Clarification!

The Esther that was helping us was not Esther that is on her mission. It is Esther Michela. She knew Aunt SandraLee and Uncle Chris in Maryland. She became a good friend of the family and is now visiting my Mom for a month on the farm. She was a wonderful friend to come and help out. Thanks Esther!!! Sorry for the confusion!

4TH OF JULY

Here we are selling fun and excitement for the Cache Valley area. We are all selling fireworks in the Macey's parking lot and the Ridley's parking lot in Hyrum. We opened the stands the Friday before the 4th. There was not much business for the first couple of days. I was able to help out for most of the days. I was down in Layton on Tuesday, but other than that I was out there helping an extremely good cause. My parents were doing this to earn some extra money to help pay for some of the adoption expenses with getting Julianna.(Or as I would say Nana) Sarah, Katie, Mom, Esther, and I split up between the two stands. Grandma and Grandpa Jensen even came out to help. They were incredible!!!!! I was so amazed to see two of the people I love and respect most in this world behind a wooden counter convincing people of the best buy for their money!! It was AWESOME!!!! David even came and helped out for several hours. Such a supportive husband and Son-in-Law. I don't think I have ever been so tired in my whole life. Working 10-14 hours a day in a 24 foot stand in hot weather for 6 days was hard. It was a sacrifice of time, energy, and family time. But it was a sacrifice I would do again. I got to spend quite a bit of time on the slow days catching up with Mom. On the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th of July there really wasn't much time to socialize. We were kept busy all day long with customers. I am so glad that I am not normally a working mom. It was exhausting and I really missed the time I have with the kids! Who would have thought! It was an experience!!! We had signs up all over telling about Mom & Dad adopting 19 children so that people would come and know they were supporting a good cause as well as getting their fireworks. In the evenings all the little kids came and stood in front of the stand and waved at the people in the street as they drove by. It was so CUTE!!!! We even had some very generous people who just donated money to my Parents. They came away with $1,300 in donations and about $7,000 from the the sell of the fireworks. It was such a blessing! Isn't the Lord good? He was watching out for us as we sold fireworks!!

Isn't she CUTE!!! Definitely the cutest of us all!!!

Gracie just couldn't last as long as the rest of us. She fell asleep in the middle of the Hyrum Fireworks show. I don't know how. It was so loud. We were right by the field where they were shooting off the fireworks.

Bear Lake and A Birthday

I promised Tyler in February that we would go to Bear Lake for his birthday and that we would go swimming. So I kept that promise, but I wasn't sure at first if it was going to work or not.

This is what we encountered on our drive through the canyon. At least it was pretty. Joshua took this picture . I thought it turned out pretty good.

As always seems to happen in our family there were casualties immediately. Oh well. They had their consequence early on and then did not want it again so they ended up being very good for the rest of the trip.

Gracie isn't in trouble she just wanted to be a part of the action. She does it all the time. If someone else is crying she comes up and puts on her fake cry just so she can join in.

It ended up warming up though and we did get to fulfill Tyler's birthday wish. I ended up with so many pictures it was hard to choose between them. It is hard to believe we are celebrating another birthday. Time is going by so quickly. I am trying to enjoy every second!!!!

Aren't We Cute!!!!!

We had some fun out in our yard taking pictures for both grandma's Mother's Day gifts.

It was so cute and they were very cooperative. Surprisingly enough.

All I had to do was remind them it was for grandma and they would smile.

I'm Seeing Spots!!!!

We have had a very eventful 6 weeks. Joshua came down the chicken pox and passed it on to Micheal, then Gracie, then Tyler, then Sahara. Luckily the Twins had it in Kazakhstan while I was there adopting them. No one seemed to get it at exacltly the same time, so it has been a long drawn out process. Every case seemed to get worse too. Thankfully there aren't anymore coming down with it. Any way here are some pictures of our poor unfortunate children.

Aren't they pitiful? And believe me I don't look any better having gone

through this with all of them.

I'm showing Michelle how to blog. Michelle Mower.

It is time!!!

The world must be told. Everyone will see the drive and determination of the oh so talented and impressive Richardson Family. This legacy has been passed on through the years and will be continually passed on through generations of time.

'The Art of Self Defense' as taught by Brian Richardson.

All who wish to join themselves to this family must first pass a rigorous training program. As is evident Lyndsey passed with FLYING colors. A+++++

Concentration is a key point on our journey to excellence.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Maintain perfect harmony.

Balance,balance,balance.

Stance is everything.

Some of us don't take this as seriously as they should. But we do overlook this as they are still young. Hopefully the serious nature of our calling will be impressed upon them.

They are taught while yet in their youth.

They know the consequences of failing are severe.

Be afraid, very afraid!

Some of our trainees need to be taught that the object is to DEFEND our family,not ATTACK our family.

Smiling is soooo overrated.

As with anything in life when taught so many wonderful techniques it can sometimes turn into a free-for-all.

We do try to keep the casualties at a minimum.

In closing, know that we are out there and the world will be safer place to live because of our continued effort at defending the world!!!!!

I couldn't resist! We had sooo much fun taking these pictures to mock Dad. It was one of the funnest(is that really a word?) things I have ever done. I don't know when I have laughed so hard. Everyone was such a good sport and got totally into it, as you can see. Enjoy!!!!

Joshua and Michael wanted to show everyone what they did in Arts & Crafts for school. It was really fun and they are very pleased with themselves. I did not even help them do it, I was surprised at how well they turned out. If you can't tell, Joshua made a puppy and Michael wanted to do a Star
.

Gracie fell asleep in the middle of our never ending pile of laundry. It was so cute, I didn't have the heart to wake her up. I did pay for it later in the evening when she wouldn't go to sleep until 2:00 a.m. Oh well!! Someday I will miss these days!(MAYBE!)

Here is a picture of our beautiful little Sahara.

She has been an angel child. She rarely fusses and sleeps 8-10 hours at night. I am not complaining. The kids love her. We all love her. Isn't she cute?