Mr. #1

Happy Father's Day
to our #1 strong man!!!

I didn't do nearly enough justice to the dad of this family yesterday.

(tired, worked all night, busy Sunday stuff ... excuse, excuse, excuse ...)

So, I'll just say here and now that:

Steve, WE LOVE YOU and are SUPER glad you're the Dad of this family.

You cook us dinner,

you give great snuggles,

you play "rough-up" every day,

you keep the cars filled with gas,

you mow the lawn,

you change diapers (even the stinky ones),

you take our fussy kids out at church,

you ride bikes with Gage and Sunny,

you walk Gage to school (even when it's uphill, in the snow, both ways),

you're a sounding board,

you're a shoulder to cry on,

you're my solid rock,

you balance school and home like a pro!

We SUPER love you and can't wait to spoil you on your birthday later this week!!!

10 Years & 1 Day

Married 10 years and 1 day to you ... the most INCREDIBLE man in the world!

You can read my thoughts (does that make you a super hero?) ...
You pull dinner out of a hat ...
You tuck our kids in bed ...
You pick out movies that you think I might like ...

You tell me EVERY day that I'm beautiful ...

(and because of that I'm actually starting to believe it!)
You fill the car with gas so I won't run out ...
You make sure I get plenty of sleep before each night shift ...
You're going to law school to make my dream of being a stay-home mom come true ...
You look great with your shirt off ...
You're my absolute BEST friend ...


Thank you for taking me to the temple ten years ago
and thank you for taking me back there today.
... XOXO ...

30

Uh ... hello? Is this thing on??

Thirty this year. Yup, the big 3.0. "Finally" would be more like it.

I've been looking forward to this birthday for a while now.

Growing up the baby of 8 kids means you spend a lot of time trying to be grown up.

I've been an adult for a while and now I've finally got the digits to show for it.

There will be a LOT of changes in the next decade for me.

-Steve graduating from law school ...

-Massive student debt to overcome ...

-The possibility of another baby ...

-The idea that I could actually become a stay-home mom ...

-The first grey hair ...

-The first noticable wrinkle ...

-Having to work to keep my figure ...

All good stuff ... well, MOSTLY good stuff. But all very exciting.

Michigan Summer Perfume

If you were wondering what kind of perfume

to get me for my birthday this year

... here's a hint!

Vacuum Saga ...

"Ike, can you come here for a minute?"

"Sure Mom, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you knew how my vacuum got clogged? "

"That's gross mom!"

"But if I remember right, first I opened the trap door like this ... "

"... then I put in a few animal crackers, like this ..."

"and finally, I crammed them down nice and tight, like this."

"Here's what I think of your new vacuum game!"

"Sorry Mom."


"Lucky for you you're cute!!"

"Now, let's kiss and make up!"

Mother's Day ... can I super size that?

Mother's day this year was without a doubt one to remember!
Home early in the morning from a long night at work.
Showered with hugs, kisses, home-made jewelry and cards.
A nice relaxing nap before church.
Exciting new callings for me and Steve.
Choir practice with one of my favorite songs.
Didn't have to go out once during sacrament meeting (miracle).
Giant chocolate candy leis for each sister (yummy!).
Ike stayed in Nursery the whole time (almost tear free too).
A "Mother's appreciation" dinner in the cultural hall after the block.
Set up, food prep, & clean up provided by the Priesthood.
Children's tables and distraction games provided by the youth.
Home for some quiet time after putting the kids to bed.
Ahhh, what a fabulous day of spoiling!!

Biker Gang ...

"Biker Gang"

Gage, Steve, and Sunny tearing up the streets.

Ike is our trike man restricted to the driveway.
It's tough to be little!

A bike can open the world for a kid.

THANK YOU SPRING!
YOU CAME JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME!!