Ember's Dance Recital Pictures...

Ember like always did an amazing job! I am so very proud of her. She made company this year. Is assisting in two classes and is also an apprentice in a class (this means she gets paid for helping)! Her first job. She is doing what she loves and getting better every year. She has grown a lot in this past year. Going from hardly practicing to practicing almost every night with her sisters. This year she danced to The Grinch, Carol of the Bells, a Hip Hop dance and Thriller. She looked great!

Kenzie's Dance Recital Pictures...

Kenzie did an amazing job. Just 3 weeks before the Recital Denna the studio Owner asked me to move Kenzie up into the older class. This made me pretty nervous since she would have very little time to practice and learn her dance. She was the youngest in her class and the oldest was 9. She out shined them all. I am very proud of her and her dedication to practicing and wanting to be the best in her class. It sure showed. She was also asked to dance in both shows.

Ashlynn's 1st Dance Recital...

Nurse costume-Itch, Itch, Scratch, Scratch
Purple w/Petal Hat- Purple Pansies
Pumpkin costume-Happy Jack-o-Lantern

These are the songs that Ashlynn danced to.

Ok, to be completely honest I was really nervous about having Ashlynn dance. She is very timid when it comes to large crowds and just wants to be with mom. The weeks before the recital I told her over and over about her being on stage, the lights, Daddy, Grandma and family being there watching her...well I forgot one big thing, that there were going to be hundreds of other people there! Oops. Rehearsal went great! She danced, sang, waited until she was supposed to leave the stage...looking good for the recital night. Recital rolls around. Ashlynn dances the very first dance. I walked her out on stage, put her in her place and watched. She danced, she did an excellent job and when it was all over she just ran off the stage. So, now we had 3 more dances to do in the show, plus a second show! What are we to do...she is clinging to me and will NOT let me go. I reassure her that there was nothing to be afraid of and she told me there were...PEOPLE! The next dance I walked her out on stage again, this time it was a lot harder for her to stay. She wanted to follow me off instead of dancing. I told her to just look at her tap shoes and not the people. That is exactly what she did. The whole dance...then ran off stage. I was very proud of her for over coming this fear and dancing. She did such a great job and danced not only in the 1st show, but in the 2nd as well. The second show she had a lot more confidence, however, just looked off stage at me while dancing. Then once it was all over she would high tall it off the stage for me. The family knew where to find her every time she came out...look for the one that runs off and we will know we were watching Ash. Sure enough every time. That is what makes watching 3 year olds so much fun! I can't wait to see how spring recital will be!

Love you Ashlynn, I am so very proud of you and how well you danced!

Peterson Family Photo Shoot...

The Peterson Family November 2009

Recently I was able to do another photo shoot for a friend and her family. The past few years I have been doing this as a hobby and really loved it. Now, I am trying to expand and maybe get more friends and family I can take pictures of to build my portfolio.

This family I was really excited to take pictures of. They are adorable and the kids are so dang cute. The morning that we chose to take the pictures it was 32 degrees and 9:30am. The kids for being as cold it was did so good. We took only 20 minutes from start to finish and I was able to get some photos for the family...the kids were not able to stay any longer, they were SO cold. I don't blame them either, my fingers felt like they were going to fall off! I am hoping to take their pictures again in the future. Here is a college I put together of a couple pictures I took.

Another Year Old and A Whole Lot Wiser Too...

Ok, so this isn't one of my prettiest cakes, however, for Donovan it was prefect!
Deep dark chocolate cake, with a smooth, rich, chocolate and peanut butter frosting.

Make a wish!

The Birthday Boy blowing out ALL his candles!

Donovan is now 32 years old. Our family is truly blessed, he is an amazing husband and wonderful Dad! I couldn't have asked for anyone better. We love you Honey! Happy Birthday!

Donovan's New Work Bench...

Just getting started on his MAN CAVE!

Putting on the finishing touches!

Donovan's Work Bench! He built it all on his own in one afternoon! I have a few pictures of him working on it and the finished bench! He did an amazing job! I am so very proud of him and his finished MAN CAVE. Looks great Honey!

***Now all I have to do is talk him into making me a turn table work bench so I can refinish furniture. All I need is a little corner of the garage...not asking for much. Hint, hint.

Family Pictures...

This year I told Donovan that I really wanted family pictures taken (this with a lot of whinning from him). We haven't had an actual family picture done, ever. The last one the I have of the whole family was taken 2 1/2 years ago in Yellowstone after hiking to the upper falls. I am SOOO happy I was able to get my friend to take them for us. They turned out really cute (not really liking the way I look, oh-well what can you do). My family did great and took amazing pictures. So now I am trying to get Christmas cards out. Yeah me! This will be the first year for this. I am really trying. For those of you that would like to receive a Christmas card from us and do not have a Facebook account, please email me your address and I will send them out to you. My email address is jenniferallphin@gmail.com.

Halloween...2009

Loved the teeth!

Kenzie was a porcelain doll this year.

Ashlynn went as a little kitty (like our Tuko).

Ember was a dead race car driver.

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.

Meow!

Donovan and I chose a little more scary twist of Halloween this year.
(this was taken at the Brooks annual Halloween Party)

This was taken Halloween night. It was a lot of fun doing a gross and scary costume this year.
Next year probably will not be as extreme.

Kenzie made a very cute doll!

This was the 1st attempt at a doll face for school. I like Halloween night's make-up better.

Grosgrain: Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

What a great giveaway. This Gal is so very talented, the costumes are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Go on, you know you want to check them out. Go on, what are you waiting for, click the link and see.

Grosgrain: Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

You have to check this costume set out. Absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Projects When Donovan Leaves...

Before-Ugly Blue & After-Pretty Enough for my two Princesses!

Every time Donovan goes out of town I take on some kind of project. This time was no different. I found this UGLY blue kids recliner at DI for $5. In my mind I didn't see the blue, I saw a pinkish-red princess chair...and here it is! I am so happy by the way it turned out and the girlies love it.

Ok, It Is Time Now That I Make a Come Back...

I have been on a little vacation from blogging the past month. For me it hasn't been an easy one. For those of you that don't know, I finally miscarried, we were out of town with some friends and on the way home from Don and Jeri's cabin. On the drive I started having contractions, they started about 5 minutes apart and by the time we got to the nearest town there were 2-3 minutes apart. I let Donovan know right before town that I would need to stop in Mountain View and just make sure everything was alright. As soon as I started getting out of the car I knew something was not. I went to the restroom and found that I had started to hemorrhage. This really scared me, about 1 1/2 to Evanston and 2 plus hours home. I decided that everything was going to be alright and I was fine (I can see now how positive thinking is key). Went back out to the car where Donovan was waiting and first thing I said to him was "You need to give me a blessing and get me to the hospital now." I am truly thankful and blessed to have MY MAN hold the keys to make me feel at peace and know that I will be taken care of! We headed off to Evanston and Donovan was asking if we just needed to call an ambulance...for me I wasn't sure (it would be a lot of money). Then I said if the bleeding is worse we will contact the hospital. Sure enough I was bleeding even heavier and NEEDED medical assistance. Just 3 minutes after Donovan gave me my blessing we came up to a 4 way stop and behind up was a sheriff (what a blessing!) from there he contacted the EMT's, he arrived 2 minutes later, and soon after the ambulance was there. I was getting all strapped in and placed in the ambulance when Ember woke up and realized was was being taken to the hospital...this was very traumatic for Donovan and the girls, and for me it was very hard to see my family worry as much as they were. I don't think I have ever seen Donovan so scared, I could see the love and worry he has for me...don't get me wrong, I could see it before, however, in these situations it is a little different and things are very more clear. So there began my first ride in the ambulance. Arrived at the Evanston hospital, stayed there until stable and I was able to be transported AGAIN by ambulance to Provo. I arrived at the Provo hospital around 7pm, did some testing, schedule me for an ultrasound to see where the bleeding was coming from and then a D&C. This whole terrifying advent lasted all of 15 hours from beginning to end.

Now, I knew that the pregnancy was no longer good at my 12th week ultrasound when they said the fetus had died. I then went the following week to Yellowstone, then took a pill the was supposed to cause miscarriage (DIDN'T!) Then two weeks later went to Don and Jeri's cabin. After all was done I had carried this baby for a month longer. During this month I never came to reality until the day I started to miscarry that I was no longer pregnant. If I said that I was doing alright the week following I would have been lying to everyone and myself. I finally lost it the following week. I finally about to grieve. I am doing a lot better now. Some days are worse then others. The main thing I think about is my family almost losing me. How precious time is, our spouses and our kids are! I love them and I know how blessed I am. It was an amazing trial and I know why I was given it!

Sorry this post was so long, however, there are some of you that did not hear the story and are in the dark. This is not all of it, but I thought I would save you some reading eye strain. If you would like the whole story just let me know and I will be more then happy to share it with you.

I Guess I am In Need of a Little Update...

I haven't wanted to post anything as of late. We have done some really fun and exciting family adventures. However, we have also had some bad news.

We took a trip to Don and Jeri's cabin in Manilla over the 24th of July. That was a really fun trip.

Ember came home on the 26th, so excited for this. It has been so nice having her home.

Tues. 28th, had another ultrasound which showed that the baby didn't not grow and had actually gotten smaller and there was no heartbeat.

Wed. 29th at 2:20am the family took off for Yellowstone. Stayed in Yellowstone from Wed. to Sunday. This was a great trip and it was so nice to have the whole family with us. We did a lot. Saw a ton of animals. 3 black bears, 2 grizzlies (one was a silver tip), elk, bison, deer, bull moose and many others.

Mon. 3rd. had a doc. appointment and he gave me pills to help with a miscarriage. Last dose was on Wed. 5th. Still no miscarriage.

Sometime this week we will be doing some school shopping. I can't believe I will have a kindergartner and a 6th grader.

Guess...

4th of July...

4th of July Pictures...

4th of the July Girls...

I can't believe it has been over a month since I las posted, a lot has happen, however, I will not put you through the missery. I went out and took some pictures of the girls in their 4th of July outfits. It was a lot of fun having a girls day out.

Donovan's Father's Day Gift...

Isn't she a beaut?
Donovan has always wanted her!
Maybe his dream could come true!

Since Donovan NEVER reads my blog I figured this would be a great way to post an idea that I had for him. He has always wanted a Willeys Jeep Wagon. We have seen many over the years and he has just gone Ga-Ga over them. I am hoping to get this one for him this year. This has been sitting up by Fairview for the past 6 years just waiting for him. Mother's Day weekend we drove by it one last time and there was a 4-sale sign on it. Hmmm...an idea! Great Father's Day gift. He has been working frantically on getting his Man-Cave (garage) all together, organized and clean. So what better thing to put in there to work on once everything is cleared out?

Now is the fun part, trying to figure out how to pay for this, need money, ideas to make money, all the above! They are selling it for $1,500. Then I have to get it down here. Like I said it would be a great gift, however, it might just stay as an idea and have to be later on down the road...very sad!

P.S. He has no clue so don't spill to beans to him!

I Don't Think They Will Be Too Happy When They See This...

Mother's Day Trip to Scofield...

Birds Falling, Girls Bawling and Mom and Dad Laughing...

Funniest thing happened the other night. We have had birds make their nests in the eves of our house the past couple of springs. Well this spring has been no different except one thing...the mama bird didn't put the nest in the ever very well. The other day I was watering my front flower bed only to find a chick had fallen from the nest. So I picked it up, rapped it and went to show the girls. They started crying when I tried to feed it to our cats. I needed to do something since it was dying. Girls are bawling and Donovan and a friend of ours was just laughing and trying to figure out what was the need for the tears. Over the next hour 3 more fell from the sky, the girls cried harder and at this point Ashlynn started wondering why Ember and Kenzie were in hysterics. So I told them they could make a nest and if they were alive in the morning we could find a way to feed and take care of them. Well the next morning came and Ember and Kenzie went to check on them...as you probably guessed, the chicks were dead. They girls were actually OK with it because we made them a little nest and it was like they were home. So that made for an interesting night and some cool pictures.

Coming Home...

Indian Village just outside Zion's National Park. The girls loved it. They were able to feed the animals and go into all this cool old buildings. Then on the road again, home from a wonderful weekend! We are looking forward to this trip next year.