NEED THE PERFECT BABYSITTER?

Yesterday Heather Jackman moved in with us for the summer. We met Heather at church when she was 14 and she quickly became our boys' favorite babysitter. She also spent plenty of time with the Graff''s and lots of other families in our ward.

She just completed her freshman year at A.S.U. and needed somewhere to stay for a couple of months. We are happy to welcome her into our home. She is so great with the boys and very helpful to me. She is available anytime and would love to earn some extra money this summer to furnish her new apartment in the fall!

Swim Lessons

SO he cried for 2 weeks straight. Poor Allie had to deal with him, BUT HE CAN SWIM! Yeah--everyone can swim at our house! Allie has been a great teacher to all the boys. She taught most of them to swim and we love her for putting up with all the screaming & crying. What patience she has!


Nate and Ben have been taking some fun lessons with Jordan. They are working on different strokes and diving. Little Ben is so funny-notice his in air pose-he almost always lands on his belly. He'll get it sometime. Jordan is so great with them. They love him so much and we will miss him when he leaves to spread the word so far away! We have been lucky to have him as Ben's Primary teacher and for swimming the last couple years. He is a great example to all my boys!

Happy Big Daddy's Day Rob, Happy Popa's Day Pop!

Happy Father's Day to 2 of my favorite people.

Rob you are a great dad to our boys. They are so lucky to have you to be their baseball, soccer, football, basketball or whatever sport Big Coach. You are a great teacher and a good example to them of hard work and determination.

Popa you are the best Popa anyone could ask for. You are so loving in your own unique way and make all the boys feel so special and important. They all think they're your favorite. Thanks for all the endless games you watch and cheer at. Thanks for teaching them to love music, life, guns, peeing in holes and everything crazy we forget to teach them. What would we do without you Pop?!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BIG ROB!

THANKS FOR STICKING IT OUT FOR SO MANY YEARS!

ALTHOUGH SO MANY TIMES ALL WE'VE WANTED TO DO WAS GET A CHANCE TO SHOVE CAKE IN EACH OTHERS FACE AGAIN.

I LOVE YOU.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Our Jake is 10 today! Time goes so fast. A decade seems so short. Jake is one of the greatest people I have ever known. When he was very tiny we knew we had a very special boy on our hands. He was the most docile baby I have ever seen. Always happy. Always smiling. Big hungry. He is extremely caring and a gentle giant with an enormous heart. He is like a big, soft teddy bear. He is a great big brother and all his brothers love to play with him. He is extremely intelligent and talented in many areas and I has never brought home a B. Although he can be way dingy and it is fun and tempting to mess with him! He has read every book on animals he can get his hands on and loves to learn facts about anything. He loves sports and is very good at baseball and football. He is very strong and often doesn't know his strength. He loves music, and is always singing, loves the Beatles, thanks to Papa and he's always trying to play a new instrument. He is a people person and has never met a stranger. I know Jake is destined for greatness, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him. Rob and I have always felt very lucky to be his parents. We love you Jacob and can't wait to move into that beach house you keep promising us! You are the best son any parents could ask for--you make us so proud! Here are some pictures for our family to enjoy.

BIG Dork & BIG Coach

I know I am a total dork, but I have been having a really great time with my camera. Today was a great day of swimming with the boys and some of our favorite friends.

Jake enjoys joining me in a lot of nonsense.

Even Zach the serious got in on it.

Friday night Coach Rob invited his baseball team over for a family dinner and swimming. Then he had the whole team sleep over. What a crazy man. They had the best time. They swam, played every type of ball-baseball, wiffleball, football, basketball, played Xbox, watched a movie outside on the big screen, you name they did it. Finally after hours of wild fun, Big Rob laid down with them outside at 1:45 am and made them go to sleep. At 5:30 I started hearing noises, and by 5:45 am they were back in the pool. Lucky boys.
Rob really is a great coach, and these boys were so lucky to have such a fun big kid to hang out with and learn from. When he handed out their trophies he gave a long speech about each kid individually. He makes me proud at times like this.