Celebrate Good Times

There have been many occasions to celebrate lately! It's been so fun! Parker had a field trip and rode a bus to the nature center. He had a blast and I wished I could have been there with him. We've had fun park days with friends and have been surviving without Daddy most nights. He's been busy taking doctors to Clipper's games and events like that. Rough life. I don't mind. I've got the bedtime routine down. As long as he's home next to me at night I can hold down the fort!

Ray has been both exceptionally sweet and exceptionally wild. On Monday she has gymnastics and she does NOT follow the teacher. All of the other kids sit on their sticker and line up and do the actions along with the teacher. And then there's Rayleigh running circles around everyone. But at night she is the first one to fold her arms for family prayer and before bed. During gymnastics I couldn't find Parker so naturally I thought he'd been abducted. I found him 2 minutes into looking for him but as soon as I left the gym Ray started freaking out crying and would not go back into class. So we just left. But on our way to the car she let go of my hand and ran into the street. Of course when I screamed, "No!!! Stop!" she just laughed and ran fast and literally almost got hit by a big black truck. Since I had Jack on my hip I couldn't sprint after her. Luckily another mom grabbed her and I just immediately burst into tears. It was awful. But then she softly sings ABCs to me and makes me laugh with her silliness. Being a mom is hard. It's hard because you love them sooooo much. And the poop and pee. That's just gross.

This was Parker's journal entry from when Kassidy couldn't find him at school pick up. ha ha

My BYU-I roommate/mom, Liz, got married at Disneyland on Thursday and we were invited to attend! I even signed the marriage certificate. I'm so happy for her and so glad she found a man who fulfills her and respects her. Mickey and Minnie showed up which was a highlight! And Jack LOVED dancing on the dance floor! He can't walk but he can dance! ha ha

I noticed we have a cherry tree in our  backyard! So cool! My grandma had a cherry tree in her backyard in Provo and I have fond memories of collecting buckets full every summer. The birds have been eating all of our fruit though. 

I had a free ticket to Seaworld for my birthday (since i still have a pass) and I wanted to take Parker. But since Tanner wanted to come too we all went to San Diego together and enjoyed a day in the sun! Tanner got a "dining pass" and we were able to eat every hour at all the restaurant. YUM! We love Seaward!!!

That night I drove all the way up to Old Town Pasadena to have dinner with my birthday twin/cousin Shelley! I was in the car for 5 hours on Saturday but it was totally worth it. Shelley and I had so much fun eating, talking, and shopping in LA. She's so funny and thoughtful and talented. I'm so lucky to have such an extraordinary birthday twin. She's incredibly beautiful inside and out and I'm so proud of her. 

I had to steal this picture of my parents with the Cooper's at Cinderella the other night. I think it's so cute and my mom looks gorgeous!

Parker has his first pinewood derby race with the scouts this week! So Tanner has been helping him create a winning racer! It makes me so happy when I see these 2 doing boy stuff together. Tanner is such a great Dad.

The car design that Parker drew.

I took the babies to Disneyland on Monday morning  and we had such a great time! They were sooooooo good! Ray is learning how to stand in line and everyone thought the kids were so darling. I love taking them to Disneyland!!!! Ray loves the carousel. 

Seaworld, Dinners in LA, Disneyland... this is why I love where I live!!!!! I thank Tanner everyday for making my dreams a reality!!!!!

Tanner and I decided to turn down the job offer which would have required a move. Even though the offer was very enticing for multiple reasons, we just had a stupor of thought regarding what to do. Sometimes we felt good about taking it and at other times we felt terrible. We weighed the pros and cons and prayed and tried hard to be objective. It took about 6 weeks to finally come to a decisions and even then we didn't know if we were making the right choice. But opportunities continue to call for Tanner and I have every confidence in the world that he will be successful. This stressful decision has affected us and we are now trying to "rebuild", as they say. I love Tanner with all my heart and I'm so proud of him. He sacrifices so much for his family.  My only wish is that he can work closer to home so we can see him  more often. I think that's a righteous desire so we'll see what the future holds! In the meantime we are happy and thriving! And taking date night very seriously! :-)