Ralph Waldo Emerson gave a yardstick by which to measure our personal success. He wrote:


What is success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.


The most fundamental of all human searches is for happiness. We each choose our own happiness. As President Harold B. Lee once said: “Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you. It is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life.”

I loved these two quotes, they are a good reminder. Have a happy day!!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

I know I'm a little late but once I saw the pictures that I took on that day I had to post them.

Ha, ha, ha,
He looks like a little winking leprechaun.


Yummy gold coin cookies.


And this one looks like he had a little too much fun on St. Patty's Day. hahaha. You gotta love taking pictures of kids they never come out like you expect. :)

I will do better...

Well, this is what I call the I will do better post. The reason for that is, well, I missed a whole month. :(. So here is the catch up post (in other words February in review). Starting with our little super bowl party. We just had our own little party and really it was all about the food and the commercials. (It was a good game but I wanted Arizona to win.)

Xander is growing and becoming such a fun little guy.

My birthday was good. Thanks to everyone that remembered and wished me well. It was a good day. Tyler, Hayden and Xander took me to the Cheesecake Factory, yummy!!!
Valentines Day was fun. I sure love all my boys and especially Tyler. Thanks for all you do babe. I couldn't do it without you. :) Here is Hayden striking a pose and chowing down on the sugar cookie he decorated.


My mom came to surprise my brother and his family while they were up here so she was able to come to church with us on Sunday. My little brother also came and he and Xander were snoozing before church started. It was perfect timing on my mom's part because Tyler had bought Celine Dion tickets back in January of 2008 and the concert was scheduled for November, it was cancelled and rescheduled for that Sunday night. So luckily my mom was able to watch the kids and we had an awesome time. Thanks mom! It was an amazing concert. (Sorry no pictures of that.)





















My brother and his family came to see us and to go snowboarding. While they were up on the slopes my mom and I were watching the kids. They played and had fun together. I came down stairs and this is what I found. They were cracking me up. :)

They had a lot of fun playing together and it was cute to see them all sit down to watch a movie together.
Justin had Xander and Drew chillin together and it was so cute.
During their stay we decided to go to the Aquarium. It was fun to watch them check out the cool fish, stingray, shark, octupus, etc., and Hayden is still talking about the little green crab.

















Brittany and Justin helped Elle, Hayden & Dean touch all the cool sea creatures.
I think they all had a fun time.

It was fun to have everybody here. Hayden had fun with his cousins and I think he was a little bored after they left. Here are two cute pictures of all of them together while they were all happy. Thanks for coming to visit guys!! We hope you had fun.

























These two pictures are random but just too cute not to share. It is so fun to watch him play, it's amazing how fast they learn. And look at that innocent little grin. Just adorable.





















Since Xander is too little to play with Hayden's toys Hayden brings his toys and plays close to Xander. It is really cute and they both have fun, for the most part. Hayden's sound effects freak Xander out sometimes. :)


Well thanks for scrolling through that really long post. I've decided that I will try to post at least once a week so that I don't get so far behind.

Pay it Forward

So, I thought this might be a good way to get back into blogging. I am going to post about the month of February but this is at least a quick, hi, I'm still alive and I want to pay it forward. :) So, here it goes. Have fun. :)


The Rules}

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along.Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

I have a what????

A three year old!!! Crazy huh? Yes, Hayden's birthday was on the 24th and we had such a fun day together. I really can't believe that he is three.
He asked for a Mickey Mouse Pancake for breakfast.
We took him to the dino museum and we all had fun.


We had fun decorating his cake, thanks for your help Cameron and Brittany.

And he liked opening presents.

He made a wish!

Yummy!

Thanks for coming everybody!

Hayden we sure love you. Thanks for being such an awesome, great little boy. You always make us laugh and smile. You are so sweet and yet such a tough little boy. You say the cutest things and are getting so very smart. We don't know what we would do without you. :)