Today we got the rare opportunity to see Daddy at work! He had a call in our area, and we knew they were going to posted here for a while so we met up for some late breakfast and to hang out. It was a lot of fun being able to go inside the rig and see where he spends so many of his hours. We even got to try out some of the things he does for his patients-oxygen for example, and ekg's. It makes me happy that he actually cares enough to show us these things, and is excited when we are around-that he wants us to be a part of not just home, but his work to. His partner for this shift seemed very nice, and it was all around a great experience. 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

I've been thinking about this Shakespeare quote a lot lately as we've been trying to pick out a name for our new little girl. Most of the time I agree with him-I think about people or things with strange names and feel that it shouldn't limit them-they are more then a title. But  then I think about that what Anne meant when she said "I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet but I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it was thistle or a skunk cabbage." I think she makes a good point to-anyone CAN rise above their names, but if I were to name my kid Bruiser or Killer, you gotta admit, before meeting them you may be a little predisposed to not let your kid play with her/him haha.

So ultimately I've decided ideally, it is a combination of the two. We should teach our children that they are more then just a name or a label-that they are wonderful, smart, kind and beautiful regardless of this. But at the same time, we should try to pick out a name that we think would not only suit them if possible, but also give them every advantage in life-a name they can be proud to have.

For this reason, I am going to do a post like this every time we officially have and name a new child. Whether or not our kids love or hate their names, I want them to know why we chose what we did, and the legacy behind them. I hope they will love their names as much as we do, and even if they don't, at least they will know that we did put some thought into it.

So here we go.


Adelaide [Addy] is the name of our first sweet daughter. As everyone knows, Lester and I met, dated and fell in love in high school. Over the years, and the more serious we got about each other, the more we'd imagine our future together. Of course this included children, and we daydreamed about what we would name our kids if the stars aligned and we ended up together [I know, lame mushy stuff right? But there it is!] On the list for girls there was only really one name-Sydney. As the years past, we went our separate ways, grew up some, and eventually reunited. When we finally got to the point where we were married and expecting, we remembered this name. But for some reason, even before she was born, we never felt like this name suited her for some reason. So we went back to the drawing board. We kept running into walls and found that the only two things we agreed on were names that had specific meaning to us, and geographical names of all things. Once we realized this, we came upon Adelaide. It hit both of these criteria and from the second we found it, we felt like it was meant for our growing girl.

Lester grew up in Sydney Australia, and has many fond memories of his life there. But his life as member of our creed was made possible [in part] by the two missionaries who taught his parents the gospel and baptized them. One of them was originally from Adelaide, Australia. Since the two things Lester and I cherish above all are our gospel/religion and our family, we thought Adelaide was a great potential name. It intertwines both of these things perfectly.

This past year, I finally had the chance to meet these men and some of their family members. It was a very special moment all of us. I think especially for my in laws, as they were able to show them their friends the fruits of their labors as young missionaries-a family still deeply rooted in the gospel so many years later, with a grand child named as proof of that. I'm glad Addy can have such a beautiful place to think about when she learns more about her name, but above all that she has such wonderful examples and people to relate to as part of that as well. I hope her personal conversion story will be as beautiful, long lasting and wonderful as all of her ancestors, family and friends are and that she will be happy with the name we picked for her.

We love our Adelaide and from the second we saw her, we knew we were right. That this name was perfectly suited for such a lively, beautiful and unique girl.

So Addy-this is the story of how you got your name. We love you.

If you know my sister Samantha [or basically anyone else in my family for that matter..] then you know that her prom day has come and gone. It was everything that she hoped for and more, and I am glad we were here to help with/watch this special moment for her. There are so many birthdays and occasions I missed over the years after leaving for college, so it make the ones that we are present for all that more meaningful.

She looked absolutely radiant from the inside and out and her date was just as handsome and dapper as he was thoughtful and attentive. I am glad she is surrounded by such good people. Anyways, she was beaming both before and after and I am sure we will be hearing about this one for a long time-well-at least until her high school graduation this weekend haha.

In case the social media world hasn't informed you already, it is Mother's Day. I wanted to also take a second to gush about the mothers in my life, the importance of this role and how much I appreciate being able to hold this role myself now. However, I know I can tend to be a little long winded at times [this is the part where you say, "What? You? NEVER!" like you mean it haha] so I think I will just narrate it with pictures and captions.

We have had an eventful past few weeks! First, my sister Mariah came into town with her now fiancé, Ross. Luckily, he somehow managed to pull off a surprise [to no one but her might I add!] proposal like he had planned. We are so happy for them-they asked Lester to take some pictures for them, and in doing so we were able to see the wonderful love they have for each other and how happy they are to be on the road to eternity together. Hooray for love!



While she is here we've been enjoying unusually good weather so we've been taking advantage of the sunshine by getting together with some friends at the beach, parks and other outside fun. We were recently given a hand me down double stroller, which is perfect with them here. We especially enjoyed using it in a walk fundraising and increasing awareness for Autism. It ended up being more like a mini fair or carnival then a walk, which was great. All together, its been a blast, and we are so happy we have another week to spend with them.