Happy Father's Day Dad!

I feel that I owe so much of who I am to what you (and mom) have taught me.

Thank you for showing me how to forgive and let it go.

Thank you for teaching me to "give it away." It has helped me to apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my own life and find peace.

Thank you for insisting that I not fight back.

Thank you for believing in me- that I can be anything I want to be!

Thank you for supporting me in all that I have chosen to do. You have always been there cheering on the sidelines for me- whether in sports, dance or life.

Thank you for your wisdom and guidance and listening ear.

Thank you for wanting us to all get along. I am so grateful for the wonderful friendships that I have with all of my sisters.

Thank you for gentle reminders to eat and get some sleep and life won't look quite so bad!

Thank you for teaching me to enjoy life- whether it is a night out on the boat, $6 burger night, or a walk on the beach there is always such a wonderful feeling when we are together as a family!

Thank you for your example of caring for those around you. Between you and mom- you really might save the world!!

Thank you for helping me to be better and try harder. I still have a long way to go, but amazing examples to follow!!

I love you,
A

Just keep swimming

just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming

Annie in her first swim meet of the year!! She took first in her first race ever! (she swam the back stroke as part of the medley relay!) And then she took third in the backstroke!

Could Ashley's dimples be any cuter? Our cousin Ashley swims with the 6 and unders and this little firecraker took first in both of her races! Way to go Ash!!

Back at it!

Well after the stomach flu tried to wipe our entire family off the map during the month of April, we have had a super busy May!

Here's a little of what we have been up to:

Annie had a singing performance at school. Here she is with her cute friend Noah.

Annie had her 1st piano recital. She had only been taking piano for 6 weeks and she did fantastic!

Annie's 1st grade class performed the opera that they wrote and have been working on all year.

Kate turned 5 and has turned into a wonderful 5 year old! Love how helpful and fun she is. We took about 10 kids swimming for her party so sorry no pictures I had my hands full!


Kate and Annie played lots of soccer. Annie is a super-star! Kate is starting to get the idea of the game but her team had a rough year. They were 0-8. I guess this is a good time to teach our kids it's more important to play your best and play fair, because Coach Dan was pretty discouraged.


Many thanks to all those who helped with the kids at practice and games while I was working!

Meg has found that the pair of Red Cowboy Boots finally fit and somehow they match every outfit!

Kate graduated from Preschool. We heart Ms. Wendy.

Sorry about the flash but I wanted to include the picture of her entire gown!

Kate and Grandma Mushie!

Kate & Anna.

We went swimming in grandma's pool. And Meg has already mastered the art of lounging by the pool and relaxing with a diet coke.

We finished the west side yard. Dan built stone steps and we finally finished the landscaping.

We also took down our dying Birch Tree. Complete with ropes and chain-saws. The boys had a lot of fun, but unfortunately no pictures- we were too busy trying to be safe.

And my sisters Ashely & Courtney and I pulled off a major dance recital for our "small" dance studio. It was amazing! All the dancers were fantastic, and the music and costumes were great! It was a difficult task for me to be studio owner and mom but my kids were great and thanks to the help from Aunt Lauren doing hair and make-up I was able to pull it off. It really could not have turned out better!

And just Saturday night I hosted the annual work Chief BBQ. which meant a long list of house projects to finish! Thanks to Dan who still thinks it is fun to paint with me into the wee hours of the night. Check out the transformation of our patio furniture!

It used to be a pinkish red now a very cute green!! oh! it's good to be back!