Sunday, June 20, 2010

Fathers


"The sacred title of 'father' is shared with the Almighty. In the Church men are called and released. Did you ever hear of a mortal father being released?

"...Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth; it is a matter of desire, diligence, and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters" (President Ezra Taft Benson "Great Things Required of Their Fathers," Ensign, May 1981, 36)


Ben is such an AMAZING father! The boys adore him and can never get enough playtime with daddy! He puts their needs above all else and would do anything for his boys. Being a father is his true joy in life and it shows in the way that he loves and cares for them daily. We love you daddy! Happy Father's Day!


Another AMAZING dad is my dad! Who we were lucky to have visit the week of Father's Day. Not only is he the "Bestest" (as he would say it) dad in the whole world, he is the "Bestest" Ampa!!! His grand kids are always sooooo excited when Ampa comes to town and this visit was no different!

We did all of the usual things: Peter Piper, the park, McDonald's, and just enjoyed being together.

Happy Father's Day dad and we love you very much!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Summer Fun In Utah

About a few weeks ago, we went home to Utah for 2 weddings/family vacation. It was a lot of fun, but staying in a house with 6 to 8 kids (our 2 kids, the 4 Roper kids, and Jaxon and Kiah were there off and on) under the age of 6 can be extremely exhausting! To say the least, we didn't get much sleep and we were on the go the entire time! Here is a recap of our 10 days in Utah, which is sooooo beautiful in the summer time...I miss it there:(

LAGOON (AKA "Cacoon" in Logan language)













It was so fun to have my dad there who has been anti-Lagoon for as long as I can remember and I know that he had a good time as well. The most memorable moment was when they let little 5 year old Seth on "The Colossus" (the 2nd biggest roller coaster there and has two big loops, big hill, and very fast!) even though he was about 6 inches below the required height! That is when we knew we weren't at Disneyland anymore! They probably would have let Logan on if we tried, but considering that he cried the whole time he was on the "Bulgy Whales" (the smallest little kid ride in the whole park...he is going through a "scared phase" right now), we thought it wouldn't be such a good idea. Seth had no idea what he had gotten himself into until he was actually upside down in the loops! When it was over my dad asked him if he wanted to go again and he said no, which wasn't much of a surprise considering he was as white as a ghost:)
The new roller coaster "Wicked" was probably the steepest/scariest coaster I have ever been on...I think I blacked-out for a minute in the middle of it...I must be getting old...now I know why my parents would hardly ever go on the rides when we were little. Lagoon was lots of fun and very nostalgic...took me back to my Middle School boy crazy days:) Next time we would like to spend more time there and go to Lagoona Beach too.

Memorial Day BBQ With The Bryners

Since we planned to stay in the Salt Lake area this trip, we were lucky that the Bryners could come down to us. They were at a traditional Memorial Day family reunion in Heber (we were at Lagoon during the day) and we all met at Bonnie's house in Sugarhouse. We had a delicious BBQ and Dane enjoyed it so much he licked his plate clean in a true Bryner fashion:) Thanks for the pictures Katie...I stole them from your blog.



We had fun playing games and chatting. It is always fun to get together with the Bryners and we can't wait for our August vacation together to Colorado!

Dinner With Friends

It is always so much fun to get together with my girlfriends that I have known since elementary school! I love how we can just pick up right where we left off even though we only see each other about twice a year. I also got the opportunity to meet my good friend Em's new baby girl Mckaylie. She is soooo beautiful and such a good baby and Em is a wonderful mommy! I miss my girlfriends so much and wish that I could see them more often.

Salt Lake Children's Museum (AKA "Muzeezum" in Logan language)

Since staying at home (at my dad's house) felt a little chaotic, we tried to get out and do fun things with the kids. The Children's Museum at the Gateway Mall was a lot of fun and the boys had a blast!







Mattie and Erich's Wedding

My cute little cousin Mattie got married to a wonderful man in the Bountiful Temple June 3rd. They are the cutest couple and are so in love! I remember babysitting Mattie when she was a baby and now she is married...it is so crazy, but I am so happy for her! The wedding was beautiful and it was fun to see the whole Rasmussen clan and catch up.











Miles and Ashley's Wedding

It is definitely wedding season and we were thrilled to attend Ben's good friend Miles' wedding! They were married June 5th in the Salt Lake Temple and it was a beautiful wedding and Ashley was a beautiful bride. It was also fun for Ben to catch up with a lot of college friends and the Reynolds family who will always keep everyone laughing. It was a lot of fun and we are so happy for them!

We had such a great time in Utah and wished that we could have stayed there longer! We miss UT and can't wait for our next visit! We also had a wonderful time with my dad and Paula and thank you for letting us stay with you and I am so so sorry for the mess that the little boys created:) I promise that we all won't stay there at once again...we learned our lesson:)

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

5 Years

May 21st was Ben and I's 5 year Anniversary! I can't believe that it has only been 5 years and I mean that in a good way...I feel like I have known Ben my entire life and I cannot imagine life without him. He is such an amazing husband and father and I am so thankful to be married to my best friend:)

The Ropers were kind enough to watch our boys over night so that we could have a fun little getaway to Scottsdale. We had such a great time and the only bad part was that we wished it lasted longer. We definitely missed our sweet boys, but it was a nice break.
Here we are at Morton's Steakhouse...very yummy! Happy Anniversary Ben! I am looking forward to many more to come...love you!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Camping With Babies...I Know We Are Crazy!















A couple weekends ago, we went camping somewhere around Payson with Clark and Lindsay. We were nervous about taking the boys, but we knew that they would love it so we thought we would give it a try. Setting up camp, sitting around the fire, eating smores, and chatting with Clark and Lindsay was a lot of fun and we wish that we would have just packed up and went home after that!

The attempt to "sleep" in the tent was horrific! We thought that it was going to be around 40 degrees, so we brought warm clothes and extra blankets, but we did not plan for 20 degree weather...we were freezing (remember, we are used to a very HOT AZ climate)!!! My toes were numb, even in my mummy bag with it zipped over my head...I could find no comfort! So if I felt like that, it is no wonder that little Daners would wake up about every hour crying. We bundled him up really good, but he was only comfortable laying on top of Ben with a blanket over their heads. Logan probably would have slept fine if Dane hadn't kept waking up and releasing his "Banshee" cry out into the wild...neighboring campers must have thought that there was a mountain lion lurking around or something.

I honestly, did not sleep 1 minute the entire night considering Logan was in my sleeping bag with me and constantly elbowing me in the face and changing positions. Ben slept for about a total of 20 minutes, which he snored like an old man the entire time. Poor Clark and Lindsay didn't get much sleep either due to their close proximity to our tent...sorry guys.

We called it a night at about 4 am and got up, made a fire, and started breakfast. It was just too cold to hang around much longer and the lack of sleep was starting to get the best of us, so we were packed up and on the road by 7 am. Next time, Lindsay and I agreed that we will just do the fire and all of the fun stuff then go home and sleep in our own beds...that is my kind of camping at least for now while our kids are little.

We still had a good time and made a lot of fun memories. Thanks Clark and Lindsay for the little adventure:)