Laundry Anyone???

Any mother who has ever left town for a week knows that the biggest thing waiting for them when they return is...LAUNDRY!!! I left town last Monday to go to Utah and get ready for my little sister's wedding since I was handling decor. Kyle & the kids joined me on Thursday night and we drove back Sunday. Not only did I have a week's worth of the usual laundry i.e. basketball uniforms, workout clothes, Morgan's 2-3 times a day clothing changes...I also had all the tablecloth laundry. This translated to washing 42 tablecloths and ironing 16 of them (I only ironed the ones that I needed to return to my sweet friend that let me borrow them). I was very appreciative of my cute husband that did a huge assist in the tablecloth laundry department. He seriously folded over half of the tablecloths. Now I look forward to blogging about the actual wedding. Just waiting for pictures to post. I'm having my family send me photos cause I was so busy I didn't take a single picture with my camera. Stay posted for pictures of quite possibly the cutest bride ever...until Lincoln or Morgan get married so Donnalee can safely hold that title for I hope the next decade (age 25...right Lincoln!!!)

Family Work Projects

Growing up it seemed that whenever my family all got together for a holiday or a long weekend there would inevitably be the family work project. I always thought my Dad must have planned some project right before we all arrived like adding on a patio covering, framing out a bedroom in the basement, building shelves in the fruit room...so that he could have some extra slave labor.
On Labor Day I had new insight into my previous perception. Most likely my Dad was trying to get a project done before everyone got home and it just took longer than anticipated...hence the family shows up and everyone pitches in to get it done. On Monday, the Crump Family started its "to do list" bright and early so we could be done before friends showed up to bbq and swim. The main project was to get the old, deteriorated trampoline out of the ground and the new trampoline safely installed before guests arrived. Of course, nothing can be that simple! So as all our friends arrived, Kyle was still in the hole, surrounded by various rusted trampoline springs, a variety of weeds that had been growing unseen in the hole and a deteriorating old tramp frame that was difficult to dismantle and pull from the hole. Without exception...every Dad that walked into our backyard headed straight to our work project and in short order dismantled & hauled off the old trampoline and cleaned out the entire hole. So a big Thank You to all you Dads...Carl, David M., Jason, Brian, & Troy for laboring at our house on Labor Day. And an extra shout out to Jared & David D. for staying late to install the new trampoline. We are so lucky to have our Arizona Family that we can always count on!

Happy Anniversary from our Kids!

Today is my anniversary (well actually OUR anniversary...I do share it with Kyle). Anyway, Kyle took a half day off work and took me to a movie which was a great present. But my cute kids had been scheming for the past week...so when we got home we had a vase of homemade flowers and the best card from the kids in honor of our 21 years of marriage. So cute I just had to share it!

21 THINGS WE'VE LEARNED

FROM OUR MOM & DAD

21. Dad deals better with the school principal.
20. Everyone can be called Superman but very few actually are.
19. Never take a dog hunting...even if his name is Hunter.
18. Never never never never never never never never never GIVE UP.
17. European boobs should ALWAYS be covered at the beach.
16. Get 'r done.
15. Never get engaged on someone else's wedding day.
14. Ice fishing is NOT that fun.
13. We would make a hot pioneer family.
12. Buckle Jeans can cure EVERYTHING.
11. Diet coke and chips ARE a meal.
10. Do what you love and love what you do!
09. Be positive.
08. Strive to be your best.
07. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is here on this Earth.
06. We are an eternal family.
05. Follow the prophet.
04. Serve others.
03. Small things really do matter.
02. We have a loving Father in Heaven.
01. Our parents ROCK!!!

My New Love

I am so in love with this little guy. This is my nephew Zachary Kevin Warner. I have been able to spend so much time with him these past few weeks. I first saw him on July 3 when we arrived in Utah and it was love at first sight. He is named after my brother Kevin who passed away 7 1/2 years ago. There is something in the way he smiles that reminds me of my brother. He is such a sweetie and we've had lots of good cuddle time together. And my sister is amazing! This is her 5th baby and she is such an organized Mom. Her house is very calm, always clean and she makes entire meals from what they grow in their garden. She is my sister that lived in Arizona until two years ago. We parked our RV in front of her house during our visit and it felt like we lived near each other again...walking in the front door without knocking, making ourselves at home, treating each other's kids like our own. I miss them living in Arizona SO MUCH but I love how happy they are in their new location and know that is what is best for them.

All in a Days' Work--in Haiti

When I say All in a Days' Work in Haiti...I mean literally. This is my brother Allen Day and my sister Donnalee Day. And so these two Days spent 7 days on a medical mission in Haiti. You can tell by these beautiful photos that they fell in love with the children & even some of the adults that they were able to help. I have loved the tales of their experiences...so many in such a short amount of time. They have decided that they will go again next year. I want to go but am going to have to develop some medical skills in the next 11 months. Apparently my occupation as a party planner/wedding coordinator is not at the top of their list of needs. But I LOVE looking at these photos...amazing & inspiring!

Once they received medical attention, each child got some LOVE,

Then they got a lollipop,

And finally a smiley face sticker...

which most chose to wear on their foreheads!