Our Dad's

I wanted to take a minute and recognize the great Dad's we have in our life....

Dad, Dan, PaPa, Grandpa.......

My Father-in-law, Dan, is just a great guy. There have been many times when he has dropped everything and sacrificed much, to be there for us in a time of need. In his own quiet way, he always let's us know that he cares about us. I have been repeatedly amazed over the years as I have watched his tireless devotion to his son Trent. As I think I said in an earlier post, Dan and Gloria deserve to go straight to the top, for the never-ending care and love that they have give Trent. Dan is an awesome Grandpa, and does a great job of spending one on one time with the kids. He is so good at teaching and explaining things to them. I especially appreciate the time that he spends with Dillon. Dan takes the time to do boy things with Dillon, since he is the only grandson. I am always blown away by Dan's amazing artistic ability. He can draw, sculpt, or carve anything. I swear he could be rich if he sold the stuff! :) I think my kids have inherited some of his artisitic abilities...how lucky for them. Happy Father's Day, Dan!

Dad, Dave, PaPa

My Dad is probably the hardest working man I have ever known. I do not think there is a lazy bone in his body. I always remember him constantly doing stuff all of the time. I remember even on Saturdays, he would walk around with his list of stuff to accomplish. So needless to say, I probably inherited some of my "on the go" tendencies from him. I learned the value of hard work from watching him. My dad was always well liked by my friends. They all thought it was pretty cool that I had a dad that listened to hard rock full blast in his pick-up truck all of the time....but it was not only music that they liked, it was also the way he joked around with them and made them feel comfortable. My dad always makes people laugh. I know he usually gets big tips and stuff at Christmas time from the people he delivers to, because everyone just likes him. I think that I can most definitely attribute my stubborness to my dad... we are definitely alike in that area. In fact, the older I get the more similarities I notice.... funny how that happens. I look up to my dad for many reasons, but I think the most for the changes he made in his life many years ago, and has diligently stuck to. I feel blessed to have been raised in a home where my father was, because of his sheer determination (and because of Janalee), a worthy priesthood holder. My kids love my dad and still call him "Papa". Dillon especially loves to spend time with him and go on four-wheeler rides, and camping. I wish that they could spend more time with him. Camping is one of my favorite childhood memories. We used to go all of the time. My kids have not had the same opportunities for that type of thing. I was thankful to have my dad be able to baptize Dillon this past April. That really did mean the world to me and I know it did to Dillon too. I love you Dad, I know that I have not ever been good at expressing it... but hopefully you have always known.

My Husband...

I meant to do this for Father's Day, but since

we are still in the same week, I figure it is still all right. I could not let Father's Day pass by without expressing my gratitude to my husband, and best friend, Dustin. From the first day that we met, we have always been able to talk and be comfortable with eachother. Most people that know Dustin were a little bit surprised when they found out that he was getting married. Not because he is not a great guy, but because he is just so shy and reserved. I remember that I had not even met his mom and dad before we got engaged. I think when he told his mom that we were getting married, she didn't even believe him, because she had never even seen me before! That just proves how much he keeps things to himself, although I think he told his sister Shalise pretty much everything about me. :) There was an obvious, and pretty much immediate connection between Dustin and I. We have always enjoyed just talking to eachother. Sometimes we stay up half the night talking about everything. Dustin never does things the conventional way.... he does things strictly in his own way, and in his own time. I would call this little trait stubborness..... Let's just say that both Dustin and I have been blessed with more than our fair share of this "little trait". Because of this, I believe, we have really had to learn to compromise with eachother. I think over the years we have learned to not try and change eachother, but instead to love eachother for who we are. Dustin and I have been through many ups and downs in our marriage, we have had many happy times and a lot that weren't so happy.... but through it all I can say that he has remained constant and unwaivering, when I wanted to quit... he inspired me to keep going. He has his own way of showing it, but I can honestly say that I have never doubted his love for me. Always, when I least expect it, is when he will do something to prove that to me. Dustin is an extremely hard worker, and he is a perfectionist at everything that he does. There have been people say that his electrical panel's look like works of art. Dustin would do anything for anyone. He will go above and beyond for people. I have been so impressed by his compassion for people. There have been more times than I can count that he has done electrical for people for free, just to help them out, or given people in need money, or donated to charities... or numerous other things. He prefers to do these things un-noticed, kind of behind the scenes, but I want him to know that I do notice, and that he inspires me to be better.... everytime I see him do one of those things. I could go on and on about all of the other traits that I love and admire about my husband... but since, we do not have the time or room for me to do that... I will move on to his next greatest role, that of Father to our 3 children. I will never forget the first time Dustin told me that ever since Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped out of her bedroom several years ago, that he had not slept well. He was always worried that that was going to happen to one of our kids. He said that he would sleep much better if they were just all in our room with us. That just proved to me the deep love that he has for his kids. He is always joking and playing around with them, he is the one that makes them laugh. I think a lot of times he has much more patience than I do. Dustin and the kids have developed their little weekly rituals, such as, watching "Smack Down" every single Friday night. The kids now know every wrestler and character on that show, and their corresponding songs. I think it is really cute, because it is their daddy bonding time. I don't think that Dustin realizes the impact he has on these kids. Dillon has told me many times that he wants to be just like his dad when he grows up. Dustin would say to that, "No you don't, Dillon." but, I think he can take that as one of the greatest compliments you can receive. I so appreciate the sacrifice that Dustin makes everyday in order to provide for us. The reason that I am able to stay home with my kids is because of him...there are many women who are not as lucky as me. Thank you for everything Babe.... We love you!

Trip to the Stratosphere

Saturday we decided to take the kids to the Stratosphere. Dustin and I had been there before, but the kids had not. We did not tell them where we were going until we got there. They had wanted to go for a long time, so when they figured out where we were, they were really excited. We had a really great time. I love it when we get to do fun stuff like that as a family. The kids had fun looking through the telescopes. We were able to look through one and find the Temple. They thought that was pretty cool. The wind was blowing really hard, so we didn't get to see the crazy rides going because they closed them down. After we got through looking around, we went to Roxy's Diner inside of the Stratosphere to eat. It is a fun little 50's diner type place. The atmosphere is so cute, they even had waitresses walking around singing. The whole night was just really nice, these are the type of fun times that I hope the kids will remember.
(Of course, Dustin won't let me take pictures of him, in case you are wondering why there aren't hardly any of him.)

My cute little "Mantha"...

I just had to post these pictures of "Mantha" that I took at the park on Saturday. She is such a cute little thing. It is funny instead of Samantha's nickname being "Sam" or "Sammy", it has for some reason always been "Mantha". I think that her Nana started calling her that when she was a baby, and it just stuck. We think it fits her....

The end of baseball season.

Well, last Saturday ended the Mets baseball season. The boys played a good game, but unfortunately ended up not winning and being eliminated from the play-offs. It was kind of shocking, I think to the players, coaches, and the mom's and dad's. When it ended everyone just kind of sat there for a minute, not quite knowing what to think. It had been an intense game, with some semi-questionable calls from the ref. In the end we had to just remember that it did not matter if they won or lost, because those boys had played their hearts out. Even coach Pete got a little emotional after, and almost made all of us mom's cry. I especially wanted to cry when Dillon came over to me after, pulled his hat over his face, and just started sobbing. I just hugged him and told him that he should be proud of himself for playing so hard and doing his best. A lot of these boys had never played baseball before (Dillon was one of them), and it really was amazing to see the improvement each of them made from the beginning to the end. They ended up being one of the best teams in the league. I really appreciate the time and effort that all of the coaches put into helping these boys. Dillon not only learned how to play baseball, but he learned the priceless lessons of teamwork, and sportsmanship. We really did enjoy going to the games as a family, it became something that we looked forward to each week. We also enjoyed getting to know the families of the other players. We made some great friends.

Yesterday there was a end of the season party at Mark Rich's New York Pizza and Pasta. They were the one's that sponsored the team. It was a great time, with plenty of laughs and delicious pizza! Coach Pete had pins, medals, and trophies for each of the boys. Dillon felt so special after he got his trophy. What a great experience this has been for him... we can't wait to do it again next year!

A special THANKS to Coach's Pete Villa Gomez, James Cahill, Jeremy Cooper, Jared Sechrist, and Alex Rosborough. Also, Eli Garcia, Mark and Kathy Rich, Selena Villa Gomez and Missy Cahill (team moms) and Gretchen Lin (for the great, weekly Mets Minute)!
Shalise-thanks for letting me steal pictures from you blog... hee, hee! :) (First 2 pictures, courtesy of my sister-in-law Shalise)

How to make wheat bread!

Yesterday I went to my friend Erin Buck's house to learn how to make whole wheat bread. It was so fun and interesting. Lately I have been to several things that have got me really interested in getting my own wheat and learning how to use it. I really want to get a wheat grinder. There are so many things that you can make, and it is so much more healthy for you. Erin about died when she found out that I gave my BOSCH mixer to my mother-in-law. I know....it just figures that I don't use the thing for years, and then as soon as I give it away, I find things that I could use it for. Such is life, I guess. Anyways, the bread turned out fabulous! Erin sent us home with a loaf and I was so excited that I told her I was going to take a picture of it and post it on my blog. She said she would be watching for it... so here it is. Beautiful! Thanks Erin!

Playing with friends and Ashlynn's new roller-blades...

Last week we watched the Bushman boys, while their mom and dad went to dinner. Dillon and Josh are the same age, and Brandon and Ashlynn are the same age. Then Jason is about a year younger than Samantha. We also had our neighbor kids, Clay and Kyndal, up here. They were all very hyper that night, so I made them go outside and play. They had a good time having races on the street in front of our house. (Don't worry, we live at the end of the street so hardly any traffic goes by.) I made the boys pose for a picture, but Jason was trying to be a little escape artist. The picture with Dillon, Josh, and Brandon posing is suppose to be their Smack Down comercial pose. :) Silly Boys! I thought it was pretty good though!














Nana bought Samantha a new bike and we were able to bring it home with us from Utah. She absolutely loves it! We of course make her wear a helmet, because we don't need any seizures episodes going on! (If you don't know about that story, I will have to fill you in later .....) Nana also bought Ashlynn new roller-blades. I equipped Ashlynn with her helmet and some knee pads, and she actually did pretty good. She had her share of falls, but by the end of the night she was doing a pretty good job of balancing. Ashlynn is the most determined and also the toughest of my kids. When she sets her mind to learning how to do something, she will do it until she knows how. It doesn't matter how many times she gets hurt doing it... she just gets right back up and tries again. I wish I was more like her, I think that her determination is a trait that will carry her far in life. We actually found roller-blades at Saver's today for Dillon. It should be interesting to see how he does on them, he is not quite as resilient as Ashlynn. When he falls down the whole world has to know about it, whether he is hurt or not...... I think I should equip him with full body armor. :)