Fishing in Alaska . . . . . .

Randy had the great opportunity to go fishing in Alaska a couple of weeks ago. It had been planned for a long time and everybody was so excited. I was way excited because I LOVE fish. I was even more excited that Randy took it upon himself to grow a total mountain-man beard. :) Well, the boys did not disappoint when it came to reeling in some fish. They came home with 600 pounds between the four of them. Halibut, Salmon, Rockfish, etc. etc. etc. I was happy to send all of the boys to do the dirty work and now all I have to do is cook it up! The boys had a great time, in between bouts of sea-sickness, and will remember the trip for years to come! Thanks to my dad for setting everything up and creating some memories that will last a lifetime!

Changes . . . . . . .

We got some really great news last Friday. Randy was promoted to an outside sales position over his own territory. This is GREAT news and is so good for our family. It's the job Randy has been trying to get into since he graduated. The thing is, his new territory is in Las Vegas and he starts August 31. So, we are moving to Las Vegas. I can't believe it. I have so many mixed emotions it's ridiculous. We feel really blessed and happy to have this opportunity, but I am so sad to be leaving family, friends, and wonderful neighbors. It looks like we were able to get a renter for our home really quick and they want to move in this weekend. Great. Things are falling into place. The only problem is that Randy left for Alaska this morning and won't be home until Sunday. Then we leave for vacation on Monday. SOOOOOO, my sweet mom and sisters are going to help me move out by Friday. I went ahead and booked a moving company so that I don't completely lose my mind. Here's to the next chapter . . . . . . .

Today . . . . . . . .

I'm cleaning house today so the kids get to do whatever they want pretty much. Ava's been running around in her princess dress on backwards and some GORGEOUS pink princess shoes and Kai is being, well, Kai! When we sat down for lunch Ava decided she didn't want to ruin her princess dress with macaroni and cheese so she took it off. Thus we have this picture at lunch:

Kai got a little "fussy." I put that in quotations because the term fussy actually doesn't apply to this little guy. I wrapped him up in a peanut as we like to call it and put him in his swing which he LOVES. This picture is the result of that:

By the way, Mr. Moo is still an angel, he just happens to be an angel that despises his car seat. Right now I'm taking as few trips in the car as possible.

Last, but not least, we have Ava's "lunicorn" which she found somewhere in her toy box this morning. I didn't even know we still had this toy. I'm pretty sure it was a buck and I bought it at Smith's a couple of years ago. Anyway, Ava knew how hungry the "lunicorn" was, so she sat it down for some yummy mac and cheese. This picture is the result of that:

By the way, the unicorn is a girl and is "cute" not "handsome". The Purple hippo in the picture with Kai is a boy. I don't know why he's a boy since he's purple, but he is "handsome" not "pretty". Also, Ava looks beautiful in her princess dress, but mommy does not because her hair isn't done and she's still in her jammies. Just thought you'd all like to know.

The Big Day!!!!!

Congratulations to Alecia and Sam Riddle! They made it to the big day and now they're husband and wife! It was such a wonderful day full of fun and family. I am SOOOO happy for you two. They are such a wonderful couple and seriously, have you ever seen a more beautiful bride?

This is the first time Sam saw Alecia and her wedding dress. A picture is worth a thousand words right?


At the temple. It couldn't have been a better August day. It was beautiful and nobody died of heat stroke! The night before, Randy told Ava we were going to the temple and that is where Jesus lives. I knew that was a big mistake because she would be looking for Jesus the entire time we were there; and she was. She kept asking where he was and I didn't really know how to answer her. Well, during the prayer at the ring ceremony Ava whispered to me loudly, "Mom! I found him!" I looked at her confused and she said, "I found him! There's Jesus!" She pointed to the photographer who had long hair. Jessica and I were rolling. I have to say, I'm glad she found Jesus.



At the beautiful ring ceremony. Randy told Ava to do a silly face and this is her version. We were all cracking up.




My perfect little man. This is about as difficult as he was the entire day.

Here are the kids between the luncheon and ring ceremony. Kai had a blowout so we were washing his clothes and Ava ripped and stained her dress. My grandma was kind enough to sew and clean it up. The life of a mom. Funny story though; when I saw that her dress was falling apart, my first instinct was to get out the hot glue gun. My grandma gave me a funny look and said, "maybe we could try a needle and thread." Is there something wrong with me considering that my first instinct is always a hot glue gun? At least I didn't pull out the duct tape! :)

The reception:

LOVE my family! Ava would not put down her bouquet the entire night. It was the cutest thing.

My beautiful sisters and mom. I am SOOO lucky to have 3 of the best women in the world be my best friends!


Okay - I am going to just say it. My husband is hot. VERY attractive in my opinion. I'm not gonna lie, there were quite a few people that mentioned to me how good looking he is. I definitely can't argue. :) My cousin Braden is pretty cute too.

Ava and her Uncle Sam. After Sam sang at the reception, Ava said to him, "You are a good singer! Just like me!" It's nice to be confident. A few weeks ago we were watching the cartoon Fireman Sam. There were a few firemen on the screen and Ava said, "There are 2 Sam's Mom! I only have ONE Sam!" She loves this guy.

One of my favorite pictures of the day. Ava and her Aunt "SheeShee". She said to Alecia, "You look beautiful! Just like me!" Like I said, it's nice to be confident.


Ava and her aunt Jessica. Jessica is seriously like Ava's second mom. Ava LOVES her!

A good picture to end with. We were all tired after 2 days of wedding, but my mom was SUPER tired after MONTHS of wedding planning. You deserve a relaxing August mom! Good luck with that! :)

Best Day Ever . . . . .

Apparently Alecia and Sam's wedding was the "best day ever" for Ava. She got to do everything she loved! She hung out with Papa, which, let's face it, means she got whatever she wanted and probably more. :) She got to be a beautiful flower girl and wear a beautiful flower girl dress. She got to see a real live princess (Alecia). She had the very important job of walking down the aisle. She got to play with lots of cousins and dance, dance, dance. That girl never quit dancing the entire day and she refused to take her dress off that night. She had SOOOOOO much fun.

Sorry these are dark. This is the start of the walk down the aisle as a flower girl. Everything was going smoothly until she realized she had forgotten to throw her petals! Soooo . . . .

She turned around and started over. (I thought she was getting scared, but I should have known better. She IS my daughter and wanted it to be perfect :)

Completely satisfied with herself.

The little beauty at the temple. It's too bad she's so shy. :) She was constantly twirling in her dress and wouldn't put down her picture of the temple that the cute temple worker gave her.






Dancing the night away at the reception. She NEVER runs out of energy!


Ava's new best friends: Kasey and Dixie. Sam's cute sister and her boyfriend. Ava LOVED them and wanted to play with them constantly. They were such good sports.

Is this how a garter is supposed to be used?

Last, but not least, a picture taken by none other than Ava herself.