Four Generations of Formidable Women

Hey, we came from 3 states to take this picture, be impressed! I'll have to figure out the miles...

I love these women, they have shaped me and my life in countless ways...

Cousins by Birth, Friends by Choice

One of the best parts of this last weekend was getting to spend time with my cousin Emilie and her kids. No matter where in the world she or we may be, I know that she's always there for me! Someday we'll live closer, I hope!!

It was fun to see our daughters also develop a friendship. Piper keeps asking to play with her "cous-hin Tink."

A Few More Wedding Pictures...

Isn't our new brother-in-law a cutie?! Doug is thrilled to finally have a brother-in-law, someone else to share our crazy family with. His first question was, "What sports does he play?" They got along great, and have a lot to catch up on. Also, here's the nieces and nephews that the new couple inherited...it's pretty impressive!

Wedding For a Two Year Old

Piper has spent the last few months going around saying, "I'm going to wear a white dress to the temple and I'm going to marry a prince!" She was so excited beyond all belief to actually be at the temple grounds to see her aunt Lindsay get married to a prince! She had so mch fun with her cousin Jadee and carrying her bouquet around. Thanks to Grandma Higley (Cows) who picked out such a lovely dress and thought to make her the flowers. I actually had to pry them out of her hands in her sleep. The only disappointment came when she realized that SHE wasn't getting to marry a prince that day. Oh, and she informed Daddy that I married a prince, (She's seen my wedding pictures), but when asked, "Daddy's not a prince, daddy's a DADDY!"

Family Pictures...oops!

Ok, I thought this was hilarious! Nearly all of us have our eyes closed, many are talking, no one is looking at the camera, we're all making odd faces, and my slip is showing...

nice family pictures!

Wedding Bliss!

After 11 years of being the only married sister, Lindsay is married! And what a gorgeous bride she made! We endured wind, cold, rain, and even snow, but it was still a wonderful weekend. Lindsay and Karl Young were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. We were thrilled to be a part of it and to celebrate with them and all of my 6 brothers and sisters. And cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents...it was quite a party! Here's a few of the favorite pictures!

Impressive Photos...if I may say so!

Ok, so I'm the first to admit that I don't take great pictures. I try and try, but I usually end up a bit disapointed that they're not as great as I'd hoped. However, I was thrilled with these! I guess I've learned now that I need to change subjects! Forget humans, especially kids, I'll stick with these natural beauties! They don't move, complain, or make terrible faces.

April Fun

Monte participated in the First Grade Music program with his class. It was all about America and was wonderful! I like how the other students helped Monte make a circle...see picture. Also, we've spent quite a bit of time at the St. Louis Zoo inbetween appointments, here's a few more fun pictures! Finally, we went to a special cemetary in Salt Lake City and found most of the prophets, we enjoyed the walk, and the kids looked cute!

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get "Crafty"

So if you were wondering how I've been spending my time lately, here's a few visual explanations. I've been using my resourses and talents (thanks to many Utah Enrichment activities and talented friends who have taught me these skills!!) to make a little extra money. I made the bags with matching magnets and thank-you cards for Monte's assistants at school for "Para-Appreciation Day." They loved them and it hardly cost me anything. I also got a huge order (mostly on comission, but still!) for bracelets, headbands, and bows for a photography studio. It's all on display at Branson Photo, if you live locally. She wanted everything BIG and with BLING BLING!! So, here's what I put together. Hey, if you like it, let me know. My only feedback was from Doug (looks great) and from Piper (I want it, I want to wear it, I'm finished with it). And if you want to buy something...I'm your gal. Baby and toddler bracelets, can be made with real crystal or real pearls priced from $12-$18. Headbands and clips, $4-$8. Custom orders, creative orders, all available.
My company name is Sparkles
by Claire

Easter Fun

We did Easter Branson Style. We chose 3 different egg hunts to go to, each with their own perks (there were several more, but we had plenty of candy!). The first had games, tons of food, and several hunts. We used it as a way to get out of the house inbetween Conference Sessions. Piper and I did the egg spoon walk, which she figured out was much easier when you carried the egg in one hand and the spoon in the other. We also did a cupcake walk with Monte. His chair took up 3 spots, but it still took about 10 minutes to win. Piper loved the big Easter Bunny, I think she thinks it's Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. Best of all was the cotton candy, we all love it. The second one was just for Piper, and it was at the school. She was so cute, we arrived just in time for the hunt, she just watched everyone else pick up eggs. She ended up with plenty of candy though, and had a great time posing with the bunny again and licking the frosting off the cookies. About 20 min into the party she said "All done. Let's go see Monte." We took a trip to his library, then met him for lunch. She loves to spend time with him at school. She's convinced that she's missing out and she's ready to enroll herself. Good thing she's only 2! I'm not ready to have both of them in school. The final hunt was pretty incredible. They'd roped off the field into huge sections and had a helicopter hover over the fields, dropping thousands of eggs. We were late getting there, and watched the helicopter flying past us on our way, just sure that we'd missed it. But we made it! Monte loved the sound, as I knew he would, and Piper thought the eggs falling out was hilarious. We somehow ended up at the front of the pack. I had Piper pick up about 8 eggs, then said "we have enough, let's let the other kids have them." We noticed a few kids without any eggs, and Piper graciously shared hers. I was impressed with the organizers, they had huge buckets of candy to make sure every child had enough.

On Sunday I wanted to make sure that we were teaching the right message. I asked Piper what Easter was about. She said, "Eggs, and CANDY!!" Oops. So we had a nice lesson about what Easter was really celebrating and showed her lots of pictures of Christ. She seemed to understand, and told it back to me nicely. We were also blessed to participate in a 6 state Stake Conference Broadcast with President Monson. Before the broadcast began, they displayed a large picture of Christ on the screen. Piper watched for a bit, then yelled out, "Mom, Jesus NAKEY!" (Mom, Jesus is naked). Again, oops. I explained that he wasn't naked, he was wearing a robe, a kind of dress that men wear. "Jesus is wearing a dress??!" Time to change the subject. She later held her Easter bonnet by the strap and carried it around saying loudly, "time to go shopping." I hope the other ward members know us well enough to know we don't shop on Sunday, but oh, well.
Doug's mom also surprised us with an Easter box, filled with tons of candy, including Jelly Belly's (reminicent of those served at our wedding reception), a cool tactile egg decorating kit, and a special new Winnie the Pooh DVD. Doug spread it around the room, allowing the kids to do our own hunt (being as the weather was rainy and freezing). Piper was so excited! She squealed and tried to go immediately. She quickly loaded up her basket, than sat down and unwrapped about 6 chocolates before choosing to eat only the peanut butter cups. Monte shook the ones with jelly beans over and over, then ate a big handful as well. We allowed them to eat the ones they chose and watch the movie after we decorated eggs as a family. What a special week!

The first two pictures are Piper in a dress given to Jadee by my mom, then passed by Heidi down to us. So cute! She loves it, especially the matching hat.