Carter's First Day of Preschool!

Many of you know that Carter HATES his school. Over the summer (on a daily basis) we have spent a lot of time preparing him for this day. Grandpa Kemple, Daddy, and uncle Kurtis gave him a blessing, Grandpa Kemple had a special talk with him, we bought new clothes, big boy underwear (boxers), and new shoes, Whitney gave him a hair cut this morning, and I bribed him with gum. All this got him to school today with an added bonus. He has a new special ed teacher and she seems wonderful!Carter in the car not too happy about going to school.

Carter in front of his school. Yeah we made it out of the car!

Carter standing by his locker.

His teachers said he did amazing! Carter was able to tell me all about his first day of school. It was so nice to hear him talk about it. He never shares any type of information about anything so this was great. He told me that he had milk and gold fish for a snack, played inside, played outside and that his teacher told him that he couldn't run so fast only a slow run. Too cute! I hope he continues to do so well.

Janika's first day of school!

Last week Janika started Kindergarten. She was so excited and had been waiting all summer to go to school. She went for a little while on Monday and then on Tuesday through Friday they had testing so she only had to go back for a little bit on Wednesday for her testing. Janika is so stinking smart and ready for first grade! The teacher is going to gather up different work for her so that she doesn't get too bored in class. Her teacher is an amazing woman that used to live in our ward. I am so excited for Janika to have her!

This is Janika ready for school. She is covering up a wet spot that she got on her shirt when she was brushing her teeth. hahaha
I can't believe that she is going to kindergarten! Today is her first real day! She is just so excited. Time does fly!

Morgan's First Hair Cut!

On August 14, 2009, Whitney gave Morgan her first hair cut. Poor Morgan she totally has no hair, but she needed it shaped up. Whit was able to get me a little bit of hair for her baby book. She looks a lot better, but still on the thin, bald side. Whitney gave Janika and myself a hair cut too. It is nice to have a daughter that cuts hair for free! Thanks Whit!!!

Whitney's 18th Birthday

For Whitney's 18th birthday I took her skydiving! It was a long crazy day! We started off in West Jordan to drop the kids off to my parents house. Then off we went to Erda, UT to do the dive. We waited at the little airport in Erda for 3 hours before we were told that she would not be able to jump y because of the wind and we would need to reschedule. Whit was so sad she has seriously wanted to do this since she was 7 years old. I decided to go outside and call the Skydive Utah place in Ogden. I knew they were closed on Tuesday and Thursday's, but thought I would just call and see if they could help us. Guess what? They had a private group going up at 5:30 PM and said if we came they would fit her in. Wahoo! So I received a full refund and ran and picked up the kids and headed home. We arrived at home just in time to drop the kids off With Ivan and then make it to Ogden. Around 6:45 she headed off on her adventure.

This is Whitney and her tandem guy Sugi. He was so nice!

This is Whitney right before she jumped. No I did not take these photos. We paid extra (a lot extra) to have a camera guy go with her.

Yeah her parachute worked! It was a great day minus waiting around all day. We left at 10:40 AM and got home around 8:30 PM. Oh of course we stopped at Krispy Kreme on our way home.

Ivan Turns 37!

On Sunday the 9th Ivan turned the big 37. I asked him how he felt being 37 and he said that it felt like 36 (he says that every year). We celebrated his birthday with going to church (oh such fun), but seriously Whitney received her YW medallion on his birthday and it was very special. After church he was so lucky to go and tow Whitney's broken down car home. What a great day! To top it off he had Whitney tow him while he navigate Whitney's car (Uncle Kevin will be so proud). That is one perfect birthday. When he was done with that I announced that I was ready to go camping. So off he went to hook the trailer up to the Durango. Once we got to the camp site things started to go better for him "not" the kids were naughty! Ok ok ok, not all was bad. I was able to whip up his favorite dinner, smothered chicken. Just sad he didn't get to eat until 9:00 PM. Ivan is a trooper and never complains. I love him! Here are some photos of our birthday camping trip.

She has been found!

Daniela has been found. Thanks for your searching and prayers! She is safe at home with her family!

I am asking everyone to please help us find Daniella. She went missing on Monday from the Clearfield, UT area. If you have seen her please contact the Clearfield, UT police at 801-525-2806 or the Centerville, UT police at 801-292-8441.

Also if you would like to help pass out flyers please let me know and I can bring some to you. We need to get this girl home ASAP! We would also like to ask that everyone prays for her safe return.

Our new family member...

This is Maxx. He is a Silkyhuahua. His mom is 10 pound AKC registered, Silky Terrier and his Dad is a four pound pure black registered Chihuahua. He was born on May 13th weighing less then 5 oz. CUTE!!!
I am not a pet person so this is big for me. I instantly fell in love with him. I seriously don't even like to touch pets, but he is different. I keep calling him my kitty because he acts so much like a cat. I hope he can be a friend to Carter!

Fast Sunday Leaders Option....

Next week it is my turn (weehaw I am so excited) to teach Relief Society. I had this cute little lesson all planed and have even been collecting little decorations for the table. Silly me decided that it would be a good idea to actually pray about what subject to teach on. Well... I had to change the lesson entirely I could not go against the strong promptings that I had. I just finished writing the lesson and now I have to start all over. This lessons is probably for me! I have really been struggling with things lately, mostly to do with Carter. He is really having a lot of good days lately and is really being a sweet boy. It is more like I am feeling bad for him because he doesn't have any friends. I am thinking it will be a struggle for him for the rest of his life and it breaks my heart. Then today I saw on a blog something that really hurt even more and confirmed to me that Carter is an outsider and will probably always be. He has social issues with other children. Instead of saying hi to someone he will make a funny, loud noise or touch them. Other kids do not like this and I really understand, but it is just hard as a mother to watch. So I look at him and ask why? Why does this darling, loving little boy have to be so different? Why does it hurt me so much? Why are people so judgemental? I have been dealing with people's rude comments and dirty looks for far too long now. Can you guess what I will be teaching on? You got it! Trials and Adversity... I know this is really Carter's trial, but why does it feel like mine? Now please wish me luck and pray really hard for me. I am not a public speaker in anyway. When I taught the YW I would seriously have a nervous break down. Can you imagine what I will be like teaching RS?

This is my little man Carter! He is always telling me how fat I am. He didn't start talking until he was 3 and the first thing he said to me was "Mom you are fat". Standing in line for rides at Lagoon he seriously tells me you are too fat for the ride. So he really enjoys insulting me. Last night while waiting for a ride at Lagoon. He said to me "Mom you are a nice Mom and the funnest Mom". Then we went on the sky ride together and I pretended to be frightened. He grabbed my arm and put it around his back and held on tight and told me "I'll save you". I wished EVERYONE could know him like I do.

THIS LIFE IS THE TEST!

Missing Whitney

Whitney emailed me these cute photos from her phone. She is back in Hawaii visiting her Father. This time she was able to take her best friend. Lucky! She will be gone 3 weeks and I am missing her bad!
This photo is really dark but she wanted me to see the view of her Fathers new apartment.

Whit and Kort enjoying a Hawaiian snow cone. She said this was a small.

She is doing great and enjoying her vacation. She did get stung by a jelly fish, but Kort peed on her so she is much better now. Best friends are the best!

Mom and Dad's Mission Farewell

My parents had their mission farewell. They gave beautiful talks followed by a big family dinner! It was so much fun having everyone all together and the food was very yummy! I am so excited for them! They get to stay at home but will be on a full time mission. This is something new that the church is letting the Senior couples do. I wont get to see them very often. Who will help me with my kids? Will I be able to go to the doctor without them tending for me? I am sure glad for P day! I wonder who will talk to me on the phone at least 3 times a day? I will miss them, but very thankful they are not going to Africa.

A fun 4th of July

We started out the week camping in Payson. It rained a lot and Whitney and Michael wanted to go home the entire time. We did manage to have a bit of fun.
We came home for our little town festivities. Fireworks and concert in the park on the 3rd and a cute parade on the 4th. The night of the 4th we met some family in Ivan's home town and enjoyed the best firework show ever! It was a great holiday!

A trip to Logan

Michael and my niece McKoy were visiting. We decided to take a trip to Logan and do some of our favorite things. First stop Gossner cheese, Michael gave a new meaning to the word "free sample". Then to The Factory Pizza. MMMMMM... Next stop Ivan's old stomping grounds, Utah State where we enjoyed Aggie ice cream. I love to see the Logan Temple it is absolutely beautiful! Last stop Willow Park Zoo. The kids had fun looking at the animals especially the crazy peacock. It was a great day!

Whitney got her ears pierced!

Before...

Whitney was 5 years old when she first had her ears pierced. They closed up years ago. She decided she wanted them re pierced. I know I totaly embarrassed her by bringing the camera, but I just couldn't resist.

After!

It was so nice to get out of the house. I am up and walking with my fancy boot. I have been to the mall, Costco, Wally world and to the Shizzler (aka Sizzler). Some man at Sizzler told me that my shoes didn't match. Haha very funny! I am still in pain, but doing so much better!

BIG SIGH....

I am sick of sitting on this couch. I want to walk! I am having a bummer day today. I think it has finally hit me that I will be stuck on this dang couch for another couple of weeks. The kids are climbing all over me like I am some type of playground toy. The TV is babysitting them and if I have to hear Dora talk (yell) one more time I am going to completely freak. I am not taking a shower today because I do not want to feel the pain. Ivan is doing a good job keeping up the house, but it gets really dirty when he is at work. Sorry Ivan for calling you at work crying. I feel like such a baby! I can't wait for Ivan to come home with lunch! Ok I vented (I needed that).

Camping fun.. Well some of it...

The Snake (yuck)!

Waiting while Daddy fished. I played red light, green light with Janika about 50 times.

Going for little walks.

Visitors came. My parents, Ivan's parents, Kurtis, Kole, Bryce, Renee and Thomas. We love visitors! Especially ones who bring chicken and ice cream.

Snack Time.

Singing songs by the fire.


This is the trailer we bought a couple of months ago. It is a used one so we wanted to test it out close to home in case we had any problems. We went to Willard Bay about 35 minutes away from home. Guess what? We had problems that totally ruined Saturday. We forgot a funnel to add water to the tank. The thing on the hitch broke (couldn't get home without that fixed). Last of all we have a leak. Good thing Ivan's Dad lives 10 minutes away. He came to our rescue and fixed EVERYTHING for us.



Fun on the logs.

Sunday and Monday were the best. We were so happy and having fun until we had to leave. On our way out of the campground we stopped at the RV waste Dump to dump or waste (aka pee). While at the waste dump I stepped into the drain area and twisted my ankle and fell. When I fell I heard a snap. It was so embarrassing! The camp host got me some ice and we were on our way to the hospital. It is broken and ligaments are pulled. I totally can compare the pain to child birth only it wont go away.

They put me in this boot thing. It was a minor break (doesn't feel like it) so I didn't need a cast. This thing is really nice because I can take it off to shower. I can hobble to the bathroom now so I am making progress! My neighbor called to see if I had done my visiting teaching and asked me how I was doing. I usually always say I am fine to people because no one likes a complainer, but I was hurting and I told her the truth. Well guess what? My door bell rang and she brought us dinner! She even took out my garbage. I am so touched and Ivan was glad not to have to worry about cooking tonight. I am pretty drugged up right now so I had better go. Plus I have to pee and it will take me a few minutes to get to the bathroom. hehehe

UPDATE... I forgot to add that Whitney came up Saturday night and got stung on the chin by a wasp. It was bad! Good thing I packed Benadryl and baking soda. She did not come back the next day. She was done!