FRIGHT night returns!

WE were blessed to spend this HALLOWEEN
with Hailee and Leo!
Ron fixed us is INFAMOUS grilled bacon-wrapped shrimp,
steak and fried potatoes!
Can you say...YUM!!

These two became BEST friends!

Leo the Lion with Grandad!

My Beat UP football fan!

This is the cutest bat I've ever seen!

Camouflage NINJA doing what a NINJA does!

My HALLOWEEN kids...minus Christopher! He is too old and cool this year to dress up!

Mall Queen

My Mall Queen is

RACHEL...

so it came as no surprise when she wanted to spend her

11th BIRTHDAY

at the mall...shopping with her BFF'S.

That's short for her Best Friend's Forever.

So with Katie and myself in tow

we took off to the Superstition Springs Mall for a birthday night of shopping.

Katie...Madison...Summer...Rachel

Mall Bound!

A girl must stop for food...energy for more shopping. Izzy joins us for the fun!

Rachel LOVED opening all of her presents...especially this cute R to hold all her hair flower clips, pictures, earrings and jewelry. Perfect girly gift for my Rachie!

Rachel gets money and gift cards...to add to the money her Grandma's gave her!

Perfect gift to give a girl whose going shopping!!

Izzy...Madison...Rachel....Summer

BFF'S at least for this birthday!!

As for the shopping????

She spent it all and LOVED every minute of it!

Happy 11th Birthday my sweet girl.

Five months of CUTENESS....

Sydney is a DREAM baby.
She came to visit 2 months ago...and I have been wanting to post these pictures along with their visit...but it took me awhile to adjust to my new JOB.
So here are the amazing pictures...I think they show exactly what a SWEET, little baby Travis and Melissa have.

We sure LOVED having you visit!
Travis and Melissa, too!!

Paper Chain

Our paper chain...
WE are counting down the days until
CAMERON
comes home.
Words cannot express how grateful we are to this amazing KID who is
setting the example in our home of
SACRIFICE,
OBEDIENCE,
FAITHFULNESS,
INTEGRITY,
DEDICATION,
and LOVE.
We miss him everyday...and look forward to his return.

Pretty...Pretties Hailee

The CUTEST little GRANDBABY...
(They are all cute!)
came to visit us this last weekend.
One day while Hailee was crying I asked her if she wanted to get

pretty, pretties

with me!
So I sat her on my bathroom sink and got her pretty, pretties.
And then of course,
I had to take her outside for a VERY special photo shoot.








She is definitely...

pretty....pretties!

A Transition...for everyone!

We are making a Transition in our home...

Mom(that would be me!) has begun to work FULL-TIME.

What started out being a PART-TIME gig a few year's ago...has turned into something more FULL-TIME.

This is a BLESSING...one of MANY God has granted us this year.

But even though it is a blessing...it is hard to transition our lives from MOM always being around to do all the little things, and BIG things too. To a MOM who needs a little more help from everyone to get things done.

And then there is the TIME factor. Ron and I love our TIME together. It is seriously our most prized possession we have had as a couple...finding time to LOVE each other. Because I REALLY do love this man.

And TIME with my children...and the guilt of knowing that I'm not asking all the questions about their day, or helping as much with homework and projects or just being there for them to talk to. Because I REALLY do love these children.

So we will ADJUST...because we must.

A Balloon FIGHT...

Katie's 9th Birthday
started out with some YUMMY pizza and soda. (A treat for us!)
I'm not sure if it was the extra SUGAR
or that we had RON here for the fun,
but what started out as a Water Balloon Toss:

Just doing what MOM'S do...giving instruction!


And keeping things calm...


would DEFINITELY not last for long...I am quite frankly married to one of the FUNNEST men on the planet...which I love!


And when he got involved...the FUN started to happen!








And the GIRLS looked like this...

...and this!
And Katie declared it to be, "Her FUNNEST birthday ever!
And the Fun was just beginning.

Katie has never had a PINATA!
I've deprived my children of FUN!







I loved how this PINATA created PARTY hats!!!

And Katie's last request????

STRAWBERRY PIE!

I sure love this little GIRL!!
She is as SWEET and KIND as they come!

Congratulations on being 9!

My BIRTHDAY girls...

Katie celebrated her 9th Birthday on
September 22.
I will post pictures of her on her special day later.
She wanted to pose for a special picture of her on her
brand new PURPLE bike.
Her birthday present from Ron and I.
She had wanted a BIGGER girls bike for awhile...
so she could go on bike rides
with Ron.
We are VERY impressed that she keeps up!
All thanks to her shiny, purple bike!

Rachel hasn't had her birthday yet.
It's coming on
October 23.
She got ALL her presents early.
Her Aunt Donna made the skirt (it is sooo CUTE!),
she made the bead necklace
courtesy of the BEAD DIVA,
and the rest,
well we got to spend some time shopping!
Rachel's FAVORITE!

Happy Birthday to mommies, sweet, little, princesses!

Love ya!

The HOUSE I grew up in...

PROUD of where I'm FROM. I had the opportunity to go to Missouri this last weekend to visit my MOM and DAD. I have NEVER been without my kids...so it was just little ole' me. It gave me the chance to LOOK around and see my CHILDHOOD home in a way I had never seen before. And when I was DONE...I looked around and felt PROUD of where I'm from.

THE SAC RIVER around the corner from our house.

THE OLD CHURCH that still sits by the SAC RIVER!

PROUD of who my PARENTS are. One of the best parts of my trip was the opportunity I had to just SIT and talk with my parents. They are REALLY great parents...and I feel really lucky that I can say so! I was EVEN more proud that my parents show LOVE for each other after 48 years.

PROUD of being a COUNTRY girl at heart. Now mind you I have lived in the city for more than half my life...and I do love all that their is to do in a city. However, I was perfectly content sitting in my parents house...looking out their big, beautiful windows and seeing turkey pass right by! And when I told my family I had never seen that growing up...they thought I had lost my mind. Really, I don't remember it...but would I have appreciated it if I had?

My little FAMILY of TURKEYS!!!

PROUD of spending an afternoon with my dad. I've been really worried about my dad. He hasn't been feeling very well...which is why I needed to visit. I was very relieved to find my dad feeling better...and why spending an afternoon doing what my dad does made this trip worth it.

Lucky and Charlie...the two horses getting fed.

Feeding the cows...with my dad.

I'm safely taking the picture from the truck! :)

PROUD of being my parent's daughter. But the thing I'm most proud of is being able to have such wonderful parents who taught me the Gospel and then did it by living it themselves. I'm truly grateful that after all my mistakes, and all I've been through that I can say, "I'm NOW the daughter my parent's raised me to be."

My Mom and Me laughing because my dad doesn't know how to operate the camera!

Proud of my Dad and Me.