Eternity: Mike, Sundee & Baby Van

Mothers Day weekend we were blessed to witness the sealing of my sister and her cute family in the Las Vegas LDS Temple. We are so happy for them! If you are not familiar with the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I invite you to learn more here.


We brought our girls with us on the trip, and stayed at a hotel for the first time. I was anxious that it was going to be horrible... kids up all night crying, etc. But it turned out to be really fun, and the girls did better than I could have ever imagined.

We drove up to Vegas Friday day and attended the temple that night with Sundee to receive her endowment. Then Saturday (at 8am, holy early...no pun intended), we attended their sealing. The spirit was so strong as we witnessed this cute family be sealed together for eternity. Such a special day. Something I will always remember.

Some of the outtakes. Feel free to make up your own captions.

Afterward we took the girls to play at Tivoli Village and wasted time until we met up with more family for a luncheon at Mimi's.

Then over to Sundee's for some afternoon swimming. Both of my girls love the water, and had a blast. I really need to get them into swimming lessons!

For dinner we ate at Cafe Rio (Braden: "It tastes better here because it's closer to Utah." *thick sarcasm*) and then went back to Tivoli Village to play and have a treat.

With so much playing the girls fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

Sunday was Mothers Day so we went with my parents to Hash House for a deliciously huge breakfast. Man alive, I love that place.   Then we hit the road back to California.

No trip would be complete without some teasing from my papa.

I hope all of you awesome moms had a fabulous Mother's Day. I am truly inspired by each of you and am blessed to have you all in my life! For real.

It was a great trip, and am so happy we were able to go!

Baby Van's Blessing

A few weeks ago we went to Vegas for Van's blessing. I made him the cutest tie (out of a real tie, so so easy) for his special day.  It was a quick weekend, but wonderful to see some of my family and get to hold Van for the first time.

His hair looks strawberry in a lot of pictures. But not at all in person. 

This is my personal favorite. I love to give you all a good laugh with my awesome candid pictures. What can I say? I just have talent for looking perfect in every picture.

Here is Brighton playing with her birthday present my parents gave her.  The doll bed was my Aunt Leslie's. **warning, sad story** Leslie was hit and killed by a car on her way home from kindergarten.  It was a hit and run. Super sad. But it makes this bed even more special.  My sister and I played with it when we were kids, and now my girls get to.  It's about 64 years old with the original paint/stencil work and little mattress pad.  My mom cleaned it up, and my dad cut new slats to go in the bottom to hold the mattress. Brighton absolutely loves it. Although she makes her baby stay "sleeping" almost all day every day.

It's a little creepy if you look at the babies eyes. It looks like she's trying to call out for help and Brighton's covering her mouth.

Sundee's Baby Shower

I helped throw a baby shower for my sister in Vegas on June 15th.  It was a coed shower, so Braden and I headed to Vegas while my awesome mother in law stayed home with our girls.

It was a lightening fast trip.  We drove up Saturday morning, making it in great time, 3 hours and 45 minutes.

I was in charge of decorations, so once we got there, we set everything up. I was really proud of how everything turned out. 

Of course we served Mexican food. Delicious tostadas.

I was especially proud of my center pieces. The idea just came to me at midnight one night.  I had a bunch of left over tin foil cupcake holders that I pinched into flower shapes and then let them float in water. Already had the ribbon that luckily matched perfectly, and vases. Then I topped them with mini tissue paper balls that cost 12 cents a piece to make. Talk about cheap!

The tostadas went perfect with our virgin margaritas.  PAR-TAY!!!!

 Adam and Ashton.

Best picture ever. Thank you Mike and Sundee for making me giggle.

 The next morning (Father's Day) we went to breakfast at Hash House a go go. SO SO SO GOOD. Next time you are in Vegas or San Diego, it is a must.  Lucky for us it is literally 1 block from Sundee's, so we got there before it got too crazy busy. The portions are H-U-G-E and absolutely scrumptious.

We drove back right after breakfast, picked up the girls, and then drove back out to Corona for a Family Fathers Day dinner. It was our first trip without the girls, and I must say I enjoyed every minute.