Halle's graduation

Halle graduated from sixth grade on Tuesday May 28th!  We are proud of her and all she has accomplished in the last seven years of elementary school. These are some of her friends that are in our ward.

They had this cardboard cut out of Wyatt Page.  He couldn't be there since he was in Tennessee having his proton radiation treatment.  It was sweet to see all the love and support for Wyatt!

I made Halle a scrapbook that had school papers and memories from Preschool through 6th grade.  She loved looking at it and reading the funny things she wrote.

Halle took some fun pictures with her friends Maddi Baker and Rachel Strongo. These cute girls will someday be the graduating class of 2025!

We were grateful that Kev was able to work from home that morning so he could be there for her graduation.

Mckenna also came to cheer Halle on.  I love that these two are becoming closer sisters the older they get.  Halle worked hard and accomplished a lot this school year.  I was impressed with her positive attitude of starting sixth grade at a new school.  She even was elected to be on student council.  It was a fun way for her to serve and be involved in her new school.  I know she is excited and ready for Junior High.  I can't wait to see the great things she will accomplish next year!

Memorial day

I went with my Grandpa up to my Mom's grave on Saturday May 25th.  We took some flowers to both my Mom and Grandma's grave.  My mom would have turned 60 years old on the 26th.  She is always in my thoughts.  I had the opportunity this year to create a photo book about her life.  My love and appreciation for her only grew as I worked on this project.

On Sunday we went to visit Kev's parents.  The kids have a fun tradition with Grandma Sue every May.  They take the snowball blossoms off her bush and have a "snowball fight".

We also took some of the blossoms to decorate Grandma and Grandpa Foster's grave. We got creative and put a bottle of coke in their flower vase as well. 

On Monday we met my family at the graves in Taylorsville.

Then we went to more family graves in the S.LC. cemetery.  Kayley and Mckenna are looking all grown up now.  I can't believe in a few weeks they will be 18 and 17!

My Dad always tells us stories about our ancestors.  We are grateful he made the effort to come even though he had a flight to Europe later that afternoon.

Parker wanted to see the memorial for Thomas S. Monson.  He looked it up on his phone and showed us all where to go.

Kev and the kids were happy to get their free cans of pop at the Larkin Cemetery.

We visited my Grandpa, Great Grandma, and Uncles graves.

It was fun to meet up with my Uncle Wright, Aunt Janet, and some of my cousins.

I took this picture of everyone trying to Air Drop the group picture to everyone else.

We had our traditional lunch at Olive Garden.  My kids look forward to it every year.  My Grandma is kind to pay the bill for the whole family.  This year it came to around 700 dollars.  We were able to stop by and see Grandma at her house afterwards. 

Then we went to see visit Grandpa and Grandma Grant's graves.  They don't have finished grave stones yet since they recently passed away.  We miss them a lot!

We were happy to see cousin Lindsay while we were there.  This was one of my favorite pictures from Memorial Day.  I personally visited six cemeteries over the past three days.  We are grateful for all the time spent with family remembering our loved ones that have passed on.  I always tell my kids that they have a great family heritage that they can be proud of!

Florida trip

Kev and I were able to go on a trip together to Florida May 15-19.  It had been four years since we had last been there.

We flew right over the kids schools on the flight there.  A big thank you to Grandam Sue for watching the kids while we were gone.  It's not easy getting the kids to all their different activities. There was even a band concert and piano recital while we were gone.

We were able to meet up with Kev's cousin Jared, Carly, and their cute boys that first night. Jared shared with me his version of the famous story of Kev eating way too much pizza when they were teenagers. 

The next day Kev and I went to Universal Studios for the day.  It had been 14 years since we had last been to this park.  It brought back lots of fun memories of when Kenna was 3 and Parker was 10 months old.

The main reason we went was that I wanted to see the rest of the Harry Potter attractions.  The Gringotts Bank ride did not disappoint.  We rode it several times.  The goblins in the bank looked just like the movie.  

Kev's favorite ride was the Holywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. It was a crazy fast rollercoaster with a huge drop and several loops. The cool things was each seat had their own sound system.  They let you choose what song you listened to during the ride.  Kev chose, "Hammer Time" and I listened to "Born to be Wild".  It ended up being a good choice because the ride was wild.  Kev was all for riding it again.  I told him once was enough for me.  

We ate dinner that night at one of our favorite restaurants there called Chuys.  The food was just as good as I remembered it. 

We stayed in a hotel not far from the Orlando Aiport.  They had this huge ferris wheel and swing ride close by.  They looked awesome all lit up at night. 

I was able to watch Parker's band concert being streamed live in our hotel room.  The songs they performed were fun and I'm glad I got to listen.  I love technology!

The next day Kev and I were able to go to a session at the Orlando Temple.  It was our first time going inside.  I couldn't believe how quiet and not busy it was in there.  There is a  huge difference when we do a session at Mount Timpanogos. 

We went floating down a river later that day.  It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

It was beautiful and green everywhere.  I also liked that it was a lazy river.  We were able to float down it three times.

We also saw all kinds of wildlife.  These cool crane birds were all over and we even saw a deer.  I'm glad we didn't run into any alligators! I found this fun idea on Pinterest when we were planing our trip. 

We spent the next couple of days at Cocoa Beach.  The temps were nice the whole time we were there about in the mid 80's.  It is a great time of year to be in Florida.

They were also having professional boat races that weekend.  Kev loved watching the boats race up and down the beach.

It was our 18th anniversary on the Saturday while we were there.  We went down to the pier for dinner that night.

We watched these men cut up fresh Tuna right at the dock.  They fed the leftover scraps to the seagulls. It was great entertainment while we waited for our oceanside table. 

We ate at Rustys for dinner.  The view was perfect.  We even saw some dolphins in the distance.  We also enjoyed the live music they had.

I was happy as can be with my two lobster tails for dinner.

We got Key lime pie and and a brownie sundae for dessert since we couldn't make up our minds.

It was a full moon that night and we watched it from the balcony of our hotel room.

The next morning we spent some more time at the beach.  Our hotel had a pool box that had umbrella's, chairs, and mats you could use at the beach.  Kev drove me to the airport that afternoon. He stayed another four days for work.  I'm glad we had this time together.  It was just what I needed. I love my husband!

Mother's Day

I had a really nice Mother's day with Kev and the kids.  They made me breakfast in bed.

I always enjoy the homemade cards and gifts that the kids give me.  Addy even painted me a picture of flowers.  I had it on display in our living room for the whole month.  I was also able to go to Relief Society for the first time in a couple years. It was even better because I got to enjoy it with my bestie Brekke.

Kev cooked some delicious trip tip sirloin for dinner at my request.  We had my favorite Crumbl cookies for dessert.  I can't get enough of the Nutella cookie with sea salt!

Kev's parents were also able to come over for dinner.  The girls had fun with their Grandma Sue.  I'm grateful to be a mom to my five cute kids. This last year as a mom has been challenging in many ways.  But I know that I've grown from these experiences. I believe that in life the things we have to work the hardest for  are the most rewarding.  I feel that way about motherhood.

Student council banquet

Mckenna had her end of the year student council banquet on Monday May 6th.  She received the award "most likely to trip at graduation".  We had dinner catered by Wallabys.  We sat at a table with Brooke and her Dad.  They showed a picture slideshow of the year.  We smiled when Kenna's picture showed on the screen.  It was when she painted herself all blue for their studco retreat at Utah State.

These are Mckenna's friends Hailey and Jackson who she served on the assemblies committee with.

They were given these Thor hammers. They had their name, school, and year engraved into them.  I made Kenna and Brooke pose with them. 

Mckenna's favorite student counsel advisor was Garrison.  He was the one who encouraged her to run for student council in the first place.  She was really sad when he announced he wouldn't be at the school next year.

It was fun that Kenna, Gabe, and Brooke were all on studco together this year. 

We are so proud of Mckenna! They recognized her for all the assemblies and spirit bowls she carried out this year.  They said she was a hard worker, followed through on her plans, and was creative with her ideas. We are glad for all the amazing experiences and friends she has made.  We can't believe that she will be a SENIOR on student council next year!