Remembering My Daddy

Ardith R Mortensen 9/7/38-1/4/13

Mom & Dad

 Grandpa & Bennett

 Grandpa & Rylee

Dad & Arnold

 My Good Lookin' Dad

 Grandpa & Ryan

 Uncle Lloyd, Mom & Dad

 Dad & Mom

 Christmas 2005

Nicole & Lendel

My niece, Nicole, married Lendel on December 17th in the Logan temple. She looked beautiful! I am proud to be her aunt. It was chilly in Logan in December, but there wasn't much snow. This has been a crazy winter!

Daddy & Rylee

Ashlee, Natalie & Ryan
Some of the nieces & nephews
Me & my adorable Dad
Lendel & Nicole cutting the cake
I love my Rylee!
Francom Family 2011
Just married!
Nikki with the little kids. Natalie was so excited to be in the picture!
They don't look related, but Rylee adores her cousin, Nicole!

Congratulations Nicole & Lendel!

Chris turns 32!

Happy birthday to Chris! Of course he got his ice cream cake. And the NEW TaylorMade R11 3 Wood! My husband is truly loved. His brother, Danny, helped me get it and keep it a secret. Chris gets to take it out tomorrow, with Danny, and try it out in Heber. I'm sure they'll have fun.

Rylee continues to grow like weed. Her smile is contagious! And her laugh is our favorite thing. She always seems to laugh when we change her diaper. She thinks it's hilarious when her daddy calls her "stinky!" One of these days I'll have to get a video of it happening. Every time she does something cute, I run to grab the camcorder or camera...then she's distracted and it's all over.

She's very easily distracted. She eats so much better when it's completely silent, otherwise she's looking around to see what's going on. Maybe that's why she seems to eat so much better at night. I gotta tell ya, that needs to start changing though! I've looked into some sleep books, nothing seems to be the perfect answer. Her naps have gotten much better! But the night feedings? I don't have a problem with letting her cry it out...IF I thought that would work. She just works herself up even more, she makes herself sick. It's not worth it. I either lose an hour+ sleep listening to her scream (which is a rare occasion, and pretty much only at night when she's hungry) or I feed her and lose 15 minutes. We are lucky parents! She is a content, happy baby.

Rylee with Aunt Lori and Ryan at Natalie's 3rd Birthday Party.

Rylee in her beautiful dress from Mykin.

Rylee's 5 months!

Cuteness!

Check out my sister's cute family. Her friend Tanelle took these pictures. She's starting her own photography business, looks like she'll be getting tons of clients soon!
http://ryanandtanelle.blogspot.com/
It probably doesn't hurt that Brad & Lori have ADORABLE kids though!

Holiday Month

Isn't July great? I love all the holidays & visits from family. The fireworks are my favorite part! The fireworks on Independence Day in Washington, DC were absolutely amazing. I don't know that the fireworks I'll see this year will compare, but at least I'll be with Chris. Fireworks are that much better when you're with the one that you love. How's that for corny!? It's true though, cuddling under a blanket with fireworks going off above your head is one of the highlights of the year for me.

Family visits are lots of fun as well. I'm looking forward to my 10 year reunion. I'll get to spend time with my sister, JoAnn, and her family, as well as my parents. It's been a long time since I spent time in my good 'ole hometown. It should be fun. The Mormon Pioneer Days are always a good time down there.

My nieces & nephews sure love visits from Grandma & Grandpa, as you can see from the picture of Kaylynn, Grandpa, & Ryan. Blake sure loves the fireworks as well. It's amazing how quickly they grow. Sometimes I wish it could stay this time forever. But, every year I get a little older, and so do they. In fact, my niece, Nicole, visited for a week. She's going to be a senior. I can hardly believe it. She's beautiful, intelligent, and talented. I'm proud of her.

Kids are amazing. Every once & a while Chris & I talk about when we'll have kids & what we'll name them. You can only imagine the discussions (AKA arguments) that begin. I love the names Rylee, Jaycee, Jackson, and Carter. Chris once mentioned the name Dash, for a boy. I think we have a LONG way to go before we have kids, if those are the names he's thinking about using! :)

Actually, I recently learned that my LPC license is a little further off than I thought. I have more supervised hours than I realized, as well as Utah requires LPC's to take 2 tests, in addition to the NCE that I just passed. I'm looking at a lot more studying and a lot more $. Blah. Maybe I should've pursued my LCSW, or maybe I should use my 2nd degree instead? No, I love the work I do. I guess I just have to settle with VERY little money and working forever to get credit for the work I do. HA!