Temple Tour Thursday!

It's Temple Tour Thursday!!!

Dallin and Gavin are already off this morning to visit 3  different temples to perform baptisms in each of them today...

First stop:

Brigham City Temple

Second stop:

The Ogden Temple

Third stop:

The Bountiful Temple

These brothers are best friends and they LOVE doing things together...especially going to the temple!!!

It makes my mama heart sooooo happy that these sweet boys so thoroughly enjoy  doing these BEST things, and I LOVE that they love doing them TOGETHER!!!

What a blessing and a JOY. That is what this feeling is...supernal JOY.

True Beauty!

True beauty  is having the eyes to see every other human being here on the earth as the Child of God that they really are, and loving each of them as your brother or sister.

Kambriella, meet Ruby. 

She's a Child of God too, your sister, your friend. :)

After 4 and a half hours of swimming together at our friend's pool, Kambriella and Ruby are excited to go to school together in the fall! ~And to make even more friends!!!

THIS is beautiful!!!

Summer Fun at Boondock's

 After a morning of quick household chores, lunch at Chik~fil~A and a day at Boondock's was the perfect remedy for a summer afternoon!

Playing games, earning tickets, laser tag...the slick track go carts...

 ...and the Kiddie Track for Kambriella. :)

You're #1 Kambriella!!! ;)

 The boys all tried to push the pedal to the metal and had fun passing and trying to cut each other off to NOT pass...;) and Kambriella took the safe and slow route bringing up the rear of her group! Since this was her first time driving, she wanted to take it nice and slow and be comfortable behind the wheel! I only hope she is this cautious when she turns 16! ;)

 And of course when the weather is 100 degrees outside, there's nothing better than a splash of cool water...even if it comes from the blasting gun of a Bumper Boat!

 Kesslyn rode with mom and had a great time (although she joined Xaxton for the picture...)

 ...and Kesslyn REALLY just wanted to jump right in the water and go for a swim!!!

 Grandma Panter even got to join us and was able to hold her own with her water gun! ;)

We tried protecting her from getting wet...we even told the kids, "BE NICE TO GRANDMA!" But it didn't matter! The fun of shooting even grandma with a water gun was too much to resist! So, we ALL ended up pretty wet when we got out!

But guess what? It was worth it and so much fun! It felt really nice to be cooled down in the heat of the summer temperatures too. We had a great day of fun there at Boondock's!

My Family, My Greatest Blessing

 The weekend was a good one! (But then again a weekend with family to me is ALWAYS a good one! :

We took down the baby crib and replaced it with a twin bed to make Kesslyn's old room a guest bedroom for when my mom comes to visit. I felt a little ache in my heart as we did this because it really does close the chapter for me of having babies and that makes me a little sad...but only a little.

 I will miss that stage in my life, but I will always cherish the time and memories I have with the 6 children I have been blessed to rear and raise. Motherhood and especially the innocent time of infancy is truly a sacred time, and beautiful calling. Challenging and hard, and yet soooo rewarding. 

I am going to hold on to that crib though...since I am certain that there will be grand babies somewhere in my fufture! :)

Over the weekend we also rode unicorns in the pool...

 ...had Grandma Panter come for a visit, and of course had to go eat at Zupa's for lunch! ;)

 You can see that mischievous little 2 year old in the picture...

she LOVES the chocolate covered strawberries that you get with your meal at Zupa's, and so she quickly and quietly ate hers, and then mine, and then Grandma's! 

You CUTE little stinker!!! Ooo I love you!

 Gavin was also a sweetheart and gave up his ticket to the Hale Center Theater play "The Newsies" so that Grandma Panter could go, and he stayed home with Xaxton and Kesslyn and had fun with them. I'm pretty sure it was a win~win~win for everyone. :)

 On Sunday Kambriella gave a sweet talk in primary about how Heavenly Father hears and answers her prayers. Although I wrote it for her, it was real experiences that SHE is having, and they were so sweet that it brought tears to more than a few eyes of the sisters in primary.

That is just Kambriella's heart. Loving and powerful and so so good.

 She took all of the time to play with her baby sister and helped her feel the joy of a playful imagination. They were superheroes playing baseball, and then made cupcakes for a friend's birthday. It made me smile to watch them. :)

 These snapshots of life and of childhood are so priceless to me. They are moments that I know one day I will be looking back on with fondness as my children each continue to grow and leave home, and begin lives of their own...

last night as we visited with Kierra and Riley on the phone too I felt a little more connected and the togetherness that a mother always longs to have with her children. My family is my greatest blessing!  I'm excited for the day to come when I will have ALL of my children back together again. Even if it's just for a minute. Then I might feel like Kesslyn looks in this picture...a Superhero that can conquer the world!!!

Happy 4th of July!

 Our family's 4th of July celebration was soooo nice and ALL about being TOGETHER...my FAVORITE thing! We went to the Riverton City Parade that Dallin got to be in this year! (He's on the trailer wearing the white visor)...representing the student body leadership group from RHS...

 And of course when we saw the Riverton City Royalty we thought of Kierra!!!

This is the GREATEST show!!! :)

 We screamed and waved at our friends that we saw marching  in the parade... :)

Autumn Holt and Rhett Butler in the RHS Marching Band...

 We also did a BUNCH of work around the yard and house, and of course had to treat ourselves to a cookie and a soda as a reward for ALL of our hard work...;)

 We also went to the San Francisco Sourdough Pizza Company for our late lunch/early dinner, swam in the pool and played lots of games...

 The boys had a basketball shooting competition and the girls splashed through sprinklers and puddles that were forming on the sidewalks...

 ...and when I look at these sweet pictures, time almost stands still for me...

 The innocence of childhood probably cannot be depicted in a sweeter way... 

 squeals of laughter and giant grins...

 Giggles and footprints of simple things in life that bring such great joy...I want to hold on to these memories FOREVER...

 Right along with wanting to hold onto these chubby little hands that are growing up so quick!!! 

Kambriella took a minute to paint Kesslyn's fingernails and toenails Red, White, and Blue!!! :)

 When they were all done then I painted Kambriella's too, and might I add...that I felt VERY good from all of the complimenting that I was getting from Kambriella..."Mom, you are SOOOOO good at painting fingernails!!! Now I know just where Kierra and I get all of our talents from!"

If that compliment doesn't make a mommy feel good, then I don't know what will!

Feeling gratitude for me and for my freedoms always comes right back to counting my blessings, recognizing God's hand in my life, and trying to serve others and give back in any way that I can. I know that the debt that I have to repay will never be fulfilled, but as long as I'm alive I will try to do my best in every way that I can. I am grateful for this land of freedoms...may God continue to bless it and those who lead it, and the people who call it home!

Happy Birthday America!

A "Big Brother" On Trek

Dallin experienced Trek last week... and had those real life meaningful testimony building experiences...

Including the "big brother" role played by Pierce Schouten, one of Carew's best friends! Dallin shared his testimony on trek that largely had to do with his big brother Carew that is out on his mission... and having a "big brother" to fill those shoes meant so much to Dallin .❤

24 Years!

 July 1, 2018 was the day that Clint and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary!!!

Whaaat??? WHERE has the time gone??? Oh wait, that's right...it has gone into building the BEST memories, traditions, and lifetime full of love EVER!!! :)

I feel very fortunate, blessed, and HAPPY to have had this wonderful man by my side...he is HAPPY, funny, loving, attentive, talented, spiritual, CONSTANT, and devoted...and he LOVES me like crazy!!! ;)

We make THE BEST team.

 We went up to our cabin on Friday night, just the 2 of us and spent the night. We stayed up late and watched a movie and the BIG bright full moon up in the sky...

Saturday we went out for a ride for the 1st time ever in Clint's new side by side!!!

I'm pretty sure we had about an inch of dirt caked on our faces when we got back...;)

 We rode about 50 miles down Skyline Drive in Sanpete County, and the views were breathtaking!!! 

 We ate lunch at a local diner...had cheeseburgers, fries, and a shake, rode past Huntington Reservoir and a few other lakes...

 We had fun just exploring the trails and taking in the beauties of God's country...

 And I'm pretty sure we were as high up on the mountain as you could get!!! It was fun and I loved being "side by side" with my sweetheart and best friend!

 Back at the cabin we washed off the side by side, gave the horses some fresh water, and got ready to head back home...

 And even though these horses do not belong to us, it sure is fun to see them and have them there!

 We stopped in at the Olive Garden restaurant for our anniversary dinner on the way home...salad, bread sticks, and shrimp appetizers and kiwi melon and strawberry lemonade's...

 ...with salmon and zucchini for the main course!

We had a slice of Black Tie Cheesecake on the house for dessert too!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend! 

Thank you for everything that you do for me and for our family...I am so grateful that the Spirit whispered to me so long ago that YOU were the one I was to marry...I am soooo glad that I listened and it has been the best decision of my life. YOU have been the greatest gift to me and I can't wait to spend eternity with you!!! 

I LOVE YOU!!!