The Dance Festival

It was Awesome to see 11 different countries coming together dancing on the same stage!!
Dimitri trying to teach me to dance
Dimitri teaching Jocey a traditional Greek dance
Playing Bocce ball in our dead grass!
Greece dancing at the opening ceremonies

We had an opportunity to be involved with the International Dance and Music Festival this year and it was an awesome experience. I was the housing director for the country of Greece and we housed two dancers from there as well! Vangelis is 17 and Dimitrios is 15. This was their first trip on an airplane and first time to the USA. They were so great, we had a fun time getting to know them and watching them perform, the kids loved them and we were all so sad to see them go. Here are some highlights from their visit. We'll definitely do this again next year!!

Yellowstone

We had such a fun trip to Yellowstone with Papa, Grammie, Auntie Lele, Kaleb, Riley, and Bella. I was lazy and Haley took all of the pics from the first day but here are some highlights from our 2nd trip!! Thanks for everything Dad and Linda, it was full of memories we'll treasure forever!!

Stitches

I am way behind on my blogging!! We'll see if I can catch up!! We got to vacation in Island Park with my parents, Sister, and her beautiful children. We were there for a week and got to see Yellowstone twice, shop in West Yellowstone, roast marshmallows, play games and have fun, all except Thursday. We were actually planning on going to Rexburg to do a session at the temple but Jerrod woke up early not feeling well and was throwing up all day long (be glad I don't have pics of that!) While he was sick in bed, JJ threw a temper tantrum and flung his body forward, hitting the metal bedframe with his head. Haley and I left all the other kids and Jerrod with Dad and Linda and we drove down to Rexburg to have him stitched up!! I'm glad Haley was with me, she was so calm and clear-headed, she got a pocket full of Jelly belly's to keep JJ distracted and was a HUGE help- thanks Sis!! JJ was wrapped like a mummy but ended up staying so still while he got three stitches right between his eyes!! All in all it was a fun vacation, just a little more stressful than I'd like!!

J on the 4 wheeler

J borrowed our neighbor's 4 wheeler and equipment to tear up our backyard and get it ready for seed. He did a great job and looked hot on the 4 wheeler!!!

I love my Hubby!!

My husband is WONDERFUL!! I love him soooooo much. He is my support in every way. He knows when I've had a bad day and takes the kids when he gets home. At times he makes dinner when he gets home, even though he's been at work all day; he surprises me with my favorite treats- ice cream or McDonalds french fries; he gets excited over things like, the olympics, our garden, singing phone messages; he is kind to others; is always willing to serve; always has a big smile on his face and always wants me to be happy and succeed in all the random things I undertake. Thank you for being you, I love you and am immensely proud of the man you are!!

My body is a temple.

So Jayden got some Shrek tattoos for his birthday and I put them on the kids, they thought they were great and I thought they were fun, until.... Jocey started talking about getting "real" ones that don't wash off. I had a talk with her about how our bodies and special, sacred gifts from our Heavenly Father and we should treat them like temples. I'm not sure if any of it sunk in. After our talk I told her to go up to Daddy and quote a line from one of our favs, "Sons of Provo" and it went like this- Jocey: "Daddy, my body is a temple and you ain't got no recommend"
Jerrod: uncontrollable laughter then, "Did Mommy tell you to say that?!!!"
Oh well, maybe I'm fostering the idea of permanent tattoos with fake ones, maybe I'll be regretting it when my kids are 18 and their bodies are pierced and tattooed!!!

My big boy is 3!!

I can't believe our oldest son is 3 today. For breakfast I read him parts from his birth journal and it seems like just yesterday I was screaming in pain at the hospital waiting for that little booger to get here!! He is such a good boy, we are very proud of what a loving heart and kind soul he has. For his special day Daddy surprised him with a decorated kitchen and chocolate milk with the traditional maple bar! Then we took the kids to play at the splash park, ride the carousel, lunch at Dirty Ron's, presents when Daddy got home from work, cake, and a movie night!! Wheww we are worn out but it sure was a fun day!! Side note: I asked him what he wanted on his cake, Lightening Mcqueen, Spiderman..... he thought about it and said, "High School Musical" I said, are you sure, and he said, "High School Musical!!" Our family is hooked on HSM and obviously so is our 3 year old son!!!!