Happy Birthday Babe!

Bryce turned 29 years today. I want to wish him a happy birthday and let him know that I am thankful that he has been part of my life for the last 10+ years. (Actually married for 7) There are so many things that I love about Bryce:

1. He is so caring with Cooper and I.

2. He is always willing to finish Cooper's Capri Sun and candy before Cooper heads off to nursery on Sunday... it's a hard task but somebody's got to do it!

3. He is very good at fixing cars.... thanks to him, we don't have to pay as much as the average person for mechanical work...in fact, he can fix most things, like our camper

4. He is a hardworker and I will never have to worry about that...he is great provider.

5. I love that Bryce has a tender heart and he is not afraid to cry.

6. Bryce loves children... and especially his little boy...he adores him so much....

7. Bryce does not like it when I tease him...he gets so flustered..and its so funny and cute!!

8. He gets so excited when his new car magazine shows up in the mail.... and he has it completely read by the time he goes to bed that night...

9. He loves to sing to me: "Whenever I see your smilin' face"

10. He loves to dance with me.. I don't always cooperate with him...but he drags me around the room and continues to dance with me whether I like it or not.

11. He calls me throughout the day to see how my day is going

12. He puts up with me and my antics...i have alot of antics....he is patient with me

13. He loves to take us camping and the best part is that he does most all of the cooking and he cleans out the dutch ovens (not fun) and he puts up with me sleeping on the opposite end of the trailer so that I am not uncomfortable...keep in mind, however, that he always offers to "keep me warm"

14. He is the greatest husband, friend, and father. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. We love you so much Bryce. Thanks for everything.

Scam, Scam, Scam!

We activated our adoption paperwork on parent profiles.com a week ago. It is the most popular adoption website. Anyway, we got a contact a few days ago and here is how the communication went:

"Hello, I looked at your profile and it looks interesting---was wondering if you would take care of my upcoming kid---I just want what is best for my baby and was want your family to take good care of my baby" - Carrey

So I Respond:

Thank you for contacting us. We are excited to learn more about you. Would you be willing to share more information with us? How far along are you and how are you feeling? How is the pregnancy going? If you don't mind, what state are living in? Are you working with an agency right now? We are working with LDS Family Services. I don't know if you are interested in working through them, but they provide services to every area in the U.S. One nice thing is that their services to you are free. We adopted our little boy, Cooper, through LDS Family Services and we were really impressed with the way they dealt with not only us, but the birth mother.

So, she says:

Thank you for your message, I'm 5 months pregnant. I will be very happy if you can help me take good care of the baby, I'm fine at the moment -- there are some problems i am facing but i thank God for everything... I'm presently in the United Kingdom, i came here with my bf and all the way he died here in the UK-- he has an accident, I'm planning on getting back to the states and place the baby for adoption and i hope your family will be good enough to take good care of the baby.Carrey.

And I write:

We would love to learn more about you. When are you coming back to the United States? Where are you going to be living when you come back to the U.S.? How long have you been in the U.K.? I think it would be neat to be over in Europe. Is it pretty there? Would you be interested in working with LDS Family Services when you return to the U.S.?

She says:

Thank you for your message, I will be back to the states very soon -- i need to do some things before i get back to the states but i am abate of doing it. I don't have a place yet to stay when i get back to the state. I've been here for a year now and it's nice here in London... I will like to work witth LDS but it's only when i am back to the states, check out my pictures.Carrey.
(She sends us two picts- one of a girl in front of tower in London, other of a girl and her "so called" boyfriend on a yahct.)

So, I respond:

The pictures you sent us are so cute. Thanks for sending those to us. Do you have family in the states? Do you have any idea where you are going to stay when you return? Well, just keep us updated and we can give you some contact information to the LDS Family Services when you get back to the states. Like I said before, they are really good to work with, and they will answer any questions you might have. We would love to eventually get to meet you or talk to you. Please keep us updated so that we know how you are doing. Feel free to email us as much as you would like. We love hearing from you. We love children so much and we are looking forward to the time when we will be blessed with another child in our family and home. Our little boy, Cooper, prays about having another baby all the time. He wants to be a big brother so much and he loves little babies.

She emails me:

I don't have any family in the states,I've been lonely since my parents died... Are your family a good Christian? i do go to church always, I will find a place to stay when i get back to the states-- the main problem now is how to get back to the states, I will like to seek an aid from your family, firstly i need to attend the hospital here in the UK for medical purpose and good health. I'm in need of some amount like 400 pounds and i hope your family can help me out about this... it will be nice meeting your family sooner to know the kind of person your family are...

I think, "Wow, this is interesting. Her boyfriend, mom, and dad died and she needs money!"
I write her back:

We have already spent alot of money on costs associated with our adoption paperwork. We are not going to be able to help you. We will continue to pray for you and hope that you will email us as soon as you get to the United States, if you, in fact, are truly interested in placing your child with our family.
She so nicely responds:

I will like to place my baby with your family... can you be of aid to me with any amount you got, I'm fed up of all this mess. kindly have mercy for me.

I so nicely resond:

Let me tell you some of my concerns. There are alot of scams out there right now where people are taking advantage of adoptive couples who really want children. Its really sad and pathetic that these individuals are scamming because they know that these adoptive couples are emotionally and financially drained because they want a child so badly. I am not saying that this is the case, but there are questions that I have asked you that have not been answered. Again, we cannot send you any money.

And that brings me to today. She is done writing me tryint to scam us for our money. Bryce and I were aware of such scams so were not upset about it. However, if it would have been a couple who didn't have any children, that scam would have crushed them. You know, its sad that we live in a society that we have to question every story that people tell us. But that's the way it is!

Girls Camp

Last week we had girls camp up at Perception Park in Ogden Canyon. I was the camp director this year and we had so much fun. It was fun to get to know the girls and the leaders better.

Our theme was R.O.T.C. (Reach Out To Christ). We bought the girls shirts, dog tags, and bandanas. We had alot of neat activities that brought the Spirit to our camp. We did an activity where the girls were supposed to bring something to camp that they wouldn't normally bring. Only 2 girls forgot their item. We then blind folded them, took them on a hike in the dark, and when they got back, they saw a picture of Christ out in a field with lights shining on it. The girls that brought their item got to go towards Christ. The other girls had to go back and sit by the fire. We gave the girls that made it to Christ a glow in the dark necklace and asked them if they wanted to share their light with the 2 girls that were back at the fire. We talked about being prepared to receive the light of Christ and then to be willing to go out and share the light of Christ.

The next night, we had a lady named Connie come and talk to us about some of her trials. She had infertility and an abusive marriage that ended 4 years ago. She started dating again and went on a date with a guy who took her 4 wheeling. She ended up crashing and was paralyzed from the waist down. Some of the points that she made:

-listen to the promptings of the Spirit

-Heavenly Father hears our prayers even though we may think he doesn't

-we shouldn't judge others by their appearances

- the Lord gives us trials to see how we deal with them...not if we endure them, but how we endure them

She was in the hospital with a 16 year old cheerleader who had the exact same injury and she did...Today that cheerleader is 20 and she sits at home and waits for her mom to come home from work to take care of her. Connie just moved into her new home, is raising her 2 children, is her daughters softball coach, has a full time job, just bought a new car, is a model for people with disabilities and most importantly, has a strong testimony of the gospel of Christ.

On a lighter note, we went boating thanks to our bishop and counselors. We had great food, thanks to Nancy, and we had a warm comfortable place to sleep (camper) thanks to Jen.

We had a great time camping and the girls seemed to enjoy it as well!

Crazy Summer

This has been a very busy summer for me, so I am a little behind on some posts. We went to Texas for Sean's wedding for 2 weeks on June 6th. Cooper and I came home on the night of the 18th, unpacked, did laundry, and were off to a family reunion on the 20th. Then, we get back from that on a Sunday night, the 22nd and I had a few days to make sure everything was ready for Young Womens Camp, since I am the camp director. On Thursday, July 3, our family went up to Logan for fireworks, a day at the Lake, a baby blessing, and a family dinner at the Douglas'. We get home from Logan on Sunday the 6th, and the next morning, I am off to Girls Camp for 4 days. So, that brings me to today! My parents are coming in to town tonight and will be here for 2 weeks. So, I will be back and forth between Logan and here. They leave to go back on the 26th, and Bryce's birthday is on the 27th. Sean will then fly in on the 30th and we have a wedding on the 31 of July. Sean will fly home on the 4th and then Bryce and I will be ma's and pa's on pioneer trek on Aug 7th for three days. So, like I said, life is crazy right now and I don't see it slowing down until mid August.

Fourth of July

We went up to Logan to watch fireworks with our family and friends on the 3rd of July. Every year we go to the Fowers to watch fireworks because they have such a good view. The kids watched the fireworks for a few minutes and then they were off jumping on the tramp.

This is me and Landon, Jacqui and Jared's newest addition to their family. As you can tell, he thought the fireworks were pretty interesting. He is four weeks old and getting so big!

Startin' the Rebuild

Bryce is rebuilding his dream car right now... a 77' Toyota Landcruiser. He finally took the old engine out the other night and replaced it with a brand new Chevy engine that is alot smaller and weights alot less. This old engine was very heavy. Now he has to start putting everything back together. Lots of work!!

Fun On The Lake

Steph and Paul let us take the boat out on the 4th of July, and we had a great time. Bryce and Kyle traded off driving the boat and we all had so much fun.


Cooper loves taking swim breaks. The water was pretty cold, but as long as he was kicking his legs, he stayed pretty warm in the water. He also loved going on the tube and he kept saying faster, faster!

Kyle had a fun time throwing every one in the water having swim breaks with all the kids. Kylee had a great time on the tubes, especially when Kyle was pulling her!