I {heart} my family

A couple years back, Hunter started saying, "I have a glow in my heart about you" everytime he was feeling the love. That is exactly how I feel lately. My kids and my husband are SO CUTE!










Dax is the best. I just love him. He is a great Dad, always trying to stay involved in the kids' lives, giving encouragement and also that good fatherly discipline. I am so glad he wrestles with the kids. Their giant anvils for heads scare me!


















Dax put his name in some drawings for some different deer and elk hunts and this week he found out he won a deer hunt in the Book Cliffs! He was so excited. And his phone rang constantly for 2 days after with all his buddies calling to say "I hate you!" or "Congrats!"

Here is the delicious beef stew Dax made the other day for us.


Mack has been begging me every hour every day to make a gingerbread house so I finally just bought some graham crackers and some clearance Valentine candy and let the kids go to town.

My sister Trina is so sweet. She sent me a box of clothes and Preslie a necklace and then a week later sent the boys some fun Cars games. Hunter and Mack are really good opponents for Tic-Tac-Toe. Hunter loves to win (even against a 2-year-old), and Mack doesn't mind losing.. he just loves to clear the board after the game.

I was able to go to Parents Day in Hunter's class this month and work with him on a variety of subjects. It was fun to see him do his thing and confirm what I already knew: He is a smarty!

Dax and I visited with his and Preslie's teachers at parent teacher conference and they are both doing so well. I feel so blessed to have children that are quick learners and good readers.
(Any of my fellow WJHS alumni may recognize Hunter's teacher from the class of '98- small world.)



Preslie is also doing excellent- The reading speed goal for the end of second grade is 90 and she currently reads at 155. Again, so blessed to have kids with natural abilities. I oversee that homework gets done and occasionally explain new concepts, but Preslie usually motivates herself to get her school work done. She is one smart girl. And those smarts are coupled with just as much (or more) sass!


Preslie enjoys attending Activity Days in our ward and I love to see her learn things from her leaders that she'd never allow me to teach her. She is no longer a little girl and it is kinda weird, but fun in a lot of ways, too. I don't get to dress her and hardly get to do her hair. She doesn't really like the clothes I pick for her and I've stopped sewing adorable skirts for her because they are not her style. I appreciate that she has her own ideas and style. My mom let me out of the house wearing some wacky stuff as a teen and didn't bat an eye at me (unless it was immodest). I so appreciate that freedom she gave me. I try to do the same for Preslie. It is like they always say about kids, "You have to pick your battles."

I went on a girls' night out last night with my friend Jaclyn. She took us to Cafe' Rio and then we just browsed and shopped the Easter stuff and of course the winter clearance racks. I couldn't believe our Wal-Mart's clearance: so much stuff for so cheap. The Miley Cyrus/Max Azria clothing line at Wal-Mart was not a big hit out here in the land of country folk and sub-zero temps, but I know cute and hip when I see it and it was all on sale for dirt cheap. Most of it is too teeny-bopper for a late-twenties Mom, but I managed to grab some jeans and a cute checked top. I got other clothes for the kids for next winter, too.



I could not pass up the little tank dress, for the skirt on it had me at "hello". It also had me at 3 bucks. But alas, it was too short for me so I bought an extra small for Preslie, knowing she may not like it but it was a risk I was willing to take. I simply could not leave those tulle ruffles behind.


She loves it.
Go Mom.
(And go, Miley.)