Relief Society Slide Show

I was asked to make this slide show for our ward's Relief Society birthday party. Just thought you all might want to check it out.

"Where's your Easter Basket, Mommy?"

Well, I think I will just summarize our whole weekend. Friday night we started things off by going to the batting cages with Dillon. By the time they were done, Dillon was socking quite a few balls pretty hard. Then we went to Sonic for some burgers afterwards.







Saturday started off with an Easter Egg Hunt at Mountain's Edge Park. Or should I call it an Easter Egg Stampede?... They just scattered eggs all over on the grass and then the kids ran, pushed, and shoved their way to get to the eggs. Neither Dillon or Ashlynn got any eggs. The only reason Samantha did was because Dustin took her clear around to the other side so that she wouldn't get trampled on. Some lady came up to Dillon and Ash and saw that they were upset and gave them some eggs to put in their baskets. So needless to say, the Easter egg hunt was not the highlight of the day. We did get to see quite a few people we know though, and it was fun to visit.





After the park thing we went to the brand new Wal-Mart that they built not too far from us and got some groceries. Then we went home, hurried and ate lunch, and then headed to Dillon's scrimmage baseball game. Dillon did so awesome! He ended up hitting a beautiful homerun! He socked that ball clear out to right field. It was the cutest thing, he was just running like he was running for his life. He never even looked to see where the ball was. Everyone was standing up screaming and yelling.... it was great. I think it built Dillon's confidence quite a bit, when one of the dad's said, "That wasn't just a hit, it was a BOMB!" Dillon kept saying all night, "Isn't that cool he called my hit a BOMB?" I wish I would have had my video camera, but since it is a little outdated, (okay, alot) I don't really use it as much as I should. I'll be more prepared next time. That night after we got home, I got all of the kids occupied and then had to escape to Target and Ross to do my Easter Bunny duties. Yes, I am a procrastinator. But, in my defense, the kids have been on track break for a month and have been with me every waking minute. So, it is hard to get those type of things done with out them knowing.















These are pictures of the kids in their new Easter shirts from Grandma and Grandpa Morris.





Sunday started out with the kids finding their Easter "wagons". Nana and Aunt Shalise sent them little red wagons for the Easter Bunny to fill. They were darling. Each of the kids got a new shirt and shorts, and some gold fish crackers, fruit snacks, and granola bars. Yes, the Easter Bunny is healthy at our house! lol The girls also got a little stuffed puppy that whimpers and barks, and Dillon got some Legos. Dustin also got an Easter basket full of new church clothes. We were so excited to have him go with us to church yesterday. But, of course my kids are not dumb and picked up right away that mommy did not get an Easter basket. Ashlynn kept saying "Where's your Easter basket, Mommy?". I told her that I had talked to the Easter bunny and that he said that I could go pick out my own Easter stuff cause he didn't know what to get me. Dumb me, I should know by now that nothing gets past them. Anyways, we went to church and then came home to a very un-traditional Easter dinner. We had lasagna and french bread, then I made a pretty, yellow Easter cake.



Samantha got a hold of the ice cream and was eating it right out of the container!

We ended the day with the kids dying eggs (and their hands and fingers) all kinds of pretty colors! Even though it wasn't the traditional Easter with extended family that we are use to, we still enjoyed our day and just being together.

Red Rock Canyon

Today we had a wonderful time at Red Rock Canyon with our friends Tara Reynolds and the Vincent's. The kids had the opportunity to become "Jr. Rangers". They were required to fill out these little work books as they were going through the exhibits in the visitor's center and going around the trails outside. All of them worked really hard together to find the answers they needed. After they finished the required pages, we took them in to the visitor's center and gave them to the "ranger" at the front desk. He went over the answers in their books to make sure they were correct and then filled out Jr. Ranger certificates of completion for all of them. Then, this was the part that cracked me up... he took them over to this corner of the main lobby area and had a "swearing in ceremony" for them. lol He had them raise their right hands and repeat after him a promise to keep Red Rock Canyon clean and safe for everyone, etc. etc... He then pinned their little Jr. Ranger badges on them while everyone in the visitor's center was clapping for them. It really was cute how he made them feel so important. Dillon told me that we need to go back tomorrow so he can get to work on his new job as a Jr. Ranger.



All in all it was just a great day. We had a really yummy picnic lunch and just had fun enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery. Tara and I had a good time taking tons of pictures. She has an awesome camera that makes taking pictures even more fun. Since most of you know how much I love taking pictures... you can imagine how this could be dangerous. I wanted to take her camera and run..... (just kidding.) It was a lot of fun though..... Thanks for sharing Tara. And thanks to Tara, Sabrina, Luke, Isabel, and Sylvia for coming with us and making our day so great.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

First thing this morning the kids were worried about getting dressed in something green. So, I dressed them all in the "greenest" clothes that I could find. They were really concerned that I just had my exercise clothes on, none of which were green. When Tara came over to go to the church with us, they noticed that she also did not have green on. We both ended up tying green ribbons in our hair. After we got home from exercising we made green smoothies, or "green shake" as Samantha calls it. Sometimes I wish I was still a child and could get so excited over something as simple as a green smoothie.



Here they are...Mmmmmmmm, Yummy!



And here's Ashlynn being a goofball. :)

Fun Saturday!

Today we were able to go to breakfast with my little brother Jade, his cute wife Melinda, and their new little baby boy, Broc. They were down here for a convention with Melinda's family. It was so fun to see them, I wish we could have spent more time with them. Baby Broc is so darling! I could have just held him forever! Dillon and Ashlynn had fun holding him too, but Samantha just told me that she didn't want me to hold him. I think she has become a little too use to being the "baby" in our family. She gets jealous if I give too much attention to anyone else's kid. Anyways, it was just great to see some family. We can't wait until everyone comes down in a few weeks for Dillon's baptism.






After we left Jade and Melinda, Dillon had his first scrimmage baseball game. The boys did a great job! They played against the Cardinals. It was really just for practice, but Dillon was excited that they technically "won" the game. The whole team has improved so much since they first started. It is going to be a really fun season. I wanted to take pictures of the game, but my camera ran out of batteries.

Church Stuff

I thought this was an awesome picture of the new First Presidency. I am so excited to see what direction President Monson takes the church.

Last Sunday our ward finally made a much needed split. I believe the ward had close to 650 members. The ideal ward size is around 300. The new ward is called the Durango Heights Ward. We will remain in the Mountain's Edge Ward. The split was exciting because I think it will be much more personal now. It is very hard to get to know people and feel connected when a you are dealing with such large numbers. I am a little sad though, because a lot of my good friends will be in the other ward now. I was excited to receive a new calling as the secretary in the Relief Society Presidency. I think that this will be the perfect calling for me. It just feels like it "fits". The new Relief Society President, Cheryl Norr, said that my name came to her for that position and when she told the Bishop he told her that she couldn't have me because I was going to be in the other ward. She wondered how that could be, when my name kept coming to her. The Bishop said he would double check, and sure enough, he found out I was still going to be in the ward. Just goes to show that our individual callings really are inspired. Brother Winburn, one of the counselors in the bishopric set me apart on Sunday. It was a very special blessing and said a lot of things that I needed to hear. It felt like it was more of a personal blessing for me than a setting apart. I am always amazed how the Lord knows exactly what we need to hear. I am grateful that Brother Winburn was so in tune with the spirit, so that he could relate those things to me. Sunday was an all together, very spiritual and emotional day. I have to mention that I really hope that everything is okay with Brother Hartvigsen. For those of you that don't know or who weren't there on Sunday- he had a seizure during sacrament meeting. It was very scary and I felt so awful for his poor wife and children. Seizures are very tramatic to witness, especially if the person has never had one before. I remember the first times that Samantha had them, you just feel so helpless. From what I understand, they now know his was caused from his blood sugar dropping too low. Anyways, this was just another thing to make Sunday a memorable day.
So, to sum it all up, I am excited for the ward split and my new calling. Changes are always a little bit scary because of the unknown, but I think these two things will be changes for the better.

In Memoriam....

Today has been one year since my sweet Grandpa passed away. I felt like it would help me to you all about this man that I loved so much. Gary Morris was the best man I have ever known. I had an especially close relationship with him, I think, partly because I was the first Grandchild. He was and continues to be a great influence in my life. He always gave me encouragement and told me how much he loved me. I remember him always asking me if I was to old to give him a hug and a kiss. But, of course, I never was. I was not able to be there when he passed away, but I would have given anything to be able to give him one last hug. I do know that I will see him again, I know that he is happy and busy doing the Lord's work. I know that he is with Brian (my uncle, his son that passed away in 1999)and other loved ones. I can credit my Grandpa with helping me to learn the value of hard work. He was a brick mason and he use to have us clean old brick with hammers, and then stack them on pallets. He would then pay us with an official paycheck, just like the one's he paid his other employees with. I remember feeling so proud of myself when he handed me my check. It was my first experience with working and earning money. I called my Grandma today to check on her and see how she was doing. She said that she feels Grandpa's presence, and that she knows that he has helped her with decisions that she has had to make. I know this is true, I know that he is mindful of all us, still. I miss him dearly, but am glad that he was relieved of all the pain and suffering he had gone through. I look forward to the day when we will all be together as a "forever family". I am so thankful for the knowledge that I have of life after death. As my Grandma said tonight when I was talking to her.... "What would we do without the Gospel?"

Happy 8th Birthday, Dillon!

Yesterday was Dillon's 8th Birthday. Gosh, how time flies! I can hardly believe that it has been eight years since my first little bundle of joy was born. When I say "joy", I mean it! We were so excited to welcome Dillon into our lives. He was the cutest little baby that I had ever seen. When he was first born, I remember just melting immediately when he looked at me with his BIG, beautiful eyes. Dillon is extra special to everyone because he was the first grandchild and first nephew on both sides of the family. Dillon is super smart and has an amazing memory. He can tell you anything that you want to know about Dinosaurs. My brother Brandon said it is like listening to an encyclopedia when he talks about them. He also does a mean impersonation of a T-REX! Dillon is also a very sweet and kind hearted boy. His teacher, Mrs. Barber says that he is always kind and wants to be friends with everyone. He and his sister Ashlynn enjoy playing and fighting :) with eachother. They especially like to play the Wii together. Dillon and his baby sister Samantha have a special bond. Whenever Samantha gets hurt or is sad, she always runs to Dillon to comfort her. She cries when Dillon goes to school because she misses him.
We are so proud of Dillon for making the decision to be baptized next month. We are looking forward to spending that special day with him.
Dillon, we love you and thank you for continuing to be such a JOY in our lives.




For his birthday, Dillon chose to go to the Luxor and have the buffet and go to the Dinosaur IMAX movie. It was a lot of fun except that Samantha decided she had to go to the bathroom 10 minutes into the movie. I had to leave to take her and they do not let you back in once you have left. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy, considering that I had spent $24.00 on my ticket. Good thing she was free though! Kids, what are ya gonna do about it?!










We were able to meet some friends at the park today for cake. Thank you to Sabrina, Luke, Isabel, and Sylvia Vincent, Kollen, Aden, Morgan, Austin, and Maryn Marchant, Tara Reynolds, Shawna and Josh Bushman, for coming on such short notice. I know that it meant a lot to Dillon.... and it meant a lot to me.

Sicki Samantha

This week has been sick week. Earlier in the week I took Ashlynn to the Dr. and left with four prescriptions. One for a double ear infection, one for allergies, one for her cough, and an antibiotic. She had been battling this nasty cough on and off for a month and 1/2 now. Then the night before last, Samantha woke up in the night with around a 104 degree fever. I hurried and stripped her down and gave her motrin to get the fever down. She was fine the next day until 5:00 or so and then her eyes started getting all goopy. Everytime I would wipe out her eyes they would just "goop" up again. She also developed this really nasty cough and she had some weird sore appear under her nose. So, Saturday morning I decided I better take her to the Dr. She ended up having infections in both her eyes, croup, and the little sore is infantigo. So, we left with 3 more prescriptions to fill. This has been the nastiest season for sickness. I can't wait for it to pass.










Samantha didn't even look like herself because her eyes were so swollen.

Thursday Potluck Lunch

1st Picture- Shellie Brown, Marci Morgan, Rachel Gwin, Tamera Bunch, Lacey Newbry
2nd Picture- Christa Watson, Lisa Winburn
3rd Picture- Lanece McDonald, Tara Reynolds
4th Picture- Karen Pula, Annette Phillips



A bunch of us women have been getting together every Thursday for a potluck lunch. They have been at different people's houses every week, but this week we decided to do it at the park. The weather was pretty nice and it lets the kids get out and run around. While the kids were off playing on the playground I decided to take some pictures of some of the women that came.









Tara Reynolds, Sabrina Vincent, Lanece McDonald, and I were playing around on the scooters. I brought the razor cruisers for the kids to ride, but we ended up cruising on them instead! They are so much fun to ride. These scooters have a wider base and bigger wheels than the original razor. I think I got my exercise today! My legs were burning by the time I was done.

I Love American Idol!

My very favorite American Idol performance so far this year- David Cook "Hello"

The Jewelry Show.

I was in Jewelry heaven. I have never seen so many necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings... you name it! Jake Bushman, my friend Shawna's husband was nice enough to get Shawna, Taren, and I into this Jewelry Show. We had to wear name tags with "alias" names on them. lol I seriously could have stayed there all day! We only had about an hour and 1/2 to look around- not near enough time. It was actually a good thing that I didn't bring any cash, and also that time was short, otherwise I think I probably would have done some damage. The only things I bought was a dang cute baseball cap ( I love baseball caps!) and a watch for me and a watch for a friends birthday. The total for all? A whopping $18.00! Awesome! The show comes back in August and I am planning on doing all my Christmas shopping there, so I hope you all like Jewelry!