Skylar's Special Day

The day that we've been waiting for 8 years finally arrived-Skylar's baptism day!!! It is a day we will not forget. It was absolutely wonderful. We had a little glitch when we arrived because the font wasn't completely full. It was a little delay, which was fine because we had a chance to greet all our family and friends that came to support Skylar. Another boy in our ward, Ethan, was being baptized the same day, so we got to share in the program. Skylar's Grandma Diane gave the talk on baptism, her cousin, Dylan, played the piano, all of the Primary kids went up to sing I am a Child of God, and her Grandma Cammi said the closing prayer. It was a really nice program. When it came time to be baptized her Grandpa Bruce and Grandpa Bill were the witnesses so it was nice to have all her grandparents involved.
Watching Skylar enter into the waters of baptism was amazing. She was dressed in a beautiful white dress that all of her Coleman cousins have also been baptized in. That was really special for Skylar to get to wear that dress. Ben and Skylar have been practicing for months on making sure the dress was tucked in and that she would be completely immersed. As she got baptized, I couldn't help but cry. This is new for me. I'm not normally such a cry baby but lately the tears have just come over everything. I was glad I could duck through the door to go help Skylar get dressed. When we walked to the dressing room, there was a white towel waiting from the Primary presidency with Skylar's name on it. That was just such a great surprise! I wrapped Skylar in the towel and asked her how she felt. Even though she was shivering she said that she felt warm and good. She then changed into her new white dress and just looked so magnificently beautiful! Skylar was later confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost by her dad. I wish I had a chance to write down the things that Ben said in the blessing but I had Alexis and Kade fighting for my lap and no paper, but what I did hear was beautiful.
After the baptism, we headed to our church to have a luncheon with our friends and family. Skylar was a really good sport for being baptized on Halloween so we promised her we'd make it special with a sort of Halloween party, minus the costumes. There were so many people there to celebrate with us. Thank you everyone for coming to support Skylar and her most special of all days! She truly felt loved and we had a great time!


































Okay, I had to include this next picture. Skylar mentioned that she was wearing her 2nd white dress and only had one more to wear. Then she said shyly how Donovan had been there for both her times wearing a white dress (blessing & baptism). I asked her if she wondered if he would be there for number 3 (wedding) and she just blushed like crazy. If their parents have any say (and we totally do, right?) these two will be together forever! I love these two!
I am so thankful that I have been blessed with being Skylar's mom. What an amazing responsibility I have to raise such a valiant daughter of God. She is truly such a wonderful girl with such a love for life. She has such great faith and a desire to learn all she can about the gospel. She is a great example to me every day. I am so pleased that she has made the decision to be baptized and confirmed a member the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! I love you Skylar!!

Our Fall Frolics

I love the fall! It is just beautiful, and the weather is usually just perfect. Here are some of the things we've been busy doing to enjoy the season:

The kids had a day off of school and we had big plans to spend the day at the Ogden Nature Center enjoying well, the nature. Well nature obviously was dissing us since it decided to drop down to almost freezing that day. We did some rearranging in the plans and headed to the Living Planet Aquarium instead. I love aquariums-seriously love them-and although this one is just teensy, I totally dig it and my boys do too. Skylar is not as convinced. She thinks we do too many nature things. I am so mean, huh? After a bit though, she began to enjoy herself right along with us.























So they have upped the aquarium since we've been there last by adding a South American exhibit, which is cool and all with its cool fish, giant anaconda, and even some caymans. However, this exhibit includes the one thing in this world that I am so very, very, very terrified of-piranhas! My kids think that this phobia I have is really funny but it is real. Seriously, they freak me out and always have. So I faced my fears for my kids and I even took a couple of pictures-very scary, terrifying pictures! I survived without having a panic attack and we had a great day!
This year for Joy School we have some fun field trips planned. For the Joy of the Earth and learning about animals, we headed to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. Since there are six kids in Joy school -one was sick this day :( -these kind of excursions have to definitely be a team effort so Alexis and I went along to enjoy the day. The day turned out to be quite drizzly but we still had a great time.

















The kids all got a chance to pet the animals and go on a pony ride. Kade loved his pony, which he named Peanut Butter. I love getting to be with my sweet boy and I love Joy school!








Fall Break hit and so did some beautiful weather! The kids had been begging for Ben to come with us to Cornbelly's and he was able to take half of the day off to join us. We had such a great time! They added a ton of things this year and we were fully entertained for many hours.
























I wish I had these stocks at home for when my kids act up:










There were hay rides, cow bucket rides, and lots of slides!

















The kids were so excited to head into the "Monster". They have not stopped talking about the last time we went a few years back and just had to show their dad. Kade was less than enthused after he realized it was pretty scary inside! It took some major convincing for him to go into the 3-D fun house afterward. I'm glad we got him to go because it was super fun! As the sun began to set and the temp began to drop, we got in a few minutes of jumping on the giant pillow on our way out. We had such a great day together!























We also got in a quick trip around the Alpine Loop to check out the beautiful leaves. We were pretty late and missed most of the colorful stuff but it was still so very beautiful!!

How Can I Be Like My Friend, Naki?

This last week has been a whirlwind of emotions and disbelief. I am still in shock about Naki's passing. I don't think many moments have gone by that he and his family have not been in my thoughts and they have constantly been in my prayers. It has been so great to see how many have come together to pay tribute to what a great man he was. Naki played football for BYU and there have been tributes to him during the last two games. We actually had Malia over at our house during the first game and we watched it with her. It was wonderful for her to see how loved her father was. There has been such an amazing outpouring of love to him and his family which speaks for what a great person he really was.
On Thursday night, the family had a wake, following Tongan tradition and had an open mic available for people to get up and share their memories about Naki. It was wonderful to see Abby be the first to get up. She is so amazing! She has such a strong testimony of the plan of happiness and is able to see the big picture. It was so great to see everyone sharing their memories and love of Naki. There were plenty of tears but also plenty of laughs and just such a strong spirit.
Friday morning was the funeral. We got there really early to help out and I was glad we did because I have never seen the stake center more filled with people. So many people have been touched by Naki. It is the most amazing funeral I've ever been to. It was such a wonderful tribute to him. Everything was inspirational and faith-building. Naki's brother, Rex, did the life sketch of Naki and finished it with the most touching thing I've ever heard. He played the ukulele and sang the song, How Can I Be?. I have loved this song since the moment I heard it a few years ago. It is just a beautiful song. Here are the words and a video of it:




How can I be like my brother Nephi?
and My father Lehi of old?
How can I be like Captain Moroni
In the wars that were told?

How can I see forever
Like the promise to the three Nephites?
I wanna be Samuel the Lamanite
I wanna be Benjamin the Wise
I wanna be like Abinidi
Oh tell me how can I be like them?

How can I be like Alma the Younger,
Strong servant of the Lord?
How can I be like Mighty Ammon,
Whose heart was his sword?

How can I be a stripling warrior,
And learn to fight by faith?
I wanna be Samuel the Lamanite
I wanna be Benjamin the Wise
I wanna be like Abinidi
Oh tell me how can I be like them?

How can I be like my brother Joseph,
When he prayed in the grove of trees?
How can I have the strength that he had
And the love he had for God?

How can I be courageous
And strive to choose the right?
I wanna be Samuel the Lamanite
I wanna be Benjamin the Wise
I wanna be like Abinidi
I wanna be like Jesus Christ
Oh tell me how can I be like Him?
Oh tell me how can I be like Him?


At the end of the song, Rex added a new verse singing How Can I be like my brother Naki? It was beautiful and so heartfelt, and not an eye was dry in that packed church. I know that there are many, including myself, that whole heartedly agree with Rex's words. Naki was just an amazing man. He was such an example to all. If I could only be a little like him I would feel very lucky. Since the funeral, this song has not left my mind and I hope it doesn't any time soon.

We will miss you, Naki

Today has been such a sad day. Early this morning Ben received a call from our bishop telling us that our friend, Naki Maile, had passed away suddenly and very unexpectedly. My heart is aching so much for my dear friend, Abby, and their six beautiful girls that have lost him too soon. Naki was only 32, Abby is my age, and the girls range from 1-9. It has been such a shock to our entire family. Dads just aren't supposed to die, especially those that are as wonderful as Naki.
The Mailes have been such great friends to us. We have come to love their girls so much through our many years of doing Joy School with them. Those girls just loved their daddy so much and talked about him all of the time. We have enjoyed so many memories watching our kids grow and learn alongside this sweet family. We love them all.Naki was just an amazing guy. He always had a giant smile on his face and had the biggest heart. He was one of those people that you just instantly loved and respected and you felt his love in return. He was such a wonderful husband and amazing father to all of his girls. Naki, our hearts are breaking as you take your journey to a much better place but we are truly better people for knowing you. God be with you til we meet again.

The family has set up a fund for donations, which are greatly needed. If you can donate anything, please do: www.nakisgirls.com

Our Little Get-away

So Ben had a work conference up at the Zermatt resort in Midway. The room was paid for and we were welcome to share it so we decided to head up for the weekend and join him even though we knew Ben would be super busy and we wouldn't see him much. After waiting for Skylar to be done with dance we headed up the mountain. The fall leaves were beautiful even though dusk was setting in and we couldn't see them that great. As much as I long to live near the ocean every day of my life, I love living so close to the beautiful mountains and the wonderful change of seasons that are so beautiful!!
When we arrived I had to do all the unloading of the luggage with the 4 kids and it made me have a moment of awe and respect for single moms. How do they do it? After a bunch of trips to the car, we finally got all settled in and then, since I couldn't figure out the darn hook-ups for the DVD player, we only had the option to watch Hannah Montana until it was time to get to bed. I set the three big kids up in the same bed and settled in for a less than restful night. Of course the kids were kicking one another, stealing the blankets, etc., etc. and Alexis wasn't thrilled about the sleeping arrangements herself. Also, for as nice as a resort as it was, the walls were paper thin and I could hear doors slamming and tons of crazy, drunk people in the hall all night. Ben finally got to the room about 12:30 and we finally got some sleep, I believe.
The next day we got up and Ben was able to go get some breakfast with us. We took a quick trip over to the Homestead so we could see the crater and watch a few people scuba dive. That place is so so cool even though Nick was a little freaked out by it. I hope someday to scuba dive there too. Kade said he will do it with me. That kid is always up for an adventure!
After the crater and some walking around the Zermatt resort a bit, Ben still had time enough to go with us for a swim in the awesome pool. The pool was indoor and outdoor and there was a little path between the two that you could swim back and forth through. It was pretty cool. It also had the coolest hot tub with a waterfall and we all loved that! Bigger bonus-we got to see Thurl Bailey at the pool.









At this point my two littles really needed naps but that is near impossible in a hotel room so we hopped in the car and headed over to Park City. It totally worked-they were out in about 30 seconds and got a good snooze. We didn't stay very long in Park City. We drove around a bit to look at the really cool old houses and then headed to Main St. and walked around a bit. I even let the kids go into the candy store and pick something. They were so amazed! They had never even been to an actual candy store. It was funny to see how in awe they were of all the candy. It's great to be reminded that sometimes the simple pleasures are the greatest adventures for my kids.
We headed back to Midway for a quick dinner with Ben and then he was back to work again until midnight. I decided to head over to Heber and get the kids one of Granny's Famous Shakes. I should have known things were amiss when Skylar only ate like 3 bites. That kid is a major fan of the ice cream. On the way back to the hotel, she declared she was going to throw up and actually made it to the parking lot before that whole thing began, thank goodness.
I didn't know exactly what to do since I couldn't reach Ben so I got the kids ready for bed and planted them in front of a movie until they fell asleep. Skylar continued to be sick well into the night and our neighbors began their loud partying about 10 pm. When Ben got back after midnight, we decided it just wasn't worth staying the night-we weren't going to sleep much anyway. So we packed up the car and headed home. We got home at 2:30 am! We were wasted the next day but at least we were home. All in all, we had a nice get-away, even if we had a few kinks.