Sunny St. George

This year we thought it would be fun to head to St. George and spend my birthday down there. Jared started to plan a 2 or 3 night stay up in the Canyons and then realized we'd be stuck in the room most of the time since it's still so cold outside. So we headed south... and I'm so glad we did!
The day started with breakfast in bed (fruit and yogurt - that's just what I like!), and sent my two older boys into the room with presents ... he's training those boys so well! Then we all went to the gym, checked the kids in the Discovery Playhouse, played golf at Sunbrook, went to the Olive Garden, picked the kids up, went to the park, and called it a day! And it was quite a day - I loved it.



Jared is such a sweetheart and he's always doing the sweetest things. I just feel so lucky that our paths crossed when they did and I'm so grateful that he's in my life. I love this guy to pieces and he's really the best thing that's ever happened to me. We're coming up on our 11 year anniversary and I swear, I think I'm more in love with him now than I've ever been. I just love my guy and I think he's the best.

So here's what we love about St. George and what we like to do when we're in town:
Playing at the Parks










Swimming @ the Pool





Skooter Rides and Long Walks


Eating out at the Pizza Factory

Going out for Ice-Cream



And just hanging out at the Condo - Playing Games, Watching Movies, Coloring, Snoozing, etc. etc.







This May has been emotional and eventful.
* My Grandma B. passed away on Mother's Day; we all miss her dearly.
* I was able have my brother Chad, Kent & Carly, and their little girl Braelynn stay with us for a few days and I was able to see a lot of other family members who I don't see very often at my Grandma's funeral.
* I became an Aunt all over again! Chad and Natalie welcomed a beautiful little boy into their family; Seth Vidinha Burton was born on May 21st.
* And we celebrated another very special birthday this month. Tiffany and Coby's precious little Jackson had his 3rd birthday on May 20th. Everyone wrote a message to Jack on a balloon and sent those balloons up to Heaven for Jack. Oh, how we all miss that happy, smiley, absolutely beautiful little boy. What a special day and I'm so glad we could be a part of this little angel's birthday.





There's been some more stuff happenin' in May, but it's so late and I'm going to catch up later this week... I hope.
Love you all so much (to my dear friends, cousins, family, etc.) and I'm so grateful that I've been able to spend some time with all of you. It's been a wonderful month.

Mothers Day

I thought about writing an entry to document what we did for Mother’s Day and how much I love Mother’s Day, and the cute things my boys did to make it special for me. I’m very lucky to have these cute boys in my life…
But more importantly, I wanted to jot down some of my thoughts about my sweet Grandma Burton, who passed away Sunday morning. We came home from church on Sunday with plans to do some fun things and I had a few missed calls, so I listened to the messages and smiles turned to tears when I heard the news about Grandma.
I know that she’s in a much happier place now. In a place where she won’t hurt anymore and she is at peace. And I’m sure there were angels so anxious to have her back; what a perfect day for a family reunion. I’m sure she wouldn’t have it any other way than to be with so many loved ones on Mother’s Day.

I had a dream a little over a week ago and in my dream I was hugging Grandma and I was crying. She kept telling me, “It’s ok, it’s ok” and sort of laughed the way she does. I woke up crying in the middle of the night and that dream was on my mind all morning. I called Tif and she was having the same kind of morning, so we decided to go and see Grandma that following Tuesday. I don’t know why, of all days, my two little boys got sick that morning. We cancelled and decided to go up the following Tuesday (today). I missed seeing her that one last time.
Grandma loved everyone. She wasn’t judgmental on any level; she just accepted and loved everyone. My Grandma and Grandpa gave everything they had to others, and they treated everyone with love and acceptance. They had 7 kids and 50+ grandkids, and my Grandma still found time to write the sweetest cards (sometimes 2 or more pages long!) to each of us for birthdays, Easter, Christmas, etc.
Grandma was the best at using her hands to make the most beautiful quilts and blankets. I used to watch her swollen hands, knowing how much pain her arthritis caused her, and I’d wonder how she managed to spend so much time making all of those blankets. I think she made 2-3 blankets for each of my babies, and to think that she did that for all of her grandbabies!
She did it out of love. She was so full of love and kindness.
She lived a life of service and gave her life to the Lord and her family. My Grandma and Grandpa served as temple workers for who knows how many years, my Grandpa administered several temple sealings, and they would pack up and travel from state to state in that old minivan to attend every baby blessing, baptism, wedding/sealing. We used to joke about the hundreds of miles they put on that minivan and we just knew at some point it would quit. But it didn’t, and they didn’t. It was too important to them and even if it wasn’t the most convenient situation, they were always there.
I love my Grandparents so much and my Grandma will be missed. She did not need all the material things that this world has to offer. They lived in a very small home but every wall was covered with pictures of family and pictures of Christ. I’ve never known anyone who can tell so many stories about the Spirit and as a child, their stories are what helped build my testimony of our Church and the Gospel. They’ve had so many encounters with potentially tragic situations, but because of their closeness with the Savior and because of their Faith, they’ve been blessed time and time again. I used to love to hear their stories and I really want to spend more time with Grandpa and write all of these stories down before my memories fade…
She lived a perfect life in my eyes and she’s the epitome of goodness and kindness.
We love you Grandma and we miss you! Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Austin's Blessing
Grandma and Cayden

Cayden's Blessing

Grandma's House

Some Days

Things just come up.


Today we had:
One cancelled trip to ID to visit my Grandma B.
Two sick little boys
Three puke-all-over-mom episodes
Four attempts and feeding the two sick boys little bits of food; failed
Five giant, crawl all over mom, lovey-dovey moments from the sick 2-year old (all of which I welcome because I don't get those very often), but of course, the sick baby wanted to be held and cuddled at the same time...
Six loads of laundry (3 comforters, 3 sets of sheets, blankets, and four sets of jammies, etc. etc.)
Seven or more very messy baby diapers, thus more laundry...

Some days don't go as planned, but I did get a lot of laundry done, hugged and loved way more than I normally do, and the kids are all tucked away in bed - hopefully feeling much better tomorrow. Today was just one of those days :-)