Family Pictures 2015

Conference Weekend

This weekend was great! Honestly, I found myself saying that over and over again. Friday night after the funeral we went to Frightmares at Lagoon. We met up with the Youngbergs and Sorenson's. Then the next morning we had pancakes and watched conference. During the break Seth took the girls swimming at the rec center. Then the night the girls and I went to see the movie Hotel Transylvania 2 and then dinner. On Sunday we watched conference as a family. I loved listening to the talks. During dinner we asked the girls which talk was their favorite. I was amazed that even the twins could tell some of the stories they heard. Later that night we went on a walk together.

I loved having all of us together. With Bella being gone so much now I appreciate the times we have together even more. 

Jami's Funeral

Jami's funeral was hard in some ways but nice in others. It's nice to have closure and be able to move on. Some of Seth's good friends from the old days came which meant a lot. Then our friends the Youngberg's and the Sorenson's came to the viewing. Later that night the Stewart's ad Crane's stopped by. It meant a lot to Seth. We have great friends.

Kelli and Beth both spoke and did a nice job. Megan did a spotlight that was very nice.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.I hope Blake can grieve and let the kids grieve before he starts dating. But his family would like him to start. And I think he had already let go before she passed. I think Megan will have the hardest time. The day she died and we were there she was crying and saying "mommy, why did you have to go?". Plus they've really only had 2 weeks to prepare since Jami was in denial and wouldn't talk about death. It is hard because Jami was difficult to be around and Seth has hard feelings for her. Of course he loved her and cried when she passed but she made it hard to be around.

Bella's Golf Lesson's

Bella has been taking golf from a cute girl who is on the golf team at BHS. She is adorable and very good with Bella. I love watching Bella as she improves and gets better.

Utah Game

My dad babysat so we could both go to the Utah/Utah State game. It was great! 

Happy Birthday Syd and Bre

The twins had a great birthday! They woke up and for the first time had presents and breakfast in bed in their own bed! With their sisters of course. 

Then it was off to school to celebrate with ice cream sandwiches (their choice). Later that day Linda and Allen dropped by with a cake! Again the twins picked out what they wanted a few weeks ago. Because it was a busy night with lessons, they had happy meals in the car on the way to their lessons. But they were happy. The next day after school we grabbed some friends who were walking home and had cake. 

It was great!

Dear Breanna

Dear Bre,

Wow! You're 6 years old now!! 

You're my little helper. Dad and I always know we can count on you to help us. You always tell the truth and look for the good in everyone.

You're so obedient and always stay on task. But, you can also get pretty wild and hyper. Dad and I love it when that side of you come out. It's fun to watch you!e their back and look out for them. You're quick and to forgive just like Sydney. What a great trait to have!

You are the best sister to your sisters. You always hav

We are so proud of you and love you so much!

Love,

Mom

Dear Sydney

Dear Sydney,

What can I say? I love you so so much! This year I've watched you grow into such an amazing little girl. 

You have such a big heart. You love the chickens so much! I love to watch how you hold them and sign and talk to them. I know they love you back!

One of my favorite things to do is cuddle with you. And I also love listening to you sign, when no one is watching.

You love your family so much! You're a great friend to your sisters and your friends. You are always quick to forgive just like Breanna. Such a great trait to have!

I know this year will be a great one for you!

Love,

Mom

Grandpa Love

After school today Claire asked if she could call grandpa and go to his house to play Sorry.
Since it's Friday he wasn't working and ended up coming to get her. She did this last week too and last Saturday during the day she and Bella went grocery shopping with him.

Tonight as I was tucking her in she told me about how they played Sorry and how he won. She said "You know, I think the blue pieces are lucky. Because whoever uses them always wins".

I feel so thankful that my kids have such a great relationship with their grandpa.

Walking Everywhere

The twins and I have gotten used to walking everywhere with only one car. (My mom's car sold and we thought we would live as long as we could with just 1).

We walked to Lisa's one day while it was snowing and the kids did great.

Another day we walked to the rec center to go swimming and got caught in a rain storm.

There was one day during Spring Break where we walked to Beehive Bakery and Claire held my hand and talked the whole time. I loved it!

Another time while just the twins and I were walking to Beehive Bre said "Mom, can you believe we wanted to come to earth and leave heaven?", "What do you think heaven looks like?". She had more questions like that. It was so much fun!

Walking has been great....most of the time.

4th Grade Field Trip

I was able to go on a field trip with Bella today. I'm really glad it was this one.
They've been studying different types of architecture. We started at the governor's mansion and walked up and down south temple. We would stop at different houses and the teacher would have the kids what kind of building it was and then she would tell them something about it. After that we had a tour of the governor's mansion. Then we had lunch at the city and county building on the lawn and then a tour inside. We went to the top of the clock tower. Bella had a great time and I had a great time begin with her. It was so fun. But we were constantly on the go and this was the only picture I got as she was getting on the bus.

Grandpa Time

My dad watched the twins today so I could go to The Judge and take pictures for the social media stuff I do for them. He's been taking them every time I go, which is once a week.

I was just thinking about lucky the girls are to have him in their lives. He is such a great grandpa. He plays games with them, takes them to lunch and just loves them so much!

The best part is at the end of the day when I ask what their highs and low where for the day, the twins always say going with grandpa was their high.

When Claire was younger she would say grandpa was her best friend. And she still gets jealous that she can't go with him because of school and the twins get to.

What lucky girls! And I feel so blessed!

Date night with the twins

Bella was with Kenny and Claire and Elysia were having a sleepover with grandpa and grandma so that meant we got to take the twins one a date.

First we went to football practice at the "U". They lasted about 30 minutes and then we went to the car to play memory. They tried to pay attention. Saying they like the "judge", who turned out to be the ref.

After that we went to dinner and then the Utes baseball game. The girls were so good! Again they tried hard, but kept calling it basketball. 

Such cute girls!

Always Remember

Syd and Bre have been so excited for Leprechaun Day for weeks. Every day they ask when it is. 

Then tonight when I tucked them in for bed they were telling me about what they thought was going to happen. Syd was sure she could feel magic in the air and Bre was going top try hard to stay awake and make sure he didn't come in mom and dad's room and make a mess.

Cute Claire also had her mind spinning about everything. She really wanted to Leprechaun trap, but since she didn't have one she wanted to leave the door open so she could hear if one opened the fridge to dye the milk green,

Oh how I love these girls and their innocence.

It melts my heart. I love being a mom!

USPS Job

This was a fun industrial I did for USPS. It was a long day but a lot of fun. And while I was there I ran into the Atomic City guys. They were there because they are editing the finished project. I really hope I can work with them again soon.

Date with Bella

I haven't been on a date with just Bella in a long time. So this was way overdue. With the new 50/50 schedulde I feel like I never get to see her. I miss her so much! She makes me so happy!

She's started acting classes, so after the class we went to dinner. It was so fun to just be with her and talk. 

I love her so much!

Date with Claire Bear

Claire and I had a date night! It was so much fun. We went to Tony Burger's for dinner and then to Shrek at Center Point. She laughed so much! I love listening to this girl laugh. It makes me so happy.

Seeing Shrek was fun. I was there to take pics for the bakery. We got front row center, seats. It was great!

Vacation

We promised ourselves that after court we would go on a vacation just the two of us.

We left on Friday and got back on Sunday, so it wasn't long, but it was still nice. We stayed in Long Beach where it was close to 70 degrees. We slept in, read, went out to dinner, went on a whale watching cruise and just relaxed. It was so nice to spend time together!

Our hotel was great and had wonderful views! The beach and restaurants were nice as well.

now if we could just take the kids. I know they would love it. Especially if they could fly! One day.....maybe.

Court....Finally Over

The night before court Seth and I commented to each other that we couldn't believe how calm and relaxed we felt. WE had FHE and then took the kids to the rec center to swim. 

We know it was because we were being carried by so many people's prayers. 

The trail was pretty much like Rob said- anticlimactic. Which was good. Infact at times it was pretty boring. Rob did a great job of defending us and not letting Kenny off the hook. Jenna tried to twist my words and flat out lied a number of times. But Rob said I did a great job. He said he hadn't seen a room that full in a long time. We had so many people come to support us. Kelli even drove down from Boise. It was so thoughtful. Also Kenny's mom and Phil apologized to my parents for Kenny's actions. They said they tried to talk him into doing the right thing but he wouldn't listen. That was nice to hear.

Now we just wait. The judge will let us know of her decision on the 24th. 

I love knowing that now matter what she rules I told the truth and this is over. Of course it's still hard with the custody, but I know Kenny's true colors will show through and things will go back to normal.

This whole thing has strengthened my testimony and made my love for Seth and the girls even stronger.

 Me and Rob

 Our friends "heart attacked" our house 

One of the meals we received before the big day

E-mail after court

This was the e-mail we sent the day after court:

We just wanted to take a minute and say how truly thankful we are for all of our friends and family. We've felt so much love from all of you these past 2 1/2 years. You've all been through this with us. And we really appreciate it!

Yesterday was long and exhausting so I'm sorry if I didn't respond to your text or call. And today still feels like I've been hit by a car. I guess that's normal since this is what we've been working towards for 2 1/2 years.

Many people asked how it went yesterday. 

In a nutshell, I'd say it went really well. Rob gave me high praise (something he never does) about how I did answering questions. To be honest I don't remember a lot. I was nervous, but he said I sounded sure of myself and  genuine. Jenna (Kenny's attorney) came at me hard and tried over and over again to twist my words and trap me into saying the wrong answer. She tried to bring up things that aren't relevant (my work experience 10 years ago, for example). But, I was honest and the answers came easy because I didn't have to make anything up. Rob said that the way I came across was confident and when Jenna was questioning me it looked like she was attacking and bullying and that the judge would notice that.

It was hard to watch Kenny lie under oath. 

It was also hard to watch Jenna say things about custody (which she wasn't suppose to) and also make me out to be money hungry.

But I think the hardest part for me was that Seth wasn't in the room until the very end. Because he was a witness he had to wait in another room until they called him, which was towards the end of the day. 

But it was such a relief to look out and see my friends and family (and know that Seth was just outside) and also know that people at home we're praying for us and cared.

I was also very impressed with Tess. I was so scared she would seem scared and timid, which would make her seem unreliable (Rob said). But she blew me away. She sat back in the chair and answered the questions honestly and with confidence. She came across as a good reliable witness. 

Tonya was great and so was Seth. Jenna came hard at Seth as well, and he got a little tongue tied, only because she tried to get him to say the wrong things, but Rob swooped in and fixed everything.

I thought Rob's closing statement was perfect. He said "Your honor I guess my question is "why not"? Why shouldn't Mr Byron be held accountable? To himself, to his daughter and to the court".

(I'm paraphrasing but that was basically it)

So once again I was reminded that I was in great hands all along. We had some unfair things along the way; bad judges (who were fired), bad evaluators, and bad attorneys (who drug this out longer than it needed), but all of those things were out of his control. When it came down to it Rob was honest and never lead us astray. He gave us good advice, always came prepared and did a great job.

Now the hard part will be waiting. The judge will give her decision on Feb. 24th. We know ultimately she could go either way. We told the truth and honestly gave a better argument, but as this whole thing has taught me people still have free agency and the Lord can't and won't step in for everything in life. I believe this was a trial for us based on choices Kenny made. This is a good lesson that the choices we make effect more than just us. Kenny thinks this was just about money. But the night I had to hold Claire as she cried herself to sleep because she missed Bella so much, was a good reminder of the scoop of this. I'm sure he nor I even knew how many people would be effected by his choice to have an affair 10 years ago. So, if things go unfairly we'll know that we were honest and can feel good about everything. 

The night before court, Seth and I both commented to each other that we couldn't believe how calm we felt. We knew we should be nervous and scared but we couldn't have those feelings if we tried. 

We know without a doubt it was because of all of your prayers, fasts and kind words. 

Of course we still have the mess with 50/50 custody and only time will tell what will happen. But I'm positive the Lord has a plan for Bella. She has so many people who love and care about her.

So thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We love and appreciate all of you!

Love,

Seth & Amy