Cookin' with Gramps....

Tessa has always my biggest helper in the kitchen and this day was just like all the others. I was making a salad for a party and Tessa was right there ready to help me measure things out. Gramps and Nana were over for a quick visit and Tessa was sure to make sure that Gramps was a helper too. Those two together are so funny!

A few of my Favorite Things.....

One of the coolest things I do with Andy's mom and sister's is Favorite Things. We get together once a year and give each other one of our favorite things from the year. It can be anything from a candle, lotion, make-up, a rug, jewelry, etc. This year we went to a restaurant in Layton and had dinner together and exchanged our favorite things. We always have so much fun laughing and talking. This was a super special time though because it is when La La officially announced that she was pregnant!! We were all sitting there crying and she told us the great news. I love these ladies and I am so grateful for them in my life. I always look forward to this day every year and appreciate so much the things that they choose as their favorite.

Super slipper slide....

Sometimes when we go to Utah, it is hard to see everyone that we want to.  We had a little extra time this visit to see friends.  The Starkey's hosted us at their house and the Hooton's and the Lauder's came also and we had a super fun party.  We ate some pizza and then we went to a giant hill by their house and Brian set up a 100 foot long slip n' slide!!  At first we were all a little scared, but after Andy went down and injured his tailbone....we knew it was safe!  The kids had so much fun, the laughing that was going on was great.  The first time I went down with Carlee and I didn't start at the top, we started from about halfway down.  It was so fun and fast!  The worst part was at the end when you would slide across the grass from going so fast.  

It was just such a great day to see some great friends, catch up, and just have fun!!  Andy and I have been so blessed over the years with some amazing friends.  

Grandma Faye....

While we were down in Utah we wanted to take the kids to visit Grandma Faye.  It is always hard to go to the nursing home, but it is always worth it.  The kids were great and Faye was so excited to all of us, but most of all the kids.  She is always extra excited to see Andy, she just cries whenever he is there.  We just sat and visited for a little bit and all of the kids had some time to sit in her lap.  Grandma looked great and seemed to be doing well.

Tessa's 4th Birthday Celebration....

Tessa was so excited when we told her we would be heading down to Utah over her birthday. To make it super special for her we took Tessa and all of her cousins to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. Everyone met at Grandma's house and Andy and I loaded everyone up and headed down. The kids were all so great and just so happy to be together. They all just love each other so much. They really do grab each other and jump up and down with excitement sometimes, it's too cute! We had a great time walking around looking at all of the awesome animals. Tessa loved seeing the little baby chicks. I think her favorite part was going on the pony ride though. She had the biggest smile and felt so big on the horse all by herself. We also went on a wagon ride together. It was also perfect weather, we got there nice and early so it wasn't too hot yet. When we were all tired out from the Farm, we headed back to grandma's. Andy went and picked up pizza for all of the kids for lunch. We opened presents and had doughnuts instead of cake because Tessa loves doughnuts! I cannot believe Tessa is 4. She is such a sweet fun girl with an amazing laugh. We are so lucky she is a part of our family. Love ya Tessa May!!!

 

Fun Discovery....

So, we have lived here for a couple of weeks now and I had no idea how close we were to Clark's Bay.  It is a lake just 10 min from our house!  It is so gorgeous and a super fun place for the kids.  They have a roped off area for the kids to play and so we bring floaties and shovels etc, but it is also big enough for boats and wave runners.  I am looking forward to a great summer here!

Carlee helping Marin in a floatie.

Porter playing.




I love happy playing kiddos!

A trip to fid a river.....

Andy has been dying to get out on the river since moving to Montana which has been rubbing off on the kids. Andy had the day off so we decided to go on a little drive and try to find some place to take the kids fishing. Driving around here, I still cannot believe that I live here, it is just so pretty, and the mountains are so huge and great to be around again. We only drove about 30 minutes before we finally deicided where to stop, there are so many fishing pullouts here that it was hard to choose. We didn't catch anything but it was soooo fun just to be out in the sun on the river playing and throwing rocks in the water. Oh, and of course Andy tried to scare us all when we were leaving by running and screaming back to the car saying that he saw a bear! Gotta love him for trying.

   

Porter's Baptism

Porter's baptism was so much more than I ever imagined it would be. We spent the morning with the family just hanging out and getting ready. Andy and Porter woke up early and went to get Porter a haircut and to buy some tighty whities for underneath his baptism suit. When we got to the church a little early and got all settleted and Andy took Porter to change into his white suit. We spent some time outside taking pictures of him and Andy and then headed into the church for the program. Porter was lucky enough to share his special day with another child in our ward and their family had some great speakers. Then we had a very touching musical number by Erin and Lauren and then it was off to the baptismal font. The spirit was just so strong and I was so touched to see the two most important boys in my life in the font. Porter gave me the cutest smile and the tears filled my eyes. I could tell after Porter came out of the water that he felt special and realized how important that moment was. We all went back into the chapel while we waited for Porter to change and get dry. I had a moment where I looked around and I was so touched to see all of our loved ones there amd I was so grateful for those who came to support Porter and our family on such a special day. Porter and Andy walked in and they both looked so handsome. When we were all settled, we gave some time to any who wanted to get up and share something about Porter. KayLee got up and shared some special memories of Porter and gave him a quilt that she had made him to help to always "comfort" him. After KayLee spoke our new Bishop got up and spoke to us and it was so nice. He made me feel like we were truly home. We ended with a prayer and then headed out for pictures. It was such a great morning and so much more than I was prepared for. I am so proud of Porter for choosing on his own to be baptized in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is such a good kid and I am so looking forward to the man he is going to become.

Pre-Baptism pics






Post-Baptism pics


Porter with Nana and Gramps


The Coil family

Being silly.

Andy's Aunt Christime and Uncle Glen came from Bozeman.


Andy and I with our boy.


A big kiss at the end of a great morning.

Love you Porter.