Ahhh, Summertime.

If you are like us, summer is going by way too quickly. I love summer-always have! And yes, it is going by way too quickly! I just wanted to post a few pictures of our activities the past few weeks. We've been having an amazing time. Still a few weeks left-we're going to try to live it up to the fullest so that before "life" starts again, we've made lots of memories!

Boating with the Nulph's.

Our kids hadn't been on a boat before so we weren't sure what to expect. (Parker asked me if it was the kind of boat that is big and white and has games on it-a cruise ship! Not quite yet!) They all LOVED it! They got to ride on the tube and just had a ball! Pacie's teeth were "shaking" a bit...but we all had fun! Thanks again Tyler and Devri!

We had visitors from England come and stay with us for a week. Scott was able to baptize a golden lady named Doreen. In September, we went back to England to be a part of her wedding to Don. They came and visited in April and decided to come back again to visit Yellowstone. We were their tour guides! We stayed at our little cabin for a couple of nights and saw the sights of Yellowstone. We had a great time! Cooking hot dogs and S'mores was probably the highlight for the kids! Presley had her first marshmallow-which obviously she loved!

We saw Old Faithful, lots of animals, and went into Mammoth, which was a new part of the park for me. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we had visitors or we probably wouldn't have gone this summer. The girls found giant dandilions to blow- We also visited the paint pots, which is basically boiling mud. Even the ground was super hot! And my favorite part of the day, was the the English pronounce "geyser" like "geezer", so all day long, Don, who is super funny anyway was making jokes about "the old geezer at the geyser (pronounced geezer).

Randomness- Presley lookin good! Watching the Hannah Montana 3-D concert with the Sweet's kids, Rilee and Brody, what we look like to our kids, the budding photographers, and a toy built for two! Landon is so good to share with Presley!

And FINALLY! It's official! Presley is walking!! Just in time for her first birthday too! Starting off by the couch, she takes off, a short pit stop squat and then, she did it! Yea! How cute is she?

Pictures from San Francisco

"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

Time to blog " the trip!" Rachel, Bergin, my mom and I all got to go to San Francisco for week! Mom called us on Friday and asked if we would be able to get away for a week for our upcoming birthdays. I asked her when and she said, SUNDAY! So, in a day and a half, I talked to Scott who graciously said that he would stay home with the kids so that I could go and play. (Thanks to those who helped watch our kids so that Scott could work!) We got things put together and left Sunday afternoon about 5:00. We stayed in Reno, NV the first night which is about an 8-9 hour drive. The next morning, we were up and off to SFO, which is about 3 hours from Reno. What a beautiful place! Neither of us girls had been there before, but it is one of my parent's favorite places to go...and now I see why! It is so beautiful. The weather was a lot colder than we expected it to be...the high only reaching about 63 the entire time we were there. (So excuse the same clothes in practically every picture-we each only packed one pair of capris and one sweatshirt..) We had an amazing time. Shopping and seeing the sights and just being together. It is our first real "girls only" trip. While we had such a wonderful time, I did miss my kids (a little) and Scott ( a lot) and now I can't wait to take him back to San Fran to show him the city I literally fell in love with! Thank you so much, mom, for such an amazing trip. We had so much fun. And thanks again to our families for being generous enough to let us go and get away. I came back a changed person.

Pacie's big day!

We started the day off with Birthday cereal (a tradition carried down from my family!) and making the requested cake, The Littlest Pet Shop. We gave her 2 sets of pets (beach variety) and then did a theme cake from there. Grandma Landon was gracious enough to watch the 2 younger kids so that we could go see "Wall-E"-also Pacie's choice! We had so much fun and loved the movie and the treats! Home again to have hamburgers and then cake and ice cream. The kids played dress-up and just had fun! Thanks to our family that called to remember Pacie on her special day! It means the world. It was a quiet day with just our little family, but it was super fun! We are getting together with more family this weekend to continue the celebration. Pics to follow!

Pacie Turns Five!

It's hard for me to believe that our sweet little Pacie is five years old. She truly is a joy to have in our home and we feel so blessed that she is ours!

Pacie was born on July 9, 2003 at 8:14 pm. She had a lot of black hair, which we loved! She weighed in at 8 lbs, 4 oz and was 21 inches long. (Our biggest baby to date) She was an easy baby right from the start! Parker was thrilled to have a new baby sister and even though she was only 17 months old, the bond that they now share and cultivate started right when Pacie was born. As soon as she found her fingers, two of them were in her mouth until she turned 4. She'd only suck on them when she was going to sleep or in the car. I thought she'd be going to school doing it, but she decided to stop sucking and start biting her nails instead. Pacie got super chubby! More than any of our kids have. We loved it though. Here are a few pictures of our Little Nissers in her early years. And a tribute from her biggest fans....her family. We love you, Pacie!

Right after Pacie was born, Parker came in to see her new sister. Blessing day, and first pictures with Parker. (She was about 6 weeks old.)

First Halloween and First Birthday. I know that Presley looks a lot like Parker did, but I see a lot of her in these pictures of Pacie too!

At Tyler and Ashlee's wedding, second birthday and at around age 1. I love her smile and her little chubby cheeks!

5 Things Scott loves about Pacie

1. She's beautiful.

2. She is sweet.

3. She is smart.

4. She is kind.

5. She is loving.

5 Things Parker loves about Pacie

1. She shares her toys.

2. She wakes me up most days.

3. She is nice to me.

4. She makes me laugh.

5. She is my best friend and always talks to me.

5 Things I love about Pacie

1. Her sense of humor. Pacie is one of the wittiest children I know. She comes up with the funniest sayings and is always cracking us all up.

2. Her tenderness. She is super tender...almost to much so sometimes. If she is in trouble, a look sends her over the edge.

3. Her wink. She will say something and then add a wink-for good measure. Usually there is a head nod too, just to emphasize the point.

4. Her early bird nature. Mostly because I don't understand how she (or anyone for that matter) can wake up early and in a good mood every day.

5. Her spirit. When the nurse placed Pacie in my arms for the first time, I can truly say that our spirits connected and I felt what an amazing little person she is. She is wise beyond her years with things of a spiritual nature.

We LOVE YOU, Pacie and are so glad that you are ours, forever! Happy 5th birthday, our darling girl!

July 4th, 2008

Happy July 4th, 2008!

We had an amazing 4th...as usual. I always get so excited for the 4th to come, and then a little sad when it's over. And this year was no exception. We were fortunate enough to have a mini Andrus reunion during our picnic this year and it was really fun to see everyone that we haven't seen in a while. (We did miss a few family members that weren't there, but hope we can catch up with them all soon!) All of the kids played and had fun and come to think of it, so did the adults! The fireworks were amazing, of course! I really am gateful to live in a country where we enjoy our freedom. I am grateful for family and friends who love and support us in all that we do.