October 13, 1944- August 20, 2011

When I think of Dad, many magnificent qualities come to mind.  One of which is hard work.  Dad didn’t feel like he had put in an honest day’s labor if he didn’t come home dirty, sweaty, and bloody.  He would always come home with at least a couple new cuts or scratches which he usually didn’t even realize he had.  Dad gave us kids the opportunity to also come home from work dirty, sweaty, and sometimes bloody during those days working at the car wash.  Dad taught us that work was a good thing, something to not take for granted.  Thank you, Dad.

Dad was also a spiritual man.  He honored the priesthood he held and taught us to honor it too.  Dad served faithfully in all of his church callings.  Through his example, I have learned that when the Lord calls, you answer.  He had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and enjoyed discussing gospel principles.  Over the last couple of years my Dad was an instructor in the High Priest group and I was a Relief Society Instructor, we taught the same lessons and enjoyed studying the lesson material and discussing it together.  Dad’s spiritual example also taught me the important things to look for in a husband of my own.   Because of Him, I have been blessed with a husband who loves the Lord as much as my Dad did.  Thank you, Dad.

Compassion is another quality my father understood.  My Dad had a compassion for mankind like no one else I know.  I remember as a child watching my Dad come home one night.  It was late and I saw him in the kitchen putting together some cheese sandwiches and wrapping them up.  I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he had seen a homeless family the night before a few blocks away and he didn’t have anything with him at the time to give them.  He was hoping that he could go back and find them to offer some food.  We didn’t have much at the time and I remember thinking how generous my father was at offering a humble cheese sandwich to someone with less than us.  Thank you, Dad. 

My Dad could also be silly.  He was really good at making up little rhymes and songs off the top of his head.  They were usually about us kids.  Doo Dah Dan and French Fry Freddy are oldies but goodies in the Hughes household, but my favorite will always be the one about his St. George Girl, that’s me.  Family Home Evening charades that ended in a trip to Thrifty for Ice Cream and socks in a pan were always fun.  He also loved playing with the grandchildren.  His latest game was chasing my son around with a tickle claw saying “belly good”.  Thank you, Dad.

Silliness, Compassion, Spirituality, and Hard Work are just a small few of the many magnificent qualities that Dad embodied.  I will forever be grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with a Dad that understood what life was about and lived it perfectly. 

 I know that our Father in Heaven lives.  I know he loves us, I know that my Dad has found rest in him and I will be with him again.

It only took about 3 months…. but I finally have a complete, fully functioning kitchen (And I have the pictures to prove it).  We purchased our new home a little over 3 months ago and it has been quite a ride.  We are FAR from being what I would consider “settled”, but we are making strides and this weekend was a big step in helping me feel more comfortable and set in the new pad.

When we first looked at the home, I knew immediately that the kitchen would need some attention to make it “mine”.  Although I appreciate some of the great things previous owner’s added to the kitchen, (granite counters with full backsplash, nice hardware, hide away cutting board, deep undermount sink, fancy faucet) I didn’t prefer the gray walls and black cabinets.  I also didn’t appreciate the fact that they took ALL the appliances with them leaving us with quite a bit to purchase.

After ordering and installing new appliances, painting walls, sanding (thanks Dad), priming (2 coats) and painting (2 coats) cabinets, putting hardware back on, putting cupboard doors up we finally have a finished product.  The only thing lacking is some decorating that I know my talented friends will help me with. 

Enjoy the pictures- I know I do!! 

Before….

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And, my favorite, After!

May thanks to soooo many people who helped with this project!  I love you all!

Our Halloween weekend was filled with lots of parties, friends, family, candy, costumes, and…..Strep Throat.  Overall we had a FUNtastic Halloween.  I have posted pictures of our family in costume as this was the first year that we did a family theme.  Maybe the last since the kids had to BEG Marc to join us.  The only way he agreed was if the group costumes were PAC-MAN since he enjoys to play this nostalgic game on his Blackberry from time to time.  The kids have learned the love of the “PAC” too and were very excited all month.  I was excited, but overwhelmed because I have never made 6 costumes for one Halloween.  I did it the easiest way possible and was pleased with the results.  So when Halloween weekend finally arrived along with Gracie and Sophia suffering from Strep Throat, there was no way I was going to let ANYONE out of a photo.  Thank goodness for Ibuprofen and antibiotics, they made for a decent picture.

The Pac-Man Family

Ms. & Mr.

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, & Clyde

I guess the goal of posting a blog a day for the month of June was a little lofty, but I am impressed with myself that I did do as many as I did. That being said, I thought I would get back on here and put up some pictures of our July 4th Celebration. This year we spent the holiday with Marc’s extended family. Getting together with the Lara’s is always a good time. This time was especially nice because the Birch family (Marc’s sister) was in town from Denver and they were able to celebrate with the rest of us. YAY!  Even more YAY than that is fireworks are not illegal to purchase in Colorado so Aaron treated us all to a fantastic light show in front of our house Saturday night.  I think some neighbors and passers by were as impressed as we were.  Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery juice and I did not get any pictures of the fabulous show.  I was able, however, to get some pics of the kids with their sparklers which was also fun.

Sunday after church Audrey and Gracie helped me make a cute July 4th treat that I had seen online and had to try.  Look how great they turned out.  Way to go girls!!

How’s that for A Bald Eagle’s Nest?

This next picture is simply because Sophia is super cute and looks like a bobble-head from this angle.

Next, we were off to Casa Grande for dinner, a patriotic family home evening, a fireworks show, and of course, fun times with cousins!

Then off to the fireworks show!

It was a great way to spend our Nation’s Birthday!

Sophia’s latest play time involves taking her “baby” and tucking it in bed.  She chooses dolls, Barbies, Care Bears, or other random stuffed animals to take care of.  Since Carson’s bed is the only one that she can reach comfortably, she chooses his bed.  I find her tucking in the babies, giving them kisses and saying “night, night”.  She even will close the door behind her and tell everyone in the vicinity to “Shhh”.  I think this is the sweetest thing.