happily ever after

Every girl wants her "happily ever after" right? We want our very own Prince who will take care of our every need, shower us with love and affection, and make all our dreams come true. Lucky for me I was able to snag my very own Prince about 8 plus years ago. And since that day my Prince has been slaying dragon's to keep me safe (ok I guess they aren't real dragons but he does take out the garbage every week and takes care of the vacuuming...those are my kind of dragons that need to be slayed), he loves taking me to elegant ball's where we ballroom dance the night away (ok he doesn't do that either, but he will watch Dancing with the Stars with me on occassion.) and fulfilling my every wish and desire (ok that would be impossible to do because I have quite a few of those wish things and even more of the desires.)

However, my Prince did give me 4 fun filled days of my very own "happily ever after" when he took his party of four to the most "Most Magical Place on Earth". And yes I do believe it is just that MAGICAL!!!

Disclaimer: Family vacation album pretty much exploded below. You have been warned...there are a lot a photos.


I never thought I would enjoy taking my children to Disneyland as much as I do. Nothing quite like it in my book. And by the way do you see in the picture above how it looks like there is no one at Disneyland? Well that is because there was practically no one at Disneyland. We figured out that mid September is the only time to go. You practically have the park to yourselves.



We took pictures at the entrance to the park with Mom!



We took pictures at the entrance to the park with Dad.



We took pictures of Lyza coming off of her very first "big person" ride. No "It's a small world here"...go big or go home was our motto.



We took pictures of some of our favorite rides. Seth's was the merry-go-round and one of Ly Ly's was the Matterhorn.



We took pictures of some of the Princesses we met...I think I see a "Princess Ly Ly" in there!



We took pictures of some Fairies we met at Pixie Hollow.



We took pictures of all the magical characters we met who live inside Disneyland.



We took a picture of Seth's FAVORITE attraction...the water feature outside the entrance gate. Seriously every day he would stand by this thing forever and cry when I finally forced him to leave.



We took a picture of ourselves to prove to our posterity, who might actually read this sometime, that we WERE actually there together. You might not have been able to tell since we are in 2 pictures together the entire trip.



We took pictures of all the fun things we want to remember about our time in Disneyland. Daddy's love for frozen banana's (which by the way are $4 a pop). Seth's unwillingness to take any kind of picture in front of the Castle. Lyza's sticky face after eating an oversized lollipop, which is a required purchase in the park. And all of the happy faces we enjoyed each day.



We took pictures of two little people that were exhausted after each and every day spent at the park.

So to the "Happiest Place on Earth" we bid you a fond farewell and thank you for our 4 days together. Thank you for the magical looks on my children's faces that I will remember always.

"And they lived happily ever after"

it's official

It is official, I have fallen for someone else. I am completely and utterly in love with another man. He doesn't say much, he is still coming into himself and his personality. He has a tender heart, fantastically long eyelashes, and a spell binding laugh. Oh, his laugh...Oh the joy! This man gives the best hugs and open mouth kisses. He is always excited when he sees me, it makes me feel so loved.

I didn't start this relationship with any expectations. I imagined that I would care for this man, love him, and teach him. I never knew my feelings would get to be so strong. I didn't want to fall too hard for him...I was scared to be too vulnerable? What if I got hurt in the process?

Well it is too late now because I have fallen hard and I don't see my feelings for this man decreasing anytime soon. I hope he feels the same way for me as I do about him. It might be awhile before he can share his true feelings with me. That's OK, I can be patient and wait for that day. I only hope that his love is as deep as mine.

P.S. The best part about this "love affair" is that my husband knows everything and completely understands!!

ms. arizona and her beautiful offspring

(Three Sisters and Three Babies: Shalice, Ava, Sharielle, Sloan, Shaundee, Seth)

Ms. Arizona (aka: my sister Sharielle) and her beautiful offspring (aka: her daughter Sloan) came into town and it was GLORIOUS! I don't think anyone fully understands how much fun the 3 of us have together. We talk, we laugh, we eat, we shop...and then we do it all over again for each day we are together. It pretty much is heaven.



Sloan, pictured in the middle of Lyza and I, is the sweetest and cutest little thing you have ever seen. On a scale of 1 to 10 she is definitely an ELEVEN.




We took an excursion with all EIGHT children to a huge bounce house zoo. They bounced, they climbed, and they expended some much needed energy.




We watch the ever entertaining Signing Time numerous times every day. Can you see the glow on Seth and Sloan's face. This is the look on there faces when their favorite show, Signing Time, is on.



Then we handed all of our bundles of joys over to the men of the house and focused on our job at hand. Dinner, shopping, and talking (until midnight if my memory serves me right)

Please note in the picture above that we are the only people left in the mall this night. Is it embarrassing to be asked to stop shopping and leave the mall because it closed?





We watched General Conference together...well some of us watched...others of us... well you can see?




But most of all we remembered that we are 3 of the luckiest sisters in the world!

Dear Ms. Arizona,

Please come again soon. We know it is cold here and we don't have an H&M yet..but we can offer you sleep deprivation, budget breaking shopping, and most of all two sisters who love and miss you every day.

See you soon!

a day for joy

Dear Tessa Joy,

Today I met you for the first time. I had heard so much about you previously, but had never had the chance to see you yet. I have to admit that over the last week or so, you have been on my mind constantly. I would think about you and your sweet family. I would pray for you and for all of your loved ones that were so worried. My little Lyza would never forget you in our family prayers at night. She would have so many questions she wanted answered about you. I couldn't always answer all of her questions, but our conversations would always end with me telling her that "Heavenly Father loves His little children more then anything, and He will do what is best for little Tessa Joy."

Today when I met you my emotions ran high, I apologize for not keeping my composure. Today when I met you, your body was still but your spirit was strong...overwhelming actually. Today when I met you, I watch as your mother was so courageous and noble...she amazes me. Today when I met you, I heard your oldest sister play beautiful piano music for you. Today when I met you I felt the love of our Savior.

I am so thankful I got to meet you today. Your story and example came into my life when I need a refresher course on what is really important. I have been changed for the better. For someone so tiny who wasn't with us for very long...you have touched so many peoples lives.

You have touched mine.

With Love,

Shaundee

the great oudoors

For a complete "city girl" who married an "outdoor boy", I had to make sure and document some of our family outdoor adventures. These adventures are not nearly long enough or as frequent enough as my outdoor boy would like, but none the less, at least they happen on occasion.

We went to the mountains one night for fantastic food, fun and friends. Our neighbors the Gillen's made the trip with us and we had such a fun time.

I have to admit nothing tastes better then tin foil dinners cooked over an open fire. And it always amazes me that marshmallows taste so good in the mountains. I don't really care for marshmallows in "everyday life." But put me outside over a fire and I can't get enough.

This little outing reminded how beautiful it is where I live. We are lucky to live so close to such beauty. It was so nice to be outdoors and enjoy nature for a couple of hours. And it was even nicer to come home, take a shower, and sleep in my clean bed!

4th of july...and yes i know it is September

As you can see keeping up with my blogging is obviously something way to hard for me to handle, so as a result you are getting a taste of summer in September



We had a crazy and event filled 4th of July this year. Family came up from California and we had a family event bonanza. We went to the Kaysville Parade...a must!



Here we are enjoying the parade and some fun family time.



Here are all of the "Bull Girls". Can you tell "one of these things is not like the other?" Everyone is the exact same size...and oh wait there is Shaundee's head a full foot above everyone else. Sorry babe...you married a giant!



All of the grandchildren (except Amanda who was in the parade) in their cute shirts from grandma and grandpa.



Family pool time. Everyone swam until they were exhausted. I think my kids could live in the water and be happy.

So there is our very late, but nonetheless fun and enjoyable post about the day our country was born. At least I finally got it documented...hooray!

learning to share

After swimming lessons, Lyza (4) sharing yogurt with Seth (14 mon) on the kithen floor

Sharing is hard...I will be the first to admit it. I remember very vividly from my childhood being asked to share by my parents, grandparents, and pretty much any adult that I came in contact with:

"Make sure you share with your sister."

"Oh, thank you for sharing...that was so nice of you."

"Next time maybe you could share without being asked."

Yes, I vividly remember being poked, prodded and bribed into learning how to share. A concept that is still something I am learning to be better at each day.

It is interesting that this concept is so hard for some people to grasp, but others come with this characteristic built right in? Sometimes I am jealous of those that inately want to share. It reminds me that this is not a quality that comes easily to me and that I must work at this every day.

It completely baffles me that I met up with and married a man who comes with this "sharing DNA" in abundance. Never have I met another who would give you everything he had if you asked him. Literally...I am not kidding...I mean literally.

When we are at dinner together, he always saves the best bites of his meal for me to taste.

He will share his time with anyone. You call and need him...he will be there.

He lets me tape two different show on our Tivo which prevents him from watching the Monday night football game he really wanted to watch. He doesn't complain...he just jokes with me and says I am a reality show nut! (very true by the way)

He shares his infectious belly laugh with gatherings of people who are lucky enough to get a sample.

He shares stories with me in privacy about times in his life when he would go without eating, etc. because he gave his money to an acquaintance who needed it more. He would laugh about how he was literally a "starving college student." His laughter would quickly turn to moments of silence when I could tell he was holding back his emotions. He would then tell me, I wish I could have given them more. They needed much more then I could give.

It is at these moments I see who this man really is, his true character. Still completely wondering why he picked me? I guess the Lord knew I needed a strong example.

I hope and hope and hope that my children's "sharing DNA" is a strong and viberant as their daddy's. The jury is still out, but from the looks of the picture above at least we have a start.