Happy Birthday Alycia!!

Aly turned 12 and what was the first thing she did…well after she texted me on the minute she hit 12, she went to the temple. Aly has been looking forward to this day for quite a while. Her 2 older sisters have been having all the YW fun, going to camp, going to mutual, going to the temple. Well, Alycia can finally join her sisters in all their fun. I just hope this doesn’t become a trend when KJ starts dating. Nothing makes a parent happier than to see their daughter more excited for the temple than for her presents.

Aly is such a sweet little girl still. She’s a YW now, but she is still just as sweet as she has always been. One of the best benefits of our move to UT has been the number and caliber of friends our kids have found. In Tucson, and even in Draper, Aly had maybe one or two good friends and it wasn’t always easy to have them over of send Aly to their house. Now, she has more nice friends within walking distance than she can handle. And her best friend from the Draper days has moved from NY back to UT. So, I think Aly is in friend heaven. I’m grateful that she has such good girls as her friends and sisters during this part of her life where she’ll be making such important decisions.

Anyone who knows Alycia knows what a soft and sweet spirit she is. After family scripture study and prayer when I’m out-of-town, Aly is the one who sends me a good night txt. She is usually the first one to run up and hug me when I get home. I know the other kids love me too, but Aly is always excited to show it.
Alycia, I hope you never lose that deep sense of charity towards your fellow man. It sometimes hurts to love so much when others don’t always love back. But that is always the right thing to do.

Happy Birthday sweetcakes, I hope all your wishes come true….except any wishes for more Jonas Brothers music in the house.

We love you.

Rest in Peace Eddie. The coolest cat who ever lived.

Happy Birthday Superstud

Well, a lot has happened since our last post not least of all, Tanner just turned 10. Tanner had a party with his friends and received many fantastic gifts. He really wanted a Ford GT; which he did not get……maybe next year TJ. It’s pretty hard to believe that our little T-man is in his teens. In just 9 years he’ll be in Bolivia spreading the Gospel.
Tanner is still an absolute delight to have in our family, although his sisters may occasionally disagree. Tanner was our easiest baby and is still a great eater and sleeper. TJ is a killer athlete with the attitude to match. It’s great to be moved back since Tanner has so many friends in the neighborhood that he can play ball with. But mainly, it’s great to have Tanner close to Collin so they can build their family athletic powerhouse.
Tanner is a great kid who participates well in family scripture study and family discussions. He loves playing any kind of ball and playing Halo with his big Bro. Happy Birthday Tanner Stud.
So, we’re basically moved in and don’t really have many pictures yet…we’ll post more later. We love being in the trees. Our nearest neighbors are a nice herd of mule deer. Our new ward is fantastic and the young men and women are great to our kids. The girls just finished girl’s camp and KJ is at cheer camp this week. Kyle has football camp next week.
Our move could not have been any easier and we are grateful for that blessing. We’re sorry to everyone for not inviting you down yet. We will start the invitations soon; we’re just still getting settled.

Happy 13th Cicely!!!!!!!!

So once again we're celebrating a birthday at the Collins household and I'm not one bit happy about it! Time is slipping away from us so quickly and I feel like I need to slow it down so I can enjoy every minute to the fullest. Cicely was born at 12:12 p.m. ready to take on the world and stomp anyone who tries to get in her way! She was an absolutely beautiful baby with curly blonde hair, brilliant ocean blue eyes, and olive toned skin. Cissy has been blessed with not only beauty, but the self-assurance that she is a daughter of God. She has an amazing ability to withstand any outside influences and make the decisions that she knows will be right for her, and only her. When I asked Elliot what I should write about her, he came up with this poem that I think Cissy would approve of:

Roses are red, violets are blue,

Cissy is pretty

so she's better than you

Touching, isn't it. The thing I find the most endearing about Cissy is her sense of humor. Just ask her to do her impression of Kip on Napoleon Dynamite. She is very quick witted, like her father, and isn't afraid to make people laugh at her own expense. Cissy is our middle child and has a fantastic relationship with both her sisters and I'm grateful everyday that they have eachother to lean on and rely on. It's a wonderful blessing to have your sisters as your best friends and I know that as they grow older their bond will only get stronger. We're so proud of the beautiful, strong, virtuous, young woman you are Cissy and we wouldn't ever sell you to the gypsies(family joke). Oh, one more thing.... heaven help the man who marries Cissy because he better have biceps the size of Elliot's and a wallet comparable to Donald Trump's.

We love our Cicely!!!!!

SHHS Tryouts

Kjirsten

Kicks

Jumps

Pike

Standing Back Tuck

Tumble

Cheer

Dance

For Kjirsten!

We finally celebrated Kyle’s 16 birthday. We gave him his present as he left school yesterday. Many of his friends were there to enjoy cupcakes and cookies. We’ve been building this car since April 2008. Yes, it’s a bit much for a 16 year-old. But, Kyle’s a good kid. I’ve always taught him that you get rewarded in this life based on your work. He works very hard and I couldn’t be happier with his efforts. As a Sophomore, he has AP Biology, AP European history and 4 more honors courses. He carries a 4.something GPA. (I know, us oldies are skeptical of GPAs better than the perfect 4.0; but they now add points for AP and honors classes). He’s finishing his Eagle now, and can’t drive until he does. He just killed the PSAT and prep ACT and is now getting emails from some great Universities; like 5 per day. So, it’s a cool gift, and he deserves it. Happy late Birthday Kyle. We love you.

Happy Birthday Elliot!

To celebrate Elliot’s 34th birthday I thought I’d list 25 reasons why I love my sweet husband, so here they are:
1- He completes me. I know that sounds cliché but I truly believe that I could not reach my full potential in life without him.
2- He writes me beautiful poetry. I would share them with you but they are too personal.
3- He has an awesome sense of humor!
4- He is more handsome today than ever before (don’t be jealous ladies).
5- He is an excellent chef. Considering that cooking is a chore to me this helps out tremendously.
6- He’s my best friend.
7- He has a photographic memory.
8- He’s very optimistic.
9- He’s extremely opinionated and he doesn’t sit on the fence of any issue. He’s also not afraid to voice his opinions, see #18.
10- He’s confident, not conceited. Yes, there is a difference.
11- He is an amazing father. Elliot is the only man I know whose hobby is his family. He would rather be hanging around with us than doing anything else in the world.
12- He’s totally selfless. Elliot got up at 4:30 in the morning just to get his workout in before he drove the kids to seminary and school so that when he got home from work he could spend that time with the family.
13- He’s a hard worker and he’s teaching our kids to be industrious also. Elliot finished BYU in less than 3 years while having three kids and providing for us. I don’t think people realize he took 21 credit hours for three straight semesters and 24 credit hours his last semester and he graduated with a 3.9 GPA.
14- He’s a very determined and driven man and heaven help the person who tries to get in his way!
15- He’s a natural born leader.
16- He’s never been beat in an arm wrestle. I won’t even tell you how much he bench presses (350+) but I am proud to say that Kyle is well on his way to being the first one to beat him.
17- He loves to practice cheer moves with the girls in the pool. It takes a real man to participate in cheerleading. Okay, I confess he just holds them up to practice their flying skills, he doesn’t actually do cheers or dance moves.
18- He couldn’t give a hoot what people think or say about him! See #’s 9&10.
19- He is extremely loyal and he always thinks the best of others.
20- He won’t skip church ever and he always goes above and beyond in his callings.
21- He loves to talk which is totally the opposite of me. I’m always dragging him out of places because I’m bored and he’s the center of attention.
22- He’s very forgiving which considering he’s married to me is a really good thing!
23- He’s very receptive to promptings of the Spirit and he follows those promptings, even when it means going tracting to someone’s door when they have a huge Rottweiler guarding their front gate.
24- He loves to serve others and always does so with a glad heart and kind spirit.
25- He loves me absolutely unconditionally.

I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface of everything I love about Elliot. So now I’d like to ask you all a small favor and leave a brief comment about what you like or admire about Elliot. Not that he needs it of course (see #10) but I just thought it would be nice!

Happy 34th Sweetie and I look forward to the next 50+ years with you!