FHE at the Denver Temple

Last Monday night we decided to take Cayden and do our Family Home Evening at the temple. Every time he watches a Disney movie he sees the castle and says. "Oh look, the temple!' We figured it was time to take him and let him see the real temple. It was a fun evening. At one point Cayden said, "Come on, let's go inside!" I love how a 2 year old can create teaching moments. WE enjoyed walking around the temple and seeing all the pretty flowers and the fountain. I think the fountain was Cayden's favorite. He also thought the Angel Moroni was pretty awesome. It was a fun evening that ended with root beer floats. I LOVE my family!
~Love To All~

Skinheads

So my brother Chris began his radiation therapy today. A few weeks ago he had an MRI that showed his brain tumor had grown. The doctors decided that the chemo he was on wasn't working and now Chris needs radiation. SO for the 6 weeks , 5 days a week, Chris will go in for radiation and 2 different types of chemo. Hopefully this will finally do it. Chris has never been negative or down about it. He just wants it to be over with so he can get back to normal life.

Anyway, last night we went to my parents house because Chris wanted me to shave his head. The radiation will cause hair loss so he wanted to get ahead of it. Well, Timmy and Jared decided they wanted to support Chris by shaving their heads too. Except, Tim can't do his until after his choir concert, prom, and graduation. So, last night I only shaved Chris and Jared's heads. I shaved Chris' head without batting an eye. I have shaved his head a million times since his first brain surgery in 2001. But when it came time to shave Jared's head I hesitated MAJORLY. But I knew Jared wanted to do it for Chris. I finally took the clippers to his head and took off the first stripe of hair. I couldn't help but cry. So with tear filled eyes I continued to shave his head. But there was no stopping there. Then it was time to get our the razor.

It was a very difficult thing for me to do but Jared loves it. I'm not a fan but it makes me happy that Jared loves Chris enough to support him like he did.

It really doesn't phase me to do Chris' head anymore

Before

During

After (Chris has trouble with camera flashes and his eyes)

So after the head shaving we had brownie sundaes and called it FHE. ; ) Cayden told Jared "I like it daddy. I like your hair." When Jared got home from work and took off his hat Cayden said, "Oh, your head shiny Daddy!" Yes it is!!!

~Love To All~

Mother's Day

What a wonderful day I had. It really was quite wonderful. I'm so thankful that I can be a mom and share my love for the two precious boys that I have. They mean the world to me and even though times get a little challenging I still love them to death and can't imagine my life without them. I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for trusting me with such sweet little spirits.

This was what I woke up to Sunday morning. Jared put the 3 "bouquets" together all on his own. I got to have Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for breakfast!

After church on Sunday. We went to church with my parents so that we could be at their house when Matt called.

Me with my sweet little boys.

I love my mom to death and couldn't have asked for a better one. She truly is my hero. She is such an example love and selflessness. I hope that I can grow up to be just like her.

We thought it would be fun to have a pinata to celebrate Mother's Day. It really was quite fun!

I am so thankful to have such amazing women in my life. I have the best mom, grandmother, and sisters anyone could ever ask for. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

~Love To All-

Plants, Pretzels, and a Luau

Last Monday for Family Home Evening we talked about plants. We talked about how Heavenly Father made the plants for us. We talked about how plants start as a seed and need sun and water to grow. We read the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle (Thanks Kimmy for giving us the book). After we read the story we pulled out the seeds and soil that we purchased, Cayden picked out the flowers he wanted to grow, and planted them. We made quite the mess in the living room because it was too cold outside. Thank goodness for hardwood floors. It was a very fun evening. Afterward Cayden watered all the seeds and plants that we planted. Then we found places to keep the plants in the house until its warm enough outside. We finished the evening with soft pretzels as our treat since it was "Pretzel Day".

Our "Tiny Seed"

I just LOVE spending time with our little family. We always have so much fun. Its great just to have evenings to ourselves to strengthen our family bond. I'm so thankful that I get to be with them FOREVER!!

Our stake had a luau on Saturday. I signed up to take food because I knew that if I didn't have a reason to go that when the time came to go I probably wouldn't have wanted to go. SO we took our food and left. Just kidding. I put on my "Hawaiian" get up, (I got my dress when I was in Joseph as a sophomore in high school and it still fit) made a flower clip for my hair and we went. It was a neat activity. There was dinner, a show, and then a dance. I love dancing with Jared, he is so funny. We had a great night. Special thanks to Bethy for staying home to watch the boys for us. You're awesome! (We didn't take any pictures pre luau, these are all post luau.)

~Love To All~

Kite Flying

For Easter Cayden got an AWESOME kite from his Aunt Jenny and Uncle Steve. We took it out for my dad's birthday to give it a try. Cayden LOVES it. He is now addicted to kites. I don't know if any kite will ever compare to this one so I hope it never breaks. ; ) Thanks Jen and Steve, you rock!

4 months old

I really can't believe it has been 4 months already. We sure do love our little Jacob. He gets bigger and bigger every day. He loves to smile and giggle. His smile is contagious! And he LOVES to be held. Its really quite difficult to put him down though, he's so sweet.

Here are his "stats"

Weight: 16lbs 12oz 80th percentile

Height: 25.3 in 65th percentile

Head: 16 3/4 in 50th percentile

He is such a joy and we are so thankful to have him.

~Love To All~

Easter Weekend

The boys Easter afternoon. Cayden just got up from his nap.

We had a fabulous Easter. My parents were in sunny Florida and while I was EXTREMELY jealous I was glad to spend the holiday with my brothers and sisters. We went to Loveland and spent the weekend at Kimmy and Tyson's house. We headed up Friday night and came home Sunday evening. We played games, watched movies, had a Mary Kay party, and just hung out. It was nice to sit and watch General Conference too. What wonderful words we got to hear from our sweet prophet and apostles.

On Sunday morning Cayden and Spencer woke up much earlier than anyone wanted them to. Kimmy and Jared held them off as long as they could but once they spotted the eggs the Easter Bunny "hid" there wasn't much more they could do. Everyone hurried to get ready for the day so Cayden and Spencer could have their fun. After the final session of conference we sat down to enjoy a FABULOUS Easter feast. It was a wonderful meal shared with wonderful people.

Kimmy had projects for the boys to do during and in between sessions.

Cayden really enjoyed his Easter "basket"

Sorry the pictures are so randomly placed. Blogger was being difficult!

~LOVE TO ALL~

Jacob Videos

Here you go Grandmommy and Granddaddy. Can't wait for you to meet him. But until then this will have to do. We love you guys so much and hope you are doing well. LOVE YOU!!!

4-8-10

For the record, I did not dress Cayden, he dressed himself. I will be sure to teach him the stripes and plaids DO NOT go together no matter what his uncle may say.

4-9-10

Sorry for Cayden's semi tantrum. He only got a 40 min nap today.

~Love To All~

Farewells, Reunions, Remodeling, and a Blessing

What an AWESOME whirlwind of a weekend! We left on Thursday to head over to Utah. Jared's sweet Grandma B. passed away and the funeral was on Friday. Grandma B. was so sweet and loving. She never "knew" me but I sure adored her. She always had a big hug and kiss for me every time we went to see her. My fondest memory of her was at my wedding.

*When the sealing was finished as everyone exited the room they all passed Jared and me and gave us hugs. As Grandma B. passed she asked who Jared was. He said, "I'm your grandson, Jared" and then she looked at me with such loving eyes, gave me a great big hug and told me I looked beautiful. It was such a simple and sweet moment. It was the first time I had met her and I immediately felt the love she had to give.*

The day of the funeral was very cold and wet. I don't think Jared's family can have a funeral without snow. When his Grandpa B. passed in Sept of 07 it snowed then too. But, Grandma's funeral was lovely and the spirit was definitely there.

After the funeral we went and hung out at Jess' house and just had a great time being together. I know Jared loves to spend time with all of his siblings. Its a little hard because of how spread out everyone is but its always a good time when they are all together.
*WARNING* The next part of this post contains a picture that young children and people with easy gag reflex probably don't want to see*
Saturday started out quite interesting. Jared's Grandma had a sweet little dog named Sarah. She loved Sarah so much that her family questions if she loved Sarah more then them. Tragically Sarah died on a trip to the dentist over 11 years ago and everyone silently celebrated while Grandma B. mourned. Grandma I guess couldn't face putting Sarah in the dirt so she wrapped her up nicely and put her in a trunk and then into a refrigerator that was buried in their side yard that was once used as a potato cellar. Well, Grandma always denied putting her there so we had to lay the suspicion to rest.

Sarah then

On Saturday morning as we were eating breakfast, amongst many other suggestions, it was decided to remove the "Sarah Jinx" from the house. So we headed to Bountiful to dig her up. Yep, we dug her up. OK, so I didn't. But I sure watched as Jared, Ryan, and their Uncle Richard (whom I came to really enjoy) dug her up. They first opened the trunk and then set it aside. Then they dug up the fridge and went back to Sarah. It was pretty sick to watch them open her "tomb" but I couldn't look away. Sarah was laid back to rest, minus the pillow, 2 blankets, plastic, trunk, and more plastic that she was originally wrapped in, and hopefully Grandma B. won't hate us when we see her again.

Sarah now

When we returned from our grave digging excursion Jared's mom had jobs at the house to be done. She had some yard work and remodeling that she wanted done. She had a built in vanity in her room that she wanted removed so she could have a reading corner instead. Jared set to work removing the vanity, with a little help from Cayden. The remodel took longer then expected but was completely finished before we came home on Tuesday. Jared did an awesome job! It looks amazing! I love watching him work. He is such a perfectionist and always puts in 100% until the job is done to his liking.

BeforeAfter

On Sunday we had the pleasure of attending the blessing of our precious little nephew Jackson. What a darling little guy he is. The words of the blessing were beautiful. It was a special day. After church we went back to Sean and Jess' house for brunch. Thanks for the wonderful day!

The "Original" Linton Crew (Jared, Brent, Mom, Jess, Jen, Ryan, Julie)

The "Original" Six

Jared, Brent, Ryan

Jayson adored Jacob

Cayden and Jayson~ 5 months apart

Jackson and Jacob~ 1 month apart

Rylee and me~Best Buds

It was a great trip with a lot packed into it. It was fun to see everyone and we definitely didn't want to come home.

~Love To ALL~