Tell me how I missed this one?

I found out last night that Josh has been shaving for a few days now.

What???!!!

We started teasing him about a year ago that he was getting "peach fuzz" on his upper lip. He got a set of razors and shaving cream (half as a joke) in his stocking for Christmas, but they have been sitting in the hall closet since Christmas morning. Last night he informs me that he has already shaved twice! I asked him how he could have just gone off and done it without letting me know so I could document it... and I guess that is why. He didn't want me standing there with a camera in his face while he did it. When I asked him what made him decide to shave, he informed me that his peach fuzz was getting a little long, and bugging him.

I'm a bit sad this morning. My baby boy is growning up. As if the fact that he is already taller than me was hard to take, now I have to live with the knowledge that he is shaving!!! This is just almost more than I can take! :)

I found this picture of him the other day, and just had to smile. When he was little, he loved his bed. As soon as I would put him in it at night, he would lay down and be out in no time. That all changed when we was moved out of the crib and into a "big boy bed"... he discovered his new freedom and never stopped moving! He is so funny now, because he hates to go to bed, but the minute he is still just a little too long, he is asleep!


Here is a more recent pic of him... taken the first day of school:


Oh how I love this stubborn, opinionated, caring, loving, teenage boy (who keeps reminding me that in 4 months he will be old enough for his drivers permit!)!! AHHRRR!!!!

OOPS! I forgot!

Stampin' Up!'s new catalog was released this week, and mine arrived Monday!! What a great treat in the mailbox for me!!! I sat down and made out my "wish list"... only $700 total! Barry rolled his eyes when I told him, but I didn't think it was too bad! There are lots of fun new stamps and accessories, and I can't wait to play with some of them.

Check out the cover of the catalog at www.staminup.com. You can also download the catalog so you can get see some of the fun stuff, too! I have to get a party planned soon!!!

Updating the past few weeks

We have had lots going on and have been busy the past few weeks, so I need to do a marathon update.

The first thing that I have to tell you about is our "Big Surprise!" It wasn't a surprise to me, but I had fun helping to pull it off! I got a phone call from my beautiful niece, Nicki, towards the end of July. She had found a great deal on a plane ticket from Idaho to Huntsville, and called to see what I thought about it. Of course I told her to buy it, and come visit. She hasn't been in 2 years, and we were dying to see her. So, she did, and asked me if I could keep it a secret from everyone else, which I agreed to. I casually asked my mom and sisters if we could get together for brunch the Saturday after Nick flew in (she flew in on a Friday evening), but they didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, so I decided that I would have to resort to more drastic measures. I told my mom to spread the word that I had a big announcement to make, but I would only tell everyone once they were together at the shop (Kristi's chocolate shop). Of course that drove them all wild, and they imagined everything from an announcement of pregnancy to us moving out of state. It was great fun to see the looks on everyone's faces when they saw Nicki! I got the following Monday off work, and the kids and I stayed up at the farm for an extended weekend. We had a great time hanging out, eating pizza, shopping and swimming. It has become a sort of tradition when my nieces are here that we put the kids to bed, then head out onto the front porch of the farm house to watch lightnin' bugs, swing and talk. We had a great time doing it this visit, and we giggled about lots of girl things! Nicki is hopelessly in love, and we dreamed about and planned her wedding! I hope her boyfriend doesn't mind! Here is a picture of Nicki on the swing:


The kids and I headed home on Monday afternoon so Josh and Megan could get ready for their first soccer practice. It was hot as heck, but they enjoyed themselves. Kyle had practice the next night, and he is happy to be playing with some boys he has been teamed up with before. Their first games are this weekend, and they are all so excited. We don't have Kyle's schedule yet, but we know that Josh and Megan have overlapping games. The good news is that the fields are right beside each other, and since Megan and Kyle have the same coach (different teams, though), we know that they will not be playing at the same time ever.

Last Wednesday night our YW did a service car wash. We wanted to thank all the ward members who donated to our fundraisers and helped send us to camp. We had so much fun, and I think some of the girls saw more water that some of the cars! Here are a few pics from the night:


One of the best pictures of the night, though, belongs to one of our Laurels, C. Those involved in the "incident" asked me before hand to make sure I got a good picture of it, so here it is:



The kids and I went back up to Fayetteville this past Friday night. We met Nicki, Kristi and Kurt at the theater, and went to see The Mummy. We went swimming again on Saturday, then headed back home on Sunday morning. We had to have Nicki at the airport by 10:30, and it was so hard to say good-bye to her. We are all planning on not making it another 2 years before she can come again.

Seminary started this week. Kayti is thrilled, Josh not so much. Josh hates getting up early, and sitting through classes is almost torture for him, so put the two together and the boy is not a happy camper. He has been a really good sport about it, though, and we haven't heard too much complaining out of him.

Last night Kyle had a Court of Honor. I was so ticked at myself for forgetting the camera! Kyle earned 4 merit badges, and 2 ranks, and he is now a First Class. We are really proud of him for working so hard!

Tomorrow night I am headed to the temple with 3 of the 4 kids for a youth temple trip. This is the first time that I will have been with Kyle, and I'm excited to go. We've got lots of picture moments this weekend, so I had better make sure the camara batteries are charged!

I have to take just a minute to tell the world how wonderful my hubby is! He has taken the kids to seminary every morning, and to soccer practice every night this week. I know that he can't be available to do it all the time, but I sure do appreciate it when he can and does. I guess, though, that I should get off of the computer and show him that appreciation by getting some dinner cooked!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. A day that has been dreaded around here like the plague! Thankfully everyone got up easily this morning, and we all headed out the door on time.

Kyle has been really dreading middle school (which is really just junior high). The fact that I work at his school mattered not to him... he was just scared to death to be in a new school. He did great, though, just like I knew that he would.

Megan was scared to be the only one left in elementary school. She has never gone to school by herself before, so today was a whole new experience for her. She did great, though, and is in love with her teacher.

Josh was excited to have several of his friends in some of his classes, and really likes all of his teachers this semester. We are on a block system, so he will tke 4 classes this semester, and 4 next... but he will keep Spanish and Life PE all year.

Kayti hasn't elaborated on her day much. At this point in her life, it is like pulling teeth to get much information out of her. I asked how her day was, she grunted. I asked how she did on her APUSH test, she grunted. I choose to take that as meaning that her day was good!

I was really busy today, and the day was over before I knew it. It was actually a better day than I expected, and I was thankful for that.

One day down... 179 more to go!

A Couple of Cards

Ahhh, thanks, Kayti!

I started back to work yesterday. It was the first day of schedule pick-up. These always tend to be a bit hectic, but other than a fixable computer glitch first thing yesterday morning, the day went pretty smoothly. I had a plan for the day... get there around 7:30, and work on some stuff that I need to have done before the first day of school. Schedule pick-up runs from 9:00 - 1:00, so I figured that I could stay until 3:00 or 3:30, working on making a mole-hill out of my mountain. It turned out that I was there until 4:40, and none of the time was spent checking things off my list. Oh well... at least what I did do was to help a friend, so I feel good about that.

The best part of my day, though, was when I got home, and Kayti already had dinner planned! YEAH!!!! I helped her with some of the chopping that needed to be done, and she did the rest. We had yummy chicken fajitas... made even yummier because I didn't have to cook them! Kayti has taken dinner on as a YW Value Project. She will be helping life run a lot smoother around here for the next few months by coming up with menues and cooking dinner while I am off running the rest of the kiddos to soccer practices during the week. She will even help with the grocery shopping as well! Woohoo!!!

Thanks, tons, Kayti for helping to make my life just a little easier the over the next few months! You are a gem, and I'm so thankful to be your mom!!

I'm a little sad...

I start back to work on Monday, and the kids start back to school in a week and a half, leaving me to wonder, "Where has the summer gone?". I think every year that the summers get shorter and shorter. And these darn kids just keep getting older and older! Kayti is starting her Junior year in high school, Josh is a Freshman, Kyle is a 7th grader, and I only have one more child left in elementary school. I am grateful, though, for a job that allows me to be home with them during the summer. We've had a pretty good one, and been able to do lots of things. Kayti and Josh both went on Trek; the boys went to scout camp and high adventure; Kayti and I went to YW camp; Megan went to day camp, and spent lots of time at the farm helping her grandpa. We went swimming several times, visited with family, and even had a family wedding. I was able to get a couple of projects done... not as much as I wanted to do, but enough to be proud of myself for doing. Barry and I have had several opportunities to stay up way too late talking, and I have thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with him. We have eaten way too much food at BBQ's, had too much late night ice-cream, and had lots of fun doing it!

One of my SIL announced a few weeks ago that she has decided to homeschool her 3 children. While I don't think I would have the patience to do that with my own, I'm very envious of the "slower pace" that their life will be taking on. (Which is one reason that she has decided to make this move.) I guess that is one reason why I love summer so much, the relaxed and slow pace of life.

We are all on a count-down now for October and fall break, when we head to the beach and re-live the lazy days of summer for a week. Only 69 more days!