She did it !!!

Last Friday was a busy one for us.  It was High School Graduation.  Yes, I had one this year.  Two down- two more to go.  We are so proud of her.  We had family here for the weekend, which made it even more special.

Her and I:
                                  

 My four beautiful children:

 With Grandpa Anderson:

 With 3 of her girl cousins:
   Left to right Stacy (Curly), Lindsey (Moe) and Rylli (Larry)

In less than a week she heads off to college.  She will be taking summer courses to get a jump start on her nursing career.  Way to go !!

Sierra's "little" date

We have these friends who have 3 boys ages 17, 15, and 9.  They are just like brothers to my kids and they consider my kids their brother and sisters.  A couple weeks ago while the kids were at mutual, the youngest happened to be at the church for something else with his mom.  He was pretty upset when she said he had to leave and felt really bad that he couldn't stay.  Sierra told him that she would go get him sometime and they would do something fun - just the two of them.

Well, that time finally happened.  She went and got him after his soccer practice and took him to
Wal-mart for a little shopping.  She gave him $5 to spend on anything he wanted.  He picked out a big bouncy ball, two cars and some silly string (for decorating his oldest brother's room) with his money.  They also bought two cartons of ice cream and came back to our house to do some ice cream sculpting.  I'm not sure what the ice cream was suppose to be but they had lots of fun.

Oh what a cute date !!

No more early mornings...

Last night was Seminary graduation.  This means no more getting up at 4:45 in the morning to be at seminary by 6:00.  Sierra has been very good about getting up and getting off that early in the morning.  I think she only missed maybe 8 days (if even that) in all four years.  Five of those days were this past November when she had her tonsils out.  She has learned alot and has had some wonderful teachers. 

Now if she can only make it through the next 3 weeks until high school graduation.

Auto Maintenance 101

Sierra informed me last week that we had a headlight out on the car.  I informed her that she would need to go to Autozone and get a new light bulb.  As usual, she didn't want to do it, but I made her.  I figure if she is going to drive the car, she can do the maintenance.  So off to Autozone she went and told the nice guys there what she needed.  Once she got home, I think she thought she was done.  OH NO she wasn't.

We then proceeded to change the headlight.  So this may sound pretty easy, but no, I have to have a car that you actually have to take the front grill off in order to get into the headlight compartment.  So it ends up being quite the process.  We finally get that all done, get everything put back together, and then she informs me that the nice guys at Autozone had offered to do it for her.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

** Notice the owners manual sitting there :)

Happy 18th Birthday !!!

Eighteen years ago today, we welcomed this little one into our lives and our hearts.

 I can't believe it has been that many years.  Where does the time go?  It seems like just yesterday that she was waiting for the bus to take her to Kindergarten and now in one month we will watch as she walks across the floor of the Events center to receive her high school diploma.  She has truly been a blessing in our life.

I'm so blessed to be her mother.  I have watched her grow from a little girl to a beautiful young lady.  She is an example to me and her brother and sisters.  I can't wait to see where life takes her and the many adventures I hope she gets to experience.

Happy Birthday Sierra, I love you !!

16 and a first date

Sierra turned 16 a couple weeks ago and things have not been the same - She's ready to drive - in fact she has her learner's permit. And the biggest event was her first date.

Two of her really good friends surprised her with a date on her birthday. As part of their gift to her, they bought her a dress and came to the house to do her nails and hair. She was completely in the dark as to what was going on. They even arranged the date.

It just so happened that at the high school that night was the prom, but they decided to have their own prom. They first went to Joseph's house for dinner, then to Katie's house to learn some dance steps and then to Rachel's house for ice cream and games. She had a great time.

Here are the cute girls all ready to go - now if the boys would just be on time:

(Sierra, Rachel, Katie)

AHH - the boys show up - with flowers:

(Joseph, Sierra, Rachel, Collin, Katie, James)

Sierra and her date Joseph:

On to our next project

I thought we were done painting but no such luck. Sierra has decided that it is time to give her bedroom a face lift. After all she will be turning 16 pretty soon and thinks she needs a more "grown-up" room. So we emptied it out and are on our way to a makeover (I have ever mentioned that I love makeovers?)

This is what we have started with. Yes the walls used to be purple and white with lime green trim - don't ask.

Check back to see the results.

Happy Birthday Sierra

Fifteen years ago today we welcomed Sierra into this world. I can't believe how the time has flown. It seemed like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital.

Happy Birthday!!

No More Cast

Took Sierra to the doctor today and he decided it was time to take off her 3rd and final cast. For now (at least the next month) she gets to wear a stylish walking boot. Hopefully by the end of the week she won't even need the crutches anymore.

Here is the doctor's assistant,Sabrina taking off the cast:

And here is the stylish new shoe:

Gone Purple

We went to the doctor on Wednesday and he took off Sierra's bandages and put on a cast. He let her pick what color she wanted and she chose purple. Also here is a picture of his autograph that he put on her knee the day of the surgery.

Surgery

So this week has been quite hectic and it's only Wednesday. It all started about a month ago when we took Sierra into the foot doctor because her foot has been bothering her - that was on the 9th of Oct. We've been a couple times since and last Thursday was informed that she was scheduled for surgery the following Tuesday (yesterday). So it has been a whirlwind. She had to have part of her bone cut away and a couple screws put in place. Here is a before and after picture - sorry not to cute to look at:

Before:


After: