Winders' Farm

2011-01-31T18:59:00.000-08:00

Last October my family got together to update our family picture. This was the result. It's hard to believe how fast all these kids are growing. I think they are all adorable and we sure have a lot of fun when we get together.

This and the picture above were my favorite of my family. Tonight we were talking about Nathan's birthday coming up and Emma reminded us that a year from then she will be old enough to get her drivers permit. What? I can't even think about how that can be possible. This year Katie will hit her first double digit birthday and Andrew will receive the priesthood in November. I feel overwhelmed but also blessed.

Wedding Bells

2010-08-11T18:23:00.001-07:00

We headed to LA last weekend to attend our niece's wedding. This is Carly and her (now) husband Michael. We attended the Friday night dinner for family and friends and had some yummy food and talented entertainment. The entire weekend was beach themed and the dinner was decorated so beautifully. My kids loved all the fun stuff there was to do and the goodies they came home with.

On Saturday we headed to the temple. Emma and Lauren watched all the kids outside while we went in for the sealing. This is Emma with her cousin Jessica. (I left them the camera to keep them entertained.)

Nathan and his cousin Jacob. These two had a great time hanging out and they're both adorable.

The reception was held in a friends backyard. It was gorgeous. I wish I would have taken a picture of the cake, it was beautiful and so Carly. We had to rush home after; wish we could have stayed longer. Thanks Melody, we had a great time and hope you have recovered.

One Good Thing About Summer

2010-06-15T10:18:00.001-07:00

I hate summer. I always have. I would rather be cold than hot. The heat makes my head ache. I think sweaters and boots are so much cuter than shorts and t-shirts.
That being said, I love the beginning of summer when my garden takes off. There is nothing like a home grown tomato. This is what I picked this morning (15 total), and there are about 20 more that will be ready by the end of the week. Already we have enjoyed them in BLT sandwiches, fresh salads, on top of a bagel with cream cheese and in stuffed zucchini (which was also home grown). We love sharing with our neighbors and friends.
So, although I can't do anything about the heat, I can enjoy some yummy food while I also enjoy my wonderful air conditioner.

Wuve, Tru Wuve

2010-05-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, May 25th, my little brother, David, got married. They flew to Hawaii and had the service on the beach. This is his new family. His wife, Christi and her two boys, Tyler and Chase.
Last night my mom had a family dinner and then open house for them. It was so much fun. Of course, dinner was great (one thing we Potter's do well is cook and eat). And it was nice to meet Christi's family, her dad, brother and sister-in-law. They are wonderful and I'm sure were a little overwhelmed with our crazy family running around.
We are thrilled to have Christi in our family. David has never seemed happier in his whole life, at least I've never seen him smile so much since she's been around. And we think she's great, kind and fun. I think she even gets our sense of humor and I'm excited to get to call her sister now.

Preschool Graduation

2010-05-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a bitter-sweet moment. Nathan graduated from preschool and is already registered to start kindergarten in August. I'm so happy he is growing up. He had an amazing year at preschool and learned so much.

This is his teacher, Mrs.York. She is the most incredible person. And the best teacher. She taught Nathan all his letters, capitol and lower case, and also the sounds they make. He knows how to count to 100 and all his colors and shapes. They sang songs about the months of the year and the days of the week. And they also learned their phone numbers, address and their full birthday. I'm hoping he doesn't end up board next year.

It's hard to believe that this is my baby. (Funny too that he doesn't look anything like me.) Oh what will I do next year when he is in school every day? I'm sure I can think of a few (hundred) things.

Red Lipstick

2010-05-12T15:44:00.001-07:00

While I was in California this weekend, working at the Revlon Run, we received "Love That Red" lipstick. Now, I have never worn red lipstick in my life. And when I brought it to my moms on Mother's Day I told everyone it was up for grabs. But apparently, no one in my family wears red lipstick. So I dared them all to wear it with me (nothing like a little peer pressure). We made up all the cute girl cousins and headed outside for a picture.

Here we decided to "pucker up". What a great and crazy family I belong too. And I love it! (After the picture, some of the girls went in and gave their dads big kisses on the cheek. They weren't so thrilled since the lipstick stains. But we sure enjoyed it.)

There Is Beauty All Around

2010-03-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

I always look forward to the beginning of a new year. I've always felt like it was a chance to start over and make better choices. And each year I start with the hope that things will be better than the year before. Not so much this year. I know that everyone has those times when life stinks. I must say I have felt like that for the last few months. And then this morning I walked out my front door and saw my beautiful iris' blooming. It made me remember that although things are tough, there is still beauty in the world that we must appreciate. And I thought of my amazing friends (and family) who have taken the time to call or send me words of encouragement. They have helped me remember that I am not alone and that I am loved. They are part of that beauty and I appreciate them.

Katie's Major Award

2010-01-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Katie's teacher, Mrs. Nelson, gave each of her students a reading goal last trimester. When they reached 100% of their goal she gave them a certificate and invited them to come spend an afternoon learning about her horses. They are allowed to bring their family. This is what we did last Saturday. She gave Katie this cute cowgirl hat as a gift and taught her how to care for the horses. Mrs. Nelson has five horses, so each of the kids got to ride for about 45 minutes. They loved it!

Katie got to ride first and I was surprised at how natural she seemed on the horse.

After a few minutes of guiding her, they let Emma try riding on her own. She did a great job.

Andrew's horse took off on a run for a few minutes. He did a good job not showing his fear.

Nathan had fun but he wasn't thrilled about riding a horse with a pink and purple blanket. (It was a girl horse too.) This kid is all boy.

Thanks Katie for earning this major award!

What's Cookin'?

2010-01-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

So I've been called out on the lack of attention I've given to the blog lately. Even now I don't have a lot of time to do a catch up post but I thought I'd show you a preview of our great Christmas. My mom made aprons for all of her grandkids. She gave the girls cake pans or muffin tins with all the ingredients and the boys got a sandwich cutter in the shape of dinosaurs with a jar of peanut butter. I can't imagine all the time she put into these, but the kids LOVED them.

A Grand Weekend

2009-11-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we traveled with most of my family to Williams, Arizona. Friday night we boarded the Polar Express Train and rode to the North Pole. On Saturday we took the two hour train into the Grand Canyon. We had the most amazing time. We enjoyed both of the train rides as well as the company. I would definately recommend this adventure to anyone.

This is grandma (my mom) and all the grandkids waiting to board the train. They wore their pajamas and it was very cold.

This is Nathans new pose for pictures. As you can see, Andrew's as excited to get his picture taken as he always is.

I've included these two pictures because I'm interested to see which one of us you think Nathan looks the most like. (I don't see much resemblance to either of us.)

He was very excited to see Santa and get his bell. He was even more excited when he could "hear" the bell ringing.

These guys were sitting with their cousins most of the time so I didn't get as many pictures of them. But they had a blast and the cookies and hot chocolate were so yummy.

The next morning we arrived at the train station early for the Wild Wild West show. It was funny but a little hard to enjoy because it started snowing and the wind was blowing and we were FREEZING. Of course we took our picture with the sheriff, not the train robbers.

Here is what we saw when we walked up the hill from the train station. This was unbelievable to me. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before and was completely amazed. I was also very frightened at how close to the edge you can get without any barrier to the canyon floor. Nathan stayed quite close to me the entire time we were there.

Our trip lasted less than 36 hours but it was so worth it. We had fun singing Christmas carols on the Polar Express ride. Everyone enjoyed being entertained by the musical cowboys on the Grand Canyon train ride. And we'll never forget the train robbery on the way back. It was definately one Grand adventure.

13 going on 30

2009-10-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

Monday, Emma celebrated her 13th birthday. So I am now officially the parent of a teenager. I know it sounds scary but I'm not too worried. (Ask me again next year when she turns 14 and is old enough to go the Saturday night dances!) Emma is a magnificent girl or should I say young women. She is responsible, self-motivated, compassionate and sometimes just plain fun. She is a good example to her brothers and sister. I feel lucky to have her as my oldest child.

Happy Birthday Emma! We love you!

Funny Pictures

2009-10-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

I went with Katie's class on a field trip last year. We saw this monkey and he cracked us up. Katie is always willing to be crazy to have fun. She's a great sport.

He had chapped lips and insisted on a Band-Aid.

(I must admit there were some other benefits from this.)

Summer Vacation...Finally!

2009-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

School was finally over on Friday. And with only two weeks off before it starts again, we need to cram in as much fun as we can. Kyle, our nephew, was going to attend surf camp down in Manhatten Beach for a week. Kami called and invited us to come hang out for a couple of days. So we loaded up on Tuesday and headed to Melody's house for some beach fun. Gary needed to work so it was just me and the kids. We got there by early afternoon and spent that night watching movies and eating yummy food. On Wednesday morning it was off to the beach.

As you can tell in this picture, Andrew didn't want to waste time taking a picture when he could be playing in the water.

I was worried about this kid because he can't stand to get dirty and he hates cold water.

But with some help from his Aunt Kami he jumped in and had so much fun.

These kids were awesome. They played both days for hours without complaining or fighting. And I was able to sit back, relax and enjoy the cool weather and great company.

Of course you can't go to the beach without burying someone and Andrew was more than willing to volunteer.

Thanks Kami for inviting us and thanks Melody and David for letting us use your house (they was gone all week visiting grandkids and attending their daughter's college graduation).

It's Official!

2009-08-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Katie was baptized on Saturday, August 1. She was so excited. There were two other kids from our ward baptized and the program was wonderful. Then, of course, we came back to our house and ate amazing food. Minty made the Cafe Rio pork with all the trimmings and dressing. (I believe I must also thank Chandra for this as they were tested out at Jace's baptism dinner first.) I have never tried Cafe Rio but I think I can say this was better than the original, at least all the comments were positive. For dessert I tried two new cupcake receipes, fresh strawberry and caramel. I should have taken a picture but I was too busy stuffing my face. My favorite were the caramel. I believe this will be a favorite receipe for years to come. Thanks so much to all the friends and family who showed up for this special day for Katie!

We couldn't find a white dress so I told Katie she could pick her favorite and this is what she choose. Our friend who took this picture didn't know that the best part of her outfit were the shoes.

So I made Katie put them on a few minutes ago to take a quick picture. I think you'll agree it was worth it. Gary says she is definately my daughter choosing a black dress with cute shoes.

Congrats Katie. We love you!

Birthday Time Again

2009-07-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it! Katie has turned eight years old. What can I say about this child? She is one of the most joyful and animated kids I've ever known. She never holds back and always tells you exactly what she thinks. She talks like she's 20 and sometimes thinks we should treat her that way too. She loves to play with her friends. And she is amazing with little kids (she'll make a great mom one day). She brings so much laughter to our home and we love her so much.

Just waiting to open her presents.

Minutes old with Grandma Nanette.

Ready to be blessed.

I love these eyes.

Whenever Katie is excited about something her eyes get bigger and bigger.

As a little child she was always happy and ready to laugh.

On her new birthday bike.

Happy Birthday Katie!

Anyone for a game of catch....up?

2009-06-25T13:53:00.001-07:00

OK, so it's true. The older your kids are the busier life becomes. Eventually I'll have to catch up my posts with the Pine Wood Derby, band concerts, primary activites and dance recitals that have happened. But for today I had to post about my garden. Emma helped Gary plant it and then she was in charge of watering. She did it for one of her YW value projects. For the last six weeks we've been reaping the benefits.

This is the last of the squash. We had summer squash, zucchini and pat-a-pan which were amazing sauted in olive oil and butter sprinkled with salt and pepper. I picked the tomato this morning. It was one of the prettiest I've seen.

These are about how many tomatoes I pick every other day. They are so wonderful. We've enjoyed them in BLT's, sandwiches and hamburgers. Or just cut with salt and pepper. This is probably my favorite thing about summer. This weekend we are going to shade the tomatos and see how long we can keep them going. I will definately miss them when they're gone.

Ghost Town

2009-05-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago our school had a Spring Carnival. In the past this has always happened in October and has had a Halloween theme, but this year they moved it to May and went with a country theme. It's always been a tradition to have a cake decorating contest and Andrew came home excited to do this. I told him we needed to come up with a cowboy idea and this is what he thought of...

Last year Katie made a cake called ghost mountain and Andrew decided to do the same idea but turn it into a ghost town. This kid amazes me. He is so creative and always hilarious. He decorated this all by himself and won second place.

California Weekend

2009-05-11T12:20:00.000-07:00

So we (Kami, her daughter Lauren and I) headed out Thursday afternoon. Our flight was delayed so we spent an extra hour waiting at the airport. When we finally got to L.A. it was almost 8:00pm. Carly was waiting for us and then Melody picked us all up. At her house we had fruit kabobs, coconut shrimp and a basil smoothie (that was a first). Then we snacked on these cute little cakes while we did manicures and pedicures.

Friday morning we slept in and were lazy all morning. Then Melody gave us a cooking demonstration of Island Pork Tenderloin with Coconut Mango Rice. It was unbelievable. Yum! Next we headed to the beach where we laid out for a few hours. Of course after that we got in some shopping. Kami tried on a pair of $300.00 shoes. Crazy! I found a great cookbook called bigfatcookies. I can't wait to try some of the recipes.

That night we headed to a restaurant that David's (my brother-in-law) first councelor owns. He bought it for his mom. She cooks Salvadorian food. We had papusas and a salad with yuca root and beef (my favorite) and a yummy fruit drink. That night I watched Mama Mia for the first time. It was funny.

Saturday morning we headed out for the Revlon Run at 5:20am. Once again this was so much fun. Their big stars were Miley Cyrus, Christina Applegate and Michael Bolton. We also saw Fran Drysher, Carrie Ann Inaba and Derric Huff (both from Dancing with the Stars), Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) and Diedra Hall (Days of Our Lives). There were a few others I recognized but don't know their names.
Here we are after the race down in the Collesium. This is where we saw Michael Bolton perform. He was amazing. You'll notice in this picture Melody is wearing her earpiece (so official). She is in charge of the VIP booth which is why we get to do this in the first place.
Of course we spent a few more hours shopping. Then we went back home and just laughed for a long time. We finished off the awesome pork and rice and headed back to the airport.
I love doing this each year because when I get back home I remember that I like these cute kids of mine. They had adorable cards and presents for me for Mother's Day. And of course, chocolate.
Hey Melody, thanks again for the great weekend. I can't wait until next year.

Happy Birthday Boys!

2009-04-29T13:19:00.001-07:00

I thought that after the trek my life would slow down some, but it seems busier than ever. Last week we celebrated two birthdays. Nathan turned four and Gary turned...well let's just say he got a year older.

After I finished decorating his cake he wanted to take a picture. I know there are more than four candles on the cake but we decided the race track needed lights.
After he blew out the candles he asked if he could race the cars. Of course he is the last child so I said "whatever you want cutie".

This is one of his favorite presents, a Lightning McQueen hat from his brothers and sisters. You'd think he would outgrow his Cars obsession by now but he still loves them more than ever.

And then here is my other birthday boy. I can't believe he is getting so old. We celebrated our 14th anniversary a few weeks ago. Have we really been married that long? Seems like yesterday we were footloose and child free. I can definately say it's been a long road, but also a very happy one.

I also have to give a shout out to Nathan's birthday buddy, Michael. Hope your finals are going well. Can't wait to see you and your family.

Two Busy Weekends

2009-04-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Saturday, February 28th we started at our Stake Baptisms. Andrew was asked to play a piano duet for the musical number. I am so proud of this kid. He chose 'I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus' and we practiced a lot that week. At the baptism he did a great job. He said he was a little nervous but the song sounded wonderful. (All that hard work is finally paying off)

Here we are after it was all over.

Then Gary and Andrew headed out for Monster Trucks. This is the second year they have gone with our friends the Owens and the Johnsons. They said it was super fun. Andrew's favorite truck is Blue Thunder. The other kids and I went to my niece Sarah's baptism. Luckily she was the first of the ten kids to get baptized. My brother took Katie and Nathan to the dinner and Emma and I came back to watch the Young Women Conference. Her first one. It was great.

Last weekend we drove up to Salt Lake and went to conference. This was the first time Emma and Andrew have been. We had tickets to the Saturday and Sunday morning sessions. It was amazing to sit and talk with our kids about the prophet and apostles. They both said they loved it but I think Andrew had more fun when we went shopping with Melody and Carly while Gary was at the Priesthood session.

In back of the Salt Lake Temple. We walked through the two visitor centers and looked inside the Tabernacle and the Assembly Hall.

And now I am frantically preparing for our next busy weekend. Gary and I were asked to be a pa and ma on our Stakes Pioneer Trek which starts tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some good pictures to share from that, maybe we'll even be smiling in some of them.

I Just Can't Wait!

2009-03-26T21:02:00.000-07:00

Gary called me this afternoon to say he'd ordered my plane ticket to L.A. The past few years Gary's sister Kami and I have flown down to LA to spend a weekend with his other sister Melody. It is so much fun and I am so looking forward to this years trip.

Here we are last year at the Revlon Run. We worked the VIP booth. It was crazy fun. We got to meet some famous people, eat tons of food and go home with a lot of free samples and t-shirts. It was so much fun we are doing it again this year. (The gorgeous blond girl is my niece Carly)

The day before the run we went to Newport Beach and shopped. We had to take a picture holding our gilatos (my first time ever trying one). They were so yummy! We always eat well on these trips.

Two years ago we went to Solvang. It is a little Dutch community with great shopping. I know this picture didn't turn out but I loved the little windmill in the background.

Of course we had to take a picture surrounded by all our shopping treasures and then e-mail it home to our husbands.

The best part of the whole trip is Melody's hospitality. She tells us we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. Even if that's nothing. We've relaxed on the beach, done pedicures and laughed until I thought my checks would fall off. I can't wait to board that plane and do it again!

Springtime Flowers

2009-03-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

I walked out my front door the other day and this was what I saw.

My iris' had bloomed.

I love the color of these plants.

And I love this time of year when everything seems so much brighter and more colorful. Gary always takes such good care of our yard. This last weekend he planted our garden. I can't wait, fresh tomatos, summer squash and zucchini.

Tag

2009-02-18T09:52:00.001-08:00

I was tagged by my friend Heidi. Here is the sixth photo from the sixth folder.

Nathan was 18 months old. I was teaching a piano lesson and he wanted me to come see something. When I told him just a minute he got mad. As he ran away he tripped on his blanket and slammed his face into the side of the coffee table. As soon as I turned him around blood came spilling out from under his bottom lip. I took him to Urgent Care where they stitched him up which was no fun because I had to hold him down. And the medicine they used to numb him up didn't work. The nurse said it should make him sleepy but Nathan was wide awake watching everything the doctor was doing. It was crazy but it healed well and he was left with just a small scar. I should feel lucky, he is my only kid that has ever needed stitches.

All About Andrew

2009-02-09T10:30:00.001-08:00

At our elementary school they have flag ceremony every Friday. Each class gets a turn to be in charge. A few weeks ago it was Andrew's classes turn. The kids love participating.

Andrew was excited to carry in the Nevada flag.

That Saturday the cub scouts went on a hike. Gary was able to go and they had a great time.

Andrew, of course, had his walking stick that Grandpa Paul made for him.
This last Saturday Andrew competed in his first wrestling tournament. He didn't place but he did great and learned a lot.

The writing on his arm is from the weigh in the night before.

Here he is waiting for his turn. (He's to the left of the ref.) He had to wait 90 minutes before his first match. Sorry no pictures of his match, I was too busy with the video camera.

I ran into an old friend, Tony, that used to wrestle with my brother David when they were Andrew's age. It was good to see he's doing great. Watching Andrew brought back memories of all the tourn. I went to as a kid. I felt as nervous now as I did then. I am glad Andrew has this opportunity, he is learning discipline and confidence and he's having fun.

The Beach

2009-01-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Today winter has returned to the valley. The last few weeks we have been enjoying some springtime temperatures. When I finally had to put my sweater on today because it was cold in my house, I started thinking of Gary's sister. Melody lives in So. California and she always tells us that the best beach days are in January. How I wish we could be there right now!

Here are some pictures from the last time we visited the beach a year and a half ago.

This was Nathans first real experience with sand.

Emma stayed in the water almost the whole time.

Katie and Andrew spent a lot of time building tunnels in the sand.

Gary's so good to play with his kids in the water, especially since their mom would rather stay in her beach chair and read a good book. (I must say he is the sexiest man alive!)

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

We started out Christmas Eve at my mom's where we broke from the traditional turkey and ham and instead had homemade lasagna for dinner. Yum! I LOVE good food. Then she gave all the kids their presents and let them open them there.

Here they are all waiting for the OK to start opening the presents.

The chaos has begun.

I had to share this picture because I love this face. Grandma gave him a WII game he had been wanting for a long time.

This is Christmas morning. Emma asked Santa for two movies. He brought her one of them and a portable DVD player to watch it on. Her sister gave her the other one.

Andrew asked for the Lego Republic Gunship and Santa surprised him with the Trade Federation MTT too. I know your impressed that I know the names of this stuff. It's all part of having boys.

This is Christmas night after he finished putting the gunship together. Lucky for him his nice mom helped him sort out all the pieces so he could work on it faster.

Katie got the doll furniture she wanted and twin dolls to go with it. The one on the right looks just like her.

And Nathan was thrilled to see his Team GeoTraxs Airport that he's been asking for the last three months.

Here it is all put together with the train part he got last Christmas. I must admit this one is super fun to play with.

Later Christmas day we ate the most amazing dinner. Every year Gary cooks a prime rib and this year was his best. With homemade rolls and garlic mashed potatos, you can't get much better than this! (Sorry no pictures, I was too busy eating.)

Everyone got new outfits for Christmas Sunday. This is right after church. (Hey Stacie, check out my shoes!)

We hope you all had an amazing holiday also! Merry Christmas!

Snowmen, Dance Recitals and A Fly on a Rose

2008-12-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

The kids had a great time playing in the snow and were able to build this snowman, with a little help from their dad.

This is Black Mountain and it usually is black. I have never in my lifetime seen it covered in snow. I think they said it got 8-10 in. of snow.

Friday night was our Christmas Dance Recital. Here's Emma and her BFF Madi. They did a ballet dance as the toy flutes in the Nutcracker.

Her tap number was to Jingle Bells.

Katie's class were the Russian dancers, also from the Nutcracker, for their ballet.

For her tap number they did Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

Here is my friend Karley. I just love this girl.

And lastly, on Saturday Gary was clipping our rose bushes and found this fly that had froze on this flower. We couldn't believe it. Our lows have been below freezing the last couple of days but this was still hard to believe.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-17T17:22:00.000-08:00

I just had to post these pictures. Can you believe this is Las Vegas? And it's still coming down. Emma's band concert was cancelled and so was caroling for the Cub Scouts and Mutual. I think we are going to put on our pajamas, make some hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie! I love this time of year.

I'm sure there will be more pictures to come.

Family Pictures - Our Favorite Thing

2008-12-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago my friend was kind enough to take some pictures of our family. ( My cousin was making a book for my grandparents and needed a recent family photo.) She says she's not a professional but I think she did a great job. Taking pictures is definately NOT our favorite thing to do but with my friends help we ended up with some cute choices. Thanks Leah!

I know the lighting isn't great but I love Nathan looking at his dad in this one.

I think she captured my kids personalities in these.

Our attempt at trying to be funny.

And the winner is...!

Happy 9th to Andrew

2008-11-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Andrew's 9th birthday. He has been counting down the days since Emma's birthday. Andrew is an amazing child. The thing I love most about Andrew is his laugh. He is always telling me jokes and when you get him started on a story he might never stop. He is animated when he talks about the things he loves. Today he told me he is going to be something with biology when he grows up, maybe a marine biologist. I know he could do this because he is great at science and math. He is also good at his WII games. But most importantly he is a great brother. We are so glad he is our boy, we love you Andrew!

We let him open his presents tonight. Guess who likes Star Wars?

One of Andrew's favorite things to do is four wheeling with his dad.

Two cute boys.

Andrew's Uncle Micah taking him on the Matterhorn for the first time. He was two!

Micah also took this picture. He always got great smiles from Andrew.

Emma and Andrew. She has always been so good to her little brother.

Superman!

Just a few minutes old. He was 6lbs. 7 ou. And a beautiful baby.

The Fourth of a Fourth

2008-11-17T19:30:00.001-08:00

O.K., I hope I'm doing this right. The fourth picture in my fourth folder. (As per Leslie's request) This is Gary and Nathan (almost one year). They are watering the garden. And even to this day Nathan loves to do anything his dad is doing, especially if there are tools involved.

Halloween!

2008-11-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

Here are my cute trick or treaters! Andrew was Darth Vader's apprentice. Katie was a witch (my mom made the costume when I was a kid). And of course, Nathan the cowboy.

We started out with our snake sandwich for dinner. Andrew helped me make it this year.

And lastly, Emma had her party Halloween night. It was super fun. They had pizza and decorated cupcakes. They played Halloween bingo and had a candy bar walk. They also passed out candy to trick or treaters while Gary and I took our kids around the neighborhood. I hope they had fun, I know Emma did.

Happy Birthday Emma!

2008-10-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Emma celebrated her 12th birthday yesterday. I am amazed at how fast she has grown up. I remember bringing her home from the hospital and thinking, O.K. what do I do now? She was tiny (5lbs) and adorable. And because she was in the hospital for 10 days the nurses had mostly taken care of her. But I shouldn't have worried, she was a great baby. She has definately grown into a beautiful young woman. Since she was born Emma has been an amazing child. She is humble and honest. She tries to do the right thing always. She is smart but also wants to see all around her succeed. She is responsible and organized. I never worry about her getting things done, she usually does them before I ask. We are so glad she is a part of our family. We love Emma!

The kids after Nathan was born.

My favorite picture of Emma and Katie.

Preschool graduation.

Five generation picture.

Having fun in the rain.

We always knew she'd play the piano.

Our first family picture. (Emma was two months old)

Andrew's Wolf, Nathan's Cowboy and Emma's Last Day

2008-10-20T21:27:00.000-07:00

Andrew received his wolf badge last Wednesday. He worked really hard to earn it (so did his parents). I had no idea the cub scout program was so crazy.

Here he is with his badge and the rocket he made. They launched them in the parking lot after the pack meeting.

These are his leaders, Bro. Darrington and Bro. Hales. Andrew loves them both.

Nathan decided he would be a cowboy for Halloween. Actually his parents talked him into it and doesn't he make the cutest sheriff. Gary showed him a scene with Doc Holliday in it to help him get into character.

This is a regular picture of a cowboy.

This is a cowboy getting ready for a fight. I love that he can't help smiling even though he was acting upset.

It was Emma's last Sunday in Primary. I was doing fine until we sang to her and then I stared feeling emotional. I can't believe she won't be with me next week. I also can't believe I'm married to a man old enough to have a daughter her age. She is growing up too fast, but she'll make a beautiful beehive.

She's dressed up like a Japanese girl for the song "Children All Over the World". It was part of my sharing time and Leah did a great job with the costumes.

Our Favorite Place

2008-10-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Most people would say their favorite place to go is Disneyland. And while we absolutely love it too, I would have to say our favorite place to go is Pine Valley. Gary's parents have a cabin there and they are so kind to let us use it when we need to escape. Which happened to be last Friday. We left as soon as the kids got home from school. We stopped in St. George to eat a sandwich and arrived in Pine Valley about 6:00pm. It was chilly but we didn't even make a fire. Of course the kids had to have hot chocolate immediately. We watched a movie and then went to bed. Saturday morning after breakfast the kids started screaming "It's snowing!" At first I didn't believe them but we ran to the window and there were snowflakes falling. It continued off and on all day.

We left about 2:00pm and headed to Cedar City. We stopped to visit Stacie, Dale and their girls for a while and then went to Jayce Owens baptism. (our old neighbor) It was so much fun to catch up with friends that are more like family. We got back to Pine Valley about 8:00pm.

Sunday we went to church. Gary, Emma, Andrew and Katie stayed for the whole three hours. Nathan and I went back to the cabin after sacrament because they don't have a nursery. The kids had fun going to Primary in the attic. I think Gary just enjoyed being able to sit through class. After church Gary's Aunt Joyce came over and ate dinner with us and she brought us some homemade caramel - she's the best. It was hard to pack up and come home. Hopefully we can make another trip before the year is over.

Here are some pictures of the kids having fun. I would have taken more but my hands started shaking in the 27 degree weather.

Pretending they are cold. I think they really were.

Our Beginning

2008-09-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I have finally succumb to the peer pressure of creating a blog. I apologize for the picture of my kids. It is old and they have grown a lot since then, but I love this picture. I'm sure I'll update it later. It was taken when their Grandma and Grandpa Winder were on their mission in Washington D.C. It was Easter, they all had new clothes and wanted to show them off to their grandparents.

I have enjoyed browsing your blogs and have learned a lot from them. I hope I can keep up with this amid the chaos that is life.