Mckell's big day

This week we celebrated Mckell's 4th birthday. That's right people she is 4!!! I can't believe it! Mckell is so passionate and full of life. I love her so much! I feel a sense of indebtedness to her since I feel she blesses my life more than I could ever bless hers. Mckell teaches me how to find humor in all situations, she teaches me patience, tolerance and unconditional love. I will forever be grateful to her for the lessons that she teaches me. Mckell loves to dance and if she's not at dance, she is playing dance at home. She practices constantly. Mckell is a good big sister for Molly and has taken on quite the mothering role. She is a leader among her friends and loves to be in control. Hmmm.... not sure where she gets that. Anywho, Mckell had a wonderful birthday week. I brought some cupcakes in to her preschool class and she got to pass them out to all of her classmates which she loved. We also brought some donuts and juice to her dance class. I happened to be teaching at the same time so I brought my class (who are all 17-18 yr olds) in with me to sing to her. She looked pretty much terrified to see all these big girls that she didn't know singing to her. I felt kind of bad.. Sorry Sweetie!! Mckell wanted to go to the Build a Bear workshop for her birthday party. She got to choose a few of her best friends and we headed to the mall. The girls had a great time. The look on their faces was the classic Christmas morning face that all of us parents hope for. They got to pick a bear, give it a heartbeat, stuff it to their liking, give her a bath, a name, and pick out bows, etc. It was such a good day! Oh Mckell dear, I love you so much! Happy Birthday!










Mckell and me on a birthday date













They were so excited!

Feeling grateful

I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude right now. My kids are healthy (ok not at the moment but generally speaking), we are happy, we have SO many blessings! I would feel ungrateful if I didn't share that. Last weekend our stake put on a cultural event about the life of Thomas S. Monson. It was INCREDIBLE! The spirit was so strong! You could see the testimonies of our amazing youth in their eyes and you could hear their testimonies in their voices as they sang their little hearts out. It will truly be something that I will never forget! FYI Sis Elaine Dalton the YW general president and President Beck general young mens president were in attendance... just sayin! It was such a neat experience, I just wish I had more pics to document it all.

Each week we were able to learn a little about the life of Thomas S. Monson. One of my favorite quotes of his is "Never let a project to be finished come before a person to be loved". I have adopted this as my new motto and strive to live by it. He truly is an incredible person and I know that he is God's prophet.


Trick or treating! The kids had so much fun and the weather was fantastic


Gotta stop and pose after each house, it's essential




We sure love aunt Cailey!


Some of the cousins


Ok seriously Molly is the cutest thing ever. She is OBSESSED with putting the kids underwear on her head. When I fold laundry, she digs through the pile to find all of her undie options. I've also caught her in Mckell's dresser searching for undies.


Well I learned something new about Mckell. She loves to decorate! I had no idea. She was nice enough to come with me to the church to decorate for the cultural event. She was in Heaven! She was arranging and rearranging, and then taking a step back to see the big picture. She was a huge help and we had fun working together!




Phew what a relief! One show down three to go!