Off to the Dbacks

Seth invited some of his best buds, Gavin, Dallin, Cole and Sam to celebrate his birthday by watching the DBacks play baseball. After a little bit of homemade cake and opening some awesome presents they all loaded up in the van with Dad and took off. It was the easiest birthday party I have ever had to put on! Let's do this every year Seth!

Happy 11th Birthday Seth!

Happy Birthday Seth! His dinner request was an In-n-Out Burger so we met all the family there and filled our bellies with the best burgers around. He has his first official scout campout Friday and a birthday bash Saturday. More pictures to come! We love you sweet Seth!

Back to School!!

Well folks, I'm all alone today. We dropped off our beautiful children off at school and I had to laugh because they all chose the same outfits. Their choices are limited so the chances of that happening were quite high. Morgan was adorable last night as she tried on about 100 bows. She kept on saying with each one, "That's not bad" and then on to the next. Her teacher has to the sweetest person alive. I think we lucked out this year. She was so brave and sat right down at her desk. There is no sign of fear on this girl. The boys were sent to the playground and they actually let me give them a kiss on the check with kids swarming the hallways. Joel and I walked out of the school empty handed. Are we really old enough to be empty nesters? I thought I was okay until I walked into our quiet house and then the tears came down. I'm sad....

I won't be sad for long though. I get to pick Morgan up from school in an hour. Half day kindergarten will fly by!

Bright and Early

5:50 a.m. (waiting for Grandpa)

Seth was up and ready for golfing with Grandpa Larry at 5:30 this morning. I woke up to noises in the kitchen and found him completely dressed and making his breakfast.
I love having an independent son. I did have to remind him about the sunscreen though.

6:00 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

He had a great time but was pretty tired when he arrived home. He's sleeping on my bed right now trying to catch up on his sleep. Thanks Grandpa for taking him.

Seth will always be a willing golf companion!

California Cousins

We love it when Layken and Levi come to visit. It's becoming a little tradition for them to hang out in the hot desert each summer without their parents and younger siblings. Yesterday we joined them at Aunt Michelle's house and had a yummy dinner and then the kids cooled off in the best baby pool around. We just need a bit of water and a lot of imagination and we can have fun just about anywhere! We're off to a fun week with cousins.

Joel made it back safely from Utah this morning. Jessica is officially married! Congratulations!

Boy's Room

After living in this house for almost three years, I have finally painted and decorated the boy's room. With my limited talents and abilities, this is what I came up with. Their bedroom looks much better in person so if you want to see the full effect please head on over. But just beware, the room could look much different with clothes and junk in every corner.

I started this project the weekend of the Fathers and Sons Camp out. I surprised the boys and Joel with this new color. My sister Michelle and niece Cortney came and pitched in as well to make it all happen. The next morning I decided that their brown furniture just didn't match so I grabbed some black paint I had in the cupboard and just slapped it on. I added new knobs to the dressers and the room looked 100 percent better.

I plan on putting pictures in these frames but need to enlarge some fun prints I have of the boys playing baseball.

Overall I think it turned out okay. Morgan's bedroom is next.

One Bad Day

Lilly our dog, passed away today right before Seth's baseball game. She was injured and had to be put down by the Veterinarian. So, with a very heavy heart, Seth played baseball and things went predictably horrific. Seth started at third, pitched 1 inning and struck out in his only at bat as his team struggled to throw strikes and the other team hit the ball really well. With this loss they are out of the tournament, but Seth had a lot of fun and learned a lot about playing baseball with other kids who are really good players. It's a tough day for a kid to lose his dog and then lose a baseball game. We will all miss Lilly. She was a very special dog, but we are grateful for the time that she was part of the family.