This is the Place

There are so many things to learn and do at "This is the Place Heritage Park." We had so much fun. Especially having my brother Dave and his family with us. Get ready for picture overload.

Preschool Graduation

Yay, Andie graduated from preschool! Here comes Kindergarten. We'll miss you, Miss Molly. See you in one year for Avery.

The "Grass" Plates

Today we had lunch after church and went around the table and asked the kids what they learned about today in primary and I had to share what Andie said.

"Laman and Lemuel and Sam and Sariah took his family to the forest and they were going camping and they stayed there a long time. And then they went to get the "Grass Plates." So they went with their brothers to "Jelusalem" and the naughty little brothers got sticks and beat up Sam and Nephi. Then the Angel came and said, "Why are you being mean to your brother?" And he said, "You need to go in the city and fix the city." And then they saw someone who was coming in the dark and he was drunk. And he was a "berry" bad man and he was drunk. Oops, I already said that didn't I? It was Laban and they cut off his head and then took his clothes off and then put his clothes on and that's it. That's all I remember."

Love her.

Mother's Day

So I try to make Mother's Day kind of special around here. I do my best to give Steph a break in her motherly duties, which usually consists of making some omelettes in the morning, trying to get the kids ready for church, and then taking the family to Olive Garden for dinner. I know, I know – Olive Garden. It's a sort of tradition that developed about four years ago, and frankly I'm as confused as you are. Anyway, my best isn't usually good enough and Steph still ends up doing the lion's share of work, so overall it's a pretty weak Mother's Day.

This year I worked a little harder and made the first Nibley family music video, which you can see below. It all started from the simple thought of putting together some sort of Mother's Day performance with the girls for Steph, and it grew from there. One Friday morning about three months ago, I told Steph I had to take the girls "somewhere" to do "something". And their hair needed to be cute. Steph was leery, but complied. I smuggled some nice formal-ish dresses and shoes out to the back of the car the night before. We showed up at the studio and shot for about an hour and a half. The girls were real troupers – especially Andie, who was sick. And I couldn't have done it without Alex – she really helped wrangle the younger ones.

So over the next few weeks I worked on editing all that footage down to a three-minute video whenever I had some spare time. Finally finished at about 3:30 am last night. Whew! But we had a blast, and I think the results were worth it. I'm biased, though. ;-)

I have to thank John Farr and Howard Little at Creative Media Group in Orem for providing the studio, camera, and expert camera operation. These guys are old friends of mine, and they should know that the desired effect was achieved. Steph absolutely loved it! Thanks, guys. And thanks to my "good friend" Michael Bublé for the music.

I guess the point of the whole thing was to let Steph know how much we love her, appreciate her, and how essential she is to our lives. I can't imagine living this life without her, and I know our girls are a direct product of her love, caring, and complete dedication as a mother, and they love her with every molecule of their little bodies. We love you Mom/Steph! Happy Mother's Day!

Dave

BTW, if you want to see a bigger, higher-quality version of this video, click here.

Andie's Dance Recital

I look forward to this so much. Watching my girls perform. This time it was Andie's turn. Unfortunately, she was drugged up on cold medicine and pretty sick. Poor thing. She still did such a good job and was so fun to watch.

How About a Big Kiss

So my surprise for the girls when I got back from my trip were these Wacky Wax Lips.  What a throw back!  I remember getting these when I was little.  Hilarious.  

What a Weekend

What I'm about to tell you is very sad, pathetic and shocking. . . I have never been on a trip away by myself with no kids and no husband!!!!!  I know, no way.  I am usually with Dave (which is preferred) or at least one or all of the kids.  Weird.  And I didn't even realize it.  No wonder I'm always on the verge of losing it.  

Jamie Rohner passed away last week and I flew down to go to her funeral.  It was so good to see so many people I love and have missed.  Funerals are bitter sweet that way.  And it is always inspiring to hear about the life of a person you've loved and looked up too.  It always brings life into perspective and reminds me of what's most important.  What a gift. 

I was also able to spend some quality time with my family uninterrupted.  I loved every minute of it!  So much fun.  I miss you guys!  (Stop with the guilt, Aaron).  Thanks for all the entertainment and extra lbs.  And I've decided I don't like Oreo balls.  Sorry, Kate.  Here are some pictures recapping my beautiful weekend.