First Day of School 2011

I know it's 2 monts late, but I just have to post the first day of school pics of my boys. 

This guy was so excited to finally start kindergarten.  He's been doing great in his class and I think it helps him so much to get out of the house every day and expend some of his energy! 

A lot of kids were crying and scared because it was the first day of kindergarten, but not Tanner, he wanted to know why I was still there in his classroom...go home already mom!

My big boy is in 3rd grade and still doing great in school!  This year has been a little bit of a struggle for him behaviorally, but we've had lots of talks and he seems to be doing better.   

Provo Halloween Half Marathon

We recently ran the Provo Halloween Half Marathon.  It was so much fun!  Everyone was dressed up in costume and some people were running in wild outfits! 

I ran this race harder than any I'd ever ran and got an awesome new PR 1:56:15!  I never thought I'd break the 2 hr mark so excuse the absolute cheese in all my post-race pics, I was uber-excited!

I started running with someone new over the summer and we've since became great friends.  It was her first half marathon and she did such a great job!  It's been so much fun to train with her and I hope we get to do lots more races together!  Love her!

Taekwondo Tournament

Caeden has been involved with Taekwondo for over a year now and he's doing great!  He recently had a tournament where he competed in Patters, Sparing, and Blocking.  He did a fantastic job and I'm really proud of him for sticking with it for so long!

He got 1st place in Patters, 2nd place in Sparring, and a 2nd place in Blocking.  He was so happy with his medals he was grinning from ear to ear all day!

After he got his last medal in Blocking I saw him over talking to the boy who won 3rd place and he was handing him his medal. I went to check out what was going on and it turns out Caeden offered to trade him his 2nd place silver medal for the 3rd place bronze medal so he'd have "one of each"....what a funny kid!

Caeden and one of his best friends....they both did an incredible job!

Halloween 2011

I think Halloween has gotten to be a busier holiday for us than Christmas!  We have so much fun, but all the festivities sure keep us busy!

He refused to smile for this picture because he said Darth Maul doesn't smile....duh mom.

Sisters Trip 2011!

For our Sisters Trip this year Cher and I decided to take a day and cross something off our bucket list.  We grew up in the shadow of Ben Lomond Peak and we've always wanted to hike it.  It's a tough 16 mile trek so we needed a whole day to conquer it!  The leaves were changing and the weather was perfect!  It was an amazing, beautiful, hard hike and we had a wonderful day!

At the top (finally!).  The view was breathtaking and after signing in the log book we feasted on egg salad sandwiches, pears, and gourmet cheeses.  We also picked up a beautiful sparkly green rock to put on Wayne's grave.

I love this girl SO much!  I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't such a big part of my life.  She's my best friend, my confident, one of those rare people who knows all my worst faults and loves me anyway.  I love being able to spend these times with her!

It was one of the best hikes I've ever been on and I'll be doing it again someday! 

Caeden's 9th Birthday

I can't believe my oldest is 9! It doesn't seem like it was 9 years ago that I first became a mother. He's growing up so fast!

His all-time favorite food is hamburgers. We've gone on vacations where we eat out for most meals and he'll order hamburger after hamburger. So I thought this cake was a perfect choice for him. He loved it! :)

 

Right now Caeden is taking Taekwon do classes, attending scouts, collecting Pokemon cards, and starting to read grown-up books (I love being able to share reading material with him!).  He loves to play with his friends and visit his Papa.  He's a big help with his younger brothers....and an even bigger tease.  He loves playing video games and watching TV.  He doesn't like homework, tomatoes, pickles or chores.  He's growing up so fast and I'm so proud of the wonderful kid he's become!  Love him!

Blog Update.....

There's a reason I haven't blogged in 6 months....it coincides with a church calling that was extended at about the same time. I left the bishops office in tears. I was overwhelmed, scared, and feeling horribly inadequate. I was called to be our ward's Young Women's President.

It's a good thing the Lord knows me better than I know myself. It's still a hard calling and it takes up oodles of my time, but I LOVE what I'm doing. This position has caused me countless nights of lost sleep and heartache for hurts I can't fix, but it's also caused me to stretch out of my comfort zone, grow spiritually, and I can now see it for the amazing blessing it is. I make a lot of mistake and I don't always know the right thing to say or do, but these girls are so wonderful and have managed to find a very special place in my heart! My life is so much more blessed because they are a part of it.

On a personl level I also feel like I've grown over the past 6 months. My prayers are longer and more heartfelt, my scripture study is more consistant and meaningful, I attend the temple more. Being able to watch these girls testimonies evolve has helped my own faith to grow.

I wish I could remember the exact quote, but I heard something once that was along the lines of "the Lord doesn't make calling to fit us, instead he helps us grow to fit our callings". I'm so grateful that the I've been trusted with this stewardship and I hope and pray I can be what the Lord wants me to be.

Now I need to catch up on some blogging!