Remembering...Memorial Day 2009!

My Grandpa Darold Adams

Trevor's Grandpa and Grandma Clarke

My Grandpa and Grandma Bambrough

Trevor's Grandpa and Grandma Schenck

Ryker's program and field trip!!!

Ryker had his end of year program and a class field trip to the Utah house this week!!

His program was so adorable. All of the kids had a lot of special parts and they sang so many cute songs! I could tell they had practiced a lot, they all did so good and Ryker was so proud!

His class field trip was to the Utah house and then they went to the castle park for lunch and to play! I have been on a lot of field trips through out the years, but I had never been to the Utah house. It was so neat! I really enjoyed it and so did Ryker and his class! Lunch at the park was so much fun also. The kids loved palying on the big castle play ground and also running on the trails by the creek at the park! It was all so much fun! I am going to miss Ryker's teacher, Mrs. Toomey so much and so is Ryker. She was a wonderful teacher and worked with Ryker so well! He had a great 1st grade year and had so many cute kids in his class!!

End of an Era!!!!

Ridger graduating from preschool- May 2009

Ryker graduating from preschool-May 2007

River graduating from preschool-May 2001

Rylee graduating from preschool - May 1999

Today Ridger had his preschool graduation!! All four of the kids attended and graduated from Brenda Milgates preschool program. I honestly can't believe where the time has went!! It seems like just yesterday Rylee was getting ready to go to preschool for the first time! I am usually so excited for the kids to graduate from preschool and move on to Kindergarten. But this year I am so sad. I usually sit through the preschool program excited for the next big step. But during Ridger's program I fought back tears the whole time and was so emotional listening to him sing "Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee", "I Can't Spell Hippopotamus", and "The Rainbow Song". All of which all three of the other kids sang at their preschool graduation also. Just knowing I will not experience that ever again was so sad for me. I told Brenda I might go into withdrawal and might start sending her a check every month. Brenda has been such a great teacher for each of our kids and I am so happy she was able to teach each of the them! Everyone around me seems so anxious for school to be out and for the kids to be home for the summer. But I am so sad that this school year is ending and not looking forward to the beginning of the new school year at all. I have loved having Ridger home with me, we have gotten so close this year while the other kids have been at school all day and we have had so much fun.

"Ridger, I love you so much. You are such a joy to have in our family!! I love your adorable shy, but crazy personality. I love your cute animated facial expressions and how you always keep us laughing with your funny personality. You are always so thoughtful and sweet and try to make everyone around you happy. You are always so eager to learn, and it seems to come so easy for you. I know you will go far in this life and will do so well in Kindergarten!! Congratulations Ridger!! Hugs and kisses!!! Your best buddy, AKA-Mommy"

The Ride...

Trevor, his brothers and brother-in-laws surprised his Dad for his 72nd birthday with a motorcycle tour of Southern Utah. They all either rented, bought, borrowed or stole motorcycles and spent a couple days on a huge ride!

I'm so glad they had fun, but even more glad they made it home safely!!!

The Journey of a Mother

A friend of mine sent this to me so I decided to share it for this Mother's Day weekend!

The young mother set her foot on the path of life."Is this the long way?" she asked. And the guide said "Yes,And the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it.But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy,And she would not believe that anything could be better than these years.So she played with her children, she fed them and bathed them,And taught them how to tie their shoes and ride a bike and reminded them to feed the dog,And do their homework and brush their teeth.The sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the nights came, and the storms, and the path was sometimes dark,And the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close And covered them with her arms, and the children said,"Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, And the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children,"A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms. And with this, she gave them strength to face the world..Year after year, she showed them compassion, understanding, hope, But most of all...unconditional love.

And when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

The days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, And the mother grew old and she became little and bent.But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And the Mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars And said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned so much And are now passing these traits on to their children."And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her, And gave her their strength, just as she had given them hers.

One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill, they could see a shining road And golden gates flung wide. And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk with dignity And pride, with their heads held high, and so can their children after them. And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her.And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick and perfume that she wore, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows every emotion happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger, helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow... And all the while, hoping and praying you will only know the good feelings in life. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you.Not time, not space...not even death!"The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched - they must be felt with the heart." ~Helen Keller~

Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!!!

Soakin' up the fun...Spring Break '09

Spring Break '09 highlights...

hiking in Leeds-watching Trevor and Jon jumping in the freezing cold water

late night swimming and hot tubbing

huge sleepover at Trevor's little sisters house in St. George

sightseeing in Hollywood with Rylee, River, Ryker, Jon, Colton and Jayden

riding the "BIG" rides at Knotts Berry Farm with Ryker

riding the log flume with Ridger

losing a bet with Jon because Trevor couldn't resist disobeying the rules on the log flume by getting me wet

the first night at the beach house and watching the sunset and the kids play in the waves all night

Ridger and Peyton pulling each other on the boogie board

Ryker riding the waves on the boogie board

River surfing even though he was really sick

Rylee tumbling on the beach

watching dolphins from the deck each morning

taking Taylor (Trevor's little brother who is serving a mission in So. Cali) to breakfast and visiting with him and his companion

sleeping with the windows open and listening to the waves all night

dinner on the pier

Trevor and John (oh and the kids) building the worlds largest sand castle-every day

morning walk down the beach and pier with Trevor

sailing in the BEAUTIFUL San Diego Bay

the candy store and quaint shops at Sea Port Village

dinner at the Chart House

Easter egg hunt at the Bambrough Easter party

coloring Easter eggs as a family

spending 10 days together as a family!!!

Reading Profanity...

This incident happened last fall and I debated about blogging about it, but have decided to share it...

One day I was reading a book with Ryker that his teacher had sent home.
The book was titled "Fred Fixes It"! The very first page had a picture of Fred under a faucet with tools, trying to fix the faucet.
The words read, "Drip, drop, drip, drop".

Ryker, without pausing at all, read it........"Damn-it, damn-it, damn-it, damn-it!"
My mouth dropped open and I wasn't sure if I should laugh, cry or get mad.
I said "WHAT?, where did you get that and why do you think this says that?"
He replied very matter-of-factly, "Because he looks so mad!"

Reading is definitely not Ryker strongest academic area!! We have since been working so hard and he has improved so much. "I am so proud of you and how hard and diligent you work at everything you do Ryker!! You never give up and always give everything your very best effort!! I love you so much and am so proud of the adorable boy you are becoming!!"