Happy Birthday Corbin!

2010
2011
1 year! LOVE YOU! LOVE, Auntie :) Kiss Hug

Beach Days

Went to Briana's in the OC on Monday with my mom and my kids. What a great visit we had! When we arrived we went and picked up dinner and then went to a park called "On Top of the World Park," so BEAUTIFUL! Hiked a little ways over to see the sunset on the ocean. We went back to Bergener Palace and Sierra gave the FHE lesson on David and Goliath. She wore armor and crumbled up pieces of paper and let the boys pretend they were David and she was Goliath and she let them throw the "stones" at her. What a perfect lesson for a house full of boys.
The next day we went on a 6 mile run with the kids in tow. The big kids rode bikes or scooters and the littlest ones were in the jogging stroller. SO much fun!!! Then we changed and headed to the beach with everyone else. :) What a great beach, Sierra and Ashton were in the water ALL DAY! My mom got in the water and I got in the water too! The water was packed with people, reminded me of the movie Jaws when the water is packed with people and Jaws comes to attack. Got "Cherry on Top" and then pizza and ate all our yummy food and then headed home. Rossi was so cute! He cries everytime we leave. But, this time he said "you come back to see me soon?" I said, "Yes we will!" and then he said "ok, I'm goin to go swimmin with my dad." :)
Today, Wed. is Ward beach day. Didn't really want to go. We had just been at the beach. But, my kids wanted to go. SO glad we went. My kids had so much fun. I had so much fun!!!

End of the Season

Tonight we got to go get trophy's and it was really exciting stuff!

Sierra got Coach's Award


and we are SO happy that we made it through the season...ready to enjoy the rest of the summer! :)

CHAMPS

Champs was great, Ashton never threw up and that made it great! :) A long day! Ashton and I had to be there at 7am and Sierra had to be at our pool for warm-up at 8:30am and at OO1 pool at 9:15am. Complicated things a bit but so grateful that I'm not a single mom. Hubby helps me and he is great!!! We didn't get released from the pool until about 3:45pm. WHEW!
The kids swam SO great! They did their very best and made mom and dad proud! :)

Look at those big arms! He improved so very much from when he first got in the water at the beginning of the season. YAY buddy!

We did speedy braids in Sierra's hair and she looked so very cute!
I raced again on the mom's relay team and it was such a close race. We were outtouched and got 2nd place.

What a beautiful dive!

Have to thank family who came and supported our racing efforts today! You know who you are! Thanks for your love and support!!! Hugs and Kisses!

Artistic

Sierra painted this for Jake and I for our anniversary. She said we are looking at the stars! :)
Ashton made this for his sister...all pictures of him with his sister...hugging and the middle one on the left they are doing recycling together. LOVE IT!

"Ashton, time to go put your clean clothes away"

SAM

I've been delaying this post. My hands sweat, my heart aches and I just cry. Thankfully there are not too many moments in life when we feel pain deep down in our soul. Pure sadness! Last week I felt pure sadness, I couldn't shake it. I would be ok and then my husband would hug me and I would cry. I had a headache for 3 days straight from crying. My cousin, Sam, died at scout camp a week ago Tuesday. He was running in the triathlon. He fell and my Uncle thought that he tripped and hit his head. He started to get back up and then fell again. Thankfully my Uncle, his dad, was right there and ran to him. He rolled him over, immediately gave him a blessing, and Sam's breathing stopped and then his pulse. My Uncle said that looking in his eyes he knew that Sam was gone. Sam was resuscitated and airlifted to the hospital. He was gone. The doctors said there was no head trauma that they believe that he had an issue with his heart. He was healthy, he was strong, he was a cowboy. He was 16 years old. He had just had his 16th birthday on June 19th. Shocking! Hard to grasp! I have a deep love for the Lawrence family. They are my family. They hold and will forever hold a special place in my heart. I feel pure sadness for their family, for my Uncle Randy and Aunt Ruthie. They will forever feel an emptiness in their hearts. I am grateful for their testimony's in the gospel and for mine. We all know God has a plan for each of us, sometimes we wish we knew what that was but we are not in charge. I LOVE you Lawrence family SO MUCH...you are in my daily prayers!
Sam was such a good boy, genuinely good boy, an angel on this earth! He was obedient. He was a hard worker. He had a desire to learn. He was a beekeeper with his dad. He played the bagpipes, the violin (my violin):) and the piano. He loved scouting and he loved scout camp. His parents said it was ironic that he died doing what he loved most. He loves his Savior! (the picture in the center is a picture of Sam holding a piece of paper that says, "I want to be like Jesus.")
The memorial service was beautiful. When we made our way to the chapel there were boy scouts lining the halls and aisle way to our seats in the front. They were saluting and some were crying. So powerful, so beautiful, so touching. Sam made such an impact on all he knew and all he did not! Uncle Randy told us that a Navy and Military ship by Africa were having a moment of silence at 11:00 am the day of the service. I loved all the stories and thoughts shared by his siblings and dad. Aunt Ruthie wears a missionary charm around her neck when her boys are serving a mission. She has had that charm on since I saw her last week, she says Sam is serving his mission. Loved the slideshow, pictures and music that played, the music on the slideshow was songs that Sam had learned to play on the piano and they were beautiful. His bagpipe teacher played and it was beautiful. His best friend and violin teacher played a violin duet. Nick played Sam's favorite hymn on the piano, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief". Monte gave a perfect Eulogy. We sang together as a congregation "Called to Serve" and "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go". Beautiful and Perfect!

Sierra and cousin Timmy, they are good friends

Dedication of the Grave was beautiful!

Sam, I love you! I am grateful for the example you set. I am grateful for the talents you shared. I'm grateful that you make me want to be a better person. I will miss you! Hugs!
"Run that ye may obtain the prize." 1 Cor 9:24

Happy 4th!

This is training...the Thursday before our race we went out and did about 2 miles. The kids did GREAT! No complaining! It was very FUN!

This is the DAY! 4th of July we raced! Harbor Run in Oxnard. A 5k. My kids first 5k.

Here is the whole clan...some ran the 5k and others ran the 10k. All the kids ran the 5k and Rocky, he biked it! :)


Runners start!


Here is Ashton running to the finish! He ran most of the 3 miles. He walked once for only a minute.


This is Sierra after she ran for the finish...she too did so GREAT! She ran most of the time too but had to walk a few more times because she kept getting a cramp...she did so AWESOME!

I was so proud of my kids...Sierra was not very happy with me. She said she never wants to do this again. We shall see! :)


Ashton, Rocky, Lincoln

Rossi with his fav Sierra!

Here is my Aunt Suzie. This is her first race ever in her whole life. We were so thrilled that we got to be there as her witness. She is so wonderful and so much fun!

Go Aunt Suzie! :)


All the 5kers!


Sierra won the raffle prize. Why does she win everything. She is a lucky girl to have around. :)
After the race we went to the beach. It was a beautiful day. The water was great! We all got in the water!
Sierra's results-
Ashton's results were lost and not posted but he finished somewhere between 33 and 34 minutes.
Then, BBQ and swimming at Papa's
Fireworks on DelMonte with Grandma, Aunt Jen, Aunt Crystal, Uncle Thomas, and cousins
BEST DAY EVER!