Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Last night we had a chance to go through the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was so fun seeing the girls' reaction to each of the rooms. They were full of questions and I had the chance to finally feel like I knew something about what goes on inside the walls of the temple. The best part of all was on the ride home when the girls were talking about how they can't wait to go through the temple when they grow up.

Beebe Camp

Deep in the woods there's a magical little place call Beebe Camp.

Where families and friends can come together.

Where young love blossoms,

Friendships are sealed,

And leaders are born.

This is a place where age doesn't matter,

And men can be boys,

And adventures await beyond each bend.

When you're here, dirt is just another accessory

Work seems like play,

Time is of no consequense,

New and mysterious creatures can be found. And the memories made will last a lifetime.

Now if I May, Little Asher J.

For those of you who were lucky enough to see my little sister Lauri at Khursten's baptism on Saturday, you know she was d-o-n-e, done being pregnant. She was just ready to see that little guy. Well, at 12:39 am this morning she got her wish. Little Asher Jonathan joined our family. Lauri had a long, hard labor with this little 9 lb 6 oz guy, but the beaming look of pride on her face told me that he was worth it in the end.

I Can't Wait Until I'm 8

So it's official. I'm the mother of an 8-year-old. Yesterday was Khursten's 8th birthday. She invited two good friends to IHOP for breakfast yesterday to celebrate. I can't believe how grown up she is. She's getting baptised this Saturday. Can you believe it?

I have an amazing friend named Audrey who happens to be the world's best seamstress and she offered to make Khursten a beautiful gown to wear at her baptism. Khursten couldn't have been more excited when it was finished. I honestly don't think she knew that people could actually make clothes. Oh the joys of having me as a mom.

I woke Khursten up when Audrey brought over the completed dress and let her try it on. I don't know... do you think she likes it? It's a little hard to tell from these pictures. (and yes... there was twirling and curtsying involved)

Yesterday my sister Jill of Jill Oaks Photography offered to take Khursten out and get some portraits done of her in her dress. I feel lucky to have such talented and generous people around me. Khursten felt like a princess parading around Wheeler Farm in her fancy dress. She even got to talk to a 'real bride' who was there doing her bridal shots and she thought it was way cool when the bride jokingly asked her when her wedding was.

Nikkie's New Do

Could this girl get any cuter?

The Magic of Playmobil

It's always nice when you find an activity that the whole family can enjoy.

The Pool

A couple of weeks ago the girls and I decided that the little hard-plastic pool we had wasn't going to cut it for us this summer. After a ton of research, I decided to buy an above-the-ground pool. (although I still didn't quite realize just how much work I was making for myself)

We waited and waited for enough sunshine to come our way so that we could set up our new pool. We were granted our wish last Thursday and promptly went to work setting up the pool. The kids had a ton of fun splashing around while the pool filled.

We didn't realize that it would literally take the entire day for the pool to fill up. By the time it was full, the storm clouds came rolling in. Ever since then, the girls have been waiting ever-so-patiently for the next clear sky. Today when the sun peaked through the clouds, the girls started begging to go for a swim. Although I warned them that it was only 72 degrees outside, and the pool had been sitting out there through freezy-cold rain storms and would probably be icy to the touch, they still wanted a chance to try out the new pool.

We had a blast splashing and swimming around. We lasted almost a half hour before we started turning blue. Can you see how much fun Audrey is having? She was not happy to be posing for this picture.

I hope our summer is filled with many more swims. And I hope that once the pool sits around in 90-degree weather for a few days that the water won't be quite so chilly.