50

my awesome dad turns 50 on October 30th.

so...

while we were all home, my mother threw a great surprise party for him.

sadly these are all the pictures i took.

 my dad is seriously one of the hardest working men i know.

along with that, he's a perfect example of loving his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

and honoring his priesthood.

he loves my mother, and watching him love her means so much to me.

he's a man of few words, but the words he speaks are that of a wise man.

(and, he's always up for a good time on the lake)

i love you so much dad.

thanks for all you do for our family.

Altonah 2011

ah... i love this place.

{shooting potato guns}

{pretty hard to get my husband to take a serious picture}

{papa had it figured out. even put Layla to sleep. isn't that hilarious?}

welcoming home Elder Merkley

 August 24th my cousin returned from serving a two year LDS mission in Peru.

There is just nothing like watching an Elder return home to his family.

I have an awesome video of him coming down the escalator, but haven't figured out how to get the video from my phone to the computer. (any pointers anyone?!)

Elder Merkley and is mother.

she was so giddy.

it was adorable.

she wouldn't let go of his hand (:

girl time

what a day it had been...

a day at the park

layla loves all these little youngans!

as do i (:

We missed Shelbe, Brody, and Grason.

They were in Colorado visiting their daddy, where he is working.

this girls been a handful!

Sunday, while sitting through an amazing sacrament, while my sweet cousin reported his mission, Layla

decides to put her gum in Marx's mouth.

I looked down right as she slipped it in.

Marx started to gag, choke, then swallowed.

I said, "Layla! What did you put in his mouth?"

She said, "My gum! It was too hot!"

She has been such a little handful.

I keep telling people that she needs a good tune up from her daddy

(that she's been away from for 5 weeks)

He's on his way now!!

We can't wait to see him!

FYI:

 it's not a good idea to keep your kids from there daddy for this long.

you can just see it in her little mischievous eyes!