A Visit to the Oquirrh Mtn. Temple

Yesterday our family had the privilege of touring the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was absolutely beautiful! We watched a video and were told it was named according to the Oquirrh Mountains that are west of the temple meaning "Shining Mountain". It couldn't be a more perfect name as you see the Temple sitting upon a hill overlooking the valley! How fortunate for our children to have the opportunity to tour two new temples within the last six months! There are many people throughout the world who never get that opportunity!
It was such a beautiful day yesterday in more ways than one! We have finally had a break from all the rain and the day couldn't have been better!There wasn't a cloud to be seen and the sky was the most amazing blue color!
When we finished the tour the girls wanted to go back through it again! I think everyone had the same idea. I guess Monday's are a popular time to take the tour. There were lines of people waiting inside and out. Those are the kinds of lines I have no problem waiting in:)! I heard a volunteer outside telling a lady that they definitely had a full house. It was nice to spend some time outside walking around and noticing all the extras. The fence that surrounds the temple had "mini" temples on every other post. Soooo cool!
After the tour we went to a tent to have some refreshments. Kourtney and Kaitlyn were amused with the piano that played by itself! After we were done I noticed Kaitlyn had this "look" on her face. I asked her if something was wrong or if she wasn't feeling well? She said she was fine and then pulled me aside and said, "Thank You for letting us come to the Temple! I love it here"! Without any notice my eyes were filled with tears! I can't help but think that it wasn't that long ago their little spirits came from a place that was perfect and filled with unmeasurable love. You can't help but have those same feelings when you are in the temple! How blessed we are to know that we can be a eternal family because of the Temples!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day or Happy Daddy Day as Makell use to say! Adam's day started off with breakfast in bed! Wow, what a lucky guy! I absolutely love seeing these three little girls get soooo excited when it comes to surprises! They started off with making a homemade card to tell their daddy how much they loved him. Second they helped make breakfast and arranged it so nicely on a "decorative serving tray";)! The last part is my favorite! Don't you love the can of Dr. Pepper instead of milk or O.J? They know Adam loves Dr.Pepper so that was a must according to Kourtney! I guess you could call it a breakfast for champions!

I love the little homemade gifts! These gifts have their own individual marks that touch the heart and are remembered for ever! The girls made cute book marks with pictures of themselves on them in primary and cute paper ties stuffed with candy bars! These girls have their daddy wrapped right around their little fingers! Adam is such a wonderful father and husband! He makes life fun and can always make us laugh! We feel like the luckiest girls in the world to have a dad like him! Happy Father's Day Babe!

Our Adventurous Outing in the Mountains!

I decided that I would be brave and take the kids out hiking by myself yesterday! The original plan was to hike to Devil's Kitchen. I had heard it is amazing and not to terribly hard for the little ones. There is no packing Makell around anymore so we had to find something she could do on her own. After driving up the canyon for quite some time and following a heard of cattle I realized we were only 1/2 way there. After a few little ones started to get car sick we decided to change plans and detoured to the beautiful lake! I am so glad we remembered jackets! With it being overcast it was a little chilly. The lake was beautiful and the girls loved watching the fish jump right out of the water! Sooo cool! I think we know were our next fishing spot will be! There was a walk way that circled the entire lake and it was so enjoyable to soak up nature! We were fortunate to see a doe and the smallest baby fawn ever! Makell loved trying to feed the squirrels sunflower seeds;)! It was wonderful to spend the day doing something a little different! We missed dad and decided we will try the Devil's Kitchen again when he can go with us!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Well, chalk another one up for Adam! Today he celebrates his 37th birthday. He keeps telling us that the older he gets the wiser he becomes. See, his mind is already playing tricks on him;)! I have to admit he is pretty wise, but I'm not going to tell him that;)! The girls and I have been preparing to put this poster together for Adam over the last few days. On Saturday when I went to do my grocery shopping and the girls came along. While I filled my cart with groceries they took their own shopping cart to the candy isle with their list and started shopping. I wish I could read peoples minds! They came back with a heaping cart of nothing but candy! I am sure the girl that checked us out thought I was nuts and a terrible mother buying all that candy for my kids. After the look on her face and several continuous scans of candy bars Kourtney filled her in that we were making a poster for their dad! Thanks for clarifying for me Kourt! This was such a fun project for the kids! I thoroughly enjoyed doing this with them. They would get so excited trying to hide everything so Adam wouldn't find out or see! Sunday there were several little whispers and I think Adam knew we were up to something. This morning we surprised Adam with the delivery of his "love" note and balloon at work! It made the kids day to see their dad so happy and I think it made Adam's day as well! (I think the teary eyes gave it away:)


I am so grateful for Adam! Twelve plus years ago I made the best decision of my life! He is the best husband and father anyone could ask for! I hope his day is as special as he is! Happy Birthday Babe! Love You!


Oops! "Carefree" gum is missing from the poster. Better get it stuck back on!



Instead of birthday cake Adam requests cheese cake. Great news for everyone else since it is one of our favorites as well!

When ever Adam's birthday rolls around he reminds me that his mom would always make an extra one just for him. Lucky guy or should I say SPOILED;)!

2nd Annual Heaton "Campout"!

Camping Heaton style means setting up a tent in the back yard, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over an open flame, and laughing till you are sick and can't move! Last year to celebrate the last night of school we decided we would go camping! Since the girls enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again this year! Who knows, maybe it will become a new family tradition..... or maybe not! I am sure as the girls get older the last thing they would want to do is spend the night in a tent with their parents and wake up with aches and pains! Adam and I will continue to enjoy it as long as we can! I love spending time together as a family! I know it's times like these that we will reminisce about later on in life!

Our Graduates!

Another year has come and gone! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday I was dropping them off for their first day of school and bawling my eyes out! I am so proud of these little girls!


Kourtney has continued to progress so much this year! She is such a smarty! She catches on to things so fast! She has had a wonderful year with a wonderful teacher! Mrs. Shepherd made the school year so fun for the kids! Kourtney would come home and tell us that Mrs. Shepherd is soooo funny or Mrs. Shepherd said the funniest thing today! She knew how to put a smile on Kourts face! We love her!
We are so proud of Kaitlyn! She has really excelled this year! She loves reading and does it so well! She really enjoys chapter books! Kaitlyn's favorite things in first grade were spelling, her teacher, and friends! Mrs. Bates is absolutely wonderful! She knows how to inspire the kids to do their best! We love her too!

Makell had the privilege of attending pre-school with Miss Trisha this year! She had so much fun and looked forward to going every week. She did so many fun activities with the kids! Her love for children was so evident! Makell still gets so excited when she sees her! Many times we hear Makell holler, " There is Miss Trisha! She's my teacher"! Makell also attended a preschool through the school district for speech. They taught her tongue placement so she could make the right sounds. I loved going with her because it taught me how to help her at home. Even Kourtney and Kaitlyn would make sure she made the correct sounds! She had a lot of help:)! We are amazed at the progress she has made in just six months! The speech therapists were very impressed as well! We are so proud of her!

It's teachers like these that leave such strong impressions upon us!

A Day Spent Fishing!

I love this time of year! Since it was the Memorial Day weekend we went to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves of our loved ones. I love the cemetery this time of year. It is absolutely beautiful with every color you can possibly imagine. The girls love hearing about their great grandparents lives who they never had a chance to meet . After the cemetery we decided to spend the remainder of the day fishing. The girls loved it! I am so glad because it gives Adam the chance to do something "manly" instead of all the "girly" things he gets roped into:)! Since we got a late start we decided we would go up to the reservoir. Recently we heard the reservoir was planted with 6,000 white albino trout. Kourtney is becoming quite the fisherman! She had the first catch of the day! You should see that girl cast! Very impressive! Kaitlyn also snagged a few as well. She is the most patient little fisherman ever! Her pole never moved unless she had a bite! If you know Kaitlyn you will understand why this was such a shocker to me:)! Makell was more excited seeing fish swim right in front of us than holding a pole. Makell would holler at Adam with excitement: "GET IT DAD, GET IT. IT'S RIGHT THERE"! So funny! We knew it was time to pack up and head out when we saw all three girls holding sticks instead of their fishing poles playing in the water:)! Typical kids!