First Day of School!!

I am really not happy that school is already starting. The summer just went by way too fast. I didn't play enough. It might be because of the fact that my kids aren't little anymore. They were working, working, and working, plus scout camps, swimming lessons, volleyball camps, football and basketball clinics, etc.

It's a good thing that we didn't try to schedule a real family vacation, because I seriously don't know when it would've been "squeezed" in.

Nevertheless....

First day of school is always such a bummer for me, but the kids are mostly excited to get back!

Cutie pies... I miss them!

Pioneer Day Part 3

Can't let the day go by without recognizing the most adorable pioneer day birthday boy ever!!

(for some strange reason my pictures won't upload... cute photo coming later!!)

Larson gets the whole town out to celebrate his birthday!! We had lunch with G'ma B. and aunts, uncles and cousins, then did a little birthday shopping and later lit off fireworks! What a great way to spend the day!

Pioneer Day Part 2

Foot races are always part of the fun tradition of Pioneer Day. Naomi was working so it was just Austen and Larson having the fun.

Notice Larson has his lucky feather in his hand. (it's actually from his headband from the parade) :)

Austen had a slippery start, but still made a good showing!!

Pioneer Day Celebration!

Larson (aka "birthday boy") is the only one left in this family that can ride in the primary children's July 24th parade. The leaders told them to dress up like their ancestors that crossed the plains.

We have been having many discussions about Dad's indian heritage (Cherokee) so Larson decided that he would dress up as one of his ancestors... the indians.

That lead to a great story about how the Toquer indians really did help many of our other ancestors in settling our little valley.

Larson loved being different and I think many of the parade watchers enjoyed the variety as well.

Things are settling down... a bit!!!

Since the last post... much has happened! I will try to catch you up!

Ashli got married to a great guy.. Josh! Isn't it crazy how life is so backwards and inside out sometimes. The last few years I have been struggling to deal with the fact that my kids are growing up and leaving our home. The home is different and the table is smaller. Now I turn around and my family is growing and the table needs the leaf put back in!!! Isn't family wonderful!

Presten had an amazing track year! He was the region champ in the 100 meter, long jump, medley relay race, and 2nd in the 200 meter. The team also won the region championship. We went to the state meet at BYU and he did well there also. State champ in the long jump, medley relay team, and..... the team took the STATE TITLE!!!! He was so happy to be a part of that!

Naomi won all kinds of awards for academics including top ten in the national testing in 7 areas. Plus she was inducted into the Junior National Honor Society. She finished up volleyball by placing second in the intermountain volleyball tourney with her team in May.

Austen is still going like gang busters. He is currently preparing to participate in the Utah Summer Games with his soccer team. He is also preparing for toe surgery in July. If he ever grows into his feet he will be towering above us all (he has already passed me and he's only 12).

Larson is non stop energy. He wants to swim EVERYDAY!! Right now he likes spending time on his new bike, playing baseball, and this week his dad taught him how to pan for gold. He was so excited to see those little gold flecks in his pan. What a thrill!

Rick is getting stronger and better every day and I am so grateful for the technology and knowledge we have in this day and age. He has such a great attitude and just keeps on moving on and smiling along the way. The garden has been great therapy too.

Tia is working part time in Springdale, and really likes working with the many different types of people who come to visit (except the grumpy, cranky ones :)) She spends nearly every free minute with the singles ward and friends. She is also taking more and more photos and getting really really good at it!

What the heck is a tag?

Okay this is a new one on me! Tia tagged me and I really hope that I am doing this right or I will feel sooooo stupid!

This is the fourth photo in my fourth folder! (say that 10 times fast) :)

Batter Up!!

Larson played machine pitch this year and it was really fun to watch him get into it so much! He could play just about every position and really got frustrated when the new comers to baseball wouldn't move, throw or catch fast enough! He is such a happy kid and I really love having him around!

Larson's does his own hair!

Larson has started doing his own hair in the morning. The funny thing is.... he gives each hair do a name. I have to admit he gets pretty creative on both the names and the style. Here's a small sample...



This one is... speed cruizer



other style names include: cockroach, frog legs, electrified, and praying mantis. The frog legs is my favorite because he makes two leg type things come down on his forehead. It's hilarious!

Ballgames Galore!

(I love how Austen is resting his arm on the helmet of his teammate!)



If you can believe it... our family attended six different games in six days! Normally we don't do any extracurricular activities on Monday, but it was Austen's playoff game, so we held our family home evening activity at the stadium!! Austen caught the first TD of the night and had an awesome defensive tackle later. He's really getting the hang of blocking for the running backs too!

The next two nights were spent watching Larson play some awesome defense in the flag football league. Boy is he speedy! Next was a couple nights of football for Presten. He plays JV and Varsity, so that means two seperate nights of games! He does a great job. On the Friday night game we even got to be on the Fox News TV show. The helicopter flew in and there was all kinds of hoopla for the sports guy! It just made the game all the more fun to watch. The JV team ended their season undefeated. (more on the Varsity later).

Then on Saturday we caught part of Naomi's games as she battled for the border-league championship. Volleyball is pretty fun to watch, and she did fabulous! Whew! Six days of games! Guess what? I loved every minute of it!

Watch Children Playing like Monkeys

I took the kids to the mountain a few weeks ago, just me and the younger 3. We saw this sign and got the giggles.

Larson is a monkey somtimes, but always such a trooper. We take him with us wherever we go, with whoever is doing something. Last week he hung out at the summer games, and had a great time. He played football with Ashli, took photos with Tia, cheered Presten on in every race, and ate all the treats he could find. He is such a happy and adventureous kid. He is our Monkey who is always playing!

Larson's got first!

This is Larson's first year of machine pitch. He loves to play and sometimes thinks that the action is a little slow. His favorite positions are first base and catcher. Notice these are the two positions with the ball in play every time! I especially love to see his toothless smile every time he gets a great hit or makes an awesome play.