Peyton is 7!

I love my little angel boy. He is such a joy, such an intellectual. When he was just little, we could see those wheels churning in his head as he pondered what he was being taught. Constantly asking questions till he was satisfied with the answer given. Peyton is such a GOOD boy. He is smart when it comes to the gospel too. He really soaks up this knowledge and I can see him in 12 years as a very handsome, faithful missionary! :) Don't change my Peyton man! Mommy loves you!!

The week of his Bday came fast! I had to plan a great birthday fast. We invited a few friends and thank to the internet, I got some great ideas for a pirate birthday party! We started with pizza then a treasure hunt. Then a skull cake, presents and ending with "the pirates that don't do anything" veggies tales movie and their own bag of treats and popcorn! Yay, it's over and I am breathing again :) But it was sooo worth it!

Trek 2011

I totally forgot that I hadn't written anything about the trek we did this summer with the youth in our stake. What a blessing it was for us to be called as a "Ma and Pa" on the Trek. My appreciation for what the pioneers went through, sacrificing EVERYTHING, and putting all their faith in Christ and his church with the hope of a new life, a life free of persecution! That is why they did what they did. I learned in great detail the struggles of many of the pioneers. I learned about families. I learned about so much that I have to be grateful for because of their sacrifices for US! I learned about having more faith. I learned that I can do hard things. I learned that we were there for a reason, that our trek family was put together the way it was for a distinct purpose. I still pray for my pioneer children, and I always will. It wasn't THAT long ago when Matt and I were facing the same trials they are today. I feel for them, I want so badly for them to succeed and to remain faithful. I want them to develop a testimony that when life gets so terribly hard, it will be enough to pull them through. The trek was HARD! A lot rougher than anyone had anticipated. But so totally worth everything we went through.

Marriage class

So Matt signed us up for a stake marriage class a few weeks ago. It goes for 6 weeks and we are now half way. The hard part for us it that it's on a Thursday night and everyone else in the class is older so they don't share the babysitting issue. The class is taught by our old bishop and his wife and can I tell you how amazing it is!? I highly recommend it to all couples, no matter what stage of life you're in. It's a weekly reminder of how great your marriage is and/or can be. Life was good, but now it's so much better!
Speaking of a celestial marriage, Thursday was our 11th anniversary!! It was such a wonderful day! We woke up and Matt decided to take the day off :) We went for brunch at a cute little breakfast place called the Cottage Cafe. Then Matt took me to this Boutique owned by a lady in our ward. They are so fun and friendly there, even Matt had a good time :) THEN we went bed shopping. We haven't settled on anything yet, but it's past due time for a new bed and we're upgrading to a king, I am so so excited about that! I'm sure it will be one of the best decisions we've ever made :) THEN Matt took me to Zales. My engagement ring and I haven't seen each other much over the course of these 11 years because of weight gain from babies I didn't wear it a lot. Then when it finally fit again, a diamond fell out and a few more were about to. We have never had money to fix it so it's just sat in a safe place for years! Well, it should be ready in 2 weeks. That will be so weird to have a rock back on my finger after all this time. Then, we took the kiddos to the YMCA for swimming. Not what you would think the highlight of an anniversary would be, but let me tell you, watching Matt as he practiced swimming laps for the first time ever made my day (and night:)

Happy Anniversary to my hottie! I love you so much more today then I ever have!

I refuse to fail this time! I am going to make time to blog, and I'm gonna like it! We have so much going on this summer, it would be a shame for all of our friends and family to miss out. At this moment I am writing in my blog, but before this, I was at Target for the 2nd time this week after being at Walmart for the 3rd time trying to get our shtuff together for the Trek. Yes, Matt and I were asked to be a "Ma and Pa" on the youth trek. Let me tell you..it's EXPENSIVE!! All these little things on the list really add up. Who knows what mole skin is!? Oh well, it will be great, right!? Grandma is coming to entertain the kiddos and they can't wait! A week of unsupervised time with Grandma....the possibilities are endless! :) I just hope Eli uses his best manners :)OH Eli! I'm sure you'll hear a lot about him on this blog, he keep me busy, and when he's not beating up his older Brother and Sister is quite entertaining!