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!
Wow, and I was doing so good for a little bit... I've always felt that I need some pictures in order to post, but I didn't do so well in the picture taking category the last few weeks, so there's not a single one, and you still get to see my rambling...too bad.
Anyway, school is starting on Monday and I can't believe how quickly time has gone this summer. It has definitely been a good one and quite busy, but I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it. I'm looking forward to school starting, but I think I'm going to be a little sad to have to get back into a routine, oh and I guess I'll miss the kids too. :) Parker is heading to school and will be there all day, it will be interesting to see how that goes. I can tell you one thing, I will NOT miss the half day kindergarten schedule in the least bit!!
I'm just hoping I'm on top of it enough to get "first day of school" pictures, so I can get them posted.
I love the fall time, when the weather starts to cool down and the trees start changing colors. I love living in a state where I get to see all of the seasons...I'm looking forward to the change!
Tonight was a great night at the ball park! I haven't been this excited for Ashley...EVER! Here we are in the beginning of tournament play in the West Valley Classic. We played a couple other games earlier tonight, pool play they call it. We won our first and lost the second, Ashley played her heart out! I don't know where this girl has come from. I have been impressed at how well she has done and how much she has learned this year, especially with her coaches on the Allstar team. Tonight, though, she was a different person than even 3 weeks ago. She BROUGHT IT TONIGHT!! She was aggressive and was hustling all over the place. She caught a fly ball and got a couple hits, which is huge anyway, because 2 weeks ago, she wasn't even swinging her bat. Two weeks ago, she was striking out without even swinging the bat and it was really frustrating! Last week, she finally started swinging and got a few hits (we had to bribe her with money, because threatening with grounding wasn't working, she got $15 out of the deal!;D) I couldn't bribe with money for this weeks game because, I could tell she may have found her mojo. I was right!! I just have to brag, because the girl hit a freakin' awesome, honest double, right over right field's head which drove in TWO runs. I wish I had it on film so I could watch it over and over. Ashley's coach who was on 1st base came over and was laughing at me, because I guess I was going a little crazy, on my feet, jumping around, screaming like a crazy woman. It was just priceless to see the smile on Ashley's face that I still don't think has left it. It was a MOMENT! You know, the kind of moment that makes you realize that there is nothing more rewarding than to be a parent, to see your child realize that they can do ANYTHING!!
I just had to share these. CJ is so entertaining at times. Of course, with spending so much time at the track and around motorcycles, he has grown quite fond of them. The other day, he got ahold of Jeff's helmet and wanted to put it on. Not only did he want to wear it, but he had to sit on the motorcyle and make the noises along with it. He sat up there a good ten minutes and was not happy when we decided we were done holding him on the bike. He threw a bit of a fit, but got over it, thank goodness.
We finally had a chance to take the boat out and use it for the first time this summer. Jeff and I decided to take the kids out for an afternoon on Willard Bay. Megan brought her friend Michelle, (who seems to Meg's other half, second pea in the pod, etc. :)) and we all had a great time. We were there only about three hours, but the kids definitely wore their selves out with the swimming and tubing. The lake was a perfect temperature and it seemed like we were the only ones out there. It was soo nice to be able to do and think of something other than motocross for awhile.
Going for a little ride!
Parker having a good time! Belly flops and front flips, it was definitely entertaining!
Tubing time! They probably did this for a good two hours!!
Ash and me
Jeff and Parks
CJ was a bit nervous at first about being on the boat, but really started having a good time. We was our flagger, not out of choice, but he wouldn't give the flag to anyone else. Oh well, whatever it takes to make the kid happy!
July 3rd in Talon Court has become a major affair, thanks to the master planning of Jami Jerman. Our neighbors here on Talon Court (and surrounding areas) have enjoyed for the last 4 years an Independence Celebration like no other. Our family missed it last year, but were thrilled to be a part of it again this year. Jami is an amazing party planner and it was fun to share in all chaos.
We were all a little tired from our long trip back, Jeff and I took the red eye back from Maui on Wednesday night, flew into Vegas on thursday morning, caught a shuttle to St. George (about 2 hrs), then picked up the car and kids from my sister, Kim (who is a saint for taking them all for 9 days, you're the best!!), and continued home in the car for another 5 1/2 hours or so. (I know, poor us! A week in Maui, wah, wah!) Anyway, to say the least we were thrilled to be home and I'm not in any hurry to get back in the car for an extended period of time anytime soon.
Oh, got off subject a bit...sorry. Anyway, Jami had everything organized and planned with the help of Melissa, Emily, Coke, Trish, and Julie. They had the pony, bounce houses, the popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, watermelons and even games for the kids to play and win prizes. 
CJ found the water game and decided to go for a dip. It actually worked for me because it kept him entertained for quite sometime.
Daddy's Girl!!
What could be better than a snowcone??
CJ LOVED the pony, we had a hard time getting him off and the pony had had enough!
What a smile!
This was the 2nd annual Dad's watermelon eating contest, totally hiliarious!!
It took some begging and pleading from the kids before Jeff would take part. He tried, but wasn't even close to the winners! 
This was classic! There were some extra slices of watermelons that were left from the contest that some of the kids started eating into. I turned my back on CJ for just a few minutes and then found CJ eating into a watermelon. I don't know where he got it, but went over to the chair and handed me the watermelon while he climbed in the chair. I gave him back the watermelon and then let him go at it. He was in heaven!! He would have probably eaten the whole thing, but some fireworks were lit in the circle and it completely freaked him out. So, I took him in and put him down for the night.
The Eaglewood Golf Course puts on an amazing firework show that we can see from our neighbors backyard, so we went over and set up camp there to see the show. The fireworks display from the Golf Course was just the icing on the cake. It was beautiful! Thanks all for such a fun night!!
The time has quickly come for me to say goodbye to the beautiful island of Maui. The trip has seemed to come an end way too fast. I have had such a fantastic time. We have adventured alot, laughed alot, we ate alot, and just all around had a fantastic time. Joel and Julie, thank you so much for inviting us on your vacation, it was awesome, all 100% of it! (haha)
Sunday we went up to Mount Haleakala to see the sunset. It was an experience that I won't forget and words can not describe the beauty I witnessed that evening. Here are some perfect pictures that describe the end to such a great week. I promise these are real pictures, not us just standing in front of a screen pretending that we were standing in the clouds!
