Happy Birthday Emma!

 This is the first time I have been on my blog for a few months.  I have had a lot going on and just did not feel like sharing everything with the world. But, I do want to share these fun pictures from Emma's birthday.  We had a blast.

 The day began with a surprise breakfast from Emma's friends and ended with a crazy, wild, fun party of 14 year olds.  Thank you to Tara, Jenni, Cordell  & Josh for all their help pulling this thing off.  We could not have done it without you.  Best part of the night?  The candy bar game...especially when Cordell decided to make it "interesting" and threw in a $10 bill at the end.  Those kids went nuts.  We thought we had recorded it, but it never came through.  Too bad, because it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. 

I have to say, I absolutely LOVE teenagers.  They are so much fun and even funnier to listen to.  Jenni & I were dying of laughter at the things these kids were saying.  Great night :)  Happy Birthday, Emma!!! 

Disneyland

 A couple of weeks ago Emma, Tara, Aubri, Jenni, Dayna and I all went to Disneyland.  It was magical :)  This was the first time Emma and I had ever been there and that made it even more fun.  The only bad part about the trip was the weather...108 degrees with 78% humidity...nope, not a typo :/  Dayna and Jenni are the Disneyland queens and knew everything that we should do and when and how to do it.  I could not have had a better experience.  

Here are a few photos from the trip:  

Jenni, Emma, Tara and Aubri on It'sA Small World ride--Aubs loved it!  

 Emma with Eyore...kind of.  We did not want to stand in line for a photo, so we got creative.  Emma's hair is wet from the Splash Mountain ride.  We told her she was lightest so she had to sit in front - ha!  

 Aubri devouring an ice cream treat.  It was sooo hot and she was so good.  

 Waiting for one of the parades to begin in California Adventure.  The parades and the shows were my favorite part of the trip.  

 Emma pushing Aubs through California Adventure.  

 Emma at the end of the first day.  She was wiped out!  Dayna and I outlasted all the young gals and ended up staying at the park from open to close everyday.  

 All decked out for Halloween...

 The young Jedi in Training show...so cute.  They called little kids from the audience to train to face Darth Vador in a fight at the end.  One little gal burst into tears when she saw Darth Vador--so funny.  

 Emma and Jenni

 Poor Aubri trying to cool off while she slept.  She was such a trooper.  

 The last day there Dayna bought us matching t-shirts so we could look like twins.  We got a lot of looks and by the end of the day it finally dawned on us that perhaps the looks were not because we looked like twins, but rather a "couple" --haha!  We cracked up over that one.  And yes, we both had fanny packs.  We caught a lot of flack from the girls about our fanny packs, but even they admitted in the end that they were "necessary but not fashionable."  Jenni and Emma were even asking to put stuff in mine.  

 Aubri watching the parade...she loved it and the characters loved her.  As they passed by they would blow her kisses or say how cute she was.  

 Last night in the park by the castle.  We looked wiped out and sweaty-eddie.  

Jenni & Cordell Wedding Pictures

 We finally received the pictures from Jenni & Cordell's wedding.  Enjoy!

Cahoots

Last weekend Josh participated in a mud run called "Cahoots".  He found about it online and talked his friend, Darrell, into doing it with him.  Evidently, you have to do this race in pairs.  When Josh first told me about this I was a bit concerned.  He is in decent shape, but holy cow, this was a RACE.  He was not deterred and entered the race determined to just have fun.  

They had to give their team a name and they came up with "White and Nerdy"..loved it.  As you can possibly tell from Josh's shirt, bow tie and suspenders, he took the name seriously. 

If you look at the pictures it is funny to note that they began with nice, clean, tidy clothing.  They also had happy, energetic smiles.  By the last couple of pictures, that image changes.  Silly boys. (FYI:  they finished in the middle of the pack of about 2,000 people)

 Josh and Darryl holding on for dear life crossing one of the many obstacles they encountered. 

 Looking pretty tired...and finally, complete exhaustion.  Notice how Josh's glasses are just dangling around his neck.  He told me he was too tired to put them back on.  When I asked if he planned to do it again, he replied "of course!"  Love that boy! 

Smokey Mornings

 Emma's soccer team is participating in a tournament this week in West Jordan.  Today we had a game at 8 am and this is what the air/sky looked like - yuck.  I wish the smoke would go away.  You can hardly even see the mountains it is so soupy out there. 

Love this picture of Emma waiting to return to the game after a short break.  One more day of heat, smoke and sweat - that goes for me too, not just Emma.  It is hard work yelling cheering on the sidelines ;) 

Seeds

Christopher called me today with some great news.  He received a message from his mission president telling him that a lady he had taught on his mission was finally being baptized this Saturday.  She had somehow contacted President Sanchez and told him that she really wanted to talk to Christopher but did not have his contact information.  President Sanchez passed along the information to Christopher and he called her earlier this afternoon.

Some background information:  Christopher and his companion had found this lady while knocking on doors in 2007.   I remember Christopher telling us all about her and her son, Mark.  Unfortunately, she did not get baptized and he was rather sad about it.  I had forgotten about them until Christopher called me today. 

During their conversation, Jill (the lady)  mentioned to Christopher that she still had the Book of Mormon that he had given her.  Evidently it was one I sent him with my testimony in it to pass on to someone.  She asked him who Dawna Williamson was?  Ha!  She told him that is the book she reads from all the time.  I have a vague recollection of writing my testimony in that book and after I had sent it off, I completely forgot about it--until today.  When Christopher told me this, it kind of choked me up.  All I could think of was little seeds.  He had planted little seeds and now five years later she is accepting the gospel and being baptized.  Once again, small and simple things...

It All Happens In the Kitchen

 Yesterday we celebrated Josh's birthday.  As you can tell by the pictures, our family gatherings always end up in the kitchen.  I need a bigger kitchen.  

(above- Aubri and Jenni-Aubs looks a little skeptical...)

(below - Josh blowing out candles on his brownies that Tara made.  He did not want a cake-can't blame him)

 (Christopher making Aubri laugh-she loves his Elmo voice)

(Everyone-minus Emma who was somewhere else- in the kitchen)