FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

3rd GRADE!!!There was excitement in the air this morning.  Brayden was grinning from ear to ear.  He didn't want summer to end any more then I did.  He was grinning because he was now able to wear his new clothes and SHOES!!!  Finally, after weeks of me telling him that he has to save them for school, he was now able wear them.  As time drew closer that morning, I noticed Brayden was trembling.  I asked him if he was nervous...he said he was just cold (ya, right).  I told him that we would have family prayer in a minute and that would help calm him down.  Well, between not having paper work filled out and back-pack not ready...and not to mention we might miss the bus...morning family prayer time came and went and we all forgot.  We drove Brayden to the bus stop, the bus was a little early and already there, and then my cute Brayden (I think still trembling) said, "Mom, we forgot prayer".  I wish I would have remembered...My heart sunk, but I was happy to know that he has learned Heavenly Father will always be there to help us. ~Wow, that brings tears to my eyes every time I think of how cute that was.~We came back to the house and fed MaKayla breakfast.  She had toast and a yogurt.  This is the mess I had to clean up...It's called take it all off and stick her in the tub.After school was done, we all looked out the window waiting for Brayden to come home.There were hugs and kisses, and of course, it is tradition that I make him his choice of cookies on the first day of school. He sat down and said, "Mom, 3rd grade was good and stuff, but I sure am glad to be home."What mom doesn't want to hear that!A while later, I was on the phone...I came down stairs and I saw all the toys out of the toy box scattered all over. I thought to my self, (oh great, look at the mess I have to clean up)...then Chad looks up at me and said, "Mom, I am cleaning this for you...sure enough, he had pulled it all out to organize it and put it away.I made my way into the kitchen and saw this, Brayden doing the dishes. He unloaded the dishwasher and put the dirty ones in it. I was shocked, this has never happened before. So thanks boys for making my day! This was such a miracle, I had to blog it.

SUMMER WAS GREAT IN 2008!

We celebrated the last week of summer with spending as much time out side as possible.  Two days in a row we were invited to go with friends to this water pad.  The kids had a blast.  I didn't have to worry about the kids drowning, and the best part was I didn't have to get into a swimming suit!

 

 

The boys enjoy helping Jeremy with the yard work.  Below are pictures of Chad following Jeremy with the lawn mower.  I kid you not, he does this everytime Jeremy mows the lawn...he follows him back and forth almost every line in the lawn.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY...

I love big summer storms.  I like them to come and go fast.  I like it when the sky gets really dark, the rain comes, and an hour later the sky is blue.We were driving home a few weeks ago and saw this....The good:This was found in our garage, we would have put something next to it so you could actually see how huge it was, but it moved fast, and neither of us wanted our hand near the evil creature...The Bad:We went up the canyon and found this...The Ugly:Yes, that is some sort of poop trail it is leaving behind.

Catch the Spirit.....

I am sure we are all excited for the Olympics to begin tomorrow. One of my favorite competitions are gymnastics. Here are a few "OUCH" bloopers, ENJOY:

(I have not looked at all of the bloopers on here except for the main one I am showing.)

~ATTITUDE~

My dad gave me this quote back in Junior High or High school. I would have to say it is my favorite. I have kept it since, and I read it often. I thought about it today and thought I would share it with everyone. Hope you enjoy!


~ATTITUDE~
by: Charles Swindoll

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...church...a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.

It's Great To Be Eight

I can't believe our oldest was baptized today! Before I know it...he will be on his mission. And I, will be sitting here at the end of the day, blogging (if it still exists).It all began with needing (wanting) pictures of Brayden. And of course I happen to have an amazing photographer in the family....Katie. She is always willing to take pictures of my kids....in fact, if it wasn't for her...I wouldn't have any pictures.Here are a few pictures of my handsome Brayden (yes, I know I am a little prejudice). While taking Brayden's pictures...Chad & MaKayla were playing, (this is around 7:30) there cheeks got so red, they went almost blotchy. Not sure if they both had an allergic reaction or they were hot. MaKayla had had it, and Chad enjoyed annoying her...


Next came the planning....do I serve breakfast or lunch (the baptism started at
9:00am). I decided on more of a lunch theme and I think it all turned out well.




One of the things that made the day special was both of my Grandma's were able to be there. There are not too many 8 year old's that have 2 great grandma's at there baptism.





Another thing that made the day perfect was my dad and brothers all sang at the baptism. I thought they did an amazing job. They were the icing on the cake.
For all that came, thank you. It means a lot to me and my family.

"Spudman" Triathalon or "Studman" Triathalon

Jeremy completed his first triathalon. It was in Burly, Idaho. I am proud of him...he did AWESOME!!! Out of 2000 people, he placed 66th. He was 19th in his age division. He swam 1 mile, biked 25 miles, and ran a 10k. Total time: 2hrs. 11min.

My parents watched our kids. Thank you Mom & Dad for watching them! We had to sleep in a tent and use latrene's...(and doing that with three young children, especially when the latrene's were a long walk away, would not have been enjoyable).

Like I said we had to sleep in a tent, that is because all the hotels have been booked for many months. It could have been worse....I thought we would have to sleep in a field full of mice; but we were able to sleep on a golf course. Not too shabby!

The race started at 7:00am.
Next is a picture of Jeremy in his wet suit right before the swim. They had to wear a bright hat to be seen in the water.



Next is a picture of the snake river that they swam in...it is huge and a little overwelming if your not used to swimming in open water.



This is them waiting for the gun to go off...



And there off......



Doesn't he look great...he is the one right in the middle...can't you see him???



Next was the bike ride....they were coming so fast that I didn't even see Jeremy. He saw me and yelled my name and this was the best picture I could get!



Last but not least was the run. He did awesome in this event. He kept passing people the entire route.
He is the one in the white top.







What a Stud!!!

There was something sad that happened during the race. A gentleman from Provo who was 60 years old, died during the swim. He wasn't in the water very long. From what I here he was in exellent shape. The divers went in to find him about 10 seconds after he went under, but were unable to find him until 30 min. later, due to the murcy water from all of the swimmers. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. It is something I saw, and will be hard for the both of us to forget.