Breaking Dawn Comes out TONIGHT!!!

Anyone want to come with me to the Twilight Party tonight at "Barnes and Noble?" I (along with the rest of you) am SO excited about Stephanie's newest book, "Breaking Dawn." I've been like a little kid waiting for Santa to come! I have no clue how this is going to end but I can't wait to read what happens!!! P.S. She revealed this may not be the last book of the series, but may write another book from a different character's perception...interesting.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Don't read below if you don't want to be spoiled!
Click on this link below to watch Stephanie on GMA yesterday-
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5487417
Stephanie gave a clue that she got to write about a wedding! Will it be Edward? Jacob? Can't wait!

Rochester, NY and Thousand Islands Part 2

My dad's high school. Irondequoit High. Does he look like he made high school exciting or what? He had the funniest stories to share and I definitely think he was the troublemaker! We visited Dad's home he grew up in that actually my grandfather built. We were so excited to see deer in the backyard!
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We then went took a Lake Cruise to "Thousand Islands" which literally are hundreds of tiny islands and million-dollar mansions are built on them. It was amazing and many famous people have their summer homes here. My favorite one is this tiny one on the left that we probably still couldn't afford! The inventor of "Lifesaver Candy" lived there so we just had to put on our Life Saver Jackets which Hayden wasn't too fond of!





Hayden is such a good traveler! Here he is having a slumber party at the hotel and fast asleep on the road. We're off to Canada now!

Vacation Part 1-Palmyra, NY

Yeah for vacation! Let me first start by saying we took over 1,000 pictures and wish we could post them all. Here is a highlight of our trip! We traveled with my family back East to visit where my Dad grew up in upstate New York. We took a fantastic vacation visiting his roots as well as places like Niagara Falls, Canada (Toronto and Ottawa) and Palmyra, NY. This is a place that Ricky and I have always wanted to visit because it holds some of church's earlier history. I thought it would be appropriate to first post some pictures of the "Sacred Grove." (For those of who you aren't LDS, this is where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith.) The song "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" is accurate to the tee (yes, there are birds and even bees!) and you could feel the Spirit as you walked through. The sun would shine directly through the think layer of tree canopy and it was just beautiful. We had fun taking pictures and showing Hayden all the GREENERY! We later took a tour through the Smith Family's First Farm and happened to be in town for the "Cumorah Hill Pageant!" It was amazing-over 800 performers on stage and seating for 9,000 people. It was packed but we happened to get great seats. It was a great performance and we enjoyed our time in Palmyra!

The Sacred Grove








It definitely is a special place and you know you're on sacred grounds.


The Cumorah Hill Pageant



Having fun with Uncle Trent!


The Beautiful Palmyra, NY Temple

Our new toy...

The difference between "taking" a picture and "making" a picture. Ricky and I are beyond thrilled about our new camera! It's the Canon Rebel xti and we are having a fun time figuring out how this thing works! (I'm contemplating taking a photog class!) We got to use it for the first time on our recent trip to Canada and upstate New York!

Vacation pictures soon to follow....

Fairest of the Fair

It's that time of year again when food (just name it!) everything from A-Z is fried and you can get hassled by good old "carni's!" The SD Fair! Ricky and I have very fond memories of the Fair (We both attended every single day in 2004 when I was the Fair Queen!) and want to make it a tradition to take our family each year to enjoy everything it offers. Hayden LOVED the farm animals and even went on his first Merry-Go-Round Ride with Daddy! Ricky won the "3' O Clock Fun" potato sack race and got a blue ribbon! It was so fun and can't wait to go next year!

Our little sparkler

Hayden's first 4th of July was a blast! We had a great time celebrating at Alex and Rob's Annual Party and watched the fireworks right from our neighborhood. Hayden loved the fireworks and we are so grateful to live in this Country.

We've got KITTENS! Anyone want one?

We are fostering a beautiful family of kittens that were rescued from bad conditions in Bakersfield. I found a lady that needed help with taking in some kittens temporarily because kitten season is underway and these guys probably would have just been euthanized if left at the shelter. There is just no room anywhere so we thought we would do a good thing by taking them in for 2 weeks (until they are old enough to be adopted out) and give them TLC and of course feed them! They are so sweet. I think I have found a home for the mom and 1 kitten and was just wondering if anyone reading this blog was interested in opening their heart and home to one of these little guys! They are already fixed and vaccinated! They are super cute! Come over and meet them anytime! You won't regret it. Thank you!