Maylie!

Crazy to think that my first baby is nine! But it's all good because as hard as it is to see them grow up quickly, we find joy in everyday and each of our children hold a special place in our family. Back to May-May... She is very fun and creative, her teacher Mr. Guymon is so pleased and always amazed by her creativity! She is also a very good reader and flies through books before I even know it! Maylie is very responsible and I am amazed at how her and Brie get their bed made everyday before school(or they don't get an afternoon snack:)( oh yes, did I mention that Maylie is highly motivated by food:) and she gets her homework and reading done everyday. I can also see her testimony growing in the gospel and she does what is right. She (as well as the other girls) love to play with her cousins! There is never a dull moment with Maylie, she loves to have fun and be active! She is also on a dance team this year and can now do the splits and is a beautiful dancer! I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming! Love you May!

Ashlie

Ashlie, Ashers, Ashie, or Ash(with an emphasis on the sh part, thanks to Sophie) is what we call our sweet little 5 year old! Ashlie is very smart and picks up on things quickly. She has a really great attitude and her favorite phrase is, "ya...got it!" with a thumbs up!! She plays with Sophie all day and they get along really well. Ashlie is a beautiful dancer as well, when I went to watch her rehearsal for their recital, all of the girls were following her, because she remembered the dance, I was so proud of her for being a leader! She is always saying one-liners from movies to make us laugh, she is really good at memorizing songs and lines. She is also a great little helper in the kitchen, she throws in her apron and gets out her stool to help me. She is just sweet as can be and I just love her to pieces! Happy birthday Ashie!

Brianna!

This post is all about Brianna! She just turned 7!!! And what a darling little mini-me she is turning out to be... With her own special flare, of course! I will lay out some details about Brie now to help us remember her at this precious moment:)!!! She is in first grade and loves her teacher Mrs. Brinton! She has caught the reading bug and has taken off with reading this year!! Her handwriting is bubbly and adorable just like her! She loves to play with Sophie and is really good friend to Maylie and Ashlie and to me!! She is always great to rub your feet when you've had a long day! She also loves to sing ( and is awesome)everywhere she goes and got a cute black guitar with a pink case for her birthday! She has been on a dance team this year and has grown tremendously and has really enjoyed dancing! She is amazing! She says she wants to be a fashion designer, choreographer, and a mom someday!!! I love you Brie!!!! Even though it is hard, I love to see you grow!!!

Christmas!

Yes, I know Christmas 2011 was a while ago, and a few of you may even be planning Christmas 2012 already!!! But, we can't just skip Christmas! I am going to keep it brief and just post a few pics! It was a wonderful Christmas season, the girls are all really sweet to remember the real reason we celebrate the season is the birth of our Savior, they love all the magic of Christmas as well. Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Charlie were visiting Brian and Natalie in Japan so we missed them, but we still had a great time and spent some fun times in Salmon with Ryan's fam!!!

Quick Update!!!

Oh man, I am so ashamed of my blog. I was dismayed to find it in such rough condition (this is February and my last post was Halloween!) {shocker:} I thought I had at least gotten through Thanksgiving! Okay, so now I'm recommitting myself to blogging, why.... because it's important, dangit! (and it's my cop-out for a journal and a scrapbook and I want to print off 2011, so I better catch up:)

The next few lines might be a little more personal, but since I use this as a record-keeper and I only have like 2 followers, I figure, it's safe:). Well, lots has happened since my last Halloween blog, a few weeks after Halloween, I miscarried (my first miscarriage) around 7-8 weeks, it was very difficult and hard to understand. We hadn't planned on having another baby so soon, but we were so very excited and already had the next 5 years planned out :) However, I have learned so much going through this experience, it is amazing how our Heavenly Father truly does strengthen us and helps us through these difficult times. There is so much understanding that does come from sorrow and so much peace that can be found when we turn to our Savior. I will always be grateful for this experience as it is nothing compared to the losses and mourning of others around me for other difficult situations in life. But, now I do understand a little bit better.

Well, the good news is.... I am now almost done with my first trimester of my current pregnancy... yes, I'm pregnant!!! We are so excited and feel so blessed! I went to the Dr. a couple of weeks ago and he wasn't sure if we would be able to hear a heart beat, but it was there loud and clear and strong and I was so relieved!!! So far, so good, no cramping or anything, just dang exhausted and nauseous, but, a lot of that has gone away this week and I am pumped! We don't really care if it's a boy or another blessed girl. (Ryan did work on upping his Testosterone though, lol, I guess that can't hurt, right?) All of our little girls are such wonderful helpers... for the most part... and it's a good thing, because we are going to need a lot of help around here when the baby comes (early Sept:).

Ryan also just got knee surgery last week on his ACL, meniscus, and cartilage! Poor guy! He is recovering well though and each day gets a little better (which is good, because we are leaving in 2 days for San Fran for Jamba meetings, should be an adventure:)

I promise I will post some pics. I just wanted to get an update out there before anymore crazy stuff happens (knock on wood:) Just a preview of what's to come... Christmas, skiing, birthdays... and lots of pics of Sophie Rose, man that girl is cuuuuuute~~

Have a good day! Love, Jules

Halloween Fun

Sophie, the "Butterfly Fairy"

Brianna, the "Spanish Dancer"

Me, the "pirate"

Maylie, "Minnie Mouse"

This is our family down at Snake River Landing for the Annual Trick or Treat Street. We decorate a trailer every year and hand out candy and coupons to trick-or -treaters that are willing to stand in line for 3 hours for crappy candy :)... it's always fun though.

Ashlie with Mya and Lydia, She was a "Cupcake Princess"

We always have a really busy Halloween with plenty of opportunities to wear our costumes out :). The girls love picking out their costumes and are already speculating about next years choice. The actual Halloween night was wicked cold, so I guess it was a good thing they got lots of trunk-or- treating in before that night... heaven forbid we don't get enough candy to last us until next Halloween... (believe it or not, we actually just got rid of the last pieces of candy from last year)

Hope everyone is well. I have a Thanksgiving post yet to come, and then onto Christmas fun, then we are printing this blog into a book(easiest way to journal and scrapbook that I know of...)

Love, Jules

Cali trip 2011, Arfmann Style!

We surprised the girls and flew! They were so excited!

Lori and Me, the beach babes :)

Sophie loved the water!

Maylie hardly even got out of the ocean, she loved it out there!

Love my surfer dude!! Ryan absolutely loves the ocean!

The kids loved playing in the sand!

I love this picture... the little surfer dude in the front is trying to brush off Bo, Maylie, and Brianna who are trying to sell him sea shells. Too cute!

Typical Disneyland day!

Love My girls!

Treasures from Disneyland!

We had such a fantastic time in California this year! Ryan's whole family came except for Jayson and Hollie couldn't make it... sniff sniff :(. We missed them! But, somehow we managed to have a little fun :)! We stayed at the Dolphin's Cove in Anaheim and went to Disneyland and California Adventureland and the Beach a couple of days too! Everything could not have been better except that we lost Brianna... twice! We were truly blessed to find her both times. The first time was late at night at California Adventureland, and Uncle Brock found her after he said a prayer, he was prompted to go a certain way to find her, and I was so thankful that he listened to the spirit! The next night, we actually left, yes, left her at a Panda Express. I thought she was sleeping in the back seat of the van until we got a phone call from a girl named Abby... whoops, no way! I'm so thankful for Heavenly Father watching over our Brianna in both of these times, she was so brave. Aside from that, yes, it was absolutely perfect. The weather was amazing and we made such wonderful memories with our family there! I must also note that we bribed the girls to get their homework done before we left and they worked like crazy to get it done, and they did, I was so proud of them for working so hard!

Well, life is good! Thanks to all of our family for making this trip so special! Love, Jules