{#24}

#24
Decorate cupcakes.
We did it.
They were cute.
And very frosted.
Very.

(And yes, I know that school has started,
but we are only 2 away from finishing and I'm ok with
giving myself an extension!)

{2nd Grader}

Last year we had a nervous little first grader.
A very cute, nervous little first grader.

Today, I sent her to 2nd grade.
I sent my very excited, not quite as little-girl to 2nd grade.

And don't want to brag...

(I only say that when I really do want to brag)
but I think she might be the cutest 2nd grader around.

This year she got very into school shopping and
spent a good chunk of time picking out the first day outfit.
We went from store to store till she settled on this.
What a cute little fashionista I'm raising!

She loved her first day.
Loved her teacher.
Loved recess.
Sat by a great friend from last year.
Didn't complain about her homework!
And couldn't sleep tonight because she
can't wait to wear tomorrow's outfit.
(Is it wrong that I'm kind of proud of her excitement over clothes?)
I adore this kid of mine.
She's so smart, so kind, so tenderhearted, and so much fun!
Can't wait to see whats in store for her this year!I must go nibble her now.
She's edible.

{One Last Day of Fun!}

Yesterday we finally able to get together with some

friends we've been trying to hook up with all summer long.
It literally took all summer,
but at least we made it happen!

My friend Rhonda invited us over for a little water party,
and the ladies loved it.

Relaxing on the hammock.

They are all just adorable!

And a little crazy!

Thanks girls for the fun day!
So glad we finally got together!

{#17, #20, #21, #31 & Our back to school dinner}

#17
Paint Picture Frames.
They did it-and they turned out darling.
You'll have to trust me on this one.

#20
Read A Family Chapter Book.
The Boxcar Children.
I'd forgotten how much I adore that book.
The ladies loved it too.
I will take any suggestions for our next read....

#31
Go Miniature Golfing.
We went last week and the ladies loved it.
Each one scored a hole in one.
And I don't wanna brag...but....I beat Travis.

Cody was the winner.
But I think he cheats.
Just Sayin'.

#21
Help Cook Dinner.
We chose to do this one for our annual back to school dinner.
The ladies really wanted to help us cook dinner,
and then pretend we were at a restaurant and serve us.
We made our very favorite pasta dish and garlic bread.
The ladies loved squeezing the lemons, and putting the
butter on the bread.

We sat outside and they brought out a paper and pen and took our order.
Here's me and my darling waitress.


T and his.
The service was impeccable.

Trust me, it tastes better then it looks!

Then our servers sat down and joined us for

some dinner and we discussed our big plans for the year.
We decided on our theme for the year,
Be Confident.

I'm not quite ready to send them off to school!

After dinner we did this adorable back to school scavenger hunt,
found here. I changed a few things to make it fit what they needed,
and it was so much fun. The girls loved toting their
backpacks around the house and filling them up!
Dad reading a clue, Dr. Pepper in hand, natch.After the hunt we went on a bike ride,
made some yummy ice cream sundaes,
and then each child got a Fathers Blessing,
my very favorite part of the night.
I do love this family of mine!And I believe we are ready for school!
We only have 3 things left on our list...

{Camps & Lessons}

A good chunk of our summer was full of camps and lessons.
So many, in fact, that between our checklist,
vacations and birthdays, we haven't had
any down time.

Next year, I've gotta cut something out!

That being said, they loved every single thing they did.

They did a 2 week Art Camp at the AVA.
Adyson did it last year and loved it,
And Sienna was thrilled to be old enough to participate this year!!

The theme was the future.
They made robots, costumes, kaleidoscopes, paintings,
and they do a few days of cooking, as well as dancing and music.

It's fabulous, and the ladies love it.
The last day they do an art show where their art is
on display like in a gallery.
Then they put on a show-displaying some
songs they've learned, and dances, and this year
drumming.

Here are the ladies singing.
And Adyson dancing...with a boy!
They weren't thrilled about that....

And Roo, drumming.

That kid likes a crowd.

They also attended Golf Camp.
An hour every single week, the whole summer long.
Dad was so proud!
And have you ever seen such cuteness on the golf course??

Love their pink clubs!

They also took 2 weeks of swimming lessons,
which, mother of the year that I am,
I took no pictures of.

They loved them. Lots.
And have turned into little fish.

I'm glad I managed to get this all documented
before school starts (in a mere 4 days!)

I love fall though, so I'm not complaining.
Peace out.

{#1, #9, #11, #27}

#11

Go to Willow Park.

We usually do this about 100 times
during the summer.
It's cheap, it's close,
and the ladies love it.

But this year we have had a rough time
making it for some reason.

We had a little picnic there today and the
ladies
loved it!

#9
Go to the Beach.

We were able to go with some of our friends to
Bear Lake this week.

It was crowded, but really, really lovely.
The kids just played in the sand and shallow
water, while the moms
chatted, relaxed, and basked in the sun!

Adyson was thrilled to collect seashells and
build a sand city.

Roo was loving building a 'pool' with the

few boys who were there.

Me and my dear friend Candace. Total babes...The crew.
Love them.#1
Go get a Slurpee.

Done and Done.#27
The ladies also checked off going to breakfast with their Dad.
Except we cheated a bit and it was breakfast for dinner...but still,
summer's almost over so a bit of pretending is fine!

{Family Time & #26}

I mentioned in my last post that my beautiful

sister was able to come be here for my Birthday,

and then she stayed to party all week long.
We really had such a lovely week letting the

kids tear my moms house apart, eating way too much
late night running, and watching movies.

I sure wish they could live here!!
Here's a few pics of some of the fun we had.

I was able to do Breje's hair, and think she is
just so beautiful! I adore her.

There was lots of swimming in the pool..
I tried to get a cute shot of them together,
and then realized how in the sun Tray was....So I got him to shrink down, but Kutter was over it.
He'd held still long enough!

One night we surprised the kids by putting up an outdoor
movie in my moms backyard. We bought the kids pack trays
from the theater and filled them ourselves.
Yum, popcorn, sprite, and starbursts.
The kids were thrilled when they came outside to see
their blankets and pillows all lined up, treats,
and a movie. It was pretty fun!

And you'll notice we accomplished another item off
our summer checklist.
Tye die.
Awesome.
Oh, and we also accomplished #7,
with no pictures...
Go school shopping.
They got spoiled and may be the best dressed
kindergartener and 2nd graders in the land.
I'm sure we will have a back to school dinner
and I will embarrass them by making them
do a fashion show, and then I will further embarrass
them by posting in on the blog.

I love this shot. It cracks me up.
My cousin Amber is here visiting from Connecticut.
We don't get to see her very often, and were really excited
to have a family party so we could see her, and each other.
Unfortunately I didn't take very many pictures because
we were too busy chatting and sitting in the shade,
but it was really fun. I love my extended family and it's always
great to see them more then just at Christmas.

Sean and Camille hosted it in their backyard and bought
a pinata, that my Aunt Sue filled to the brim (and then some).
The kids loved it.

And they seriously got more candy then they
will ever, ever, ever need.

They spent hours going down the slip-n-slide
and playing in the pools they had set up in the yard.
It was such a great week spent with so many people we love.
Only 2 more weeks before school starts and we are trying to
fit all of the fun things we had planned in!
Stay tuned....

{30}

Saturday I went and tuned 30 years old.

30!!
You all know I love Birthdays and was even
looking forward to turning the old age of 30.
I just think Birthdays are fabulous!


I woke up to some fun decorations in the yard,
just in case anyone in the world didn't know it was
my birthday...My darling mother in law put these adorable flowers
all over the yard with the number 30 written on them.
The ladies loved them!And this gem was posted on the side of the house,
so everyone who drove by could see it.
Gee, thanks Lorraine! :)

After we got ready for the day we
headed to the crepery to get some
delicious crepes,
courtesy of some very dear friends
who wanted to treat us to brunch.
YUM!!

And then the day got boring.
I mean really boring.
And remember, I like birthday's done big.
really big.
So we came home from crepes, and sat.
And sat some more.
And I was doing my best not to get grumpy.
But I wasn't succeeding.

I couldn't believe there was nothing to do on my
Birthday, and couldn't believe Trav hadn't planned a thing!
Except he did ask me to go to the grocery store to
buy garbage bags...
And I nearly cried.

After the extremely boring day of nothing,
we headed to Cafe Sabor to celebrate with
my lovely family.

(Me and the ladies before dinner).

(T and I at dinner).

(Lovely).
Don't be jealous of my hot 30 year old self.

We left dinner and I was feeling a little better.
My beautiful sister came up from Idaho that morning
and she wanted to come see my kitchen,
so we went straight to our house so I could
show it off.
And then we sat there.
Again.
More sitting.
My dad and Cody fell asleep on the couch.
And I was
not
super
thrilled
how I was starting
my 30's.

Around 9:00 my they all went to leave and my
sister told me I had to come get my gift at my moms.
She said it was too big to carry.
And we were planning on going running so I told
her I'd be over as soon as I changed into my
running clothes...to which she quickly replied,
"But your gonna want a picture of this gift, it's awesome."

You'd think that I would have realized something was up,
but I was far too grumpy to even think about it.
I was a let down Birthday snob.

We got to my moms and she told me it was out back,
and when I went back there I found the backyard full
of people I just adore.
My family is pretty much amazing!

Here are some scenes from my party,
taken by my dear friend Eileen.

There was like 10 different types of cupcakes
on these adorable stands all around the yard.
We are all gaining much too much weight because
we can't stop eating them!

My mom had the idea to plan the party,
with a lot of help from Travis, a few of my ward friends,
and these beautiful people below.

Kerry and Shelly Otte.

The Otte family lived across the street from us growing up.
We spent almost every single Christmas Eve with them growing up,
and they are some of our dearest friends.
Their kids are also some of my favorite people in the
entire world, and I really just love them.
They are family.
Before they left the party they
were telling me about the day I was born.
It's a little crazy to think we've been friends for that long.

Kyle and Tami Griffiths.
These are some more amazing family friends.
We've been friends for as long as I can remember,
and I used to babysit their kids, who are now married,
and one with a baby.
(If 30 doesn't sound old, that fact alone makes me feel it!)
Tami is a fabulous party thrower and has helped
in each of our weddings, and these are just people who
would do anything for us.
They've helped us through some pretty tough times,
and we just love them.
They too, are family.
This is Connie,
who quite literally makes
the best cake I've ever tasted.
Connie lives just behind my mom
and she is just a great friend.
She is always thinking of others and
would give you anything you'd ask of her.
She's such a great friend to my mom,
and to all of my family.
We look forward to her coming to Sunday dinners.
She too, is like family, and made some
of the cutest, and tastiest cupcakes for my party.

I was pretty happy to see the women in Trav's family
there. My mother in law loves to
do Birthday's up big, especially big b-days like 30!
She's been sending me darling gifts all month.
She's such a fun, thoughtful person!
We'd been trying to find a time to get
together and celebrate, and it just wasn't happening,
so I was so happy
to see them there,
but we missed you Tiff!!

(Lorraine-my MIL, Michelle-my SIL, and Rheagen-my niece)
And some of my beautiful friends were able to come too!
I love these ladies. They are there for me whenever I need to complain,
cry, eat, or shop. They drag me out of bed to run in mornings,
and stay out late chatting whenever we get the chance.
They always seem to know what I need and always come through
for me. I adore them and wonder often what I'd do without them.

(Connie, Dedee, Chanelle, Courtney, Candace, Katie).
Eileen is behind the lens. But I love her too!My kids had no idea about the party till
they were on the drive over,
and man they were excited!
I love these ladies of mine,
and my adorable niece Brielle too!It was so fun getting to introduce my family to some of
my friends!

My beautiful sister.
Words can't express how much I love my sister.
She is one of the most talented, beautiful, kind people I know.
She is such a great example to me of what life should be like.
I wish, so much, that she didn't live so far away!
And while I love her so much,
I hate her a little because she's my older
sister, but she looks much younger then me!
Blah!
But really, I adore her and wish everyone could
have a sister like mine. The world would be a better place!

And T.
My love.
Who puts up with so much crap from me.
Let's be honest,
I was mad at him.
I thought he had failed me on my
30th birthday!
And I'm pretty sure in this picture
he's saying something like,
"Would I really let you have a crappy birthday
with you being the birthday snob you are??"

He is the best of men.
And I couldn't love him more then I do.
And I'm pretty happy he puts up with my
spoiled self.

I'm trying to mug on him here for
forgiveness....

My brother, Cody, and his wife Amy.
My brother is brutally honest, and a little uncouth.
He's one of the funniest people I know,
and one of my best friends.
Growing up we weren't the best of friends,
but now I talk to him at least every other day,
and miss him when he's not around.
And I owe a little of that love to the fact that
he made the smart choice of marrying Amy.
Amy is one of my dearest friends.
She is one of those people you can just be yourself around.
And she and I aren't very similar, but we get along
famously. I can't imagine life without her.
She's funny, beautiful, and just so easy going.

Love them.

,And my parents.
Man, I adore my parents.

My dad.
He is about the most tender hearted person I know.
He is always here helping in the yard or doing whatever we ask of him,
and even when he grumbles,
we all know there is no where he'd rather be then here helping us.
And he is a great grandfather to my kids,
and they all adore him.
And I love him.
A lot.

My mom did a lot of work for this party,
as she has always gone out of her way to make
things special for me.
My mom is one of those rare people who found the
balance of how to be a parent, and a friend.
It's maybe a little (or a lot), pathetic how often
I talk to her, hang out with her, and beg favors of her.
She is just a beautiful person, inside and out and I hope
someday to be half the mom she is.
She really made my day special, and I am so grateful to her!
Love you mom!