My second year walking the MS Walk. This year the girls came with me. It was a chilly morning but so beautiful in Lake Tahoe.

We walked 3 miles in honor of Grandma Kirk and others we know affected by this disease.

Everyone received a medal and lunch from Subway when the walk was over. That made it all worth it for my girls!

A short stop at the lake at Camp Richardson before we headed back home.
The cutest little goslings with their mommy and daddy (i'm assuming). Reminded me of the four of us that day!

How much is that doggy in the window?

Thursday May 5, 2011 Derek came in the door with a puppy. A yellow lab. She was super cute as are all puppies. I had had a really bad day and was about to cry and scream when I realized this puppy was ours! I had just told him a week before NOT TO SURPRISE ME WITH A PUPPY!! I am not a spontaneous person most of the time, and I need to be mentally ready for this kind of change. Well it was a bit too late since plans and money were already in place to get this dog. The girls were super excited of course, since they have been asking for a puppy for a long time now. Maggie is her name.
It's definitely been an adventure and at the present I am referring to her as Derek's dog! That should tell you how much I'm enjoying this new family member!

Her first experience in her crate. This crate will become the reason for my lack of sleep.

The chew toy that Derek picked out and brought home that life changing Thursday night!

She is already one of the "girls"

A favorite sleeping spot..on Derek's chair. The only piece of furniture she is allowed on!

So I may sound a tad negative and maybe I should have wrote this post the day after we got her when the reality of it hadn't quite hit me yet but alas I didn't and so you get the bitter, exhausted perspective! I know it will get better and hopefully Maggie will be a great part of our family. If only I can endure!

Gracie's Birthday

Gracie turned 7 last week and wow! she has grown up so much! I remember when she was our chunky little dark haired baby. Gracie came into this world fighting and screaming and I hope that she will use that for good throughout her life. She has such a beautiful smile and that dimple!! She loves clothes, shoes, jewelry, babies and Barbies. Gracie will definitely be our family "fashionista". We love you Gracie and we are so happy you are a part of our family!

Abby, Gracie and Bryanna

Party Day! Hannah Montana style.

Friends and Sisters rockin' it!

The flame from the candles actually burned her hair a little! No worries the cake was still good:)

Utah

The first part of our Spring Break we spent in Utah visiting friends!! I miss Utah for lots of reasons but especially our friends.

We got to visit our friends and old Les Schwab managers The Huddlestons. The girls played like they had known each other forever! It was so nice to see them and to catch up:) Thanks for dinner and a great visit.

Also on our Utah visit we spent time with The Sproul's. Heather and I became fast friends right after we moved there in 2005 and the kids clicked just as they did 6 years ago! Although, they have an extra 3 added to the family since we lived there. We will always be forever friends!!
Thanks for letting us camp out in your living room and for lunch!!

I am glad we made it to Temple Square in SLC. I always love visiting there no matter how many times we've been before. There is a strong spirit there and I appreciated that peace amidst our coming and goings. The girls were really into all the exhibits and pictures there this time which was special for them and us.

As we were going in to Temple Square there was a homeless woman asking for money and we told her no. The whole time we were in the Visitor's Center Bryanna was quite concerned about the lady so when we left she asked if she could use some of her own money to give to the homeless lady and I told her of course if that's what she felt she wanted to do. So she did and when she came back to me she said, "the lady cried and told me god bless you, but not like I sneezed bless you...like take care."
I love the innocent sweet spirits of our children. It was a special moment.

Some more of my forever friends Denene and Emily. Denene and I have known each other since birth and Emily and I met in High School and when I am with these two I know who I am and we get along like we always have. I appreciate both of them in my life. Denene and her husband were kind enough to let us stay with them for 2 nights and we got to know their little ones a little better too. Thanks D and Em for dinner too!

We went to the "Bean" museum on BYU campus. It was really neat and we all enjoyed the great animal exhibits.

An afternoon at Provo Beach Resort with Denene and Emily and the kids...and Derek. We pretended to be a Polygamist family!!! Anyway, it was a lot of fun for the kids and Bryanna even did a ropes course all by herself! I was nervous at first but she was doing great!! She is growing up too fast:( Afterwards we went to Malawi Pizza and it was DELISH!

We had a great time. Thanks again to all of our friends for their hospitality and friendship! We can't wait to visit again!
Next stop: Aunt Dorothy's on our way to Grandma and Grandpa Kirk's. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures but we always love to see Aunt Dorothy and her family. Thank you for lunch and for the goodies to take with us:)

Grandma and Grandpa's at Easter in MONTANA

Celebrating birthdays with Grandma and Grandpa was super fun!

On a traditional walk with Grandma we stop at "Lee's Park" to play for a bit. It started to snow on our way back!

The traditional band playing in a circle. This is a special Grandma Kirk tradition.

A visit to the Rocky Mountain Elf Foundation. It was a really neat exhibit.

It was a bit cold in Montana during our visit but we still did our traditional KFC picnic and Carousel/Park ride in Missoula. We've been doing this since Bryanna was a toddler. It's so much fun for the kids and I love the special tradition we have with mom and dad.

The famous Dragon Park

Another tradition is going to the Big Dipper for ICE CREAM! The sun came out for a little bit while we had or frozen treat.

Celebrating Easter and Grandma and Grandpa's is so much fun. Decorating eggs, finding our Easter baskets and having an Easter egg hunt in the forest!!

Calie Cat
"The Bear's Nest"

Walking the log

Grandpa's Swing

HAPPY EASTER

Snake River Canyon-Twin Falls, ID

The last time we drove through Twin Falls I really wanted to stop at the canyon and we didn't so this time I made it happen. If it had been sunny that day it would have been more awesome but it was still pretty cool! I'm glad we stopped.
It took us 15 hours to get home!