More family fun!

I know I keep talking about the fun we had during the days surrounding Jesse & Danielle's wedding, but I'm not done yet! Here are some more pictures: Mia and BJ enjoying a relaxing minute in the hotel. Don't ya just LOVE that girl's smile?Our reunion with the Croshaws was great, of course, especially since we hadn't seen them in almost 9 months!!! Here's Grant getting a hello hug from Uncle Laren.The kids always seem to flock to Laren because, of course, he's hilarious!And here are all the cousins together! 10 in all!It wasn't long before the kids decided they just had to get their swimsuits on and party down at the hotel pool!Some of the adults decided the time was better spent chatting instead of swimming...but that didn't last very long. Pretty soon, this is what happened to Vanessa......and then Mindy.They couldn't get Jesse into the pool themselves, but Laren came to lend a hand and soon he was soaked, too. I stayed away through all of this craziness, holding desperately to Amelia and my camera in hopes that I would be spared. I think I took this one as they were plotting against me.Yes, they eventually lured my baby away from me, grabbed the camera out of my hand, and threw me in as well! No pictures, though, because, well...no camera! I'm pretty sure the hotel staff thought we were a bunch of nuts, but we all had a LOT of fun! I love this picture of my sisters and my baby...all soaking wet!Wish we could play together as a family every day, but we'll take what we can get!

Run = Fun!

This was Abbie's first year in the Hershey's Track Meet. We were so proud to see her participate in 3 different events:
...the softball throw,...the standing long-jump,...and the 50 meter dash.She was a little bummed that she didn't have more success, but really enjoyed the time outside with her class and friends!The best part, though, was DEFINITELY having her two aunts, Mindy and Vanessa, come to watch her! They were so sweet to drive out and support Abbie on this exciting day!BJ was also happy to have his aunts' undivided attention! Thanks, dear sisters of mine! It was a day to remember!! I love you both so much!

April GNO

Last month's GNO was here at my house, and since all of us GNO gals are turning or have turned 30 this year, I decided to make it a Birthday Pajama Party! We ate some yummy dinner (thanks to my wonderful husband), had birthday cupcakes, played games, and, of course, chatted for HOURS!!!I always have a great time with these girls. It's so fun to visit with my fellow Bulldogs about life, kids, family, husbands, food, vacations, movies, American Idol...the list goes on and on! I think it's funny that our group consists of TWO Joanna's, TWO Jill's, TWO Mindy's, and TWO Heather's (along with some other not-so-commonly-named ladies! Here we are playing "Name That Tune" to some of our favorite "flashback to high school" songs. Way to go, Ju! You're the ultimate champ! (By the way, girlies, if you're still interested in getting a list of the songs we used, let me know!)I realized too late that giving the camera to Allison and Jill will make for some fun pictures. This is just one of many silly ones...(Good thing they're so gorgeous, even up close and personal!)Lacey and Joanna chillin' with their yummy brownies!On this night, LaShon announced that she is PREGNANT! Yay, LaShon! Way to go, Ralph! :o) AND, besides LaShon, we have 4 other girls (is that right?) in our group that are prego...although by now, I'm thinking Julie has had her baby. (Does anyone know?) Angie came late, but we were happy she came at all! We missed a few of our other "regulars" and hope they can make it to GNO this month!I LOVE these girls! They inspire me to be a better person, a better mom, and a better homemaker (you should see each of their homes! BEAUTIFUL!!!) Can't wait to do it all again in just a couple weeks!

More wedding stuff...

Jesse and Danielle chose the most fabulous photographers! Their company is called FunnyFacePhoto and, let me tell you, they were AWESOME! They did a fantastic job on everything from bridals to temple to reception. I thought they captured the fun personalities of the bride and groom perfectly! (Click on the above link, click on "client galleries", click on "2008 private wedding galleries", click on "Jesse & Danielle", click on whatever you want to see and put in password rich to see all their amazing pictures!...Okay, that was a long explanation...sorry.) Here's my very favorite from their bridals...Kids ages 6 and up were invited to attend the wedding luncheon, so we took along Abbie and Christian, who were thrilled to sit next to some of their favorite cousins, Faith and Grant (Vanessa's oldest). I promise Christian really was having a good time...he thinks it's hilarious to make an occasional face like this.Everything about the wedding luncheon was wonderful, but my favorite part was playing my violin with my sisters. At the request of Jesse, we played the Bach Double, which is written for just two violins (hence the "Double"), but we managed to make it work with three. It's always so great to play with my amazingly talented sisters. (Not sure what happens to my body when I play the violin...somehow my chin multiplies! Oh well - I did turn 30 this year. We'll call that the reason. Moving on!)The reception was beautiful, the kids all had fun together, and everyone ate lots of yummy food! Here's a picture of their super-fun wedding cake......and here's my cute Abbie lined up to try to catch the bouquet. Luckily, no luck!What a great weekend! Isn't family the best?

Happy-Happy, Joy-Joy!

Here, finally, are some of the pictures taken over our fabulous days surrounding Jesse & Danielle's beautiful wedding. (Pardon this post being so long...there are just so many great things to remember and I don't want to leave anything out.)Their reception in St. George was held at the Sunbrook Golf Course. The weather was beautiful, as was the landscaping, the food, the flowers, and especially the bride & groom!Can you tell how excited we are to welcome our new sister to the family? We love this adorable girl!And could my little baby brother be any cuter standing next to our beautiful mom? I just love this picture!The kids were such good sports about being dragged to and from different events all day long. It was a crazy day and they enjoyed it, but all they really wanted to do was just run around and play with their cousins!BJ's favorite thing to do while on the temple grounds: play in the rocks, of course! I'm sure Christian was involved in this activity as well, but somehow escaped my photo-taking. (Don't you just love the polka-dot dresses and bright green ties?)Grandma & Grandpa Ottley are always so supportive. Could there be any more wonderful grandparents in the world? We sure don't think so.As soon as she said "I Do", Danielle immediately gained 10 nieces and nephews. I'm sure this would be overwhelming for a lot of girls, but, luckily, she's becoming an old pro quickly. They definitely consider her one of their FAVORITE aunts!STAY TUNED...MORE TO COME!

Ouch!

I laugh at this every time I see it! Is it bad to want to teach my kids to speak with a British accent? It's so cute!

We're here to stay!

I know...I'm a terrible blogger. Everything has been crazy with Jesse's wedding, family get-togethers, and trying to catch up on laundry...I've just been swamped. I have a LOT of pictures to post here, so stay tuned, but I wanted to post today's good news. WE'RE NOT MOVING! We're thrilled to find out that the Lord wants us to stay here in Salem, which means no box-packing, no house-hunting, and no friend-leaving! Yay! More great news: next year Laren will be teaching at the new Salem Hills High School, which is less than 3 miles from our house! Go, Skyhawks! We truly feel that this is where we're meant to be and are blessed that the Lord knows our needs and our situation...even better than we do ourselves! Check back soon for lots of fun pictures and a rundown of our last few weeks' events!