Our big move!!!

Well we did it... We moved across the country. The drive was long but beautiful. I think at least once, everyone needs to drive cross country and see how beautiful this country really is!!

What Preston did while we packed!

I am sick to death of packing all this mess!!

At a stop on the road!

We visited some amazing sites along the way. I had to stop in Nashville, being the country music fan that I am. We ate dinner at a "southern restaurant" right in Nashville. I had (please read with a southern accent) pulled pork, beef brisket, sweet bread, sweet potatoes, and green beans. It was actually pretty good!

Our Southern dinner!

We next stopped at the St. Louis arch. Amazing landmark!! We only had a few hours because I was really anxious to get to Nauvoo. But we still managed to see the arch and get some pictures!!

Gateway to the West!

Our last and best stop was in Nauvoo. I absolutely love this city!! It has such a special spirit there. President Hinckley said that every Latter Day Saint should visit Nauvoo at least once in their life. We saw the pageant which was incredible and then visited the sites. We spent three days there. James said his favorite site was the temple as well it should be. So I picked a different one. The Old Nauvoo Burial grounds. This site is not one of the "popular" ones but has such a strong spirit. We went at dusk and as we walked up the path to the graveyard you could see the fire flies (side note it has always been one of my life goals to see fire flies so at the age of 29 I finally achieved one of my goals!!) anyway as we walked up you could see the fire flies flying all around the graves. I looked out over all the countless graves and just thought about how much those Saints sacrificed for us. What a testimony it is to us to see all that they have given to help bring us the gospel. At each site after the tour the missionary giving the tour would bear their testimony of the gospel. One missionary said "to see all that these Saints gave makes you pause and think why?? It was because of their love for the Savior and his gospel." In the pageant Parley P Pratt said "when you're here we're here." I really thought about those words during our stay and how true they are as we visit Nauvoo we can really feel the spirits of those early Pioneers and they are there bearing their testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I truly feel that my life was blessed to be able to visit that special city.

Learning a Scottish jig!!

Preston's favorite part of Nauvoo the sock puppet!!

Our little Pioneer!

Prairie Diamonds for all!!

The Beautiful Temple!

Families can be together forever!!

Carthage, Illinois

Brigham Young's cellar

Preston dips his toe in the Mississippi river!

We finally arrived safely here in Denver. So far it has been pretty nice, not as hot as South Florida but it also is missing some people I love and miss! I really miss all of my wonderful friends and am planning on visiting (hopefully) someday! Then we can go to Pei Wei's and Jen can get us some more free stuff!!

We Love Disney World!!

We just got back from three days of Disney!! The first day we went to Disney's MGM. It was hot, hotter, and hottest! The weather was brutal but we still had a good time. James and I rode the tower of terror, and the Aerosmith roller coaster; they were AWESOME!! Dorothy was chosen to be one of the kids to dance at Playhouse Disney and she LOVED it!! We also went to the Beauty and the Beast musical show twice. Dorothy sat mesmerized the entire show!





















The next day we went to Magic Kingdgom. We love this park!! We went to all the usual rides: Pooh, Peter Pan, Buzz, and then Dorothy discovered Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster. Well, we spent the rest of the day waiting in line for that and meeting characters. Dorothy loved meeting all the characters and especially the princesses. We finished the day eating dinner in Cinderella's castle where Dorothy had her picture taken with Cinderella. Then we ate upstairs in her castle while enjoying a show with the mice and the Fairy Godmother. Preston was sooooo good the entire time at the park. He would just stare at all the rides and eat his fist:)



































The last day we spent at Epcot. They just opened up a new Finding Nemo ride which Dorothy fell in love with! We also went to the talking Crush show three times so that Dorothy would get the chance to talk to Crush and thank goodness she did. I don't think I could have handled another show!! We also visited all the countries and ate in Italy!! Preston met Tigger and was facinated by him!! It was a magical family vacation that we will remember for years to come!!!
























Ok this is the funniest thing.... Dorothy after watching me take 1,000 pictures (just like my Dad!) Had to take some pictures, so here are three of her pictures. James and I have laughed for hours over the one she took of herself!!

Girls night out!!

I went out with a few of my friends to PF Chang's!! I love that place! We enjoyed the lettuce wraps among other things! I am really going to miss all of these wonderful friends I have come to love so much!!

Our beach pictures!!!

We went to the beach and got our pictures taken.... here are a few of them!!!

Go Diego Go!

Daddy, Preston, and Dorothy helping baby jaguar
get her growl back!!!!

We went to Go Diego Go Live it was fun! Dorothy thought it was the best thing she had ever seen!! She almost jumped out of her seat when Dora came onto the stage!! James kept asking how much did we pay for this??? He was not as impressed as the three year old.... Wonder why? Oh well, we love experiences that some day we will look back on with fond memories because Dorothy will be into things like boys and makeup!

Mommy and Dorothy at the show!!

Happy 4th of July!

Well, I absolutely love the 4th of July!!! I love this wonderful Country and the freedoms we enjoy! There is no other Country in the world like this one! I am grateful for a holiday that helps us remember what we have!









James taking the kids swimming!

Preston's first 4th!

We had a BBQ with some friends, went swimming, got rained out, and lit off a few fireworks we got at Target! It was a blast!

Dorothy loved the sparklers!!!