Spontaneous FUN!

 Summer always seems to get its "first kick off" with Memorial Day. We didn't make any HUGE plans for the holiday weekend as we were coming off our big graduation week and we just wanted to play it a little "low key" and just see what happened. THE wind had been blowing LIKE CRAZY and sort of put a big damper on any hot dog roasts, picnics or ANY outside fun for that matter...BUT when it came right down to it, we wanted to get out of the house and DO something besides clean (after all, that's what I had done for 3 days prior in preparation for our graduation company).  Dayna came out for Cam's graduation and was able to stay for a few days (which was AWESOME) so we decided to head over to Vernal for a little Cafe Rio (you don't have to ask me twice to go there) and see what happened after that. The wind was terrible everywhere...THOSE weren't storm clouds above, that was actual dust blowing around which made it LOOK like storm clouds. I've never seen wind like this that pretty much covered the entire State of Utah!

 Regardless of the winde, after dinner we drove down to the Green River for a little

 "look see" at this ever large mass of water!

 NO...I don't have a new "DO", the wind just wasn't kind to my hair this day!!

 Dayna thought she would scare me TO DEATH and try to break off a LARGE piece of ground

that just happened to be cracked and RIGHT on the edge of the 

WIDE GREEN "ROARING" RIVER BELOW! NOT COOL! 

LUCKILY that piece of ground wasn't ready to fall beneath into the water!

(and neither was Dayna!)

 It always amazes me to see the Green River and how wide it is....we have 2 rivers close to our house

and they seem large to me, but when I see this one, ours looks as though its only a stream! 

And so our Memorial Day weekend was off to a good start as we headed up the road for a spontaneous  "auto tour" of the Dinosaur Museum sites....

to be continued.......

Let the SUMMER begin~

Graduation dinner, playing on the tramp, hanging with the friends and family..

thats where Summer memories begin!

So glad summer is here...glad its HOT...We're looking forward to making memories!

A little LATE!

 I forgot all about the eclipse...spaced it off and ended up going outside JUST as it was on its last leg...
I was inside on the phone, talking to my daughter...I noticed that all of a sudden it looked as though the "sun had gone behind a cloud", but for some reason it also looked different (can't explain it, but it did)....as we were talking, she mentions to me that there was eclipse that was going to happen that night...UHG... By the time I  got outside to check it out, I was too late~

 SOooooo...THIS was my view of the eclipse...(bet you didn't see any pics like mine)...BUMMER!!! All the pictures I saw on the internet, other blogs etc... were very cool and I feel SUPER cheated (my own fault of course). Oh well, I guess I will just have to wait for the next one and watch it from heaven (because I doubt I will be around when we have another one)...not much I can do about it now other than...

enjoy my eclipse pictures!

Grad Day...always have, always will

I have a "love/hate relationship with Graduation Day...I always have and I always will.

 Its such a happy day for so many reasons:

1. THEY (the senior child) are finally done with school...no more trying to DRAG them out of bed 

to attend class, grounding them because they WON'T get up or threatening to dump water on them if they "AREN'T UP in 5 MINUTES"!...YAY!! NO more of that (at least for a few more years until #6 child reaches her senior year)!!!!

2. They are finally growing out of their "sassy" stage (for the most part) and ready to be a grown up.

3. They can (and will) make their way in the world.

4. They have proven to make mistakes, but have learned from them and go on a better person, learning from their goofy youthful mishaps.

5. They have accomplished a HUGE goal (set by me...the mom) and graduated high school....a feat that is not only difficult for some but often grueling as the last few months prove to be very difficult...ESPECIALLY since ALL my seniors get a bad case of "SENIOR-ITIS" come about March (of their senior year) and don't want to be in class anymore. 

Cam and his pals...getting ready for the graduation march~

Cam...yep, the tall one in the back~

CAMERON MIKAL WILKERSON...a 2012 graduate from DHS

   AND...its a SAD day for so many reasons:
1. Sad because they are graduated...and that means they are flying the coop (eventually) and I love my kids and have a hard time seeing them grow up and move on.
2. Sad because they don't need me like they did 10 years ago
3. Sad because I'm not very good with "ChanGe"...(not very good at all)
4. Sad because they no longer think I'm capable of telling them what to do (like they ever thought I was capable)
5. Sad (but more stressful than sad) because I worry about what will happen to them out in the big wide world and what obstacles will fall in their path and IF I've taught them all that they need to know to make it out there~


This is NUMBER 5 child for us...so you would think I would be use to all the happy/sad emotions that I feel during graduation time, but I'm not...right now I'm feeling #5 of the "sad reasons"...its difficult if I think about it for too long BUT NO worries, tomorrow I might be feeling #1  in my happy category...its a process and I just have to work through it...I always have and I always will~ 

Families are Forever...and ever...and EVER~

Just a few more pictures of the BIG DAY....

Mike and Kim and Kenron...who really wasn't in the "picture taking mood"...

The newlyweds with Grandpa and Grandma Allred....

and Grandpa and Grandma Weight....

My family...the gang...whom I love and adore!!!

Both Mike's and Kim's families...alot of happy people!

My three gorgeous girls...I love to look at pics of the three of them together and see how they

all sort of resemble one another~

Kim and Mike with Grandpa and Grandma Wilkerson

The beautiful temple where they tied the knot and began their eternal family!

The infamous stairs where Mike proposed to Kim...oh the memories~

This says it all...PURE JOY!

Life doesn't get much better than this~

Thank you, Thank you one and all for coming and supporting our

darling couple, they appreciate it....WE appreciate it!

Our newest addition to the family...AND he fits right in! 

Our newest family picture with EVERYONE!

I have to say I'm very blessed!

When you wish upon a star.....

The big day finally arrived...May 12, 2012....and what a blessed day it was!

Kim and Mike were gorgeous, happy, full of smiles and ready to 

start their lives together!

Introducing....(drum roll) 

Mr. and Mrs Michael Coats

 Their first appearance outside of the temple, as husband and wife.....

 Their first kiss outside of the temple as the "happily married couple".....

 Mike...admiring his new bride and the love of his life....

 Isn't that the look of pure and utter JOY?!!

 You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep

                                                                      because reality is finally better than your dreams.                                                                                                                                    ~ Dr. Seuss~

 A love that will last a life time and THEN SOME......

What a beautiful bride....

Once in awhile, 
Right in the middle of an ordinary life, 
Love gives us a fairy tale.~ Anonymous ~

Tender moments....

Halle got to babysitt Little Mister while we were in the temple with Kim and Mike..

 What special memories for the two of them...

and priceless pictures that recapture precious moments!

"Yes, Aunt Halle, you can give me kisses"........

Sharing with friends.......

Little Mister...AKA Kenron, is my grandson, my buddy and my little sweetheart (if you follow my blog, you already know this). For quite some time we have known about his struggles and problems but many of you haven't known. A few weeks ago, Todd and Dana sent out the following letter to family and friends to let everyone know about the struggles our sweet Kenron has had, the fight he has had to fight and the triumphant accomplishments he's made. 

"Dear Family & Friends,
As many of you know, our son Kenron was born 2 month early. He is now just over 20 months old. He is our little miracle! We were told by Dana’s doctor (after lab tests were done) that Kenron was not born early because of anything during the pregnancy but because of a slight medical condition (unknown at the time) Dana has. After Kenron was born, he was Life Flighted to the Intermountain hospital in Murray. He was in the NICU for just over a month. While Kenron was in the NICU we found out that Kenron was born with a brain bleed because of his premature birth (by results from a head ultra-sound and MRI). The doctors say they don’t really know why he was born with the brain bleed but that it happens more often with premature births. There is nothing they can do for a brain bleed. The brain bleed can slow down development physically and mentally. Kenron was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy months after birth. Cerebral palsy has many different levels of severity. We aren’t sure the severity of Kenron’s CP, however at the moment things are looking positive (that it isn’t too severe). We just have to help him and watch him grow and progress. Difficult situations may arise but both of us and the doctors are very optimistic. 

The doctors said that they don’t think it will affect much of Kenron’s mental state other than it has and will slow his development down quite a bit. Kenron started sitting months after other babies usually do and still has a tiny bit of trouble with it. He is now able to army crawl small distances after working extremely hard. This is a BIG accomplishment for him & we are so proud of him every step of the way! Kenron is not yet able to crawl, stand up alone, or walk. We aren’t sure when these stepping stones will present themselves but we are working with him constantly and he has therapists help him about once a week. The doctors have all said that they don’t doubt that he will walk and run, but they do say that it may take a while longer for him to get to that point. We are very hopeful and believe that Kenron WILL be able to walk & run like every other child. 

Yes cerebral palsy is a disability but every child with a “disability” is still just as special and important as any other child. It is a hard thing to hear and even harder to accept that your child may not fully develop or that others may treat him different. We have a very strong and supportive community of children with disabilities and hope to continue to feel welcome. However, we also want Kenron & us as his parents to feel welcome and loved in any situation, not just with other “disabled” children. 

We aren’t telling everyone this to get attention, ask for pity, or to ask you to treat Kenron special or different. We are telling everyone this because we want to notify you about his condition and because we DON’T want Kenron to be treated different. We want everyone to treat him him exactly how they have been, like every other child. Everyone treats Kenron so well, we just want everyone to continue treating him the same. 

Kenron is our little miracle baby and we constantly hope and pray for him to be able to continue to progress and develop fully. We know that there is a possibility that he may not be able to develop fully, but we hope and pray for the best. We believe in miracles! We are so proud of Kenron and how strong he is and his accomplishments. We will ALWAYS love Kenron no matter what and we hope you all can love him the same either way."

Dana & Todd"




I feel it an enormous blessing to be this little guys grandma. He's a fighter! I've watched him "army crawl" to get to something he wants so badly, pulling his legs along an inch at a time.Its hard to watch him struggle so hard, but it's also so exciting to see him finally get to what he's worked and fought to get to! Life isn't going to be handed to him on a silver platter, its going to be hard. We keep praying that Little Mister's  trials will get easier as his triumphs get bigger. He is such an extremely happy boy and just makes the world around him shine! I am so humbled to be a part of his life...I love him more than words can describe and I cherish this sweet little man!!


Here's to hard work, fighting and keeping our spirits up. Little Mister lights the way for our family as we see through his eyes,  that we are all "So Much Stronger Than We Think We Are". 

La la la....la la la la...la la.........

 Cameron and Halle had their "Spring music concert" last week...

They both worked so hard and did a wonderful job. It was fun to see all the hard work they put in to 

playing the guitar (Cam) and singing in the choir (Halle)

 these last few months (since Christmas, their last concert). 

 Cameron...and YES the girl standing next to him is standing on a chair (ha ha ha ha)

 Halle...in the green scarf...posing for the Choir picture~

Our school has the best music teacher in the district. She is so talented and the kids have learned to love everything "musical" because of her. She is a talented lady and loves what she does! Thanks Mrs McKee for all that you do! It's wonderful to live in our small little town with good "down home" people that not only love their job, but they love the kids they teach!!

Once again...another reason I love where I live! Kudos to my tiny little town!!