Our Little Angel turned 2!

Happy Birthday Ciara! Our little princess turned 2 on Saturday! We had such a fun party! I will post more on the party hopefully tomorrow! As I look at Ciara I am just in awe of her. She is such a blessing and joy in my life. Heavenly Father has given us such a beautiful, healthy, and perfect little girl that has each one of us wrapped around her finger. I am so thankful for Ciara, her sweet little spirit, and all that she brings to our family. Here is a look at her last two years!

The day Ciara was born......

Ciara's 1st Birthday

Ciara's 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday Ciara! We sure do love you!

The Hinckley Challenge

Seth and I are taking on the challenge of reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days. If you would like to be part of the challenge go to http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/, and sign up. But hurry the challenge begins on October 1st. I will be posting how well Seth and I are doing on the blog so you can keep track with us too!

This challenge was created right after President Hinckley's death to remember him and the great blessing that he promised us if we would only read it. So I decided to take the challenge last February and I completed it! It was such a blessing to me and to my family. For three months I read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. I understood the story line better then I ever have. I made sure that I set aside time to think, ponder, pray, and feel the spirit each day so I would complete in time. It was one of the best times in my life. I miss the feeling that I had when I so diligently read and prayed about the Book of Mormon. I am so excited to begin the challenge again and draw closer to my Heavenly Father. I am also glad that Seth signed up and wants to do this with me. I know that we will be blessed for doing something that we should already be doing.

At times like this with so many troubles and problems in the world surrounding us Heavenly Father is the only thing we can depend on and trust. I know that when we strive to do what is right and do all we can to return to live with Him then He is going to bless us. He will watch over and protect us, and though there may be hard times and struggles He will be there for us. I know that to be true.

So with that I take this challenge and challenge everyone else to take it too!!!!!!!

Our Family

Create your own family sticker graphic at pYzam.com

Climbing Devils Head

Last weekend we climbed Devils Head as a family. Devils Head is a trail that leads to a fire lookout. Once on top of the lookout you can see a 3600 panoramic view of the surrounding Pike National Forest and Plains to the east. We put Ciara in a hiking backpack and we hiked up. The trail is only 30 minutes from our home and the views are breathtaking. It was a pretty good hike and we were so proud that Ethan made it up there all by himself. Once you get to the top of the trail you then can take some stairs 200 ft above the summit to the fire lookout where you can see for miles and miles. You can see Pikes Peak, Kansas, and downtown Denver from one place. It was pretty awesome and a great family adventure.

Happy Birthday, Seth!

Yesterday was Seth's 32nd Birthday! We celebrated together all day. After Ethan went to preschool I had scheduled us to go on a tour of Mile High Stadium where the Broncos play football. We have never been to the new stadium and so I thought it would be something different to do on Seth's birthday. Even Ethan always asks when he can go to where the Broncos play when we pass it on the freeway. The tour of the stadium took 75 minutes and took us to a party suit, media rooms, locker rooms, and then right down on the field. It was really neat to be there and see that since we love our Broncos!

This is the view from one of the suites. Wouldn't that be so much fun to watch the game from here?

This is what the visiting team sees as they leave the locker room to the field.

This is the tunnel that they players run through to the field. Seth could be a football player, don't you think?

After taking our tour we went to see Kung Fu Panda as a family. It was such a cute movie. We then went to dinner and then to my parents for cake and presents.

I made Seth a football cake for our football themed day.

I thought the cake turned out pretty good. I didn't have 32 candles so there is three candles on one side and two on the other.

After the cake it was time for presents. Seth got a lot of really nice clothes and some golfing stuff.

It was a very nice day. We were able to spend the entire day together as a family celebrating a wonderful husband and father. We love you, Seth! Happy Birthday!

Swimming Lesson's

On Monday was Ethan's first swimming lesson, and he did GREAT! I signed him up at the local rec center for swimming lessons on Monday and Wednesday mornings. He was so excited to go and got right in and did great. This week they have worked on blowing bubbles, holding your breath for 10 seconds, floating on your back, and swimming underwater while moving your arms.

Ciara and I love to sit at the edge of the pool and watch Ethan. He is such a confident boy. It amazes me at how well he does in new situations. On the first day he did not act shy, or bashful, or intimidated. I also notice how considerate he is of others. He always lets others go first whether it is jumping in the pool, or going down the slide. He makes sure that he is always doing the right thing.

Ethan was so proud of himself after his first lesson, and I was so proud to be his mom!

Get ready, set......

JUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!