Dancing Twister! :)

Even Roy gets competive in this game. lol

It's the Dancing Twister! You know our family hasn't played this game for quite some time but I had to take pictures of this! lol We just play the normal game, but Jessica starts playing her music. We all have to keep dancing while we have our arms and legs on the appropriate dots. It always gets the kids excited.

On Wednesday nights, we usually have Jessica and Ammon for about 3 1/2 hours and it is our Family Night. We get lots done in that time frame, to doing homework (if they have some), cooking/eating dinner, and then have our Family Home Evening. If we have enough time, we are able to have an activity...well this past Wednesday we didn't have to take the kids back that night so we were able to have our activity. The kids were pretty excited. This time even Baby Kay was having a blast playing and dancing around. It is amazing how just being goofy and having fun can make good family memories! :)

A Valentine's Weekend to Remember

As many of you may know, my Mom passed away almost 4 years ago. It will be 4 years on May 9. We haven't had an official headstone placed on her grave. I think it has been an emotional thing for Dad, plus trying to come up with the perfect headstone for both of them, one that they deserve! :)

We have been blessed to have a cousin who has a business making headstones, Paul Baliff. He was able to produce a headstone we never thought was possible. He did an amazing job! When my parents had their 50th Anniversary we had a special picture made that was unveiled. My family came up with an idea of Mom and Dad's wedding picture, putting it in front of the Salt Lake City Temple where they married and then had pictures of all of us kids up in the clouds. We have always pictured us up in heaven cheering for our parents on their wedding day and making us an eternal family. :) Definitely a special day! Well, Paul was able to get this picture carved in our parents granite headstone. We were able to have Mom's headstone placed on Saturday morning, February 13, along with my Uncle Lynn Richardson 's and cousin Mark Richardson headstone. It was Mark & Lynn's 22 wedding anniversary on Saturday! It was Lynn's anniversary gift for her wonderful hubby. It was so wonderful to see most of our "Richardson" family including aunts, uncles, and cousins there. What a wonderful Valentine's gift to give our loved ones who we dearly miss!

Inspirational New Year

This morning I woke up a bit late so I missed my personal scripture reading time...so as I was driving to work I thought about some of my favorite scriptures and ones that have inspired me lately. I realized there was a couple of scriptures that stuck out more in my mind and they could be a focus for me this year...little reminders that Heavenly Father is here for all of us and is just waiting to give us more blessings if we allow him.

"Thus God had provided a means that man through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings." Mosiah 8:18

"Delight thyself also in the Lord; as he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalms 37:4

DRESS REHEARSAL
Listen! Music fills a room
Like soft sunlight through sheer lace curtains
And those simple youthful melodies are played
Time and time again.

At first with fumbling fingers
And then with practiced perfection
The work soon becomes second nature.
The notes have not changed but the student has.

With each lesson learned another page is turned
And the cycle begins anew.
The young ones observe those older
And follow in their path.

Each maestro has their mentor
And each pupil their faithful fan.
There is pleasure in each performance
Be it childish or complex.

And we seem to enjoy the recitals most
Not when judged in a contest,
But rather when shared in a concert,
Where every soul resonates with a music uniquely its own,

A music which becomes richer
As it harmonizes with that of others.
Our life is but a picture within a picture,
A single note within a score.

Let us use it well.
Let us seek to learn and then learn to share
So that each day is a dress rehearsal
For a grand performance yet to come!
Greg Olsen, 1993

I feel I have received a big hug from Heavenly Father this morning. :)

Happy Birthday Mom! Happy Birthday Kaitlyn! & Merry Christmas!

Decorating Mom's grave with Amanda. She was a big helper!

Kaitlyn, my brother - Pat, me & Amanda


Me, Kaitlyn, Amanda & Roy


It was my Mom's birthday on December 1st. As a tradition we go to her grave and decorate it in rememberance of her. It was another birthday were there was no snow on the ground...which made it quite nice to decorate without getting wet, yet it was very cold! It will be 4 years in May since my mom has passed away. We were able to have my brother, Pat come join us this year in decorating which made it even more fun. Pat is such a fun brother!


Dad is in the process of putting together a headstone for Mom's grave. It is beautiful and will be put out this Spring/Summer 2010. My cousin will be making it! I think it has been a hard process for Dad emotionally, but he has done a wonderful job! We all miss Mom so much and there are so many questions I have for her now that I have my own kids. How did she do it with 11 kids?! She is amazing and is definitely good with children. :)


Here is my little Baby Kay! She is just learning to stand on her 1st birthday!




Kaitlyn's new thing is carrying the bottle in her mouth...I think she may think she is a puppy...she sure does try to keep our floors clean. lol :)




Singing Happy Birthday with family. She was so excited!

Kaitlyn's first cupcake ever! I think she liked it! :)

We finally have a new family picture with Kaitlyn. I can't believe how fast time flies! Kaitlyn just took her first few steps this past week. She is such a happy baby, even when she wakes up she is just glowing with her beautiful smile! She just lights up the room. She can say "Dada", "MaMa", "Hi", and we are pretty sure we have heard her say "thank you" once or twice.


Well it is hard to believe Christmas is here! I feel so blessed to have Christ in my life. I am so grateful for him and his example. He has done so much for all of us! This year has been amazing and we hope all of you are doing well. We wish you all a wonderful Christmas and
Happy New Year!

Halloween 2009

Well, I have to admit...I am glad Halloween is over! But we definitely did have fun. Roy & I took Amanda and Kaitlyn out trick or treating. Amanda was Belle off of "Beauty and the Beast" and Kaitlyn was Tinkerbell. They both were really cute in their costumes! We didn't have Jessica and Ammon this year but they did stop by earlier in the afternoon. Jessica was a witch and Ammon was a knight. They were pretty excited to show off their costumes. :)

Amanda's 3 year old pictures

My spunky little girl, Amanda, had her pictures taken on Saturday for her 3rd birthday. We are excited to have some new ones. The last professional ones taken of her was back when she was 18 months old. Amanda was pretty excited! I was very pleased on how they turned out. :)

Sunday Pictures :)

Well we curled Amanda's hair for the first time. She actually held still. As many of you know, she is a busy busy little girl full of so much energy and personality.

Seven Peaks

Last week we finally made it to Seven Peaks Resort before it closes Labor Day weekend. Here are some fun pictures of our kids. I think they had a lot of fun and Amanda has been talking about it still and it has been a week! :) Enjoy the photos!

Mark the Great 5k Race

On August 1st, there was a benefit run for my cousin, Mark Richardson, who passed away suddenly by a heart attack. All the proceeds went to his family. As I pulled up to park, I got a huge lump in my throat and watery eyes as I saw what huge production it was. My cousin, Susan, did an amazing job!

We had all of our kids participate in the race. Jessica, Ammon and Roy (pushing Amanda and carrying Kaitlyn in a little back pack) did the 5k. I was planning on pushing a stroller but Roy insisted I should just run without having to push any of the kids. Amanda participate in her first kids race. Each of the younger kids recieved a little medal.

I also had a chance to see family and friends that I haven't seen for quite some time. It was so good to see everyone!

As you see these pictures...please don't laugh at me...man! Don't you just hate it when you see pictures of yourself and you look heavier than you though you were? Well, I am still working on getting more pounds off thank goodness! :)

Better Late than Never

Okay I have been a slacker in keep my blog up-to-date. :) This summer has been pretty busy that I haven't made any time to sit down and download pictures and write a little something. At the end of July my little Amanda turned 3 years old and step-daughter, Jessica, turned 11 years old. My how time flies! Amanda was so excited to know it was her birthday and not somebody elses. lol and she was able to blow out her own candles. Jessica I think was excited to get Little Pets and "cool" clothes. :) I think they both had a wonderful birthdays.