Cabin Pictures

James and Bethany :)

Richard and Celeste doing a little Karaoke

S'mores

Wow

Richard and Robbie's spontaneous and synchronized backup dancing

Savanna singing one of the many verses of "Mother Goony Bird"

Baby Jaxon

Playing kickball in Uncle Robin's yard (the team that won)

The Long-awaited TALENT SHOW:

At the Manti Temple

Launching water balloons before the rain/hail

A great time at the cabin!

Wow! We packed alot into 3-1/2 days! What a fun time we had together, inside and out, while we dodged thunderstorms and rain. Ping pong, foos ball, air hockey, table and group games, walks to the reservoir, muddy 4-wheeler rides, watching (and hearing) sheep and new lambs, kick ball on Uncle Robin's front lawn, pool in his basement, frisbee, a treasure hunt for the kids (they made, put around, then found the clues), karaoke, a marshmallow roast and 'some more's,' an amazing talent show! (can't say enough about that), to church at Uncle Robin's Ward, photos at the Manti Temple, birthday dinner and games for Brady, shotgun shooting, DDR ('dance dance revolution'), water balloon launching, playing with the babies, and way too much food! Thanks everybody for the special meals you prepared. It was a memorable and wonderful family time. Plan on next year, Memorial Day weekend, same time, same place. And start preparing your talent now. :) Love to you all! Mom

Austin's Preschool Graduation

Austin had his graduation from preschool today. The kids sang a lot of songs, including Austin's favorite, "Fifty, Nifty United States."

In answer to his teacher's question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Austin answered, "A football player." At home, he expounded on that to also include a "baseball player, a soccer player, and a police officer."

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dear Daddy,
Happy Birthday! I love you. You are special and I like when you wrestle with me. You are cool because you like to play football with me and Austin. You are special because you are a special daddy. I love you!
Love, savanna

I love playing with my Daddy-- no one makes me laugh harder!!

Love,

Jaxon
I love you Dad. Yessiree. I wanna have a great day at your birthday and have a fun time and I love you Dad. Bye.

austin

To My Beloved Children

I can't tell you how much I love and respect and treasure each one of you! My feelings are so much deeper than I could ever convey. I was so touched by your thoughtfulness to me for Mother's Day. Each of you are amazing and so important to me. Laurie. Brady. Savanna. Austin. Jaxon. James. Bethany. Alessia. Cardston. Robbie. Tamra. Richard. Celeste. Julie. Nelson. Jonathan. Carrie. As I say each of your names and picture you in my mind and think about your special qualities, tears well up in my eyes and my heart overflows with tender feelings for each of you. I thank you with my whole soul for the people that you are - full of integrity and righteousness and sensitivity and compassion and humor and intelligence and dedication - and on and on. I am so deeply honored to be your mother (and mother-in-law and grandmother). Let's always stay close as a family and put each other's needs first. Please let me help you in any way I can. You are everything to me!
All my love, forever and ever!
Mom

Austin Bostin Gostin

"I love you Grandma. Yes siree. I like to play games with you and I like to play basketball with you and I like ta ride my bike with you and I like ta go outside and play with you on the swing set. And then I want to play with you after that. Inside. And play a game. Whoa- that’s a lot of typing. (Julie- Should we be done?) Um- I think there’s more stuff. Whisper- Nelson help me say the words. I like to ride my bike with you and I wish I could live in a new house with you and that’s all. Actually, there’s more. And A-U-S-T-I-N. I love you Grandma. I like to ride bikes with you and ride bikes with you and play outside and play a game with you. And I love you Grandma, too, so much. I like to play outside with you and sleep over at your house. (Julie- Okay- we need to be done Austin. ) No! I want it to be filled all the way! I like to ride bikes with you and play outside with you. . . Can you help me go to Savanna's Webkin?"

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day, Joan! It’s great to have you as a mother-in-law. I feel like I receive twice the motherly concern, twice the love, and twice blessings from a mother. I want to tell you a few of the things that I appreciate about you and your example for us.

One thing that I really appreciate about you is your example of forgiveness. It seems to me that this is something that is always a work in progress and something that you are constantly improving. You seem to be willing to give others the benefit of the doubt and to see things from their point of view. I am impressed with your deep understanding and application of the atonement as you see others nearer to the same perspective as our Heavenly Father sees us.

Also, I feel like I am blessed by your example of generosity. It makes me have a greater desire to use my means and talents to benefit others. This is another area in which I believe you put others before yourself and your own wants.

Finally, I am blessed by your example as a parent -- by the way you humble teach and strengthen your children. How blessed I feel to have an additional influence beyond my own parents to guide me in my own life and teach me the ways of raising my own future children in righteousness.

I love you,

Nelson

I love you, Mom!

Happy mothers day, Mom!

I hope you liked the talk I gave, and since I know I already gushed over you, I'll just remind you yet again how much I eternally love you and am grateful for you.

Please enjoy this wonderful day dedicated to YOU!

All My Love Forever,
Care Bear

I'm grateful for you, Mom!

"Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky--
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world."
-- William Ross Wallace

Where would we be without Mom? She is the gravity that keeps our hearts centered at home, and on the Gospel truths we learned from her and Dad. Mom's life has been, and is, devoted to her children and grandchildren. I wonder what the world would be like if all mothers were as focused as Mom on the nuturing of children.

I am so grateful to you, Mom, for showing me a good example of motherhood. I think of you when I hear Sister Beck speak about "women who know," and women who have a "mother heart." Because of you, I know that my knowledge and talents can best be used in the home, as I care for my children -- even when the world would have me believe that motherhood is somehow less fulfilling than other roles.

"There is no limit to what a woman with a mother heart can accomplish. Righteous women have changed the course of history and will continue to do so, and their influence will spread and grow exponentially throughout the eternities."
-- Julie B. Beck

I love you, Mom. I will always be grateful for your example and unconditional love.

Love,
Laurie

Happy Mom Day

Well Mom, it's hard to know what to say about a lady so great as yourself. I guess I can boil it down to a few things (for today): You have always been a great friend to me, which is probably an odd thing for someone to say about his mom . . . but it's true! I can't think of a time in my life when we didn't generally enjoy each other's company and really have a good understanding of each other, and that's been very special to me through my life. I also appreciate more and more the love of music you helped me learn, as well as the countless opportunities you gave me in my formative years which led me not only to the love of my life and amazing experiences and travel opportunities, but also to a career path. (I hope.)

In general, I can add that you are an extremely competent, hard worker - in every field you've been involved in throughout your life. You are very generous with your time and goods. You have taught us by example to love the gospel, love each other, and love life. You are very dear to all of us, and we are grateful for the chance to honor you this mother's day (and hopefully everyday!) I can't wait to see what you'll post on the family blog! What fun this is going to be.

Love, Rob

Happy Mother's Day!

Some things I love and admire about Mom:

1. Her humility.

2. She is such a great listener! Mom never disagrees or offers advice to quickly when you just need a listening ear. Mom is also a great conversationalist.

3. Her wisdom and love of learning; she knows about so many things from life experiences, researching things herself, or from her school years. She wouldn't hesitate to go look in an encyclopedia for an answer to a question we had, even in the middle of dinner.

4. How she loves to take pictures, video tape, and document our lives.

5. She is such a thoughtful gift-giver.

6. She stays in a flexible mindset. I have come to appreciate the importance of this since I've been married, and I'm sure kids add a greater need to be flexible in plans and not get upset if things don't go just as planned.

7. She's great at planning. I think Mom could be paid to be an event planner. . . She is an event planner for our family! (Tracy Radmall tells me often that when Michelle get's married, she's "just calling Joan!")

8. She never makes rash decisions-- she is a good researcher and rational thinker.

I love you so much Mom! I hope this blog can be a fun way for our family to share experiences and pictures.
Love,
Julie