Emma Adventures

You were an excellent, enthusiastic, assistant for Grandpa as he told the story of the the old woman who swallowed the fly. You wanted to make sure everyone knew exactly which animal Grandpa was talking about! COW!!!!

You are cruise bound! We tried to take our passport photos at home, but it didn't work so well, so we ended up using the Costco folks.

You are so cool.

Working out with mama.

Another interesting ensemble put together by Emma Fashionista.

Emma, you are a hoot. You make us laugh every single day. First thing in the morning you holler "Tato!" and find the Mr. Potato Head box and start to assemble. You crack yourself up sticking five different arms or eyes into the potato head. Then you'll hand one of us the other potato telling us "You be that one." And the conversation begins. It goes something like this:

Emma: Hi!

Mom/Dad: Hi!

Emma: I'm Potato!

Mom/Dad: Hi Potato

Emma: How are you today?

And Repeat. This conversation is pretty much the same for horses, rapunzels, and any stuffed animals. Your imagination is in full force.

I've never had a child so bothered by a runny nose before. When you need a wipe, you come running towards me, hollering, "my face! my face!" Hide and go seek is also a favorite game, you tuck yourself away somewhere and yell, "Where is me? Mom! Where is me?" And you've discovered nail polish and like it alot. You are quite a beauty, and you know it. You'll frequently say "I'm beautiful, Mom. I am." And you are. You also looove water, and I need to have a sippy cup within arms reach at all times. Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what you want. Here was a conversation the other day:

Emma: Mommy, I want an apple!

Me: Emma, we are about to have lunch.

Emma: But, I'm not hungry!!

Got that? Me neither. You contradict yourself often. Dad built a tightrope in the backyard and you loved walking along it, giving the tree a huge hug when you made it to the other side. And books, books, books--you love them. You'll sit and "read" by yourself so often, it is wonderful to see. You love this book, Silly Suzy Goose, especially when Suzy says: "rooarrhonk!" That is the best part. You are such a parrot, and follow your big brother and sister in wherever they go, whatever they do, and whatever they say. Even when singing random words as loudly as you can, if you overhear any pieces of any conversations, they are instantly inserted into your song. Your songs are very entertaining. Or, as you would say, "so so so so so so so so so so so funny." But, I can't really capture the little spittle coming out of your mouth as you build up the "so" count. I can't capture many of the wonderful things you do and say. You have such a ready grin, hug, and laugh. You love to snuggle, look at horses on the computer, and are convinced that every day is your birthday and any kind of party is your birthday party. I do celebrate every day I get to be your mother. You are a delight Emma, and we love you so so so so so so so so so much.

Lucy Adventures

Enjoying the moon bounce outside Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day!
And enjoying the main attraction:

The "Worm Whisperer" at work. You love finding and digging up earthworms and can locate them in masses! And still look cute doing it. . .

Saying goodbye to the Hiatt family before they take off for Singapore for six months:

Abby, Emma, Lucy, Anna, Ike, Aaron, Jonothan

In No Particular Order. . .

Facepainting at the Malcolm Blue Farm Bluegrass Festival.

ONE BUCK!!!

And that is why rural life rocks.

Also, for 3 bucks each the kids got unlimited moon bounce time. Lucy was asleep before we got out of the parking lot.

Beautiful Brides. . . .

Lucy's first bike race. And her face makes me think it will be her last

Lucy, the "Worm Whisperer" at work. She can find them anywhere!

Early Morning Character Building

Teaching this large, combined seminary class was one of the more difficult experiences of my life. But, it was also incredibly rewarding. So many students resented combining classes and broke through several walls to really come together and have some beautiful experiences together. I liked them, I loved them, I learned from them, and I truly enjoyed them. I went to their football games, orchestra concerts, and wrestling matches. We ate donuts together, had popcorn smoothie parties while watching "Jonny Lingo," and most importantly felt the Spirit together every single day. I thank the Lord for trusting me enough to teach these youth. I could not have done it without Daman. Seminary is a full family calling!!!