GRADUATION!

One step down... a few more to go.

Michael graduated with his Associates of Nursing on July 21. Yayyyy! We are so excited that he is finished with the nursing program. I am so grateful that he was accepted and that he was blessed with the opportunity to attend school at BYU Idaho. Michael has 6 more online classes to take before he gets his bachelor's and then we will be finished with this leg of our journey. After that he will work as an RN for a few years and then it will be on to CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) school.

If you read this Michael, I LOVE YOU! and I'm so very proud of you. Thanks for making my dream of being a mom and wife and having a cute and happy little family come true♥

 BYU-I Center

 Mallory and me

 Michael on the big screen (tiny in the corner)!

 With his empty diploma case

(diplomas are in the mail:):)

 woot!

 Michael's mom was able to come be with us the week he graduated:)

Our cute and happy family.

The Weekend

I have been the worst ever at blogging lately. I have lots of great stuff to blog about (well, I think it's great) so I'll be going backwards for the next few posts. We will start with our most recent escapade.

We left for Utah after church on Sunday to visit Michael's sister, Erica, and her husband. They were visiting his family in Utah and we were NOT about to miss out on an opportunity to see them! We stayed with my aunt and uncle, Amy and Clark, and we got to hang out with some of my very cutest and most favorite cousins, Raquel and Nicole. We met Rhett and Erica at Cabella's (Michael's favorite sporting goods store!) and then we all went to temple square. We didn't spend as much time there as I would have liked to but that's okay. We enjoyed the company we were with:):)

 Here are the cousins at Temple Square. Somewhere I have a picture just like this of me and my cousins:) so special.

 Erica, Rhett, Michael, and Kaylee

 The Tabernacle.

 One of my most favorite rooms ever in the world.

(everyone made fun of me for looking like Katniss in my green tunic. I should have carried a bow and arrow with me!)

 On the way home we stopped to visit my grandma's grave.

 My Uncle Matthew is buried here too. How I adore him. Here we are between his headstone and my grandma's.

 My grandma loved to sing and to be sung to so we sang I Love to See the Temple, I am a Child of God, and the Barney Song (I love you, you love me) to her and Matthew.

 Michael took on the role of "photographer". So here we are with our singy faces (and MESSY hair!). He was a little self-consious of his images but I think he did a fine job!

and here is a picture we took of him today for a nursing application. I just think he is so adorable.

outtakes

I haven't been doing a very good  job recording the funny things I hear my kids say. It's not very much, but here's the latest.


{Riley: "Mom, I see your beddy button.
Me: "You do?! What does it look like??"
Riley: "A snow cone!"}

{Riley: "Mom, your breath has stink in it."
Me: "eeew! What does it smell like?"
Riley: "Salad milk!!"}

{Riley: "Mom, when we go to Grandma's can I bring my Mister... Tiny... Tiny..... Little.. Little............ Teddy?"}

{Lily in the car: "ugh. It's soooo hot in here! I can't even smell."}

{Michael as he was going to bed: "Lily, will you please shut the door all the way?"
Lily (in her sweetest and most concerned voice): "Are you sure you're not afraid of the real dark?"}

{Kaylee (before getting in bed): "Wait. Mom. First I want to teach my ninja moves. Because, did you know? I was born to be a ninja."
Lily: "Well, I was born to be a spy! Hiyaaa!" (complete with a leg kick)
Riley: "Well I-eeee was born to be a princess."}

{Lily was renaming her nail polish colors. Here are my favorites:

Strawberry Shortcake's Bluest Sleepover Night
Orange Blossom's Oranges
Rapunzel's Sparkling Night at Her House on Her Birthday
Hello Kitty Accidentally Put Fingernail Polish on Her Lips Red}

a child's prayer

I love listening to Kaylee say her prayers at night. Here is the middle of tonight's prayer:

"please bless that I don't cry for my bunny at church {it died a few days ago:( }

please bless that we don't fight over the scooter

please help us not to fight about our toys

please bless that we can live in a house with stairs when we get enough money

please bless that I can get a kitty

please help us to stop climbing on the counters"

Kaylee's prayers are so cute because she really thinks about what blessings she would like to ask for. Her prayers are anything but generic. Oh, and a few weeks ago she prayed every night that she could be as fast as Sonic. I just love being her mom.

raspberries

I wanted her to blow raspberries and all she wanted to do was wave.

She's just the cutest.

a birth

All the way back in May I had the opportunity to photograph my friend Natalie as her baby came into this world. It was an absolute privilege! I have never witnessed a childbirth before (other than my own children!) and it was such an amazing experience. The peace and the calm that entered the room as soon as that baby was in his mother's arms was tangible. I was a blubbery mess as I was taking the photos. The nurses were all looking at me like I was a crazy person because I couldn't stop oohing and ahhing over the baby and tearfully saying over and over how perfect he was and what a miracle it was and what a fantastic job Natalie did birthing her baby (without any pain control, I might add!).  It was so amazing. There is nothing in this world as special as the birth of a baby and I am so fortunate that Grant and Natalie let me be a part of such a special experience. I truly feel honored that I was able to be there. I will never forget it. Thanks so much Grant and Natalie!

Meet cute little Theodore:

Father's Day (um, just a little late)

 Our Father's Day Display that we set out for Michael to wake up to.

(Lily's card, Riley's, and Kaylee's)

 The moral of this story is to do pretty dress pictures before church. That way you get to capture Kaylee's cute hair, Mallory's cute headband and shoed girly feet. 

 This is what we made Michael for "Fothrs Day"

My bff Mandy and her bf Matt came over for dinner that night. Poor Tay broke his radius but he has a super awesome cast now. We love our friends.

Ironically, none of the pictures in this Father's Day post include the father of our family. But BOY do we love him! My girls have they best daddy and I'm suuuuch a lucky woman to have him as the father of my children. There aren't children in this world who love their daddy more than our girls love theirs:)