CORRECTION!!! It was Stephen M.R. Covey. Stephen R. Covey's son.

John went to church in Singapore today and Stephen R. Covey happened to be visiting the same ward John visited. He also ran into a guy who was in a chinese class at BYU with him and another guy who lives in that ward that graduated from the MBA program the year after John.

Small world.

Sibling Rivalry

You'd think my children are completely different species that shouldn't coexist. UNREAL.
Mom and Dad, I know you are laughing right now. I deserve this, right?!!!! Jolie and I have had our fair share of fighting and arguing. My mom use to tell us that "grandma says she has never seen anyone fight as bad as you two." Our choice of name calling was usually "butthead". Beautiful. We've wrestled (attacked) each other, pulled hair, pinched, you name it. But guess what? In our late teens, we became best friends and have been since!!!! That means I only have about 10 more years until my first two "might" be friends!! :) I don't really remember Ryan and I fighting much. I think we really didn't cross each others paths. (I'm sure my mom and dad remember that differently). Jolie and Ryan were friends but I was always known as the one in the middle who didn't get along with anyone. I didn't put myself in that position but I'm hoping I'm stronger because of it!!
John and Emily bug each other which always turns into screamining, hurting, calling names. (fagot was the new one this morning. what an ugly word. where did that come from? K....I googled "fagot". Here are the definitions....1. fagot - offensive term for an openly homosexual man. A communication that belittles somebody or something 2. fagot - a bundle of sticks and branches bound together) I'm going to hope John was thinking of a bundle of sticks bound together. Honestly he probably has no clue what it means. But if it comes out of his mouth again, we'll have a little talk about the "belittling" word that it is.
If Thomas and Jack get on each others nerves, it's just a full blown attack to the ground. NO MERCY!! And I see it festering in Samuel. He doesn't know the concept of "soft" or "gentle". But how could he? With all of the rough, ridiculous, energy around here.
Better get back to refereeing.





P.S. There is a lot of JOY in our home too. More JOY than fighting, thank goodness. But when you are alone with 5 children for two weeks and the only one to referee, it gets really tiring.
I do understand that this is life. I'm not complaining.
If you happen to be someone who has never heard your children fight or seen them be mean, please let me and the rest of the world know your secret.

Summer lovin...haven a blast!!!

I've talked about this before but I'm running out of time. It is time to figure out how to have children with responsibilities this summer. I found one idea that I liked and am leaning towards that.....your kids get points for every chore they do. So at my house a point for piano, their room, reading, jobs, etc. and if they don't do the job, they get double the points taken away for the job they didn't do. When they earn 100 points, they will get a date with mom or dad. I figure if they are diligant, this could earn them a date every two weeks. Feel free to share any ideas you have or anything that actually works at your house!!

Our nephew, Nathan, plays for Bountiful and is in the state soccer finals. He is in the white in the middle!! Way to go Nate!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ON STATE CHAMPIONSHIP NATE!!!!

I just found these pictures on our old camera and had to get them on.

John is at that in between age where he wanted to do build a bear but felt silly doing it. So we did it anyway (and I made him do the entire process, including the bath!!) This is what the boys chose to do for their birthdays this year since Emily did it for her birthday last year. Although we missed out on Thomas and Jack's build a bear experience because they went with Daniel for his birthday and got them. I did take them back so they could pick out clothes for their dogs. I'll have to take a picture and post. John named his dog Max of course and bought him a BYU tshirt and denim shorts. My sweet John. I sure love him. He is a good kid!

What do you do?

Well, we've had a new topic of conversation come up. When Emily and I were in California, we were watching some dumb Nickelodeon show and Emily was talking to Heidi about it not being good to get pregnant before your married. Then she asked Heidi "If you shouldn't get pregnant before you are married, why did Heavenly Father have Mary get pregnant with Jesus before she was married." I wasn't in the room and it didn't come up again but Heidi told me about the conversation and I've been thinking about it since.

Well tonight our kids started talking about wanting another sister which led to more conversation about being pregnant and teenagers getting pregnant. We were talking about how it's not good for teenagers to get pregnant and we need to be married before we get pregnant. Little John went on to say that it's not up to us. It's up to Heavenly Father when we have a baby. Then started talking about the girl who gave birth to Zachary H. was a teenager. Sooooo....here we go. Something needs to be said. But what? They are so oblivious to the process of creation that I'm not quite sure what to explain. I've been looking up articles on lds.org but haven't come to a conclusion yet.

If someone has been through this or just has some advice for us, please share. They are starting to get curious and I want to be prepared.

I just found this....http://www.valuesparenting.com/talktokids.php from the Eyre's.

Samuel. Caleb. Max. Sophie.

Sean will die knowing that I actually posted these cute boys and the dogs in the same post. Sam is one year older than Caleb. They are about 14 months and 2 months in this picture. Aren't the adorable? And I love baby feet!!!!

Sophie and Max....BFF.

Twin Falls

Anna and Joseph were baptized. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for playing with the kids Uncle Scott!!! And thanks for the invite Scott and Lori. You made a bunch of girls really happy!



Thomas and Jack decided that this must be where the waterfall gets its water from. How cute is that. They were completely serious.


On Saturday, Emily and I got up at 4:30 am and Heidi dropped us off at the shuttle at 5:00 am. Then at 11:00, John and the boys picked us up from the airport and we headed straight for Twin Falls for a baptism. We got there at 2:30 and enjoyed a yummy lunch and great treats!! Thanks Karey and Lori!!! We had an hour after lunch and before the baptism so we drove to Shoshone Falls. You'd never guess it was there. It was great!! Then we went to the baptism. As always, I cried. I always cry at baptisms. hm.

After the baptism, we went to Travis and Karey's house to visit. Scott and Lori had a hotel room and invited the young girls to go swim. So a parent from each family and all the little girls went swimming. When they got back around 10:00, we packed up and headed home. We made it home at 2 am and enjoyed our beds!!! Sunday we went to our church for a great broadcast for Stake Conference. Elder Bednar and President Eyring were the key speakers. It was wonderful. One thing I liked was something President Eyring said. He was talking about how busy we are in life and not overloading ourselves and our families. He said when you are signing up or planning to do something, ask yourself if it is going to bring us closer to the Lord. Or ask yourself if it is going to take us further from the Lord. I believe there are those things that will do neither but I thought it was great to think about if it is going to get in the way of progression. Anyway, it was a nice weekend. We struggled to wake up this morning!!

WOW!! Thanks for the trip Honey!!!

Thanks to the most wonderful man ever.....I got to spend a couple of days in California with my dearest friend AND my sweet daughter. On Wednesday, John came home early from work and spent the next two days at home with the boys while Emily and I flew out to San Francisco. John knows how important Heidi is to me and has always encouraged our friendship. Thank you John!!! Heidi and her daughter Addie picked us up at the airport and we spent the evening in San Francisco. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory, browsed the shops of Union Square, enjoyed a little music, then drove to Heidi's house. Then next couple of days were heaven. We ate out, slept, looked at pictures/yearbooks, reminisced, colored and cut hair, painted toenails, went shopping, and had two of the most wonderful days!! It was so wonderful to be with Emily. I realized I don't know a lot about Emily and I was grateful for this time alone with her, without crazy little boys, to get to know her better. I learned that I need to make more time to be with her. I love you Emily!! Thank you for going with me. It was wonderful to have you with me.

Heidi and I met in spanish class my senior year and her junior year. We hit it off and became instant best friends. Soon after we met, Heidi took me to California with her to go to Disneyland and babysit her cousins for a few days. We still don't get that!! We had just met....but from the very beginning we connected and that connection is still there just as strong!! We didn't need anybody or anything because we were comfortable and absolutely loved just hanging out together. It got to where it was never just Heidi or just Tawnie. We were a package deal....Heidi and Tawnie. If you wanted one of us, you got both of us!! We spent a lot of time EATING, listening to music and making tapes, singing and playing the piano, going on drives, at the cabin, talking about our future and for the most part being complete nerds. I almost lived at her house when my parents were getting divorced. Her family took me in and treated me as their own. They made me feel loved and I love all of them so much! I will be eternally grateful for the love they had for me and still do and for the example they were and continue to be. So many times throughout my married life, I think about them and the way they live their life and it is always a help to me in some way.

Heidi and I went to Europe for three weeks together then when we got back, I got engaged and married and we went our seperate ways....for the most part. We still made occasional phone calls and visits and continued to be best friends. This trip was awesome. We caught up on the years we missed with each other. We talked about the girls (our wonderful friends) and "the guys". Still confused. :) She is and always has been my confidant. She understands me and I understand her like no other could.

"Ahhh...how good it feels. The hand of an old friend."

Thank you Heidi!!! Thank you for being there when I needed you. I thank Heavenly Father for giving me you when I needed you the most and that I still have you and feel so comfortable with you. Thank you for a great trip. Thank you for continuing to be my friend and loving me even through all the times I was rude or confused or just being a dork. We've had good times and I hope we have a lifetime of many more!!!