Squeaky Clean

Yes, there will be a lot of pictures, because when there is such a perfect day, you want to remember every minute.

June's baptism was amazing. The whole day she was surrounded by helpful loving people. I couldn't have done it all by myself, but no one asked me to. Family and friends stepped in to make it all happen. It was so great.

We had a luncheon for just family in the morning. (Thanks again Mom, for keeping everything flowing, I owe you one...or a million by now if you are keeping track.) It was so nice to spend time with family. I relaxed at the brunch and didn't become crazy picture lady until later. Sometimes I wonder if people get tired of me walking around with the camera, but you will all thank me later when you want to see the pictures.

The service was excellent with grandparents speaking. (June's Grandpa Cazier and Dallin's Grandma) We shared the day with the Rice family and it was splendid to stand side by side with strong righteous people. Dallin was baptized first and I took a moment to step into the dressing room and put June's towel inside. I opened the door and was greeted by the sight of five white dresses hanging—waiting for five worthy girls to make this important decision. It was one of the most tender moments for me. (My camera could only fit three, sorry.)

June was brave and calm as she entered the water. I am so proud of her. Not to mention proud of her Dad who is a worthy priesthood holder who was able to perform this special ordinance.

Dallin's Grandmother gave a talk about the Holy Ghost after the baptisms, and she made a comforter for each child. She had never met June and she didn't even skip a beat about wanting to make her day special. The world sure is full of generous souls.

Although this day was certainly serious, don't think we didn't stop to have some fun.

We had the refreshments at our ward building afterward. Once again, it was just joyous to mingle with friends and eat good food. Kathryn (have I mentioned how much I love my sister in law?) took care of my mini while I documented.

I love her boys as well. I think they are fine young men. I wish we could see them more often.

Did I mention that we always stop to have some fun. Check out these awesome cookies Melissa made. I'm going to have to have these at every baptism now. They are so perfect.

June scored some bling.

She is such a great example to her sisters.

Although the day may have been lost on some of her sisters.

I wish I could suck the feelings from this day and bottle them. I would open it and take deep breaths when I have had a hard day.

June has so many people that love her. I hope she knows that.

The event ended with a bang. Daisy's diaper literally exploded off her and we decided it was probably time to go home. If this day were a silver cloud, there was sadly a little rain at the end. Daisy and Ivory got sick and threw-up all night. (Still not sure what caused it.) Tyler the great dad that he is, stayed up all night with Daisy. We let them crash this afternoon.

Other than that, the day couldn't have been better. Thanks to everyone who worked behind the scenes. There are some days that should be magical and this one did not disappoint. I am thankful for my Savior, for His example, and His gospel. I am happy to have the opportunity to teach my children to be like Him. I hope they will always follow in His footsteps.

Congratulations June and Dallin.

Leap of Faith

I have a lot to blog about, but at the moment I am too busy getting ready for this:

See you after this weekend.

There's Always a First Time for Everything

Yes folks, I hemmed my first pair of pants today.

I have sewn around a hem before, but I had never done the real 'by-hand' stitching.

Tyler needed his white pants hemmed for June's baptism.

It is a good thing for Tyler that she is getting baptized because I have been procrastinating hemming those pants...


...for three years.

Oddly, I don't see this as a fault of mine, this slow-pokedness. On the contrary, I think we can put this in a good light.

Give me enough time and I can do ANYTHING!

I Hope He Meant It

It was good to hear Conference today.

Elder Holland reminded us that we are all trying hard and he is proud of us.

I hope he meant that because even though I am trying, I sometimes have bad days.

Like today (conference day even) when...

I finally roared at my children and they all went scurrying to bed. (This is NOT an exaggeration.)



I think they know when mom has had enough.

p.s. Even though I have had enough, I still have to go shopping tonight. Yippy Skippy.

I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Gr8

Love this picture. Love this girl. Love balloons.

June is eight now. Or at least she has been for about an hour as I write this. I had her late in the evening. The nurse told me that I probably wouldn't have her until the next morning. But I guess June decided it was time to get the show on the road. That attitude has followed her through life. When she puts her mind to something, she can accomplish almost anything.

There was no friend party this year. Instead I took her to Color Me Mine. We had a great time, the two of us, but there are no pictures until we get the finished products. (So stay tuned.)

We opened presents this evening, and I think she liked all her gifts. Her favorite is probably the Build Your Own Fairytale Kit. It is just a big empty book with lots of stickers and stuff to put inside while you write your own story. That is right up her alley. She loves to read and write. I'll have to take some pictures as she builds her story.

I love when only one person knows you are taking a picture.

 Another big hit: the Heelys. You know, those shoes with the wheels in them.

Ivory came up with that idea all by herself. They are not for the faint of heart. I see kids zipping around in them at the grocery store and it looks easy. Contrary to how kids make it look, I think they take a bit of practice. And let's be honest, my children are not the most graceful. June was headed for a sore tailbone, so Tyler remedied the situation while she was practicing. It led to lots of giggles from the peanut gallery.

Robyn especially could not get over her large bottom. This does not bode well for me in the future.

And to finish we have the traditional spitting on the cake. June actually requested that she NOT have cake this year. She said I could surprise her with any other kind of dessert. So I got her cake anyway, but when you put the word cheese in front of it, it becomes a whole different kind of delicious. June seemed pleased with my choice, despite the fact that it was technically still a 'cake'.

Happy Birthday June!! You sure are greight.

Wordless Wednesday: Guess Who?

Count Your Many Blessings

Pearl (Pearly, Pearly-P, Pearlite, The Babies)

This girl is a doll. She is a squirmy little thing, but only because she is so intent on everything around her. She sits up by herself now and eats some solid stuff. (Although she still spits up and I forgot how much I hate it when spit-up goes techno-colored.) Everybody in the family loves her. Daisy and Ivory giggle and fawn over her until she gives them a smile. Robyn and June tote her around and give her kisses. She is spoiled. In the above picture, June was in charge and she had changed her into one of my shirts (?) and put up a cushion protection around her in case she should fall. She looked up at me and beamed, showing off her cute dimple. Sakes alive, could she get any cuter?

Daisy (Daiser, StinkPot, Goose, Dais, Daisy-Cakes)

Don't be fooled by the cuteness folks. This kid could find trouble faster than a shark smells blood in the water. Latest achievements: Finding gum under a bleacher (and chewing it), sampling her own boogers for the first time, taking off multiple poopy diapers, and drawing all over her bed (YET AGAIN!! Please do not ask how she continues to get markers. This does not reflect well on her parents.)  I adore this little duck, but man, she keeps this momma busy.

Ivory (Ives, Ivy-Spivy, Ivers)

Ivory is my little ray of sunshine. She is happy and fun, and throws a temper tantrum in there every once in a while to keep it real. She is doing a dance class at the moment while she waits for pre-school to start and I love hearing her regale me with tales of drama and flare. She still says the funniest things too. This evening the girls were talking about Barbie being fired in Barbie and a Fashion Fairytale. Ivory added, "Yeah, but she didn't even get burned."

Robyn (Yep, we just call her Robyn)

Personality is starting to ooze out of Robyn. She is stubborn and kind, all in one package. She needles her sisters to see where she fits in the mix and then I watch her play with them every so sweetly. She is reading very well and loving school. She still loves to color and really likes girly things (i.e. unicorns, pink, glitter, cotton candy, sugar, spice, everything nice, etc.) She also has a soft spot for the dog and I wash her sheets regularly because they always have dog hair on them.

June (Junie, Juniper, June-bog, Juner)

 This one likes to read, read, read. She is smart and gets almost all my jokes now. She plays games with me and is probably at the perfect age, because she still thinks I am amazing. That bubble will pop sooner than later I am sure, since she is almost better than me at piano, and it won't take long for her to find many areas in which to pass me up. She is such a big help to me and I am very thankful for my oldest daughter. Her birthday is this week. I'm sure you'll hear more about her.