50th Wedding Anniversary

50 YEARS AGO, this cute couple got married! Even though Marty's dad passed away shortly after we were married, we wanted to celebrate his parents' love and throw Marty's mom a surprise anniversary dinner! Here they are with their wedding line! Don't you love how classic everyone looks!

Ronald & Guilda (on our wedding day!)

Marty's sister Deb and I decorated a nearby church cultural hall! We used RED and WHITE because those were their colors and we splashed the decor with some gold signifying the 50 Year milestone.

Marty and I told Mom that we were inviting her to a special "musical fireside with dinner" at our church and asked her to dress up. Marty told her to try on this corsage (sp?) to see if she thought it would fit ME. He told her he wanted to surprise me with it as I had been "at the church all day setting up this fireside" and deserved something special. Little did she know what we were really doing all that time.

When she walked into the cultural hall we shouted "SURPRISE!" and she was in shock. She kept saying,..."You guys!" She teared up and was grinning ear to ear. We invited her to sit at that table and be served along with her children and grandchildren whom could attend. We had ceasar salad, steak, shrimp, twice baked potatoes, and baked Alaska for dessert. YUMMO! She loved every morsel! Side note,....Marty's mom is quite the cook and she always blesses our family with wonderful meals and desserts! I think she was overjoyed because she was the recipient of such love this time.....

Deb scanned in pictures from their wedding album and I made a slideshow to music. We had so much fun watching it! So tender....

Mitch, Mark, Mom, Deb, and Marty.

Loved ones missed: Dad, Danny, Steve, Diane, Matt, Darren, and Damon.

Happy Anniversay Mom & Dad!

Once upon a time...

Ethan and Nyah just turned 4 years old last month and we held a grand celebration! We decided that since Ethan loves toy story and superheroes and Nyah loves anything princess or fairytale that we would make this year's birthday theme,....."Once upon a time!"

Ethan & Nyah opened their 1st gift before the guests arrived. We gave Ethan superhero outfits and Nyah a princess dress. It was perfect for their big party!

All of the cousins came dressed up for the grand celebration. The girls wore their finest gowns and the boys wore superhero gear. My nephew even made a cape out of ducktape which was awesome. (I am bummed that I didn't get a picture of it....)

Our beautiful princess!

Our brave superhero! (he changed his outfit like 4 different times throughout the day,..so cute!)

My sister, Machelle helped me make the cake again this year and it turned out so fabulous! Since we did a "Once upon a time...." theme we decided to make a story book with Ethan & Nyah's favorite stories. It was a lot of fun making it and Ethan was so excited to see Andy's bed on his cake! Nyah loved her little princesses and wanted me to read her story over and over again.

Here is Nyah's side of the cake! We already had the little princess dolls and made their dresses out of cupcakes! So fun!!

Ethan's side was super fun to do! We used more cake to shape the bed and used pretzel type snacks for the posts. He loved it.... Having fun on our their big day! We played "courtyard" games and had a blast. We held horse races, played duck-duck-goose, and had a magic show starring buzz lightyear!

And here are the guests!!! Ethan and Nyah ADORE their family! Having grandparents, aunts & uncles, and their cousins at their party was a big highlight for them. They felt so loved and it was such a special day!

Our special day...

On May 14, we celebrated our 3rd Annivesary of being sealed to the twins in the temple! We went down to the SLC temple and spent some time there as a family! What a blessing it is to be a forever family! The twins were sealed to us when they were 11 months old. We had to wait awhile longer because they are Cherokee decent and we had to get tribal approval. Read more about this remarkable story here! (go to April 30, 2008 entry)
Beautiful Nyah on our sealing day. When Nyah was brought into the sealing room, I couldn't help wondering how it was that I was chosen to be the precious baby girl's mother. I had this overwhelming feeling that we were both Daughters of God and that he loved us so much. She was so attentive during the ceremony. Almost as if she was fully aware of what was going on and wanted to remember it! Here is Ethan on our special Day! When Ethan was brought to us in the sealing room I immediately got emotional because I felt so blessed to have this sweet boy! I treasure this little man and can't imagine my world without him. He stole the heart of everyone in the temple that day with his bright blue eyes and big smile!

While on the temple grounds, Ethan and Nyah found these huge lights that illuminate the temple. They thought they looked like church podiums and decided to give little "talks" and prayers at the pulpit! Nyah is helping Ethan bear his testimony! It was darling!

Ethan & Nyah running through temple grounds hand in hand. People ask us all the time if they get along. Not only do they get along (aside from those rare moments of sibling frustration) they adore eachother.

Hugs outside the temple!

A BIG day for my man...

Happy Graduation to Marty!

Marty getting his MASTERS DEGREE from the University of Phoenix! He was awarded a Masters in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum Technology and Instruction.

After the ceremony, Marty came out to greet the family! He immediately took off his purple sash and wrapped it around our little family. Tradition says that upon graduation the graduate gives his sash to a person who has significantly impacted their efforts in education. He wanted to let us know that he did this for us and he said we were his constant support and inspiration. Awwww!

Nyah had to try on his cap!

Ethan did his famous "snap dance" in celebration of his Daddy!

Some of Marty's siblings came to cheer him on.

Left to Right: Mitch, Mark, Marty & Debi

Marty was the FIRST to obtain a Masters Degree in both of our families. Here he is with his Mom and my Dad.

The twins played hide n' seek with Daddy after the ceremony.

We made a little gift for Marty to celebrate this awesome day! Some of his favorites!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

Here is Ethan & Nyah doing one of their favorite songs! (they only get through the first line.....ha!) It is very fitting today since it is freezin' outside!

Easter 2011

Easter was really fun this year!

We had a special Easter dinner with my family, decorated easter eggs, and had a little hunt afterwards. On Easter Sunday, we went to Nana's house (Marty's mom), and had a little hunt with the cousins. Nana put quarters in a few eggs and the kids were able to put their money into her candy machine and get candy. They loved it!

It was also as special time where we focused on the Savior, His ressurection, and the gift that is to all of us. What a blessing it is to KNOW HE LIVES!

Taking matters into her own hands...

This is pure Nyah....

Mommy: "Nyah, what ya doing baby girl?"

Nyah: "It's okay Mom, I have the kid scissors."

Mommy: "Where are you going with the kid scissors?"

Nyah: "Outside to cut the grass, Mom!"

Clearly Nyah noticed that we had a few long patches of grass in our yard and decided to take matters into her own hands. She was very pleased with her work which took all of 3 minutes!

This is Nyah,...making one of her messy statements!

Mommy: "Nyah, why are you shredding the tissues?"

Nyah: "Cuz..."

Mommy: Do you realize that you'll have to pick those up? We can't leave a mess like that."

Nyah: "Um, sure but do you think Daddy will be upset or happy that I did this?"

Mommy: I think Daddy loves you and will think you are silly!"

Nyah: giggles....."I love my Daddy!"

I think Nyah was taking revenge on her tissues to be honest. She and Ethan went to the doctor today with pink eye and ear infections. Their noses have been running for weeks it seems. So...this was her way of getting her frustration out! (Be gone tissues!) And yes,....Daddy is their favorite these days! I am the routine,..the constant, the nurse, the teacher and the discipline and right now in their world Daddy plays tea party, battles the evil Zurg as Buzz's (Ethan) sidekick, wrestles, and gives endless horsey rides on his back. He makes silly noises when they hurt which magically takes all the tears and pain away. He is a great Daddy! I love that they adore him!

33...and feeling so loved!

Last Tuesday was my 33rd birthday and I sincerely felt so much LOVE because my sweetheart arranged some pretty amazing things throughout that day. It all began with waffles! Heart-shaped, covered in cinnamon syrup, and a tall glass of milk. Ethan had crawled into bed with me right before Marty brought it up and as soon as he saw Daddy he was awake for the day. It was sweet, to sit with my little buddy and eat waffles together! Perfect start to my day!

Then I noticed a couple of notes arranged by my plate and began to read them. In true fashion, Marty wanted to do something unique and memorable for my birthday and this year was no exception. His first note was super sweet and loving and ended with this....."You are a blessing in my life,...let me count the ways. (33 ways to be exact) Throughout the day I found notes around the house or recieved phone calls from people that I truly love relaying to me Marty's little messages! It was so awesome! I felt so much love and I was so grateful he included family and dear friends as part of my day! Everytime the phone rang, I was so excited to see who was on the other end! Here is what each message said and where I found it, or who in particular gave it to me. Each person's message related to them somehow which was so clever on Marty's part.

Marty counting the ways.....

1~You are my everything (under my plate of waffles) 2~You are the flowers of my life (next to the carnations he bought me a week ago) 3~You are my neverending acts of service and love (by the kitchen sink) 4~You are the syrup to my waffles (next to my plate of waffles) 5~You are the paper towels, to my sometimes mess (on the paper towel roll) 6~You are the light switch to my dark room (on the light switch) 7~You are the track to my roller coaster, constant when I am up & down (bathroom scale) 8~You are the refreshing breeze to my sometimes stagnant uncomfortable life. (ceiling fan) 9~You are Jesse to my happily ever after (toy) story..Yee HAW (on Ethan's Toy Story book) 10~You are my iron rod back to the tree of life (on our picture book scriptures) 11~You are better than the cool side of my pillow (bedroom pillow) 12~You are the teacher of my (life) lessons (in the preschool room) 13~You are the fold to my laundry (laundry room) 14~The captain (driver) that gives my life direction (car steering wheel) 15~The keys to my happiness (key hook) 16~ The love of my life (My sister Nicole called) 17~You are the music to my song (Marty's mom called) 18~You are the victory of my civil war (Marty's best friend Brandon, total history buff!) 19~You are the beat of my heart (Cindy, my YW President I work with) 20~You are the strength in my muscle (My brother in law Matt who is a personal trainer) 21~You are the thoughts of my mind (Heather Sanders, a dear friend, works with me in YW) 22~You are the glory in my forever (Brother Stuart from Marty's work: Romans 8: 16-17) 23~ You are my stick of Judah...being one in Christ (Ezekial 37:19~Brother Hollist) 24~You are the loyalty of our house of God (Joshua 24: 15, 24 ~Brother Palmer) 25~You are my wonder of the Lord (Joshua 2:5~Brother Craven) 26~You are the Emma to my Joseph (D&C 25:2-3, 9-10~ Brother Slaughter) 27~You are the worth of my soul (D&C 18:10~Brother Brown) 28~You are my perfect love (1 John 4:18 My DAD Skip) 29~You are the frosting on my cake (Machelle, my sister, who is an amazing cake decorator) 30~You are the olive to my garden (Heather, my best friend, preparing for tonight's dinner) 31~ You are my Mommy! (Nyah) 32~You are my Mommy! (Ethan) 33~ You are the eternal to my companionship (Marty) His note included the words to Grow Old With Me by John Lennon which he put into the CD player and sang to me. (Awwww!) The last three were opened in our car on the way to Olive Garden. I can't even remember the last time I had gone to Olive Garden for dinner so that was fun!

Here are some more highlights of the day... I went out to lunch with my Mother-in-law and sister-in-law Debi! We went to Cafe Rio which is my favorite. Debi brought me BALLOONS and the kids loved that! While at lunch, Marty ran home and placed beautiful flowers on the kitchen table! So beautiful!

Later in the day,. Marty called along with his seminary class and sang me Happy Birthday!

That night, before we put the kids to bed, Nyah mentioned that we forgot birthday hats! So she ran to her drawers and pulled out underwears! She said those would be our birthday hats! I couldn't stop laughing!

What an awesome day!

Ethan's singing debut....

The check is in the mail....

Marty went and got the mail the other day and came in with a somber-like face, too serious for him(which means he is up to something) and promptly said,..."look at this." I looked down and saw this......

My response: "WHAT?"

The memo on the check said,.."PRIZE." We came to the conclusion that when we ran our TNT Firework tent last year, we must have won the two competitions they run between managers. Our tent is crazy awesome when it comes to marketing and decor and for that we won $250.

The other $250 came from making the most improvement in sales from the previous year. So,...now we are $500 richer. Well,..except for the fact that we need some maintenance done on our van. Funny how that works huh?!

Way to go honey! Your hard work has blessed our family once again!

Oklahoma!

For Chrismtas, Marty purchased season tickets to the Washington Terrace Playhouse! I love the THEATRE! We have already seen Urinetown (hilarious,..despite the horrible name) and just went to see Oklahoma! It was really good. We have seen quite a few musicals in our time but never this one. I loved the character Ado Annie the best! She is quite the character! Sassy, a little ditzy, and charming. Marty liked the Peddler and was impressed by the dancing! Some of the guys had to do some crazy stuff! Out of 4 STARS, I give this one a 2.5! Not my favorite, but a great show! (Some may think I'm crazy,...but I have my criteria ya know!)

Marty and I on our way to the musical!

Ethan & Nyah on their way to their cousins! They love it when Mommy and Daddy go out!

My nephews have been in their production of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol for the past 3 years! My nephew, Austin even had the role of Young Ebenezer! That is a show that I could watch over and over again! The director Jacci Florence and her husband Kim (Scrooge) are amazing! As part of our season pass, we will be seeing this come Christmas time!

Up next......ANNIE! So excited!

That girl is sweet....

"That girl is sweet,...just like her name. Strawberry Shortcake!"

When the twins turned 3, My sister gave Nyah a Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. It became her favorite coloring book and she was so excited when she spotted a Strawberry Shortcake video on top of the $5 movie pile at Walmart. What a find that was, I'll tell ya! There was no question what Nyah would be for Halloween. When I asked her who I should be, she immediately exclaimed..."Orange Blossom ofcourse! You already have an orange shirt, mom!"

Nyah is my sweetest baby girl! She is a tender-heart and has a memory like no other. The other day, I was a little grumpy with the kids and she said to me...."Mom, if you want to go to Grandpa's house, you need to be happy!" Hmmm...I wonder where she heard that before? I LOVE being her mommy and feel so blessed to learn from her everyday!

You've got a friend in me.....

Ethan's greatest love these days is TOY STORY! Back in October, he made the decision to be Woody for Halloween. And.....even more exciting, he wanted Daddy to be Buzz Light Year. So we made some costumes and they were set. When we went trick-or-treating, Daddy and Ethan ran from house to house exclaiming,.."To infinity and beyond!" The kids in the neighborhood were thrilled to see "Buzz" in true form and Ethan was so proud! From then on,...he eats, breathes, and sleeps all things Toy Story. Even his little Woody and Buzz figures snuggle up at night with our little guy!

Daddy and Ethan like to sing the song, "You've got a friend in me" to eachother. It is so cute. It perfectly describes the bond they have. They are best buds and it is such a blessing! They have been that way since the very beginning! Forever friends these two will be!!! I love my boys....

I love to see the TEMPLE...

One of our family traditions is to go to a temple once a week with Ethan and Nyah. We have been doing this for almost two years now and it is one of our most treasured traditions. We feel blessed,..so BLESSED,..to be so close to so many temples!

Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson said..."As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us." "Even young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple." (You can read more about that here.)

Ethan and Nyah LOVE the temple. We can feel their testimonies growing and it is a treasure to us! On one trip to the Bountiful Temple, Nyah brought one of her baby dolls. I noticed that she sat down with her doll on the fountain steps and began to tell her little doll about the temple. It was amazing to hear her.

Proverbs 22:6 says: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Oh how we hope they will hold on to the temple!

Marty and I struggle to always know what is the best for our little ones. Are we disciplining the best way? Are we teaching the right things? Do we show them enough love? Do they understand the importance of work? Are we being good examples to them in all we do? One thing that I have felt confident about is our attempts to teach them about the temple. It is something we strive to help them understand because we go there often and they get to touch the temple, they feel the spirit, and they are then "touched by the temple."

I love that Nyah had the desire to share her little testimony and knowledge of the temple with her little baby doll. How humbling it is to have her as a daughter.

Once there was a snowman....

We're back! Our blog has been so neglected lately! Life has been busy and our old camera was giving me fits so I found very little motivation to post. Now,..I feel more like it! I have a new camera (YIPPY!) and I feel inspired!

Yesterday, the snow just kept coming! This is April! One wouldn't expect anything less from Utah though. So we took advantage and built our very first snowman! I know,....we might be the worst parents ever waiting this long but the kids loved it!

Nyah's favorite part of it was putting the carrot and hat on. When she woke up this morning she wanted to see if it was still there! Ethan LOVED raking the snowman! (Daddy's idea) It was an attempt to get the leaves off. He was diligent. After we had the snowman totally decked out, Ethan ran inside and got his Dr.'s medicine syringe and gave the snowman a shot. It was hilarious. I guess he wanted to make sure this snowman stayed healthy. This morning Ethan went back outside and continued to rake snow. Hilarious!

When Ethan and Nyah sing "Once There Was a Snowman" it is so darn cute. Daddy taught them his version which emphasizes the "melting" in a slow drawn out kind of way. It actually sounds like a toy whose batteries are dying! m--e--l--ting! In fact, Daddy loves to change songs, now that I think of it! His version of "Book of Mormon Stories" is quite catchy and the kids love it! Our kids might get funny looks in primary though because they add Daddy's special parts.

Tonight I am going to see Oklahoma with my sweetheart after a nice dinner. My sister is having the kids sleep over! Lucky me huh! I think I like this day......