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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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'?

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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?

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

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

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.