June was full of Family, Friends, Travel, a Wedding, Vacation, I need a break from break!

Summer break from the office for a whole 10 days.  I'm super excited and ready to put my house back together and lounge.  No early mornings where I have to wake the girls up.  I get to take naps, when they do of course.  I'm ok with that.  Unfortunately, Joel still has to work. If only this were the way things really happened.  I think I cam back more exhausted from vacation that from regular life!

We visited with Grandpa Clarke and Margaret on the way up to Tyler's wedding.  We put together a quilt for Emi and tied it.  They showed me how to sew the bias stripping on and finish it.

Working on it at the DMV.  It was a beautiful edge/corner.  I know it may sound weird but sometimes I feel like my Grandma Clarke is still helping me learn things.  I started off the binding and it didn't look pretty, but eventually things morphed, I started figuring out ways to make it look better and be stronger.  I'm pretty sure that wasn't just me.  Thank you.  I know I'm learning a few years later but better now than never.

I also started tinkering with making my own diaper covers.  The first couple turned out okay and they are functional but the ones that have come after are much better.  Although I killed my first sewing machine.  It will no longer keep it's tension.  I used it till it died.  Now I'm on the hunt for a new to me/used Bernina.

Friday morning I answered a call from the Local #88 Welding Union in Vegas.  They were looking for Joel but he was in Tyler's wedding.  They asked me to have him call back.  I remembered at the luncheon to tell Joel.  He about jumped out of his skin with excitement and ran off immediately, didn't even get his lunch. the back story on that.  3-4 months ago, Joel applied for the local welding union.  He got a job offer first with Western States Contracting.  He enjoys his job, playing with the tonka toys but he wants to weld and the outside Vegas heat is getting to him.  The union sent him a letter asking him to come and take the math and reading test.  He passed that and was moved on to the oral interview.  Western States told him that they would give him a raise to match the starting wage of the union but they didn't want him to go to the oral interview.  He said if they had the raise done before the interview he wouldn't interview.  Well, they waited to long and Joel went to interview.  His interview went well he thought.  He received a letter the next week saying he hadn't been accepted into the program.  That was Tuesday.  He was on a waiting list and welcome to apply again in another month.  The call came Friday extending the offer.  Some of the people accepted couldn't pass a drug test.

He is excited because he will be trained and certified in what he loves to do.  It will give him the start of an education and within 2 years after completing his 4 years he will have accrued enough hours to be a master Welder.  Then he can go anywhere because he'll have the paperwork, not just the experience.

Traveled to Utah for Tyler's wedding.  We stayed with Danny Knighton.  He and his Wife Stephi just had a baby 3 months ago.  It was fun hanging out in the evenings once the crazy day mellowed out.  Emi learned how to climb up stairs.  Hailey went almost a whole day without a nap, she was one cranky girl at moments during the after temple pictures and at the reception.  It was hard to find times to nap and eat at regular times.  Eventually Hailey decided to take food into her own hands.  There were gooddie bags at the reception.  She would go around and find other kid's bags that they hadn't finished and eat their treats.  We try really hard to not give her sweets all the time, but she knows what they are!

The photos kind of describe the captions perfectly... Joel and Tyler, What are you doing?! :)

 With everything that was going on, Hailey refused to nap.  She was beyond tired to say the least.  We tried making her a bed on the grass but she refused.  She wouldn't sleep in the pack in play in the church.  She wanted to be a part of everything, but her 2 year old body just couldn't handle it all! lol

Danny Knighton and wife Stephi

Learning to crawl up stairs. :)

 We stopped and visited with Randy Smith and the Family.  It was as people packed vacation! Loved it.

We found a Leathbee's Ice Cream Parlor in West Jordan.  It was delicious!  Joel ordered a chocolate marshmallow caramel shake.  It was good!

Dana surprised us by flying into Vegas after Tyler's wedding.  She stayed for 3 days.  It was fun having her stay.  She was waiting at our door Sunday night when we got into town.  It was a late night to start and we still didn't go to bed till even later!  I'm grateful that she came into town.  It was fun shopping.  Dana watched the girls while I went to the DMV and registered our car.

Dana, Mom, Hailey, Emi and I all went out for a day's adventure. We went to the Flamingo to look at the birds and then we walked over to the Bellagio to see the flower garden.  It was too hot out to see the water show.  Hailey enjoyed the birds.  I think my mom went even more nuts.  When you first walk into the exhibit they have Macaws that you can take pictures with and hold.

Apparently Hailey wasn't really interested in the down under the sea motif, all she cared about were the bubbles.  Stopping to take a picture wasn't her idea.  Can you tell.  After the gardens, Dana stopped and got ice cream at her favorite Jean Paul place.  We won't show you pictures of the girls and ice cream because we already know that that creates mania!

Took Emi swimming for the first time.  She had a blast.  Hailey still loves the water but loves to be on the step and playing there.  They both crashed hard after swimming.



We made salsa!  The San Miguel Community Garden is exploding.  We have made strawberry jam, and now salsa and tomato juice.  NExt will be pizza sauce and hopefully stewed tomatoes.  Yum!

 Yep, I'm eating a whole tomato!  I don't even mind the bib!

I'm sure there are many more things that I could write about, but pictures are just going to have to do.

Wrestling!

 Hailey is fast becoming a drama queen.  

There is a reason that we call her chunky.  She loves food.  Nectarines, tomatoes, yogurt and everything! 

 It's been over 100-115 degrees for the past month. We had to drain our pool.  Hailey was playing out there but Joel didn't realize just how hot it was.  Hailey came in and crashed. She spiked a fever over 102.  She was hot and cranky and we didn't know what was going on.  Apparently the heat got to her and stressed her poor little body.  She enjoyed 2.5 days of watching movies.

 Since it's been so hot, I decided to lighten the load.  B-bye 8 inches. Hello much cooler.  It's kind of nice having short hair again.  Much easier to maintain and get ready in the morning.

Gotta love sleeping baby pictures.

Thoughts from a Father on Father's Day

June 21, 2015

            Today is father’s day.  This is the third Father’s day that I have been able to celebrate since Hailey’s birth in 2013. And to be honest it was just the way I like my holidays. Nice and chill with almost no rush, a nice dinner, and enjoying my children. Hailey has been ill all day and running a fever. Guess I let her have too much sun on Saturday afternoon and it did not go well. Just like me.  It has opened up an opportunity that I don’t get to have very often. To give one of my daughters a father’s blessing.

            To those of my friends who are not religious or have no belief in my faith I hope and pray that you will have an understanding heart and mind.

            A priesthood blessing to me is a chance to stand in my heavenly fathers and my elder brothers place and bless those around me whom I love and care about. And do as I know that they would do if they where here in my place. The gospel of Christ, in truth, is about learning to serve your fellow man and to love them. By doing so you learn of God, and you learn to love Him in the process. There is no greater feeling in my limited experience as opening up your soul to the feelings and dictates that the Spirit of God gives to you to bless and help his children. And as a father I feel truly blessed for one thing. How open He is with me in those moments, and how he shows me just what wonderful gifts he has given me through my children.

            Each time I place my hands on either one of my daughter’s heads I feel like I get a small glimpse into who they are going to become and how they can be used in the future to bless many tens of thousands of people. I know it sounds weird. But in my heart of hearts I know that I am going to be there as my family makes a huge difference in the hearts of many. Hailey was one of the chosen and one of the brightest stars in the pre-mortal world. I know that she had great faith in the plan of our heavenly parents and defended it even though she had many friends walk away. I know how much that pained her. And I know how much she wants to find them hear. She may never understand how I know all this but for the simple explanation that God wanted me to know just who He sent here and for it to be a drive for me to live up to having such a wonderful and power filled child.  A reason to strive to be a better father and live up to yet another pair of shoes I could never hope to fill on my own. I wish I could ask my own earthly father if he ever had such hopes and feelings about me.  And weather or not I even come close.

            It fills me with joy to know that I will be able to see most of this during my lifetime here on earth. To be there cheering on both of my children as they walk steps that not even I could. To watch them be stronger that I could ever hope to be in body, mind, and spirit. What a blessing to me.

             I know my father in heaven lives. And I know he loves me by his actions toward my family. I hope and pray for all of my family, those who are by family relation and those whom I’ve adopted.

Our little brown baby playing in the water while we drained the pool.

 This was Hailey's first ice cream cone.  Think she enjoyed it?

 Dana could only find this cart at Trader Joes.  Hailey didn't mind.  Hailey and Bella at the splash pad.

Big girl bed is going well.

 Emi learned that she could crawl in, under, and through the coffee table.  It had become a jungle gym of sorts.  They enjoy pushing the table up with their feet.

Amazing, I'm actually in a picture!

           Shannon brought gogurts to the splash pad.  Both babies love    them!