Alex's Baptism

Inspite of his having two broken arms, Alex was able to be baptized on Saturday. His baptism was wonderful. Bruce did a great job at both dunking him, and confirming him. We were surrounded by family and friends, and had a fabulous party afterwards. Thanks everyone for coming, and for all the fun presents for Alex. I didn't know you got such fun stuff just for being baptized.

Alex and Bruce (please note the two broken arms)


Alex with mom


Alex, your dad and I are so proud of you for making the choice to be baptized and become a member of the church. You are such a good example to those around you, and I know that your Heavenly Father is also very proud of you and the fine young man you are becoming. Always stay as sweet as you are today, and you'll always be happy and surrounded by those who love you. Remember that the Gospel is the plan of happiness and if you stay close to the Lord and live the principles of the Gospel, your life will be blessed, and you will be a blessing to those around you. Congratulations on your baptism, buddy, We love you so!!!!!

The family


Kiri (Alex's birthmom) chatting with Grandpa Sam


Grandpa Gines, Grandpa babycakes, uncle Shawn


Bear, looking fine


Lauri & Maribelle with my giant pumpkin


Now that's alot of braids in one place


The Horne's and the Hall's


Marie & Alyssa


Kiri & Eva


Sam, Jeni, & Bruce


Alex & Kiri


Alex, Kristin, Kiri, Hannah, & Richie


Bruce, Kristin, Kiri, Hannah, Alex, & Richie


Alex & Richie


Me and my family (Shawn, Dad, Mom, Me, Brent, & Steve)

Alex & Joshua

Alex & I spent the morning up at Primary Children's hospital getting xrays and casts. The great thing about Alex is that he is always in a good mood and fun to take anywhere and do anything with. We had some great chats about school, his friends, his upcoming baptism, his plans for the future, among other things. I love to spend time with him, even if it is at the stinky fracture clinic, where we will be frequent flyers for the next month or so.

The bad news was that when they xrayed his Left arm, they saw that he actually had broken it in two places. One of the breaks was right at the elbow so they missed it the first time. But the good news is that it was looking good enough to be casted today, along with his Right arm which got recasted into a short cast, so he can bend his arm. Hooray, he can eat, and scratch his nose, and pull his underwear out of his own butt when it gets stuck. You have no idea how useful a 2 armed child is until he loses one or both of his arms, and becomes quite helpless.

He picked Jedi colors for his casts. No dark side red this time, he went for the green and blue.

Alex and his Jedi casts



This afternoon was all about Josh. We had a pre-trial for terminating parental rights this afternoon, which was basically the shortest hearing in history. We were in the court room for all of five minutes, and the Judge basically said, did everyone get served? The attorney's said yes, and that was the end of it. So now we go to court for the TPR on the 17th, and if all goes as planned we should be able to finalize Joshua's adoption in November.

After the hearing Amanda and the three of us foster moms who have her kids were able to have a nice chat. I thanked her for calling us about Joshua, and she thanked me for taking him. she told us all that she was seriously considering just relinquishing her rights, and just hoped that she could see the kids once in a while. She said that she knows that they are all doing well, are loved, and are where they are supposed to be. It was a very emotional chat and all four of us left with tears in our eyes. I can't imagine what she is going through, but I truly do hope that she is able to get her life together and be in a better place, where she really can be a part of the kids lives someday.

After court, we had a supervised visit with Joshua and Krissie at DCFS. It went well and I was able to get lots of pictures of Amanda with her kids. You can see the love she has for them, and I hope that they always know that she does love them.

Our family vacation started out in much the same way as Scout camp did. With a broken arm. Who was the person that broke the bone? I'll give you one guess......

Alex's broken Right arm from Scout camp

Alex's broken Left arm from falling down four stairs

The Doctor told us to that he would have issues with balance while his arm was broken, so to keep him off his bike and scooter, but she never said he would be too clumsy to walk down the stairs. So the night before we left on vacation, I sat home and packed, while Bruce and Alex sat in the ER getting xrays and splints. This time it was only one bone, but closer to the elbow, which means another up to the armpit cast. And just in time for his baptism next Saturday. It ought to be quite a show getting him dunked with both arms broken.

Alex sporting not one, but two broken arms. Is it a cry for attention????????

The first day of our vacation we drove to Saint George, where we met up with the rest of my family at our hotel. We didn't do much this day except baby Alex, teach him how to stab his food with chopsticks, (since he can't bend either elbow), and do alot of swimming with the other three kids.

Alex trying to figure out how to eat chicken nuggets with chopsticks

Bear loving her boat

Bruce & Joshua

Hannah Banana

Joshua flying

The Richardson's

Bear saying "CHEESE"

Saturday morning My mom and I got up really early and headed to the St. George temple to do a session. It was really fun to go with my mom as it was her first time there. We had a wonderful time.



After the Temple My mom and Brent went with us to check out some of the historic sites in St. George. We went to the Tabernacle, Brigham Young's home, the Utah Daughter's of Pioneer's museum, and wandered through the farmer's market.

Hannah in front of the Tabernacle

Brent and Bear strolling through the market

Brigham Young's Winter home

That afternoon some of us girls went to get pedicures. Hannah went along and got her toes polished. So fun! Kelly, Harlie, Ashley, Hannah, & Kristin's Feet (in case you were wondering)

Hannah and her purple toes

That evening we met up with my cousin Ed and his wife Amie at the Olive Garden for dinner and also a kid drop off. They were kind enough to consent to taking care of all four of our little monsters while we went to see Les Mes at Tuachan. Amie, Ed, & Edison, (some of our favorite relatives)

Part of the clan at Tuachan, waiting to see Les Mes, which was absolutely wonderful. I have seen it about a dozen times, and this was definitely one of my favorites, and the outdoor theatre was amazing.

Us at Tuachan

Sunday we headed off to the Grand Canyon. I have always wanted to go there, and we talk about it every time we pass the turn off in Hurricane, but we have never gone until now. On the way there we were a little nervous because it was quite rainy and was getting worse the closer we got to the canyon.

When we got there this is what we saw. Yes that is a picture of the Grand Canyon in the background. It was completely full of fog. You couldn't see anything past about 20 feet.

This is the lodge where we ate our lunch, spooky huh? Before lunch we decided to have Hannah say a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help us out with the weather a little, so we could see the canyon.

And we were blessed with a miracle. The rest of the afternoon was fabulous, although a little chilly. It was really nice because we were skipping out on church, so we pulled the kids aside and had our own little Gospel lesson, on how Heavenly Father answers prayers. The kids were so cute, and were so grateful that we were blessed with some sunshine. Hannah kept saying all day "this is just so beautiful, it's the most beautiful thing I ever saw". And it was amazing and beautiful. Definitely worth the drive.


We had a fabulous time, inspite of the broken arm. The kids had fun, the family was fun, and we actually made it through the whole trip without anyone throwing up. That has got to be a new record for us. :)