Turning 14!

April 25, 2014 ~ today our Garett Ray turns 14.
It is tradition in our house that you wake up to your favorite cereal on your birthday.  So this year was no different I asked G what cereal he was hoping to find on the counter and his reply was quite simply genius ~ Mom, I think my favorite cereal is in the form of a breakfast burrito from Beto's.  Yep, he said that and Yep, his Dad delivered.

Later in the day Tiffanee Brandley visited the house and left G a birthday wish

We also enjoyed a family dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe.
Garett on this day I hope and pray you know just how wonderful you are.  You are truly a young man with a heart of gold.  You are a friend to all and never judge others.  You are a straight A student and an athlete every coach dreams of coaching.  You always give 110% at whatever it is you are doing.  You are stubborn, you are funny, you have a smile that lights up the room and your testimony of the gospel and love for your Saviour is always obvious.  Thank you for choosing us as your family and please know we love you to the moon and back and then some!  Love you biggest fans.

Bear Lake Easter Getaway

Once again to celebrate the Easter holiday we headed to the condos at Bear Lake.  This year we had quite the goof troop, the Heils, the Chadwicks and both Leatherow families.  Bear Lake didn't know what hit them.  Our family has truly grown to love this tradition and I hope and pray it is one that never goes by the way side.

I LOVE that my man is not afraid to instruct me to sit back and relax while he takes care of breakfast!  O man how how did I get so lucky?

Of course we love to play tennis…..OK we don't really play tennis it is more like equal number of peeps on each side of the net and we TRY to hit the ball more than once back and forth.  It is quite hysterical and we run A LOT.  We love it.

Kegan was the brave one and dumpster dived for all the "dead" tennis balls that someone had left in the trash.  Can you believe people would throw away a perfectly bouncy ball?

And of course Pool Fun

 Shout Out!  This guy is seriously the BEST grandpa!  

The Easter Bunny found our boys once again

We checked out of the condo right before noon and headed for home to enjoy the remainder of the Easter Sunday.

Good Bye

Once we arrived home Colton quickly jumped on the computer to pay for his speeding ticket.  O did I forget to mentioned that earlier in the post?  Yep, Colton met us up there because he had a dance to attend and while traveling thru Mantua he was busted for speeding.  DARN IT!  and boy was it a hefty fine.  He quickly paid it off and hopes to forget about it.

We also worked together to get some much needed yard work done.  I guess if you play hard you have to work harder upon your return.  

Tom managed to saw his knuckle ~ OUCH

Don't worry he bandaged it up and headed out for more work.  He is the Man!

The Bell's apple tree is beautiful in the spring time

From our family to yours, we pray you had a fabulous Easter Weekend and took time to remember our Saviour and to find your knees and give thanks to our Father in Heaven for giving us his only Son to Atone for all our sins.  We are truly blessed to have this knowledge and to feel of His love.  Remember it was ALL done out of love for YOU.

Turning 40 felt Fantastic!

April 1, 2014 ~ I am officially "over the hill" ~ don't worry I enjoyed the ride down hill with my hands in the air like a true roller coaster fan.

Growing up birthdays were always a big deal in our house.  We may not have been given the most lavish of gifts but my mom never ever let a birthday go unnoticed.  She celebrated "your" day from sun up to sun down.  She always let us have big parties and one such party she surprised me and invited the KJQ party patrol, remember that radio station?  When my mom was called home to Heaven everyone said that my first Mother's Day would hurt ~ but I knew they were wrong it would be my first birthday without her.  Tom being the wonderful man he is, knew that and he has been making my birthdays great to help me celebrate the day and this year he once again did not disappoint but not only did I feel the love from home but my work "sistas" really went above and beyond.  When I arrived at work Tuesday morning my desk was completely decorated ~ black balloons and all.

Tess and her adorable kiddos showed up with more balloons and beautiful flowers

When I arrived home, the boys showered me with more flowers.  Also, since I was turning 40 I wanted to really go wild and I requested a 2  piece swimsuit ~ yep, you read that right; Shar in a 2 piece.  And you know what I LOVE it.  I don't know why I didn't put on a tankini before.  And we enjoyed dinner together at the Pizza Pie Cafe  ~ our new favorite place.  Loved going on a date with my guys.

My wonderful visiting teachers, Heather and Lynette delivered a delicious cupcake & card

Debbie, Landon and Parker also brought me over a birthday surprise.  Debbie and I share a love for Swedish Fish.  I love my missionary plaque and truly cherish our friendship.  She truly has become someone I love and adore.

I also received a beautiful card from my parents with a gift card to TaiPan and Breeze and her cute family spoiled me with another missionary decoration.

Just when I thought the gifts were done I received a late night visitor.  Sherry Hone from work and her daughter Jess, who was leaving for the MTC the next day dropped by a cake to die for.  I believe the correct name is "better than S.E.X cake".

This birthday post would not be complete without posting my gift from El Salvi.

I don't post all this to boast but I post to show how truly wonderful my family and friends are.  On a day that could have been a total downer for me was one that I will NEVER forget.  Along with the gifts I received countless texts and messages on Facebook.  I feel so loved and I know that on this day my mom was smiling and feeling happy for me.  From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU all for making my day FaNtaStiC!

Enjoying General Conference ~ Leatherow Style

I love Spring ~ trees in bloom and Conference Weekend

For the April session of General Conference this year we were blessed to watch the Sunday sessions with our Stake Elders ~ Elder Bernardo and Elder Bayles.  We enjoyed scones in the morning, chips and a variety of salsas for lunch and a wonderful Dutch over dinner of chicken and potatoes.  Colton picked the elders up at 9:45 AM and Tom took them home at 8:45 PM.
I was nervous at first to entertain the elders all day but when all was said and done it was one conference that I will not forget.  We as a family truly enjoyed listening to the talks given and then discussing them with the elders after.
Dale and his cute family joined us for the afternoon session and then Chad and Breeze joined us all for dinner.

I must also confess the Elders enjoyed some Wii and XBox in between sessions.  As I listened to the friendly banter going back and forth I couldn't help but pray that my missionary is enjoying this day with a family and just feeling at home.  Elders Bernardo and Bayles have left a lasting impression on our home and they have both sinced been transferred north of us.  We as a family miss them and pray they are being welcomed into their new wards and look forward to getting to know the new elders in our stake.

As much as I miss my missionary, I fully believe that loosing myself in serving the missionaries has helped the days fly by until I get to hug and squeeze my missionary.  I know that Weston and the two elders pictured above are called to serve in the particular areas for a specific reason; to touch the lives of someone, someone who is seeking the truthfulness of the gospel.  And in our case to help Wes' brothers understand missionary work and to help us as a family come closer as we serve.