Happy Halloween!!

I love Halloween. I love the fall and the change in weather(well unless you live in the valley of the sun). But I mostly love seeing my girls get excited for their costumes. I must say though I am not a mom who can sew and make their costumes, so to the store we go!!! I also refuse to spend lots of money on a costume, I find deals. I found this Hannah Montana costume at Claire's on sale for $5 and said ok it will fit one of you and you both love HM so we'll see who gets to be her. It could have gone either way but while we were in there Zoe found the sash and crown for I think $3.99. I asked if she was sure and she thought about it for like a second. So one we went and the best part is that Sadie wants to be a beauty queen next year and the HM costume is now in their dress up box!! I just hope one day this thriftiness doesn't backfire on me and my girls betray me and tell me they really hated Halloween because they never got the RIGHT costume!

The Friday before Halloween our ward had a trunk or treat and I was trying to get my girls ready, as well as the chili, cornbread, cookies, and frosting. So getting the girls ready was going well, Sadie loved getting her hair done and anytime she can wear makeup she is thrilled. So no I was onto Zoe. My idea of getting Zoe ready for the night as a beauty queen and her idea were totally different. I wanted her hair up, makeup on, frilly dress, jewelry, you know the works. Well she wanted only lip gloss, hair down, plain dress and no jewelry. We fought so much and finally I told her to get ready herself and so she did, very reluctantly. I thought I might go insane before we made it there that night. When we got there and I saw Dave I pulled one of those, "She is yours for the night, have her stay away from me". Am I the only one who has muttered these words under her breathe? I hope not!!! :) So why am I telling you this? Well these pictures are on Halloween night, after her father suggested the same things I had. SERIOUSLY, her and I are going to have some more mother/daughter precious moments in the future, I just know it!!!! We had a fabulous time walking around with the Hutchings and met up with 1/2 of the Carpenters later. My kids got way too much candy and I am trying to convince them that we need to share it with children in the world who don't have any!!! Zoe-7 , Sadie-4
Sadie lost her vocals here! Dave told Zoe to hold her hands this way, what beauty pageant show is he watching!

Nikki Hutchings and Zoe

Sadie and Kayli Hutchings

Nikki, Zoe, Kayli, Sadie, and baby lion Colby Huthchings.

Grand Canyon

We have fabulous friends and we feel so happy to have so many good people in our lives. Laura had been talking about a camping trip for sometime after the Grand Canyon or Bust blog was over. Not many girls wanted to got solo, so she invited the men. Thank you Laura for being the master planner behind this and so many other great events!!! She picked a date and sent it out inviting whoever could come. The Judd's, Carpenter's and Atkinson's went up on Thursday night, and us and the Garrett's came up on Friday. WE all came home on Saturday evening. We had so much fun being in the canyon. I grew up in Flag and went to the canyon as a child, but had not been back in years. I love it and want to go back and stay longer. I also need to take my girls, they have never been. We hiked a bit, the boys played baseball and the girls played a mellow game of cards, horsehoes, and eating!!!! It was so fun and I had a blast even if I got cheated playing cards, seriously I was NEVER president!! Love you all:) Stephanie, Laura, me, Neely, and Sarah
Jimmy and Rob (two of the funniest men ever)!
Austyn and David
Good swing Dave!!
I need to make sure my bat is perfect for the next one!

Jimmy being Jimmy (he jumped up and Sarah got a cool
picture with no feet on the ground)

Austyn, do you see what I see?

Good thing I love him.... Or else......

Jimmy, where are you?

In a lodge at the very top, huge original fire place-forgot the name.

We wanted the boys to pose like this, but you as see it was us instead!

Making our train!! We are so funny!!!

David took this romantic shot for Neely! What a cute couple!!

We love Sundays!!!

So Sunday is such a great day for so many reasons. Church, meetings, sacrament, singing, lessons, RS, Primary, YW's, Home-teaching and visiting-teaching!!! You just feel good when you know your doing what you should and participating in all these activities. But we also love Sundays because of this, a little thing called sleep!!!!! This is what we look like almost every Sunday after church and lunch. We eat and then throw almost every pillow in the house down the stairs for quiet time! The girls get to pick one Disney movie and they always want to know if David and I want to watch it. We reply you bet for about the first minute and then somehow we never make it beyond that part!!! Sundays are a special day for our family and being together and making memories like these are what makes life grand!! Happy Sunday to you!!

My spot is the empty pink pillow. David and Sadie are always on the floor and Zoe and I are on the couch.

Hello, Again!!!

Zoe is seven now and it is crazy! I am amazed at how wonderful each year gets with her, and yet miss her being small. I love her so much and am so grateful to be her mom and watch her grow, she is a special little girl who makes me better. These are a few pictures of a small party we had for her before we went to Utah for the 4th of July. Her birthday is July 2 and so it seems to always get combined with the 4th. She loved having a few friends to to Chuck E Chesse and play for the night. Happy 7th!!!
Sadie is my daredevil!

Zoe is not so sure!!!

Kayli, Nikki, Zoe, Madison, and Sadie

Scared but laughing!!

What a "cheesy" grin!!!! Gotta love it!

My Sweet Daughter

Tonight after a really long day of life, I got a reminder of how amazing my daughter is and how much I love my kids. As I was cleaning and gathering things from upstairs to bring down, I overheard Zoe telling Sadie something about being seriously and sad. I paused on the stairs to listen for a moment, something I love to do. Zoe proceeded to talk about how she was singing a song for Grandma Conway in heaven. She very sternly told Sadie it was not funny and that she was seriously(or as we might say serious). Sadie then sang a very loud and goofy version of something like this, " Oh, Grandma Conway died and now she is in heaven." Zoe now tells Sadie ever so calmly, "I'm crying right now and I am seriously." During this brief exchange, I actually never heard the song Zoe said she was singing for my mom. She only kept relaying to Sadie how sad she was and how she wanted to see Grandma Conway. Both girls have been really doing well with my mom's passing and we talk about it often. I think tonight might have been brought on because Zoe took a baby blanket made by my mom to bed. I love my girls and hope that they may grow up with some memories of my mom. My mom loved and adored them and I know she is smiling down on them. I am learning that even with her death, we can still have her be a part of our days, sharing stories and history of her can help my children to know who she was. It's ok to miss her and be sad, but we can rejoice in the knowledge that we can see her again!!!

I Love My Dad

This is a picture of my parents. This picture was taken two years ago tomorrow. We were hiking around Madera Canyon, which is in South Tucson where we lived for about three years. We had such a great day and my parents were so happy to be together. My dad had not seen my mom for almost six months before this trip reunited them. For those of you who may not know, my mom passed away December 1, 2007. She lost her courageous fight with cancer and returned to her Heavenly Father after years of being sick. She had been living with my family in Tucson undergoing chemo while my father remained in Utah working. His work kept him away for months and he had such a hard time being away from her. They were everything to each other, and more to me. My dad is my hero for many reasons, but mostly because he loved a woman for 41 years who battled insecurities, depression, and MANY health problems. He never left her or his children. I have no doubt that many men, even men of God, would have left their families had they gone through the struggles my father did. But he did not complain or blame. My father only loved more and worked harder. I thank my Father in Heaven for my dad and his example.

Life is full of ups and downs. We are going to face challenges in our lives and our character will be tested. My father I'm sure was not always happy to have a sick wife who couldn't be active with him. He wanted to travel around the world, she had a hard time making a trip four hours away from home. He loved the outdoors, she wanted air-conditioning. She passionately loved many sports, he wasn't as excited. He wanted to talk, she didn't. She loved QVC and shopping, he liked to save money. She loved to decorate and he didn't see a need. Their differences did not affect their love for one another. They learned to accept their differences and not try to change the other person.

Life is also full of happy times and laughter. We are supposed to enjoy life and each other. My parents did just that. They loved the Gospel more than anything. They each had and shared powerful testimonies of their Savior. They loved their children, even during many rebellious and difficult years. They respected and honored one another and their eternal covenants. They laughed, cried, prayed, and on occasion even disagreed. But no matter what obstacles they faced, they did it together. The did it together and with faith in Heavenly Father that they would not be given more than they could endure.

In D&C 58:4 it reads, "For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour in not yet, but is nigh at hand."

Their love for one another, their children, and their Savior never wavered. Their life was a not a fairly tale, but their love was. I love my parents so much and express my appreciation for their commitment and strength. I strive to have a marriage built upon a rock, the rock of our Savior. If I can lovingly, graciously, happily, and faithfully endure life's challenges, I too can hope for those eternal blessings and glory.

I am so honored to have a father who taught by example. He never asked of us what he was not already doing himself. His desire to serve the Lord, his wife, his children, and his fellowman, was a great indicator of his value and conviction to do what is right. Thank you dad for loving my mom with all your heart and treating her with respect and kindness. You are a righteous man who loves the Lord and your family more than anything. I love you dad!!!

Sadie LOVES Babies!

This is Sadie when she was 11 days old. She now talks about having one of these for herself almost every day. Some of you know that I have been unseccessful in staying pregnant recently. As you can imagine, my 3 year old who has literally cried in Wal-Mart because she wanted a baby so bad, is pulling on my heart strings. She told me she wants a baby so bad she could die. And her latest is that we should call the hosptial and get one next week. Cute huh, but almost not when I am trying my best!! Sadie is so soft and loving with little babies and would be a great big sister,(maybe a bit smothering) but she means well. She is praying for a baby in my tummy, in daddy's, in Zoe's, and in her's. So I was thinking maybe Heavenly Father wants David to be the second man to give birth to a baby!!!!