Mom's like play dates too...

After our eventful day of Prom Dress shopping we met up with Dayna for a great night of "REST" (I mean that sarcastically, because we never rest when we are all together)! We went to "Zupas" for dinner...and if you like "chick food", like soup and salad...THATS the place to go!!! They have the best "Summer chicken Salad", with crasions and nuts, 

and of course the lettuce. ALL their soups are wonderful. Their Tomato soup is sooooo good. The clam chowder is amazing as well, probably the best I have eaten since I was on the coast, anyway. Then we all went "SHOPPING" to help boost the economy --you know...we try to do our part no worries there. Then off to Dayna's for a good nights rest. We got to bed at about midnight and were up by 6:30 getting ready for the rest of our "play date" with Dayna (she didn't get to spend the entire day with us, only until lunch because she had already made plans when we called and told her we were coming out, so we had to take advantage of the time we had together). We shopped and shopped, found some fun stuff and even hit a few really good deals. Dayna has a nose for the SALES so we just follow her where ever she goes. We ended our PLAY DATE with Dayna when we met up with Jack at Cafe Rio (Is there any other place out there? I THINK NOT!)  for the best food around, at least we think so. It was fun to spend some time with Dayna and laugh and enjoy each other. We were super glad that she could come with us, even if it wasn't for the entire trip. It was alot of fun. Kimber and Halle and I continued to spend the rest of the day in Provo/Orem shopping and "relaxing" the way we know best....SHOPPING!

 

AND the WINNER Is...

...the green dress!

This one was the favorite all the way around!(The price was right too, so that was an added bonus!) Finding the dress was just the beginning of the quest, then we had to

 find the right jewelry and the right shoes...but once 

we found the dress the rest of it just fell into place. She bought a pair of silver strappy sandals to go with it and some "BLING" for her ears and neck. Our day was a wonderful success! Now we had the rest of the night to "rest" for our long day of play with Dayna the next day! 

...And Kimber "dreamt" happily all night long.

And the race is ON...

As the day for the Jr Prom was quickly approaching we were off to find the "PERFECT" dress. As many of you know, there aren't very many places "ANYWHERE" to purchase a modest dress of any kind let alone a Prom dress, but we were determined to find one... so off we set to begin our search. We decided that it would probably take us 2 days (at least) to complete our task (which also meant that we would just "have to" spend the night at Dayna's and then we would "have to" go and eat someplace fun with her and then we would "have to" have a little RR with her...which means more shopping! OH DARN, hurt us some more!). The first place we started to look was Dillards, because they are known for having modest Prom dresses. After finding a few favorites and trying on many, many "flops"...we weren't overly impressed with the selection that Dillards

had to offer this year. We really liked the black and white one. It was very flattering and so pretty. We loved the color of the deep purple one, but she wanted a little more modest sleeve on her dress (I am proud of her!). The white one was "okay" but nothing that jumped out and said "YES".  The teal one we didn't like the shape or color or much about it. So... we asked them if they would hold our favorites for a few hours, while we continued our search (we didn't tell that we were searching for more, but I think they figured). We went to Alyssa's Bridal next. At first I was really disappointed with their selection or their prices, but didn't realize they had another

 section of dresses that were back where you didn't see, in another room. We roamed around for a minute and then saw a huge rack of mark down's...like fly to fly paper we were THERE...checking out the beautiful dresses. We grabbed several for her to try on. They were all so pretty and looked alot more elaborate and fancy compared to the other ones that we had seen. So off to the dressing room she went once again, to try on more dresses. AND THEN she came out in this beautiful sequin beaded and lace dress..Ahhh....I knew this one was by far my favorite...she looked stunning. The color looked gorgeous on her. She just glowed! She debated with it and one other one, BUT... the winner was....(to be continued)

A long awaited day...

...and the answer was "YES".

Kim is 17 and a junior this year. She has been looking forward to going to the Jr Prom since Dayna went 7 years ago. As a little girl of 10 years old watching her sister on her "special day", Kim's excitement about going to the Jr Prom was the beautiful dress, the elabortate make up, the acylic nails and the opportunity to feel like a "Princess". She couldn't wait for "her day" to come...and it finally did. A good friend of her's from school, Weston Remund, asked her to go to the Jr Prom by painting his "big question" on the Rock in front of the school. And so the story began..... 

Its her day!

*Happy Birthday To Dana*

Dana has been an official part of our family now for 7 months, but we claimed her long before that. She has been a light in our lives and so much fun to have in our family. Dana is a blessing in our lives for lots of reasons...I want to share a few of them today on her special day-

* She is head of heels over my son, her husband...as a parent you always hope that your children will find their sole mate and someone that loves your son/daughter to death. Dana is so in love with Todd and it shows in the things she says and does for him.

*She has a positive attitude...no matter what the situation, Dana always looks on the bright side.

*She is so much fun to be with...Not too long after her and Todd were married, she and I went shopping in Vernal, just the 2 of us. We talked and talked and laughed and talked some more. I had such a good time and really enjoyed being with her. She makes me happy when I'm around her.

*She is such a happy person...I've never seen her "NOT" smiling and happy..I know she probably has her days (just like all of us do) but she is always in such a good mood and so pleasant to be around. She loves to play games and do fun things, thats just her personality....a fun, happy person.

Dana is an absolute joy to have in our family and I am so glad that Todd married her and brought her into our family.

Dana, you make our lives just a little bit sweeter, a little bit happier and a little bit better by just being who you are. I love you so much and I am so thankful that you are my daughter!

Been a long few weeks...BUT-

Just a quick note that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...been under the weather a bit and haven't had an excess of energy BUT....I will get back to blogging soon. I have several family updates and fun things to write about, so I will hopefully get to it soon!

Birthday Again~

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!

He dreads his birthdays...but I keep reminding him that the alternative isn't very good. Getting older is a blessing when you look at it that way. He is turning 43 years old today. 

There are tons of reasons that I love this guy...more than there is time or space to write, BUT...I am going to jot down a few of them:

1. Deron is so thoughtful. He absolutely hates the smell of flowers. He said that it reminds him of funeral homes. BUT...he knows that I love them so he buys me flowers on special occasions and often just to surprise me.

2. He is such a great dad. In my book, any man can be a father, but it takes someone really special to be a dad, and that's what Deron is. We have 6 wonderful children and he loves them all and has a close relationship with each one of them. When the kids were little he use to go in their rooms with them and play whatever they wanted, anything from dolls to legos, from barbies to trucks. It didn't matter what it was they wanted to play,  he played it with them. Today, he takes time to talk to them, to do things with them and to continue to build strong relationships with them. He really is an amazing dad. 

3. He is a super hard worker. He never complains about working and often puts in long hours to take care of our family. He has always wanted me to be a "stay at home mom". Its been very important to him and he has worked really hard so that I could always be home with our kids. I am so grateful for this blessing and that me being able to be at home has been a priority to him. 

4. He is the love of my life. He is so much fun to be with. Whether we are talking, watching a movie, eating, playing games, on vacation, working together...it just doesn't matter what it is, I love being with him. As each year passes by, I think "I can't love him anymore than I already do"...and then each year comes and goes and I just love him more. He really is the love of my life! (Ahhh....)

5. He always builds me up! He has always been there to make be feel better about life, about myself, about my abilities (my lack there of- in my eyes), about who I am, the way I look (never had a very good self esteem) and the kind of person that I am. He makes me feel important and I know that he loves me!!!! He loves me no matter what I look like...no matter what size I am-whether I am 230 lbs or 120 lbs. He is always there for me. He is my "biggest fan". And I am SO glad that I have him in my life. I couldn't live without him. 

Happy Birthday Honey-"I love you more than MUD"!!

(Only he would understand that statement)