Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow....

This is my Grandma and Grandpa Barnes the first time they ever met Sam. I love my Grandparents smiles. They are truly contagious.
This is my Grandpa Jenson with Samantha the first time he met her. I love this picture. He was such a fun Grandpa!

These last two months have made me realize how fragile life is. I lost my Grandpa Jenson as well as my Grandma Barnes. It has been a couple months of emotion and traveling and just kind of rediscovering where I came from. I love my family so much and losing 2 people in such a short amount of time has been really hard. It has made me realize what is truly important to me in my life. My family and the Gospel. I am so thankful for both and could not have made it through these hard times with out them. My Grandparents have left such a legacy and it has truly inspired me to be a better person. One thing I can say is that with each passing I was blessed with the opportunity to see family that I have not seen in a long time and it was wonderful. The following are some pictures of choice moments from the past couple of months.
Even on our 8th flight I still adore my kids. LOL Not that I wasn't ready for a break!!!
Hunter loves his Dad soooo much! And Stephan is the biggest sucker for his boy! What a great Dad!
This girl was having the time of her life at Disneyland Can you tell :)?!?!?!
This is the family at Deer Lake. One of the most important places on earth to me. I am so happy I could be there with my husband and kids.
This is me and all of my cousins who mean soooo much to me. I truly felt at home when I was finally able to be with them.
Samantha and Hunter and my niece's Kaylie and Layla. Some of the cutest wonderful little kids I know.
This picture leaves me at a loss of words. This is my Grandpa at my Grandma's burial.
Our visit with Granny Gail was cut short due to my Grandmother's passing but the time we had with her was great!
This is my good friend Becca and I after running/walking my first 5K! Becca was such a great support and it was a real accomplishment for me.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! ( by Stephan)

Happy turkey day eve to all! About a year ago I turned this blog over to Amanda, and she has ran with it! Just what I expected so I am pleased. Thus, I think I may have been a little neglectful in posting on this blog and I know Amanda may be getting tired of always posting so here it goes!

Just a quick note to say how much I am thankful for. Of course my family but maybe even more I am thankful for the relationship I have with my Heavenly Father. Now, I am not one to usually "post my religion" but I feel like it is appropriate for me now. I think back to life changing events in my life and reminisce about them. I can think back to the time period that really solidified my testimony into what it is today, my mission in southern California. Now, my 18 year old brother is preparing for his mission. I am hopeful and prayerful that his mission will do as much in making him a man of faith as it did to me.

Hope all is well and that everyone thinks about what they are Thankful for!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Spooktacutlar Birthday!!!!

This past Friday we threw Samantha a Halloween Costume Birthday Party. Oh boy was she excited!!!! She said she wanted it to be super scary and she was especially excited to scare her friends with her Pink Dragon Costume. Here are some pictures highlighting this most exciting event.
One of my favorite parts of the party was reading and looking at the cards that the kids had made for Sam. They were so cute! Sam of course loved opening her presants. The night before as she was going to sleep she said "So Mom?!?! Tomorrow is when I get a whole bunch of preasants right?"

This is all the kids playing Monster Mash Freeze Dance. It was super cute and they all took it so seriously. Thanks to my friend Sarah who helped me keep things rolling. She had some super SWEET moves :)

We also did a Haunted Mansion Art project with foam stickers. I played spooky music in the background. Sam's friend Winston came up to me and said "Where are all those cats I keep hearing." He was quite thrown off by the music in the background.

The "Cheesiest" of parties

This past September Stephan turned 31 and to celebrate it we through a small cheese party. I am really bummed because I did not take pictures of the huge spread of cheese and meat we had. But check out this awesome cake my friend Carolyn made for the occasion. It was super yummy and so cute. We had such a great time. There were so many different kinds cheese. Anyways I would highly recommend a cheese party to anyone that enjoys cheese. It was a great way to try alot of different cheese's and share in the cost! Thanks for being born Stephan so we could have such an awesome party :)

Thanks Alot!?!?! WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!

Ok I would just like to point out that even though I won.... and even though Sam is having her first Halloween Birthday Party... Stephan still refuses to dress up!!!!!!!!

Thanks a lot!! (by Stephan)

I would just like to say Booo to those you of you who voted against me on the Halloween poll!