March 2023

March was busy... it always is! We decided to apply to some local ballet intensives for the summer for Abby so we had to take some arabesque shots. I am so proud of all her hard work and love to watch her progress and excel as a dancer. I think we are leaning towards her going to Ballet Arizona's junior summer intensive. I hope she has a fun time and really starts to fall in love with ballet.

We had an MRI scheduled at Phoenix Children's hospital to hopefully get answers to Brayden's hearing loss. I don't know how I feel about all this. As his mother I feel devastated that he is having this trial, I feel like the worst mom for not picking up on his symptoms sooner, and I wish I could just take this away from him and endure it myself. This trial has taught me about the unconditional love that our Father in Heaven and Savior have for us. Because of the atonement, we don't have to go through all our trials and heartaches alone. Our Savior felt all the pain, endured all the aches, and can 100% sympathize with us. Likewise, our Heavenly Father loves us so much and doesn't want us to get hurt, but also knows that we each have specific trials we need to overcome to develop certain qualities and traits that will lead us to become our best selves. Life is hard, and as a parent it gets even harder watching your kids stumble through, but I know we are here for Brayden and will make sure he gets the best treatment that he needs!

Our yearly ski trip was awesome! This year Park City, Utah got so much snow, it was crazy! In fact, one of the days that we went skiing it was snowing so hard we could hardly see in front of ourselves. I always complain about being cold and the hassle that it is to get little kids all geared up and on the mountain, but at the end of the day I am glad we go and that we can create these memories together. Kyle is so excited to share these ski trips and memories with his kids, and I support that whole heartedly. Hopefully next year Layla will be old enough to come skiing with us as well.

On our drive back from skiing, we stopped in Cedar City to see grandpa Don's and  grandma Ruth's grave side. Kyle has a special love for his grandparents since he spent his senior year with them in Burley, Idaho. I am forever grateful for their strong influence in my husband's life, and look forward to the day when we can see them again. They were great people, and have a lasting legacy in their kids, grand kids, and great grand kids that display their faithfulness, and obedience in following the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Spring time in Arizona means get out and enjoy the nice weather while you can! Most evenings are filled with baseball games, and the girls are becoming the best little cheerleaders. I love how much Layla wants to be just like Abby, and how Abby wants to take care of Layla. They are 6 years apart like I am with my sister, Katie, and watching them makes me recall my childhood and memories with my sister. 

WE.WENT.TO.TAYLOR.SWIWFT'S.CONCERT!!!!!!! Cory got Celeste and me tickets to the Era's concert and we were so excited. It honestly was the best concert I have ever been to. It was 3 hours long of singing, standing, swaying, and just having a great time with my best friend. I love that I can be completely myself around Celeste. She is the blonde to my brunette.

Picture week for these cuties! I have decided to leave Take Five Dance Academy after the summer recital. It's been a great 4 years, but I am ready to move on and so is Abby. I had a bit of a falling out with the studio owner, and her lack of trust and confidence in me was the reassurance I needed to leave for bigger and better things. So right now I'm just enjoying the "lasts" at the studio with my students.

Abby and I went up to Salt Lake City to attend General Conference. I decided when my kids are 9 I want to take them on a one on one trip to Conference. I want them to know the significance of listening to the Prophet, and that it is important. I also want to create special memories with them and traditions that they will cling on to and always remember.

We stayed with my sister Katie and her husband and got to met cute baby Levi for the first time. Katie had him back in December, and it has been so fun watching Katie become a mom for the first time. He is such a cute little baby, both Abby and I couldn't get enough of the baby snuggles.

We of course also had to meet up with Doug and Taylor. We all went out to eat to enjoy some time together and to get some Raef snuggles in as well. I love my family, and will do just about anything to see them, spend time with them, and make memories with them. I hope they know how important they are to me... even now that we are all adults with our own families.

So we had a really cool experience with general Conference. I tried and tried to get tickets before leaving Arizona, but couldn't get my hands on any. So I decided we would still go and we would just get to the conference center early and stand in line in hopes to get standby tickets. When we got to the conference center we found out that after COVID they stopped doing standby tickets, and if you didn't have a ticket that was that. I couldn't believe it! We came all this way and now were not even going to get in to hear a session of General Conference. I was so sad and said a little prayer in my heart. Almost immediately two sister missionaries came up to me and Abby and asked if we had tickets for the next session. I replied that sadly we didn't have tickets to any of the sessions and would just have to figure another way to watch conference. They immediately looked at Abby and said "do you believe God answers prayers?" Sweet little Abby said "yes" and the sisters pulled out 2 tickets and handed them to us for the very next session! I couldn't believe it! We were so grateful and appreciative of them. Now looking back they probably gave us their tickets to the session, and I feel awful to have taken their seats from them, but am grateful that they were in tune with the spirit and could act as vessels form our Heavenly Father to answer our prayers. It was a very special session and time with my girl that I will never forget.