Baptism Day

Brandon is baptized

Brandon in his white just before he was baptized

This day has been VERY anticipated by Brandon, he has been counting the days and making preparations to be ready. He has been SO excited, when we asked him why, his response was: 'Well after I'm baptized then I will FINALLY get the holy ghost.' Of course this made me a proud momma, but Brandon has always been very accepting of the teachings of the Gospel and has wanted to be baptized for a few years now.

  He was baptized by his Daddy:

Les and Brandon in their white

My personal favorite from this day :-)

Our family with my mom (Jacque), dad (Dave) and baby sister Lori

Our family with Les's parents (Donna and D.D.)

And as usual, Carson looked up to Brandon on this day

These are two of my favorite people on the planet!

Brandon is such a good big brother, he teaches Carson all the time.  I overhear him at least once a day teaching how to do something, or why something is, but my favorite is when I hear him teaching Carson something Gospel related.....How did I get so blessed to have such good boys, who love each other so much?

Our family

I am in awe of what our family has become.  It seems like just yesterday that Leslie and I were married, but at the same time it feels like we have ALWAYS been a family, it is hard for me to remember a time when I didn't know him or have these two wonderful boys in my life.  I know that Heavenly Father's plan of Eternal families is the most important thing ever given to man, and I count myself blessed by that every day of my life. Yesterday was one of those days that the feelings of gratitude could barely be contained, and I have been more emotional than usual all weekend. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I love my family and my Savior more than words can express.  

This was the perfect start to our Christmas season!

Eight is great!

This was his favorite present from the MawMaw and PawPaw.  He has been playing it as much as I will let him since yesterday, when he got it.

Now we have his baptism to look forward to in a couple of weeks!

Halloween 2010

This year was so fun for Halloween the boys picked their own costumes and totally OWNED them.

Brandon was a Vampire for the 2nd year in a row. I think he might have chose that costume because he knows how much I LOVE vampires.

Carson was the mighty Spiderman! He REALLY wanted to be Batman, but I couldn't find a Batman costume to save my life, so he decided Spiderman would be good enough, plus he LOVED the muscles.

Our ward had a Carnival, here is Carson at the fish pond.....

.....And Brandon at the donut eating booth.

He worked SO hard to eat that darn donut with no hands...

Carson with his little buddy Dallen from down the street, it was so funny when they saw each other, they were so excited they were dressed the same.

Brandon and his friend Aiden dressed the same too....

Don't think I didn't dress up haha....My good friend Sandy and me, she was an Angle and I was a Devil. NO it was NOT planned, just FUNNY!

Echelon Edge

So I had a very good friend tell me to update my blog....so here goes:

Life will be taking a pretty big turn for us in the next few weeks, I will be starting school AGAIN, full time this time (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm)!!! I know there are some of you out there, saying 'What the heck? Again?!?' YES, my friends, again!

I am going to a school called Echelon Edge, Academy of Hair, Skin and Nails. 

YES, I am going back to beauty school....now, before ya'll say 'THAT'S CRAZY' hear me out. I DID go to school to do nails when I was 20 (14 years ago aaaahhhhh) and I have always felt like I did it 'wrong' the first time around, and as with most things in my life, I learn the hard way. So in my search to find a passion for something I kept coming back to this.  So I did it! I enrolled in the Cosmetology program at Echelon Edge Academy after a THOROUGH search of about 7 different schools. I am SO excited to do it right this time. After I'm done with the Cosmetology program (which take 12 months) I will be enrolling into the 'Medical Esthetics' program (an additional 4 moths).  So.....I will be needing people to volunteer to be models for ALL kinds of things, from getting nails done, to getting your hair cut and/or colored, from a simple facial to laser hair removal.
I am blessed to have a VERY supportive husband. I also have in-laws (who live with us) willing to watch my kids full time for the next 16months, I wouldn't be able to do it with out them.

WELL FED....

This last weekend was the 180th Semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  What a great weekend! It has been 10 years (my mission) since I devoured conference like I did this time.

One of my favorite speakers was President Boyd K. Packer he spoke about the sanctity of the family. He referenced part of 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World', the part about marriage between a man and a woman being ordained of God.  He spoke plainly and bluntly about the world today and evils that are out there destroying the family.  Some of the things he said were:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"[The power to create life] is not an incidental part of the plan of happiness, it is the VERY key."


"Satan is jealous of all those who have power to beget life.....he (Satan) wants to make everyone miserable like unto himself"


"This (pornography) will interrupt the communication between our Heavenly Father and His children, and disrupt the tender relationship between husband and wife." This is Satan's plan!


"Any persuasion to enter into any relationship that is not in harmony with the principles of the gospel MUST be WRONG"


"Some suppose that they were pre- set and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and unnatural, NOT SO! Why would Heavenly Father do that to us? Remember He is our Father!"


"There are both moral and physical laws irrevocably decreed in Heaven before the foundations of the earth that CANNOT be changed."


"Regardless of the opposition we are determined to stay the course....we will hold to the principles and laws of the Gospel, if they are misunderstood, either innocently or willfully, so be it! We can NOT change, we WILL NOT change our moral standard."


"If we do not protect and foster the family, our civilization must needs perish."


"There is a way back, repentance is like a good detergent.  Even ground in stains of sin will come out."


This is how he ended (I love this):
"I invoke the blessings of the Lord upon you who are struggling with this plague (pornography, immoral relationships etc) to find the healing that is available to us in the priesthood of the Lord."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday after conference there was a news report here in Utah that the gay and lesbian rights group was demanding President Packer 'correct' his statements made in conference.  Saying that "the church has spewed lies related to same-sex orientation." and this group is planning a protest at Temple Square for tomorrow!  I was APPALLED!!! This is an apostle of the Lord, not to mention the leader of a faith.  His words are TRUE, and they were kind and loving and he spoke of the Savior and repentance and the Atonement.  When I listened to the talk during conference, nothing that President Packer said sounded out of place or harsh in any way, after all he DID end with a loving blessing  to those who are struggling with MANY immoral sins, not just 'same-sex orientation'.  Here is the statement the church released today:


The Church’s doctrine on the importance of marriage and family and its implications for same-gender marriage are very clear and are based on principles of truth, respect, and love for all of god’s children. We have continually emphasized that there is no room in this discussion for hatred or mistreatment of anyone. 


I came away from conference more spiritually fed than I have been in a long time! I am more steadfast in my Faith than ever before.  This recent 'demand for correction' makes me more aware than ever of the adversary's grip on the world and that I need to be more diligent in teaching my children how to arm themselves against him, and that I need to better arm myself against him also.  I am so blessed to have a marriage and family I can find comfort and refuge in.  I love the Gospel and it's message, more important, I know it to be true! I also love the leaders of Christ's church here on the earth, that they are unafraid to relay Heavenly Fathers messages to us in such a simple and plain way.  All we need to do is 'come unto Him' and we can all be this WELL FED!

Preschool Already!!

My BABY started preschool today!! He will be 4 in a couple of weeks therefore we had to wait for this year to start.....I thought I was ready.....

But I was NOT!! 

He is not my baby anymore, I almost want to cry....

but he has been so excited to go.

                           

It wasn't until I took THIS picture of my handsome man that I realized, that I am not ready for him to 'be big' 

Why can't our babies just stay babies FOREVER!?!?!?

Like this:

         

             (Brandon)                     (Carson)                              

Second Grade

Brandon Started 2nd grade yesterday and he was SO excited, he was counting the days before 'the day' and then the night before he counted the hours to bedtime because he knew when he woke up he would get to start SECOND GRADE!!

He is growing up way to fast for me.

When his teacher (Mrs Hartley) asked him what his favorite subjects are, he said 'the playground and math'.  Could there be two more OPPOSITE subjects, haha! That is one thing I love about that boy....his total and complete honesty and his lack of concern for what other people think of his answer. I am so proud of him and how he is growing up.

Summer Fun

I realize it's bee too long since I've blogged, well, sorry ;-) life has been a little crazy since my last post.  I went to girls camp, which was something that consumed my life for months before hand, but was WELL worth all the long meetings and hard decisions.  Then as soon as that was over, we closed on our new house (pictures to come soon) and moved, I still feel like we are moving in, it has been a year and half since we moved to Utah and we now are officially PERMANENT!!!

So the reason for my blog.....I took the boys to Thanksgiving Point with one of my friends and her two girls.  We went to the farm they have there, they had such a blast

Brandon testing his muscles lifting cattle feed.

Carson and his 'smile'

My cute friend Rosanne and her Girls Mia and Alyssa

'Riding' Cow

Yes, that is Carson picking his nose. 

Brand new baby calf that was just born hours before we got there.

Petting a miniature horse.

Brandon had so much fun feeding the animals, he was really good at it.

Carson wasn't so sure about them eating out of his hand.

Waiting line for the pony ride, that cute little girl is Rosanne's daughter Alyssa.

Carson was so big and rode all by himself on a 'big' horse.

I think Brandon secretly wants to have a horse of his own, he LOVED being up there riding.

Carson feeding a brand new baby goat, he loved that!

In the 'dance hall' Alyssa was insistent that Carson dance with her ;-)

Brandon thought the little jail they had there was SO funny!

Rosanne's little Mia, isn't she just the cutest thing?!

The Eclipse Event

On Tuesday June 29th there was a huge event for the premier for 'The Twilight Saga: Eclpise' at Jordan Landing in West Jordan, UT.....

First we all went to eat and then to the Event, which was such a BLAST!! There were so much going on, there was manicures, 'hair glimmer', sparkle booths, photo booths, live music, vendor booths selling everything 'Vampire' and 'Werewolf'. 

We ate a Carino's, and Italian Resturaunt

(chosen by my friend Amy, as she said, 'as a nod to the Volutri')

It was So yummy!

Elise Kipp, Amy Callahan, and me

Our red 'sparkle toes', painted special for the event

We made our own T-shirts just for the night

Elise's T-Shirt (she's pregnant, I thought it was SO clever)

My T-Shirt (I just think Emmett is fantastic!)

My friend Amy made her a shirt too, but I didn't get a great picture of it.  It said 'I saw Sparkly things and got confused'  She tie-dyed it red and black and it had the wolfpack tattoo on it. 

Some of the fun that was had!

Me and Edward (haha)

Getting my 'Hair Glimmer' It was shiny stands of hair tied into my own.

(it was fun to feel like a teenager again (-;)

Our fun group on the way into the theater

Back row, l-r: Me, Amy Callahan, Elise Kipp, Carole Santizo

Middle row, l-r: Andrea Salvania, Heidi Hansen, Jessika Santizo,

Front row, l-r: Emily Ellefson, Crystal Pitkin, Nisha Murray, Nataly Santizo

Our group in the theater waiting for the movie, while we waited (from 10pm-12:01am) we had a private concert from the band 'Twilight Music Girls', special performances from 'Ballroom Utah' and there was a ton of drawings! It was SO much fun!!

l-r: Emily Ellefson, Andrea Salvania, Jessika Santizo, Nataly Santizo, Carole Santizo, Amy Callahan, Elise Kipp, Me, Heidi Hansen (missing is Nisha Murray and Crystal Pitkin)

As for the Movie:

The first thing I noticed that everyone looked so much more beautiful!!

Look:

Bella (just pretty)

                                                           Edward (no scruff or lipstick)            

  Jacob (he looks older)

                                        

                                            

EMMETT!!! (Sigh)

Jackson Rathbone is a fine looking man, but as Jasper he isn't super good looking, but as 'Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am'.....he was fine.                                               

                                                        

The 'Teams' were clearly defined......

The Good Guys!

The Cullens

The Wolf Pack

The Bad Guys!!

The New Born Army

Victoria

The Volturi

The chemistry was A-MAZING!!!

Edward and Bella were pretty steamy....

....and so were Jacob and Bella!!

I loved that there was some intimate moments shown between Alice and Jasper, so dang cute!

Well Emmett was in this movie more too, hopefully in Breaking Dawn, there will be even MORE!!

The hatred between Edward and Jacob was so thick!

Over all this movie was the BEST of the series so far and I will be going to see it again, I already have Leslie promising to go with me after girls camp.