July 27th - Happy Birthday Jennifer!

It is hard to believe that a quarter of a century has passed and my baby is 25!
Jennifer was a very good little girl and always so obedient.
Sometimes she got mixed in the middle of things
but we have always been so thankful for this sweet, compassionate daughter.

She is a good friend and a good listener.
She is a wonderful wife and mother and has so many talents that she willing shares with others.
She is a great example of faithfulness in the Gospel.
She has a great sense of adventure and is willing to try new things!

Happy Birthday Jennifer - We love you!!!

Jennifer 1 years old.
This is one of my favorite pictures of her.

I love this picture, it really shows her sweet little personality.

Jennifer as a bag of Jelly Beans for Halloween.
This was her idea and got rave reviews!

Jennifer and Jared in Mexico.

Jennifer looking cute with her braids she had done in the market.

27 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Today we are celebrating our 27th Wedding Anniversary!
It is amazing how fast the years have passed.

I have been so blessed to be married to Mick, he is an amazing man.
He loves me, his children and grandchildren and would do anything for us!

He has provided a wonderful life for me filled with fun and adventure.
Most of all he loves the gospel and is a faithful Priesthood holder.
My life has been greatly blessed because of him.

For me personally I know that I met my perfect match 27 years ago.
I look forward to spending the Eternities together!

We were sealed for Time and all Eternity July 11, 1981 in the Salt Lake Temple.

We had a beautiful outdoor reception in my parents backyard.

Just as the reception was starting it began to sprinkle.

It only lasted a few minutes and in it's place was a double rainbow. We have always felt that this was a good sign marking the beginning of our life together!

Here is our story:
We met January 3, 1981 at a dance.

It wasn't just any dance it was a Disco Dance at the Star Palace!

He said: I saw her come into the room and I knew that was the girl I was going to marry.
She said: When I saw him I thought "that looks like the type of guy I would like to marry".

We danced all of the dances together.
We went to a BYU 14 Stake Fireside the next night.
Talked once during the week and saw each other the next Sunday.

We got engaged that night!
That is right it was only after 8 days of knowing each other!

The proposal went like this:
He said: What would you say if I were to ask you to marry me?
She said: Are you asking?
He said: I guess I am.
She said: Than I would say yes.

6 months later to the day we were married.
It was love at first sight and has grown incredibly since!

"Our song" came out a few months before we got married.
Anne Murray's "Could I have This Dance?"

In the beginning there were 2.....

soon it grew to number 9.

We are now 18 and counting!!

Mick is my best friend and confidant.
I cherish our time together. It doesn't matter what we are doing,
working, playing, worshiping or just having fun.

I met and married the man of my dreams!
I love you Mick!

Mick's "Tara"

If you are familiar with Gone with the Wind you will know that "Tara" is the plantation owned by Scarlett O'Hara. As Mick has worked in the garden weeding he said that he has the Gone with the Wind Theme song continually running through his head.

When the train goes by Carly, Kaylie and I have felt like the slaves on the plantation picking cotton.
It is funny where your mind takes you when you spend time working in the dirt.

Our garden is growing well. Mick has spent lots of hours weeding.
I have been more limited because of some back problems.
I think I over did it with all of the weeding that has needed to be done !

Our corn is growing high....hopefully it will soon be as high as an elephants eye!

It is fun seeing the garden grow.

We even have a few tomatoes growing.

Mick has done a great job in getting all the weeds out...don't the rows look awesome?!!

Mick was excited to pick our first green pepper.
We ate it in fajitas last night....it was good!

Our onions are growing really well. They have a strong fragrant smell.

It is amazing the growth that has happened in the garden in a few short weeks.

Summer Flowers!

We have these pretty Daisy's blooming in our garden now.

The roses have been beautiful but the hot weather has gotten to them.

I was excited to see this Clematis growing.

It didn't bloom last year. We just figured it was some kind of vine plant.
Mick cut it down at the end of the summer, all that was left was a small branch.
It appears to be a pretty hardy plant as it is growing like crazy.
Hopefully we will get some more flowers on it.
This is a plant that you don't want to get close to during the day.
We have a big wasp problem here. Mick tried to find their hive the other day
and instead made them mad. So we had wasps swarming everywhere.

More Daisy's with some Hollyhocks.

This is a really pretty flower, lots of delicate petals.
We have the more traditional Hollyhocks growing in our backyard.
My Grandma Spencer had Hollyhocks growing on the side of her house when I was growing up.
I have always loved these flowers and could never quite figure out how they made dolls out of them.
I guess I will have to look it up on the Internet.

Proud To Be An American!

I love the 4th of July!
I love the Patriotism of our Country.
I love seeing our flag waving and pondering on the blessings of living in a land of freedom.

We had a full day of events beginning with Brianna running in the Freedom Run.
We got her there just minutes before she ran her 5k.
She did a great job and finished in under 27 minutes and met her goal.

While she was racing we saw some of the Hot Air Balloons.
A few came close to the Park where the race ended. It was fun to see them a little closer.
A Couple even landed in the Park.

Carly, Cameron and Kaylie with the Hot Air Balloons behind them.

Brianna's happy with her running time.

We then went to the parade. I love hearing the bands play, especially the Bagpipes.
I love seeing the creative floats and the hot air balloons.
Our family loves getting the candy and made lots of noise to get their share!

A high light for me in the parade is the missionaries from the church.
I think there must be close to 200 Elder's and Sister's that walk the parade route.
It is amazing to seeing this Army of missionaries that are going forth spreading the gospel.

There was a veteran from Pearl Harbor in the Parade. Other veteran's and soldiers were honored that have served our country to preserve our freedom.

A quick picture before the parade started.

Grandpa with Hallie decked out in her red, white and blue.

Kaylie and Cameron with Hallie.
Hallie didn't get into the parade to much. Half way through she fell asleep on the blanket.

Jackson liked the big balloons in the parade.

We missed having Brittany & Steven, Jared & Jennifer and the girls here.

We did call and talk to them to wish Aliza a happy birthday.

We love this little Star Spangled Banner Granddaughter.

She has a fun day for her birthday. Every year America will celebrate with her!

Morgan was anxious to try some of our strawberry and blueberry trifle.
She and Jackson were especially excited about eating the blue balls (blueberries).

The 4th of July wouldn't be complete without a BBQ!

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Watermelon....yummmmmm!!!

We watched the fireworks on the grounds in front of the Provo Temple.
The fireworks were great and we loved hearing a few patiotic songs
on the radio that we had brought with us.

Mick was disappointed to not be watching the fireworks with us.

His new "Hobby Job" kept him busy at the Stadium of Fire. He is the Hawking Manager over the Hawkers selling concessions. After 9 years of selling at Nebraska Football games he has had a hard time giving that up. He sold at the BYU Football games and sold the most in the stadium. The guy in charge was so impressed with his know how and experience he offered him a position. No this doesn't replace his day job but it gets him into the BYU Football games free and he comes home with some fun money!

The Stadium of Fire is the biggest event of the year at the stadium. He did see Miley Cyrus, Blue Man group and Glen Beck as he ran up and down the stadium steps selling concessions. He was thrilled with the money he made is 5 hours.

I am so thankful to live in the United States and have the privileges that we do.

We are abundantly blessed! I am also thankful for those who have and who do serve this country in my behalf.

God Bless America!!