Holy Cow!!

"Holy Cow!! What are they thinking??" These are my thoughts today!! I went to my first PTA meeting this morning. After complaining to a friend in our ward that has served on PTA board, she introduced me to some of the people on this years board. She put a good word in for me apparently because they just asked me to be the Presidental Elect. Which in PTA terms, follow the PTA President this year and become the PTA President next year. Really?? Okay, I have to admit, it sure did make me feel good for the day. But after a few conversations with my husband and my friend Allison(who put the good word in for me), I decided I had to decline. I am super nervous to tell the PTA President I can't. As much fun as it sounds, I have so many reasons why I can't do it. First of all, this is my first year in PTA. My mom never did PTA. I don't know all that it involves. Secondly, I don't know the people in PTA that well. I am one that wants everything to go well and if I don't know the people and don't know know how if I can rely on them then I know I will end up doing it myself. I know, a fault of mine that I need to overcome. Trust people with huge duties!! Lastly, I am not sure if Bentley will be attending this school next year. Plus, Nephi wants me to save some time for him :)

I sure felt like I was on cloud nine. I went from complaining about not being Bentley's room mom to here, you can PTA President next year!! It was a nice thought but I have to stick to my gut feeling and not accept. Wish me luck in telling the PTA President :)

Relief Society General Conference

What an uplifting evening! Our stake was given tickets to go see the Relief Society General Conference live in the Conference Center. It was an amazing night! My friend Coleen, and my mother-in-law Opal, came with me. I had such great company and the spirit was present. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me. That He cares about me and what I am going through. We have such great leaders of our church. I went away knowing that my Heavenly Father understands the struggles I go through and wants to help me. He hasn't forgotten about me! What a great reminder! I love my family! I am grateful for my husband who takes care of me. I am so happy that I got to go with my mother and my friend! Thanks Coleen and Opal for taking the time to come with me! It was a wonderful evening and something I really needed in my life.

Graham Family

Can I tell you how lucky I am? I love getting to know families! Photography is a GREAT way of getting to know people and their families. This wonderful example of a woman in my ward, asked me if I would take some pictures for her in-laws 50th Anniversary. Of course, I couldn't say no! I had so much fun taking these pictures! I had fun taking the individual families and these group ones. It was such a nice day and who doesn't like a stroll in the park! I had fun with this setting. Thanks Kim! Your family is amazing! It was a fun day at Murray Park!!

Bentley's Friend Tierstyn

What a fun day it has been!! Bentley was invited to her first birthday this school year. She got to go to Tierstyn's Birthday. Bentley was so excited to go and meet new and old friends. She got to play on the playground, eat pizza and have cake. What could be better than that? I sure had fun hanging out with my new sister, Tara. What an amazing mom Tierstyn has!!! It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. Thanks Tara!! Happy Birthday Tierstyn!!

GREAT WEEKEND!!

What a wonderful weekend it has been!! I got my nieces Hannah, Madison and Abby and my nephew Aaron for the weekend. We went to Aaron's flag football and Madi's soft ball game on Saturday. Then ended up with pizza for lunch and dinner. We got to go visit Grandma B and pick some of her pears. Plus ice cream for desert.

Then Sunday, we all got to watch Bentley in the Primary program. I am so proud of that girl. She loves to speak loudly in the microphone but it makes everyone giggle. She said her part and sang the songs. Its so much fun to see her take part in something.

After church, we had lasagna for lunch. Madi loves lasagna and was so excited to have it! She told me that mine was as good as her mothers. Which is a great compliment since her mother is one amazing cook. We watched some fun Disney movies and went to the new park. Then everyone went home. It was nice to have our home filled with family and kids.

It was a GREAT WEEKEND!!

Allison and Abby

I was SUPER-DUPER excited to do Allison and Abby's pictures today! These two are the cutest, kindest, intelligent and fun little girls! We met at the Oquirrh Mountain temple and just had fun! Susan(their mother) was in Activity Days with me before they moved this past summer. I was so sad that they decided to leave. Susan would bring these two with her, even though they weren't 8 yet but very close. Before they moved, Susan talked about making a special video for their baptism and having some pictures done. I was thrilled when Susan emailed me to have their pictures done. They were so outgoing and willing to try anything even in the cold. I had so much fun taking their pictures. I haven't seen them dressed alike so I was very happy that their mom put them in two different necklaces. I enjoyed my time with them, getting to know their personalities. They are just so wonderful to each other. I love that they are instant best friends and sisters. I had to much fun today! I am so happy that Allison and Abby want to be baptized. What a special day they will have ahead of them. Thanks Allison and Abby!

Primary Program

Primary Program is on Sunday! We hadn't gotten Bentley's part until last Sunday due to us being gone the past couple of weeks and missing the Primary President. While I have been trying to help Bentley learn her part in such a short amount of time before their Primary program practice tonight, she started to mix up her part with her teachers name. Bentley's part was "Our prophet today is President Thomas S. Monson." Instead she kept telling me "Our prophet today is President Thompson." Oh, I laughed so hard when she told me that. I guess its a good sign that her teacher, Mrs. Thompson, has left a good impression on Bentley. I thought it was too cute!

Hopping on One Foot!!

I wanted to write how much fun I had today! Sprain ankle or not, I went to school and helped with Bentley's class again. The kids had PE and has we were coming back, Mrs. Thompson told the class to follow me back to the class. Their legs are a bit faster than mine, so I decided to hop on one foot. Then I told all of the class to hop on one foot! They just LOVED it! I am glad no one was around to see how funny I looked but I loved seeing all of the kids faces trying to hop on one foot. I was definitely able to get back to the classroom quicker! It was just one of the many highlights of my week!!

Cute Ladies!!

I just wanted to post a couple of pictures that I had taken at Kelley's Bridals. I love these pictures that I got with Kelley and her niece Shannon. Shannon is wearing the dress that Kelley wore at Shannon's mother's wedding. I thought it was so cute that Shannon had cowboy boots just like her Aunt Kelley. Again, I just wanted to show some fun pictures that I got of the two of them! Shannon was so cute with Kelley! I had so much fun with the both of them!!

Kelley's Bridals

I got the fun opportunity to go to Brigham City tonight and take some of Kelley's bridals. I thought she was just gorgeous! I loved that she had Cowboy boots as her shoes! I loved being able to go to a couple of places there in Brigham and get some fun shots! I did my best on one foot and I think her pictures are just beautiful! I had fun with Kelley and her family! I am glad I got to come up and take come fun pictures!

New Shoes!!

Saturday night, Nephi took me to the Nike outlet store in Jordan Landing. Everyone keeps saying I should invest myself into some good running shoes. For the past two years or so, I have started running. I hated running in High School but these past few years, it was been a great way to relieve stress and work out. My past shoes have come from either Walmart or Payless. Not necessarily bad but after a while, they start to hurt my feet and just aren't very good shoes. So I was excited to get me a new pair. I decided I like the Nike shoes with a little bit of pink. Bentley just LOVES pink and I thought maybe she would be proud of me in pink. I got them Saturday night and couldn't wait for Monday morning, to get up early to try them out.

Come Monday morning, I woke up early. I was suppose to meet Angie around 6:40am to go walking. So I got up at 6am and thought I could get a couple of miles in before meeting up with her. As I took off with the wind in my hair, I was enjoying this new experience. As I started up hill about 5 blocks away from my house, I trip! I don't know what happened, I don't remember falling. I remember running and then kissing the cement. I hurried and got up. As I was getting up, I realized my left foot was hurting and BAD!! I took my shoe off and sat on the curb for a good 5 minutes. I realized that the pain wasn't going to stop. I knew I had to meet Angie at 6:40am and didn't have my phone with me. I got up and started hobbling home as quickly as I could. I even tried the one foot hop for a block. All I knew was I needed to get home and that my foot was in pain. Once home, I called Angie then woke up my husband. He got the bandage out and wrapped it for me. Can I tell you how much I wanted to cry? Not only for the pain but also because I didn't have time to be hurt. This week was one of my busiest weeks and I couldn't be laid up(I am very stubborn about being hurt!! Don't like it one bit!!).

I knew I had sprained my ankle and had decided to not go to the doctor. I elevated my foot and put ice on it. Right before Bentley was suppose to come home, Nephi suggested that I make a doctors appointment to have it checked out to make sure it wasn't broken. I sure didn't want to go, but thought if my husband thought I should go, then I should go. I tried to convince my husband to take me to my afternoon appointment but he wanted to go to work. So Nephi told Tierstyn's(Bentley's friend at school) mom that I needed a ride. Then he told the neighbor friend too! He was kind enough to ask for some help with me. I was upset at first that he didn't want to take me, but then I soon realized that he did care about me and found me a way. I have to say, I have the BEST people around me. Kara, my neighbor, took me to my doctors appointment and even offered to stay with me and cancel her piano lessons. I told her no, just a ride there would be helpful. Then Tara, Tierstyn's mom, picked me up from my appointment. Tara is one busy mom with 7 girls, so I am grateful she took time to help me out. I have the BEST people around me :)

I have to admit one thing. If I ever get hurt, I will try and see my doctor before going to the ER. I thought my appointment might be an hour but it only took a half hour. That was seeing the doctor, having my foot x-rayed and back to the doctor. I love my Doctors office! The wait was minimal and I was on my way! Doctors office are A LOT better than ERs.

So now, here I sit. Bitterly. I decided that I am going to take this time and be lazy. Hurt foot means getting nothing done. Which, I know can't last too long but I am a bit upset at myself. I think my shoes are still pretty but now they get to sit and wait for me. I hope that you have a better day then I do. Watch out for those new shoes!!

Timothy Bentley

I am so proud of my brother Timothy Morrell Bentley! Today, my nephew Tyler Kent Bentley baptized his father, Timothy Bentley. What an amazing spirit that was present while this took place. After Tim was given the Holy Ghost and he began to bear his testimony, I don't think there was a dry eye in that room. The Spirit let everyone know what this man was doing, was what the Lord wanted Tim to do. I feel so blessed to witness my brother being baptized back into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This was a very uplifting and spiritual day for me and my family. I know that my mother was there and watching excitedly for my brother. I am so proud of my older brother deciding and working towards this goal. I look forward to seeing him in the temple someday. Families CAN Be Together Forever!! Love you Tim!!

Three Lovely Ladies!!

Bentley's first play date with two of her school friends(Hannah and Tierstyn). What a fun day it has been. Horrible mother I am, didn't get pictures of the three of them. It was so much fun to go and meet them at the school. We all walked home and all three of them help hands. They talked about what they were going to do. They were excited to be together and go to Bentley's house. I love kids!! I love their innocence and their excitement about life. They don't judge each other but just have fun!

Once we got home, we had some chocolate milk. They played and read books. I made lunch and they all wanted to watch Spongebob Square Pants. Then they got a fresh cooked cookie and just enjoyed each other. I love listening to their pretend stories or make believe world.

This was a great ending to Bentley's Friday. I am so happy, I got three lovely ladies at my house. I hope to see them more often :)

Things Aren't Going Liked I Planned....

So do you ever have one of those days when you have the whole day planned and then everything falls through? Then you realized after the fact, you could have gone here but you didn't and then find yourself at your child's school for their carnival? Then in the middle of finding yourself at the carnival, you get that phone call you anticipated which ended up in bad news? Well, that was my day!! Might sound confusing, but it felt just as confusing. In the end though, we went to Bentley's school. She got to climb up a huge shark and slide down his mouth, she went inside a caterpillar, she got to bounce with the pirates and ride a train. What a busy night it ended up being but oh, did she have fun! I love that even when I get crappy news right in the middle of everything, Bentley can still give me a hug and let me know everything is okay. I have the BEST daughter in the world. She is going to be a wonderful sister someday. She loves helping others and enjoys her life as it comes. I am so grateful that Bentley came to me and even in the world wind of life, she can make the most craziest days GREAT. I am glad that this is where we ended. I love to see my child laugh and have fun. This is what I want out of life!!

Camping at Soap Stone

I can't believe it, but Nephi said "YES" to camping. We weren't going camping in our backyard either, we actually left our house to go camping. Sorry about the dramatics but really this was a huge weekend for us!!

The Jepperson and Funk family invited us to come with them. Oh, I am so grateful we went. It was so nice to get away and enjoy nature. The first afternoon, when we got there, we went to see a couple of waterfalls. Then we headed for fishing. Nephi and I just lounged and talked while everyone else fished. It was just so peaceful to have the sounds of the great outdoors. The second day, we had the most amazing breakfast and took a walk by the river. We had our Sunday lesson and took a nap. Then we got ourselves ready for the water and went back to the river. Nephi and my plan was to just soak the feet. After slipping in, I decided I really needed a bath ;) Nephi didn't want to be left out and went all in. It was refreshing to get into the river water. Then we spent a few hours just drying off and finding cool rocks in the water. Some of the Jepperson daughters had fun climbing back and forth from shore to shore. I love the picture we got of them. I love that they are wearing the Primary colors of red, blue and yellow!! That evening, we had smores and roasted several items. It was so much fun! The kids even went snipe hunting. The third day came way to fast. We got up, backed our items and left for home.

It was a fun weekend of camping. I made some amazing friends that I now call family. Their kids were so wonderful and kind to each other and to us. Bentley loved spending the weekend, playing with the dogs that were brought. There were plenty of kids but the dogs was Bentley highlight of the whole trip!! Okay, maybe she enjoyed sleeping in the tent beyond her own back yard. It was the camping experience that we needed as a family! Camping was amazing! Soap Stone Campground was the place we needed to be!!

Congratulations Zack!!

What an uplifting morning! Our cute neighbor boy Zack was baptized today. It was so fun to see him be baptized by his father. I look forward to the day when Bentley decides to be baptized by her father. What a wonderful choice to make. What a great gift, you receive after you are baptized, the Holy Ghost. I know that I have a testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to be baptized when I was 8. Congratulations again Zack!!

School ROCKS!!

I love Volunteering! Today, after a couple of days of not feeling needed and lonely for Bentley. I decided to volunteer in Bentley's class. Can I say, I LOVE IT!! The kids are super cute. I love to see them interacting with each other. I love being to help out and feel needed in the classroom. I can tell you, teachers are amazing!! I am not sure how Mrs. Thompson does it all. I feel like I should be there everyday to help. Thats why I told her that I would come twice a week. Maybe I should do more...... :D I just hope I can remember all of the kids' names. Those teachers are just amazing, let me tell you!!

Also, it was picture day! If you know me, you know I can't resist taking pictures of Bentley. I decided last year, I would do what my neighbor does for pictures. Instead of purchasing the schools picture, I will go out and take my own pictures and use those on my wall. I did purchase a class picture. So I got out my camera and took Bentley's picture before going to school.

While volunteering, I got to take the kids down to the gym to have their pictures taken. I had fun talking to the Bell employee about what kind of cameras they use. Oh, how I loved it!!

Today was just a fun day! I love school! I hope I can instill that attitude into Bentley. So far, I think I have :D