Shawn's Bday Celebration

On Sunday night all of the cousins on my mom's side got together to take a "grandchildren picture" for my grandma. Then I came back to my parents to celebrate Shawn's bday with my family. We had caramel brownies & homemade ice cream. Here is the bday boy getting ready to blow out his candles...he's 22 years old now!!! Happy Birthday Shawn! We love you!

After dessert we hung out and had a lot of fun together. It was so fun to have everyone there (Ashley was visiting from Utah) and it made me realize how quickly our family is growing and how excited I am about it! I love that all of us get along so well. A bunch of the family got on the subject of gross things they'd had to eat on their missions. The boys were telling stories and kept trying to "one-up" eachother. Then Melissa came out with the worst story of all (it involved cat hair in her food)...so my dad made her an award that said "#1 Nasty Dinner". :)

Visit From Kenny & Cleona

Linc's brother Kenny and his family are visiting from Texas...they came to Mesa and spent the night at our house last night. The air mattress that they slept on took up most of our downstairs. :) I wish we had more room for visitors, but we are glad that they didn't mind squeezing into such a tight space! The boys wrestled with Lincoln and had a blast. The last picture is my favorite!!! Thanks for the visit Kenny & Cleona! We've really missed you guys!

Here are a few really random pictures from the past few weeks...
Daisy & Duke get SO excited when Lincoln's alarm goes off upstairs and it is time for him to wake up. They run up and jump on the bed and smother him with kisses.

On Fathers Day my family visited my Grandad. He lead us all in singing "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home" for him. He even did the actions for us. Ha ha, I love him.

The dogs tore a hole in the pillow that goes in their bed & pulled the fluff out. This is what I found when I walked upstairs to see what they were doing...you can tell that they knew they were in trouble. :)

Isabel (a girl in our ward) cut her chin & head and had to go to the ER. Lincoln washed her wounds and helped take care of her. Isabel's mom sent me this picture...isn't it so cute?! :) I love Isabel...I had her in Primary and she is adorable! I'm glad she is ok!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I Love Him

I like this picture...I think it kind of sums up our relationship. Even though a lot of times we feel like the "handcarts" we've had to pull since we've been married have really slowed us down, they've definitely made us stronger. What more could you ask for in a marriage? I think it's common to compare your own marriage to the marriages of those around you. Sometimes it seems that other couples are so far ahead of where you and your spouse are, or that something comes so easily for someone else that is a huge challenge for you. I'm so glad to know that as long as we are together and moving forward, we will get to where we need to be. A lot of times I feel like one of us is pulling the cart, while the other one is barely hanging on, but I think that's what marriage is! I'm so thankful for Lincoln. He helps me so much. I love that I can confide in him the way that I do. He helps me find balance in life. I'm so glad that I have him!

Does That Mean I Have A Problem???

I just glanced at my blog archives and noticed that I've posted 28 times this month. I thought, "Wow, that is a LOT! That's an average of one per day!" Then I noticed that in April I posted 49 times...does that mean I have a problem?

Off To The Cabin

Lincoln & I (and the dogs) left Friday night to go to this beautiful place... Oh, we love it here! It is so relaxing and not a far drive. I wish we could go every weekend!!! We got up there pretty late that night, but stayed up talking with Linc's parents and his Uncle Deon & Aunt Lisa until even later. It was fun to see all of them. They all treat us so well.

On Saturday everyone worked hard getting the cabin ready for the annual family reunion that is coming up. I didn't do much at all...I wasn't feeling well so I read a lot and took a few naps. One of the best parts of the day was sitting on the deck and watching a mother bird feed her babies (there is a nest in the corner under the deck). The little baby birds would start squawking and I could see their little heads popping up over the nest, while the mama bird made sure they got enough food. I saw this happen at least four times during the day. I LOVED IT!!! I didn't get a picture of the birds, but I did snap a picture of the boys taking a break after a hard day's work...

Another great thing about going to the cabin, is that we have regular animal sightings. This time there were two elk on the other side of the lawn. I got really close to them. After we watched them for awhile, Linc sent the dogs down to see what they would do. Here they are headed toward the elk...Daisy & Duke ended up chasing them down the creek. It was pretty funny.

Here is the close-up shot I got...it was so cool!!! By the way, that's a pile of dirt by them...in case you were wondering. :)

Trip Home

We left this morning to come home to the HEAT! Duke & Daisy were loving the weather up there!

We met Lincoln's brother Matt & his family at Denny's in Payson (don't judge). Claire loved the pic of the coffee on the placemat...I think it was because of all of the bubbles in it. We took turns cutting the picture with a knife while Claire said "cut the bubble bath!". She is funny.

I think this is my most favorite picture of Daisy. She looked pretty comfy riding in the backseat in her bed.

Linc's brother had to get rid of their dog Scottie, so we took him back to Mesa to his old foster home. We are so sad to see him go. We love that dog.

We got home right before church started, but I wasn't able to go because I was hurting a lot. It's been a long time since I have missed church because of being in pain. (Of course, I'm still doing better...but since I'm not on painkillers anymore there are times when I just can't do anything.) I was bummed. I'm glad we were able to go to Pine...the weather was beautiful and it was a nice quick trip. I can't wait to go back in a couple of weeks!

Melissa's Bridal Shower

Melissa had her "friend" bridal shower last week (her family one is still coming up) & it was so fun to see old friends and ward members there. I had way too much fun talking & hardly got any pictures, but here are the ones I did get. They played a game where they asked Melissa a question and then showed Brad's answer to the same question. Melissa had to put a big gumball in her mouth for every answer that didn't match. Here she is partway through the game...

Meg & Mom enjoying the food table...

Meg & I goofing around with the camera after the shower...

I love my sisters! :)

Bahama Bucks

Last night Lincoln & I had the job of choosing 5 shaved ice flavors to serve at Melissa & Brad's reception. (My uncle owns Bahama Bucks & they are going to have a shaver at the reception for FRESH Bahama Bucks shaved ice...awesome huh?!) The flavors we chose are (drumroll please)...apple, peach, pina colada, pink bubble gum & Juicy Fruit (tastes exactly like the gum & is so, so YUMMY!). Linc & I also each tried one of their new drinks while we were there. I got the Kokomoko (I think that's what it's called) & it was SO GOOD. I highly recommend it if you like chocolate. I always tease Linc that getting a half-off discount at Bahama Bucks was my dowry...it's the only thing I've ever contributed to our marriage. Ha ha. :) On a totally random note...one funny thing that happened before we went to Bahama Bucks...we took the dogs to the dog park and a big dog that was there came up to Lincoln and peed all over the back of the chair he was sitting in...it was hilarious.

Acupuncture

I had another acupuncture treatment today. I've been going to see Jim (my acupuncturist) for quite some time now...he is a miracle worker! Linc came with me to my appointment today. It was only the second appointment he had ever been to and I think he enjoyed it. Lincoln has become a lot more interested in the benefits of acupuncture & how it works, since he's seen such huge improvements in my health since I started going to see Jim. I am 99% sure I wouldn't be able to make these changes that I'm making in my diet and exercise, and overall health, if it weren't for acupuncture. I'm incredibly thankful that I have something that brings me some relief with NO negative side effects. Although I'm still struggling with my health, acupuncture makes things do-able for sure. Because Linc was there, he was able to take some pictures so that I could see what I look like with needles stuck all over my body. Here is my lovely ear! I have to admit, these ear points probably hurt the most...the ear is sensitive!

This picture is so goofy...it makes me laugh! Jim always puts a needle in the middle of my forehead (it's an anti-stress/anti-anxiety point) and one in the top of my head. After the needles are in for a minute I get pretty numb to them, so I'm always a little paranoid that he's going to forget to pull one out and I will be walking to my truck with a needle poking out of my head. It hasn't happened yet. :)

Jim also put me back on some herbs that he gave me about six months ago. The first time I took them, I got sick, but he wants me to try a lesser dose and see if they help me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm going into my "bad week" and have a minor infection on top of that, so I'm really hoping that today's acupuncture session helps make things a little easier. I'm sure it will. Hooray for acupuncture and for the best acupuncturist around!!!

Fathers Day

Happy late Fathers Day to the fathers in my life! I'm thankful for my dad...the most valuable principle he taught me was PROGRESS. He taught me that as long as I'm continually trying to improve and progress, no matter how slowly the changes come, it's worth it. Happy Fathers Day Dad!

In my opinion, the most valuable principle Lincoln's dad taught him was WORK. Lincoln is a very hard worker. Thank you for your example Phil. I'm glad to have you for my "other dad"! Happy Fathers Day!

This picture was taken in the hospital right after I had Jackson. I can't describe how grateful I was to have Lincoln right by my side during that experience. I love him so much. I'm so thankful that he gave me Jackson. Happy Fathers Day Linc! I can't wait to see you be a dad to our other kids.