Tara

Tara is my sister in law and married to my brother Phil. She is an amazing person that I have gotten to know a little bit over the past few years.
I remember a family reunion at  Woolford Park on the Smith side with all the cousins and we sat on the blanket and just visited. She has had a really interesting life and overcome a lot of challenges and I learned so much from her. I remember being in awe at how talented she was. She is super musical and into dancing. We shared a common bond of being stake music chairperson for awhile and it was so nice to have someone to bounce off ideas on. She is so easy to talk to.
I think my other favorite memory is when her family came to visit us in Winnipeg. It was right after I had Abby and was adjusting to motherhood and was pretty much feeling overwhelmed. She totally talked to me about how hard it was after she had Landon and gave me some awesome practical advice that totally helped me. I am so grateful that my brother found her and that she is part of our family.
Love you Tara.
 It is her birthday tomorrow so have a wonderful day Tara!!

Cole, Naomi, Adam, and Noah

This is a really old picture of my neices and nephews but they have moved so far away that I can't really take many pictures of them anymore.
Cole is the oldest and my favorite memory of Cole is from when we had a family reunion at the farm and he was running around chasing all his cousins and trying to tickle them. He is a really funny kid and has a great sense of humour. When I went to BC to visit them I think a took a whole roll of film of Cole and Adam they are super cute and photogenic. Can't you tell by Adam's sweet smile?
Naomi is the only girl in a house full of boys. She is super cute. She is really quiet and sweet. She loves babies and was happy to play with Abby at the family reunion.
Adam is the cute one with the glasses and he is my cute little daredevil nephew. I know he is always trying new things and playing tricks on his parents I am sure.  Noah is the baby and as such I don't have a ton of cute memories of him.
They are all great kids and I am so glad that got to be a part of our family. They have great parents I know and I hope they are loving the beach in New Zealand. So jealous. In fact Dave was telling me they went surfing on Christmas Day. How fun is that?
Love you guys!!

Madyson, Jordanne, Dallas, and Reid

Madyson is my oldest niece. I remember when she was born. She was the first grandkid on both sides and of course was spoiled. I remember her being a bunny at Halloween and she was sooo cute. I remember watching many a Disney movies with her while babysitting.  She is a super amazing writer and is now in college pursuing her dreams.
Jordanne is my cute redheaded neice we used to lovingly call "carrots". She is my social butterfly neice at least she was when I lived there. I remember when they were taking highland dance and they would perform on their front lawn in front of the town house. She used to ask me to read more stories at bedtime when I babysat. A girl after my own heart or maybe just avoiding bedtime?? I guess we are a little alike because she is applying to go to nursing school in the fall. I know she will be a super awesome compassionate nurse!! When we had a family reunion a few years ago she left me a little note in my scriptures. Yeah we are totally alike!! Love it!
Dallas is my halloween neice. Yeah born on Halloween and full of tricks. She was a dancing queen, musicican and I remember running to the Mac's store with her. They used to live right behind a Mac's store and every time I babsat they used to beg Auntie to go to the Mac store.
Reid was born when I lived in Edmonton and looking back I feel like man I wasn't any help to my sister in law when that occured. OOOPS! I remember visiting him in the hospital. He was very welcomed after three girls. He is a total trickster and has grown up so much since I left Edmonton. I can't believe he is in YM already and going on Scout camp and all that stuff.

I love all these guys and am so grateful that I was able to live in Edmonton for a few years and really get to know them better. They are awesome members of my family that I love!!

Mom

I first met Mom when I was serving in the Young Adult ward RS Presidency. She was a really great leader and always had great advice for our little presidency. I admired how dedicated she was to her calling. Every calling she has had in the church since I have known her she always gives it her all. That is a great example to me.

One of my favorite memories with her is driving out to Alberta with her on the way to my wedding. She drove out early with me so I could spend some time with my family. Ryan had told her I liked to sing in the car when I drive so we sang together. It was fun.
We had some great girl outings going to  the Nutcracker with Beth, going for sushi, and other things before the grandkids came along.

Really since I have had my kids I have really come to appreciate her so much more. She is such a thoughtful loving Grandma. I am so spoiled to have her so close. She is always calling to see how my day is going. She takes Abby for sleepovers to give us a break and they are always willing to babysit.
I love that my kids love going to their Grandparents house.
I really appreciate that we live so close and have so much time to make lot's of memories together.
Love you Mom!
I honestly cannot find a picture of Grandma with Natalie oh my we are such terrible photographers. I am sure Poppa has one!!

David

Growing up with Dave was always fun. I remember doing chores with him like cleaning the barn and hauling water for the cows.  I think one of my favorites was going to watch him play basketball. He was really good at basketball and I was so proud to go and cheer for him.

When he was on his mission in Tennessee I remember writing him letters and he would write back so many cool experiences that he was having. He has always had a strong testimony and served in whatever calling he has had. I remember in BC he told he me his calling was to help fellowship so he organized a basketball game every Saturday morning. Sounds more like playing to me!! HE HE HE!!

He is now married to my amazing sister in law Kerri and has four cute kids. He is enjoying the life of living in New Zealand right now lucky dog while Kerri goes to school. He is a great brother and great example to me.

Love you Dave.

Kolten, Kaitlyn, and McKinlay

Some more of my cute nieces and nephew. These are my brother Kevin's kids. I remember Kolten as being the cutest baby ever. He has since turned into a young man. He reminds me to a T of Kevin. I love watching him follow his Dad and Grandpa around when they come and visit the farm. He loves to takes risks and always teases me to drive faster on the quad. One of my favorite memories of him is playing the game Apples to Apples. He would always try and guess what Ryan would pick so Ryan would win. I always thought that was so sweet!!

Kaitlyn is the one in the middle. She is our little beauty queen. She does a lot of rodeo pageants and loves horses. When we were home this Christmas when Abby was just 8 months old Kaitlyn wanted to curl her hair. I remember being at the farm and Kaitlyn loves to do things with Grandma. They always have little projects together. These guys usually spend a week or two at the farm in the summer and I know my parents love having them around.

Mckinlay is the one holding Abby. She loves babies. She is always cracking jokes and making me laugh. She wanted to hold and play with Abby the whole time we were there that Christmas.

Kaitlyn and Mckinlay both decided to be baptized in December. I am so proud of them for making this decision.

They are awesome kids and I love that they are part of my family!!!

Beth

I have a few memories of Beth before and after I met Ryan. I think Christmas was probably the funniest.

Ryan and Beth played a trick on Mom and we pretended to give Beth a dog for Christmas. It was hilarious watching Mom try to be supportive. There you have it. Beth is as big as a jokester as the rest of the family.
I think the first time I met Beth was at a friends house after I had just moved to Winnipeg. We played two games that I was not very good at  Trivial Pursuit and Crib. She was super smart and I wished she was on my team.
I remember playing the piano for her to sing before she left on her mission. She was correcting me on my technique. He he I have to say counting was never my favorite!! She is super talented on the piano and French Horn. I wish!!!
I remember when we had Abby and she came home from school to visit and she wasn't too sure about holding the baby. Now she is a pro Auntie and Abby loves it when she comes over.
It is great to have another sister that I can chat with and do some fun things with.
It has been so much fun having her around the last while as she is figuring out what to do. No matter what happens I know she is going to be awesome at whatever she decides!!
Love you Beth!