Let the summer begin

First of all, I want to give a shout out to my INCREDIBLE little brother Daniel Edwin Walter. He is the proud new owner of a DIPLOMA!!!!!! He graduated from high school this year. I can't believe he is big enough to graduate from high school I truly can't get over it.

I just want to say a few things bout my exceptional baby brother: He is ALWAYS there. He is ALWAYS willing to drop whatever he is doing to do ANYTHING I ask him. He loves my girls. He loves to hold my babies. He has a special way with them. He would play and hold Daxton for hours. He never seemed to tire of those moments he spent with him. He loves to hold Isabella. I think he misses his nephew, but Isabella is SO sweet she just lets him love on her.

I want to thank him for ALWAYS helping me out when I need him to. He will pick up Savannah from school. Tend the kids after they are asleep (and even sometimes when they are awake). He will run to my friend's house when she is late and get her son off the bus. He will run random errands, just because we ask him to. He will always bring a smile to your face. He has a great sense of humor and has a great carefree nature. He is always sensitive to others. He is a great speaker. He has an inspiring testimony of the gospel and is an exceptional young man.

CONGRATULATIONS Danny Boy!!!!! You are a high school grad, soon to be a college goer. WOW. I am old :)

I must say that FAMILIES ARE THE BEST. And I have the best one!!! I really do. My brothers and sister are ALWAYS there no matter what. Whenever I would sit around with my in laws talking I always thought about what it would be like when all my siblings were old enough to be married and what we woudl talk about when we got older and how much fun it would be.

Well I had that opportunity this last weekend with my fam. We spent countless hours playing games, watching movies, swimming, and just enjoying one another's company. Logan and Nat came down from up North and we had such a great time with them. I wish I had enough time and eloquent words to express the gratitude I feel for each of my siblings and their spouses.

It will be fun to have a NEW ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY!!!! No peeps. I am not prego. But my sister is getting MARRIED!!!!! YAY!!!!! So if you see her on the street, look at her rock, give her a big hug, and tell her CONGRATS!!!!!!

I honestly can't even express into words the joy and peace and love and beauty that Isabella has brought into our home these last few months. I can't believe how sweet and cuddly and fun she is. Her smile lights up her face and lights up a room. She has been able to pull me from the depths of my sorrow on so many occasions. She has been able to help me through my grief and fill my arms like only she can.
In Elder Scott's LDS General Conference talk, he talked about the importance of temples and temple worship in enabling our families to be together for eternity.  Elder Gary E. Stephenson told of President Monson's suggested that we take our children to the temple often so that they can feel the Spirit of the temple and have the desire to attend one day. Doug and I decided that we would visit the different temples and take pictures of the girls in front of them individually and together. We will then put all the pictures in a book that they can keep.

Doug was insistant that we put this picture in.... so here I am. ON my stomach, on the ground, holding Isabella up :). What a picture!!!!

For Memorial Day when Doug was growing up they always went to the cemetery. His Grandpa was a veteran, so it was a tradition to visit. So here we start our tradition, although I really would rather not, but here we are. We went to the temple, then to the store to get something for the cemetery and also something for Daxton's Birthday. Then off to McDOnald's for lunch so we could have a picnic at the cemetery. Who does that? Not anyone that was there, but the girls like to sit under the tree by his grave and we just talk about Daxton, get our usual picture and off we go.

We finished off the day with a nap, a swim, and a BBQ at Aunt Dranas. Sure was fun, all things considering. :)

Days like today

Wow. Seriously. It is a day like today that makes me want to crawl into a hole and not come out for a few days!!!

This morning I went to the cannery to get some food storage. (As members of the church we are asked to have a year worth of food storage in case of extenuating circumstances that might require a prolonged trip to the store.... so we have a cannery locally where we can purchase dried goods and do some wet pack as well. This is what I was doing today)

Anyway, while at the cannery, I cut my finger on one of the cans and had to run out and clean up and bandage myself up. It really hurt. It is like a REALLY deep paper cut and the superficial ones hurt so you can imagine the pain I might be suffering :). Then off to the bakery to pick up some bread for the funeral and to pick up Isabella and Mikenna, take the bread to the church so they could make sandwiches.

Then off to Aunt Drana's to drop off some of the food storage because heaven only knows I seriously have NOOOO room in my house. It is sufficient, but I am being invaded by my own stuff. We said hi to the two twins and raced off to the grocery store where we picked up flowers for Mikenna's teachers. She has been talking for weeks about getting her some flowers so she chose them special (after some coaxing on the "prettiest." More like the cheapest :)).

Landing at home with just enough time to run through her reading paper 5 times, eat lunch, make two homeade cards, put gifts of bread in the bags, feed Isabella, and well lets face it, that should be enough right? All that in less than 30 minutes.

On my way out of the garage I smacked right into our little Honda Civic with our HUGE Yukon. SERIOUSLY!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!! Am I really that dunce? Am I really that brainless that I walked around the back of the car, saw the civic and like a complete and total idiot I proceeded to back into my car. You know the crunch sound? Ok. Maybe you don't. It sounds like eating Raisin Bran Crunch, which by the way I quite enjoy :). But seriously? EERRR!!! I will post the damage when I am not quite so upset with myself. EEERRR!!!! I hit the panel and it was forced just far enough back that the passenger side door won't open. SERIOUSLY!!! Ah nuts, or something like that.

I said a few words, walked out to see the damage, got back in the car and took Mikenna to school. Then I ran to Savannah's school to give her teacher's their gifts and inherited a beta fish (that will be dead within the week) named Woody, from their classroom. I am going to try really hard to get it to live through the summer and then give it back. :) ya. right. whatever.

It was my dad's bday today and my bros graduation. Will post about graduation later :). SO I had to race to the store, get two cards, and two gifts, and two books, and stuff for two cheesecakes. And then I had to make them. SUPER FUN!! Actually it was. I like to bake, it is relaxing. Kind of. Unless Savannah is in bathroom on the potty yelling for help because she pooped and doesn't want to get her hands dirty. SERIOUSLY? Like I want to get MY hands dirty. Owell. I did wash my hands between wiping her butt and cooking :), just in case you were wondering. LOL.

It all turned out ok. After 5 pieces of pizza and 2 pieces of cheesecake, I am fat and happy :). (I didn't really eat all that, but I sure thought about it.)

Big Firsts

Here are the two grils. Doug took Mikenna out to get her pic taken before her ballet recital. As soon as Savannah saw that she was going outside, she wanted to have a picture as well. So off she ran and this is what we got.

Mikenna had her ballet recital. She did SO good. SO cute. Thanks Miss Erica!!!

Ode to the many cute faces of our sweet Sawannah!

OK so it was time to cut Isabella's hair. I know that it looks like a boy cut. Honestly it has been since oh well never since I cut a little girls hair. I used to cut Daxton's hair. We literally had to pin him down and cut it. It was comical... and sad... actually.

Isabella was so patient. She just looked around and held surprisingly still. So here it is. At least the difference between a good hair cut and a bad hair cut for a little girl is a bow. (see below)

Ok for reals. I go to the store and people say things like "she is the cutest baby I have ever seen." Can you really disagree? NO. I don't think you can. :)

Well my friends. The pool has officially been initiated into the summer weather. The uninhabitable heat here has forced us into our swimsuits and into the water. Here are some of Isabella's first pics in the pool.

Isabella loves to sit in her bouncey seat while we are outside swimming. Of course she is lathered in sunscreen and under the umbrella :).

I know. I know. They are seriously ADORABLE!!!!

Those little piggies are KILLING me. They are So cute I just want to eat them. Of course I won't. OK something funny before I forget. The other day the girls and I were driving around and I was talking to my sister or Doug I can't remember and I was venting about rude nurses who aren't very nice to new grads.

I made the comment, "I really don't think there is any reason for nurses to be so rude, like someone peed in their cheerios."

Savannah piped in, "Mommy, someone peed in her cheerios? That is gross." LOL. I couldn't even believe she was listening.

Seriously. Is she not the CUTEST button you have EVER seen?