*Graduation Day*

Toby Graduated from Kindergarten last Friday! I had nooo idea how big of a deal Kindergarten graduation was out here ( a bit over the top if you ask me! ) but it was fun. :) He knew all of the songs perfectly and did a fantastic job!


I was all smiles throughout the program, until they got to the song 'Take Care of Your Body' (I added a short video clip of it --I can't get the vid to upload so I'll post it on youtube -- link at right). It brought tears to my eyes. Anyone who doesn't know our story probably thought I was weird. :) To watch and hear Toby sing ' I WANT TO BE STRONG. I WANT TO LIVE LONG. I WANT TO BE WELL' was emotional. There were so many times when he wasn't strong. He was too weak to walk, or even sit up. I had to carry him and hold him, no matter how much he wanted to do it himself. And there was a time when we were told he wouldn't live long. Most people don't have a second thought about that song (not that I blame them). But once you've dealt with an unhealthy body, the song has new meaning. The lyrics are " Take care of my body. It's my body, healthy I want to be. Take care of my body, and everybody will take care of me. Day-O. I'm gonna feel OK. I want to be strong! I want to live long! I want to be well, and take care of myself!". So anyway, I am so grateful for Toby's strength today. I am grateful that he is here with us, able to stand and sing. Man, he's tough! And I believe him when he says he's going to live long! :)
So now that I'm all emotional, I look at the pic of Toby with his arms around his friends and I can envision him graduating from high school. It'll be fun to compare the two pictures when he does. :)



We had a great memorial weekend! We went up to visit Dave's parents and some of his siblings in Vernal on Saturday and Sunday. It was great to see them. Then we came home and met up with my family on Monday for a yummy BBQ and then went fishing (thank goodness for uncle Kirk when it comes time to fish). Kyle caught 2 fish within minutes of each other! He then caught another, but invited my nephew Ethan to come and have a turn :) Kirk and Cherrie both graciously gave up their catches and let Toby and Lily have a turn fishing. So everyone caught a fish! :) It was a lot of fun!

We stopped by the Rennessaince Festival on our way to Logan for Mother's Day weekend. We wanted to see jousting, but they didn't have any going on while we were there. It was interesting. The kids came home sporting foam swords and fairy wings, so it was well worth it to them :) We paid a dollar for Lily to ride a horse (good deal! you're thinking, right?) haha well they went in a circle about as big as our dining room table..... haha! At least Lily enjoyed it :)






Then we stayed with my dearest friend Courtney in Logan. We went to a crash derby..... the kids loved it! (I didn't get any pics there dang it.....and we even saw a car flip all the way over -- next time maybe ;) We also went to a little park/zoo that was a lot of fun. The kids made these cutes masks there. We spent Sunday with Chris (I just made and typo... typed Christ instead of Chris lol ironic.....suppose I spent Sunday with Christ as well) and Courtney and attended their church. I had so much fun! I was so glad we went. I swear we don't get out, unless it's to a Dr. appointment! Chris and Court..... thank you SO much for your hospitality and taking such great care of us! And for taking us fun places! It's your turn to come visit us now :)
Lily and her friend Cate

Lily and Toby watching a peacock (showing off feathers) and a big turtle!

So DJ was carrying a baby doll today and I told him to give it a kiss and he totally licked its' face ewwwww! Toby, Lily and I were laughing and then Lily said "DJ! That is NOT an ice cream cone!!!!!!" haha

Here is a cute video of Lily singing........again haha She just was making me laugh when she would try and sing the fast part :) C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song from Spongebob :)

*Yo Momma*

I want to take a moment and say something serious :) I had the pleasure of listening to two of my children share their testimony today in church. Kyle kindly took Lily up to share her testimony, and then couldn't walk back down without sharing his own. :) We haven't practiced or talked about tesitmonies for quite a while now. The last time we did (which was several months ago), we practiced for Toby's sake, because he was wanting to go up and share his testimony ( I remember that practice very well, because Toby impressed us with a very sweet testimony, then asked if he could try again. At that point, he walked up in front of us, serious as could be, and said "I'm here to tell you that the sun is not a monster" hahaha He cracks us up and has quite the memory for quoting movie lines!) Anyway, on to my sweet story... :) Lily spoke first and said that she knew the church was true and that she knew her family loved her.....short, sweet, and perfect for a 4 year old. Kyle was next. He was so touching. He spoke a bit about Toby and our prayers for him when he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He said that he knew the Lord would help us, even in hard times. He said that he was thankful for the gospel...for the opportunity to come to church to learn more about the gospel, and that he looked forward to serving a mission and sharing the gospel with others. He's 11!!! :) Being a mother sure has some awesome moments :)


The previous paragraph, and the following, shouldn't be in the same post! Please be advised, this entry is not for the sensitive or easily offended...

These are a bunch of 'yo momma' jokes that Dave and I listened to on a long drive home the other day. It started with Jahde, who actually had some real yo momma jokes to tell. Then all the kids joined in. I had to start writing them down because they were soooooo random and ridiculous funny! :) *You might do better to read these when you're really tired, or in a giddy mood* **and yes, I'm well aware that many of these don't make sense, that's what makes them so funny to me** :)

Toby - Yo Momma's so fat, that when she touched a power line, she got shocked!

Lily - Yo momma's so fat, that when she slipped on an ice cube, she died!

Toby - Yo momma's so fat, that when she went hiking, her hiking stick broke!

Lily - Yo momma's so fat, that she didn't have any underwear!

Toby - Yo momma's so fat, that she went hiking, slipped, did a front flip, and fell
off of a cliff!

Lily - Yo momma's so fat, she can't comb her hair!

Toby - Yo momma's so stupid, that she couldn't cut, and stabbed her eye!

Lily - Yo momma's so fat and stupid, that she can't walk.......or skip!

Toby - Yo momma's so stupid, that when she was pregnant, she had a bunch of babies,
and didn't do anything about it!

Kyle - Yo momma's so fat, that her bracelets are monster truck tires!

*Ryhming and Signing with Love*

Lily and I were rhyming. I would say a word, and she would come up with a word that rhymed. She was doing great, and decided to quiz me in return. She asked me what rhymed with 'tree'. I answered, 'three'. She said "no, that's not right, the word is 'bee'". I just kinda chuckled to myself, and we sat in silence for a moment. Then in her sweetest voice, Lily said "Mom, I still love you". It's nice to know that even when I am 'wrong', she still loves me haha :)



For Family Home Evening we were singing the song I Love to See the Temple. The kids know some sign language to this song, and were signing along as they sang. (I'm really not sure I should post about this but it was so funny!) At the end of the song, the lyrics are 'a family is forever'. The sign that the kids do there is sorta like the letter F in sign language, done with both hands, hands starting together, making a circle and rejoining. (Now this is only funny because it was completely and totally innocent!) So when Toby's hands made the circle and rejoined, and as he sang 'a family is forever', his two middle fingers were the only fingers that were standing up tall, they circled around and faced out towards the rest of us. Dave and I looked at each other wide eyed and then we both started laughing. Toby still has no idea what he did. He has no idea he made a sign completely contradictory of the one he was trying to make. I'm glad he has no idea! We of course made sure to show him a more accurate way to sign! :)

*K S I S N S G*

I know I take too many videos of Lily, but my goodness, how can I resist??!? And how can I not post this one when she says she loves me??!? :) I thought it was soooooo sweet! :)




I overheard Toby teasing Kyle the other day...... "Two little lovers sittin in a tree, K S I S N S G" hahaha :)



Kyle made his own powerpoint presentation for his honors class at school. I haven't seen it, but he was really excited about it, and I have no doubt he did a fantastic job! (Now he'll have to teach me :)

Derek is growing up so fast! Only another month and he'll be in nursery! He is communicating really well, which makes life a lot easier (usually). My favorites are "boo boo" which is his binky and blanky. He'll ask for "help" or say "ouch". He'll typically try and copy most words we say. He also says the basics, mommy, dadda, bottle, more, drink, hot, no no, yes, and cheeeeeeeeeeeese when the camera comes around. :)

Ok here's another complaint of mine, but I wont go into any detail or long boring stories........but why are some people so selfish and feel like they are entitled????

*Blah Blah Black Sheep*

Blah Blah black sheep, have you any more? Yes sir, yes sir, three bad bulls. One for the master (incoherent mumbling....guess the dame isn't getting one! ha) and one for the little girl who lives in the lame. Blah Blah black sheep, have you any more? Yes sir, yes sir, three bad bulls.
I asked Lily what a bull was, and she said it must be a black sheep.....so there you have it :)


Don't forget to check out Toby's caringbridge site...it wont be around forever (thank heavens!)

*Oh to be young*

I went on a walking field trip with Toby's kindergarten class. We walked from the school to the Library, Fire Station and Post Office. The kids have been talking about neighborhood helpers, and got to go see, and talk to some in person. So, at the fire station, the fireman was explaining what to do in case of a fire. He asked the children what would happen if they got smoke in their eyes and a little girl shouted out "You'll DIE!" ha Then we went outside and talked with a police man and looked at his car. One of the children asked him why the police took people to jail. He explained that sometimes people make bad choices or break the law. One child asked the policeman if he'd ever gone to jail. haha Then another young boy proudly said "my mom has gone to jail!". haha I'm sure she was glad he told us all that!


I then took Kyle and Toby to the dentist (no cavities hoooray!). Toby came out and said he couldn't eat or drink anything for 30 minutes, and then became concened and asked me "mom, can I swallow?". *Aunt Kristin, I hope you're reading this lol* I said of course he could swallow. He then said, but there's spit in my mouth, and they told me I couldn't drink for 30 minutes. I laughed and told him that 'spit' wasn't considered a drink. He said, but don't you remember "Drink your spit!" hahahaha, *Aunt Kristin told one of her children to drink his spit after relentless asking for a drink on their loooong drive to Utah*. You have to know calm, patient, loving Kristin to really appreciate this.......too funny! :)


Then last night Dave was wrestling with the kids and Lily climbed up on his back and said "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas! I got a Dog!" totally random, gave us a good laugh!!! :)

And seriously.......do we ever have this much fun eating?