Floats...

So the Wellington Pioneer Day parade is no Days of '47 parade, but we have fun regardless.  This year I had the joy, the privilege, of making not one, but two floats.  Yep, I'm that special, lol.  Rory is on city council and is over Wellington Rec. so Debbie and I made a ghetto float.  Seriously, we were so proud of that float until I saw what real floats look like!  Anyway, we did a pretty good job for having a $0 budget and 0 time.  After working on that float I helped with our ward float.  It turned out really good.  Joan Powell was in charge and she is really a go getter.  She added this huge spinning barrel on it that had pictures of all the businesses in Wellington.  It turned out super cute and both floats won ribbons in the parade.  Wellington Rec float won the Mayor's Choice award and Wellington 2nd Ward won Best Use of Theme.  Speaking of Wellington 2nd Ward, I was just made 2nd counselor in Young Women's.  I'm excited to be back in there since last time I was in the YW Presidency I was only in for about 9 months before I was released.  I think it will be a very rewarding experience although I'm going to miss being a teacher in the Primary so much.  I love singing (even though I'm not very good at it) so I always look forward to singing time.  I guess I will just have to sing my heart out in Young Women's. :)

Here are some pictures of our awesomely awesome floats:

Wellington Rec Float, back view

Wellington Rec float, side view

Connor, Zac, & Devin getting ready to ride in the parade

Wellington 2nd Ward Float

Another Float Picture....

I Like to Look for Rainbows...

Yesterday was a very special day for our little Connor, he was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He was baptized and confirmed by his dad and we had lots of people there to support him.  His cousin MyKella was baptized as well, so it was a fun experience for them to share together.  MyKella's grandpa, Mike Beagley gave a wonderful talk on baptism and Grandma Debbie gave an adorable talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was such a spiritual day and it was so intriguing to talk to Connor about his testimony and how he felt about his baptism.  He said he was nervous at first but felt so good and clean after.  We talked a lot about what it meant to get baptized and today Connor and MyKella got to sit on the stand with the bishopric.  They were very reverent and looked so little sitting up there by themselves.

Connor and Rory looking handsome in their suits

Ready to get baptized!

Rory, Connor, Kyle, and Kella

Connor and his boys- Kysen, Gavin, & Chet

Our Little Family

Kadee and Karissa

Kinlee eating ice cream with her besties- Kaydree & Lexie

Gavin, Chet, Connor, and Landon

Connor and Great Grandma Archie

After the baptism we had ice cream sundaes and visited with great family and friends.  We were supposed to enjoy our sundaes under the pavilion at the church, but we were blessed with some much needed rain so we ate in the multi purpose room instead.  It was a wonderful day that I hope Connor will carry with him the rest of his life.

Connor

Yesterday this handsome little boy turned 8.  He sure is a good kid.  He loves sports, especially baseball and basketball, and loves playing with friends and cousins.  Connor is a very tenderhearted kid that would do anything for anyone.  Very rarely does he get in trouble and if he does he is quick to apologize and make things right.  He is a great big brother and very protective of his sisters.  We are so blessed to have this kid in our lives. 


This year he had a very laid back birthday.  We went to Roger & Elynn's and had a BBQ with all the cousins then watched a movie on the projection screen in their backyard.  He wants to take his friends to a baseball game in a couple weeks, so more pictures to come soon!  

4th of July Fun!

Ok, so I totally lucked out. Rory has an amazing family that always has something fun planned no matter the circumstances. We were supposed to go camping for the 4th, but due to the fires our plans were put on hold. So Rory's aunt Elynn put on her annual grandma camp and allowed my kids to tag along. She has had activities planned for the kids every day, but I think the kids have enjoyed playing together more than anything.

Last night they had a movie on the lawn and the dad's and kids roughed it slept in tents in Roger and Elynn's backyard. Kadee didn't make it all night, the first sound of thunder and Rory was carrying her home to sleep with Kinlee and I. Luckily we are only 2 houses down so it wasn't too far to go. Tonight we had a delicious bbq with Mike and Brittnee to celebrate Mike's 32nd birthday and then escorted all of the Branch clan to the Wellness Center to swim.  I love the holidays and spending time with our amazing family and friends, plus we finally got some much needed rain today (hallelujah) so hopefully the fire will be contained and the smoke will be clearing out soon.

All tuckered out after a day of swimming, Kinlee fell asleep on my bathroom floor

Kadee (her hair is a mess because we had been swimming) and beautiful Hadley

Kinlee and one of her favorite cousins, Kelka (as she pronounces it)

Boys will be boys

Roughing it in the tent (Kinlee and I made it til about 10:00 pm)

Movie under the stars

Slipping and sliding with Kinlee, Kadee, and Kella

By the way, it's not that I don't love Connor, but he won't ever slow down for me to take his picture.  Hence, a lot of pictures of the girls and hardly any of the boy.   Still love him to pieces though!

Playing with Fire

This is a scary time in Carbon County... there are fires surrounding us. There are 5 fires burning in Utah right now and 3 of them are near or in our county. There is the Seeley fire, the Church Camp fire, and Wood Hollow fire, just to name the 3 near us. The air is filled with smoke and the sun is bright red/orange from being covered with smoke. I got teared up this morning when I was explaining to my kids that people had to leave their homes and hope they were there when they returned. Rory has been out all day helping to make sure people stay evacuated from Scofield, he has been working 12 hours so far and there are no signs of him coming home anytime soon. I am praying for all those whose lives are affected by these fires right now. We don't realize how much our firefighters, search and rescue volunteers, and police officers do to keep us safe. I thank the Lord for these people that put their lives on the line every single day. I am so proud of my husband, he truly serves those around him.

Little America...

Rory had a drug court training at the U of U so the kids and I tagged along and stayed at the fabulous Little America Hotel. We didn't have to pay for it, so that made it even better! They have a really fun indoor/outdoor pool at the Little America so we really didn't even have to leave to entertain ourselves. Rory was in training during the day, so the kids and I kept ourselves busy. Some things we did while in Salt Lake: went swimming, shopped til we dropped, went swimming, saw Madagascar 3 at the Gateway, went swimming, visited grandma & grandpa Curtis, went swimming, checked out the new City Creek Center, went swimming, met one of my bff's Heather for lunch, went swimming, and finished off the trip with a quick stop at Trafalga.

The highlight of the trip was an experience with Kinlee at McDonalds. Heather and I were visiting, the kids were playing, and Kinlee was roaming around the play area. She came up to me and was so excited saying, "gummy, gummy!" I looked at her and noticed she had gum in her mouth. I asked Kadee, "Did you give her this gum?" Her response was no. I asked Heather, "Did you give her this gum?" No. I asked Kinlee, "Where did you get the gum?" She smiles wide, runs over to a table, points underneath it and says, "Here!" Gross! I seriously tried to sanitize her mouth. Heather was laughing so hard she was crying and Kinlee was crying because I took her gum away. Heather said her son Blake has been talking about my crazy baby for days...that baby is going to be the death of me!

So Cute...