pencil. (which she was throwing around and lost on top of some very tall cabinets) Then we headed over to Grandpa Benton's and Grandma Lynda's for dinner, cake, and icecream. I asked Raygen what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she told me frozen pizza. So that is what we had! Lindsey and the kids came up to help us celebrate. (We even got to see Grandma Lynda for about 30 minutes!) I bought her a fairy cake from Stokes and she got to open all her presents. She wasn't feeling very well by then and soon after her last present was opened, she started throwing up. It lasted all night. Gabe too. Not a good way to end a special birthday.
So we loaded up our puking kids and went home to watch a movie. Even with the sickness, any day to celebrate the birth of my little girl is a GREAT day! I am so glad she is a part of our family. I feel blessed each and every day that I have her!

Taking After Grandpa Benton

Raygen has a dry erase board in her room. The other night I noticed some writing on it. I asked her about it and she told me that she is counting down the days until her birthday. Every morning she changes the number so she will know when her birthday gets here. She is very excited for her birthday party and has made some REALLY big plans that I will have to help her edit a little. She is also very excited to turn 8 so she can be baptized. I can't believe how fast she is growing. It makes me so sad to watch the years race by. She is such a special girl and I feel so blessed to be able to raise her. I couldn't ask for a better daughter!

First Trip to the Dentist

So the kids and I all went to the dentist the other day. Tyson refuses to go until after hunting season. I don't know why. (I've decided just to call the things I don't understand about him "Tyson Logic".) Ridge even went for the first time. I know that he is 3 and should probably have already been to the dentist quite a few times, but his mother is a slacker. He did a really good job and was very brave. He was so excited that he got 2 toothbrushes and asked if he could brush his teeth with both of them at the same time.

We all got our teeth cleaned. Gabe is the only one who didn't have a cavity. As you can imagine, he immediately started rubbing it in. "I can't believe I'm the only one in the WHOLE family to never have a cavity! That's got to be like a record or something!" (and on and on and on) Finally I'd had enough and told him that by the time we are done with braces and jaw surgery, we could probably have paid to fix a cavity in every single one of his teeth twice. So to be quiet already!

First Day of School!

The first day of school went off without a hitch. The kids were excited to start a new year. Even Gabe said he was glad to be back to school. They both like their teachers a lot and are looking forward to lots of good times. Gabe started 5th grade with Mrs. Owens and Raygen started 2nd with Mrs. Kunz. It took a few days to get use to waking up early and homework isn't always fun, but it is good to get back to a routine.

Periodic Springs!

Before school started, we decided to take a hike up to Intermittent Springs. It is always so much fun to go back and enjoy the beauty of the Star Valley Mountains. Dad was in Afton getting his 4 wheeler fixed, so we asked him to meet us there for the hike. When we got to the parking lot, his truck was already there. We figured he had headed up without us, so we hiked up the trail ourselves. When we were about there, the kids were amazed to see our name scratched in the dirt with an arrow. "It's this way!" Gabe yelled like he had just stumbled onto a valuable clue. Around the willows sat Grandpa Benton. It was a good time! I just love that area and really enjoyed being there and sharing it with my cute little family. The spring was stopping and starting but it didn't stay stopped for very long. And the stone flies were still everywhere, which the kids thought were gross.
On the way back to the truck, we ran into my good friend Candice and her husband, KC! They had stopped in Star Valley for a few days on their way from Canada back to Texas. Talk about a random reunion! It was good to get to visit with them for a minute. And then on the way home, we ate at the Red Baron. All I can say is YUM!

Montana Madness!!

We had lots of fun visiting family in Montana this month! We went out to eat, did some shopping, went to Carousel Icecream, had a BBQ at Grandma Donna's, watched movies, took a river boat tour, went swimming, and Raygen even hosted a tea party for us!! It was a ton of fun and we are so glad Grandpa and Grandma Murphy let us come play for a couple days!

Summer-Time is Fun-Time!!

We have been having so much fun this summer! We've been busy fishing, swimming, taking rides on Grandpa's boat, having cookouts, playing with cousins, visiting Willow park, sleep overs, movies, etc. And the fun isn't over yet!! This week is the Preston Rodeo and parade. So we are looking forward to even more good times. I don't know how many times this year I have heard the phrase, "I LOVE SUMMER!!!"

The Next American Idol!

Our DVD player stopped working about 20 minutes into the trip. . . .it was traumatic to say the least. But "luckily" Ridge found a new way to entertain himself. He sang the same song over and over and over and over. I thought it was very cute--Daddy, on the other hand, only thought it was cute for the first 15 minutes.

Bear World and Yellowstone!

We had tons of fun this week. First we stopped at Bear World to make sure the kids got to see some bears. They had fun feeding them doughnuts and bread. There was baby elk and baby mountain goats. The kids loved riding the rides there and petting the animals in the petting zoo. Except for the pot-bellied pig. They were terrified of him because every time you touched him, he would grunt really loud and act like he was very mad.
Then we stayed two nights in West Yellowstone. We toured the park and got to see lots of animals. We saw elk, deer, bison, big horned sheep, a black bear and other stuff. The kids had a paper with animals on it and they kept checking them off. Every time we would see something Ridge would yell, "I need the marker!" We cooked our meals in the park and had tons of fun. Gabe loved the geysers, Raygen loved the flowers, and Ridge loved the "bubbling mud" the best. When we visited a spring called the Dragon's Mouth, Ridge was convinced there was a real dragon in there that was going to wake up and eat us all if we weren't quiet.
It is so fun to experience the world all over again thru the eyes of my children. They make everything so much more fun and humorous.

Mother's Day Card

Gabe made me a card for Mother's Day but he didn't dare give it to me until today. He gets really embarassed about all the "mushy stuff". But it was so incredibly cute, that I had to share it with everyone. And since Gabe never checks the blog, I think it will be alright. For those of you who can't read his hand writing, it says, "Dear Mom, Thank you for everything. You are very special. Your heart is as pure as a fresh water spring. Your eyes shine like twinkling stars in the midnight sky. Your voice is so pretty you call birds with it. Your so funny I love your jokes. Love, Gabe age: 10 4th grade"
I have to admit that I laughed my head off when I read it. I think we have a budding poet in our midst!!

My Little Ray

We had a fun day today at the Fun Park in Logan. Gabe brought his friend, Colton, and we had Auriana with us. But my favorite part was doing the portrait both with cute little Raygen.

Just a Reminder. . .

The past few weeks my counter tops have been full of cups of dandelions and various other "flowers" that Ridge has so proudly brought me. Today after mowing the lawn I guess dandelions were a little scarce so he started bringing me the flowers that are planted on purpose. Though I am ashamed to admit it, I cussed him for picking mom's flowers and told him to leave them in the flower beds. His cute little face dropped and his eyes filled up with tears as he said, "I'm sorry mom, I just love you." As I watched his tiny body walk away the thought entered my mind that in a year or two, the little cups of flowers will no longer sit on an already cluttered cabinet. I know that all too soon I will miss that small face looking up at me full of pride as he hands me a handful of lovingly selected weeds, hugs me and says, "These are for you, Mom!" So I have decided to enjoy each and every flower brought to me, regardless of where it came from. Because while my flowers will grow back year after year, my cute little boy will only grow up.

Hail Storm!

We have had a very wet spring so far. The other day we had a pretty good hail storm going on. Gabe and Raygen wanted to go out and play in it. I told them that it hurts to play in a hail storm. They didn't believe me, so I decided to let them figure it out for themselves. They had a lot of fun running around screaming like feral children.