His Turn . . . Finally

Ryan started long awaited Cub Scouts. He has watched his older brothers attend Scouts since he was two years old. They would come home with belt loops, pins and eventually merit badges. Ry has never said anything about it, just stood by and watched. But when I announced at family dinner that he had his first den meeting coming up, he cheered loudly, and fist pumped into the air.

He has an awesome leader and we are excited for his new adventure.

At his first Pack Meeting, he and all the other Wolves earned four belt loops. Ryan earned Soccer, Language and Culture, Swimming and none other than Video Games. (All the boys earned video games. There was a lot of giggling for that one.) Who knew there was a Video Games belt loop?

The Crew at Scouts and beyond

He's trying not to smile here,
but he was loving it.

My Stroller Buddy

This is my walking/running buddy. He goes with me everywhere. We put 10-15 miles on the stroller a week. He knows the drill--get your water, toys, a snack, and bundle up on the cold mornings--and we're off.

By the way, this jogging stroller is one of the best purchases I have every made.

It's the Little Things

My dad asked me what I was going to post on my blog. There are a lot of things I could post, but I want to focus on the good things in my life. Everyone has ups and downs. We've had some downs this year, but I have found that when I focus on the good and the blessings we have received, I don't get carried away with the struggles. That is the reason I started this blog, so that I can think more intently about the good happening all around me.

I love my husband. I am so blessed to have a husband who loves and cares for me and our children. He puts us first. He works HARD, harder than I could have imagined, when he needs to. And he lives and teaches our children the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love each of my children. Sure they bring out the best and the worst in me, but they also help me to grow into a better person each day. My children have all come with their talents, habits, quirks, you name it. They are all unique and wonderful. They make me smile every day.

We are blessed to be surrounded by our family who lift us and love us. Our children love to spend time with extended family and they learn from them. I know that I wouldn't be able to raise my children very well without all the good family in our lives. (Even those that live a little further away.) My children will be better people because of all their aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and cousins, who help them to see life from a different perspective.

I don't know who will read this, if anyone, but I know this blog will force me to focus more on the little things in my life that make me happy.

Karaoke Time

The other night we hung out with Matt's old college roommates and their families. It was so fun to be with them (it's been over two years). Between the three families there are 15 kids ages 1-13. It's wild, but not as wild as Dave's karaoke set up with stage, mics, lights and all. These three probably had more fun rockin' out to their favorite bands than all the kids combined. It's not often the kids see Matt let loose with his buddies. It was quite the night!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The other morning, while I was trying to get the kids off to school, I looked outside and saw this:

It made my morning.

Shiner

You should see the other guy . . .

Up close

My Square Foot Garden

I started a garden this year for the first time. The whole family has loved it. I followed the Square-Foot Gardening and this is what it produced:

My First Garden

 It's not huge, but it sure has been fun. I built two 4X4 boxes and put them up against my house where I get the most sun. I planted a bunch of different things, just to try it out. Although we don't love eggplant, we've found that it produces a lot, and the blossoms are a beautiful purple. I have used the herbs a ton, most recently in made-from-scratch spaghetti sauce. There is nothing like fresh vegetables on the dinner table.

Tomatoes, Beans, Cucumbers,
Pumpkins, Watermelon, Brussel
Sprouts

Eggplant

Parsley, Basil, Broccoli and Eggplant

My garden 'made-from-scratch' spaghetti sauce

Our Baby is 2

The Birthday Boy

This little boy turned 2. One friend told her kids he was 2 going on 10. He strives to keep up with the older kids. He can ride a scooter, dribble a basketball, bump a volleyball, kick the soccer ball hard. He can do a somersault, jump off the stair or curb, put on his own shoes, and he is starting to speak in sentences. 

Xander is such a sweetheart. He always says "thank you," and often follows it up with "you're welcome". Anytime I say "ouch" he quickly says, "you okay mom?" He doesn't enjoy the doctor or dentist. He'll go willingly, but as soon as he sees the doc, he turns to me and says, "I go home mom." Today on the way to the doctor for his 2 year check up he told me, "I scary mom."

For his birthday, we gave Xander a bike. He was ecstatic when he saw it. He jumped up and did a fist pump in the air and said, "My bike!!" He's a little too short for it, but I know he'll figure it out in no time. 

All the neighbor kids know and love Xander, and he loves them, so we invited them over for cake and ice cream. They were happy to help him open every present, or do it for him. And he gave everyone a hug after opening their gift.

All through the day, Xander asks where the kids are. "Where's Jacob?" "Where's Ryan?", etc. He even asks where all the neighbor kids are. He is very social and wishes they were home all the time.

Xander's most favorite place to be is outside. He learned how to open doors really early, and he would sneak out if he saw a door unlocked. We have to be very cautious to lock the doors or he'll take off. He doesn't usually get too far, but one day he went missing for a few minutes and we found him two houses down walking up to their front porch for a visit.

Xander is such a sweet spirit in our home. We love him dearly.

Growing UP

Grant and Jacob turned 13 in July. Thirteen is a big year. They are officially teenagers, they have more responsibility, they are more social. They are also growing. Grant has always been the bigger, taller brother. But over the past year, and especially the summer, Jacob has been growing like a weed. Everywhere we go, family and friends comment on how tall Jacob has become. Grant's getting a little tired of hearing it; he just wants to start growing, too.

It became far too apparent how much older/taller Jacob looks when we went to IHOP last week as a family. As the waitress seated us, she passed out a kids' menu to all the kids, but gave Jacob the adult menu. She thought Grant was 11. We all got a good laugh from that one. When Grant got his menu he had to ask us to make sure it would be okay to order off the adult menu, because he's not a child and he eats a ton.

Dinosaurs

I've never seen anyone so excited and determined to get a helmet. But I guess when everyone else has one, it becomes one of those things you just have to have. Xander turns two tomorrow, so I decided he needed a helmet for all his scooter riding and a possible bike in the very near future.

The local law firm sells toddler helmets for $5 and older kids or $10, which really beats the $20 helmet from Walmart. I took Xander to Robert J. Debry today and guess who walked out as we were coming in? Robert J. himself. He saw Xander and told us the helmet was on him!

We aren't strangers to this. About three years ago he gave Ryan a helmet for free, also. We love that they offer helmets for so cheap and we've totally lucked out.

Worth Every Penny

When Jacob walked in the house at midnight last night with tired eyes and a huge grin, we knew he loved the game. The two hour delay of game gave him the opportunity to explore the BYU Bookstore with his buddies, which is one of his favorite places. But he could hardly contain himself and wanted to get to the stadium as fast as possible. He chose to attend a GREAT game!

BYU literally ran all over Texas, with over 500 rushing yards.

This morning Jacob was able to add to his sports (mostly BYU) wall of fame with the newspaper cutouts from the game.

He is a True Blue Through and Through Fan.

Corn Dogs

I never knew corn dogs were so yummy, but when I gave Xander his first corn dog and asked him if he liked it he said, "I wuv it weawy, weawy."

Out of Control

I broke down and started a garden this year. I was envious of my sister's garden and all the fresh produce she would share with me, so I did it. And it has been a great experience. Ryan, especially has enjoyed the experience with me.

Last week he went to check on the garden, as he has been doing frequently, and he ran in to tell me about our pumpkin. "It's growing in the middle of the bush, Mom!" Well, the bush is not very close to the garden. There is a window well and a tree between the garden and this bush. I went to investigate. Sure enough, a pumpkin was growing (and hanging) in the middle of the bush.

Fast forward to this week. As I checked on the pumpkin, I noticed that not only was it growing in the bush, but the vine is up and around the tree. It's quite the sight.

My Creative Daughter

Alaina is very creative and she loves to sew. Inspiration from her Uncle Cameron led her to make her very first shirt. There is definitely room for improvement, but she learned from her first experience and has big ideas for her next shirt.

She wore the shirt all day, and as a swim suit coverup in the evening. When she was ready to jump in the pool, she forgot to take off her shirt. She had to peel off a very wet top.

Surprising a Teenager

One of my favorite things about being a mom of teenagers (albeit for only two months) is surprising them. I don't think I say "No" too much, but from their perspective I must. For two years, Jacob has begged to go to a BYU game. We try to go to the games, but it really becomes a whole days event and it hasn't happened in a while. Finally, he decided to take matters into his own hands and came up with a plan.

Would we let him go to a game on his own if he bought his own ticket and found himself a ride?

We said yes. It was easy. We didn't even discuss it. He had the afternoon and evening free, it wouldn't put us out any, and he would spend his own hard earned money.

He was surprised by our answer. He lit up and began (or continued) looking up tickets. After making a few phone calls to make it happen, we bought the ticket on my credit card, and he paid me in cash.

He's at the game right now. It's been delayed for lightening. I hope his night isn't ruined and that he'll enjoy every minute, even the rain that will surely drench him to the bone.

Snitch

Xander is too smart for his own good. After watching his big brother 'steal' the bag of M&Ms, he went and stole them himself. This is what I found: 

d: