Thursday, July 22, 2010

4th of July - And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”

I'm proud to be An American!
I love flying the flag and teaching our girls about the freedoms and blessings we enjoy by living in this Promised Land.
My Country, ’Tis of Thee
With dignity

1. My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
 Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!
2. My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills.
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
4. Our fathers’ God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light.
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!
2 Nephi 1:7   Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.
Ether 2:12  -  Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.
 America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.
 The Star-Spangled Banner
Vigorously
(Last Stanza) Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
 Alma 46:12–13 - And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.   And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land—
Most of the above pictures were taken on the 4th of July.
We went to the Parade and then enjoyed the booths at the park afterwards.
Later that night we watched the fireworks and enjoyed hamburgers and fries before they started.
The last 3 pictures reminded me of the 4th of July with their Red, White and Blue!
River sings all day long, she is either singing her Primary Songs or more likely a made up song, whatever is in her mind and heart at the time.  They are often about the Savior, Our Heavenly Father, or her Mom and Dad.
And This Be Our Motto:  In God Is Our Trust!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Happy Birthday River

I can't believe River is 4 years old.
At times it seems like she's always been with us, and at other times, it feels like she just got here. 
We call River our Lady Bug!
I also call her sweet-pea which is what my Dad called me growing up.
River has eyes that sparkle and is full of life and FUN!
River LOVES flowers.  Good thing we have a lot of flowers here.  River regularly keeps them picked for her collection, to give Mom, PacaMa, all the neighbor girls and our next door neighbor who is sick - she regularly wants to go visit her and bring her flowers :)  River picked Colt a rose to wear to church yesterday.  He put it in his jacket button hole - it was a sweet moment.
River has a quick smile and loving disposition.
River LOVES times with Dad. 
River tends to be more reserved and shy when she first meets someone, but then opens up and bubbles over with conversation and personality once she warms up. 
"Huh!  I did not know that!" 
I love this picture of River, it fits her: 
Comfy pants are a MUST with River.  No Jeans!  Pure comfort :)
River also loves her treasures.  notice the puppets in the window behind her and her lady bug house with her.  She loves collecting things and packing them around with her everywhere.
This is another familiar face in our house.....I can't or it hurts (back, arm, legs) happen much more regularly than I would like when she's trying to get out of a job.  Amazing how they feel right better when friends come or something fun is about to happen :)
River LOVES Silver (Most of the Time)  No, I can't say that.  River Loves Silver all of the time.  She always looks out for her.  She shares most everything she has with Silver (has a hard time with those special treasures sometimes).  If River has a candy and Silver doesn't she'll bite it in 1/2 to share with her. 
Last week River got 4 year old shots...Silver got 1 sucker and River got 3 because she got 3 pokes.  River gave Silver one of hers so they both would have 2.  
River is becoming a big tease.  River loves teasing lately, and I believe truly doesn't mean to hurt or pester persistently, she just needs to learn when to back off and stop when Silver complains.  Yesterday she was spraying Silver with a hose - drenched, completely wet.  Silver's screaming on the top of her lungs, and River kept going at it.  River:  I didn't know she didn't like it, I was just teasing!
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is a great story for us.  We're learning when it's a tease, and when it's a lie. 
When the girls fight, it's usually not Silver that will cry first, and this is usually because Silver will hit, bite or pull hair and River won't hit her back (most of the time).  She's good about being the bigger girl and not engaging in a fight!
Birthday Party at the park!
The parachute is a big hit with kids.  Goal:  To keep the balls on the parachute.
We're trying to break Silver of the Binky or "nuk" as we call it.  She gets it for nap time and bed time.  She either has to loose it before she gets out of her crib, or I'll tell her that she's a big girl and doesn't need her nuk anymore.  "Please bring it to me".  She slowly and exaggeratedly walks to me swinging from side to side.  Once she's close she sticks out her neck and lets me take her nuk. 
Red Rover, Red Rover! 
One of River's favorite games. 
Pin the Tail on the Donkey
She wanted her cake to be pink with flowers!
She helped me decorate it, and was so proud with her frosting job!

A Pinata!
Followed by lots of Sugar!
This is the look Silver gives me regularly. 
The race is on Mom!
Especially when we need diaper changes or to get dressed.
Silver loves to dress herself these days - she's pretty good at getting her shorts on by herself. 
And Duck Duck Goose!
Whew!  A Happy Day!
We Love you River!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Summer Fishing Adventures

Aaahh!  Summer!
We call our outings Adventures! 
Here's a recent one we took to SandHollow:
We have a canoe.  River calls it her "Can-Too"
Silver LOVED being in the canoe. 
She wanted to touch the water like River. 
We stayed out on the water until after it was dark because the fishing was SO great!
Our girls are Daddy's little fishing pals.  Colt took the girls out fishing so Mom could have an afternoon to catch up on all my work without interruptions.  I was great for them, and it was nice for me too.  I think we'll make it a monthly outing for Daddy-daughter dates!
Campfire!
River's a BIG helper!
She feels so special going out with Daddy!
Red Neck Play Pen?
This is one of my favorite pictures of Colt. 
Colt on a recent fishing trip to the Boulder Mountains.
There are 80 lakes in the Boulder Mountains. 
Colt's goal:  To fish each of them.
5 Down, Many more Memories to Make!
One time Colt and I were in float tubes on Kolob Lake.  We had been trolling for awhile, and every once in a while, it felt like I might have something on the end of my line.  Colt would look at my limp line and say, no, you don't have anything, you'd know it if you did.  We decided maybe it was just snagging on plants on the bottom, so I started reeling it in.  Occasionally I would feel small resistance, but nothing really.  At the end of my line was an almost-dead white fish!  Oh, I must have dragged him for quite a while.  We laugh now at not knowing if I had a fish or not :)
Our first date was Fly Fishing. 
Colt's favorite meal:  Fish he's caught himself
Second Favorite:  White Bean Chili
To many more fun Adventures!