I really am THAT old!

Nothing makes you feel your age like having to buy your son his very first stick of deodorant. Yep, that's right... I had to take my son to the store to sniff deodorant sticks so he could pick one he liked. All because he is starting to smell. I can NOT believe he is old enough for that already! That means I have to start prepping myself for all that stuff that comes shortly after... Oh boy, shoot me now!!!

 

Pure

That is the best word to describe my little Gabby. I can't take ANY credit for her goodness, she came that way and luckily hasn't been tainted yet :). School has only been in for a little over a week for my kids. On Thursday we had a PTA Ice Cream Social where we got to mix and mingle with some of the staff of the school. Gabby's teacher happened to be there. She stopped to talk with Nate and me. She told us that Gabby, with out any prompting or encouragement of any kind, had befriended and taken the role of special friend and protector of a little girl in her class with severe autism. The teacher got emotional when telling us about how kind and loving Gabby is to this little Ellie. I was so touched by her compliment. I have to admit I wasn't suprised because Gabby did the same thing in kindergarten. They had a little girl with downs syndrome and Gabby was her special friend with out being asked to as well. But the most amazing part to me is that Gabby doesn't seem to notice that these kids are any different than she is. When I asked her about Ellie she said, "Well I like her mom. She is funny and very nice." I asked her if she noticed anything different, and if she knew why the other kids weren't always nice to her. She told me, "Well she seems to get lost a lot. Like when we are learning or going to other class rooms. But I just hold her hand and tell her what we are doing and where we are going." She honestly sees these children as they truly are; beautiful, wonderful children with challeneges that are more obvious to those around them. She doesn't think she is doing anything extrordinary, or special. And I love her all the more because of it. She has a heart of gold and I am so thankful to have her in my family!

Where have I been???....

It has been a really long time since I have blogged. There are several reasons for that, but that is for another post. First I need to get caught up! Our summer started out in Utah thanks to my wonderful sister and her husband! We are so lucky to have such amazing family! The kids and I flew out to Utah to stay at Oriana and Trav's house in Payson just a few days after school got out. (I did have to get the ok from all of Evie's doctors, but it worked out) We had SO. MUCH. FUN!!! They have llamas, goats, horses, four wheelers, dogs, a pool, etc. It was our own mini resort!!! I will just let the pictures speak for themselves!!!

 

We had the best time with everyone and I wish we didn't all live so far away from each other!

Family

I love my family. Anyone who knows me, knows I love my family! Not just the people that I grew up with, but all the people that have been added since. My siblings and I had not been all together for a few years and it had been about 4 since we had a picture with ALL of us in it. I LOVE pictures, I know most of the men hate taking them,  so I am even more grateful that they sat through this. I love being able to look back at them and think of all the fun that surrounded taking them; and when I am feeling lonely (since I am over 1,000 miles away from the closest family) I love to go back and look at them to feel close to all of them again. These are a few of the pictures from my family, we still need to get together with all of Nate's family and get pictures with them (Hint, Hint ;)!)

The whole gang:

My brothers, sisters and parents:

The boys:

The girls:

The grand kids so far:

My pride and joys:

The love of my life:



How did I get so lucky?! I really don't know, but these people mean the world to me and I am better for having them in my life!
(And don't you love Travis and Oriana's barn?! Their farm/house was amazing and it was so nice of them to host us all there! They are saints!!!)
I am missing them all already! :)

Summer Hair

I have a lot of blogging to get caught up on, but I had to blog this first... I cut my girls hair! I mean really cut it! They have had trims before, but this time they wanted something a little more. For months Lily has complained about getting her hair brushed. We told her if she complained too much we would just cut it off. Well Nate liked that idea, so yesterday Lily was complaining and he said, that is it! Time for a cut.  (Luckily the girls had been talking with their aunts about this and they already wanted it) It was ME who didn't. I LOVE their long hair. BUT I do have to say I like how they both turned out. Lily got 7 inches taken off her hair, and the more I look at it the more I think it need some layers.... And Gabby had over 11 inches off hers!! I wanted to cry, but they both love it and so does their dad. (And it does grow back... :)) So here they are, before and after shots, what do you think?!

Nelson Kennedy Ledge State Park

Knowing that we were leaving for Utah and that we wouldn't see Nate for about a month, we took advantage of his first weekend off it what seems like forever! As Evie is finally able to go out and do stuff, we decided it was the perfect time to check out a place some good friends told us about. Nelson Kennedy Ledge State Park. Whew! That is quite a mouthful!! And it was quite an eyeful too! It was BEAUTIFUL!!! I can see many trips to this place in our future!! Not only was it close (an hour away), fun and easy for the kids to hike around, but it appealed to my geology background :)! I have so many awesome pictures from here, but these are a few of my favorites :)

Now, don't you all want to come out and visit us so we can take you here too?!?!? ;) You can come anytime after July 11th!

Soccer Girls

Gabby and Lily have been able to play on soccer this year with a bunch of other kids their age. Some of the dad's in our ward (congregation) coach the teams and it is a lot of fun!! Gabby played last year, but she was the youngest and the smallest and she didn't really get all that into it. This year, however, she has really taken off!! She gets in there, steals the ball and gets it down the field. She scored 2 out of the 3 goal in the last game!! She loves it! Lily is still learning and gets mad when she doesn't get to kick the ball. She will walk off the field and come complain to me. I keep trying to tell her, she has to practice!! :) We have had so much fun though and I am so proud of my girls!!