Better late than never...

Halloween night was a blast. It's the first warm Halloween I can remember. Funny thing was, the kiddos only trick or treated for a little while. They had more fun answering the door at home!

Let's do it again next year!

Happy Halloween...

I don't know what to say. Just LOOKING at these pictures cracks me up. I love you Kaden!!!

all cooped up

Do you ever feel all cooped up? 

(Thunder, Kaden and Ham)

Well apparently so do these gals, because they keep escaping!!! 

Any ideas on how to keep them from flying the coop?


Hard to believe they started out this size...

(Back to front - Thunder, Sheba, Ham)

(Chasers) 

(Thunder)

(Ham)

And that's little Sheba Kaden's holding (sniff, sniff)... 

What we thought was a terrible cough developed into a cock-a-doodle-doo. 

She turned out to be a he and we had to return him to the farm.

We sure loved her/him, though!

We replaced Sheba with Pepper, who also developed a loud cock-a-doodle-doo.

We now have Marcia.
We hope she stays cock-a-doodle-doo-less.

Having chickens is an adventure every day.
We get to experience all the miracles of life through these girls.

The Help

I loved this book so much I read it twice (and want to read it again.) 

I saw the movie with family last weekend and enjoyed it more than I can say. 

If you haven't read it, you must. 

If you haven't seen it, you must!

One of the overriding themes of the book is the importance of teaching children to know three things:

(I get a lump in my throat when I read these words.)

summer's out for school!!

Kolby started first grade, and was excited to ride his scooter to school and eat lunch with the big kids. Kyler started third grade, and insisted on wearing a mohawk. Kaden started sixth grade and is obviously too cool now to hold up fingers indicating his grade. And Kenyon started ninth grade, and hated that I brought out the camera.

 Off to Jr. High

Waiting to leave for the Elementary School

Who is the most excited? Kaden? Kyler? Dad? (ha ha) Kolby? 

ME???

Dad biked to school with Kyler and Kaden

And I followed alongside Kolby on his scooter. I had to run to keep up. It works out great!
I get a workout and Kolby thinks he's as big as the big kids.
We've done it every day since school started last Monday. Love it!

Getting tricky!

He did tricks all the way there and then 10 feet from the school, he hit a bump, landed on his head, and somehow ran over his own finger. Ouch.

I didn't think he was going to do it, but he pulled himself together and went to class.

 SUCH a cute first grade class!

Kyler didn't fair much better. While going off a jump, his bike ran into a garbage can and Ky flipped over the handlebars. But he also pulled himself together enough to go to class.

Looks like third grade is going to be SERIOUS. Look at all those books!

Kaden thought I was the coolest mom at school because I was snapping away at his sixth grade class.

NOT!

Ahhhhhh... I stopped to smell the flowers on my leisurely walk home.

Our after school snack. Pina coladas.

All in all, a good time was had by all.

Oh, except for poor Kenyon...

...who got a terrible migraine on his first day of ninth grade.

(I guess it's a good thing I didn't go track him down in his
classes to take pictures of him like I wanted to!)

Happy school year, everyone!!

July is a time for...

...celebrating, laughing, being together, and being SO thankful for all we have.

 Uncle Jeff is too funny on the Doodlebug!

M&B having fun in the water...

Sooooo much fun. Nothing better than family!

As a final salute to July, we took a quick trip to Park City for some school shopping and together time.

Ridin' the SLIDE

Kyler decided he wanted to bungee jump instead of slide.
The slide is a bit (okay a lot) terrifying to him.

My boys...

Some scenery on the drive home.

to family and friends near and far...

Something HAS to be done...

...about the GANG problem in our neighborhood!

Does it get better than this?

I am grateful to be a mother of four little boys who make me happier than I think they know.

I woke up this morning to a bleary-eyed Kaden who had gotten up early and fixed me breakfast in bed...a fried egg on wheat toast with orange juice (it was delicious.) And on the tray was a magnet with his cute face, a bookmark, and a card.

A little later, as I was getting ready for the day, Kenyon came in with a big glass of pina colada he'd made especially for me, and he gave me a big hug. (I don't always get hugs from my 14 year old, so it meant more than anything.)

Kyler gave me his gift of another bookmark (it's a good thing I love to read!) and a fill-in-the-blank paper he'd completed at school that made me laugh with joy. According to Kyler's paper, I am 26 years old, I weigh 90 lbs :), I love cleaning, and I play with him a lot on the trampoline (note to self: do that more!)

Kolby made me a clay flower pot with little plastic flowers - yellow because he knows that's my favorite color - and a note that brought tears to my eyes:

"My mother has a green thumb, 

she loves each flower and tree. 

But she says her most important job 

is to grow a beautiful me!"

And my honey even spoiled me with flowers for the yard and a delicious Sunday dinner, which he cooks for us every Sunday, but still, it was wonderful. Love you, dear!

Okay, does Mother's Day ever get any better than this? I doubt it.

And speaking of things that don't get any better, we paid visits to two of the greatest women in the world tonight.

Kathy, thank you for raising a son who is such a good father and husband, and thank you for being my mother too. You've been through so much this year and you've been so strong. The thought of losing a son is beyond my comprehension. You are an example to me of constancy, love, endurance, and kindness. I love you.

And Mom, how can I say thank you for being my mom? I honestly don't know. Perhaps I should have made a bookmark or a clay pot, because those things sure made me feel loved today. But I guess that's the thing about Mother's Day. It's impossible to repay or properly thank a woman who gives life, direction, encouragement, love, and guidance. I guess all I can do is try to emulate who you are and be at least half as good at being a mother as you. I love you so much!

Happy Mother's Day!