More random fun pictures

We have some pics from Lyndi's 2nd birthday party, and a funny pic of Lyndi wearing a sombrero bigger than her.



Amber used Me and Emily as models for a fashion show so we got our make up done and our hair, cut, colored and styled for free!

"Papa and Nini" after working hard out in the yard. Then Lauren and Lyndi at the Gateway fountains.

Fun updates from the Prince Clan

So I'm sure most or all of you have heard about the craziness with my Dad. Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma with a high treatability (if that's a word?) and we are still waiting to hear what stage the cancer is in. It has been scarey and hard but we are so very thankful for such amazing family and ward family support. I wanted to show you some of the fun things that have been going on also though. These pics are of a dinner that we hosted at our house for Braden's prom group. I thought it turned out really pretty and the food ended up even matching the table settings. We felt like little Martha Stewarts or something. All of us girls worked together on it (Mom, Amber, Becca, Kiley, Emily, Lauren and Lyndi... kind of) In case you can't tell what they are the middle center piece has pear and tangerine jelly belly beans in it- that was our favorite idea.

Not Big Enough????

Hey everyone, Hope all is well with you guys. I noticed people are not staying up with this blog again. ( shame shame) Anyway, so this morning a radio station here was having a contest to see who in the valley had the biggest family. I called in with my big number of me as nuber ten and it just wasnt good enough. I heard on lady call in and she said she was one of 16. LIAR!!! =) I thought for sure we would have this one in the bag. Why did Alma and Alice think 10 was good??? Was it me??? Was I the reason they were done??? Go ahead blame me. I do take full responsibility for all of my antics. Hey, Iam sure i wasnt the only reason ...you know the saying "birds of a feather flock togeather" ? Alllllllrighty then!! Love you all to much!-----The fav little sis, Alisa

UT Trip

This past weekend Devin, Jaxon, my mom & I went to St. George for my friend's wedding. It was a beautiful sealing. One of the things the sealer commented about was that in the church we are divided into wards which can be split or dissolved. But, in the temple we start families that can last forever if we do what we are supposed to do. What a blessing that is!

We stayed with Uncle Keith & Aunt Carol in Fredonia Friday & Saturday night. It was so fun to see them. Jaxon was attached to my mom the whole time. Here are some pics from the trip...

Jaxon & Devin sleeping on the ride.

Lacie's reception.

Jaxon & Granny at the Kanab City Park. His 2 favorite things: Granny & Slides!

Devin tickling Jax in the car.

So CUTE!

Eating ice cream:)

Lolo the graceful looser

So we all teach our children how to be a good sport right?? Well, Lolo did not win the baby radio contest but it was totally rigged. The little girl that won is really sick and the dad said they were using the prize money to pay for more medical needs. ( I am so sure)!!! Why dont us cute healthy kids get any slack! J/K I am sad she didnt win ..we really could've used that money. Oh well.....I am sure there will be another chance to exploit my kids. We love you all and we too are excited about all these new temples and new babies!! Hooray for babies!!! Love ya, Alisa

Yey for the babies...

Congratulations Alisa and Danny! We're excited for you! Mindy is also expecting Yea!!! and OMGosh.... We're not shure if we can handle another one but someone else thinks we'll be OK so YEA!!! Mindy has really felt more tired than she had with the others but is doing well. She's still working at Costco but is planning to quit soon.
Did you all hear about the new temples announced for AZ? One in Gilbert, Pecos and Greenfield and one near Thatcher. About three miles from our house. We're so excited. Now we don't have to drive to Little Mexico ( I mean Mesa) any more ;)

Londann Alice Ray

Today is the last day to vote for Lolo in the baby contest. She is contestant #31 at www.mix969.com . Please vote for her many times today and tell all your friends too. Thanks a bunch! Love, Alisa

YEA!!!!

We are expecting another baby due around Christmas time. Danny says if it is another girl he will move out and mail me his paychecks! Roxie says its a girl ,so Danny is trying to teach her how to say "baby brother"........My dear mother-in-law said"Oh,Alisa, wouldnt twins be so fun!"I told her if that was the case she is quitting her job and taking Roxie and Lolo for me! We are super excited to have another baby whether it is a boy or a girl or more!!! We are so blessed! I thank my Heavenly Father every day for my amazing family(all of you included)! I'll keep you all updated. Love you all and pray for you daily. -------Alisa

Oprah's Challenge

I posted this on our blog, but I thought it'd be nice to share with the family too...


K, I really don't watch daytime TV very often, but yesterday I caught a little bit of Oprah. It was a great show. She gave this challenge to a couple families:

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200804/tows_past_20080417_b.jhtml?promocode=HP34

Dear Family,

Thanks for agreeing to live with less for a week. Your challenge starts now!

This week, you will be eating at home every meal. No more eating out, no more takeout. And you have to eat your leftovers. If you throw food in the trash, you've got to 'fess up.

For one week, you're going to give up the bottled water habit. Get a water filter—time to get to know your tap.

No more disposable plates, cups, napkins or paper towels. Try cloth—you might like it!

For entertainment, you'll have to rely on each other. For one week, I'm asking you to give up your iPods and video games, and your computers only get turned on for homework. TV is limited to one hour per night—one TV only.

That thermostat is going way down…to 69 degrees. If you get cold, put on a sweater.

Give your washing machine a break—try to wash only clothes that are TRULY dirty.

When you leave a room, lights out. Ditto for fans. When you're done using an appliance, unplug it. Don't forget your computer and cell phone chargers too.

Showers are going to be shorter—eight minutes max. Use a kitchen timer to help you keep track.
Want to go shopping? Head to your closets. That's your wardrobe for the week. The mall is off-limits.

You final challenge—no buying anything other than food for seven days.

Good luck,
Oprah

I was surprised how taking this challenge impacted these families. One of the little boys was "suffering withdrawals like a drug addict" when he couldn't play on the computer and video games. Both families said they wouldn't go back to how they were living before the challenge and it was embarrassing to see the things they were doing before.

One family said it was probably $700 in savings a month, just in food! Besides all the money they saved on not wasting food, electricity, and other resources, I believe the most important thing they learned was how to spend time together.

It brought the families closer. They spent time doing activities together rather then having individual forms of entertainment. One of the dads said they used to climb into their bed with their kids before going to sleep and watch some TV. He said he was embarrassed to admit it, but he would normally shh his kids because he was more interested in the TV program than listening to what his kids wanted to tell him. Now, he loved listening to his kids and treasured those moments. It's great that he recognized it and decided to change. The families went on bike rides, they read to each other, and ate dinner together.

Not only did Oprah challenge these families not to be wasteful, she asked all the staff at her company to conserve as well. The company's annual budget just for cups was $41,000! Oprah installed hidden cameras at all the coffee stations in the office to see how wasteful people were. Some people used 4 or 5 cups a day,m just for water. So, Oprah made a new rule for all the full-time employees that they were no longer allowed to use the cups; they have to bring their own mugs from home. I'm not a huge Oprah fan, like lots of people, but I really think it's great that she's trying to do something to help too.

I want to be less wasteful. These families Oprah challenged were very wealthy and didn't have to conserve for financial purposes. I feel like our family does our best to conserve, partly becuase we have to stay within a budget, but, I know we can always do better.

All this reminds me of the talk by Elder Ballard in conference when he said that we only have our children at home for 1/4 of their lives and the time they are the most impressionable is only 1/10 of their life. Something like that. He said it much better of course...so I found the quote:

If a child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes.

I will try to treasure every moment with Jaxon, and our children to come, becuase I know in a few years, I will have no idea where the time went and I want to have no regrets about how I spent that precious time I was given to care for them.

Having family here on this earth is such a blessing and having the opportunity to be with them forever is truly the greatest gift. I am so thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who gave us the knowledge of how this is possible and teaches us what we need to do to partake in these eternal blessings.

I didn't quite mean for that to sound like a church talk, but it sorta does, oh well...those are my random thoughts I guess! Hope you enjoyed!

Baby Belly

At 21 weeks, it's starting to show...