Family Pictures 2018

We finally went and got our family pictures taken...after 3 years! (Ugh!) But at least we got them, right?  At first, we all weren't very happy with them because we were spaced kind-of awkwardly in some of them, but now when I look at them, I love them!  Because they show our crazy personalities!

I love Eric in this picture!

(But I wish I was over a little to the right, so that we could see Andraea's face a little better!) 

And this was our "funny faces" one (I've decided that I have no funny faces)  HA!

Look at those handsome boys!

And this one is the kids' funny faces one!  I love how Eric is turned around. HA! 

And all of the other faces look awesome! 

And one with Andraea...look at that beautiful hair!

Todd and Melissa

And I love this one!  (Even though I'm really short!) :) 

Jacob

Kyle

Dallin

Brandon

Eric and Andraea

I love this family!

Dallin's Sculptures

These pictures were taken to show all of the cool sculptures that Dallin has put together over the years.  He has had most of them in his room.  But he didn't know where to store them (and we really don't have room anyway), when he was packing up for his mission, so we just decided to take lots of pictures, and then threw most of them away. (That's kind-of sad, actually!)

This was made out of paper

Wood

Wood

And more wood

Wood

Wood

Paper

Wood

And paper

And this one was made out of foam 

We have a few more that never got completed. But either way, these were fun for Dallin to build. 

 Pretty awesome!  Way to go Dallin!

Dallin's Eagle Court July 2018

Well, Dallin achieved the rank of Eagle Scout LAST YEAR, and we never quite got around to celebrating his amazing accomplishment...until now!  Yeah!

He got a big cake!

And we decorated the cultural hall for a big bash! (HA!)

We displayed some of his awards throughout the years...

And of course I did a book with all of his school pictures in it (that's a given!)

I don't know why I didn't get a picture of the back of this neckerchief.  It's pretty cool.  It has 3 Eagles monogrammed on it...

Dad and Dallin

Dallin and Jeff Walker

Mom and Dallin

Mom, Dallin, and Dad

Everyone in our whole family was able to attend the celebration.  Awesome!

It was a fun evening.  We are so proud of Dallin for his perseverance and dedication to attaining his Eagle rank.  You did it Dallin!  Way to go! :)

Family Shield of Faith and Temple Day for Dallin

Recently when Dallin was cleaning out his room, he came across this big "Shield of Faith" puzzle that we had done together as a family years and years ago.  It brought back lots of good memories of our different Family Home Evenings.  For this activity, we each took a piece of the puzzle and wrote one thing about our testimonies and then taped them all together.  It signified our family's shield.

Eric wrote, "I know the gospel is true." 

Kyle said, "I know my family loves me." (I wrote it for him)

Dallin said, "I know Jesus loves me." (I wrote that for him, too)

Dad wrote, "I know Joseph Smith was a prophet."

 Brandon wrote, "I know the church is true."

And I wrote, "I know Jesus lives."

Then Eric decorated the back of it with his cool "drawings."  I'm guessing he was about 8 at the time, and Brandon was probably 5.  That made Dallin 3, and Kyle 1.  Jacob wasn't even born yet!

This is our Family's Shield of Faith"  Pretty awesome, right?

And these two pictures were taken the morning that Dallin went through the temple for himself. 

It was a wonderful day! Way to go Dallin! :)

Memorial Day Visits 2018

I can't believe that it has been almost 7 years since Ann passed away.  We definitely miss her and wish she was here with us.  We cut some red roses from our front yard and brought them up to her grave on Memorial day.  She always loved red roses!  And we put a pink one right in the middle to add a little variety. 

And of course we visited Todd's little brother's grave, Matty.  I'm pretty sure that Ann and Matty are serving together up in Heaven.  It must have been an amazing reunion nearly 7 years ago.

Jacob is usually the only one who is willing to take a picture with me.  (Thanks Jacob!)

Of course I forced all of the boys to take a picture together. First a serious one...

Then a silly one...funny kids!

Melissa and Todd

Happy Memorial Day!  We miss you Ann!