Last week was Craig's White Coat Ceremony. Kent's little brother, Craig is attending dental school at the University of Florida. We were lucky enough to be in Gainesville for one year with them before Kent graduated last year. Craig is now officially half way done! According to Kent, Craig has the worst behind him. We wish we could have been there to see it, Craig. Congratulations. That is a big deal.

Dr. Brent Martin

After waiting for weeks on end for his doctor license to post- today was Brent's first day of work. Erin and I went down to go to lunch with Kent and Brent. It was so fun to see our husbands working together. We peeked in a window to one of the the operatories and saw Brent working hard on a patient. I had to laugh because we could only see the back on his head and Erin said, "I can tell he looks nervous." She is such a doting wife. I'm so happy for them. This is a picture of Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Martin and Dr. Copeland. The future can officially begin.

Welcome Brent, Erin and Tanner

Brent and Erin and Tanner Martin have lived in Sunnyside for over a month now. Since they are the reason that Kent and I ever found Sunnyside, we are so happy to finally have them here. Last night we had our first dinner at their house and it was so much fun. Brent and Kent were in Dental school together in Florida and when Brent married Erin we couldn't have been more happy for both of them. They are such great friends, and now wonderful parents to their little 5 month old son. Gary and Katie, Brent's parents, were at dinner too. Thank you Martin's for having us over. We are so happy you are here!

A great Sunday

Today was such a wonderful day, as most Sundays are. Sacrament meeting at church was just beautiful. I don't know why but I was a little extra emotional. I am just so thankful for Spirit in my life. I'm thankful for the peace and hapiness I feel at church. Sister Scott talked about pioneers. Since her parents were the first members of the church in her family, it was nice to hear her point-of-view on pioneers. She made some key points that stuck out to me. She talked about being pioneers now for those to come after us. It put things into perspective for me about how I am raising my children and the example I can set. Then Brooke's husband, Troy sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." He has such an amazing voice- the song hit me to the core. Then Troy spoke about our Divine Heritage. It was an icredible talk. I wish I would have recorded it. He talked about how we are literal children of our Father in Heaven. What a wonderful truth we know. Since Troy and Brooke are moving there family to California in less than two weeks, I was deeply touched. I reflected on how blessed I have been throughout my life to have fantastic friends. Not only have my friends been great, but their spouses too. I am thankful for the relationship Kent and I have been able to have with many couples throughout our marriage. I am grateful that we have been touched changed for the better for having known these people. I am always sad to say goodbye. Troy wrote a beautiful poem that I will post soon that describes exactly how it is to say hello and goodbye to friends that mean so much.

Ward Pioneer Day

Since Pioneer Day is next weekend, our ward celebrated tonight with a pot-luck dinner and a small program from the Primary.
Kent had some fun taking pictures.


After dinner, the public pool was rented out just for our ward. It was lots of fun. Ella even got to go down the waterslide a few times.

Happy Birthday, Jenna!

Today is my niece's 8th birthday. Jenna is such a loving girl. We had a great time going with her family to Hawaii last Christmas. We are so proud of Jenna for making the decision to be baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. You are a beautiful Daughter of our Heavenly Father.

Here's to one good day!

As you might have noticed from a few of my posts- Ella has hit the "Terrible Twos" with a force.
She is scratching, pinching, hitting, etc. If you have met her in person you know that she also LOVES to spit at people (spitting= blowing raspberries). I am at my wits end. I have had loving people give me advice and try their best to be constructive without hurting my feelings. As all of you parents know, anything to do with telling someone else how to parent their child can be very touchy (Camille and Wally, again I apologize for the article I told you about. What on earth?!). Moving on...I have decided to give Ella more attention. I know- sounds like she is winning the tantrum battle, right? Well, I mean positive, scheduled attention. So yesterday I let everything else go (dishes, showers, etc.) and got down on the floor with her ALL DAY! We did puzzles, painted, watched movies, read books, ate breakfast, and drew on the sidewalk with chalk. I can't remember a better day with Ella. She laughed and kissed me all day.

I am so thankful for loving family and friends that help me as I go through times like this. Ethan was this same way when he was little and now I couldn't ask for a better five-year-old. I am praying that will happen with Ella. Until then, I will work on my patients with her. Thank you everyone for still loving her after she beat your kids up. I appreciate all the advice I so desperately needed.

Muddy Buddies

A couple of days ago we had Ethan's new friend, Daniel, come over to go down the waterslide with he and Cameron. They had such a great time.

Then they decided to make a mud lake! Ethan wouldn't let me take a picture of him. Possibly because I have brainwashed him to NOT EVER GET MUDDY. I am working on letting him know it's okay to get dirty (with the patient example of my friend, Brooke). I did snap these cute ones of Cameron and Daniel. I just noticed that it looks like Cameron is missing an arm. Sorry!

Hello, my friend, hello.

I just got off the phone with one of my dearest friends, Heidi. Thank you for the call, it was wonderful to catch up. I miss you so much. You are such a big part of my life. I love you and miss you incredibly.

More fun in the sun

We are so happy that Brent, Erin and Tanner are official residents of Sunnyside. Erin and Tanner came over to play in the water with us.

After swimming, we caught some adorable expressions from Tanner.