Sleep in Heavenly Peace

During dinner one night we decided to turn on some Christmas music. As the melody Silent Night came on, I noticed that Bryce was really having a hard time eating because he was drifting off to sleep. It was a perfect setting so I had to get the camera!

Thanksgiving Vacation

This year we decided to do our main holiday vacation, during Thanksgiving time since Connor's school had a week off. This was our first time as a family to travel by car back west, so it was a little exciting but did not know how we all were going to handle the long, almost 20 hour ride.

As we were packing, Nala did not want to be left

so she snuck into one of the bags. To her

misfortune however, we found her, and we had to say goodbye.

(she had the best of care though by a very nice

couple in our ward who live just down the street)

Because of the distance we started off on Friday the 20th by picking Connor up from school a little early and then heading off on the road towards Lincoln, Nebraska where we spent the night. Saturday was our full day of driving, planning on getting into Salt Lake that night. We were having a lot of fun (as much fun as you can have in a car), but we wanted the kids to stretch and enjoy some history, so we stopped at a place called Fort Cody in North Platte, Nebraska, (the home of Buffalo Bill). Fort Cody houses a wild west show in miniature so we thought that it would be some fun.

Hey Folks I'm Buffalo Bill. Glad you stopped

on by!

The miniatures, there was a lot to see

All and all it was fun to see, but we

found out it was a Huge . . .

It's gonna blow!!

Taking the Bull or ox by the horns

Thinking about our ancestors, and wondering

how they walked out west when driving in a car

seems long to us. Thank you for leading the way!

We got back on the road again, but soon after

we got a very big surprise, which caused us

to stop yet again and ponder about the situation.

The situation of the one blown tire plus our

flat spare had us thinking for 5 hours, because that is all you can

do on the side of the road waiting for help.

At least the kids were kept entertained by our

portable DVDs.

By the time we got back on the road we decided that we needed to spend the night in Cheyenne, WY rather than traveling the rest of the way to Salt Lake. Needless to say we were sooo glad to get into the Salt Lake valley Sunday late afternoon.

During the rest of our week there we had a lot of fun visiting with siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. We love our families and are so thankful for them.

We also took time to getting our hair cut

This was Bryce's first time getting one

He did Awesome!

Going swimming

Singing with Grandpa and friends

And sharing moments with Grandma

Our Thanksgiving was split between two families this year. We first went to Dean's brothers house to be with his side of the family, and then the latter part of the day was spent with Edie's side at her parents friends house in Sandy. The day was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed spending it with the ones we love.

Our trip was a lot of fun! And we are glad we came.

We have so many things to be thankful for. Our Father in Heaven has blessed us greatly! Some of the things that we are thankful for is our home, our families, the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ that we are apart of, Dean's job and that he really does enjoy it, our friends, our neighbors, the temple and that we can be an eternal family, and the memories we have made during this trip.

Two Days of Halloween Fun!

Our Halloween this year was split into two days since the main holiday was on a Saturday. Every year some of the Walmart buildings do a Fall Festival for the associates and their families. So this year was no different expect for the fact that they held it on Friday the 30th. Edie and the boys (who were Thomas the Tank Engine and a Power Ranger) met Dean at his office to go trick or treating inside.

Dean was in costume as a BYU football coach

The offices and cubicles were highly decorated

some more than others.

It was a pretty fun afternoon and the boys got

away with a lot of candy that we reused for

the next days activities.

On Saturday we went to our churches trunk or treat

that is held in the parking lot. This time Edie did not

want to be left out, and dressed up too. Can you guess

who she is? I will give you a hint she is a twin and

a princess.

Let the parade begin

Let's not forget the trick or treating

The worn out crew.

How about dinner now?

Did someone say Free!

Sonic fast food was giving away hot dogs and

drinks for the kids during the evening and night

At the end of the day our two trick or treaters

stand by with Mr. Pumpkin signaling the end

of a fun filled holiday!

"It's Autumn Time, The Leaves are all Around!"

What do you do on a nice sunny afternoon in the midst of Autumn? Why, play in the leaves of course!

First, the raking and gathering of the leaves is

essential for the best of play.

The nice neat piles work the best

Jumping in and getting buried will get you

started.

Once you are surrounded all over with

leaves, leaf angles are a must.

Then, the mighty leaf fight can begin!

On your mark, get set. . .

THROW!!!

Connor, his friend Caden, and Bryce all had a lot of

fun with their first leaf play of the season.

Now, we just need to tell them there is one more step

to finishing off their play, Bagging it all! But, I guess

they can't have all their fun in just one day!

A Touch of New England

Recently, our family enjoyed a special New England treat, and we did not even have to leave our home to enjoy it. Edie's parents went on week vacation to the New England area for a few marathons and seeing the autumn leaves in full bloom. While they were there they decided to try something special for their children who are spread about the country. As a result, we each received (via UPS) a gallon of apple cider and a dozen of apple cider donuts, straight from Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Vermont. This was a yummy treat and perfect for celebrating the season! Thank you mom and dad!

Our Little Trooper

As some of you may know Bryce has been dealing with a dermoid cyst growing underneath his skin on his right eyebrow. We have known about it for awhile, and believe it has been growing since he was a baby. We have talked with a few doctors here in AR as well as UT and they all have said that these cysts typically are non cancerous but they will continue to grow, so the only option is to have it removed. (On a side note his cousin on Dean's side had the exact same thing and she got it removed around the same age.) Well that day finally had to come (we had put it off long enough).

Last week Edie and Bryce went very early in the morning to check in at the hospital. We got all the papers signed and then off to the room to get changed in the gown. As you can see they make them nice and fun for children. I allowed him to bring Connor's lightning McQueen little pillow, for he loves "Ca-Chow" as he calls him, to make him feel more at ease with everything. Edie was with Bryce up to the very point the nurses and doctors had to wheel him into the surgery room. Edie gave him a kiss, told him she loved him, and off they went. At that point is when the nervousness kicked in for both of them. As he was being escorted away Bryce's mouth started to pucker up almost to the point of shedding tears of not knowing what was happening to him. Watching your baby being taken away is a very hard thing. But one of the kind nurses put Edie's mind at ease when she called in the waiting room about 5 or so min after just to tell her that he did not cry at all and was a trooper during the whole process of getting the gas mask on and getting him off to deep sleep. The surgery took a little longer than planed since the cyst was a little bit different than they thought, but everything went fine and our little guy was back in Edie's arms once again safe and sound! A few hours after, we were all back in our home sweet home!

At home trying to get Bryce to show his eye

but he wanted to show off his hospital bear he

got and his beloved Thomas first.

His mighty war wound!

The day after. His eye was red and swollen, but

his spirits and smiles were way Up! You would have never

known he had gone through surgery the day before

if it were not for his eye being like it was.

Each day after that his eye seemed to look better. The swelling only lasted about a day or so, and then minimal bruising after that. Now after 5 days there still is bruising, but only really on his eyelid and a little bit down to his nose. It kind of looks like he is wearing eyeshadow. The recovery has been great and pretty much the day after was back to normal activity. We also got back the lab results saying that this cyst was indeed benign as anticipated. We are so thankful for all the prayers that were given on his behalf, because we know that helped tremendously! We are glad and feel very blessed that our little trooper is fine and as sweet as ever!

Go #10 Maroon!

The soccer season is underway! We decided to sign Connor up with a sport this year so he could learn the joys and skills of playing on an organized team. Soccer is really big in this area with the youth, and Connor seemed really excited to do it. Since Edie played in her younger days, and loved it, it seemed only fitting, so here we are.










Connor in action on the 1st game

Our First Guest

Edie's sister Julie came to visit during the last full week in August. We all had a good time showing her our new area. She took a tour of Dean's home away from home, the ISD suite, and went with Edie on a much needed break from reality to get pedicures. It was a nice time for the sisters to get that time together to relax and bond.















We even went to eat and play at Chuck E. Cheese. This was Connor's last birthday wish. He wanted to go here when Julie came. We all had a good time!







Thank you Julie for visiting! We had a great time showing you the place that we are truly enjoying! Come back anytime (and any other visitors who might come this way)

It's All About Our Connor

In the last few weeks Connor has had the spotlight. He was able to finish his swimming lessons right on his birthday which was the day before he started back into school. This was his first time in a swimming lesson program, and really had a great time being able to learn the basics in swimming. He had about 8 different sessions these last few months.


Trying to float

The jump and swim routine


Next came his birthday
"I feel the force with this one" The cake watcher says


His neighborhood friends help celebrate


BYU and Star Wars, the Force IS strong!

We are glad you had a happy 6th birthday Connor!

You are now 6 years old, so on to first grade!

first day of school picture


Riding the school bus to school for the first time
Exciting for him, nervousness for mom


Connor now is into his second week of school and is really enjoying it. It is fun to meet him as he gets off the bus and see what things he has done for that day.

The Peace The Truth Brings

The end of July stirred up a lot of emotions for our family. During the last week and a half of the month there were two separate incidents that occurred. All though they were different things, there was a very similar aspect to them. The first one was that a pregnancy of Edie's had resulted in a miscarriage in her 9th week. This was an emotional time for us, more for Edie, as we had to come to the realization that this was not meant to be just yet. We put our faith and trust in Heavenly Father, and came to peace with all that had happened. The day of Edie's procedure at the hospital, Dean got a call from his Brother telling him that his mother's breathing was not good and that hospice was giving her a few days. Three days later, she passed away. We have known for awhile that her health was slipping, so this was not a sudden thing, but still it was sad to hear.

With both of these events happening, so close to each other, we have been able to reflect a lot about the knowledge that we have of the plan of salvation and the truth that we know from that. We know that we are put on this earth to learn and grow from what we experience. Each of us have different trials and situations that come, and we learn and get stronger because of them. We are also so grateful to know that Dean's mom's spirit is free and in the spirit world with her husband and her other family members that have gone before. She and the others are now involved in the work that happens there. She is happy and free from the pain and discomfort that was with her so much during the last few years. She was a great women and mother on this earth. We love her and miss her, but because a temple sealing so long ago, we are excited to have her with us for eternity. She is at home again, and we are at peace.

Our New Addition

We did not think this would happen so soon, but the opportunity came for us and we decided to take a chance. We our now proud owners of Nala, a 4 1/2 month old orange and white striped American Shorthair kitten. She was found by some members in our ward at our church building just wandering around. They put out an email, and we decided to take her and make her part of our family.



She is very curious and has added a lot of fun and excitement in our home since we took her in this past week.




She also has a very sweet side and will cuddle up to you, and want to be right there to get the love and attention she needs, while giving us the love we need. We have all enjoyed her and hope she can remain apart of our family for a long time.