David Archuleta

When we were in Vegas the girls were able to go to David Archuleta's book signing!They waited in the heat for over an hour to get his new book "Chords of Strength" at Deseret Book store.

One Fish, Two Fish...

Grandpa took us fishing over our summer vacation in Las Vegas. We sure had alot of fun! The kids didn't mind catching the fish but they sure didn't want to touch them! We went to a man made lake on some property that some of grandpa's friends own. They had fun paddle boating, fishing, and swinging off a huge swing into the water.

Breast Cancer Awareness!!!

My Aunt Jody was diagnosed with breast Cancer a few months ago and is undergoing chemotherapy. She is such a strong woman and encourages everyone to educate themselves about breast cancer!! She is a survivor!!

New Cousin Hurray!!

Aunt Kelly went into labor at 8:57pm June 17, 2010. By 9:57pm Kelly had delivered a healthy baby boy! We barely made it to the hospital at 9:30pm. Kelly your awesome! She went natural and only had to push twice!

Circus

We got to stay with Papa and Mema while we are here in Vegas! They took us to the circus!

Summer Fun 2010

We have been in Las Vegas for the last few weeks having alot of fun! Grandma and Grandpa have taken us to the lake a few times! Aunt Kelly and Uncle Steven had a new little one and he is a cutie!!!

Talent show 2010

I have been so bad with blogging lately! Here are some activities Katelynd has been doing! Talent show 2010! They played eye of the tiger in a quartet! She also had 2 violin concerts this year. Katelynd was so excited to be selected to play in honors orchestra.

NYC!

For my Sister's 40th birthday my brother in-law planned a surprise trip for her to New York City to go see "Wicked". My sister and Mom had no idea that the rest of us were coming. So my sister and I decided to disguise ourselves. When we saw them coming out of their gate we approached them and asked them to take a picture of us. My Mom looked right at me and told me she didn't know how to use my camera so she wouldn't be able to take the picture for us. My sister was on the phone trying to call for a shuttle to the hotel and just rolled her eyes at us. She was just too busy! Of course I spoke in a strong Italian accent so they didn't realize who we were. Until I turned around to find my sister Kelly busting up laughing! I couldn't fake it any longer I began to laugh! My Mom still looked at us like we were crazy! So I took my wig off! It was priceless. I thought a Mother always new her child! Ha not that day! We had a wonderful time in NYC! Thanks Brandon for all you hard work in putting it together.

NYC!

I was able to run a 5K on Saturday in Central park before we left. It was beautiful, everything was in bloom.

On top of the "Rock" looking at Empire States Building

Time Square

Lolly's Michael Jackson Impersonation

St. Patrick's Day Run

It was fun to get together with some friends last minute to run a 7K. This was Katelynd's first long run, she loved it. The weather wasn't great it was cloudy and cold. By the end of the race it was raining. We still had alot of fun.

St Louis Temple

We were able to go to the St Louis Temple to do Baptisms for the Dead with Rick and some friends from the ward. What a wonderful day it was. It is such a blessing to have a temple so close to us. Rick had a little over 30 family file names to have work done that day. Thank you Rick for letting us be a part of your spiritual journey. We are part of such an awesome ward out here in O'Fallon.

Ice Skating

Winter is so hard out here in the Mid-west. The kids feel so trapped inside the house. A few weeks ago we had alot of rain and the kids decided to go ice skating on a patch of ice they found in the backyard. I can't believe how many times they fell. They would get a running start and slide across the ice. It is amazing, if you want to do something so bad how you seem to forget about the pain.

2009 Garden

So this year I learned a lot about gardening. First, it is a lot of work to maintain a garden. Second, don't always read the back of the seed packet, talk to gardeners in your area that have had success. Third, make sure you have a lot of time to weed, prune and care for your garden. I did have a lot of fun learning more about gardening this year. I had carrots galore! We got sick of eating squash. The Jalapenos grew so hot we couldn't eat them. Next year I have new techniques I am going to try.

Monster Truck

A few months ago we where driving home and Jake spotted a monster truck parked at a local gas station. Of course we had to stop and take some pictures. He thinks dad needs to get one of these to advertise when he is a Doctor! Jake said people who drive these will need to come see my Dad!

Mod Podge Board

I was asked to post this so people could see the board I made for one of my friends daughter's baptism. It is a simple piece of 1/2inch press board from home depot. Cut to desired dimensions. Router edges to desired design. Lay up side down on table saw and drop blade to low position. Cut straight lines to desired box size on front of board. Hint mark the back of board with a pencil to indicate where lines should be cut. Boxes that are 3X5 and 4X6 picture sizes are easier to fill when ready to mod podge. After cut mod podge scrapbook paper and pics to front face. Careful not to get mod podge on picture fronts. These make great gifts!

Blue Man

So we have had fun with Jake's hair this year. Mohawk for the summer and now electric blue for crazy hair day at school. He was so disappointed he had to wash it out!

Mohawk Man

I let Jake's hair grow out over the summer and Dad finally made me cut it, so here is the end result. Needless to say it only lasted for the day! Not because it didn't hold, Elmer's glue made sure of that! Dad didn't want Jake showing up for church the next day looking like this!

Rick's Baptism August 1st, 2009

Rick Casagrande was baptised! Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey!

Missionary Work in St. Louis

These are the Elders that were in our ward when our neighbor Rick Casagrande was baptised. Elder Ferrin and Elder Pace were key in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to Rick. What a blessing in Rick's life to hear and believe in the fullness of the gospel. We are so thankful to have shared with him the joy he felt in his life and to see him grow. What a humbling experience we have had as a family to see that we can share the gospel with those we come in contact with. We are all in the Mission field. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and that only through him can we return to our Heavenly Father. He suffered so that we could be happy and experience joy in our lives. I am so grated for Prophets that lead and guide us through hard times. I know Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. How blessed we are to have the Book of Mormon and Bible to help guide and warn us in these days. I know if we are doing the right things we will be blessed even when things get tough. I love my family and know that this life is only the beginning! I pray that I will continually share my testimony with those I come in contact with. This life is to short to be afraid of sharing what is most precious to us!