Summer

ps - I don't know why the pict of Hy is blurry but in real life (and if you click on it) it is not :)

Girls!!

 This summer we have had some very fun cousin visits but with this round it has been all about the girls :) A few pictures of these darling, beautiful girls!! I am missing one or two but you get the idea :)

Hazy Lazy Day...

 We aren't as bad off as Colorado (be safe all our Boulder friends) but there are plenty of fires burning here. We had one in the valley a few days ago and now they are just burning all around us. The whole house smells like a fire and we are under advisories for air quality. The picture of the mountain in front of our house shows you how hazy it is...however, it makes for good picture lighting outside, even during the middle of the day :)

Halfies...

Navigating mortality, marriage and family always requires communication :) As some of the major life decisions are back in the discussion at our house we had the opportunity to review our lives...We just realized that we are in a sweet spot...John and I have known each other for literally half our lives. It won't be long till we cross over and have actually known each other longer than not. The best part isn't just that we have known each other that long but we have been good friends and in constant contact since the day we met. At BYU we saw each other basically on a daily basis all the years we were there (even the years when we were not dating). When separated by missions we averaged writing each other between monthly and every other month. It is sort of a crazy thing!! I have known my good friend Amy for longer but I think that is about it...all my other good friends I met about the same time as John (except maybe Hilary, she's a little earlier and this doesn't count many of my cousins who truly are some of my best friends :) I mention it just because in the next little while many of you are about to hit this milestone of having your spouse your best friend/archenemy for over half your life. Figure it out and throw yourself a party...it is an amazing feat!! (Sarabeth, Amy, Katherine, Leah and mom...and maybe Patti & Anne...you'll have to throw yourself a retroactive party) I think it calls for a gourmet cupcake!!

Sneak Peek...

John's brother and family came to town last week. It was so much fun to have them here and we are already ready for them to come back :) They have two darling little girls and one is close to Seth's age. They had SOOO much fun playing together. One day they had to leave to go to SLC for a different family dinner. Poor little Sophie was having a hard time leaving Seth. She was desperate. The tears were flowing and she was frantically trying to find some way to get Seth to go with them or get a chance to stay with Seth. It didn't end up working but she settled for Seth walking out to her car and a myriad of hugs. She keep coming back to get more hugs from Seth (in tears). It was the absolute cutest thing from the sweetest little girl. I know boys have breakdowns (I know very well) but they just aren't the same... While I was watching this unfold I just got more excited for the first time Lizzy Beth has a major drama breakdown. I can't wait till she is old enough to throw fits! I know after awhile I'll probably get sick of them but the anticipation is just so sweet right now I can't help but enjoy it :)

Now please excuse me...I hear E crying and I am pretty sure it is because some of her fingernail polish has chipped off and she wants me to paint her toes again :)

Youth...

Just a quick sweet moment witnessed at church today to inspire you...
Our dear neighbor died a few days ago after many battles with cancer. She was amazing and so kind. Even after many injuries and many rounds of chemo she showed up to every activity, she walked our loop daily and had a hello for everyone. Her loss was deeply felt by the ward (as testimony meeting today proved). Although she was loved by everyone, no one loved her more than her dear husband who stayed with her night and day. She fell and broke her hip a few weeks ago and never recovered...
Today we were sitting behind her husband, Dick, at church. He was sitting by himself for the first part of sacrament. When the sacrament ended, two of the priests in our ward came down from blessing the sacrament and sat down next to Dick. As they sat down one of the young boys, Parker, leaned over to him and said no one should sit alone in this ward with a smile. Dick returned his smile and patted him on the knee. I was so touched by the actions of these two young men but as I sat there and looked at them I was even more overcome. One of these young boys comes from a home without a father. His dad is around, a nice person and involved but not the foundational figure in his life. Last year this boy almost died. In a few hours he went from normal to near death from a violent infection. There was about a 24-36 hour period that the doctors did not believe he would make it through. His full recovery took many weeks. The second young man comes from a family of 13 (it might be 12) adopted children. He is the last child and his father died a few years ago. He just recently gave a talk in sacrament about how hard the loss of his father had been. I have heard both mothers on many occasions express what a blessing these young men have been in their lives...
It is clear that sorrow, trials and hardships do not discriminate by age...but it is even more clear that kindness, empathy and love are not limited by age either...what a blessing to belong to a church and community where our seventeen year olds support our seventy year olds and our seventy year olds inspire our 12 year olds - I drove the deacons to the temple for their weekly trip and one young man expressed how he couldn't stop crying at the funeral because of how neat a lady our neighbor was :) Sometimes small things do have a big impact...
Have a good week :)

Little Miss Sherlock...our first thought when we looked at this ;)

Gma Prince...

John's mother sent this dress to Elizabeth. She got SO many compliments on it today so I thought I'd throw a few pictures up for her...
I'd also like to thank picasa for all the new stuff...I finally get a chance to sort of edit photos using a few effects...

Bippity Bepity Boo

You may be getting a little tired of my pictures...sorry...but I don't seem to be able to stop :) Inspired by my friend (her amazing work) I took a bunch of shots of Lizzy Beth each day for awhile trying different things. These are a few of my favorite but there were so many good ones I think I keep trying!

This was John's favorite...

Too cute...

A round of "firsts"...

Everyone is getting big too fast...

Josh...priesthood, first time to pass the sacrament, first YM activity, first lawn job, first time to babysit, first time to teach a YM lesson...

Hy just finished his second pinewood derby with a 2nd place...next stop, Weeblos...

This little guy does not believe he is little. He wants training wheels on a real bike and he really likes to express his feelings :)

And let us not get started on this one...her first food, her first time sleeping through the night, her first rolls from front to back and back to front (she's a rolling machine), sitting up, her first experience with the jewelry section of the store (she loved it :). Again, I have been in tears this week putting up her smaller clothes...why do they have to get big??