12 Years!!!!!!!!!!!!

July 27, 1996 -- Jordan River Temple

WOW! Twelve years have come and gone, I can hardly believe it. It seems like it was just a couple of years ago that Justin and I were dating, but our wedding day was a very memorable and wonderful day.

We were married early in the morning on July 27, 1996 in the Jordan River Temple. Justin would have preferred to be married in the St. George Temple, but I won out because the Jordan River Temple has special meaning to me. I was able to attend its dedication, do baptisms for the dead there, and also took out my endowments there. We even had our children sealed to us there after we had adopted them. So in a sense this is our temple.

It was a beautiful morning and my parents took me to the temple where we met Justin and his parents. Everyone was so nice there and helped us out so much and our Sealer gave us such great advice one of the things I remember him telling us is to always remember to pray together, which we do a pretty good job at.

After we were married we had a luncheon at the White House. Can you believe we flew us and all of our guests to Washington D.C., just kidding. There was a reception hall called the White House that was in West Jordan, I believe. It was a very nice luncheon and we were happy to be there with friends and family. Actually we were so happy to be married I don't know if we even cared about much else.

In the evening we had a reception at my parents home. I love their backyard and they had done a lot of work so of course it was beautiful. We had pictures taken there as well as at the temple. (We were kind of disappointed about the temple pictures because of the construction going on-- the temple had been struck by lightening and needed a little work done to it --.)

Our reception was wonderful but if I had to do it all over again I would not do a line. I would just walk around and visit with everyone. I had worn these really high heals so I could look a little taller, since Justin is sooooo tall. Anyway, my back was killing me and we were in that line forever. I guess it is so nice to have so many friends.

We were hoping to grab some of our refreshments as we left for our hotel, but there were none left. I just wanted one eclair, just one. People must have loved them because they were gone! Anyway we took off and found that someone had found our car so we immediately went to the car wash and washed it all off, then went to our motel to find the restaurant was closed and there was nothing else to eat, not even a snack machine. We were starving but didn't feel like going anywhere so we just suffered and then got a big breakfast in the morning at Denny's. It wasn't that good and Justin ended up getting Hepatitis from an outbreak they had from that very restaurant. NICE, not really!

Anyway was attended church at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which was kind of cool to go to, we were so tired that we slept through most of sacrament meeting along with most of the congregation (It was mainly older people who attended that ward). We had a good laugh about that.

We were then off to our Honey Moon which we spent at the Homestead in Heber City and then we also spent a night in Manti at a Bed and Breakfast called the Yardley Inn (we highly recommend it).

Anyway that is us 12 years ago! A lot has happened since them and we have had many ups and downs, sorrows and joys, but we still love each other very much and our grateful for the life we have been given together.

Another week bites the dust...

Our two little monkeys - March 2008 Hogle Zoo

Wow! Another week of summer down and it seems like summer has just begun. It is hard to believe that the kids will be starting school in about 4 weeks. How time flies.

It was nice to be home for a week. It seems like we have been gone more than we have been home. It was nice to have a little of a schedule. The kids had so much fun doing many things this week. Since it is so hot most of them delt with water. We swam at friends homes on Tuesday and Thursday and then went over to the Pinney Pool on Friday. The library was a trip for one afternoon when we just needed to get out of the house. We spent time at the dentist office because where Mackay had a root canal became infected. I was a little concerned about that but they said it was fairly common and gave him some antibiotic. We went to the dentist twice in the past week and get to go again this Thursday. Saturday we decided to pull out the water slide and have the kids in the neighborhood over. They all had a blast of course and it was a good way to pass the afternoon away.

Mackay has really hooked on to Ben Ten this month. I really don't know much about it but he watched it at his grandparents and cousins homes while we were in Utah. He is know going through withdrawls and asks me almost every day to print him out a poster. Now his new profession is wanting to be Ben Ten and turn into alien monsters that protect the world. I am very greatful for his imagination. It really keeps him busy, most of the time.

Tyler is into crafts and making them all of the time. Infact, I feel like I am being watched all of the time because there are eyes watching me everywhere. I find these silly googly eyes everywhere. They have been on the floor, on the couch, in the laundry, on the counters, and even at the dentist office. Now finding one at the dentist office was just a little too freaky, but funny at the same time.

Well, I wish you all a great week!!!

Ending of June, Beginning of July

This really has been quite the summer. We were able to go and spend a few days at Refugio State Beach with several of our friends from Ridgecrest. It was a blast. For the most part we spent all day on the beach and then hung around the campsite in the evening. Boogie boarding was great. The kids had fun making may sand castles, being buried in the sand, and just running from the waves. I even got to spend my birthday (June 28) just soaking in the sun and being lazy. Justin treated me to a seafood dinner in the evening and bought me a sweatshirt in Santa Barbara (I was freezing). It was fun to walk on the pier and to watch the different people.

Tyler and Grace Cannon running from the waves
Justin catching the waves on the boogie board


Mackay's style of boogie boarding

Annual cover the kids in the sand - Mackay's turn

We left the beach on Tuesday and were so sad to leave earlier than everyone else. Come to find out it was a blessing in disguise. My Grandma Mackay passed away after having a stroke on June 29 in the afternoon. My parents had been trying to get ahold of me all weekend and through the week. I think I really worried my mother. We arrived home after spending the day having fun eating and Chili's, and going to see WALL-E. It was 8:30 p.m. when we got home and I received the message on our answering machine (I would have gotten it sooner if I would have charged up our cell phone (sorry mom)). Anyway I sent everyone to be and started on the laundry so that we could make it to the viewing on Wednesday afternoon. Thanks to a friend I was able to get the laundry done and get a couple of hours of sleep before we left for Utah on July 2 at 4 a.m. Luckily I was able to sleep in the car for a little while.

My grandmother, Belva Pulley Mackay, had just turned 87 at the being of June. She mentioned just 4 days before her birthday that this would be her last birthday and that she would pass away sometime in the next year. She mentioned being visited by family and especially her mother. My mom said that her passing was a peaceful and beautiful experience. I feel bad that I was not able to say goodbye to her before her passing but felt comforted at the funeral that all was well and Grandma Mackay was happy and could do all the things now that she couldn't do for the past few years. She was a wonderful lady and will be very missed. If there is one thing that I learned from my Grandmother it was being grateful for all she had and never complaining about anything.

Anyway we were able to spend time with family for the 4th of July weekend. We went and saw a parade in Magna in the afternoon on the 4th and then headed up to Lyman, Wyoming to do fireworks with Justin's twin brother in the evening. It was a lot of fun.
Mackay and Tyler loved being with and seeing many of their cousins. They were even surprised to know that they had so many second cousins.

On Saturday the 5th of July we had a special Mackay reunion and dutch oven cooking with all of my mom's family. It was so much fun to visit with and see cousins, aunts, and uncles. Hopefully we can keep up a tradition of doing that.

Now we are back home for a few days and still moving like crazy. It has been so hot so we are grateful for friends and their pools that they share with us.

It has been awhile...

It has been quite the month. It seems like we have been running here and there since school has gotten out. This is just a short summary of things we have done so far.
--Tyler Graduated from Joy School
--Mackay and Tyler started and ended swim lessons
--We had an end of year party with Mackay's 1st grade class.
--Mackay had his first root canal (poor guy).
--Playing and swimming with friends
--Turner Family Reunion in Southern Utah, Springdale.
here is a slideshow of the fun we had so far this month:
http://s289.photobucket.com/albums/ll226/turntocali/Summer%20Fun/?albumview=slideshow

DAD'S DAY

This is my dad, he is one awesome man. He had to learn a lot of patience being the father of 4 girls. He did a great job in raising us and helping us with just about everything, especially math during those geometry and algebra days. He is a very handy guy and I love when he comes to visit because he is so helpful around my house. I have to think of jobs for him to do when he comes so he doesn't get bored, actually he will go around the house and look for things to fix if I don't keep him busy. It is great and I absolutely 100% appreciate the help. My dad is a very hard working man and loves to serve and help out others. He is an amazing example in many ways and I hope he know just how much he is appreciated by me and my family.

My kids call him the tractor Grandpa because he takes them for rides while he is mowing the lawn. They think it is great fun to go to Grandpa's house because they have a lot of yard to play in and get to even see some cows and horses and maybe a few other animals while there. It is kind of like going to a farm. I personally miss where they live a lot, but am grateful also for my own home and the many things that I have.

Thanks Dad for being such a wonderful Father and role model. You are GREAT!

Justin is a great dad! He has so much fun with the kids and the kids tend to listen to him better than their poor mom. He loves to take them hiking, camping, out to the desert to find lizards and snakes (hopefully they never bring any home), and have wrestling matches and other competitions. Justin likes to make up games for the kids to play. The boys have a lot of fun with dad. The picture above is what Justin got for fathers day, he is looking forward to using it here in a couple of weeks when we go to the beach.

Thanks Sweetie for all you do as a Dad!

Justin's Dad is a great father, father-in-law, and grandpa. He loves his children, their spouses, and his grand kids. His favorite thing to do is take the kids out in the hills near Parowan and build a small fire. The kids absolutely love that. In fact Tyler has dubbed him the Fire Grandpa. We are really grateful for his kindness and for the many great adventures that he has taken us on. We love him very much and miss being with him.

Thank you for all you do for us!

Water Slide Party Pictures

click on title and it will take you to a slide show of the pictures from the party.

Last week of school...

Wow it is finally here and past, the last week of school. It came up so quickly. It seems like we have had so much going on lately that it is hard to keep everything straight.
Last week end I was able to escape and go to the temple with a friend. It was so nice. The only place on this earth that you can feel true peace, love and comfort. I was grateful for the opportunity that I had to go and be there for a short time.
This week was a lot of fun for the kids they were both finishing up School and Joy School and it seems like there were things going on in the afternoon and evening too although I am drawing a total blank at what went on this week. Poor Mackay missed the very last day of school because he had a little tummy problem (I won't go into details), but I still took him and Tyler out to lunch after Tyler got out of school and we went to Burger King and Jack Rabbit Park. It was fun.
Oh, Mackay also had a dentist appointment this week to get a couple of cavities filled and we found out he had and abscessed tooth and needs to get a root canal. My goodness, a root canal at the age of 7, I was a little shocked. Mackay has been telling everyone about it like it is major surgery. So anyway that is what we will be doing next week. He was really good for the dentist and very brave.
The last couple of days have just been one party after another. We had a few friends over on Friday for an end of school party and to play on our water slide. It was a lot of fun and I believe the kids had a great time.
Saturday (yesterday) Tyler went to a birthday party for a friend and got the coolest batman utility belt that his friend's mom made. He wore it all day and wanted to put it on again this morning. Hopefully we won't have to talk him out of not wearing it to church.
We then went to a surprise birthday party for another friend and then to a graduation party for one of Justin's Priests. Luckily they were at the same park so that made it convenient. It was fun and gave us something to do all afternoon.
We were suppose to go to an open house in the evening but opted not to because we were all so tired an so we just watched a show and went to bed.