Parker is seven today. I can hardly believe it. It's seems like he's grown up quite a bit in the last year, more this year than others. He was busy playing baseball in the spring and a few months ago he started racing his bmx bike and he is in heaven. He loves it. I have had quite a few proud mom moments this year watching him progress in the things he loves. How did I get to be so lucky to be his mom??? 
I'm two weeks late about posting pictures for Halloween and also we had a very special day for our family on Halloween. Megan was baptised on that very day. When I first was told that the stake baptism day was on Halloween, I think I was a little bit bothered by it at first. Why would they do that? A baptism on a holiday like that? It really was just a moment though, it was as if I got the answer just as quickly. Why not today? What's really more important? A silly holiday of dress up and candy or an opportunity to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost? Megan will never have to try and remember the date of her baptism.
Megan with Jeff
She looked beautiful in her dress!
It was a very intimate family gathering and it meant so much to have Jeff's parents, Amy, Ray and their family, Becky, Todd and their family, and Debbie, Brian, and Crue there. I was also so grateful to have Sassy (my mom) be able to be here, my sister Elysse, and my brothers Jim and Jason also take the time out of their busy schedules to be there to support Megan.
I'm so lucky that I get to be Megan's mom. She is such a great kid. She is truly a tenderheart and is so kind. She is a great sister (she has her moments, as we all do). She fits just perfectly in our family. I'm so proud of her!
It wasn't but a few hours after the baptism that we started gearing up for the night ahead. This year, the three older kids decided they wanted to dress up as vampires/zombie type creepy things. CJ, on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the costume thing. We tried a dragon costume, he screamed until we took it off. We also tried some motocross gear. I thought for sure, he would be excited about that, but no, not at all. Oh well! Good thing he is kid number four, I just decided it wasn't worth the fight, so he stayed home with Jeff and watched the World Series. (Sorry, for those of you who came by. I had a huge bowl of candy with lots of back up, which of course was still here when I got home. Jeff was in the basement, too concerned with the outcome of the game. Come on back by, you don't even have to dress up and I will give you the candy I owe you! :D ) I got some great shots of the kids in their costumes. I might even use one of them for our Christmas photo this year! haha. 
CJ looks so festive, doesn't he?? (eye roll)
Don't you think this would work on a Christmas Card??
It has been close to five years since we have had professional family pictures taken. I have gotten some pictures of just the kids, but felt like it was time to get a decent one with all of us.
I of course, was a total basket case on Wednesday before the appointment because I was trying to make sure all the clothes I was having everyone wear was going to work. I think I pulled it together pretty good, thank goodness.
A sweet friend of mine, Joanna, has a very talented husband who is a photographer. They actually live in Ohio and he was in town doing a wedding and had made some time to do a sitting for us. We went to the Gateway and I am thrilled at how the pictures turned out. He had taken so many great shots, I just hope I can narrow them down!!
Check out the pictures and let me know what you think!
Ok, so I have a confession to make. I haven't really eaten pie, ever. Maybe, not ever. Well, except just recently. (story to come)I have been afraid of pie. Now, I really like ice cream pie, but does that count? I don't know if it's the crust thing...have I been afraid of the crust? could be. I like oreo and graham cracker crusts, I've had those with the ice cream pie... Is the the fruit thing? maybe that too. It just doesn't seem right to eat warm fruit, in my mind fruit needs to be chilled. I have also stayed away from cobblers too, same reason, I think.
The pie introduction: A few weeks ago, a very good friend of mine called and left a message that she had made a pie for me for my birthday and for me to give her a call when I got home because she wanted to bring it by. Well, some of you know how pathetic I am at checking my messages on my home phone, so I didn't pick my messages up until the following day. I gave Brandice a call back, we had a great conversation and chatted for awhile. She had told me that her husband had dug into the pie later that same day because I hadn't got back to them. He didn't want the pie to go "bad", but we know deep down he was pretty bummed in the first place because no pie was being made for their families, just as gifts for me and another friend. She told me that she was going to make me another one and bring it over. It really meant so much to me that she would think of me and do something like that for me, I have never made a pie, but I do know they they take ALOT of work. I couldn't break her the news and tell her that I wasn't a pie person. I kept my mouth shut, and now gratefully so.
A couple days later she and Mike came by and dropped off by the pie and it just looked so pretty, but I felt so bad because I just didn't "do" pie. I should have let her know, but I just couldn't. She said that she had planned on doing a strawberry pie, but had to add some rasberries because some strawberries had been confiscated by an unnamed child. :D
(I didn't think to take picture before we dug in)
As soon as the two of them left, Jeff couldn't wait but to dive in. He grabbed a slice and started eating. He went crazy over it, he couldn't stop talking about how wonderful it was. I just had to try it, just give it a chance. So, I asked for a bite. I just didn't know if I was ready for a whole slice. I took a bite, and it was WONDERFUL! I grabbed my own plate and got my own slice and enjoyed the savory, goodness of it all. 
What had I done to myself? Here I am, 33 years old and I have negleted pie for all of these years. I have to admit, it's almost criminal. I will change my bad habits and move forward. I'm actually looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. Dessert time at Thanksgiving has never been real exciting for me because it always pie, but this year will be different!
Brandice, please don't hate me for not telling you. Thank you for opening my eyes (and stomach) to the awesomeness of pie. You are so thoughtful to take the time and do something like that for me. It truly meant alot!
Ok, so I may have fooled you with the title. I'm not going to do it, I can't find myself to do it. I like to post happy blogs, fun things that we're doing, silly, random stuff that goes on around here. There isn't really anything that I need to vent about at the moment, but I have thought about it a lot in the past. There have definitely been moments in my life that I have just wanted to lock myself in my room and let the words flow. Of course, I have a journal that I have had for years. I actually did pretty well at keeping a journal in high school and college, but have done a miserable job the last 14 years keeping it up. The last 14 years have probably have been the most important time for me to make notes about the ongoings of my life. I have written a couple of times, but it truly is a pathetic number of times. Writing, using a pen and paper seems like a lot of work too. Pathetic, I know, truly pathetic and I also wish I could write they way some of you do. How you are able to put your thoughts on paper is so amazing. How you can pull me into your thoughts, how you can make me feel what you are feeling, what a gift you have been blessed with!! I guess we are all just given different gifts, mine definitely was not in the department of English and creative writing. I'm ok with that.
Anyway, I was talking to my sister Tiffany when she was out visiting this last week for my Grandma Beatty's funeral and I was telling her that I needed to maybe set up a private blog for my eyes only and she told me about this great website called ldsjournal.com. I went to the site and it was free to sign up. It only took a few minutes, but it sucked me in quite quickly. It's a fantastic site that you can go to and it will get you started on your personal history and also you can go and journal there. It also gives you little helps if you feel stumped and don't know what to write about. I've only done it a few times, but I love the ease of being able to type instead of having to write it all out. It's nice to be able to think out loud in a way, but to keep certain things to myself. It's not that I don't want to share it with you, all my wonderful friends. It's just that sometimes, I just need to keep certain things to myself.
I thought I'd share this with you, maybe one or two of you have had the same thoughts that I have had.
Well, it's been exactly a week since the kids started their first day of school. It seems like the week went by in a blur, but all went well. The kids really are enjoying their teachers and their classes. I was worried that Parker would have a hard time adjusting, but he has done just fine. I actually have enjoyed getting back into a bit of a routine, I've been getting up and actually been productive with things that I need to get done. Hopefully, it lasts for awhile! :D Ashley and Megan are both going to play softball this fall. Ashley is excited to play again, practices start for her today 3 days a week, (nothing like the 6 day a week schedule for Allstars). Megan is a little jealous that Ashley is already starting, we have yet to hear from her coach. I really hope that she has a much fun as Ashley has had. I'm really looking forward to the cooler weather and the start of the holiday and birthday season. It's a chaotic time, but fun none the less!!
It has been so much fun having my (step)mom, Jessie and my sister Elysse stay with me for the last few days. Mom was bringing Elysse here to Utah to drop her off at BYU in Provo. Elysse doesn't get to actually stay there until Tuesday, but I got to go down to Provo with them on Saturday and got to help her get some of her stuff moved into her dorm. Oh man, have the memories starting flowing back from the good old college days...ANYWAY, I'm bummed that I didn't get any pictures while we were there on Sat., but I'm heading back down with them tomorrow, so I'll have to get a couple then.
Besides getting Lyssee all ready, Friday we took sometime and hung out with Jeff and my brother Shaun at the shooting range. Yes, I said shooting range. Neither me, mom, or Elysse have ever gone shooting before. Jeff got into it a few years back, thanks to a motorcycle injury that kept him off his bike for awhile. He bought a few guns and has gone shooting with his dad and brother in laws a few times, usually around thanksgiving. Anyway, Shaun suggested we go on friday and we had a blast. It was actually a litle scary for me, walking into this stuffy room and having a bunch of men with loaded weapons shooting them. It took me a little bit to get comfortable in the place, but I ended up having a great time!
We were the only women in the place!
We had to put on the "eyes and ears" before we could go in.
The "Pros" showing the girls how it's done!
Shaun and I had a shooting contest, I think he beat me out by a hair on this one, but I won the long range shot. I swear!
This was Elysse's very first shot ever! BULLSEYE!
