Aloha!

Last weekend we were invited to attend a Luau thrown to celebrate the first birthday of our friend's daughter. It was quite the extravagent affair for a 1 year old, but it was a lot of fun!!!

Hailey is looking really excited to be here...she actually had a blast.

Hailey with the birthday girl, Madison

See, I told you she had fun....she was in LOVE with the horses. This one's name is "Java", which apparently sounded like "Jaba" because started asking where Princess Leah was!! hahahahah...I love that girl, she's priceless!
She's taking in all the sights...I seem to remember pictures like these of me and my cousins at the horse stables in St. George when I was a little girl. Of course I wasn't in a swimmer and I wasn't nearly as cute!!
My city kids at the horse corrals....what a great day they had!!!
Parker was trying really hard to convince me that the pool was warm enough to go for a dip...I wasn't buying it!! It was a gorgeous day, but still a little cool in the water =(
Not that Hailey minded one bit! She was a soggy girl by the end of it all!

And of course, what Luau would be complete without a roasted pig! I know that for most of you this picture has no significance, but this guy has been the "Pig Farmer" of Vegas since the beginning of time and he and his crew roasted a real pig for this shindig! I couldn't pass up the chance for a picture of "The Pig Man" with a "Pig" (not my favorite slang for cops, but it exsists and I saw the irony =])

One Less Hero...

Yesterday, Las Vegas lost one of it's finest....Metro Officer James Manor was killed in the line of duty while responding to a call when he was in a tragic car accident. Even though we didn't personally know Officer Manor, Metro is a family, and when you lose a family member, no matter how close, it leaves an empty place in your heart. It makes you remember how precious life is and that you should never take for granted that your loved ones will always return home at the end of the day.
So today I made sure to hug my family a little closer, speak a little softer, and tell them that I loved them a few extra times. There's a country song by Diamond Rio called "One More Day" and it seems so appropriate right now. "I'd hold you every second, say a million I love you's, that's what I'd do with one more day with you."
Please tell your families how much you love them before you/they walk out the door. You may not get another chance....I love you all!

Go Divas!!!

Last weekend we had the priviledge (I use that term loosely here) of spending 3 straight days sitting on hard metal bleachers to watch Courtney's 10 year old Fast Pitch Softball team take part in a tournament. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've spent 9 straight hours at a Softball field with a 4 year old, a 6 year old and a 16 year old!

Although it was more pain and agony than excitement for me, I'm so very glad we stuck it out and watched our girls take second place in the tournament! Way to go Divas!!!

They played their little hearts out and ran like there was no tomorrow! Courtney even had a few fantastics hits herself! They made it all the way to the Championship game (after 9 wins and only 1 loss), and were finally overcome by the fatigue of it all. I must say how proud I was of them for not getting shut out by a Club Ball Team - you know, those teams made of up parent's living vicariously through their children. (Shame on me, that wasn't really nice. It was true, but not necessarily nice!)

So here are some shots I got of the whole experience...it was a CRAZY few days for

The Motely Crew after 3 days....thank goodness you don't have "smell-o-vision"!!

School Days....

This has been a busy week for Parker at school. In celebration of Earth Day, his class did a performance of one of my Primary favorites - "Popcorn Popping". They were so adorable up there!

This week was also Reading week and Parker was so proud that his school asked his Daddy to come and read to his class.

Naughty Bunny!

The Easter Bunny came to our house yesterday, and he left behind some great goodies in the Easter baskets! Although he did leave behind a messy trail of jelly beans that he must've dropped along the way! Naughty bunny!

After all the baskets were explored and almost all the candy eaten =/...it was time for Parker and Hailey to put on their new Easter clothes and off to church we went for a very moving and awesome reminder of just exactly what this day is all about. "I am the resurrection and the life." We are so thankful for the Atonement and the knowledge that we will be in his presence again one day.

Back at home once again, it was time to hunt for all those eggs that that messy bunny hid....Parker and Hailey were joined by their cousins "big Hailey" and Dylan for an egg hunt to remember!

At the end of this beautiful spring day, we sat down with part of our family (Elissa was in Utah and Jared and Courtney were at their mom's this year) and enjoyed an Easter dinner just before the phone rang and Rich was called to work. We are so very thankful that he was able to spend the day with his family!

"Egg"ceptional!

Parker and Hailey had so much fun getting ready for E.B. (Easter Bunny)! They dyed eggs till they were covered with every color possible, then they decorated them all with stickers, and finally - the set up! It's all in the presentation! I'm pretty sure E.B. will be totally impressed wtih the effort put into these beautiful masterpieces!

Hope your families had as much fun as ours!

He died for us...

I hope that we will all remember that Easter isn't really about baskets and bunnies, colored eggs and candy. Although we are living in a tumultuous time, we were given the gift of repentence on this most sacred day. I am so grateful for my savior, grateful that he loved all of us so much that he suffered and bled on that cross, and died for our sins. I am grateful for friends and family that know these things to be true and live their lives as examples to the world. I am grateful that I live in a country where I am free to celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday. I hope you all are grateful too.