To St. George, Dallas, and back

Mother's Day in St. George

Dallas Temple...we did a session with Mark and Lindsey

Spent lots of time cooling off at the pool

Uncle Phillip with the nephews and girls

Lindsey and boys waiting to eat in the cutest little town of Roanoak, TX

Hot but worth the wait to eat at Bubba's

Lindsey and Mark treated us to a Ranger Game

The kids had fun (Pais hated the firworks when they scored a home run).  I'm not sure what they liked more...the baseball game or the gajillion snacks we brought.

When we got back to Utah, we went up to Nana's grave to visit and see the new marker.  It turned out perfect.

Jane drew a picture of her and Nana

"Just call me 'cute little fairy' if you need me"

Haven't missed a FHE yet this year.  Jane wouldn't let me and I honestly look forward to them too.  This is our Testimony Tower. 

Darren, Heather, and Stockton came to town.  We had a great time with them.  I love this little guy.  He is so cute in all the different hats he wears.  He must know it because he doesn't take them off. 

Happy First Birthday Stockton.  You eat that cake!

Went to the zoo with daddy, Dar, and Heather.

Sporting the shades!

Aunts and Uncles are so cool and fun.

They love this stupid elephant that squirts water.

Trouble

Painting rocks

Painting rocks for the garden

Last year G&G Tintle gave Paisley this outdoor table and chairs with the umbrella.  One of the best presents ever.  We make all sorts of crafts and messes on it.  Pretty much every meal is outside.  We love it. 

I love going to garage sales in the summer.  I love to score barely used toys that still have all the pieces.  It's the only way to buy them...toys are way too expensive don't you think?

I've noticed a ton of silly/random pictures on my phone lately...Jane loves to go through the house and take them.  They make me laugh.

Why a picture of a truck?  Well, two weeks ago, Phillip got a "temporary" job with Strata.  He goes up to Grand Teton National Forest during the week and works on roads, the design/quality control part of them.  Being away from family is not ideal and I'm seriously hating it.  I do much better when we are together.  I know I have been spoiled having him home the last four months looking for a job, but I have liked every minute of it.  Being together was the sunshine amongst the stormy clouds that seem to be hanging over us the last 6 months.  This job ends when he finds another one or when the weather get's bad (Novemeber?).  He does get to drive this truck up and back (6 hours each way) on the weekends.  The job is stressful, demanding, tiring, and lonely.  I'm proud of my hard working husband though.  That's a wonderful quality to have and one of the main reasons I married him.    

What we have been up to...

I need a good laugh

That's these girls job right now, and they are pretty good at it.

Jane is showing us her owey on her finger...


I was doing dishes, turned around and there she was...standing on the dishwasher. Quickly got my camera and this is her "cheese". Trouble.

Marilee Ann Waite Packer

Nana Mar's funeral was yesterday. It was a good day. The funeral was perfect. I think it made her happy. My mother in law loved music and there was plenty of that. The speakers were great. I'm so proud of my husband and his words. Right before he spoke, he said "I'm about to speak at my mother's funeral" with a shaky, surreal, voice. I whispered, "speak from your heart". And he did. When he was done, Jane went up at sang "I am a Child of God" in the microphone a capella. Nana would have loved that. A lot of people cried. The whole funeral was touching. I especially loved what the bishop had to say about her. He worked with her for the past five years. He knew her strengths and limitations and put them beautifully. He didn't have the baggage that most of her close acquaintances had, and just served her and showed much love and patience. I feel at peace, because I know she is at peace. My husband is not quite there. I hope I can help him as he heals from this unexpected death. More importantly, I know the Lord loves him and is giving constant comfort to him. It was so good for him to see all the love and support from people at the funeral. That helped so much. If you couldn't be there, thank you for your words of support however they came. After the delicious ham lunch, he felt a little relief. When we got home, we put the girls down and took a much needed 2 hour nap. That felt good. And so the healing begins.