Happy birthday baby boy!

 My baby turned two! He is growing so fast and is such a fun kid to have around. He was so excited to get  a new tractor and still to this day he calls this his "Happy tractor" because it was on his Happy birthday cake.

We had a small family party for him and just two of his grandmas came. We had all of his favorites, chicken nuggets, homemade fries, grapes, salad and ranch and cake and ice cream.

 Such a cutie!

 Opening his presents!

He had to take his new tractor for a ride before bed. What a great day for a two year old boy!

We love you so much, Buddy!!!!

Our rainbow

One day after a rain storm, Lydell called us from the barn and told us to go look outside at the double rainbow. The kids thought it was so awesome. I'm grateful for the little things like rainbows that we are able to enjoy together.

I think these little ones are my "pot of gold"!

Cranio-facial picnic

Beyond every face is a heart!!

We were able to attend a really special picnic in honor of cranio facial month in September. We had the wrong directions to get there and it took us an hour and a half to find our way there.......but other than that it was really fun to meet some other special kids and their families. These kids have the most amazing spirits that shine through. It is such a blessing to get the chance to be around them.

We brought a picnic lunch and then all of the girls who wanted them got glitter strands put in their hair. The kids had lots of fun playing at the park.


(Thanks to Kate for the pictures since I forgot my camera)

Our family at the top of the hill

Me, Brendyn, Daddy, Ash, Dezi, and Daycen

(not sure where Shaylee was, probably on the swing)

We picked up my niece, Dezi, and she was able to go with us and help with the kids. 

Our Garden

Every year I get so excited as we get our garden in and it starts to produce.

Our front garden

This year we had tomatoes, onions, green beans, cucumbers, green peppers, zucchini, crook neck squash, and pumpkins. Not everything did really well, but most of it did. (And I was able to get stuff from other people on what didn't do very well, like the green beans.)

I bottle most of it and it is great to see our shelves filled with food for the winter. This year I was able to do:

28 quarts of salsa

13 quarts of sweet and sour sauce

12 pints of pizza sauce

28 quarts of peaches

28 quarts of pears

10 quarts of spaghetti sauce
13 quarts of green beans

6 quarts of apple pie filling

I also bottle chicken throughout the year whenever I can get it on sale.

I have some apples ordered so I'm sure we will have more pie filling and lots of applesauce.

It is a lot of work and by the end of the canning season I get really sick of doing it and of the mess it leaves in my kitchen. But it all tastes so good in the following year.

If the shoe fits....

Shay got some new flip-flops from Grandma Marie and she loved them so much that she slept in them that night

Brendyn loves to wear everyone's shoes, here he is in Mommy's sandals

So embarrassed

Helping Daddy

The kids love to go farming with Daddy if they get the chance.We all got to go out and try out the new swather with him.

It was big enough to fit our whole family in there

Town Days!

 I have a ton to catch up on, I've been slacking on my blog!!!

In August every year we celebrate our town's settlement. It is always such a fun time to spend with family and see friends that we only get to see about once a year. The town puts on a pit bbq lunch with roast beef, pork roast, and baked potatoes all cooked in the pit. We also have corn on the cob, tomatoes, cucumbers, rolls, and cupcakes. It is the best meal ever! I know because we have to stand in line for a few hours to even get to eat it, but it is worth it! And it is a good time to mingle with the other town folks.


After lunch, we head over to the park where they have booths and games. This year we had train rides and bounce houses, and the best part is always the live trout catch. The kids get to get into the water and catch a fish with their bare hands! They love it.

Baby B was not a fan of the train ride

My four little cuties on the train

While we were waiting for the trout catch to start, we got a huge rain storm that hit us! We all had to take cover under the pavilion until  it stopped and we were all drenched!!!

Ash was quite brave and got right in to it!

This was her doing a "happy dance" because she caught a fish

Dayce was a little nervous to have the fish swimming all around his feet,  

but then he caught one! 

This little one was all tuckered out after such a fun and exciting day

Ashy proudly showing off her fish

Daycen's first day of kindergarten

I had mixed feelings about sending Daycen to all day kindergarten. But when the teacher who tested him recommended that he go all day, I decided it was probably best for him. He will do things for other people that he won't do for me.

He loved pre-school so I was sure he would do great in kindergarten too. He got an awesome teacher so I was really excited for him!

Our handsome school boy

Waiting with sis at the bus stop

When he got home that first day I asked him what they did at school and the only thing he would tell me is that they got a bathroom break! I think he is learning lots and his writing is really improving! He is a big helper at our house so we miss him while he is at school, but we are glad he is having fun!

Shaylee's first day of first grade

I had been having some very tender feelings about sending Shaylee to school all day. Not because I am one of those good moms who love to have their kids around all of the time. I'm one of the other mom's who love a break from my kids. :)
But, it scared me to not be there to protect her and to take care of her. And even though I know she is in good hands, it was really hard for me to let her go.

One Sunday before school started, we were in church listening to a cute, young lady who had just returned from her mission. She was reading a scripture out of John. It is talking about Jesus passing by a blind man and His disciples asking Him who had sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind.
John 9:3 reads 'Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.'  This scripture really hit me hard and reminded me how blessed I am to have one of those special angels in my home that the works of God are made manifest through.

I've seen many miracles take place through my precious little girl. It also made me realize that she is not just mine, but that she is also His, and that He loves her even more than I do and that He knows what is best for her. I remember one time when I was putting her to bed and we couldn't find her dolly special that she has had since she was a baby and she sleeps with every night and takes to every doctor appointment. I looked all over and couldn't find her so I told Shay we would have to find her the next day. She acted so sad but I didn't know where else to look. I came out to the front room and had the feeling to look under the couch cushion and there she was!  I took her in to Shaylee and she was so happy. I realized then that our Heavenly Father cares about us and even the little things matter to Him!

So with all of these thoughts and feelings I was having, we got up and got Shaylee ready for school. I french braided and curled her hair. She was really excited to go back to school and to ride the bus again. We usually read a scripture story out of our gospel art kit (it has pictures to go along with the scripture stories) and then have a prayer before I take them to the bus. I randomly picked out a picture and it just happened to be the same one in John chapter 9 about the healing of the blind man. It brought tears to my eyes and I think Shaylee thought her Mom was a little crazy with all of her emotions!

She looked so cute and was so excited!

Walking to the bus stop

Waiting for the bus to come

On the bus, ready to go

She had a fun time and everything went really great for her. She seems to be loving first grade and has the best teacher ever! It is tiring for her but she is managing pretty well. She is such a sweet little girl and I hope she has a great year!!!

HaPpY bIrThDaY Daddy!!!

We celebrated Lydell's birthday in August. We are so blessed to have him in our lives, he is such a good dad and husband.

I asked him what he wanted to do for his big day, and he said he didn't care. I told him we had to do something fun because the kids were so excited about his birthday, so he said we could just take them to McDonald's. So that is what we did! They had a fun time playing in the play place and eating their favorite food, Happy Meals! I didn't even get a cake made for him this year. I'll have to do one soon.

We had bought him a new drill, but I let the kids pick him out a little present from the dollar isle so they could have something to give to him and help him unwrap. This is what they came up with:

Ash really really thought Daddy would love this pink super girl purse, and I'm sure he will look great taking this up to the barn to milk the cows!

Dayce got him this grabber

Shaylee got him some outlet converters

and Brendyn chose this football duck

Dell loved his presents and the excitement that the kids had in giving them to him. He is such a great guy and we were lucky to be able to celebrate his special day with him!

Happy Birthday!!!

The "beach"

I had never taken my kids to the reservoir that we live close to. It seems I've always been pregnant or had a new baby and so it has been hard to take them all out. This year the kids were all old enough to really enjoy it.

I have a lot of fun childhood memories of time spent at "the Rez" and I wanted my kids to have that too. We packed up a picnic lunch and met some friends out there to splash and play with.

Shay, me, and Brendyn

Ash

Dayce, Brendyn, and Shay

Our cute friends

The kids loved digging in the sand and splashing in the water

My mom came out and watched us and had lunch with us

Shay wanted me to write her name in the sand

My hubby and I got engaged out at the res 12 years ago!

It was such a fun day and the kids thought the "beach" was great. The water is sure not crystal clear, but they didn't care. They had a blast playing in the muddy water.

We did get to go out to the res one more time before school started and took our Daddy with us.

Swimming is not his thing but he enjoyed watching the kids play.