JoAnn's Baptism

JoAnn was baptized on March 12th at 11:00. She was able to have a double baptism with her cousin Blake. It was such an amazing day for her and for our family to remember.

Alan was able to baptize her and what an incredible feeling it is to have such a worthy priesthood holder leading our family.

Girls, girls and more girls. Jay is always quick to remind me how many girls there are on my side of the family. :) JoAnn and Savanna love it though and wouldn't change it for anything! They are going to have such a blast growing up with so many cousins.

Grandma Palmer gave the talk on Baptism and Grandpa Palmer was able to be a witness. I am so grateful that me and my family have such amazing examples to follow! We love you!

Our Year so Far

We love snow! My kids just love being able to live where they can play in the snow every now and then. This winter was such a cold one but it makes the cold worth it when you can play in the snow :)


JoAnn at the hospital. She had to get her tonsils out and did so well. Her blood work before the surgery showed that she has a Factor 5 deficiency...or she has the risk of bleeding. We were really concerned going into the surgery, and the hospital even stocked up with fresh frozen plasma. But she did incredible. The doctor said she didn't bleed anymore than a regular surgery. She did take a while to come out from the anasthesia, but even at home she did so good!

With baby number 5 on the way...I was determined to not have two in cribs :) Sara did so good at switching over to a big girl bed. She never climbed out or anything. I do have some pretty amazing kids!

I can't believe how big Jay seems to be getting. He now weighs more than JoAnn, and loves to remind her of that! He turned 6 this year and has been so good to deal with "All these girls." Even though a girl was not his first choice...he is so excited for his new little sister!


JoAnn turned the big 8 this year! She is such an amazing helper and is always willing and wanting to babysit. She always asks me if I need to go somewhere so she can watch the kids! I love you baby girl.

All my kids kept asking for this year for their birthdays were pillow pets. They are so lucky that Grandma Palmer listens so good! THANKS GRANDMA & GRANDPA

Savanna's 4! She is such a princess. She is definately a girlie girl and love anything pink! I kept asking her what she wanted for a cake and all she said was she wanted a pink, purple, and yellow cake! :()

Christmas 2010

The Wednesday before Christmas we were able to go over to Show Low and spend some time with Alan's Granny. Sara found this dog statue and wouldn't leave it alone. She thought it was so great and kept barking at it :)

Every Christmas Eve our kids get new pajamas to wear. This year I decided to just make them all new flannel pj bottoms. It was so fun and I think the kids really enjoyed them.

Of course we have to get all the stockings hung for Santa to come. This used to be my favorite tradition and I love seeing my kids have just as much fun as I did.

Growing up my family always had the tradition that we had to eat on orange on Christmas morning before we were allowed to see what Santa brought. I used to hate it and now here I am putting my kids through the same torture :) Mean mom, I know!

And Christmas morning! FINALLY. I love watching how excited kids are for Christmas. This year was a pretty simple on for us, but the kids were completely oblivious and loved everything they got!

Leaves are Falling All Around...

I love Fall. We just moved into a new house that has two huge trees in the front yard. Most people might get mad when they see the leaves...I was so excited. As soon as the trees where bare, we raked all the leaves and let the kids just jump. They all had so much fun. Sara thought it was so cool that she could fall and not get hurt and the others were having fun just playing. It is so nice to live in a place with seasons and then somewhere for the kids to play. :)

Sara's first B-day

Time flies too fast! I can't believe that she is already one. Sara had a great time getting to open her presents. When it was time for her to get her birthday cupcake though, she would not eat it. She had no desire to get messy or even take one bite!

Catching Up

Okay so I am so far behind it isn't even funny. This is just major random, but I needed to do it for journaling so please bare with me :)
Every year we do a cookout on Labor Day at Grandpa Smith. This year was Sara's first one...and she loved it. She was so dirty and loved being outside. It was perfect weather and fun to be with cousins.

This year the cows came right to where we were eating. The kids thought it was great and tried to see how close they could get :)

JoAnn and all the 2nd graders got to go to the fair to sing for their parents. She did so good and knew every song.

We were able to go to Payson and stay at the Layton cabin with alot of my family. While we were there, they decided to go swimming at a deep park in a stream...

it was FREEZING. The kids were so cold, but kept going. Savanna was the first one in, not on purpose though. She tripped while we were walking across the shallow part to the other side.

But JoAnn was the first to jump. She was awesome! After her the other kids started going. And she kept jumping in. I was sure after the first jump they would never do it again, but I forget how amazing kids are.

This is where Jay was, catching crawdads. He jumped once and said forget it! I say he is the smart one in the group :)

Can you see that none of the adults were brave enough to get in :) None except Phillip that is. He was great. He helped all the kids and stayed in just as long as they did.

First Day of School

I can't believe I have 2 in school now. Jay is loving it! He is such a bright kid and catching on so quick to reading! JoAnn is still way ahead in her class and is now a helper for other students. I thought they looked so dang cute...but it could be just me :)