Power Of The Priesthood

Wow! Today was everything I thought it would be and more. First of all, I was so blessed to have some of my family here from Arizona this weekend. My Dad and Debbie flew up Friday afternoon. A little later that evening, my Mom and baby sister, Natalie, flew in. When I got to the airport to pick them up, I was surprised and thrilled that they brought along my nephew, Brigg!:) We have had so much fun with everyone being here!

Today was very emotional for me. Natalie asked me if I was going to cry...I just smiled, because I knew I would be shedding a tear or two. I was so proud when the Bishop called Matthew up and along with the rest of the Ward, I raised my hand to sustain him. And the tears began! The Bishop then congratulated Matthew on earning his Faith in God. Good job son! During the 3rd block was when Matthew received the Aaronic Priesthood. The tears started flowing again! It was so special to have my family and Matt's brother, Steve, there to show their support. The Deacon's quorum (which includes most of Matthew's friends), advisers, and bishopric were in the room as well. I felt the Spirit testify to me that we were where we needed to be at this time in Matthew's life. It was amazing!!

Matthew on his way to church. He actually was a little nervous. The family after Matthew had received the Priesthood. Matt gave Matthew the most beautiful and heartfelt blessing...very tender!Matthew with his super, proud parents.
Grandmama, Aunt Natalie, and Matthew.
Matthew, Kynlee, Karley, and cousin Brigg. Kenzie wouldn't take any more pictures.
Grandpa, Grandma Debbie and Matthew. It meant so much that my Dad was able to participate in the circle.
Matthew (on the left) and his friend, Jeremy, fulfilling one of the Deacon's responsibilities...collecting fast offering. Crazy! I know it is silly, but I just had to get a picture!:) Matthew will now be attending Mutual and will start passing the sacrament next Sunday!

Becoming A Young Man

My son turned 12 years old today! I swear it seems like yesterday that he was a newborn baby in my arms. And now, because time truly flies by, he will be receiving the Priesthood on Sunday. It has been amazing to watch him grow into a young man right before my eyes!

Matthew enjoyed his breakfast in bed...which included: fried eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, grapes, and milk. Yum! This is a birthday tradition I had in my family growing up. So fun!
Matthew got to open one of his gifts after breakfast. Of course, it was a new birthday outfit. As can be seen, he was quite excited about it.
Looking good Matthew!:)
A tradition that I started, is for me to take each kid out to lunch on their birthday. I get them out of school and take them to their favorite restaraunt...Matthew's is McDonald's. Chicken strips, fries, and root beer are his "usual". I treasured spending that little bit of alone time with him today!
One of Matthew's gifts were little army guys. He lined them up and...
...used them as target practice with his air-soft gun. So cool!
Matthew loves Rascal Flatts! He got their new CD.

Grandpa and Grandma Slider surprised him with a new basketball. He was so excited!
He got a fun hand held skateboard game from his cousin, Mason.
Mom and Matthew. I still can't believe he is 12!
Group picture...say cheese!

Matthew wanted to lite the candles on his cake (that's what you do when you're 12). When he blew out the match, his breath was aimed right at the candles, so he blew some of them out as well. It was so funny!
Blow Matthew! He got them all in one breath, which makes me happy, because that means he has NO GIRLFRIENDS!:)
Matthew has on his new basketball warm-up pants that unsnap all the way down the sides. Cool! He was showing us some of his moves. The boy has talent, including spinning the ball on his finger.

What a fun day! I am so glad you had a great birthday! I want you to know that you are a pretty special kid. You are an older brother to 3 sisters who love you and look up to you. I am thankful that you are surrounded by a good group of friends. I hope that you will always work hard to live out your dreams. Know that you are blessed with so many people in your life who love and support you. Your dad and I are always here for you. Happy Birthday Matthew! I love you...my little young man!

A Baby Blanket Gift

Kynlee made a Fleece Tie Blanket for our sweet neighbor, Staci, who recently had a little baby boy. She provided this service which helped her pass off a Faith in God goal. She loved making it and did a very good job! Kynlee showing off her cute blanket. She was so proud of her accomplishment...so was I!:)
Staci was so excited to receive Kynlee's beautiful blanket. She didn't waste anytime putting it to use and wrapping up Canon. It was a perfect fit!:)

The Great Punkin' Patch

This afternoon, in between Conference sessions, we went to The Great Punkin' Patch. This huge pumpkin patch was planted on an empty lot in our neighborhood. So cool! The purpose of this pumpkin patch was to raise money. The donations would help a family in our Ward pay medical bills. This family has a 3 year old son who is Down Syndrome. Earlier this year, they found out that he has Leukemia. They are an amazing family full of faith, and he is the cutest and toughest little guy. To participate in this great cause, I let each of the kids pick out a pumpkin. Although it was rainy and cold, we had a lot of fun!:) Thank you to the genuine neighbors who planned and carried out this wonderful event.

Watching The Bus

When Kenzie is awake before the kids leave for school, she likes to go and wait at the bus stop with them...in her pajamas no less. She waits for everyone to get on the bus before she turns and runs home. She always gets a wave and smile from the bus driver!:) When she gets back to me, she says with a big smile, "I lub Matthew, Lee Lee, and Darley!" It's so cute!!

3 Year Old Hairdresser

Don't let this sweet face fool you! I left my older kids in charge this evening (Matt was at work) while I went to the General Women's Conference Broadcast. I was gone 1 and 1/2 hours. When I got home, I immediately found a freshly cut, long, beautiful, CURLY, lock of hair on the kitchen floor. I freaked out knowing that it could only belong to one of my girls...KENZIE!!! I rushed down stairs and ran my hands through her hair to see how bad the damage was. Kenzie basically cut herself some uneven bangs! The good news is that they are long and not too short. Luckily it is something I can work with, so I didn't have to stay mad long.:) I actually have been debating on whether to give Kenzie some bangs. Even when it is pulled back, her hair seems to be in her eyes. Kenzie just made the decision easier...she's getting bangs!Before!After! Thank you Shantelle!

"ARCTIC"les Of Faith

Matthew has been working really hard this last month on completing the few requirements he has left in his Faith in God book. One of the requirements is to memorize the 13 Articles of Faith. Well, I decided to give Matthew a little bribery to hurry him along with the memorizing process.:) I told him that I would buy him a SHAKE from Arctic Circle for each Article of Faith he passed off. He loves them, so of course he was sold on the idea. One day, him and I were driving past Arctic Circle and he looked over at me with a huge smile, while raising his eyebrows up and down (assuring me that he knew of our little deal). Well, the cutest idea came to me! I realized that Article and Arctic are very similar words, so creatively I combined them. We now call them "ARCTIC"les of Faith! The kids love it! This will be a bribery tradition I will use with the girls as well.:)

Tour Of Kennecott Concentrator

This is the 20 year celebration of the Copperton Concentrator and they invited all the employees and their families for a tour and lunch. Matt works in the pit now, but when he worked for CIS down in Mesa he would travel up here to the Concentrator to do the liner changes in the Ball and Sag mills. On the tour, I was completely in awe of the size of the equipment, but most of all that Matt has the knowledge and ability to work on it. What a man!:)

Matt and I standing in front of 1 of the 4 Sag mills. They are part of the crushing and grinding process. We had to wear safety glasses and ear plugs on the tour. This shows a Sag mill which feeds 2 smaller ball mills. I know, it's confusing, but totally impressive.
Tim, Donna, Matt and I at the Flotation process. It was so amazing!

All the good stuff attaches to the bubbles and flows over the edge and continues into the next process.We stopped at the Visitor's Center at the Bingham Canyon Mine where Matt works on Shovels and Drills. Looking at the "pit" is like looking at the Grand Canyon...the size is breathtaking! The Haul trucks look like ants hard at work.
Tim and Donna standing in front of a Haul truck tire. It is enormous!
Matt and I in front of the tire. Each Haul truck has 6 of these monsters!
In this picture you can see the size difference between a regular pick-up truck (white) next to the massive Haul truck. Also, in the middle of the picture is the Shovel that Matt works on. It loads 300 tons into the back of the Haul truck.

Let's Hear It For The Girls

Matt and Matthew went on a Scout camp out tonight, so it left just the girls at home. We decided to make a fun Girl's Night out of it! Pizza...$5.00 (thanks Little Caesars), The Little Mermaid 3 video rental...$1.00 (thanks Redbox), painting orange, sparkly toes, giggling all night, and all 4 of us sleeping in the same bed...PRICELESS! I love my girls to pieces!

Evening In The Canyon

We love American Fork Canyon! It is about a 30 minute drive from our house. We enjoy being surrounded by the trees and being near the river. It's also always fun to build a fire and just hang out. Last night we went up for the evening. We hiked around for a while when we first got there. It was fun exploring as a family. We got hungry quick so we started the fire. Matthew put his Scout knowledge to use and made some kindling with his axe. Matt taught the kids to build the fire in a tee pee style, and then let each of them light the newspaper. We watched as the fire got bigger and bigger. For dinner, we brought stuff to make pizza pockets. All you need is tortillas, sauce, pepperoni, chesse, and tin foil. We placed them in the fire to cook a couple of minutes on each side. They are so yummy and fun to make! Then we busted out the marshmallows and hot chocolate (Yes, it was chilly!). By then it was getting dark, so we just hung around the campfire. The kids had such a blast playing "flashlight hide and go seek". They were so brave to hide somewhere in the complete dark, including little Kenzie, and wait for the person who was it to shine their flashlight on them. I enjoyed watching them have so much fun! We would have stayed longer, but right now, in my life, I am completely terrified of coming in contact with a bear. Silly, I know. It was so wonderful to be together as a family in one of our most favorite spots. We can't wait until next time!:)

First Day Of Pre-School

It's finally Kenzie's turn to go to school. Today she started Pre-School! Her teacher is Mrs. Booth, who lives close by in our Ward. She is so amazing! Her cute Pre-School room is conveniently set-up down in her basement. Kenzie definitely had attachment issues when we first got there, but she is just following in her older brother and sisters footsteps.:)

So sweet! She looks all grown-up. It's hard to believe this is my baby.

Of course she had to sport her Dora backpack.
Kenzie was all smiles before her big day at Pre-School.

And this was her face during the beginning of Pre-School. She looks so unhappy. You don't fool me Zie Zoo...I know this is where you want to be!:)
This activity was such a cute idea. Dry paint was sprinkled on their paper and they were given a frozen ice stick. As the ice melted it made the dry paint wet. So cool!

Kenzie loves to have books read to her. Mrs. Booth does a fantastic job with entertaining the kids with a book. "Story Time" will probably always be one of Kenzie's favorite parts about Pre-School.
Kenzie loved painting during "Center Time".
She is a little poser! The class went outside for a little bit and played with a parachute (I loved that in PE when I was in Elementary School). There were balls that they put on it and then would shake it really fast and "pop" them off. Kenzie had so much fun!
Kenzie enjoying carrots and string cheese at "Snack Time". Yum!
This picture shows just how much fun Kenzie had today! She crashed soon after we got home.