Easter Sunday 2017

I do not remember what was taught on church that Easter Sunday of 2017, however I do remember the feelings that I felt. The feelings of joy, happiness and love. A peace that filled my heart after the passing of my Grandpa. Since the Savior died for everyone's sins and was resurrected, we can live with our family again.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of my kids.

These pictures remind me of the peace that is found in Christ, that our families are the most important things and that death is not the end.

Easter Morning 2017

We had a wonderful Easter morning. We were able to celebrate Easter in Utah. The kids woke up and were excited to see if the Easter Bunny came and came he did! Of course we had to line up youngest to oldest to go and see what was left behind. Cute Briggy lead the way being held by his papa.

The kids searched high and low to find what the Easter Bunny gave them.

The kids were able to find a ton of candy and toys.

It was a fun and sweet morning.

My Grandpa

A wonderful man passed away in April of 2017.  To be honest, I have struggled to find the words to express the many emotions I have felt about his passing. My grandpa was one of a kind. He had the best smile that could brighten anyone's day. He always had a firm handshake to give you when he saw you. He always encouraged Brandon and I to take care of each other. He had unwavering love for his family and the gospel. He's a true example of Jesus Christ. 

When Brandon and I were young college students, any time we would come to visit, he would put together a box of food for us to take home. He was always so kind and generous. He would give us an envelope each year for our birthday. Inside the envelope would be the money amount for how old we were turning. I received one of the very last envelopes he made to give since he passed around my birthday. 

Picture taken of Grandpa and I back in Sept. of 2009

Back in January of 2017, our family was able to travel to Utah to attend the party celebrating my grandpa turning 90, my grandma turning 85 and my grandparents 65 wedding anniversary. We are so grateful we went to celebrate these two wonderful people and the life that they have shared.

His funeral was beautiful. It was a spiritual experience to be apart of it. I learned so many new stories about my grandpa. I didn't know that he trained to be a medic in World War II. I loved hearing about the story of when he bested my dad at pull-ups on the clothes line in the back yard.  I personally loved the story that my dad shared of going through my grandpa's old journals and expenses. There was a date long ago. He bought my grandma a wedding ring. The note beside it read: "Wedding Ring for GenaVee, The one that I love."  

I loved being apart of the special musical number with my adult cousins.

I loved that we had vanilla ice cream, his favorite, for dessert after his funeral.

One of the greatest blessings in my life is to call him grandpa!

Spring Fling 2017

These two had a fabulous Spring Fling earlier during April 2017. Both Ben and Emmy worked so hard on their songs and dances. In fact, Emmy is known to sing the Star Spangle Banner randomly. Ben has been finding their dance song on youtube and practicing in our living room. Their wonderful program had a fun Olympic theme. Of course, they had to stand on the gold medal spot together. Ben and Emmy's class was chosen to represent the country of Jamaica, hence the black and yellow shirts. The kids' grade did an awesome flashlight dance that was cool to watch.They had wonderful teachers helping them and the result was a spectacular night.

Hyrum's First Solo and Ensemble Competition

In the month of April 2017, Hyrum participated in a solo competition for his baritone at our local college. He worked so hard practicing his piece. He was a little nervous, but he did such a wonderful job. Hyrum received a 1-, which is just shy of the highest score that can be given. The judge was quite pleased with Hyrum's performance and had wonderful compliments for him. The judge encouraged Hyrum to keep playing and told him that he had a talent for playing the baritone. A huge shout out to wonderful people for working with Hyrum and helping him improve his technique and for being his accompanist.

Beauty and the Beast

The girls and I were so excited to have a little date with some of our friends to go and see the movie Beauty and the Beast back in March.

The girls dressed up all fancy and were excited for an afternoon out on the town.

 We loved the show!

After the movie, we went to McDonalds' to enjoy a special treat!

It was delightful to go out with my girls and spend time with them!!