9 Crazy Years!

This month Dave and I celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary! We are almost to double digits! I can't believe how much has happened in the past nine years. By my count (which might be inaccurate) we have moved 13 times in those 9 years--and that is not counting the 1 or 2 month stays at my parents' home in between moves. In these nine years--actually in the first 6 years--we have had 4 children and now we are waiting to get our little girl from China (which is taking forever, for those that were wondering). Dave and I have both finished our Bachelors and Dave has finished his Masters degree since we have been married. Dave was deployed for a year and a half--actually with all his trainings and deployments we have been apart for about 1/3 of our married life! It seems that change is the only thing we can count on since we have been married! The one thing that has remained constant is how I feel about Dave. He is honestly my favorite person on Earth. He is the only person that ALWAYS knows how to make me laugh. I have fun with him whether it is watching TV or even doing the dishes. He just makes life enjoyable for both me and the kids. He is the best dad I have ever seen. He is always the dad that is out in the mix, entertaining the kids while the other adults sit around and talk. I love that he is already teaching our boys to have respect for women. I love that his way of showing me that he loves me is by quitely doing the dishes or the laundry or helping out with the kids because he understands that being a stay at home mom is not easy. Dave is the hardest worker that I have ever met. He is always looking for something to do to help me or the kids out. I love that he is a worthy priesthood holder. This week he gave the children Father's blessings to prepare them for a new school year and listening to him during the blessings made me realize how wonderful it is to have him as the patriarch of our family. Enough gushing--sorry, I have to let him know how much I love him at least once a year! I am so glad that he is my eternal companion.

Our announcement photo.

(It has holes in it to tie the ribbon through.

For some reason this one didn't scan in well)

Bridal portrait
Just after the ceremony, outside Mt. Timpanogos Temple.
Cutting the cake.

(I love this picture because of Dave's HUGE smile--

He always smiles like this but it is rare to capture it on film!)

Dave decided to take advantage of our family while in Utah and used his dad as an overnight babysitter for the kids. No matter how hard he tries to surprise me I always figure it out because I ask too many darn questions. I'm a planner and always think ahead--I guess it is one of my many weaknesses. Well, this time he was able to plan a night away without my knowing. And so he surprised me with our Anniversary celebration almost a month early (Note: Dave will miss this anniversary due to a training event) So we went to the Anniversary Inn(the one on 5th South in SLC) in the Sultan's Palace Suite. It was too much fun. It was a great surprise.

This was our bed that was on the top of two elephants' backs.

Our bathtub/shower was a crazy dragon type animal.

The yummy breakfast they brought us the next morning.

Opinion Poll

Well, I am going to try something new and set up a poll on the right for everyone to take. We are trying to decide whether or not to cut the boys hair for school. We would love to hear your opinions. We know a few of you are adamant about the short hair while others are sure that the long hair is better. So this way we can see who is in the majority and we will either try to keep it as is, cut it short or grow it longer.

If we cut the boys hair short it will look like the picture below. The pros for this haircut is that it is clean cut and doesn't get tangled. The cons are that I have to trim it every 2 weeks in order to keep it looking good and Jonas has a cowlick that makes the back of his hair stick straight out unless it is shaved super short--if it grows out at all it is a disaster.

The shaggy-skater-surfer look is what we are finally entering into now. (see below) The pros are that it is a pretty messy look so it doesn't required a lot of combing, it is finally long enough that Jonas's hair lays down in the back, and Tanks hair is finally starting to curl in the back again. The cons are that when we do get it trimmed to try to keep it this length the person always does a horrible job and we end up cutting it short anyway and Zeke has a cowlick at the base of his neck that pushes all his hair to one side so it looks like he belongs in the 80's because of the "tail" he has (that is uncentered, by the way).

Sorry for the hats in the last picture. It was the only one with all of the boys where it showed their long hair--all the others were at the beach with wet hair. Cons: They look like girls, hair in their eyes, has to be combed now and again. Pros: Never really needs to be cut, reminiscent of my Native American heritage, and all cowlicks are conquered.

Birthday Party

Ezekiel's little girl friend missed him terribly while we were away in Utah. I guess her parents had a hard time getting her to go to primary without the incentive of seeing Zeke! She had made him an invitation to her 5th birthday and brought it every week to give to him and then would be disappointed when he wasn't there. But we finally made it home and Zeke received his handmade invitation and he LOVED it. He asked me to please save it for him. So here it is (keep in mind that the only thing they know how to write is their names):


Zeke told me every day that we had to buy her a present and he was starting to get really worried that I wasn't going to get her anything. The other kids tried to give suggestions for presents but he was adamant that he got to choose because it was his girlfriend. And of course no one else was allowed to carry the present.

The whole family was invited over to a BBQ with her family. It was lots of fun. Unfortunately, I couldn't get her to smile for the picture--she was actually having fun though! They were both really excited when we figured out that they are going to be in the same kindergarten class! How fun will that be. I asked Zeke if Maryn was his best friend and he said "Yes. And I'm going to marry her!" Too cute. I think they are going to have a blast in Kindergarten.

DONE!!!!!

Hooray!! I am officially done!! Commencement exercises only happen once a year at EOU, hence the June 2009 date. But I actually graduated as of Summer term 2008! I can't tell you how happy I am! And I think that Dave and the kids are even happier!

David Archuleta

Okay, I am a huge David Archuleta fan. I will post pictures and video from the American Idol concert later. But I was just looking at a photo from the last post of Jonas and it made me think of little David Archuleta. Jonas is always making faces that totally remind me of little Archie. In fact, that is probably why I love David A. so much...because his mannerisms and facial expressions always remind me of little Joe. So here are some pics of David and the pic of Joe--Do you think they look alike--maybe it's just me???

April Birthdays

Well, back at the end of April, London and Jonas celebrated their birthday. That's right they have the same birthday--exactly 5 years apart! We just celebrated at home the morning after my parents and grandma got here for their visit (this is why everyone is in pajamas!!) My personal favorite is the picture of Joe in the coon skin cap that my dad bought him.

Sweet and Sassy

I am playing catch up so please have patience with me. I have tons of posts to make about the last few months! I am starting with this one because my grandma has been asking to see the pictures.

My niece, Portia, turned 8 in June. For her birthday I took her and London to what London calls "Girl Paradise"... It is a spa for little girls in Draper called Sweet and Sassy. It had to be the cutest place I have ever seen. They each had their nails done, an up-do and their make-up done. Then after that they let them play on the catwalk with boas. It was so much fun! We had a blast. If any of you have little girls and live anywhere near there you should check it out. It was well worth the money spent for the amount of fun that they had.

The Limo you can rent if you are having a party there. The girls wanted a ride in it but they had to settle for just a picture by it.

Waiting for the fun to begin

London keeping herself entertained while waiting for our appointment.

Getting nails done

Choosing a hairstyle. London chose "diva" while Portia chose "princess".

Choosing make-up. Can you tell she is excited??

Admiring their beauty!!

Showing off their style!

We also bought them matching Best Friends necklaces. They enjoy being around each other so much!

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

My cute hubby now has both feet firmly planted in his 30's as he turned 31 this weekend!! Since our birthdays are less than a week apart we decided that we would just share a birthday cake.

This year was a simple Sunday evening birthday at home. After Dave's HUGE 30th birthday bash we decided to take it easy on parties for awhile. If I can find the photos from his party last year I will post them. It was a massive BBQ on Hickam Beach. It was so much fun---but also soooo much work!

Happy Birthday Dave!! I love you!

Passing of a Loved One

Sorry we haven't been blogging lately..and we might not be for a few more days. This is just a quick update. On the morning of Friday the 6th of June, Dave's mom passed away. Although it was sad, she had been sick for a long time and we were praying that she would be released from her pain. We left the next day to drive out to Utah. Dave is heading back to Virginia this coming Sunday. I am staying until the 3rd week of July. I am a little behind in my schooling now since I was in the middle of finals when we left--so I am finishing everything up hopefully this week. My professor was nice enough to give me an incomplete so that I can finish it up. So that is our quick update..will post more later.

Missionary London

Every Sunday in Relief Society someone shares a"missionary moment" that they or a family member had over the week. This is London's missionary moment. She was so proud of herself...It made me smile.

At school they were making a list on the board of people who serve the community, i.e. firemen, police, teachers, etc... So London, being the cute girl that she is, raised her hand and answered "The Prophet!". Her teacher, not knowing what to say, asked her "What does a prophet do?" This is where it gets really cute... she answered "He preaches the gospel of the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" The teacher was apparently at a loss of words and then finally told her that they would put "preacher" on the board. :)

I am so proud of London for being so bold. I wish that I could be more so. I think that a lot of the time we are so afraid of offending that we are too reserved, almost to the point of seeming ashamed or apologetic of our faith. But little children understand better than us that the "truth" of the gospel should be shared openly and without reserve! Good job, London!!!

Dog Gone Monkey Jones

Monkey Jones. That is what we named our little puppy. Jones because all of the kids have family names for their middle name and Monkey because she would sometimes sound like a monkey when she would cry. Notice I am using the past tense when referring to our little doggy. She was a member of our family for approximately 28 hours before we handed her back to the breeder. After lots of tears from our kids, we decided we had to take her back since Zeke is EXTREMELY allergic. We knew he was allergic to fruit, but had no idea that he had a bad allergy to dogs. Poor Zeke spent all day yesterday zonked out on Benadryl because he had hives that formed 2 to 3 inch long welts up and down his neck and crying because his throat hurt so bad. So we couldn't put him through it anymore. Luckily the breeder was nice enough to take her back and give us a full refund. So here are a couple pics of our little Monkey before we gave her back.

What's in a name??

Anytime I try to do these name things I don't know whether to put in Sunny or Sonya. So this time I thought I would put in both. Of course, they both have similarities. Which one do you think it more truly me????

What Sunny Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What Sonya Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Doggie Time

I need to make a bunch of new posts, but I don't have time to load up photos today. This is just a post to ask for names for a puppy. We are going to buy a dog this week. It looks like it will be either a black or chocolate female lab. So we need help in finding a great name. Something fun like the name my brother found for his cat--Her name is Katharine Dander, and they call her Kitty for short!! So if anyone has any clever ideas, I am open for suggestions!! Thanks for the help!