Dance of Joy!!!

You know you're excited when a grown man is willing to do the dance of joy outside a construction site during the day...haha!

Our house is 1/2 way done...they are mudding and taping the dry wall- you couldn't have found 4 more excited people as we broke into OUR house (it's not bad if it's yours right??!!!) the other night. We danced the hallways and took pictures while imagining everything we own in it's place!!! Elle wanted to move in right then and cried when we had to leave...you know your excited when??!!! haha. We can't wait until the end of summer when it will be finished. We continue to do the happy dance whenever we go see progress...we will be VERY happy (like Christmas giddy) when we get to move in.

The kitchen

The bonus room over the garage

Elle took this picture of us in our bedroom (I am LOVING all the light from the BIG windows)

The girls bedroom...they love sharing and yes Elle, it will be purple

You know it's SUMMER when...

You spend every spare moment at the PARK...

You can get wet and NOT freeze your butt off at the splash park...


You can celebrate CANADA DAY with family, a parade, food, and mosquitoes...

You can visit the ZOO on a regular basis...

We LOVE summer around here!!! It is going by so fast already...we can't wait to head to Summerland, BC to spend 6 weeks there camping and living at the lake all day long. We are so spoiled! Yahhh for the SUNSHINE!!!

Happy BIG 33!!

We were so excited to celebrate Jared's birthday this year...we LOVE birthdays at our house!!! He was able to go golfing with his brother so we decided to go with the GOLF theme (guys need a theme too right??!!!)The girls LOVE their daddy and were very excited to pick out his gifts for him and help wrap them up. He is such a good dad, husband, and friend...we are so happy that he is part of our family. Happy Birthday Jared!!!

Road Trip!

Road trips can ONLY bring a family closer together...especially LONG ones. haha. The girls did so well and we have such a blast visiting family and friends. Some of the fun things we did were hung out in Malad, ate GREAT ice-cream, visited the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Pointe, ran in a 5km race, saw lots of "Princesses" come out of the temples, made memories with friends we miss tons, sang happy birthday to Zaden, went on the biggest slide ever!, and had so much fun shopping everyday (I"m serious!!!
I LOVE family vacations- we really needed one. It was good to reconnect with the girls, spend time together, and do what we wanted to do. Everything was on our schedule and it felt so good. Thanks to everyone that we were able to visit with, their hospitality, and the fun that we were all able to have together. We can't wait to come back for a visit soon!
We were able to do alot of teaching with our kids during these couple weeks we were gone. The song "I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE" really came true to them as they were able to see brides "Princesses" come out of the temple married to their "Prince". Elle was so intrigued by them and could have sat their all day watching them. She has talked about them ever since. We took so many pictures, so I really am trying not to post too many. I don't know how to make them side by side, but I guess that would have made this post look alot better- oh well. We had so much fun doing everything that we did!This race was so much fun. Jared ran it in 22 min (6th in his age group & 16th over-all got men), and I ran it in 28 min (18th in my age group & 32 nd over-all for women). I feel a tradition coming on. haha. We LOVED doing the race together!

happy happy 25th birthday

WOW!!! I can not believe that I am already 25...where did the time go??? For an entire month before the BIG day, I was struggling with the fact that I was a quarter of a century. I actually made a list of 25 things (I won't share them because they are kinda "silly" things that I want/NEED to do in my life) to figure out what I want out of life. I have to say that the week before my family reminded me that I really have everything that I need right in front of me. I am so blessed and have accomplished many great things that I am so proud of in the last 25 years. I LOVE Jared and the Girls!

I had such an amazing week celebrating with my family. Jared & the girls treated me to a week worth of surprises including cupcakes, flowers, blizzards, a date, hand-made cards, and a series of "happy birfday" songs..haha. I have such an amazing family with one VERY thoughtful husband. What a wonderful week!!!Thanks also to a special friend who made me a wonderful birthday cake that was enjoyed by some of my very closest friends and family!!!

Long Time Over Due...

I guess I have put this off for long enough...it's been almost 3 months now that we have kept this secret from everyone but our families (NO I'M NOT PREGNANT!!!). But maybe I should start from the beginning...
After Christmas, Jared and I started talking about our plans for the future and the changes that we wanted to make for our family. We decided to meet with a realtor to just get a quote for the price of our house here in Okotoks. In about 10 days from this decision, our house was up on the market and after 1 showing in the first 24 hours we had an offer that we just couldn't turn down. WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!! It was such a hard, exciting decision to make- it almost gave me a heart attack how quick everything went...but such a relief (that I didn't have to keep cleaning my house for all the showings) at the same time.

The next BIG decision that we had to make was: WHERE WERE WE GOING TO MOVE??? We made a long list with our realtor the night that we sold our house so that we could start the search for somewhere else the next day. (See, everything was going so quick!!). We looked at most of our list- but nothing felt right. Everything was priced too high, or dirty, or a bad location. I was looking for something that would be perfect for our family now and in the next (hopefully) 10 years. We wanted certain communities and I started to feel sorta selfish and picky...maybe we shouldn't have sold our house that I really loved!
Being kinda discouraged, we looked at building brand new. I walked into the 3rd showhome and everything felt RIGHT!!! We took a few weeks to make the final decision and SIGNED WITH STEPPER HOMES!! We are so excited and can't wait for our home to be finished. It's in the first stages (they'ved poured the basement and framing should be done in a couple of weeks). We have been staying in the basement of some really good friends for a month now. We are so grateful that we have space for our family and that it is comfortable. Thanks guys- we really appreciate it!!! We are enjoying this little "adventure" and are excited to live in our new home!!! (We should be in sometime in August).

Easter Bunny & Traditions

I love being able to pass traditions onto my children. I loved Easter as a kid....we always had a big dinner as a family and then did an Easter hunt inside AND outside. It was so fun!!! Since my mom and dad were down in AZ this year we (us sisters) still decided to continue on with the traditions. We dyed eggs, had a few delicious dinners compliments of Nadine, watched Conference, had the Easter bunny visit, ate treats, searched for eggs. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins and understanding the egg hunt....each year is getting funner and funner with each holiday!!! I am also so grateful for the Easter season and the time that we get to reflect on the importance that this holiday plays in our lives. I feel so indebted to the sacrifices that were made for me. I LOVE family and that we were able to enjoy this Easter around lots of family.




I love this picture of Elle..she looks so big here and was so excited that she was finding so many eggs on the hunt!!!