Celebrating Jaxson's 12th Birthday....all weekend long!

 Jaxson.  When he came into the world, I think the earth shook a little.  Seriously!  There are not many days where we don't notice Jaxson's presence in a huge way.  So I wanted to celebrate his 12th birthday in a huge way too!  On Friday after school, I took Jaxson, Alexa (his best friend) and the kids to Target.  I gave each of them $5.00 to find the best gift for Jaxson within 25 minutes.  It turned out to be soooooo fun!  

Afterward, we met up at our house with friends from school and the neighborhood for games and to play FUGITIVE when it got dark.  We played for an hour or so and then met on the front porch to share our favorite things about Jaxson.  The kids were adorable.  They shared things such as, "He is so funny!", "He makes me laugh!"  "He is the ladies man!"  Austin said that "Jaxson was the best friend and best brother he could ever have asked for and he loved him so much."  My heart wanted to burst with happiness!

The First Father-Son General Priesthood Session for 

Dave and Jaxson

Dave has been looking forward to this night.  Although Jaxson was 2 days shy of 12, he went with Dave to the Priesthood session.  Dave was just hurrying around the day so he and Jaxson wouldn't feel rushed that night.  I made certain to get pictures of them before conference.  My handsome boys!

 (the girls and I ate the Cedar Hills Grill for a 

Girls' Night Out...YUM!)

 Sunday night, we had the Lindsay family over for cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate Jaxson's birthday.  He was just beaming with happiness to have his family together and be the center of the attention.

 On Monday night, Jaxson was set apart as a deacon and received the Aaronic Priesthood.  Dave ordained him with Poppie and Bishop Higbee.  It was a special night for our family and especially for Jaxson.  

2016 Grand Concert at MRJH

 We experienced extraordinary music from Taylor's choir singers, the band, and orchestra at the 2016 Grand Concert at MRJH.  Each of the groups performed 3 songs.  We are so proud of Taylor and excited about the experiences she is having during her 9th grade year.

Molly's 40th Birthday in Park City, Utah!

 Back in the fall of 2015, we decided that we wanted to do something special for Molly's 40th birthday.  We debated about flying to San Diego or doing something local.  Finally we decided to go for it in Park City.

What a fun 24 hours we had!  Molly was surprised by a few friends at 10:00am for a little get-away.  She had NO idea it would end up with ALL of us visiting art galleries, swimming in a crater, eating Italian food in Heber, and sleeping in a condo at The Homestead in Midway.  Back at the Homestead, Meredith brought out gift bags for all of us filled with chocolates, pedicure products, soaps, facial products and more.  We did facials, hung out in the hot tub, played card games while "watching" The Man From Snowy River (my gift to Molly) until 3:30 in the morning including a sneak to the gas station for snacks, slurpies, and breakfast foods.  It was so fun to be with each other, best friends, all of us passionate about our families, religions, jobs, and helping others.

Happy Birthday to Austin "Epic" Lindsay!

Oh, Austin.  You are just the best little 10 year old!  We had a friends' party with about 13 young boys.  After hanging out for a while in our basement, we headed outside for night games, in particular, a new game called "Fugitive" where the boys stealth their way in the dark while Dave and I slowly ride in the Yukon trying to detect them and catch them before they make it back to our house.  The boys had a blast!  And we wore them out too.

At the end of the party, we met on the front porch and shared favorite things about Austin.  We love our Austin and are just grateful for the spunk, endless sports stories, and high energy he brings to the world and into our family.

Celebrating our birthday boy: DAVE!

 Dave's birthday was kind of low-key but super enjoyable this year.  We met up with Grandma and Poppie, and Connie and Ken at Iggy's Sports Bar and Grill in Orem. We ate yummy food, watched the painters in the corner, and celebrated Dave's life!  Grandma bought him a Baskin Robbins cake for his birthday...yum!  We love Dave so much and can't imagine life without his smile, charm, huge heart, and sweet spirit.  Happy 44th birthday, Dave!

Jaxson and Shakespeare: The Merchant from Venice

 Dave and I spent an hour in Jaxson's classroom watching his class perform "The Merchant from Venice" for us.  It was exceptional. Jaxson's teacher literally sat back and let the kids narrate, act, move props, etc.  We are so proud of our boy and his progress in school.