~I Love To See The Temple~

I guess there are some perks of having Dave as the bishop of our ward :).  Today we got to experience one of those perks.  We got to attend the Ogden temple rededication from inside the Ogden temple.  We were super excited to be there and feel of the spirit.

We watched the dedication from the cafeteria.  To be honest I was a little disappointed at first.  You could here the constant hum of the vending machines, and a little bit of clinking dishes (they had just finished feeding President Monson. It was cool to know he was just beyond a curtain from where we were).  With all the background noise, I started to doubt that I would even be able to feel of the spirit.  The talks were great, and the music was beautiful, but to be honest I hadn't felt that strong spirit like I had been expecting.  It really just felt like another great church meeting.  But when President Eyring finished his dedicatory prayer, the spirit hit me like a wave.  It was so strong.  Without a doubt you could feel that this was the house of the lord and that he dwelt here.  It was such a peaceful feeling, yet so strong at the same time.  It was an awesome experience and I am so blessed to have been able to be in attendance to this great event with my family.

I love this guy!!!

Hunter was being goofy :)
As we were walking the temple grounds afterward, we were able to see Elder Holland in person, which was super cool.  I hope my kids will always remember this day, and remember the feelings and spirit that they had felt while being in the house of the lord.

~The Birthday Girl~

Our birthday girl, Lexi, turned 6 yesterday.  For the longest time, she has been asking if I'd make her breakfast in bed for her birthday.  So we started her special day off with just that.  She was so happy!

She looks a little sleepy still, lol.  It was funny to watch her try and blow out the candles.  It took her several attempts to blow them out.   She commented that she just didn't have any air :)

Lexi woke right up when I told her she could open 1 present.  She wasn't very happy that is was just clothes. :)  Later that morning, I went and helped in Mckell's class.  Lexi and Garrett went over to Melyns to be watched while I was at the school.  Mindy and Melyn were so cute.  They had a little party for Lexi.  They had cupcakes and a gift.  Lexi was in heaven!

Lexi in her new birthday outfit.

Lexi with the gift Melyn gave her.  She loved it!

I promised Lexi that we could go and feed the ducks and have a picnic lunch at the park before heading to Kindergarten.  We invited Melyn to join us.  They had a great time!

After our fun afternoon with the ducks, we headed to Lexi's school to celebrate her special day.

That evening, we celebrated her birthday by opening presents, playing at Kangaroo Zoo, dinner at Texas Roahhouse, and we ended the evening with a movie.  By the end of the day, we were exhausted!!!  We played hard :).

Lexi got spoiled!

I love Lexi's face in this picture:)  Hunter surprised Lexi by pulling her down the slide with him.

Garrett was so funny tonight.  He wouldn't go down anything.  It's like he was terrified.  I don't know if it was because he is a little off cause he is getting some new molars, or if he just wanted Dave's attention.  But he wouldn't go on anything.  Finally, I told Dave to go away, and I just stuck him in a kiddy blow up toy.  He cried at first, but then when he realized no one was going to take him out, he started to bounce and have fun :)  I know I am a mean mom, lol.  But it got him to play.

Lexi was so excited when they sang Happy Birthday to her.  I love that Texas Roadhouse does this.  Not many places do anymore.  It really made her night!

Lexi had a GREAT birthday!!!  I'm glad we got to have fun and celebrate her as a family. We are so blessed to have Lexi in our lives.  She is the sweetest, kindest, funnest, and biggest helper around.  Our family would not be the same without her.

~Carver's Cove~

For Jocelyn's birthday, she really wanted to ride a horse.  So some of the cousins got together to go and visit the animals at Carver's Cove.  It was so nice of Darinda to come and snag Mckell and Garrett.  They had a lot of fun!

It is always fun getting together with the cousins!

~Ropelato Birthday Celebration~

Randee decided a while back that we should really start getting together once a month for a family dinner.  I'm so glad she did.  We used to get together all the time, but over the years it's kind of faded off.  I'm glad she took the initiative and planned it all out.  This month was my turn to host.  I decided let's kill two birds with one stone and celebrate the September birthday's along with the family dinner.  We celebrated Darinda, Jocelyn, and Lexi's birthdays.

We played party games, got lots of candy, watched a movie, and enjoyed visiting.

Abby, Sara, Lexi, and Jocelyn

It is fun to get together with the family.

~Ride to the Top of Ben Lomond~

Dave bought himself a new toy this past week.  A Razor.  We decided to break it in with a ride up to the top of Ben Lomond with some of our friends, the Copes.  It was a pretty ride to see all of the fall colors, but very dusty :).

Lexi and Hunter on the 4 wheeler.  I didn't get a picture of the razor :(  Probably because I was riding in it :)

Garrett wasn't too sure about wearing this big, heavy helmet :) But he was a good sport.

We stopped up top and had a snack/lunch.  The kids LOVED the view!

Lexi and Melyn had fun looking for rocks.  They decided to make a rock collection.

It was a fun family outing!