Another Birthday for Dad!

Happy birthday to one of the greatest men I know!!!! These pictures are pretty lame, but I had to post them for laughing's sake.....and the cuteness factor, of course!

I love these two faces!

First present, a bottle of juice!!!!!! Yea!!! Brett loves this juice, so it was actually a really great choice for him.

I love these two faces, too!!!

Next present: A BOTTLE OF MOUTHWASH!!! YIPEE! If you know Brett, he HATES to chew gum, but is always conscience of his breath, especially working with his patients. So, this is a great gift too.

Brett did get other presents that day, but I have no documentation of them! And no pictures of Connor!!! Oh, well. This was worth the post for the laugh. 

The year of the juice and mouthwash!!!

I am old.

I am the mother of a 12 year old.

Yes, Connor is twelve.

I can hardly believe it myself.

Connor's birthday was filled with the same present he has been getting for years: BOOKS! This kid loves to read anything and everything. I will have to say, however, that he is pretty particular about offensive material. Even if it's a popular book, he wont read it if he feels it crosses the line. I think that is pretty admirable for a twelve year old.

With one of his many books

The haul!! 

We LOVE Connor!

A new watch for his birthday, too!

Connor decided that he wanted to do something fun and exciting for his birthday. He picked going to visit the beach in the Gulf of Mexico.

We visited Corpus Christi.

Look at how big my BABY is! He is so handsome and such a good boy. He really is growing into a good, young man

We decided that if we wanted to make it a real party, we had to have friends and family there, too. Since all our family is far, far away, we invited our great friends that we love: the Leatham's and the Terry's.

We couldn't believe how absolutely warm the water was. It almost felt like a bath. The only ocean we've ever been in as a family is the Pacific. That water is always cold, no matter what time of year it is. This was completely different-- so warm!

This is Jane Leatham and Makenna. They are the same age and get along very well. They are happy to have each other as friends.

This is cute little miss Aiden. She was just learning how to boogie board on this little thing, and then Brett taught her how to use the real one! She was a natural at it!

Here is Bron Leatham and Bronson, boogie boarding

Aiden and Brett

Mickey playing in the water

Here is Lezlie with cute little Addie

This is a side shot of Wendy Leatham. I'm so glad to have her as a friend. She is awesome and someone I knew I wanted to get to know the second I heard her talking!

All the kids!

Family 2012

In most of Connor's short life, we've been preparing him for a very special part of turning 12. When he turned 12, he would have the opportunity to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. My 12 year old son would be holding the Priesthood-- the very power of God on the earth today. Connor has been preparing for a long time and would be worthy to receive this Priesthood.  

I am so grateful for Connor and his loving heart; his example of forgiveness and willingness to try again. He is a good young man and I am proud to be his mother. 

Father and Son after the ordinance

Since we left to come back home to Utah two days after Connor's birthday, we decided to do Connor's ordaintion there, where all our family would be able to participate. It was a special and wonderful blessing. The spirit was strong and gratitude filled my heart to see all those men, who also hold the priesthood, and who love Connor, there to participate in the ordination.

One thing that has really struck me since Connor has received the priesthood is the importance of deacons in our church. These young boys pass and administer the sacrament.  They play such an important part in our renewal of our covenants, in our being able to be clean through the ordinance of the sacrament and the proper renewal of our covenants. Tears fill my eyes each time I see Connor perform this special duty and service. I will never look at a deacon the same again. 

The first time Connor passed the sacrament was in our old ward in Saratoga Springs. Connor was just sitting with us as normal, and his best friend, Asher, came up to him and asked him if he wanted to pass. Connor wanted to, but was very nervous because he had never done it before and it was never explained to him. And with love and understanding, Asher sat down by him, pulled out a chart and explained and showed him the ropes. It was a tender moment for me as a mom. Seeing this friend, and a deacon himself, watch out and care for his friend and give assistance where needed. That is the priesthood in it's purest form. After that little instruction, Connor felt like he could do it, and he did great!

Connor with a lot of wonderful men who love him and support him. My dad is hiding behind my grandpa!

There's my dad!

Connor and his wonderful cousin, Brandon

Nueve in Texas!

What could be more exciting to a child than the thought of their birthday!


And no less, our first "kid" birthday to celebrate in Texas!!

The day before the twins birthday, the boys had a Father and Son's outing planned for that night with church. Since the boys were going to be out roasting, camping and playing with friends Kenna and I decided that we were going to do all sorts of fun girly stuff. Specifically: nail painting, hair makeovers, a movie and Banana Pudding Blue Bell ice cream. (What can I say? The girl knows how to plan a party.)

Early that morning weather reports were forecasting for thunder storms, lightening and possible flash flooding later that night.

The boys Brett decided to cancel and stay home.

The boys were really deflated, to say the least. Kenna was sad that we would not be having our girls night.

So, now what to do?

Brett decided to splurge and get a hotel on the River Walk in downtown San Antonio. We'd go there for the night, have a party and play all the next day!!

So, that is what we did.

The kids were absolutely ecstatic!! How fun to spend the eve of your birthday in a hotel and right on the River Walk, too! We were even going to take a riverboat cruise down the river!

Well, things didn't end up going exactly as planned.


This is where we going to stay:

Nice enough, right?

Not too shaby

As we drove into the city and followed our GPS, it was telling us the hotel was getting closer and closer. I do know the city a little by now, and I knew that we weren't really close to the River Walk. In fact, we were about two blocks away. That seemed weird to me. How could they call this a hotel on the River Walk, if it wasn't near the River Walk. As I was thinking this, I was interrupted by a woman approaching our van. As we pulled onto the street the hotel was located on we had to stop at a light. We were approached accosted by this homeless woman asking demanding money. We told her we didn't have any cash, and she didn't seem too happy about that. She acted like, "How dare we come into my territory and not pay your dues!" Luckily the light turned green.  We sped away, only to find the parking lot for our car.

This, my friends, is where we parked:

Yes, this is a parking lot under the freeway. Yes, it was creepy and a little bit scary. We worried about the safety of our car just a little bit. I wasn't sure about staying there, so we decided to go talk to the hotel staff and to see how they could claim to be "on the River Walk."

The hotel was very pretty and well kept on the inside. Pretty nice, actually. The hotel staff assured us the parking lot was completely safe. As for the River Walk-- they said it was within walking distance, so that is why they claimed it. That was hog wash, but it was what it was. The kids were so excited about the big banquet room and visions of continental breakfast danced in their heads.

So we decided to stay. 

Here are the kids the morning of their birthday! I can't believe they are nine!!!

Enough construction paper to last him about a year.

Want to know how to get straight to McKay's heart? Velvet coloring posters. I kid you not.

Here we are the next day out in the city. We stopped at a fun park for the kids to play.

Kenna loves the monkey bars

Kenna insisted on wearing her new jean jacket she got for her birthday, even though it was blazing outside.

The kids wanted to take Brett to see the Mercado and Mick gave these guys a tip for playing a great tune.

This video was actually supposed to be a picture. Oh well. Still cute of the 4 of us.

Kenna almost touched this squirrel. They are all over her in San Antonio.

Makenna loved this little bird at the park

The twins chose to go out to eat at California Pizza Kirchen. Brett put his hand and fork in the picture to try to get Mckay to give us a little more than this forced smile look. It didn't work.

After we came home from out outing to the city, we met some friends at our pool. We have met some really great people here in San Antonio, and we are so grateful to have such great people to celebrate with! After the pool, we came home for pizza, cake and ice cream and presents!

This is Bronson. He is almost a twin to McKay in looks and personality. They get along great.

This is Aiden. We love her. She is adorable.

Connor having fun with the balloons. That is what I'm gong to get him for his birthday next  year.  A big pack of balloons.

This is Kenna's friend Brynn-- sister to Bronson

This is Aiden's mom Lezlie, with Addie, their older daughter. We love Addie. Addie likes all of us, but she LOVES Brett.

The twins in their fedoras and their birthday dessert of choice: Chocolate chip cherry cheesecake cupcakes. YUM!

So cute!

Happy Birthday!

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We are so thankful that we have some good friends to celebrate with. It's so hard to be away from our family, but feel so blessed to have great people to fill in when family cannot be here with us.

I am so thankful for these beautiful little twins in my life. They have brought me so much happiness and joy. They are wonderful children who are a huge blessing to me and Brett.