May 2016

May was a busy busy month full of adventures and LOTS of pictures! I'll start off with some pictures of Hailee's little dance class and recital. It was so cute!

Here's her little class

 And some cute more professional pics she had done. She is just too cute!!

 Here she is (in the middle) at her Dance Review

 I was so proud of her- there was a part in a dance where the little girls were supposed to be picked up by the older girls. Hailee was the only one that made it up.

 Here she is with her awesome teacher!

 Great job cutie Hailee!

We took a big adventure this month for a beautiful reason. Kyle baptized a lady on his mission and she invited us to her daughter's temple wedding who was 4 at the time of her baptism. She wanted Kyle to be able to see full circle what blessings have come about from him and his companion listening to the Spirit and being guided to find them to change her life.
Here is her story that she wrote in an article to an lds magazine back in 2011:

The Story of Christy Showers

I loved my 4 year old daughter, Rebecca, with all my heart. That little girl was truly the only thing right in my life at that moment. I was a single mother, staying at my parent's home, and living a less than desirable lifestyle. Amid all of that chaos, an overwhelming concern for my daughter's spiritual well-being was at the top of my list. My own religious upbringing persuaded me to worry that my sweet, blue-eyed child was headed for eternal doom because she had not yet been baptized.

Finally, one day as I sat all alone, not knowing who to turn to, I offered up this prayer: "Jesus, I don't care what happens to me, but tell me what church to take my daughter to so she can get baptized and live with God again." I ended my prayer and went outside to smoke a cigarette.

As I opened the garage door two young men in white shirts and ties were at the end of the driveway. They came up to talk to me, introducing themselves as Elder Walters and Elder Wright, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I sat with them and listened to their message. They talked about a "Book of Mormon" and invited me to read it. Then Elder Walters offered a prayer and they left.

I wondered, "Was this my answer? Did God send me these missionaries?"

That night I read the Book of Mormon, but the questions about baptizing my sweet Rebecca still whirled around my head. As I continued to read, I found Moroni 8:8 and read: "little children are whole, and are not capable of committing sin." The words hit me like a brick. It was not my daughter that needed baptism. It was me.

The Elders continued to teach me as I made big changes in my life. I was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one month after that first meeting.

While The Lord was helping prepare me to hear the gospel, he was also preparing faithful missionaries who prayed daily for guidance in their work. The elders later told me that as they prayed for direction they had felt strongly that they needed to proselyte in the neighborhood I lived in. The day we met, the word "Stinson" kept coming to their minds.

I lived on Stinson Way.

I am grateful for missionaries who did not doubt and knew how to follow the Spirit's gentle guidance.

I marvel when I look at Rebecca now. She's a happy teenager, currently serving as the president of her Young Women group at church, and has a powerful testimony of her own.

I married my husband, Stan, in the Oakland LDS temple 18 months after I joined the church and three sons have since joined our family.

I didn’t expect my prayer to be answered so quickly, and I know prayers aren’t always answered that quickly, but I’m grateful this time it was. God knows each of us and loves us. He hears and answers our prayers. Even through hard times, I will never doubt that because I have seen miracles in my life.

 Here is Kyle and his companion with the little girl, Rebecca, 15 years ago.

So we went on a fun road trip to Colorado!
Here are some pictures from our trip:
On our way, I thought this was kind of a fun "livestock bridge" or something like that across the highway in Wyoming

 We got to try the "futuristic" ordering at a McDonald's. I'm sure this will be commonplace in the near future.

 Yay! Colorado!

 We got to the temple the next day to attend the wedding, and to my surprise, I ran into my cousin Kristine at the temple! I hadn't seen her in years, but I recognized her from Instagram photos. What a small world!

 The kids outside the Denver temple

 Laila had had enough by then :)

 Me n' Kyle

 Downtown Denver

 At the wedding reception

 On our way back home, we passed through some awesome tunnels in the mountains.

 We decided to take a little train ride in the mountains for my Mother's Day present, and I'm so glad we did! The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a perfect little ride for the family and it has so many beautiful views!

 View from the train bridge

 View from the top

 What an awesome experience!

 After the train ride, we kept climbing into the mountains. We even got up to where there were some ski resorts still open! We then went through a really long tunnel. Its the Eisenhower Tunnel, and according to Wikipedia, it is one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world. It is also the longest mountain tunnel and highest point on the Interstate Highway System. Pretty cool!

 We came out of the tunnel, and we hit snow and snow/rain storms on the other side

 We decided to take the long way home and stay in Vernal, Utah. I had remembered coming here as a kid, and I wanted to show my kids the dinosaur bone wall!

 Dinosaur bone bench

 Real dinosaur bone!

 Pretty views! Someone had a telescope set up to see Mercury passing in front of the sun. It was neat but hard to see because it was a teeny tiny little speck.

 The pink dinosaur in Vernal

 The Vernal temple

 Of course we had to stop at Krispy Kreme donut on the way home!

 It was a fun trip with a lot of great family time! I was worried that Laila wouldn't last but she (and all the other kids) did great in the car!

 Here are some more random pictures from the month:

  We had some more car troubles this month, so we borrowed Gene and Carol's car that they were getting ready to sell. Well, we kind of fell in love with it, and they offered us a good deal, so we went ahead and bought it! Its so fun to drive and I have peace of mind that I won't break down all the time.

 We discovered more of the fun of Snapchat this month. I don't really use it to text, but I do like to have fun with the kids and face swap and face-change things. Here are a few more samples of some of the fun we have been having. There have been LOTS of hilarious pictures and videos!
 Here I am with all of the kids' and Kyle's face. Can you tell who is who?

 1. Dallin
2. Laila
3. Hailee
4. Kyle
5. Owen

Here is Laila with a Grandma face:

Here is a funny picture of Laila eating with extra chubby cheeks thanks to Snapchat.

 Ha! Glamour shot! It can even do your makeup!

Dallin made this card at school for me for Mother's Day. His response to "I Love You Because..." made me laugh!

 Here is Hailee's little Perler Bead family (our family) that she has been working on. Can you tell who everyone is?

 Matchy matchy Sisters on the trike

 Dallin had a speaking part at his class patriotic program. He did a great job!

 Owen riding the vintage elephant at Fiesta Ole! This thing has been around for years!

 We had been bed shopping and I think we finally found one that we like! Its the Purple mattress and its very comfy!

 Hilarious when Dallin got mad because Hailee made his scary Harry Potter Dementor into a beautiful girly picture.

 Our cat, Sonic, always likes to sit on top of our cars. Now, since we have a sun roof on our new car, its funny to be able to see him from underneath. Silly cat.

 Laila watching the kids outside.

 She wants to go out so bad! Trust, me, she definitely gets her outside time, but only under close supervision! haha

 Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Wright's grave in Shelley. Laila is named after her Great Grandma Lalia Wright, and her middle name, Dawn, is after Great Grandpa Donald Wright.

 I love this picture of Owen! He has been into a huge superhero kick lately and always wears his cape and mask wherever he goes! He is "Robin"

What a great month! Bring on Summer!