a WiSH...

Life is so interesting. It never seems to be as cookie cutter like as we wish it were. I married my sweetheart 8 years ago and gained an amazing father in law. He went by many names; Dad, Dan the Man, Danny, babe, Uncle Danny, Papa Dan and Pops. He was my Pops. Today is his birthday and I wish he were here for us to celebrate with him. I feel sad for my kids that they will never really Know who there Papa was, except through our memories of him. He was a samaritan in every meaning. His life really did revolve around serving those around him. He was a simple man with BIG dreams. I wish he could have made ALL those dreams come true before he went hoMe. I never imagined my kids growing up with only one Grandpa, but things don't always happen the way we imagine them to. I am thankful for the way he lived his life. He had 0 enemies. I love him and miss him.

I have a few songs that for one reason or another make me cry when I hear them. This is one of those songs..... listen to it.... it makes me want to cherish life more.

To POPS: I wish you a hAppy Birthday and hope your day was special. Thanks for your son. I loVe you forEVER.

One More Day

~Diamond Rio

Last night I had a crazy dream

A wish was granted just for me

It could be for anything

I didn't ask for money

Or a mansion in Malibu

I simply wished for one more day with you

One more day, one more time

One more sunset, maybe

I'd be satisfiedBut then again,

I know what it would do

Leave me wishing still for one more day with you

One more day...

First thing I'd do is pray for time to crawl

I'd unplug the telephone and keep the TV off

I'd hold you every second

Say a million 'I Love You's'

That's what I'd do with one more day with you

sNow, snow, Snow!!!!

This was such a fun LAST minute trip. We really wanted to have the kids be able to SEE snow and play it in this winter for their first time, but it was hard to make that decision since Vancey is still so little. We always make it a point to never go back on our word with things we tell the kids, so we did'nt tell the kids we were going to the snow until like 1 hour before we left. They were so exCited. We just threw together lots of warm clothes...whatever we had and just said we will make do with what we had.

We drove right outside of Payson. On our way through Payson, we were getting worried because we didn't see any snow on the sides of the streets, but 20 minutes past Payson the snow appeared. Madison went crazy!! She, Davin and Blane were screaming SNOW, SNOW, SNOW! Madison kept wanting us to pull over before we got to our destination. She was so worried that it would disappear if we drove further.What a perfect sunny day to hang in the snow. The kids had a lot of fun. Davin kept walking off by himself to find the perfect area to make snow angels, Blane enjoyed eating the snow and riding the the lil' hills, Madison really liked riding the hills as well, but she didn't like slipping on the trek back up the hill. Vance just screamed when the chill of the wind hit his face. He ended up sleeping through the majority of the time outside snuggled in his Mom, his Dad and his Aunt Nell's arms.

We stopped for some pizza in Payson to end the day. We ended up getting our pizza for free because the people took FOREVER to bring our food. On the drive back home in the car, some how we started telling the kids stories about our memories of our childhood. This was fun to watch their little faces as we told them funny incidents about us. They loved this! Davin liked his Dad's stories better than his Mom's stories. Dason was a crAzy kid what more can I say!

let's start the nEw yeaR

We had a pretty mellow New years Eve that involved a little Mormon Bubbly and some noicemakers and poppers. The kids tried their hardest to stay awake til midnight.



Here's how it went down ........ Davin tuckered out first around 10pm, then their was Madison who wanted so badly to stay awake the whole time ended up crashing on the couch at 11pm and THEN mr. Blane out did the bunch. He almost made it til midnight falling asleep only 10 minutes shy of the hOur.



Of course we still had to wake all the kiddies up to celebrate. We went out front and screamed and yelled and used up all of our poppers. Madison was mad that we woke her up, Davin was just acting sleepy and Blane was running around yelling "poppers, Poppers!!". It was fun.

HAPPY NEW YEAR........2009

oH, the maNy blessings of 2008

I have much to be thankful for this year. What a great year this has been for our family. We have had few trials this year. We are thankful for the lessons learned by those we had. Here is my list in no particular order: I am thankful for

• my healthy pregnancy
• my husband of 8 years who is so helpful to me: makes me a better Mom
• my parents who are still happily married and love one another
• my car though I wish it would stay clean...... thx kiddies for that
• my sweet new baby Vance who is so so precious and smiley
• my wonderful Blane whom is not short of personality.... crazy, silly, intuitive, loud, loving
• my sisters who are my best friends... help me through things and make me happy
• my handsome, sweet, charming, cute, agile, dedicated boy Davin
• my strong, creative, accepting mother in law Sharon
• my beautiful, bright, smart, friendly, sweet, caring only daughter Madison
• my fun brother who we saw numerous times this year... so thankful
• my sister in laws who are so wise and helpful and fun
• my grandma dahlston (dad's mom) so fun, happy and positive about her life
• my church and all the wonderful teachings
• my savior Jesus Christ.. his perfect life, his forgiving heart, his love for ALL
• my grandparents in boston.. so thoughtful & loving... I know they love me
• my brother in laws who love my sisters and sis in laws
• my church calling I love our 6 year olds we teach.... or that teach me
• my scriptures eventhough I did not pick them up much this year... I will do better
• my Grandma King(mom's Mom) who I have recently got back in touch with
• my body eventhough it is still post baby and definately far from perfect, but healthy
• my amazing free country I live in which I can call HOME
• my brothers sweet fun girlfriend from the UK Sara (my kids LOVE the accent)
• my laptop so I can sit and nurse the babe and play
• facebook that has helped me connect and reconnect with family and friends
• my healthy, good , happy, loving kids EACH and EVERY one of them
• my sometimes annoying dog Penny..love her.. my first baby
• my mom for loving my kids and taking time to make them feel important.
• my wonderful fun neighbors The Lee's... we will miss them next year..
• my Dad who makes my kids laugh and likes to give them lots of hugs...and nicknames (Blane= Bob; Davin=Dave )..... love this
• my friends in our old neighborhood (The Howards especially)
• my kids GREAT teachers who truly LOVE them and teach them.... so thankful
• my Mr. Blane who is potty trained YEAH!!!
• my marriage that I know will last forever
• my mother in law who loves my children and is silly with them....20 grandkids .. yikes!
• my husband who is a truly amazing, patient(for a guy), respectful Dad.. thank you
• my opportunity to be able to stay home with my kiddies.... so thankful
• my home.... i love being hOme.

My FAVORITE memories of this past year

Valentines dinner @ 9:00pm after the kiddies hit the sack... lOve crab legs... yum

The Dairy with Mats' kindergarten class

Davin turned 4 and learned how to ride a bike... so proud of him

Madison lost her 1st tooth on our 1st family camping trip

Ms. Jennie.... we LoVe her

Madison's best friend moved.... so sad! We miss them.

Ms. Traci is the bEst swim teacher.... the kiddies love her.

We have been going through her since madison was 3 years old.

OuR sweet Blane turned 2.... such a big boy!!

Camping trip with the Derf crew... including Ricky & Sara @ Ponderosa camp grounds

Annual Cali vacation in Newport Beach, knotts berry farm with the Derfs

CamPing with the Dickenson's

1st day of 1st grade! All DaY. She was so happy & only a little nervous. What a special girl she is!

This was hillarious. Imagine seeing this: An 8 month prego lady wearing a white top & flip flops running through the pelting rain, pushing a stroller while holding a 4 year olds hand to pick her daughter up at school.... PRICELESS, I KNOW!!! CraZy weather day!

Our 1st time fishing @ the Power Ranch lake

Allen family reunion at the cabin

Vance Danuel born on 10.21.08 7lbs 11oz 21.5 inches What a jOy he is!

HaLLowEEn 2008

OuR 1st early Thanksgiving dinner in oUr hOme.

Our oNly daughter turned 7! I can't believe how fast time flys.

Scottsdale train park...an annual eVent for the Derfs. Chris and Taylor came as well.

MeRRy Christmas 2008!

ceLebrate gOOd times

Grandma Sharon made all the boys wall hanging of their Favorite thing. Most of the boys were into super heroes so there were transformers, spiderman and ironman. The girls also got a homemade magnetic board to display pics in their rooms. SOOO CREATIVE.

Grandma(mommy's mom), holding little Vance.

Grandma and grandpa got our family a big basketball hoop. The cute part was that they wrapped the basketballs seperate and the girls got a pink one and the boys got a orange one. Too bad it rained all night!!

twas' the night before......