Tori Turns 18

Well, our pretty Tori turned 18 in October. She got a lot of pink, which seems to be her new signature color. Her other being bright green. She got some hot pink duct tape to give her duct tape shoes a new coat of color. Turning 18 is a special thing and though we would have liked to make it a big deal, we weren't able to. Her main present was being presented with an opal ring that had been her grandmother Cummins's. Tori and my (Karen) birth stone is opal, so it was a special thing to pass on.

Fun with Horses and Aunt Janelle

Janelle (Steve's youngest sister) took Noah, Tori and Cubby to our nieces place in Lehi and let them let them ride, Georgia, a sweet horse that Janelle had been teaching Tori how to ride while she had been staying in UT. She has become a major fan of riding horses and wanted Noah and Cubby to have a chance to have some of the fun she had been enjoying.
They all seemed to have a great time, except maybe Janelle because she probably didn't get much of a chance to ride. Thanks Janelle!!!!

Tori's Coin Ceremony

It's started with Ty. The night before he left to work at a dinner theater in Pennsylvania, Steve pulled a 1878 silver dollar from his pocket and told Ty it was an executive decision maker. It was something to help with those decisions that aren't major and don't need Heavenly Help or parental advice. I mostly missed this exchange. It was a last minute thing between Steve and Ty.
Then, when Jenn was heading off to the Army, Steve pulled out one for her. I thought it was cute and she seemed to think it was pretty special.
Then, when Jenn came home for medical reasons, she told me how she would go to sleep, holding that silver dollar. She would be holding it to get strength from her father during a very hard time. In the morning, when she woke up, she would have the design of the coin imprinted on her palm.
It was then that I realized that "the coin" meant a lot more to the kids than I realized.
Then, when Ken was leaving on his mission he got his and I paid much more attention to the significance of it, and I remember all of us getting a bit teary.
So, when we went back for Ty's graduation,
it had been decided that Tori would be
staying in UT, at least for an extended time.
So, Steve decided that Tori was now a grown up and on her own, in that sense.
Here are the pictures of the "pacing of a coin" to Tori. It was a very special moment and more explination went with it, and as a result, more emotion was felt and shown.
I'm so grateful to an inspired husband that thought to give one to Ty, and thus start a tradition that has become very important to us and our children.

Post Grad Party!

Ty was the head BBQer at his Graduation party, and I'm glad he was. The Hot Dogs and Hamburgers were cooked to perfection.
We had great food, great people and a lot of fun! The best ingredients for a wonderful party!

Grandpa Cummins watches to see that Ty is doing a good job.
My dad has been a great BBQer for a long time. Nice to see that Ty inherited his skill!

Tori and Aunt Janelle.
Jenn, Adam and Grandma Kenworthy
Cami and Janey
Grandma and Jenn
Steve and some yummy food!

WOW WEEEE!!!

What a super cool life! So much has happened lately: it's really hard to begin. I will just do several short posts because doing all the pictures in one post would be a nightmare!

The steamroller action of our life really started picking up with the graduation of our oldest son, Ty.
He graduated from BYU with his bachelors degree in Anthropology. Soon he will be going on to graduate school and working hard for another 4+ years. He's really good at what he does and is being recognized by people in his field for the interesting and good work he is doing. I love to hear him talk about the things he has learned and what he is interested in. Fascinating!

The pictures aren't in any kind of order, but we have our cheering section of very proud family members (starting at the left, we have Noah, Me(Karen), Cami, Cami's sister- Janey, Cami's mom -Paula, Cami's dad -Roger, Steve, Cubby and Ty's Grandpa Cummins (Mel). Tori took the picture.











An extraordinary couple! Ty and his proud wife, Cami. (I love this picture!)

Ty walked the walk!
A very sweet, loving and supportive wife, Cami and her sister.
Grandpa Cummins, parents and Ty.
Very cool! This was a special occasion that we were very grateful to be able to attend. We were also grateful that most of the family was able to be there for the ceremony, that Grandpa Cummins was able to be there as well as Cami's parents and sister.

WUT UP! From Utah

Hey Guys! It's Tori!! (I hope you haven't forgotten me already) Sending you a HOLLA from Utah. I'm having a blast out here so far, but I miss the family and my dogs out in Longmont. But I'm especially enjoying pestering Shawn again, just like old times. *sigh* We went up to Bridal Veil falls and took some pictures. Here are a few of them, just to kind of let you see what I've been up to!

We found this empty/kind of creepy old building, so we took some pictures... who wouldn't? It was pretty cool.
You can't really see very well, but if you look close, you can see my face hidden in the bushes. I look like a fugitive or something. It's awesome.

Yes, the spray paint DOES say LOVE SHACK. It's totally gross in there too, with all kinds of garbage and cobwebs and junk. Yuck. But still cool enough to have it's picture taken. I mean come on, it says LOVE SHACK!

Me. Chillin. On a rock. Doesn't get much better than that.

Hanging out on a branch above the river, looking awesome!

Happy Anniversary All Around!

Today and tomorrow are anniversary days.

1st -Today marks one year for Steve working at the Longmont Public Library!
Happy Anniversary Steve!
We've meet great people here, we are in a great ward and it beats the heck out of being unemployed.
2nd- It's also been a year since I started my low to no carb diet to get my diabetes in line.
It's been going really good. I feel a lot better, I've gone from being on 9 prescriptions to 1 with another at 1/4 of the dose. I've lost 44 lbs and I plan on continuing my journey to being healthier!

Meg and John's Anniversary is tomorrow.
Happy Anniversary you two!!!!!!
So much going on with you these days.
I'm glad you have found a place to live once you move to Iowa.
With a baby coming anytime, you two have your hands full.
How I wish I could be there to lend a helping hand. What we do do and will continue to do is to keep you in our prayers.
We look forward to your little arrival and hearing how all the big changes go.

To all of our family and friends, we love you and appreciate all you have done to get us to this point. We couldn't have made it this far without your love, support and encouragement.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer and you're making good memories with the ones you love!