Bradlee felt the spirit for the first time today...

My mom and I took the kids to Temple Square this evening to look around and enjoy all the pretty flowers. We took a tour of the Beehive house, ate a snack at the Lion House, looked inside the Tabernacle and the Assembly Hall. But the greatest thing happened in the North Visitors' Center. We, of course, went up to look at the Christus, and when we came back down we stopped to look at the model of Jerusalem during the time of Christ. As Bradlee came to a picture of Jesus on the Cross she stopped and got a little emotional. She told us that she loves Jesus and doesn't want him to die. It was a great opportunity for me to tell her the good new of the gospel. Jesus lives! I explained how Christ died for us, but he was resurrected, and he lives. Because our Savior died and was resurrected, we will live again, too!

It isn't everyday the perfect opportunity to share your testimony with your children presents itself. I know she will probably never remember this, but it meant a lot to me. Right on the heels of Tyler giving our kids their blessings to begin the school year, I feel particularly grateful for this gospel and what it means to our family! My children are precious. I wish I could give them everything good this world has to offer, but at least I can give them the most important thing!

Random Summer Pictures

We did a ton of swimming this summer, and when I say a ton, I mean pretty much everyday. The kids love it, especially Bradlee. She jumps in all over the place and has NO FEAR at all. Pretty awesome!

So...the kids were playing in our closet and came out in their "work outfits". Tyler and I laughed for about 20 minutes solid.

24th of July Floats

My mom and I took the kids to look at the Pioneer Day floats on display at the South Town Expo. They are always super impressive.

Bradlee was so excited to take her picture with this mermaid. Brock is clearly distracted by Dory in the background.

(I'm not sure what happened to Bradlee's hair this day, don't judge me.)

I thought these missionary penguins were super cute.

Of course, the kids absolutely loved this float. I gotta say, I was pretty impressed myself.

Zoo Time!!

Grandma and Grandpa McLachlan took us to the zoo this summer! Megan, Kennedy, Lisa and Natalie came, too! I think we all enjoyed ourselves quite a lot.

Baby elephant! Looks pretty freaking huge to me!

Brock thoroughly enjoyed the reading materials.

The Zoo has some awesome dinosaurs on display all over the park. They are incredibly life-like, and they absolutely terrified my kids! However, we did finally get Bradlee to pose on this one. Pretty good picture I'd say.

The Carousel...always a good time.

I did have pictures of the rest of the family members that were there, but I am unable to get them off my cell phone for some reason. I tried, I promise.

4th of July Parade

Turns out our kids fit in the chair bags. Nothing like being swung around in a bag.

The whole family, except myself, as I am currently too large to fit in a photo.

Somebody's happy!!! P.S. I gave him that shirt for Father's Day.

Pretty girls!

I love this picture of my dad plugging Brock's ears for him. The sirens from the fire trucks were a little too loud for his taste.

Kennedy Marie

Kennedy Marie was born to Megan and Cory on June 27th. She was 7 lbs. 11 oz. She is sincerely a beautiful baby, and we are so glad to have her in our family. She is Tyler's first niece on his side of the family. Bradlee and Brock are super excited for her to get a little bigger so they can play with her....poor girl :)

Megan is a Mommy!!!

Daddy's little girl.

Kennedy and her Grandpa.

All of Bryan and Wendy's grandkids.

Summer Dance Recital 2011

Bradlee had her dance recital on June 21st at the Rail Event Center here in Salt Lake. She performed a routine for dance and another one for tumbling. She has great rhythm and stage presence! I was so impressed with how well she did! Her tumbling routine was awesome, and I hope to post videos as soon as we get our DVD in the mail.

Here is Bradlee and Kassandra in their tumbling outfits on picture day.

P.S. Bradlee names all her Barbies with black hair after her.

Getting ready for the big performace!

The finished product!! Feel free to enlarge this picture...

Bradlee and Mia before the show started.

I know I say this all the time, but she really is something special. She is hilarious, she is an independent thinker, and she is becoming more beautiful and poised every day! I hope she plans to dance for a very long time because it is so fun to watch her!

Jesus Wants a Hug

During Family Home Evening on Monday, Tyler showed our kids this famous picture of the Savior, and Brock said, "Oh! Jesus wants a hug!"

Bradlee's Preschool Graduation

Bradlee graduated from preschool today, and we are so proud of her! She is such a sweetheart, and even though she hates school work, she is very smart. During parent teacher conferences her teacher told me that she definitely had a knack for math, and that she was just the sweetest thing ever! The graduation was a luau theme, and I may or may not have bribed Bradlee with the new orange mermaid Barbie to participate in all the songs and to wear the grass skirt. I reminded her about it every time I needed her to smile for a picture :)

Brock, Daddy, Home Grandma and Other Grandma all came to watch Bradlee graduate.

Here is Bradlee receiving her diploma!

Look at that confidence...I love it! Along with the diploma, the girls also got a portfolio of some of their work, seeds to plant and a DVD of some memorable events from the school year.

Here is the whole class with Miss Shawna. I think, Mia, the girl on Bradlee's left in the striped shirt, was Bradlee's favorite friend.

Giving Miss Shawna a group hug.

The Graduate.

After the graduation the girls all made shirts and signed them for each other.

We all had so much fun watching Bradlee's graduation! Bradlee is so ready to go to Kindergarten! She had kindergarten orientation last Friday, and she can't wait to go back!