~Happy 35th Birthday Tracey~

I know she is going to be mad and embarrassed but I had to wish her a Happy Birthday! WOW! I can't believe she is 35! 5 more years until the big 40!

Tracey is the mother to 5 kiddos and has so much energy with keeping up with them. Sometimes I am amazed at all that she has going on in her life. All her kids are in extra curricular activities and she always finds a way to make it to everything and has herself always put together so good. She is such a good mom and she never lets her kids out the door in the morning without anything. They always have their vitamins, herbs, smoothies, scriptures read and morning prayer. She loves her kids so much and they are so lucky to have her! Sometimes I feel like I can't keep up with 3 and then I look at her and all she has going on and realize my life is pretty dang easy! They do such a good job raising their kids. We are so fortunate that our husbands like each other so much. We are able to do so many family vacations together and it's so fun to have so many great memories. 

 I just want her to know that I Love her and think she is such a great person and sister. She has set such a great example for me and I hope she knows how important she is to me. She is always there for me when I need to chat about something or vent. I don't know what life would be like without sisters. I am so happy that my girls have each other because there is nothing like it! Have a great day Trace!

Tracey & Soph. We went on a dinner cruise 2 years ago for her birthday. It was so much fun!

Em Bug and Trace

Ava and Trace. She is so good to my girls. Ava LOVES her!

Tracey and Cooper when we went to Ireland. I love this picture!

Trace and her girls at Disneyland

Some of us girls in New York

Trace and Scott in Palmyra

Mom, Cannon and Trace in California

Trace and Elsie

Happy 14th Bday Austin!!

Happy 14th Birthday to my nephew Austin. I will never forget driving to Utah with my dad the day he was born to see him. He was such a beautiful baby. He is my first nephew and such a sweetheart. Austin is such a fun loving kid. As a kid, he always LOVED to come over and spend the night with us. We would stay up late, watch movies, pop popcorn and so on. He loved to help me with Emmie when she was a baby. He loved to figure out how to set her pump, change her trach, change her feeding tube and so forth. It melts my heart to think that those times have past. Now that he is growing up he doesn't like to stay as often but when he does, Jason and I eat it up. They grow up so fast. I want Austin to know how much we LOVE him and how proud we are of him. He has very big dreams and I know he will achieve them. Austin loves to start businesses and find ways to make money. He has set such a great example for his siblings and they are so blessed to have him as their example. They love him so much! I can't believe he is going in to High School this year. WOW! We only have 5 years left before he goes on his mission. I am excited to watch him go through his High School years. We love you Austin!!! 

Sorry Austin I couldn't resist! Notice the blue tooth in his ear. He is sooo in to gadgets!

 Laguna 06',  I can't believe how much he has changed.

This is when we went to Ireland and we went to see the most beautiful castle!

Austin is always so willing to help with Emmie. He loves her so much

Disneyland July 07

Tracey and Austin in Canada June 07

Austin when we went to Palmyra June 07

Trac and kids July 07'

Tyler, Austin, Tay and Elle

He is such an amazing pianist. I could listen to him all day. One of the things I love about going over to The Simas' for Sunday dinners, is listening to Austin play. It is so relaxing!

I love this picture! Jason bet Austin and his friend Tyler to wear speedos down to the beach on the 4th of July for $100. Guess what? They did and they were both so embarrassed! It was the funniest thing. It amazes me what teenagers will do for money!

We're HOME!

WOW! After 5 weeks in Laguna, which I consider HEAVEN, we are home. I was so excited to get home up until we got to Blythe and it was 110 degrees. I think my husband was tired of me complaining of how miserable it was outside. It felt like a blow dryer was blowing in my face when I got out to grab some snacks and do a potty break. Ava says, "mom, it is so hot out here!" I said, "you better hurry and finish that ice cream before it melts!" We have lived in Arizona our entire lives and every year when I come home from summer it seems I forget how hot it actually gets here. I have to say, I did walk in my home and appreciate all that I have. There is a good feeling in our home. It might be miserable outside, but it's HOME! Top 10 things I will miss from our Summer vacation....

1. THE BEACH and the few steps we had down to it.

2. Waking up to my nieces and nephews every morning. I LOVE them like my own. They would come in our room every morning and play with Emmie and Elle. They truly LOVE my kids too!

3. Hanging out with my sister late at night while the kids were finally in bed chatting about life, researching stuff online and listening to the seals BARK ALLLL night long! Our beach house was right next to Seal Rock, you can't beat that!

4. My parents and my little sisters in the same town. We are still trying to convince them that AZ is the best place to live 7 months out of the year. Which.. they agree. My little sisters of course aren't buying it!

5. How excited I was to see my husband when he got off the plane every week to come see us. It felt like we were first married.

6. My sisters FAMOUS healthy fruit smoothies every morning! They are so yummy! I of course, had to throw in cinnamon rolls with them. I'm such a nice aunt! It probably explains why I'm still wearing my maternity clothes!????

7. The ward and Sunday dinners at my parents house. It's amazing how fast you can fit in to a new ward. The people there are amazing and so sweet.

8. Emmies few trach changes. We change her trach very often here in AZ because it is so dry. Living on the beach.... very seldom due to the moisture.

9. FABULOUS quaint restaurants and all the fun conversations we had at dinner and of course all the SHOPPING!

10.The 9-1-1 call made by the big kids while they were baby sitting. Us adults were out to dinner enjoying ourselves. I will save that for another post! There is NEVER a DULL moment when you vacation with the Simas Family! Can't wait till next year!

I will also miss this.....

Our VIEW from the family room

And this.....

Ava got this stroller for her Birthday from the "Build a Bear" store and the kids thought it would be funny to push Elle around in it. I have never seen her so interested in ANYTHING. She absolutely loved it. Or maybe she just loved all the attention and the laughs! She barely fit her bum in it. It was HILARIOUS!

And smart aleck teenagers....

Austin and Elle

Tay and Elle

A few things that I won't miss....

1. Ava and Sophie fighting because they have been with each other non stop for 5 weeks! I can't figure out how both of them ended up at Grandmas when we got home and are STILL there! Have fun mom!

2. Sharing a bathroom with my entire family. I think someone would have laughed if they walked in on Emmie and I bathing in this little tub.

3. The wood floors that sounded like an elephant was walking down them. (I guess there were times an elephant was walking down them!)

4. Getting Em, Elsie and all their stuff to the sand when Jason was out of town.

5. Sleeping with my entire family in a QUEEN size bed. I felt bad leaving anyone out.

6. Not having a babysitter available at all times! I missed my mom!

Although I will miss all these things, I am very grateful to be home. I missed our family and friends that live here. The summer is so nice to not have anything going on and no obligations but I have to say, I am ready to get back to our routine. We love Az and are happy to be home again! Although I would love to live in Laguna someday, there's NO place like HOME!

Jason had our pool ready to be filled for us when we got home so we are anxious to start swimming in this tomorrow.....

Happy 5th Birthday Ava!

 5 years ago today, I gave birth to my 2nd daughter, Ava. She was such a sweet and beautiful baby with some strong lungs on her! Ava and Emmie happen to be 18 months apart and I wasn't terribly excited when I found out I was expecting again right after I had Emmie. I knew that my hands would be full with 2 infants but I also knew our Heavenly Father knows whats best for our family. I don't think I could have gotten through these past 5 years without my little Ava. She has been the perfect compliment to our family. She is truly an amazing girl and has such a sweet spirit. 

5 things we love about her.....

1. She is so sensitive and has such a tender heart. Whenever I get upset and raise my voice just a little.... she cries and says, "don't yell at me mom, you are hurting my feelings!" I think to myself, "what would she do if she had a mom that yelled all the time?"

2. She LOVES her daddy and will do ANYTHING to watch movies with him in the game room and fall asleep with him! That is one of her favorite things to do.

3. She is such a GIRLY GIRL! First thing when she wakes up, she jumps in the shower and gets ready. I rarely  have to nag her to get ready for the day. She always wants to look pretty and get ready on her own! She loves PINK and also loves my makeup drawer!

4. She is so naive and innocent. I guess that would be due to not having older siblings that teach her more than she should know! She has Emmie as her example so she is pretty quiet and reserved! We LOVE it! I also love that she hasn't given up her build a bear dog, Ella. She sleeps with Ella EVERY night and has since she was 6 months old. We will be so sad when she gives up Ella, she is a part of our family!

5. I can trust her. Anytime something happens I know I can always rely on Ava to tell me the truth. She is the most HONEST child I know and I love her for that!

I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for sending me such a precious gift. She is my little buddy and I am so glad that we are so close. She loves to hang out with me and help me with her sisters. She will make a wonderful mom someday and I hope she knows I appreciate all that she does for me. She is such a responsible child and has an amazing love for her sisters. They idolize her and I couldn't think of a better example for them. I know that she was sent to our home for a reason. She HELPS me so much and I honestly don't think I could do it without her! She always has the cutest smile on her face and the cutest little curls! We LOVE you Ava, and hope you have the best BIRTHDAY ever!

❤Ava 2 years old❤

Ava and Dad 2 ½

Love these girlies!

♕3 years old

So excited to FINALLY see her new baby sister

Ava and Em Bug!

Ava Laguna 06

Ava 3 ½

Little Miss Attitude

Don't know where she learned this from!

✍Ava first day of preschool Sept 06

I love that Ella had to come with her to school her first year!

Ava showing off her pipes! They hurt my ears most of the time!☹ Gotta LOVE her!

Mom and Ava on her 3rd Birthday

Girls being silly

Ava and her best buddy Sophie 

Laguna 2008

Sisters

 Laguna 2008

Grandma Cindy comes to visit!

Last night we had to say "BYE" again to dad. Jason has been here for the past 2 weeks and we have had such a relaxing time. Unfortunately he had to go back to work this week! He will be returning Thursday and we are looking forward to it! It is not easy to get around with my 3 girls by myself! His mom (Grandma Cindy) came out for the weekend and we had fun spending time with her as well. We are looking forward to seeing the rest of our family in AZ soon, we miss them! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.....

Ava LOVES when her dad plays with her on the Beach! She's in her HEAVEN!

Daddy and Em Bug... He does such a good job with her. She NEVER gets left out!

Grandma Cindy and Emmie

Us and Em

On the way to the airport, we had dinner at Tommy Bahamas in Corona Del Mar... YUMMY!

Ava and Dad at dinner, someone needs to shave!

Elle and Grandma Cindy 

Ava and Grandma at the Tide Pools!

Sophie and Ava with their buckets full of seashells

Emmie LOVES the beach. She was laughing so hard as the waves came up to get her. Too Cute!

The little PRINCESS