First Day of School

First Day of School already here. I am wondering where the time went this summer. I know we did quite a few things, and went on several little vacations, but boy time sure does know how to fly. I will be honest though, towards the end of this summer I did catch myself wishing that summer would end and school would start. The only reason for this is that my kids found that it was easier to hit, and fight than to get along. No became a word I heard a lot more of instead of Ok. But, now that the first day has arrived I find that I am a bit sad that a new year is here, and that my kids will be gone to school all day, and I will be at home missing them terribly. I am sure they will make lots of new friends this year, and get as smart as they can be. Good Luck with school this year Ellie and Jake, I love you so much, and am going to miss you even more. Be safe and remember, who you are and what you stand for. Love, Mom

Westfall Family Reunion

We went to Cedar for our Westfall reunion and enjoyed spending a few days with family. Me being the doof that I am forgot to pull out my camera until the last day when people were packing up to leave. Although the turn out wasn't real big, we enjoyed all who did come.

Pictured from left to right. Back row: Creed, Carolyn, Me, Ray, Porter, Rachel, Ben, and Mike.

Middle Row: Sam, Mom Westfall, Amanda (holding) Leuben, and Tricia. Front Row: DeLaney, Ellie, Jake, Alycia, Lynne (holding) Xander, and Karen.

Miss Iron County and Ellie

My niece DeLaney was recently crowned Miss Iron County. We are so proud of her and her amazing accomplishment. Ellie was beyond excited, and made sure she told her friends all about it. When we went to Southern Utah for our Westfall Family reunion, DeLaney asked Ellie if she wanted to wear her crown around the house. Ellie was so excited and couldn't wait for me to take some pictures of her as Miss Iron County too. I was hesitant about Ellie wearing the crown, and said something to DeLaney about it, and she said that it was just a crown. DeLaney is such an amazing girl, and I love her so much. I don't think she realizes just how special that made my Ella bell feel. Ellie was really excited to have her pictures done, but by the time she put the crown on, and I grabbed my camera, she wasn't feeling to good. She told me later that the crown was a bit heavy on her head, and she was afraid that it was going to make her neck break. (lol)

Rays Achilles Surgery

Ray had his Achilles Tendon Surgery at the Brigham City Hospital. Dr. Sumko was quick to want to operate, and Ray was quite nervous about the surgery, but came through perfectly. I love him so much, and hope he gets better soon. I hate to see him in so much pain.

Willow Park Fun with Friends

Funny story about the picture above. Jake came running over to me telling me he found a cool worm, and wanted me to come see it. So I hurried over to see, and when I looked down I let out quite a scream. It scared me quite badly, and the dad standing behind us got quite a kick out of how freaked out I was. Jake wanted to hold it and I was screaming for my life. My friend Amie and I took our kids to Willow Park for a fun day. We went to the park across the street and had a picnic, and then went and had fun exploring the park, and all the neat animals they had there. We had lots and lots of fun, and were glad the Ortega girls were up for a fun day.

Rays Boo Boo, and a Long Story.

This is what happened when Ray ran after a kid who disrespected his mother at our house, even after he was told by Ray to behave. Ray ran after him bare footed, and when his leg gave out on him, he fell. He ended up with torn tendons on both legs, and scratches and bruises all over his entire body just like you see on his face. Poor Boy!!! k, here is the whole LONG story, our next door neighbor kid stole Jake's scooter out of our back yard and then later his dad got home and ran it over (flat) but he never even said sorry or replaced it. so now we are forward a few weeks, there are new boys in the neighborhood who are - (to put in nicely) slow and a bit backwards. well they are kind of friends with the next door neighbor boys, and one day while the neighbors are away these two slow boys take several of our neighbors kids' toys to the park. well, the dad gets home and calls the cops but says he doesn't want to press charges. so the cop takes the boys home and tells their mom who is pregnant and single that if it happens again the boys will go to a foster home. so ray and i find out that the neighbor called the cops and we are a bit annoyed that he would do this when just weeks before his kid did the same thing but he destroyed Jake's scooter. so, we decided to try and be nice to the kids and their mom. the kids were at our home with their mother when she asked the younger not to do what he was doing and ray asked him to please mind her. so, ray started chasing teasing him that he was going to catch him and make him listen. the little boy ran so, ray chased after him. it was all fun and games till rays tendon and hamstring blew from being a not so young man anymore, and fell to the ground. at least the boy has empathy because he came back and tried to help ray get home. after ray came inside and got cleaned up and got band-aids on his wounds, he headed back out to play with all the kids. (aren't you all glad i told you the whole long story?) lol

Scripture Study

We were getting ready to read scriptures one night when Jake asked us to wait a minute then took off. We waited a few minutes, and got quite a kick of what he came back wearing. I guess you could say he was a bit jealous that dad was wearing glasses. It sure made for a fun scripture study night.

Ellie's Baptism and Confirmation Day

Ellie was baptized on the 26th of July. She was so read for this special day to come, and had some big decisions to make. Ray and I told her that if she wanted her daddy to baptize her she would have to do it in our town, and that she would not have any family except Grandpa and Grandma Oliphant, Grandma Westfall, and Uncle Mike because her dad didn't want a big crowd when he was doing it. For those of you who really know Ray, you know what I am talking about. He hates talking in front of big groups of people, and both families being together would equal a big crowd. So she made the decision that she wanted Porter (Ray's nephew) to baptize her, and Skyler (my nephew) to confirm her a member of the church. She also asked my niece Kortney to give a talk on baptism, her Aunt Stephanie (my sister) to talk on the Holy Ghost, and her cousin DeLaney to sing a special number. It was such a beautiful night, and wonderful experience for Ellie. I know it was a night she will remember always, and I am proud of the decision she made to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Her is Ellie just before she entered the water. She was so nervous and very excited.Here's Jake happy to be sharing in this happy day with his best friend and sister.Kenzi played the piano for Ellie's baptism, and Kortney spoke on baptism. They both did great.Aunt Stephanie gave a great talk on the Holy ghost, it was right at Ellie's level.Uncle Pat was in charge, and did a great job. We sure are proud of this girl for making such a grown up decision in her life.DeLaney, singing I Am A Child Of God. Gloria led the music, and did great. Ellie with her boys as she calls them. She sure admires these two, and missed them while they were both on their missions. Porter had his homecoming the same day as Ellie's baptism. We had all of my family there, and most of Ray's family there, and I am thankful for the love and support they gave my sweet little Ellie on her special day.

Thank you to all of the family who took part in Ellie's special day, and thank you to all the family who came and showed their support and love. It meant a great deal to both Ray and I.