TARIK AND SUMMER KOJAH---JUNE 3, 2011

What a wonderful day we had yesterday in Las Vegas! I surely don't recommend doing a wedding in a month, but what my mom, Kristal, Kandra, myself, and Debbe, (Tariks mom) did, I think it turned out amazing!!! A huge thank you to my sister, Kristal, for making the wedding invitations. They looked great and for Kristal being so sick I truly appreciate her for that! Thursday night, my sister-in-law, Shannon, put on a bridal shower at The Cheese Cake Factory. Tarik's mom his sister, Michelle, mom, me,  Summer, Kandra, Shannon and her girls, and Jessica ( Summers new friend from her ward) came. We really had a great time, embarrassed Summer and had good food.

Friday, I wanted Summer to be able to have some professional photos done, so we went to the Galleria Mall and went to Picture People. I think they did a great job on the pictures and we were able to take the photos and cd when we left the session!!!! Kandra went over really early with her boys to do Summers hair and make-up, I think she did an amazing job!!!!

The ceremony was so good, the bishop said so many neat things to them and I hope they heard all of it:) The bishop actually made a copy of it so they can read it anytime they want to! We had about 50 people come, including my Uncle Paul, Aunt Lee, Royce, Rhonda, Garth and Bonnie. I was so appreciative that they would come and support Summer and Tarik. That meant the world to her, also her Mia Maid advisor Tammy Borrego came from Lakeside with her daughter and friend. Tammy has been a big part of her life so it was extra special that she was able to be there. .

Summer had a few members from her ward come and Tarik had many of his family members and friends come. It meant so much to them that so many people care for them.

Another special guest was my birth mom, Shawn and her husband Bill. I haven't met Bill till yesterday and what a great guy! He and Dave hit it off right away. We were able to have breakfast with them this morning before we had to leave. That was a lot of fun!

Dave's family was not able to come, and they were so missed. Hopefully Summer and Tarik can come down to Az so that we can have a party for them :)

More photos to follow, I haven't loaded them in yet, laundry and house cleaning are getting in the way of that unfortunately :(

HELP!!!!! NEED IDEAS FOR A WEDDING THAT WILL BE IN 1 MONTH!!!!!!!

Summer and Tarik are getting married!!!!!!!!!! The clincher, it will be on June 3. I have no idea where to start, plus it will have to be very inexpensive. We are having it in Las Vegas in Summers ward building. Her colors are black, dark blue and white. If anyone has any ideas or things we may borrow, I will be so grateful!
Just a quick thank you to all the sympathy wishes this past week. It has been pretty tough, but we have seen many blessings too. I will eventually write about the memorial and graveside services, right now its just a little too hard.

HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY AUTUMN!!! (MAY 2)

Its hard to believe my girl is leaving her teenage years tomorrow! Autumn you have such a beautiful heart and you always try to do whats right. I know its frustrating sometimes for you, but your Heavenly Father loves you and knows what's best for you! Your family loves and wishes you the best birthday ever:) LOVES and HUGS!!!

NEEDING IDEAS

To all of my blogging friends and family, Autumn is in charge of her Young Single Adult (18-30 year olds) Family Home Evenings for April 25 and May 2. She needs some ideas, it seems that they always play some type of ball games and she is tired of those!!! If you have any suggestions we would greatly appreciate it :)
Not much to report on in our family. Autumn has been staying in the Valley helping a friend who just had a baby. She was able to be in the delivery room with her and was with her the whole 27 hrs of labor! It was a neat experience for her.
Summer is so anxious to have Eric!! We are going to Las Vegas on May 29 and her doctor is going to induce her the next day, which is my mom's birthday!!! It is also the 1 year anniversary that I found my Birth Mom, Shawn!!!! We are so excited to meet this special baby boy:)
Skyler is still active in the Police Explorers program and goes to that every Monday night. He will be umpiring the Blue Ridge Little League games also.
Hunter and Clay both got on fantastic baseball teams with the most awesome coaches!!!!! Hunter is with Coach Hall and Clay is with Coach Chavez and Coach Burgess. We are so excited for this seasons games! Hunter will also umpire some of the games for the Little League.
Dave and I are just running around with the kids. We had an amazing Stake Conference this past Sunday with Elder Nielson.The boys really liked him, he told a lot of football stories of when he played for BYU and the Houston Oilers. What an amazing man!!
Hope all is well with you all and look forward to many suggestions for Autumn :)

AMAZING!!!!

My  mom sent this to me in an e-mail, I thought it was truly amazing. Autistic people are special individuals that DO have a purpose on this earth!!!!!!!!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2MBBxU

DAD'S SURPRISE PARTY

Saturday we had dad's surprise birthday party in Heber. We have been planning this for quite awhile, and boy did we get him good! We thought that he had found out several times these past weeks but as he put it "Its a good thing I'm deaf"! He really had no clue until we walked him into the auditorium. He was so shocked, there was about 85 of his family and closest friends there. The theme was the "50's".

Our good friend and neighbor, Sarai Franco made this amazing cake!

I love this side of the cake, he was a referee for over 30 yrs and a coach to my sisters

The next few pictures of the party, Lance was the emcee for the night and did a great job. Some of the things that were said were so dang funny and some were just touching. My dad has truly had an impact on the community and our family!

Autumn with Lance's newest, Porter

Aunt Sadie, Uncle Bud, Kristal . In the right background is my mom's sister, Laverne and her husband Gene.
To the left of Kristal is Uncle Paul's bride to be, Lee and Shannon

Hailey, Lance, Brinlee, Mom, Dad and Uncle Paul

Sky and Summer. In the background Shannon had a table full of  50's candy.

Mom and I put a few pictures together of dad.

Dad, Aunt Colleen, Uncle Paul, and Uncle Bud

Aunt Colleen and Lance

Kandra and Skyler-- Who needs a stake dance when you can dance with  your aunt?

HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!! HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY KRISTAL!!!!

Today was my dads birthday, and I just want all my blogging friends to know how much I love this awesome guy! I have been the luckiest girl to have been placed in such a loving home. Dad has been there for me through many fun times and was there when the times were tough for me. He is such an amazing man, always has words of wisdom, encouragement, and many blonde jokes. I don't think there has been a time that we have traveled that he didn't know someone. He is so loved in his community, and here in Lakeside. Hope your day was an awesome one, I LOVE YOU:)

It is also my sister, Kristal, birthday today too!!! You have been such a great sister to me! I was so excited when mom told us she was pregnant with you, I wanted another sibling so bad. You really livened up our family since the day you were born. I remember dad trying to find Alka Seltzer when mom went into labor. He couldn't find it any where in the house. Then Alice and Carol Sue came over to clean the house and found a packet of them in every room!! I hope your day was awesome, Happy Birthday:) I love you too!!

CLAY IN HIS 5TH GRADE PLAY

My darn finger got in the way but Clay still looks calm, cool and collected

This is most of his class minus 1 student. They did a terrific job:)

Clay had his 5th grade play yesterday, it was called "Joust!" He was so nervous to do it because he had the part of narrator. He has a really hard time memorizing things and this was a big part for him. They have been practicing for quite awhile and I must say they all did a great job!! Clay knew all of his lines and spoke loudly and clearly. The pictures are from my cell phone, so they aren't the best. I cut his hair the night before and he wasn't happy with it being so short. I think he looks great:)

SAD, SAD, DAY:(

 I received this from a friend, very sad :(

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Dough Boy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeatedly being poked in the belly. He was 71.

Dough Boy was buried in a... lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Dough Boy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Born and bread in Minnesota, Dough Boy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Dough Boy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

If this made you smile for even a brief second, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and share that smile with someone else that may be having a crumby day and kneads a lift.

CHANGES

Last Wednesday night I went to a candy making class for Relief Society, right in the middle of  getting the directions, I got a call and didn't recognize the number so I put it on ignore. Well, after we were dismissed to go to the kitchen, I called the number back and it was President Jensen of the Stake Presidency!!!! He wanted Dave's number so I gave it to him and waited patiently (NOT) to call Dave and see what was up. Dave said that he wanted to meet with us the following afternoon. Do you know the anxiety that in tells? I was a nervous wreck, we thought that maybe he would be getting released after 3 years of being the 2nd Councilor in the Bishopric. Thursday afternoon finally came, Pres. Jensen talked to us for a while and could see that I was so nervous, so finally he said that they wanted to release Dave from 2nd Councilor and put him in as 1st Councilor. We are so excited that he was not released yet. Since he was put in, we have felt the prayers in his behalf, and this calling has brought so many blessings to our family. We will do what ever the Lord wants us to do, and this is where Dave needs to be. We will miss  Dave Sargent in the Bishopric, but know he is where he needs to be too! Craig Brady has taken Dave's place as 2nd Councilor. He is a great person, and has an awesome family.
Dad and Mom came on Sunday to see this all take place. Dad was able to stand in the circle when Dave was set a part for this calling. There was such an awesome Spirit in the room. I love being a member of this Church, the Lord truly is in charge of all things!!!!
I'm a "widow" for 6 days while Dave is in the Valley for some training related to the certification that he just got. He called and said it is quite an eye opening experience. He is a really fast learner so I know he will do great and will learn a lot from this training!! Love ya Babe. so proud of you:)

CATCH UP TIME AGAIN

There really hasn't been a lot going on in our family. So I will try to catch you all up on the past month.
Hunter began having really bad headaches about 2 weeks ago. They started after he had fallen off the bunk bed, I didn't think he hit that hard because they don't have a floor, they have clothes piled about 2 feet deep. So how could he get a concussion? Well he did, Dave took him to the doctor and they did a CT Scan. A few hours later the doctor called and said that there was a spot on his frontal lobe and they wanted to him to get an MRI stat! Dave rushed him to the lab and they did the MRI but it didn't show anything.. What a relief!!!!!!! He is still having headaches but I think they are subsiding.
I have had the dang coughing junk but it hasn't been the gross stuff. So I can live with that. The kids are pretty healthy, Clay does have the stomach bug today.
Dave and I went to the Valley February 5 so that he could take a huge test for work.This is the test that he has tried to pass several times. However he took a different one that in the long run will be better. He PASSED it!!!! He is now a Certified Transmission Operator!! He studied so hard with his friend Jimmy, and as a present for passing, Jimmy and his wife, Linda, took us to the Out Back Steakhouse. YUMMY:)  He and Jimmy are now certified and they will be going to different trainings throughout the year. His other co-workers haven't passed theirs yet. Hopefully a raise will be coming too?!?!?!
Summer is getting bigger with her pregnancy, I never showed until the 7th month, but she has been showing for about 2 months now. She is due June 3, we can't wait.The ultra-sounds show he is growing and doing really well. The doctor can't find one of his kidneys, which is scary, but  I have a friend who was born with only one, and he went on to try out for a professional football team. He didn't make it because they couldn't insure him. But he has led a full active life, and  this little guy will too:)
Hope you have a great day!!!!

PAY BACK IS AWESOME!!!

So 2 years ago, when I turned 40 my brother surprised me by putting my 8th grade picture and cell phone # in the local paper. I swore I would get him back, he didn't think I would do anything!! Well NEVER underestimate the older sister grudge:) I had a long 2 years to think of something to get him back, I went on Vistaprints .com and ordered an 8' x 2 1/2' poster. My parents had to go to St. George so I got them to take it up for me. I believe my sister-in-law, Shannon, put it up this morning in their neighborhood!!!  Think I did a pretty good job:)      HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO! YOUR THE BEST:)