PRICELESS

Lights at Temple Square

FREE

Warm hats

$30

Knowing how much my son is loved
by ALL his parents

PRICELESS

PIZZA PARTY!!

S T R E T C H

Good thing Gabe has such strong guns.....

Lots and LOTS of flour makes for good pizza!

Rub-a-dub-dub....puppy in the tub!

This is BONES.

Having a bath.

Bones is the newest addition to the Sorensen North Hollow Ranch.
We think she is pretty cool.

Adios Amiga!

Here's to Miss J! A farewell dinner at Cheesecake Factory
with all the ladies:)

75 & Sensational!

Grandma "Shorty" Anna just turned 75 on July 19th. We
all got together to celebrate her and just how fabulous she is!
There are countless people who love this lady I can't
even begin to name them all:) It was a special moment
standing in a room with 40+ people yesterday to sing
Happy Birthday to this most amazing woman. Just shows
a small handful of the peoples lives she has affected.
Love you to the moon and back Shorty!

Happy Birthday!

My Mom is a ROCKSTAR!

Holy cow! Where do I even start.....my mom is A-MAZING:) I think she has magical powers and is probably 3/4 angel. She is loved and adored by 3 daughters, 1 son, 5 grandsons, 4 grand-daughters, 1 husband, 1 mother, 3 sisters, countless friends, and . . . . . well . . . you get the idea. She is the best listener I know. She makes me laugh with her forgetfulness. She is beautiful . . . inside and out! My mom has more energy than someone half her age. She can transform my house from a disaster to perfection in less than a day. How does she do it? I don't know. . . . but man am I lucky to have her as my mother!

before/after

So I took a trip to the DI and found
myself a little treasure.....

BEFORE

AFTER

I am so HAPPY with how it turned out!
A little paint and elbow grease and I
found a fantastic treasure for the good old price of

$30

The Tiger Sharks....

Another season of soccer. Gabe is having a great time with
new friends. He really thinks being Goalie is pretty cool.
Can't be playing outside and hanging with friends.

GO TIGER SHARKS!!!

Good friends, Good food, & Game night!

Last weekend I got to see my good friend Anika:)

Gabe and I went to Ogden and had game night at

her cute house. So much fun!

Who ya gonna call???

At first these three look like normal boys. . . .
If you look close you will see callused hands, dirt
smudged cheeks, muddy shoes, and smiles all around.

What does all this mean you ask???
these boys are goat busters.

You heard me right! these boys can wrangle and wrestle
miniature goats like no other boy can.

So if you ever come upon a goat you can't handle. . .
Who ya gonna call?

THE GOAT BUSTERS!!!

Doin' chores...

Gabe is officially in heaven! This boy couldn't be
happier than he is now. Playing with his cousins
Tray and Jarom and farmin' with Papa Lee.
This is the life!

A - Mazing!

I came across this link when I was blog-wandering.
This is Jon Schmidt's take on a few of my favorite songs!
It's kinda long....but take a listen.

Jon Schmidt music video

Cousins

Things got a little quiet at Gabe's birthday party. . . .
so naturally I got a little worried! I went to check on
the kids in Gabe's room and this is what I found. . .
Jarom was reading to Anna and Gabe:)
I was glad I could sneak a peek at this moment between cousins.

If I had a wish for you . . . .

It would be . . . .

A Happy Happy Birthday. . . to you. . . from me!

Gabers had a great birthday:) We had a little party with
Stan, Kenzie, Jarom, Anna, Adam, Ray Ray, Veronica, & Jaeckael.

Although Gabe's birthday was on the 28th. . . he was convinced he
didn't turn 4 until May 2nd!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I have to admit . . . .

I thought this movie was great! Loved it:)
It was nice to go to a movie that was funny,
heartfelt, and just good. I might even
see it again I liked it so much. Perfect movie
for Girls Night Out.

DAD

I love how protective you are of me.
I love the fantastic Grandpa you are to my son.
I love your laugh.
I love your tight hugs.
I love you for you.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Love you more than I can say.

Easter is Eggs-citing!

Coloring easter eggs.

Here is Gabe wearing his "April" (aka apron) as he calls it.

Finished product.

The Easter Bunny MIGHT have gotten a little carried away this year.....
Gabe thought it was Santa anyways!

Because you're my sisters....

*I will always have 2 of my best friends
*I will talk to you 3 times a day if I want
*I will always be there when you need to vent
*I will yawn when you yawn over the phone when we are talking
*I will always be excited to e-mail recipes and craft ideas
*I will always remember late night tap dances
*I will always love your silly witch laugh
*I will know if you got any sleep by just saying hello
*I will be excited for your new haircut
*I will love your children like my own
*I will love you both forever
*I will wish you both a Happy Birthday
*I will thank you for your amazing examples

Can't imagine life without my sisters....they are two of the most marvelous women I know!

Invisible Moms.....

I just got this in an e-mail....it reminds me of my sweet sisters and my mom.

The Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously, not.

No one can see that I'm on the phone, or cooking, or vacuuming the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The Invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Can you pick me up at 5:30?'

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, 4 life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything .

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte . I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile about. You are building a great
cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my daughter to tell the friend she's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want her to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to her friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot see if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

When I Grow Up.....

This was my conversation with Gabe the other night....
Gabe: Is this a pull-up?
Mom: Yep. But you are a big boy and wear big boy underwear.
Gabe: Yeah....When I get bigger I will have underwear without
pictures on them like my dad.

This boy cracks me up! He can't to wait to grow up to get
unders without pictures on them.

In Loving Memory...

Neil H. Sorensen

9/4/1923 - 12/29/2008

Lee's dad passed away just after Christmas. I feel lucky

for having known him for the short time that I did. Neil was a

shining example of a devoted husband, father, grandfather,

great-grandfather, and friend. I never saw him without

his sweetheart by his side. I hope some day I can find a man

half as sweet and devoted:) He was an amazing man and will

be missed terribly.