Bittersweet . . .

I was extremely excited when my niece Shaylee asked me if I would take her senior pictures until I realized they were her "SENIOR" pictures. This beautiful young lady has been my Shay Baby since she was born and we have become pretty close buds over the years so I became extremely sad as the realization set in that she will be graduating from highschool in 24 days and then she is off to college to start the next chapter in her life. I am way excited for her also to be growing up and figuring out what the future holds for her, it is such a fun time! We had SOOOO much fun taking 400+ pictures over the course of the weekend and getting to escape to the mountains for an afternoon. It will be a memory I treasure forever!

  LOVE YA GIRLIE!!!

Finally!!!

We are really good at starting projects and then something happens that we don't finish them but this is not the case this time!!! I am very proud to say we have started a project and finished it. It may have taken almost 2 years BUT, it got done!!! When we bought this house, we knew it was going to need work and the boys bathroom would be first because the bathtub didn't work. So that is where we started and that is what we finished before Joe started any other projects for us.

 The front panel to the tub wasn't like that when we bought the house, it was all put together. We had no idea what we were about to find when we opened it up.

  This is what we found when we opened up the face of the tub!!! I FREAKED!!! Ha ha ha I have no idea what the mummified animal is so if you have any ideas, feel free to share!!! You don't want to know what all was under there, we took care of the problem!!! ha ha ha

 Finally sheet rock on the walls and ceiling, tape and texture, and a fresh coat of paint.

  I LOVE THE CABINET!!! I am a hickory kinda girl. Left over tile from our Duncan remodel.

 More left over tile from Duncan. Two expenses that were nice to be able to save. Shower tile in!!!

 And finally a finished product!!! 

Me and my OCD ways though, I am going to take out the white shower curtain rod and buy a rubbed bronze shower curtain rod to match the light and faucet and door knobs and towel holder and toilet paper holder and door hinges. ha ha ha I am not even joking a little bit about the whole OCD everything has to match thing, I am CRAZY but we had company coming so I bought what I could find, it will work in the master bathroom when we redo it. I love how it turned out though and the boys are excited to have their own bathroom back and I am happy to have my own bathroom back for a little while! Ours is next though so time for the boys to return the favor and let us share theirs till it gets done.

Unlikely friends

About a week after we got Blue, we came home from grocery shopping one night and Doc had something or someone pegged outside our garage. After cautiously checking to see what it was, we found somebody had blessed our family with 5 little kittens. If you know us, you know how well we like cats. We like them about as much as we like strep throat or a nail in the eye. We are absolutely not cat lovers so we were not so excited to have 5 running around our yard. The boys on the other hand were very excited, especially Tad. He loves all animals. Blue was very excited too that she finally had something about the same size as her that didn't get grumpy at her when she tried to play. Her and this one certain cat in the picture became best friends. They are always together. We thought she was trying to kill it one day when we saw her dragging it across the grass on its back by its head. We yelled at her to let it go and she did but the cat didn't run away, it just sat there waiting for her to drag it around the yard some more which she did and still does. We thought the cats would be coyote food within the first week but no we still have all 5! We are hoping they at least hold their own and keep the mice away.

 We have been pretty blessed this winter with snow. I have loved it, my sisters cuss it. I say the more the merrier!!! I will accept whatever moisture we are given in whatever form it comes. I love the way the snow makes the land look so clean and peaceful and quiet. It is a beauty all its own.

 I have LOVED watching this boy grow and learn! It hasn't been the easiest for him. He has a really hard time tuning everything out so he can focus and he gets distracted very easily. I have never ever discouraged his creativity, it makes him who he is and he comes up with some of the coolest things! It has been hard for him in school though to not turn whatever object he is given into a rocket ship or an airplane or build a log cabin that is being taken over by crayola Indians. ha ha He is progressing and learning though and is an excellent reader. He is doing great in math and he loves to learn, and I love watching him learn, especially when he taps his fingers on his nose to add however many fingers he is holding up together when doing math.

 I am still shocked when I see my two boys outside playing with each other and see just how big they are getting. My handsome little boys. I LOVE THEM and I love that they are best friends!!!

Just because

 Since our lives are pretty mundane and boring, I don't have anything to blog about but it gives us plenty of time to enjoy "Photo Booth" on our computer. So I decided it would be fun to pick some of the pictures we have taken over the years since we got this computer. It has been fun looking back at crazy pictures and watching the videos of the boys when they were little with their cute little voices. Please excuse the messy faces and dirty house in the background. Most of the time Photo Booth was used as a distraction to get them to sit still for 5 minutes when they were little so if they have dirty gross faces or boogers, I know and I am sorry. 

I LOVE this video of Darrell. I know I am a cry baby but watching this made me cry and laugh at the same time. They are just growing up way to fast. That sweet little voice that is so stinkin cute, has been replaced with a sarcastic school age wannabe preteen! Sassy little monster now but he is still cute and makes us laugh daily.

Happy Birthday Mammasita!!!

Due to technical difficulties, I couldn't post this yesterday so . . . 

Happy Birthday (yesterday) Mamma!!!

Hope your afternoon was good! I am glad you are my mom, I Love you so much!!!

Time, where do you go?

On December 6th, TEN years ago, me and this man were married. It has been an interesting, fun, trying at times, productive, and successful 10 years, full of proud moments and accomplishments. Our most proud moments are sitting with us in this picture. I love my family and my husband and I am grateful for how hard he works to provide for us and make our lives comfortable. He is my best friend and a man of his word. If he says he'll do it, you can bet he will and he will go above and beyond to do a better job than expected. I love that he is trustworthy and that he holds the priesthood in our home. He is smart and doesn't give himself enough credit most of the time. He is a great dad and tries hard to teach our boys how to work hard, be honest and trustworthy, and to grow up to be missionaries and strong men. I am proud to call him mine. I look forward to the next 10 years and the 10 after that. 

Love you always B.

I am thankful for . . .

 FALL

I am thankful for my sweet boys and the joy and laughter and happiness and love and craziness and faith they bring into our home. They are mine and I am thankful for that. I am not committed enough to write something I am thankful for each day of the month of November but I will write a few things while I wait to change the wood chips in my smoker. I am most thankful for my Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ. I am thankful for their guidance and direction and for their incomparable love. I am thankful for parents that instilled in me a testimony of my savior. I am thankful for their examples and for everything they gave to me. I never went without and I am thankful for that. I am thankful for my Joseph B. and for his love and support. He has worked hard to provide for this family and has done an amazing job at making our lives comfortable and at making us feel loved. He has made it possible for me to stay home and raise our boys and I am so so thankful for that.  It has been a gift he has given me that I can never repay. I am thankful for the temple and eternal families and music and baking and my siblings and for my in-laws. I have much to be thankful for and I am glad that I have Thanksgiving to remind me of the amazing people and things I have in my life.