Check out these gorgeous teeth!

I can't believe how fast Morgan's teeth responded to her braces! She got them on last July and she got them off on April 12th. She wears a clear retainer now and we are hoping she doesn't need braces again. Way to go Morgan -- what a beautiful smile!

It was way more than just "OK" (ha ha)

We took a very quick trip to Oklahoma to attend Cyle and Athena's reception held at the Lawton County Club. We are very blessed that the kids do GREAT in the car. It makes the almost 13 hours drive to my parents much better.

This was the party I have really been looking forward to! The pace was a bit slower and we could hang out and enjoy one another's company. In addition to that, the cousins were going to be there too and our kiddos were looking forward to playing together. They have a great time together, especially swinging from Grandpa's tree out back. They got to have a big cousin slumber party in the living room, but as soon as they woke up, they were outside playing. :)


On Saturday morning, just after a delicious waffle breakfast, my mom organized an egg hunt for everyone (including prizes for the adults!). The kids ran all around trying to find the eggs that my dad, Ken, Cyle, and Coby had hidden. It was fun to see the kids checking out their haul at the end.





We had to decorate (minimally, thank goodness) for the reception, so the girls headed into town while to boys took the all the kids out to the wildlife refuge to see if they could see any baby buffalo. Then, of course, to Medicine Creek where it seemed everyone got a bit wet at the swimming hole. :) When we all gathered again at the house it was great hanging out together and taking, while watching the Masters. Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the reception and then some family pictures.

My cousin Joni and her boys who drove up from Texas to party with us!

The Lawton Country Club was a nice setting. The food was delicious and there was a wonderful turn-out to support Cyle and Athena. The atmosphere was enhanced by Ken playing beautiful background music and during the program I got to sing "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "At Last". I think that everyone's favorite part was hearing Cyle and Athena's story of how they met and fell in love. Here are a few shots from the reception...








One of my favorite parts of the weekend was going for drives in Cyle's souped up BMW. Cyle showed us what his car could do and then he gave Ken and I a chance to drive. THAT WAS A BLAST! Let's just say that there was some squealing tires, and revving RPM's. I could get used to drving a car like that. But I am sure it would quickly ruin my record of never having a speeding ticket.

The weekend went way too fast (kind of like me driving Cyle's Beemer) and being together was THE BEST!

A big announcement!

Mitt Romney has announced that he is forming an exploratory presidential committee, essentially he is throwing his hat into the ring for 2012. Yeah! If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you will know that I am a huge fan of his. Check out his video for his announcement and then the following one with an interview on the Kudlow Report. Great Stuff!

Spring Break

Spring Break fell between trips we are taking with Cyle's wedding, so we decided to stay close to home. Truth be told, we slept in and kept things pretty low key.

Monday was pretty normal with music class in the afternoon. The kids big treat was playing several hours of video games.

Tuesday we went to Jumpin' with the Briggs. It was lots of fun to see the kids playing together. Afterward Bryce came to our house to play for a couple of hours. Let me share the conversation I overheard when we got home...

Trevor: "Bryce, what do you want to do?"
Bryce: "I don't know."
Trevor: "Do you want to play video games?"
Bryce: "Nah..."
Trevor: "How about jumping on the trampoline?"
Bryce: "Nope."
Trevor: "Wanna dig a hole?"
Bryce: "Dig a hole?!? Yeah!"

Maybe it is just me, but I found this totally hilarious and had to laugh as they ran out into the backyard. Ahh, the simple joys of little boys! :)

On Wednesday we went an awesome carnival at the Hansens. It was incredible, complete with animal balloons (I found trying to make balloon animal is strangely addicting), a magic show, carnival games such as a bean bag toss, a cake walk, and hot potato. We even ate corn dogs and had cotton candy. The kids had a great time playing with all their friends and totally embraced the carnival theme. (Hopefully I can get some pictures from Jen later.) After the carnival we went to Costco and then the kids played with friends.

On Thursday we were going to go to the museum, but the kids decided that they would rather go bowling with the Briggs and Alexanders. Bowling was a blast and I was surprised how much they had improved since the last time we had gone. Morgan even got two strikes in a row! We had so much fun we had to bowl two games! Luckily, Kris had her camera and was able to snap these cute pictures...




Friday I spent the morning at the repair shop and we ended up missing the picnic with friends we had planned on going to. But it was a beautiful day and we headed for the park anyway. That evening we ordered pizza and then watch Tangled. A fun family night!

March Madness!

Every March we get sucked into the madness. We count down to the big dance. This year we anticipated it even more because BYU had a decent seed in the tournament. It was even more fun because the Cougars were playing in Denver for the second round. We kept looking at tickets and dreaming about going to the game. Of course it was on a crazy busy night for me and knew it would be really hard to make that work. Ken kept looking at prices, which were a little too pricey, but they dropped like crazy just a couple of hours before the game and I told him he had to go!

The game against Wofford wasn't great, but we got the "w." Even though BYU didn't play their best, Ken and his friends had a blast being there! It was fun for them to be there for the double-header.

For the game against Gonzaga we had friends over to watch the game. It was quite the party which was enhanced by the Cougs playing amazingly well. I was really nervous how we would be able to compete in the paint with their big men, but we seemed to be firing on all cylinders! It was a great game! I swear, if we had played like that every game, BYU could have taken the whole thing!

The game against Florida for the Sweet 16 round was a little painful to watch, especially the overtime. I was amazed that for as poorly as we were playing that we stayed close. It was heartbreaking when our boys could not pull out the win, but I am so proud of their great season! We look forward to being a Jimmer fan for years to come and I hope he gets the Player of the Year award.

Fun to see John Stockton in the crowd!

Cyle and Athena's Wedding (Part 2)

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 my little brother Cyle married Athena Clark in the Salt Lake City Temple for all time and eternity. I am so excited for him and Athena as they begin their married life. The sealing was beautiful and it was wonderful being in the temple together. We are grateful to Clint and Audra for watching our kiddos while we were in the temple. Cyle and Athena were so cute together and Athena was a stunningly beautiful bride. We are so glad that she is part of our family!

Check out those socks! :)

We hit Cafe Rio for a quick dinner before heading up to Midway for the reception at Zermatt resort. It was a bit tricky with Cooper however. Friday night about 2:00 in the morning Cooper woke up fussing which is unusual. When I picked him up, he was burning up with fever. Poor guy! It was a long night for the two of us. He did pretty well while we were in the temple and didn't fuss too much during pictures (no smiles though). By the time we got to the resort he was simply done. I spent almost all of the reception sitting with him on my lap -- he wouldn't even go to Ken. I was bummed not to get more pictures. I was sad not to get to visit with everyone more, but I was glad that several people came by and talked to me. I was especially tickled that the Croshaws came. It was wonderful to catch up with my dear friend Libby!

I loved seeing how entranced Peyton was as the couple shared their first dance and then dance with their parents. So glad I sneeked this picture!

The entire weekend was beautiful and it was wonderful to be there with them for this most special of occasions!

I Love to See the Temple

It was a treat to take some pictures of the beautiful Salt Lake Temple. The first one is my favorite!

Cyle and Athena's wedding (Part 1)

We finally pulled into the Allred's house at 2:30 in the morning and we were beat! Unfortunately the kids weren't and they were so excited to see their friends Lynlee and Reid that they stayed up the rest of the night. No kidding! They were crazy! I was so tired that after a couple times telling them to be quiet and go to bed, I gave up.

On Friday we got to hang out with Rochelle and the kids. While Ken was off on his mission to get the van in driving condition, we met with Codi and Coby, Gerry and Beverly, and my parents at Cabela's. It was fun to be all together and the kids enjoyed seeing all the cool things at Cabela's.
After looking around, we headed back to Rochelle's house where she was nice enough to help me with my hair. I had decided to try curling it, but after 30 minutes I was still only halfway through. I asked if we could do some "dueling curling irons" and with both of us curling away it still took another 15 minutes. (I doubt I will be doing my hair like that again anytime soon.) Ken and I were especially grateful that Rochelle was willing to watch our kiddos as we attended the rehearsal dinner. Good thing too. Our kids were EXHAUSTED! Morgan fell asleep before we even left and she stayed asleep until the next morning!

We met on Temple Square to try to get a family picture before the dinner. We didn't get the shot that I wanted, but we got some that will do...




On Friday night there was a Rehearsal Dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was a beautiful setting over looking Temple Square! I loved seeing so many members of our extended family and dear friends (that I love like family). My cheeks hurt from smiling. :) Ken played beautiful background music while we visited and then had a delicious dinner. I was honored that Cyle and Athena asked me to sing as part of the program; so I channeled my best Etta James, and sang "At Last". The bridesmaids presented a cute "Athena Survival Kit" to Cyle and then Cyle's groomsmen showed a PowerPoint presentation complete with goofy videos and pictures of Cyle. I was laughing so hard my sides hurt! Athena's sister, Jessica sang a beautiful arrangement of "When You Say Nothing at All".






It was a lovely evening! Of course that wasn't enough partying for us and we headed back to the Skouson's hotel room for more fun and conversation. It was so fun being all together!