what's mia been up to you ask?

well let's see...

giving out free smiles and being happy

riding her super cute pink car (while sporting some ankle chub)

feeding herself and making a mess in the process (stopping at random moments to do the "clap cheese")

soaking up the sun

and being a good sport when "put the glasses on mia time" comes around.

having a baby in the house is the best.

one thing for sure...he'll die trying. but i don't think it will come to that (hopefully)

as i was running my sorry 3 miles this morning, i thought of my dad who will be running a 50 mile marathon tomorrow- in the mountains, up and down valleys and hills, through rough terrain, and possibly rain/snow, with nothing but some runner's concoctions to drink/eat, and the clothes on his back, and shoes on his feet.
50 miles!
i hope he comes back alive:)
thanks for your amazing example of determination and never giving up.
good luck, we'll be praying for you!

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field day!

jasmine

modeling her new "hunger games" bracelet (custom made by the talented kellyannie) and t-shirt (custom made by the talented me and mr. sanders)

can't even believe how perfect kelly made this bracelet! going through all sorts of hoops to get every charm. hands down, jasmine's favorite piece of jewelry.

her end of the year choir concert was a hit. we tried to convince her that we could only hear her out of everybody, as she rolled her eyes at us.

van's favorite part was when they sang "fireflies" by owl city. he jammed out in the back row and sang along to every word.
they also performed a cute rendition of the vanila ice/ under pressure song while wearing 80's gear. good times.

she wrote an awesome paper for her english class (click here to read it)


"sick" girl stayed home from school yesterday. obviously not deathly ill since she can't even make a decent sick face for the camera (faker)

you gotta love this girl.

pictures...

good answer

the other day van was telling us about a conversation he had with one of the boys in his class about going to church. i don't know how it came up, but i guess the boy was telling him that he doesn't go, and they must have discussed van's church going activity because the boy asked van why he went to church every sunday. it sounded like each of them were trying to figure out the others weird ways.
i asked him what his response was, expecting to hear something like "because my parents make me go."
but without hesitation he said, "because it's important."
we must be doing something right.

long overdue...

we took so many pictures of the big celebration, it took me a while to get everything condensed and in order. so without further adieu, here it is...

(60 years of joy...)
(pic taken around 1975. isn't she gorgeous?!)

so on may 1st, my wonderful mother-in-law turned 60! she flew down from california, robyn and fam drove out from iowa, and petes came from utah, and everybody gathered at our house for a few days to celebrate. we loved having the whole family together again.

we partied it up brazilian style, complete with mouth watering picanha (bbq'd tri-tip), guarana (brazilian soda), side dishes galore, and topped it off with one of paula's fabuloso cakes. paula even got a tiara for the queen to wear during the festivities. she looked so cute:)

we made her a scrapbook with pictures of all of us, and put together a slideshow with pictures throughout the years put to her favorite music. it was so fun to celebrate this milestone of a birthday with such an amazing woman who touches the lives of everyone she meets.

of course we all wanted our picture taken with the birthday girl, but for some reason we didn't get one with tyler (not on my camera anyway)

but no need to worry, looks like robyn got a shot with the man and his gun show:D

and we can't forget the ever beautiful kathleen who helped get her safely here and back using her airline hook-ups. so glad you could come kathleen, thanks so much!


before the party, she was so cute to take all the grand kids bowling. crazy fun!

and besides the party, we were able to find more fun to fill up the weekend.

and after all was said and done, we all agreed that we have the best mother, mother in law, vovo' (grandma), and friend, in the world!

beautiful inside and out, no wonder people are drawn to you! thanks for the love you show every one of us!
we love you, happy birthday!!

glowing

i think angela (my little sis) is one of the most beautiful pregnant chics i know.

i pretty much forced her into taking these pics, but looked how amazing they turned out!

seeing her pregnant made me think about how i shouldn't feel so yucky when i'm all pregnant and big, because really it's just beautiful. in the words of stephanie nielsen, "motherhood and beauty are the same thing". i totally agree.

but i think she's pulls it off better than me. just look at her glow...

all grown up

this is my baby sister christine when she was 4 years old...

this is christine now. ooh la la is all i can say:)

i'd like to take all of the credit for the great pics, but she couldn't take a bad picture if she tried.

we took these pics so she could promote her new salon and she needed some updated photos to put on her profile. so if anybody lives in the bountiful, ut area and needs a haircut, color, highlight, perm, extensions, eyelashes, needs product, or whatever, let me know and i'll hook you up with her info. she's trying to build up her clientel so she'll probably give you a deal (well she will now) on whatever you need done.
she's seriously so good. she takes classes an stays updated on all the latest styles and colors, and whatever else hair stylists do (sorry i don't know all the technical terms). trust me.

gone

me and my utah sisters...

in case any of my many readers (all 3 or 4 of you) were getting sick of seeing "family fun at the park" and was wondering where i've been, well mia and i took a trip to utah so i could get some dental work done and i didn't bother posting while i was gone.
i was able to squeeze some family time in there, but i'm back now to resume regular life and will get some posts up soon...

family fun at the park