Granny

My grandmother decided it was time to be back with grandpa, she left us on Thanksgiving day. She was 94 years old and has lived an awesome life. The very selfish piece of me wishes she was still here but the realistic piece of me knows she is at peace, happy, and having an amazing reunion with her husband, parents, brothers, sisters, daughter in law, and many more. Here are a couple of pictures I found of her.




This is a 5 generation picture, Grandma Jennie, my dad Ken, me, D'Laina (my oldest) and Ethan, my cute grandson.



This picture was taken at Heidis wedding, we are so thankful that Granny was able to attend the weddings of my 2 oldest girls.

Garfield

So, a couple of months ago Dakota sent a letter to Santa Claus, yup, she is starting early, the one thing she wants is a "kitten". Un, no, not really thinking that is going to happen but I bet Santa will find something she will like, right?! So, D'Laina, a great big sister, who is allergic to cats and HATES cats comes over the other night, with....can you guess....the suspense.... a kitten! UGH, but there were these little girls on the corner and whatever kittens they didnt give away were going to the "pound" so I had to save one of them and Dakota really wants a kitten, but duh, they grow up into cats. But, being a pushover as I am, we have a new kitten. It is cute, I do admit, BUT...(sigh) Of course Dakota and Colton both love our new kitten "Garfield".

Family Picture

We had a new family picture taken, I thought it turned out really nice. Maybe some of the "men" could have smiled a little more but oh well!!

Top Row: DJ and Kelsi; Scott and Heidi; Mike and D'Laina...Our 3 married daughters
Middle Row: Dakota; Greg, holding Ethan (Dlaina and Mikes boy); Kim; Colton; Shayla
Bottom Row: Tyler; Tanner; Josh

School Picture Day

So, I thought the twins looked pretty cute for picture day, now the question of the hour/day/year....how or what can I do to try to get Colton to smile? He seriously refuses to smile for any picture EVER!! It is so annoying. We did family pictures with Gregs family a few weeks ago, the WHOLE family, and he would not smile, I just dont get it? Any suggestions, advice? Even when we are having "fun" at the zoo, pool, family stuff, he frowns or scowls, I mean come on, he has a darn cute smile!

Dakotas Room

So, Shayla is gone down to Cedar City and SUU, so, what to do with this HUGE bedroom downstairs, well, it is time that two 7 yr olds (a boy and a girl) have their own bedroom, so, I cleaned and vacuumed, called D'Laina and asked what she was doing and when she said nothing, said good, come over and let's go buy some paint and paint this bedroom for Dakota. We got a Disney Color paint called "One Enchanted Evening" and I think it turned out cute. She is slowly getting her stuff moved into the room, hoping to soon afford a white dresser, think it would definitely look cuter in here, and also D'Laina and I are going to make some "vinyl" decorations for the walls in dark purple and probably white. Also find something for the window (there isnt a picture here of the window, it just has white blinds) that is cute. We will see if she actually "sleeps" downstairs, eventually I am sure she will. Tyler's bedroom is downstairs so it isnt like she is down there alone. Next project, Coltons room, has this "ugly hideous" wallpaper with flowers on it, soon to come down and he wants to paint it red and blue and get a "lightning mcqueen" bed, so, maybe for Christmas he can get the bed but asap we will get it painted and fixed up a little. Anyway, life is good, kids are in school, I actually really love my job, like the fact that we are getting into somewhat of a routine with the school year starting and hoping to get things done!

First Day of School

So, they didnt wear "new clothes" the first day, Dakotas jeans had holes in them (wait, dont some kids pay a LOT of money to have holes in their jeans) and they wanted to wear last years school t-shirts, but hey, in this first picture by the computers Colton is actually almost smiling!! The picture with an "extra" person is Dakotas friend who got to school at the same time so, she sat in the picture with them. They are enjoying school and have the same teacher this year.

Dirt Fight

So, I come home the other day and Dakota is covered in dirt...so, I say "Dakota, why are you so dirty" Dakota says "Oh, we had a dirt fight" . Well duh =) Here are a couple of pictures, isnt she adorable!!

Quiet House

Well, the house is quiet, the kids are back in school, now to get life on a schedule!! We took Shayla down to Cedar City, she is attending Southern Utah University. I met her roommate and think that her and Shayla should be able to get along well. I know that it will be an adjustment but I hope she loves it, makes some great friends, and just has a fun time. Took the twins to the first day of 2nd grade, they have the same teachers for all of their classes. I hope they do well this year. Tyler is a Freshman, crazy....he should have a fun year ahead of him, he made the BallRoom Dance team at the High School (yes, as a freshman) then he made the Bravo team (which is a drama team) and also the Encore group (which is a singing group). I am proud of him and all he does and dont tell him enough. Tanner starts high school as a Sophomore, kind of funny but he is bigger than most of the Seniors, and a lot cuter than most too!! And, with bigger I mean tall and lean and handsome. I am so lucky to have such wonderful kids, my married kids are wonderful, their spouses are great, my grandson is the cutest kid ever. I love my family, parents, brothers, sisters, neices, nephews, the whole crew, I think we are the best and I truly enjoy the times we get to spend together. Life goes so fast, where does time go actually? It seems like just yesterday they were having the last day of school? Just not sure what I am feeling today, kind of strange! I love my job with JetBlue, (the free flying is awesome), I love that my sister Jana just got a job with JetBlue so we can go do some fun stuff, life is pretty darn good, I have a lot to be thankful for. Anyway, enough of this, got laundry to do. Here is wishing everyone a great school year!!

4th of July Fun!

We had a lot of fun on the 3rd and 4th. D'Laina, Shayla, Shaylas friend Jacob, Colton, Dakota, and Ethan (and me) went to Scera pool and played for a few hours, I think we all got a little bit of a sunburn even though we had sunscreen. Shayla and I did our "back flips" off the diving board, Colton went on the "twisty" slide, fun stuff!! We did our own fireworks that night with a couple of neighbors joining to watch. We woke up early the 4th and went to the ward breakfast then headed to the Freedom Festival Parade in Provo. We got a front row spot, easy to do if you just kind of wiggle your way in =) We enjoyed the parade, most of it, pretty hot, so we left a little early but still enjoyed it. We got ready and went to Jolynne and Troys for a BBQ, most of the family was there and we enjoyed each others company. After dinner we walked over to Davis High, did some of our own sparklers with the HUGE crowd that was there then watched an awesome fireworks show. The only not so great part was the drive back to Orem, but we all managed! Here are some pictures of our festivities of the 2 days!!!

Mr and Mrs DJ Sullivan!

Kelsi and DJ were married June 5th, it was beautiful, congratulations!!

The family!!

Disneyland!

Our first day at Disneyland!!! A disclaimer, Colton forgot how to smile for pictures =) He really did have fun!

Our first "big ride" Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!!!

Dakota was trying to copy Coltons smile! haha

There is the real Dakota, with of course the real Colton!

Ethan was soooo darn cute!

Seeing all the "disney characters" was probably the twins favorite, they loved the rides but come on, getting autographs, that was the best!!

Splash Mountain was a favorite of course!

A Day at the Beach

We took a family vacation to Disneyland and spent a day at the beach, Greg was busy with work so couldnt join us but we had a great time. Here are some fun pictures!!

New York trip.

We had a GREAT time in New York. I love spending time there. Here are some pictures of our fabulous time!!!

We took a "bike" tour through Central Park, our "driver" took our picture!

Brooklyn Bridge

Lunch at Planet Hollywood, they sang Happy Birthday to Shayla, she turned 18, woohoo!

Me and Lisa, she is awesome!!

Shayla and I saw Wicked, it was the BEST ever. 2nd row center seats, amazing =)

If anyone has been to New York you know about "Canal Street" and the shopping! We spent way too much time and money there. But loved it.

Of course, no explanation needed.

Inside the base of the Statue of Liberty.

On the Ferry ride over to the Island.

DLaina, Shayla and Carli in the Subway. (not the restaurant) LOL