Stella Turned 1!!!

The day after the funeral Stella turned 1. It was nice to celebrate the end of an amazing life and the beginning stages of another so close together. As a result of a busy not the best nap week, Stella was kind of a crank. With her being our big eater I thought she would devour the cake. She just picked at it. It was fun to celebrate with family still in town. I can't believe its been a year since we welcomed her into this world. She is a cutie. She is so clingy to me. She cries sometimes even when I am handing her to her dad. She is busy, busy, busy! Crawling and getting into everything. She's a climber. I often find her on to of the kids table. She definitely keeps us on our toes and makes us laugh. Happy Birthday our little angel!

The Day of the Funeral

One of the Great Ones

On September 4, 2011 our Heavenly Father received one of the greatest men I have ever known back into his service. Dan's dad passed away in his home surrounded my family. What an amazing man he was. A veteran who served his country well. After being shot down he was saved by the people of Slovakia. He served a mission in Slovakia after he finished his service to our country. He had such a love for the Slovak people. He always had the most amazing life stories to share. He was a very giving man and he meant the world to Dan. They were buddies. I feel blessed to not only have known him, but that I can call him family. I am grateful Kyler and Addie were able to have a good relationship with him before his mind started to slip. The kids loved him and he loved them. Even when they were a little wild he was always smiling. I know the Lord has much work for him to do. I know he is willing and grateful to be at his Heavenly Father's service.

Back to School

On August 22nd Kyler started 1st grade. He didn't have any problem adjusting to being at school all day long. He is loving it! He also loves taking the bus with all the kids in our neighborhood. On September 6th Addie started preschool. She is going to preschool at Kyler's school. She is really loving it. It's so hard to see them growing up so fast.

San Diego Temple & The Mormon Battalion

I finally got to see the San Diego temple in person. Next time my goal is to find a babysitter for my kids so we can go inside. It is such a beautiful temple. After we left the temple grounds we went to the Mormon Battalion historical site. We went and learned about the Latter-day saints that joined the U.S. Army and marched from Iowa to San Diego. It was a fun interactive site. The kids got to put on some of the army equipment and pan for gold.

USS Midway Museum

The Wilsons had work in San Diego so we met them down there for a few days. We went to the USS Midway Museum. It was really neat to walk around a retired Navy ship. To me the coolest part was all of the planes on the flight deck. That was interesting to us cause it made us think of Dan's dad who served in the Airforce during World War 2.

Newport Beach Area

The week before school started in August we went to California. I wanted to have one last trip before a long school year. We love going to the beach. California is even more fun now that the Friedmans are there. I really wish we lived closer to each other. The kids get along so well.

Science & Industry Museum

The day before we left Chicago we hit up one more museum. We had such a fun trip and got to do so many things. We can't wait to go back and do it all again next year!

Millenium Park

There is so much to do at Millenium Park. I'm so glad we finally had the chance to see the Bean!