Kay's 15th Birthday

The day started early with her friends waking her up in the wee hours of the morning and over to the Spencer's for a special birthday breakfast.

Look how happy she looks already

After school, she and Taegan practiced their mad driving skills around the neighborhood in Bloxham's golfs cart.

A special note from Taeg's

The Birthday Girl!

A 'blue-eyed' penguin from Brenna

Crest white strips - this girl loves her white teeth

A black-eyed something from Lindz

Not sure if that pattern is apparent yet, but Kayla loves things with HUGE eyes - the bigger the better

The present of the night - I knew she'd have a great reaction, so I tried to be ready to capture it

Still freaking out.....

Her very own Polaroid camera. She was sooo excited!!

We love this girl soooo very much.  She adds so much joy and an amazing spirit to our family.  I can't believe it's been 15 years since she quickly and quietly came into this world on what was supposed to be a 'practice push' - no doctor, no hoopla, just a calm, quiet baby bringing heavenly love into this world.  That's how she continues to live her life - no flashing, tries to avoid the spotlight and any hoopla about her talents and accomplishments, just quietly and consistently sharing love and goodness with those around her.  Love you K-Bear!

General Womens Meeting

Got to spend this night with Mom, Rachael, and Sage, her roommate down at BYU.  It's not often we get this many Webber, Holt, & Miller women together, but we're glad when we do.  It's been fun to include all girls ages 8 and up in the General Women Meeting, and feel like there is much to gain from learning from all of the Auxiliary leaders as well as from each other.  

Sweet 16/15 Birthday Party

Kayla and several of h er closest friends, all have birthdays within a week of each other, so they decided to combined their party's into one BIG SWIM PARTY at our house.  The only difference is, all of Kayla's friends are turning 16, while she is turning 15.  So it  was a Sweet 16/15 Party for these cute girls.  The party started in the pool, but ended in the basement.

Kay & Taegan 

The Birthday Girls - Taegan, Kayla, Makenna, & Mia

Next week these girls will all be driving and dating, and next year, Kayla will join them. This is one of the only times that skipping a grade can kinda stink, but Kay's good with it.  She'll get a lot of rides and dating advice from her 'besties'. 

Johnson Wedding

Today was Jill Johnson's wedding.  Stacy, Scott, Jason, and Jill will always have a special place in our hearts as kids we babysat often when they were young and Curt and Tammy will always be role models and people who impacted our lives by their caring and kindness towards us.  Jill is such a beautiful girl, inside and out, and she and her new husband Andrew seem very happy together.  We want nothing more for the Johnson kids (now adults), as well as our own kids, then for them to be truly happy and include the Lord in their marriage through sacred temple covenants.

The girls were happy to see Jenna again, as was I.  There is a special bond between namesakes.  I hope to always live in such a way that she can look up to me and desire that we both use our names for good.  I just never imagined her name would be known by millions of people.  

The Johnson and Anderson kids will always be special to us, and we love seeing them grow up and begin family's of their own.  

Brenna's Off Track Fun

Getting her toes painted Halloween orange with a black flower

Visiting the  pet store, but walking away with No New Pets

Movie and special movie treats

Playing at the park.  This was my favorite by far.  The weather has been so nice lately and it's fun to have parks all to ourselves. 

Homecoming -Senior Year

Aubrey's last high school Homecoming dance.  Crazy.  She looked beautiful and radiant.  

Her date was Brennan C. They have been friends for years and have so much fun together.  

We love having Brennan over at our house and appreciate how he treats Aubrey and all of our girls with kindness and respect.  The older our girls get, the more I recognize and appreciate kind young men.

Aubs and her friend Haili, with her date Caleb. 

 I'm going to share a part of the night that was meaningful to Robert and I, and something I hope the girls will reflect on as they read the blog (which they read over and over and over again).  As parents gathered for some of the pre-dance festivities and pictures, we had several parents comment on how much they appreciated Aubrey's modest dress and how beautiful she looked - and she did!  Modesty  matters - Modesty makes a difference. She knows and understand who she is a Daughter of God, even a Royal Daughter, and because of that - Her spirit and confidence shine bright.   True beauty is found in virtuous living and we could all see this is her tonight.  

Here is an article that I love about Noelle Pikus Pace and her decision to be modest "at all times and in all things, and in all places".  

http://ldsliving.com/story/76839-lds-olympian-faced-with-modesty-dilemma-at-photo-shoot

Aubrey's Swearing In

As Aubrey enters her senior year of high school, there are going to be a lot of  'lasts' for her.  Tonight was her last 'swearing in' as a member of the Sandy Youth Court.   

Youth Court is something she is really passionate about.  You can read more about it by searching 'Youth Court' in the search box located in the upper left corner of the blog.  Look at that grow up girl shaking hands with the City Judge.

We are so grateful for the opportunities she has had to serve in this capacity.  She loves Youth Court - she loves the peers she serves with, the youth she mentors, and the adults advisers and law enforcement that teach and mentor her each week.  The Sandy Court House has become one of her homes away from home.

Emi Solo Time

Year Rounds School.  As with most things, it has it's pro's and con's.  We loved when they were little and we could travel together a lot at off-peak times.  Now that we have 2  high schoolers and a middle schooler on a traditional schedule, those travel opportunities are gone, but I still enjoy the breaks the younger girls get throughout the year.

This school year, we went one step further, and placed the younger girls on different tracks.  So not only are the older girls on a different schedule from younger ones, now not even the younger ones attend school at the same times.  Sounds confusing, but it'snot that bad.

The main benefit: 1:1 time with Emily for 3 weeks (followed by 1:1 time with Brenna for 3 weeks) and this cycle repeats itself every 9 weeks.  These past few weeks Emi and I have enjoyed pedicures, a movie theater all to ourselves, lots of walks with Odie (including the one where she found the dead worm in the shape of an E) and some yummy lunches and afternoon treats.

Though October 6th will be the first day that all 5 girls are officially in school this year,  this one on one time with Emi (and then Brenna)  makes it ALL worth it.

Moab Slideshow

Labor Day Weekend we like to get away, have fun, and plan goals for the upcoming year. We try to do something adventurous that pushes us a little and builds confidence in knowing "We Can Do Hard Things". The past few years we have gone up north to the mountains near Park City, but this year we decided to head south to Moab. 'Adventure is Out There' and we found it in Moab.

Cliff Jumpers

The waterfall and cliff jumping in Moab reminded everyone of our cliff jumping in Guatemala. It was fun to be out in nature this weekend to enjoy time together and the creations of this world. What an amazing and beautiful world God created for us.

Click on box in lower right corner to enlarge videos.

Moab River Rafting

Our Rafting Adventure with Ean.  

Click on box in lower right hand corner to enlarge