Cub Scout Day Camp!!!!

This is the first time Brady has gone to cub scout day camp - I think he was sick last year - but the hubs went along with him and he LOVED it!!!! I mean, of course he does, what little boy doesn't love sling shots, guns, making boats, running around beating each other up with foam swords - I mean really - cub scouts is just heaven on earth for boys ;)

Brady's Boat!


I get to shoot this rock in a sling shot? SWEET!





Learning to fold the flag.....


Train cars - cool!


Knights of the round table? Let's roll!











Boys and their guns - I'll never understand the attraction ;)


Bows and Arrows are pretty cool too.....


Awwww - a great day!

Brady's 9th Birthday - Blast from the stone ages - DINOSAURS :)

better late than never right? I figure I will just kind of go backwards and post stuff til I am allllll caught up :) Sound like a plan???

Soooo - on to Brady's party :) Brady is in love with all things Dinosaur! Well - maybe I should clarify that - Brady love the Land Before Time series. You know the one, Little Foot, Sera, Duckie, Petrie, Spike - the band of eternally constantly getting into messes and then screaming as they run away little dinosaurs from the 90's.... Yup - those ones. It's just a bonus that we have so many episodes on VHS, and that they are so cheap on DVD - AND that they even made a TV show for a bit of those darling little dinosaurs (oh save my poor ears.....). But, I digress and ramble - sorry - bad habit of mine - it hasn't changed in all these months that I haven't updated my blog ;) Brady loves dinosaurs - so he chose to do a dinosaur party!!! Yayyyyy :) Lots of work - but lots of fun! Unfortunately he came down with the stomach flu the morning of said party - which we had anyway - although he was still feeling a little under the weather right up until cake time :)

Here you gooooooo.......

What's a dinosaur party without bones and a little excavation? In advance of the party we prepared a little archaelogical "dinosaur dig" :)












Welcome to a land before time :)





The finished dinosaur dig and kids in action - excavating their bones :) Oriental trading company actually does a pretty good dinosaur skeleton and this was a BIG hit :) Only one injury from the excavation tools....






Hot Lava Rock!!! - you know - kind of like hot potato :) Played to the song Do the Dinosaur ;)


Dinosaur Egg hunt :)


Dinosaur egg grab :)


Protect your dinosaur egg - this game was a hit - Little T here was a pro ;)





Presents are always a big hit - and spongebob ones? AMAZING!!!!


Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaur cake - PERFECT!!!!!











Sooooo fun - dinosaurs, volcanoes, friends, food, games and fun :) What could be better???

How am I doing with my new years resolutions...

including writing on my blog - well - not so great- hey???

There is definitely room for improvement :) It's been kind of a rough year - and I haven't felt all that positive - hence - not very many blog posts.

But - hopefully things are on the up and up - and I will be posting more often and finally do a picture post catch up from the last year ;)

If anyone still reads LOLOL

Have a happy week!

wow - how did I miss that?

hmmm - it was supposed to be a New Years Resolution - concerning my blog....

wow.....

well - that's about how things are going here - so I guess I shouldn't be surprised LOL

Happy 2012 y'all......

ummm - I'm a little...

behind?

Don't worry - I have a news resolution about my blog....

Stay tuned ;)

Thank you for your prayers....

my amazing big brother, Brant, passed peacefully away on Tuesday September 6th. He fought valiantly to stay with us, the surgeons and doctors fought valiantly to save his life, but in the end, Heavenly Father called him home.

I have so many thoughts and emotions about it all. I can see so many tender mercies from the Lord in his life and our lives over the last year - things you don't really notice or see the Lord's hand in, until you start looking back and realizing how many things that you may not have thought were blessings, really were.

Brant endured several really difficult trials during his life - but he was always positive, always loved life, and always looked forward to the future. He was optimistic, he was fun, and he was always funny! Even though his last year was filled with pain and hardship after the accident last summer - he was always grateful and he loved that he had more time to spend with his family. He made the most of every single minute and showed his love and kindness to everyone around him. He was, without a doubt, an amazing man, an amazing, father, an amazing husband, an amazing son, and an amazing brother. His death leaves a big hole in our family - but we are comforted by knowing that we will see him again in the eternities - he was such a wonderful man - I know he's got it made :)

I love you Brant, and will miss you! Thanks for being the best big bro a girl could ever wish for :)

Prayers - pretty please???

Hey everyone who reads this blog - who I imagine are not very many in number LOL Just wanted to ask for prayers on my brother's behalf. He is critically ill and needs a miracle - and I know the power of your prayers!! So - if you could spare one or two or three or more, that would be sooo appreciated!!! Thanks so much!!!!

Sunday Grains of Gratitude....

Hello friends! Sorry about my delinquency in my grains posts :( I promise it isn't because I am NOT grateful - just busy! I know, I know - that is a very lame excuse :( But - it IS the story of my summer! It really has been a crazy busy one! And - it is drawing to a close :( School starts in 2 short weeks :( I am DREADING it :( I hate it when school starts :( And - Brady is going into 3rd grade - which is such a HUGE jump in all areas - it is going to take a lot of support to help him be successful, and I am worried at how that is all going to pan out this year. I know I am on board though LOL Whether BRADY is on board - well - that is a different story - hopefully it will all be great and he will amaze me as he often, but not always, does :) I guess it will all depend on his teachers and aide - none of whom I actually know. And, hopefully he will transition better this year - I am keeping my fingers crossed!!! I know he is excited to see his friends - so that is a bonus....

So much to be grateful for in the last few weeks! I just don't even know where to begin!

I am grateful.....

that C was able to go on trek at the last minute! Grateful that her boss and co-workers were willing to work things out so she could go. She missed going several years ago for soccer tryouts and has been wanting to go ever since. She said it was an amazing experience, and I love her perspective - she really really appreciated the experience and the things the pioneers went through to make it to Utah, whereas many of the youth in her group just grumbled and complained and didn't help at all with pulling/pushing the handcart and complained that their parents MADE them go on trek - instead of taking in the experience, appreciating it and learning from it. I am glad she had the experience - and the boys too! I think they learned a lot too, and I think the day they trekked 15 miles was an eye opener for them..... C said she really missed Brady, and that she thought of him constantly, especially when they were talking about all the little children who died or were carried on older siblings backs on their way to the valley.

that my trio of teens were safe on Trek! There were lots of thunder storms and rain storms while they were in Wyoming, so I was worried for my kiddos. I am glad they were protected and survived. Of course that is nothing compared to what the Willie and Martin handcart companies endured - but maybe it helped them be a little more appreciative, and me too!

for my sweet hubby who took time off for a little weekend getaway with the kids to the southern part of the state for a little R&R family getaway :) We had lots of fun with the younger kids and it was a relaxing, if hot, getaway! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for letting us stay in your playhouse :)

for H, who has been a great weeder this week - for making the front beds look somewhat presentable after having a summer of being too busy for yardwork! He has also been our lawn mower extraordinaire this summer - I am grateful that he is always willing! Thanks H!

that we got to play with the cousins on the hubs side of the family. That doesn't happen super often, so it was fun! And - so grateful for my neighbor for letting us swim in her pool. It is so much easier to keep track of Brady there than at the big public pool with it's many slides, diving board, etc... I am also grateful that Brady is such a good little swimmer these days - he really does well and I am grateful for his cute swim teacher, Katie, who worked so hard to get him where he is! I hope she is having an amazing time on her mission in Italy!!!

for my friends! I haven't seen much of them this summer - but I know that once school is in session and we have a few hours in the day, we will be able to reconnect!!! I love how comfy we are with each other that we can do that - that we understand that family comes first and that there will be time for friends in a few weeks!

for perseverance! for the lessons it teaches my kids. Soccer has been so frustrating for Little K this summer. She did not make the team she wanted to - for various reasons - some political, some of her own making, and it has been a hard lesson for her. She has shed lots of tears and been bummed and angry with herself over things. Some of the reasons she didn't make the team she can't change, I don't think she's going to grow a foot anytime in the very near future - give it a few years ;) but there are things she CAN change, and she is seeing that and really working hard to achieve her goals. I sometimes think those are the lessons that are much better learned and experienced and make a lifelong difference, rather than just easily landing in the situation you want to be in. We grow the most when we experience trials... not that I want to see my children go through trials - it is so hard - but I am grateful to see them overcome and rise above the adversity that comes their way....

for Big K! This has been the most frustrating summer for her, and she has showed a lot of fortitude and perseverance, as well. Things have definitely not gone the way she had planned them to, either with school or in her personal life, and she has had to deal with hard things, do hard things, keep plugging along, and going in a forward direction, even when things are hard, and she doesn't understand why they have turned out that way. I think that is a big lesson the Lord teaches us - that even when we can't see the whole picture, or why things are happening to us, trials and adversity, even when we are living right and being obedient and faithful - HE can - and He will guide us in the right direction if we trust Him and have faith in Him. I am grateful that she understands this and is trying so hard to see past the things that have hurt her and frustrated her. She is an amazing young woman and I love her to pieces!!!

for J, and his willingness to tend Brady for me while I have been crazy busy this week. Brady is not a DS superstar, and still needs someone to keep an eye on him so he doesn't go wandering, or help himself to a pantry smorgasbord ;) J in all his sweet nerdiness is always willing to keep an eye on his little bro and spend some quality time on Youtube watching funny videos ;) I am not sure who likes it more, Brady or J - but I am grateful for how great all my kids are to step up and show their love both for Brady and for ME!

What are YOU grateful for today????