Happiness

Kelsy and Cliff DeSpain  This wedding happened after Christmas- on December 28th, 2013. Since I still trying to recover from all that is Christmas and our trip to California so some of the pictures I am going to post are done by Larissa (thanks, Lariss!) .   Kelsy- my youngest sister- and Cliff had a beautiful wedding! Beautiful weather, a beautiful Temple, a beautiful, happy Bride and her handsome Groom and a wonderful wedding party! Kelsy and Cliff got married in the Newport Beach Temple last Saturday (almost a week ago- how time flies!). The Temple sealer gave such great instruction on the Ordinances of the Gospel and Temple Marriage. I really learned a lot of new things while there. All of my brothers and sisters and Mom and Dad were able to be in the small Temple sealing room together as witnesses to the marriage. It was lovely and touching- so sweet! A day to remember!  The stomach flu had been taking turns hitting various members of our family all throug...

The kids with their before-dinner craft. We ate outside this year- the weather was perfect! Ethan and Jonah did a 4th Grade Thanksgiving Program. They did an awesome job on their speaking and singing parts! (Jonah is on the left and Ethan is on the right- Ethan snuck the red shirt out of the house- maybe he thought I wouldn't let him wear it?)  Our big Smalley Cousins- Andrew, Daniel, Tim and Allison (missing Sabrina)- they have seen 2 Episodes of Studio C (a hilarious comedy troupe on BYUtv) live and we love their great taste in TV shows! They also like Dr. Who-which my kids like (when I let them watch it).  Josh prepping the turkey- he does the turkey whenever we make one and I am thankful I don't have to mess with that large, slippery thing! We soaked it in a brine and it turned out delicious! The Smalleys at the Riparian Preserve  For Thanksgiving this year, our family stayed at home and Josh's sister Emily and her husband and five kids ...

Jonah and Mayor John Lewis Jonah recently got awarded the "Student Citizen of the Month" Award for the month of September. This was a pretty big deal, since our school rotates which grade level it gives out the award to and only gives the award to a fourth grader twice in one year. Jonah was able to go to the city's monthly board meeting, shake the Mayor's hand, get a plaque and a bag with free goodies in it. His teacher came too to support him and Jonah loved it! It was also the Mayor's birthday that day so they had cake for everyone afterwards. Jonah doesn't get a lot of attention- being the middle child and being a second born twin. He is often quiet and can get overlooked easily. His teacher noted that he was a great example to the other students- always doing his work and turning it in on time, working well in a group and being polite and respectful. She said "I wish I could clone him!" (She went on to say- "I know he's a tw...

Asher, Jonah, Ethan and Elizabeth The Kids are off to School! Yay!! It's always a bittersweet experience. Sad to see them go and grow up so fast. Glad that they are growing and learning and I can have some time to myself. Here are the pics from this morning! It went pretty smoothly, except Asher wanted a black pencil box instead of the clear one I had gotten him and Ethan seemed to need a desk organizer right away! Elizabeth has Mrs. Hall, who was her top pick, Ethan has a new teacher, Jonah has Mrs. Bretzke- who we love from last year and Asher has Mrs. Rissi (who had to get a sub half day today and tomorrow to attend her Gma's funeral). I asked each one of them what they were excited about going back to school. Elizabeth: "The Talent Show" Ethan: "The Fields Trips! Do we go on one this month?"  Jonah: "I don't know!"  Asher: "I don't know" They are excited to get a start on the new year! Yay for ...

Today is our 12th Anniversary!! Happy Anniversary, Babe! My Parents came into town last weekend and we decided to take the advantage of their offer to watch the kids (counting down to when Elizabeth is 11- in 6 weeks- when  we will no longer need any more babysitters!) We decided to go to a restaurant at a new mall that we had never been to and then browse the stores afterwards. We decided on Benihana and were excited to have a nice, romantic date. When we got there, the wait was 30 minutes long, so we put our names down and did a small preview of the Mall. The Chandler Mall is huge and we were thrilled to see a Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and a Sees! When we returned, we still had a wait so we browsed the menu. The prices seemed way higher than I wanted to pay (even though I knew it was pricey), so we decided to leave and go to the nearby Chilis. We were seated right away and soon had a hot appetizer on our plates. Right after we had finished our appetizer, the lights i...

  At our Abbott Family Reunion, each family had their pictures taken and we also took one of the whole group (minus those who will be photoshopped in later!). It was fun taking pictures and I  think they turned out really good! If you want a copy of any of these, you can right click on these pics, save them to your computer and print them out. You know, if you want to do that for some reason or another.  " The Boys" - Ethan and Jonah (in tie dye)  Ethan  Jonah  Elizabeth  More Elizabeth Asher  My Favorite One of All of Us!  Grandparents and Grandkids!!  Parents, Kids + Spouses Thank you, Thank you to Looky Loo Photography for such wonderful pictures! We loved them!

We recently returned from a 10 day trip to California. We went for the purpose of an Abbott Family Reunion but we also saw some of my side of the family as well.  On the way there, up to Paso Robles, we stopped at my Parents house in Victorville on Friday and stayed Friday and Saturday night. We went to the Mojave River (mostly a large stream, walked down it and caught some crawdads. The kids had a blast! On Sunday we stopped by Larissa's, went to Church with them and had a yummy lunch. We drove down to Uncle Doug's and Aunt Sheelah's and went out to Giovanni's for pizza. We spent Sunday there and then went to the beach Monday. The kids loved it and they loved boogie boarding. By the time we got to Paso on Tuesday we were so excited to see everyone although a bit worn out from staying up late chatting with family. Maybe next time we won't try to do so much at once. But, it was worth it. Part 2- Abbott Reunion- coming up! Coco, Jonah and Cash playing a game...