Elysse's birthday

Elysse turned 3 February 3rd! (Her Golden Birthday)

We had gone to the waterpark to celebrate both her and Ivy's birthdays 2 weeks prior, but she still really wanted her good friends Lauren and Juliana to come over for her party. So we had them over for cake and ice cream. And can you guess what kind of cake Elysse wanted? Candy Cake. She didn't even have to think about it. So we made carrot cake and stuck m&ms inside. Happy Birthday, Elysse! We love you! Thank you to all who called, sent cards, etc. It made her smile and feel special.

Here are 3 things that we love about Elysse:

1. She is the World's Greatest Complimenter. If you ever want to feel good about yourself, just hang around Elysse. She'll compliment you from everything from what you're wearing to the type of person you are.

2. She's a happy girl. She smiles and dances and just enjoys life.

3. She is independent. She wants to do things all by herself and is so proud of her accomplishments.

A weekend to ourselves

Our great friends Jessica and Michael Monson watched our kids last weekend so Nate and I can escape for some "us" time. It was sooo fun and relaxing. We stayed on Nate's parents' boat. We spent the day Saturday at the waterpark acting like kids, getting barrelled in the wave pool, and yelling and laughing while we sped down the slides. The best part of all, perhaps, was our discovery of the massaging characteristics of a waterfall and a relaxing hot tub. It seemed to blast away our cares. Fortunately, that same weekend Groupon was having a deal for a pizza place that was right at the boat harbor, so we took advantage and gobbled down delicious hot, inexpensive pizza before settling down to Cupcake Wars on the Food Channel.

I was grateful that while we were watching the thought came into my mind that we didn't pay for our parking space. We were even more grateful to find we hadn't been towed away. Thank goodness for the Holy Ghost.

We left the next morning to come back home to our girls, and met up with them at church. A woman commented how I was so patient and loving to our kids and seemed so happy...

...I think we ought to get away more often.

Wise Words from Young Girls

Lately I've heard some sayings from our girls that are worth sharing. Here they are:

While we were going to a baptism for a friend, I realized we didn't have a lei to give. When I mentioned this to the kids, Kezia said, "We don't have a lei, but we have love....and even if we didn't have anything at all, not even clothes, we'd still have hugs and kisses to give....unless we didn't have arms or a face, of course."

One day Ivy told me she made a friend at school. I asked, "How did you make a friend?" She looked at me questioningly and responded, "I just started loving her, and she started loving me, and so we're friends." (And to think of it, it really is as easy as that, isn't it?)

And even though this one might not be so wise, it is nonetheless cute: Elysse was in time-out and in tears came out to tell me, "My heart is broke and that's why I'm sad."