40th Wedding Anniversary weekend

My Dad singing "Little Things Mean A Lot" to my Mom on their wedding day

Saturday was my parent's 40th wedding anniversary, and we spent the whole weekend celebrating! It was so fun planning it with my siblings....although the number of minutes we used on our phone was embarrasing. What a wonderful celebration that brought us all so much closer as siblings, spouses and children. My dad wrote an email yesterday that said, "...thank you for making us feel loved and to more deeply honor our marriage." I think the whole weekend helped all of us "more deeply" honor our own marriages. As we enjoyed our evening out on Saturday for the dinner party, it was surprisingly romantic for not only my mom and dad for also for Jay and I. I think I can speak for the rest of us that it was a nice romantic evening. We talked about Mom and Dad's courtship, engagement and marriage. The restaurant was absolutely beautiful, warm, inviting, old music playing, dimly lit, and just perfect! Not to mention, there was a party in my tummy (so yummy, so yummy!). Steak has never tasted so melt-in-my-mouth delicious before! Before I get ahead of myself here's how the whole weekend went down...

Saturday
We (the 5 of us + spouses that live here) surprised Mom (Dad was in on some of this) at Donovan's Steakhouse in Phoenix. We had our own private dining room reserved and it was amazing! What a great evening - lots of pictures, laughing, some crying, singing, music, lots more laughing, and last but not least the best food! It was SO nice not having any kids with us, it's rare for all the adults to get together. It was so hard to keep this all a secret but we managed to pull it off. My mom was very surprised! We had a program with Brit and I singing, Kimball paying tribute, poems by Jordan and Nathan, a video from Thayne and Lanae, sweet words from Dad, a DVD presentation by Bryan, and a song sung by all the brothers. We had flowers, program, place settings, pictures, gift bags, the works...I have to say the evening went perfect!

Sunday

We woke up early and went to my parent's church at 9am. We took a big family picture afterwards and served everyone a yummy lunch. My mom and dad weren't allowed in the kitchen because they are always slaving away cooking and cleaning so I think they deserved a nice break. We surprised them with a BBQ grill we all chipped in on and just hung out the rest of the day. We were so worn out and beat by Sunday night, talk about a family hangover. What a perfect weekend~thanks everyone for your many contributions!

They sat my Dad and Mom down and then slid open the doors to our dining room. Surprise!

I had to put a picture of some of the food we ate...yeah...it tasted as delicious as it looks. YUM!
We missed Nathan and Thayne and their wives, Lindsay and Lanae!

40 years, 7 children, 26 grandchildren. Here we are on Sunday-minus 4 adults and 7 children. As my Dad was sharing his thoughts at the beginning of our dinner Saturday, he said that the biggest thing he remembers about those 40 years is "How much FUN we've had!". But my mom very quickly added, "And work!! Don't forget the work!" We all thought that was so funny. Love this family! Yeah thats me with the bad perm.

The darndest things

David: (when he can't get my attention) Whoo-hoo! Mommy! It's me! Whoo-hoo!!
David: (while Anna was blasting out a primary song, he covered his ears and said) Anna stop! You're hurting my ears!
David: (if we turn on the lights) It's burning my eyes!
David: (if we turn on the fan) I'm so cooold! Turn it off.
David: (if we turn off the fan) I'm so sweaty. Turn it on.
David: (every time he says no, he politely says) No, Fank you.

Anna: (as Jay is getting ready to leave for work) Work is sooo boring.
Jay: Why?
Anna: I don't know. I'm just so glad I'm not a dad and I don't have to go to work because it's so boring. Mom, I'm so glad you let me be a girl.

Mom: Anna, can you help me clean up all these toys?
Anna: (politely) No, thank you.

Kate: (the "decka" is really extra fast jibberish) decka-decka-decka-swimsuip-decka-decka-swimmm swimmm-decka-decka. Blakey!-decka-deckah-you hab it-decka-decka-decka-i don't wannit-(fill in with any word...you get the point. She thinks she is talking in quick sentences like an adult).

Kate: (to Blake) "me da storrry?" (tell me the story) "yes you are!" (in a sappy sweet voice shaking her head)

Blake is smiling and cooing like crazy and loves to have one-on-one conversations with the kids. I have been catching him sucking on his thumb a lot lately, yet he won't take a pacifier. It's so cute though. He also likes to wring his hands alot and chew/slobber all over them, also cute. At his four month Dr. appointment the other day he weighed 19 1/2 pounds! He is off the charts with his weight. He is in the 75th for length. Not to shabby for 4 months dude.

The Dads in my Life

I've had a few things on my mind about my dad recently...and wanted to write about each of these thoughts in honor of Father's Day this week.

1. My dad is a doer. He taught my family the gospel through his actions and his example. He doesn't just teach or say, he lives the gospel.

2. He always did the ironing and loved to paint our house. I think we got a new coat of paint every couple years!

3. He likes to spoil my mom. He has always been a huge workhorse around the house, but now that my mom has had knee replacement, you can find him doing dishes, floors, laundry, yardwork, taking care of her, and taking trips to the grocery store. He gets her flowers often and the #1 most purchased item for her - Beanie Babies! My mom got into that collecting craze a decade+ ago, but he still will peek into stores to see if he can find a new Beanie Baby she may not have yet. The house is full of them, each one a reminder of how much my dad loves and adores my sweet mom.

4. He has always been an early riser...any day of the week. He's up in the wee hours of the morning (4 am), doing his push-ups and sit-ups in the closet and sometimes even taking a jog around the block. He loves his job and is the best at what he does.

5. As a boy, he was known as "Quiet Joe". He is a very gentle and soft-spoken man, but loves to joke and laugh. He has the loudest (and most beautiful) singing voice in Sacrament Meeting. I used to be embarassed because everyone would turn around when he would start singing. Now it makes me smile proudly.

6. Two things my dad is most known for in our family is 1- he's not a bit afraid to let his gas go in public. Growing up, if any of us went anywhere with him, it was guaranteed he would let a couple go while walking down the aisles and blame it on us in front of others. and 2- he has the LOUDEST sneeze I've ever heard. I can't tell you how many times he's scared me with his sneeze.

7. My dad has been bishop a couple times and was my bishop from the time I turned 12 until I was a 17. He has now been the stake patriarch for almost 10 years. He has a gift of being close to the spirit, he honors the priesthood, and he fulfills his callings.

8. He is very poetic, a great speaker, humble, loving, and a good listener.

9. He taught us the importance of tradition in EVERY aspect of our daily life as a family. Besides spiritual traditions, he loved to do things with us kids...made up games, wrestling, housework, camping, Utah trips, and especially hikiing/lizard catching. This tradition has moved down to all of our families now. Thanks to my Dad who spent every non-working hour with all 7 of us. Some of my favorite memories were the Saturday morning hikes and our Daddy-daughter dates together.

10. He is a great Papa to my kids. He loves to tickle, talk, hug, laugh and teach them.

Dad - I have been so blessed to have the love of a Dad who makes me feel special and I will always be thankful for all you have done for me. Happy Father's Day

We named Blake Joseph after Papa

He loved having us walk on his back every evening...me and Kimball...

I've gone on before talking about how much I love Jay as a husband and Father....so here are a few things...Jay is a very caring and fun dad, he knows how to make each of the kids feel loved. They love all that attention they get from him. I've never seen a welcome like the one he gets when he gets home every evening. Jay - that tells you how much these kids of our's love you! Happy Fathers Day

Jay loves babies-here he is with each of ours...

Anna...
David... Kate...
Blake...

I am grateful for the family I added into my life when marrying Jay. My father-in-law is a soft-spoken and loving person. He works so hard traveling around the east valley as a big-animal vet, which he has been doing for decades. He is good with the horses and animals he works with and is extremely smart at his profession. He taught his family the value of hard work and taking care of a home. He treats his wife with love and respect and is willing to help and serve anyone at the drop of a hat. One thing I love about him is the way he can light up my kid's day, they just love Grandpa! We named David after him. You can tell how much he loves them by the big smile on his face when he is with them. What you can find in Jay's dad is honesty and trustworthiness - characteristics that are hard to find these days. We love you and are so greatful for you. Happy Father's Day
David with his Grandpa David... And I can't forget my five handsome brothers (and Kevin-my brother in law not pictured) who are just as good as the Dad that taught them. They are now all dads who love their wives and have amazing kids. I love you Bryan, Thayne, Jordan, Kimball, Nathan and Kevin. Happy Father's Day

At my sister's wedding...

Some of their favorite things

David's favorite things: Okay I think that boys are so funny - they don't need toys, just their imagination and a couple of random household items. Everything becomes a weapon, tool or instrument of any sort. He uses the wisk and cake cutter (I know--not the safest) as his "violin". That yellow thing, if it looks familiar to any of you, is the middle (usually attached to a white square base) that holds those colorful donut stackers. This has been everthing from a telescope, to a gun, to a guitar and it always goes with us in the car. Just a few of many things that David finds interesting around the house.

Kate's favorite things: Her dollhouse car and any sort of tiny doll or figurine to stuff in there. She wonders the house with each of these things throughout her day. I love how she never stops talking and jabbering as she plays amongst herself.

Anna's favorite things: Her "journals" and her stash of pencils, crayons, glue sticks and markers that she keeps in her HSM case. At any time of her day you will almost always find her coloring or writing a story. Her black journal is for the real stuff and the pink one is for her made-up stories. One story in her pink one, "I found a monster in my room. It was nice and it sang me a lullaby." And one story in her black one, "I like my mom cause I like when she makes good food and I like it very much" (just thought I'd throw in a positive plug about me:) OR, "Today I went swimming outside all day!"

Summer fun...and lots of it

I LOVE SUMMER! Especially in Arizona...I love that it's not freezing in OR out of the water and I love the hot sun. Some of the best memories I have growing up is my summer days spent in the water at friend's houses or on our tramp in our backyard. I love this picture because every afternoon (while the younger two nap), after playing in the little pool for a good hour or so, Anna and David sit in the warm sun and just chat. Then they have their otter pops. I love how the sun wears them out and makes them so much happier.They all started swimming lessons last week at the local Jr high and we are all having a blast. A YW in our ward watches Blake so I can go and be in the Mom and tot class with Kate. One thing they are loving this summer are the goggles we got them. They wear them the whole entire time while they're outside. This is what happened to Kate the first few times wearing them...Blake is now four months! He just doesn't stop growing and is so soft and cuddly.

Ah that smile...

Ah that sweet face...

He can prop himself up a little - only because of the girth of his middleMaking little pizzas with the Lambs...Arizona Museum for Youth with the Olson cousins...
The theme they are doing right now is MONSTERS. This place is so fun! There were SO many hands-on things for the kids to do and they had lots of fun being with cousins and Grandma and Grandpa.
Kate is our nervous one - she had fun but not with a lot of worrying...

Since she was tiny-she covers her ears when she's nervous about anything

Blake in the scary blacklight room (the kids loved this room!)

The puppet theaterDavid and his buddy cousin, Truman