Tianna, the 6 Year Old!

On Sunday the 16th Tianna officially turned 6! As soon as we got home from Stake Conference she begged to open her presents.

Daddy always seems to buy "one last present" for his girls on their birthdays.  This day however it wasn't just a toy gun anymore....... it was a REAL B B GUN! Mom thought 8 was a better age. Dad decided 6.

I love LOVE LOVE how she is dressed to go shooting! Pink and ruffley all over, but holding a firearm. True blue Peacock girl there!

Don't worry everyone, Dad took great care in showing her how to handle the gun, all the rules, and made sure she understands that she is NEVER NEVER NEVER to use it without help for a long long time.

I stayed in the car....(yes Courtney, those are your glasses I am sporting-- it was really sunny and they were all I had)... but I am posting this picture to prove that I was in fact present.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Perfect size of party-- Bday girl + 5 closest friends + 1 little sister

 We colored (they LOVED IT) played with little Strawberry Shortcake figures, painted their initial on a little wood cutout,  played a few silly games and then opened presents.......

And then ate cake! 

 Party wrapped up within an hour and half and this super preggo mama survived! 

 I sure love this girl! She is so responsible, so smart, so caring, and so........... different than I expected her to be. Not that she wasn't wonderful, smart, and caring when she was little but she was SO VERY head strong and independent that we often really clashed.  She was always super fun and outgoing, but when she wanted her way, she was completely unbending. I worried about how she'd be as she got older. Now she is so easy going and wants to please! It's made Mommy and Daddy very grateful and very proud of her. We are so blessed to have this angel in our home.

LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER, TIANNA 

Reunions!

Something amazing happened. Last weekend I got 24 hours all to myself! Haaaaaaaaa :) The timing couldn't have been better! Blame it on pregnancy hormones, but I was in a really weepy, tired and overwhelmed-with-all-the-duties-of-mom kind of mood for a couple of days and was so glad when Friday afternoon rolled around.  It was time for a break!

3 friends from high school and I planned an over-night get-away at my parent's cabin. We met up about 1:00 pm and spent the next 12 hours laughing and laughing and laughing together as we recalled funny stories about old boyfriends, our high school adventures, and mostly, our current roles as wives and mother's.
We ate tons of junk food, went on a couple of walks, and laughed a bunch more.  It was the perfect girls night out.

Caitlin, Alicia, and Mindy

Unfortunately we didn't get much time on Saturday to do anything but eat breakfast and then pack up and go, but those few wonderful hours together were great!
(i'm waiting for some more pictures that Mindy took.... until then, this is all I have!)

THEN the day got crazy! Luke had an Elders Quorrum activity in the late morning and took the girl's with him until I could pick them up.  I met up with him up a canyon near Santaquin and then hurried off to Springville Canyon to a family reunion.

The Oviatt Family Reunion:

 Literally, within MINUTES of arriving Tianna tumbled down a dirt hill.  She came over to tell me about it and I just started to laugh and tried to grab my camera. Everyone else started to laugh and she freaked that I was going to take a picture of her like that and ran away bawling. (usually she'd love the attention but I guess didn't' like everyone laughing at her)

 First time seeing my cousin Laure`n in YEARS! it was so fun to catch up with her! (and yes I know I look like a WHALE in this picture)

 There, much cleaner! 

 When they saw other people singing or performing, the girls decided they all needed their moment in the spotlight too.  Tianna sang "I Love to See the Temple" and Adelia sang "Book of Mormon Stories" (kind of! She got a bit shy but refused to just sit back down) and here they sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with some of their cousins. You should have seen my girl's booty shaking to that song!

 Reunions are always so fun. It's great to reconnect with family that you never see and hear all the stories of "the good old days."

The big 3-0 and a Surprise Party!

On September 8th, my sneaky self arranged for a surprise party for Luke's 30th birthday! He came to guess I was planning something, but he had no idea it was a party (with both sides of our families and some close work friends.)  I also surprised Tianna because she had no idea the family was going to celebrate her birthday and not just her Daddy's.

This was years in the planning. I knew that when Luke turned 30 I really wanted to have a surprise party for him, but when it came down to it, I wasn't sure if it would actually work.  Everyone is so busy all the time. But I got the word out a month in advance and so most of the family members were able to make it.

As for the logistics of getting Luke out of the house and then to the park was a bit trickier. I planned on him just going to a gun range or something for an hour or two and then he would show up right on time. But it so happened, this particular Saturday was the opening day of the grouse hunt and his dad wanted him to go with him.

That was prefect-- he left Friday night and hunted all morning....... I just told him he had to make sure to shower before leaving Castle Dale and that he had to be home by 4:00 because I had plans for him.  The catch came when it worked better to drop off the mountain on our side and come straight home. YIKES!  I didn't really want him walking in on his birthday party straight home from hunting.  Luckily he got home in plenty of time to get cleaned up.  He just gave me a really strange look when I told him "Okay, bye! You're family will bring you to where you need to be when you're showered!"  Meanwhile the rest of us gathered at the nearby park and waited.  And drooled over the cupcakes!

Those that didn't know we were celebrating for Tianna too wondered why in the world there were half crown cupcakes! haha.

Thank you everyone who made this day special for him. Turning 30 was much less painful with all his loved ones there to support him :) 

The kids got good and soaked really quickly!

After the party we went out to eat pizza with some of the Peacock's and our friend's, Blake and Chantel Merrell. The Merrells were unable to be at the party but it was very kind of them to come join us and finish off a great day of celebrating! 

Septemeber is "Sailing" by!

Despite my frequent requests, life is not slowing down.  Labor day was already a week ago.  We went to Scofield for the long weekend and it was lovely like always.  We did just about the same things as usual so I didn't whip the camera out until Monday when Luke's sister Monica and her family came up to join us and my family.

Tuesday evening, Luke's friend from work, Craig, and his wife, Erin, took us sailing at Utah Lake.  It was so much fun! Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat before.  

Tianna and Adelia LOVED "driving"

Book Club: "Phantom"

I am part of a little book club here in Santaquin. Mostly it's made up from ladies from my ward and a few others.  August was my turn to choose the book.  Yikes! I did not like that kind of pressure!  I chose the book "Phantom," by Susan Kay.  It's basically the story of the Phantom of the Opera from his birth to his death.  It's a very interesting book and I really enjoyed reading it in High School for English class......... But when I re-read it after choosing it for Book Club I read it from the point of view of, "I chose this and it's for ladies in my Relief Society" which was totally different that just reading it for my own pleasure! It's a lot darker than the normal books we read and it has a few slightly scandalous parts--aside from the fact that he is a murderer and a general Godless person.  However, I think it has a very interesting view of who and why the Phantom was who he was.  Due to how he was treated by nearly EVERYONE it's not wonder he was heartless.  I say that, but he actual had more compassion for those other's had no compassion for.  It made you really think about how your actions effect others. 

Still, I had nightmares about everyone hating it or thinking I was awful for choosing it. In the end, everyone who read it enjoyed it! And I love hosting a party-- so the actual Book Club was fun! !

 We ate bacon and feta bruschetta and my FAVORITE cake ever-- Yellow cake with cream cheese, pineapple, vanilla pudding, and whipped cream.  I call it "Heaven on a Plate."

 We had a wonderful turnout! I was so excited because I only expected a few to come-- but luckily people came who didn't even get a chance to read the book.  Good excuse for a Girls Night Out anyway.