David's 40th Birthday

Happy 40th Birthday, David!

Turning 40 is a pretty big milestone—one that gives us the perfect opportunity to reflect on all that David has accomplished and the incredible journey that still lies ahead. From his personal achievements to the way he selflessly cares for our family, every moment has been filled with purpose and love.

For 15 amazing years, we've built a life together, and through it all, his unwavering kindness, love, and support have been the foundation of our family.

His dedication as a father is nothing short of inspiring. Our kids are beyond blessed to have him as their dad—someone who is engaged, present, and full of wisdom and warmth. His love for them shines through in everything he does.

At work, David is a force to be reckoned with. His hard work and dedication have led him to incredible achievements including graduating from Utah State University as a CPA, moving up through his company with cheerfulness and high skill value, and now, recently being promoted to partner of the National Assurance Office for Eide Bailly. He provides for us in ways both big and small, ensuring that our family has everything we need while never failing to be fully present at home.

Beyond his professional success, it's the little things that truly capture his heart. He always knows how to make me feel loved and supported—whether it's encouraging me in my dreams, offering a listening ear, or even something as simple (yet sweet) as giving me the pickles from his Chick-fil-A sandwich. It's those small gestures that show the depth of his love and thoughtfulness.

His passion for sports, especially basketball and football, is just another part of what makes him, him. Whether he's watching a game or playing with the kids, his enthusiasm is contagious and brings so much joy to our home.

David does so much for our family, and we were grateful for the change to celebrate HIM. His kindness, hard work, and unwavering support mean the world to us. We are so proud of the man he is, and we can't wait to see what this next chapter holds.

We had a small family birthday party for him, where the kids were able to give him their gift that they had all pooled their money together to buy - Utah Jazz tickets for our whole family! Then, because 40 is such a big deal, we invited a few select friends to our home for snacks and games. It was pretty casual - but I gathered a bunch of David's favorite snacks like Chilis chips and salsa, white chocolate covered pretzels, starbursts, 7 layer bean dip, and cream cheese chicken dip. It was fun to have things that were all centered on him and the things that he loves. 

I had asked David if he wanted a big party - but he really didn't. (And certainly not a surprise party.) We ended up with 5 couples from all across his life. We had every decade represented except for his years 1-10. 

Teens- Jason and Sarah Newbold (High school friends and college roommate) 

20s - Mike and Ali Middleton (Met in our Thanksgiving Meadow ward in 2013 or 2014 when Lydia and Henry were still just babies.)

30s - Josh and Janae Freeman (Josh and David worked together at Eide Bailly and have stayed in touch) 

Cade and Leah Ward (Our amazing across the street neighbors who have become dear friends)

David and Dani Martin (I met Dani through homeschooling and we've become good couple friends.) 

Other people who were invited but nwere ot able to make it: Hayli and Ben (Dickey) Nelson (20s - Shantel's high school friend and college roommate), Garret and Karli Shields (20s - Were the ones who introduced us to the concept of a babysitting swap when our babies were young and we spent many many many months trading our kids for babysitting.) Amy and Derek Perkins (30s - Good friends who live in our neighborhood and have done everything from playing games to traveling to St. George together!) 

It was so fun to have this small group of people together - their only connection being DAVID. They were all good sports to come to a party where most of them did not know each other. There were lots of connections made and we all had a really fun time playing games and hanging out. It was the perfect 40th birthday celebration for David. 

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Happy 40th birthday David! We love you more than words can express. Heres to 40+ more! 

Lucy's Birthday

Happy Birthday Lucy-girl! We loved celebrating you on this special birthday. How did you get so big overnight? You went to bed as a 4 year old and woke up as a bright and happy five year old.

We spent the weekend at the Summer Range with the Walker family, which Lucy loved, then drove back to Morgan to stay for Sunday and Monday (David was out of town for a work trip). It was nice to spend her birthday with my parents - I am so grateful that she has such a beautiful relationship with her grandparents and that one of her core beliefs in life is that she is loved by them. I regret that I didn't get any pictures with them, but now that they are going to sell their house, I'm extra grateful that we celebrated her birthday here and we got this picture on their cozy chair with the cheerful yellow wall in the background. 

We did presents and then went to the local Ice Cream shop for birthday ice cream. 

Lucy got a Pioneer Dress for her birthday in preparation for our upcoming Nauvoo Trip. It's like a princess dress (her favorite) but historical instead of fictional. She wasn't convinced at first that it was a good substitute (she had asked for an Elsa princess dress, even though she already has one), but after she had it on, she was pretty happy with it. I personally adore it. 

Five years old is a special birthday in our family because it's the first "Friend Birthday" party year. I didn't do a lot of prepping or planning, but it still turned out great. Lucy really wanted a "Frozen" Birthday with an Elsa and Anna cake. She specified who she wanted to come (three friends and I just texted their mome), and specified that she wanted to watch Frozen together, do an obstacle course, and eat cake. Yes, yes, yes. I made the most darling Elsa and Anna cakes (yay me) and my friend down the street was getting rid of a balloon arch from a birthday party that they held - I grabbed it and it added SO much to the overall festiveness. The kids watched the movie with popcorn and candy that I found in the cupboard, did a simple obstacle course with amazon box filler "poppers" and a few things from the basement (like the balance beam and some boxes), and ate cake and ice cream. I did grab some party favors at Walmart and everyone was pretty satisfied!  

Happy Birthday Lucy! You're 5th birthday was a success and I hope it helped you know how much you are loved. 

Austin Birthday Week and Party

We were excited to celebrate Austin on his birthday and throughout his birthday week. One of the kids favorite traditions is "birthday bags", where they get one bag a day leading up to their birthday. Inside might be a few candies, an ice cream date with mom or dad, a small toy, or some other fun coupon. It is usually less than a dollar a bag, but makes a big impact on them feeling celebrated for their birthday. Austin woke up every morning filled with excitement to open his bag, but he made sure that he waited until all his siblings (i.e. Lydia) were awake before he opened it. This year, Shantel put cans of food in the bags and then each morning would switch it for the thing that actually went in there and it was so funny to watch him shaking and feeling through the paper of each bag saying "I wonder what this could be! It feels like tuna fish. But they wouldn't give me tuna fish... would they??"  

At this stage, Austin loves candles. He asks to light candles for every meal and frequently throughout the day. He put in a special request for his birthday cake: he wanted a candle cake. But not just any candle cake, he wanted a replica of the red layered candle he got for Christmas last year. But he didn't want frosting on the outside - he wanted it to look like it was in a glass jar. Shantel tried to talk him into some different candle variations, but he really really really wanted this. (It doesn't help that he had just been watching "Best Cake Wins" on BYUTV, where incredibly talented bakers come together to make all the detailed birthday cake wishes of young children come true.) Shantel ended up making a layered cake and putting it in a gelatin mold to create the glass effect on the outside. It was quite the process, but he was satidfied in the end and that's all that really mattered. 


He was so happy with his candle cake. We even lit a slivered almond for him to blow out, because he also insisted that the candle be edible. 




In years past, Austin has always opted to go do something (Boondocks, Arcade, etc...) instead of having a friend party. But this year, Shantel talked him into a party and we think he had a really great time. Shantel and I make a pretty good party-throwing team. Even though we keep it pretty simple, the kids have fun, and we always high-five in the silence after the last child leaves for a job well done. 

We played pin the flame on the candle. 

We did some candle science experiments/demonstrations and then let the kids each make their own candle. 


Presents then Cake & Ice Cream. (The cake did NOT taste very good, but all the kids were very impressed with the presentation.) 



After the party, we hopped in the car and headed to Morgan to spend the rest of the day up there. We had another (much better tasting) cake, and opened the rest of his presents. 

One of his presents was the entire series of Dragon Masters books, which are his current favorites. Grandpa asked Austin if he wanted to go out into the shop to make a small bookshelf for his books and Austin excitedly agreed. They worked together all afternoon to design and build a fun little bookshelf for his books. 


Overall, Austin had a great birthday. We were glad to celebrate him and are grateful to have him in our family. Happy Birthday Austin! 

Shantel's Birthday Week + Timpanogos Hike

I had a really wonderful birthday week this year. I'm having a hard time remembering how old I am, but Caleb turned 6 this year, so that means that I'm turning 36. 

I love being in my 30's. I feel like my 30th birthday was a significant event, not because of the age # but because in the month before I turned 30 I made myself a bucket list of things that I wanted to do. It sparked something inside of me and I have been more willing to try new things, more invested in doing things that bring me joy, and more willing to ask for things/time that helps make my life fun, fulfilling, and well-rounded. A person that I follow on Instagram talks about how she wants her daughters to have happy, well-rounded, fulfilled lives, and she models that for them. I don't want my kids to grow up and hate being an adult because it's monotonous and filled with responsibility and no fun. I want them to enjoy their lives as parents, as spouses, and as individual people. 

I'm incredibly grateful to David who supports me in doing things for myself and for being the #1 person that I want to do things with.  My birthday week was filled with some great things and I feel like my cup is filled up to the brim with love and adventure. 

Some highlights of my week: 

-My sweet friend Amy had an extra ticket to the play "Catch Me if You Can" at the Hale Center Theater Sandy and invited me. I'd never been to the Jewel Box Theater (not the Round Theater) and thoroughly enjoyed the performance! 

-Dani and I have been hiking the Timpanogos Cave Trail each week this summer and have talked about how cool it would be to hike to the Timpanogos Peak. We talked about how we should prepare by increasing our hiking distance etc.. However, that was easier said than done because although it was fairly simple to sneak away one morning a week before the kids were awake, it was much harder to try to get away for a longer hike. I did a few hikes over the summer (Bells Canyon Waterfall with David, 5 miles, and Mt. Raymond Summit with Ali, 8 miles), but wasn't sure that we were prepared for the Timpanogos Hike. Dani was so encouraging and so even though I was nervous - we set the date. We had a few different date options, but I loved the idea of doing it on the day before my birthday as part of my birthday celebrations. David was so supportive and he stayed home from work to care for the kids so I could go on this grand birthday adventure. Spoiler: We made it to the top! 

It was only a few years ago that I told myself that I didn't think hiking Timpanogos was something that I could ever do. It just seemed so far out of my physical ability and I couldn't imagine every having the time or endurance that it would take to make it to the top. I'm SO proud of my mind and body for overcoming something that seemed impossible and for adding this incredible hike to my list of accomplishments. It was wonderful to share this hike with Dani. You know you really like someone when you can spend 13 hours hiking with them and still feel like you want to hang out with them the next day, too. 

We hiked to the Timpanogos Summit via the Timpooneke Trail. It was 14.2 miles with an elevation gain of 4,471 feet. It takes people an average of 10 hours to complete, but it took us longer. We are slower hikers in general (we knew this going in and wanted to enjoy the trail so we weren't worried about it) and the saddle/summit took us much longer, about 3 hours from the saddle & back. We also stopped for lunch and snacks along the way. We started hiking at 7:30 a.m. (neither of us had been on the trail before so we didn't want to go in the dark), and got back to the car right after the sun had set at 8:30. 

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/mt-timpanogos-timpooneke-trail

We learned that Dani has an incredible fear of heights and I am SO proud of her for pushing through and making it to the top! Everything we read online was like "The saddle looks worse than it is", but no - that's a lie. The saddle was terrifying! Sheer dropoffs, scrambling up the side of a rocky cliff, eek. But we made it and I'm so proud of us. 

My favorite song right now is called "The Mountain Song" by Tophouse

the Chorus goes:

Why do people climb mountains?

Is it just to reach the top and see the view?

Well I tell you something

Every rock and every river

Every sore and every splinter

I would climb every mountain with you

It talks about how "the toil and the struggle showed its worth" and I just really like it. We climbed to the top of this mountain, but there are lots of mountains in life and the toil and the struggle help us grow stronger. Every fall and every stumble help remind us to stop and see the wonder of the world around us. 

David was my biggest cheerleader. I didn't have service for most of the way - but once we got close to the top, I hit service again. And there was David, showing his love and support with screenshots of my GPS location on the map! 

"I'm tracking you! Good progress! Keep going, you can do it!" 

"You are close to the top. You are awesome! You are going to make it!" 

[Final Chorus]
Why, do people climb mountains?
Is it just to reach the top and see the view?
Well I, tell you something
Every rock and every river
Every sore and every splinter
In the summer, in the winter
When it's warm and when we shiver
When our feet are full of blisters
When it's sweet and when it's bitter
I’d climb every mountain with you

Jenna took the kids for the weekend and David and I were able to go on a Birthday Date: Hale Center Theater Orem's production of "Clue" and a new donut shop (so yummy!).

Sunday we had a birthday party and opened a few gifts and it was so wonderful to be surrounded by my kids and husband and to celebrate another year of this incredible life I get to live. 

Things I am grateful for this week: 

-for the friendships that I've developed in my adult life.

-for a loving and supportive husband. 

-for my children who bring such joy and humility to my life

-for a sister who regularly welcomes my children into her home for a "cousin weekend" so that David and I can have a date weekend

-for my body and health that allow me to work and move and accomplish and enjoy so much

I'm grateful for a beautiful life and fun experiences that give me balance and perspective. 

I had a wonderful birthday week and a wonderful year.

Looking forward to 36!