Wow it's HOT!

This is a picture from my Jeep yesterday! 113 degrees and it felt like an oven. :o) Yesterday while out doing bpo's (appraisals) my AC started blowing hot air and smelled like it was on fire! It was a sickening feeling because I was about 55 miles from home and somewhat out in the boondocks. The Jeep has had this problem the last two summers for some reason and the dealer obviously hasn't fixed it. I'm going to have to get it back in because there's nothing worse than to be in the desert and have your black car over heat and AC go out....luckily I didn't have the kids with me & had two cases of bottled water in the back. Have you ever tried drinking water that is almost boiling? It doesn't really quench that thirst the way you expect it to....my cold Dr. Pepper had long since ran out....I knew I should have brought two. ha ha

Luckily, I pulled over in an LDS church parking lot close by and I said a prayer, then tried calling Will (he didn't answer) and so I said another prayer. After I ended my prayer I thought I'd better use my gps to find the nearest fast food joint, so I can at least sit in the AC and wait for Will to arrive, but as I began to drive suddenly the AC started blowing out cold air and the burning smell went away and the tempature gauge went back down. It was such a huge blessing! Heavenly Father does answer my prayers and fast! I'm still taking it in.

This is the time of year that you need to go on lots of vacations to cooler climates luckily it's only about 3-4 months of this super heat and then we have 8 months of absolutely beautiful weather or at least in my opinion. :o) Utah here we come!

Happy Father's Day to Will's Dad's Also

I didn't have pictures last night but have scanned and found them today.

Will has two really special Dad's....his biological Dad who is also known as Mike Sr. or Will's Little Daddy; and then he has his Dad that raised him from the time that he was 2 years old until he was 20 years old when Fitz was tragically killed at work.

Both of these men are wonderful! Mike Sr. and I met a few months before Will and I were married. They he and his wife of 20 plus years lived in Hollbrook, AZ and we drove there one weekend when we were engaged. My first impression of Mike & Carole have always stayed with me that they were exceptional people and very fun to be around. Although Will wasn't raised by Mike he sure talks alot like him and does many things the exact same way and of course they resemble each other. Mike Sr. is a very loving man and absolutely loves babies! You will rarely see him without one and he doesn't like to share them either. ha ha We have appreciated getting to know Mike & Carole ever since and especially enjoy them living in Mesa now due to health concerns that Mike has developed. We only wish that we got to visit with them more often. Here's a picture of him with of course a baby. Dad (Mike Sr.) we sure love you and wish you a very happy Father's Day!

Will's other Dad, Fitz unfortunately passed away before I came into the picture but I've have only heard wonderful things about him. Fitz was only 19 when he met Maggie and her four children whom he loved and genuinely cared for as his own. Fitz and Maggie added two more children of their own. He was a very hard worker struggling to provide for a large family usually working 2 jobs at a time. He loved children and loved sports from what I was told. He also loved hunting and would take his entire family girls and all to go hunting. Although he wasn't usually sucessful in harvesting an animal (probably because of the noise of that many people hunting) he still thoroughly enjoyed that special family time. He was a convert to the church but had a very strong testimony. He loved Maggie dearly and always treated her with respect and tender loving care. Fitz was an honorable man and someone that is terribly missed. I will never forget a conversation that Will and I had shortly after we had McKenna, that was all about his Dad Fitz and he told me that he only wished that his Dad could have met me before he died because he knew that he would really like me and that he knew that his Dad would have been the best Grandpa to our kids. I know that each of the kids thinks of Fitz often and to be honest I do too. I wonder what he is like? I want to thank him for being a wonderful Dad to my husband. I want him to know that he has raised some awesome kids and that we all truly miss him. We wish him a Happy Father's Day and know that Will's brother Mike who passed away as a teen are keeping each other company until we all return home one day. With much love & respect Fitz!

Happy Father's Day Will's Little Daddy & Fitz!

Happy Father's Day 2008

To the wonderful Father's in my life.....


My Dad, Johnny - Happy Father's Day! It's great to have you close by and I hope that we are able to spend more time together Dad. I love you very much!


To Jim Pops - Thanks for being such a wonderful Step Dad to me & Grandpa to my children! You are a wonderful man and we are so thankful to have you in our family. Hope you have a wonderful Father's Day! We love and miss you very much. Hope to see you soon!


And to the most wonderful Father I've ever seen in my life....my love....Will.

I'll try not to get too mushy but this is one heck of a Dad! He loves his kids more than anything in this world and tries to maximize every moment he has with them every day. I think that says so much in itself.

He loves playing with the kids and constantly is cracking us up! He & Calvin wrestle constantly and he is McKenna's biggest fan and protector...boys don't mess with this little girl her Daddy is protective. :o) This is Will's 10th year of being a Father and I honestly don't think he could get any better at being a Daddy.

It all started when I saw his hot body...because he's not only the best Daddy in the world he's a body builder too don't you know? Well that's what he told a neighbor the other day when he asked him what he did for a living...he didn't even crack a smile the guy just looked him up and down and then our friend Jenna started laughing. But he does have a really nice backside if I do say so myself and it's as tight as ever. :o)

Will is really a real estate agent and we are very proud of his accomplishments and for his hard work in providing for us...we know everything he does is for us and he is very giving.


Will is one of the most kid friendly guys too....he is partial to his own but he loves them all and this picture is of his "little me" but known to our family as our nephew Jarom. The shirts weren't planned so of course we had to take this picture. So cute! Jarom calls him MOE.


Will is filled with patience...something I lack but luckily he has enough for the both of us. He is such a great teacher to our kids and he loves doing everything with them. He is extremely handsome, smart, funny, handy, very coordinated and has common sense so he is a total package!


He leads by example and loves Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ very much! He also honors his priesthood and we are all so very thankful for that.

He sometimes is a man of few words but that is usually because he is thinking. Will thinks a lot probably why he is so smart and doesn't usually stick his foot in his mouth like me. He is quick witted and can be extremely serious both are great qualities.

I know that Will loves me and that is a huge blessing to not only me to our kids. They see how well he treats me, respects me and that is being a good Daddy in itself...to love your babies Mom because it's not always easy.

Will is a great hunter and although he loves to hunt he never puts it in front of his family. He has missed hunting trips due to our kids activities and I know his sacrifices many things for us daily. (this is his trophy black bear that he took in 2007 with his bow & arrow in Arizona it's in the Pope & Young record book)

He is definitely a manly man and enjoys sports, hunting, fishing, electronics, working out, motorcycles, fast cars, four wheelers, was a state champion wrestler & football player, he excels in just about everything along with having a genis IQ (I know I totally scored!), hanging out with his friends, etc....but don't let that fool you he loves his children more than any of these things and even more than himself and he proves it daily.

Will you are the man of my dreams, the most excellent Father in the world and we truly are so very very blessed to have you as the corner stone in our family.

You are awesome and we love your rock hard muscles Mr. Body Builder!!! Calvin wants to grow up and be just like you and McKenna hopes to marry someone as awesome as you Daddy! Happy Father's Day! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxox

Love you, Your Girl Leslie & Kenna & Calvin

Isn't She Lovely....Isn't She Beautiful???

Today was the day, McKenna donated two 13 inch ponytails of hair!!! She looks adorable and she says she LOVES the new cut! She thinks it looks like the girl that played Opal in Winn Dixie.

So Marlee was our stylist and because Kenna's hair was too thick we had to do two ponytails.

Look at this adorable girl!!! She loves it and so do we!

Here's a side view.







So your votes were great and the cute hair style suggestions were truly appreciated! What do you think??? Can you believe it....13 inches! We are thrilled we were only going to do the 10 inch donation to Locks of Love but really wanted to do 12 inches to donate it to WigsforKids that I researched online and we have enough to donate to them...Yeah!!! :o)

Way to go McKenna we are very proud of you and your generosity to other little girls who need hair. Love you so much Sissy!!! xoxoxoxox Let McKenna know what you think about her new hair do if you have a minute. :o)

PS - keep this picture in mind when you wonder why we cut her long beautiful hair. This was just 2 days ago after swimming...tangle city! Took ME an hour with conditioner in it to brush it out. This was also a deciding factor besides it "helping other little girls feel pretty to have hair again" as Kenna says.

Here's her Poll Results -
11 (55%)
No it's pretty the way it is
0 (0%)
No she should just trim 1-2 inches
1 (5%)

No keep growing it even longer & then donate it
2 (10%)

Yes she would look cute with a different hair style
11 (55%)

Yes that would be a nice gesture
5 (25%)

Yes shave her head bald
1 (5%)

Votes so far: 20 Poll closed

Swimming Anyone?

We decided that we wanted a pool this summer...funny thing was we didn't have $30,000 to have one put in so this one will have to due and none of us are complaining. :o) It was actually cheaper than swimming lessons this summer.

Here's a couple of pictures....good ol' Walmart providing our summer fun. So come on over and we float around in the back yard. :o)

Yeah I added music!

It only took me what six months but I finally added a playlist to my blog. I know some of the songs are going to reveal my true age but it was so fun looking and finding these tunes. :o)

Duh....Leslie

So we as women and being Latter Day Saints are usually seeking out ways to serve others....and tonight I realized that I have forgotten to serve others within my immediate family. I've always thought of others as neighbors, friends, extended family, ward members, the sick, the elderly, community members etc. all of which are great "others" but finally it has hit me that "others" just might include my husband and my children. DUH!!!! Most of you already knew that one. :o)

I know that I serve them daily with the things that I'm supposed to like cleaning, cooking yadda yadda but what extra nice things have I done for them lately? Have I done anything out of the ordinary or special for them? Have I done my normal duties with a glad heart? Nope, Nada, zilch and not at all, I've been in a hurry, barking orders, looking mad and sometimes complaining about what I'm doing.

I do the laundry because I have to, I dislike washing the dishes and don't do them as often as I should! I clean my house daily, MOSTLY because I would die if someone saw my house messy or thought I wasn't clean, plus I know my Mom raised me better than that! (I used to not keep a clean house and was embarrassed a few times by unexpected visitors.) Obviously there are better reasons to keep a clean house & to do the laundry & wash dishes or load your dishwasher. Sometimes a light bulb just goes off and you realize that you might have been doing the right things but not totally for the right reasons or with the right attitude. True confessions and not ones that I'm proud of. We are all learning and trying to be better and sometimes by the pressure we put on ourselves we mistakenly put pressures and stress on others. I'm so I'm very guilty of this lately and it is embarrassing. I know I expect a lot from myself and sometimes that flows over to everyone else around me...not cool.

So tonight as I was thinking of people in the ward that I might be able to help or neighbors...it occurred to me that I hadn't even thought of my sweet little kiddos or my wonderful husband! I know for a fact that all three of them could use a little TLC from me or would appreciate something extra special just for them or even a back rub. Why didn't I think of them first? This entire inspiration is owed to the June 08 Ensign where I was reading about Thomas S. Monson and how he has served his entire life in many capacities and so I thought well who could I go and help tonight...because I love President Monson and I want to be just like him???? He has helped so many people and does it so willingly and without complaint..who can I help?

Starting right now I will try and serve others with the right attitude and for the right reasons because I love them and not because I feel like I have to, because I want to and because I know that I should! Starting with my own little family! Shame on me for not thinking of them more often to serve instead of thinking, "Man, I do it all and no one appreciates it and I'm sick of doing these dumb dishes and cleaning up after these mess makers...I have too many other things to do!" (yes I've thought or said all of these things this week alone!)

I love the words that President Monson spoke at the Sept 2007 general Relief Society meeting: "Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle." Sweet and wise words by a sweet and very wise man.

When we are in service of others, we are only in the service of our God. I better start remembering who others are and that they can be my own family.