Mother's Day in Colorado

We woke up this morning to a snow/rain mix that has been falling all day long.  Everything is blooming and spring is definitely here.  I went for a walk with the girls around the neighborhood and it's was pretty chilly.  We sang 2 hymns in church today about sunshine.  It's a term that applies to Colorado (average of 300 days of sunshine per year) but it didn't quite seem right considering the weather.  However, Mother's Day brings sunshine to my soul.  It reminds me of the all the beautiful blessings that have come into my life because of my wife and our 5-girls, my own mother and my mother-in law.  As the years have gone by, I have come to appreciate each one of them and am glad to be a part of this family.

Laura wanted a family picture to give her mother.  This is their mother's day picture.

Tim

We had an Easter egg hunt at Flander's park last Saturday.  Ginny was just happy to find two of them.  As long as they made a rattling noise (from the candy), she was happy!

Ginny in Shoes!

Our little Ginny loves to put on shoes...and off she goes!

Capturing the Moments 2013-2014

I finally had a chance to download some pictures I took of the family over the last year with my camera.  It has been fun to look back on the picture and remember the fond moments in the lives of our children and the fun times we had together as a family.  I hope you will enjoy the pictures as much as I have.

Ginny in her special chair

Ginny loves music

working on the computer

Laura at Chuck E Cheeses

Emily and Sarah paint the doll house

Emily playing flute at Trail Ridge Band Concert

Rachel's B-Day

Rachel cleaning up after Longmont Flood

Halloween.  Rachel is soooo excited.

Spring Break hike to Hanging Lake

Missionary Moment with the family

Laura's snowman

Laura building the towel of Babel

Youth Pioner Trek

This summer our oldest, Rachel, went to Wyoming and pulled and pushed a handcart 26+ miles in a dress. I know, you are probably thinking, what in the world? Every 4 years the youth ages 14-18 can participate in a reenactment of Mormon pioneers crossing the plains. They spend months physically and spiritually preparing for this "Trek."

There is a movie we love to watch called 17 Miracles. It tells the story of some of the pioneers that crossed the plains in search of religious freedom. As the title indicates it shows at least 17 of the miracles these people faced along with the tragedies. Here is a link to the movie trailer, http://www.17miracles.com/ We have a copy we can lend out if you are interested or you are welcome to come to our home and watch it with us. We feel so blessed to live in a country that allows freedom of religion.

Rachel said: "It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. I came home exhausted, filthy, and burnt to a crisp. But I absolutely loved it. I made so many new friends and strengthened other friendships. I felt the hardships and sufferings of those pioneers who came before me, trudging through an almost unbearable journey, just so I could be here.These people gave up everything for the gospel, and some gave the ultimate price of their lives. It definitely made me realize what's really important in life."

Neighborhood food drive.

We had a neighborhood food drive. Our hope was to collect food and other needs items for the community food bank. So many people are suffering from the floods in Colorado. We just felt so blessed to live in a neighborhood that did not suffer any damage from the floods and wanted to do something to help. We were so impressed with the response from those in our neighborhood. They were so kind and generous; we were able to collect 240 pounds of food and other items. We loved being able to meet most of our neighbors and love living in our neighborhood.