8 is Great!

Happy Birthday Caleb! Caleb has such a tender spot for his mom. As the "man of the house," he has taken on more than most 8 years olds are required to ever think about. One of the things he thinks about-alot-is his mom.


All this girl can think about right now is CAKE! You can tell that her mom only feeds her healthy food.



This boy is a better reader than me....
Grandpa and Jilly Bean.
Kate-the classic over-achiever.
Sophie and Jill love each other. Sophie even did Jill's hair for the party.
Christian- acting like the 6lb Sophie has some heft.

Sam and Maryse

My nephew, Sam, married his sweetheart yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful day.


They were married here. For not just time but all eternity.

The combining of two individuals also brings about the combining of two different families. This is Sam's brother Zac and Maryse's sister.
Father and son. Sam's brother Jabren and Ollie.
I love this picture of Sam's parents. The look between them most likely speaks more than any of us will ever know.
Maryse's brother.


I have been inspired as I have witnessed the love and tenderness exhibited by these two.
The paparazzi were out in full force. I tried not to interfere (too much).
Sam and his new mother-in-law.
Sam and his mom and Sam's dad with his new daughter-in-law.

Uncle Zac with a glowing out of focus Oliver.
Sam and his cousin, Tyler, have experienced much of life side by side. I think there is a special bond that can exist between cousins. These two have demonstrated that.
Wedding guests waiting for the music to start so they can get their groove on.

Sam's parents, Bronte and Bryan, have led by example. They are amazing people, amazing parents and amazing in-laws.

I told Madie that it is impossible for her to take a bad picture. This proves it. Nobody else I know of can look beautiful putting food in their mouth.
Ollie wants his mom to take him for a spin on the dance floor. Aparently, she's digging her heels in. :)
Madie's husband, David. He was the first one manly enough to pop the question.
Ollie-looking toward the future. Hopefully with a girl as beautiful as his Aunt Madie.
Ollie finally finds a gal who will take him for a spin. Ollie was a little intimidated by her bold dance moves and assertive nature. Frankly, most of the white folks at this wedding were. We all have a thing or two we can learn from this union.

And she's off...

...to India. For 17 days. My. chest. feels. tight. What are the signs of a heart attack again? So dang proud of this girl. She is one of the Youth Making a Difference. Read about their cause here. They are also blogging about their trip here.

Happy Thursday!

Sunday.

My oldest is now a brunette. She came home for the weekend. I *heart* her.

Cousin Andy came over and did homework with Hailee. Hailee needs help with her AP Calculus homework. Anyone? The last time I was able to help her was about in 5th grade. This year even her dad is struggling. It has been a big blow to his ego. Hailee said she would rather do math homework than anything. She loves that there is a formula and one right answer.
In case I haven't mentioned it before, this is my favorite season. I am in constant awe of the beauty that surround me.
I love this part of the season as well.
So, while Hailee was inside doing homework, my other 3 were outside playing basketball. Hailee is okay with not being outside getting cold and dirty and the others are okay with not having AP classes and straight A's.
But Christian can still do this...even with pins in his finger from blowing up his knuckle.
It's good to teach your kids to improvise-like when there are not enough basketballs.

And now a message from our sponsor....

He said, She said

This is a first. First time that the MONSTER MASH school dance has been on Halloween. First dance that Christian has gone to, first (and hopefully last) time Christian's shorts have been so short and the first time I have had to wait up for a son and daughter separately after their dates.

Hailee and her friend, Sarah, and their group went dressed as rock stars. Hailee was the first to arrive home very early the next morning. Needless to say, I was exhausted and struggling to stay awake so I was very relieved when she came in my room and announced she was home. The conversation went something like this....
Mom: How was it?
Hailee: It was okay. Well, no. Its was good. Well, at least the dance part was good.
Mom: What do you mean?
Hailee: Well, I didn't really know my date that well and so it was a little awkward but then i saw so and so at the dance......(mom dozes briefly)...and she really likes so and so but he left her and was dancing with another girl........(Mom: really?)......and then I went up these stairs and I could see the whole dance floor and I saw Christian (Mom wakes completely) looking for his date and then he found her and asked her to dance and ....... and so and then after the dance we....and then he said and then she said......yadda yadda and so anyway it was a good dance, I guess.
Mom: That's great, Hailee. Love you. Goodnight now.
Christian's group went dressed as nerds. Christian borrowed his grandpa's glasses. I hope he can still see after wearing those puppies all night. I think his date is about the most stylin' nerd I've ever seen.
Christian got home 2 texts and 45 minutes later than Hailee. He also came in and announced he was home. The conversation went a little like this:
Mom: Hey bud. How was the dance?
Christian: Good.
Mom: Um..How was the dinner?
Christian: Good.
Mom: Um..How was the movie?
Christian: It was okay.
Mom: How was Catherine?
Christian: Good.
Mom: Did you make any moves on her? (I'm trying to be funny here)
Christian: She has a boyfriend.
Mom: Did she make any moves on you? (Not really trying to be funny here)
Christian: No.
Christian: So..I'm pretty tired. Goodnight.
Mom:
(wide awake now trying to fill in all of the blanks)
Note to self: Figure out a way to send Christian's chatty sister on each of his outings.

A BOOtiful night

These two fabulous felines are my sisters. Scary.
Travis, Avery, Jake, Corbin, Nick, Gabe, Sam, Emma, and Caleb spook the neighborhood.
The tradition continues... Hailee and her harp babies. The two darling girls belong to Hailee's first harp teacher, Kimberly. Hailee nannied for them for probably 5 years. She became very attached. (To the girls and their mom). The two gorgeous boys belong to Nicole (Kimberly's sister) who Hailee nannied for and took lesson from up until this last year when Nicole's hectic schedule as Dr. Nicole Brady, the director of harp at B.Y.U. , momma Nicole, and Mrs. Brooks Brady became too much. We understand and support her decision to prioritize completely, but that doesn't mean that we don't miss her (and the boys) like crazy. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for placing these women, and those like them, in the paths of my girl's lives. They have changed and altered them for the better.
Brittney came up from College Town and took Sophie and Jill treak-or-treating. We discovered that there should have been some sort of "trick-or-treating etiquette class" given before they left. A couple of times during the night, Batgirl expressed her dislike of the candy she was given and asked for another choice. If she was given one she especially liked, she asked for more. Brittney was mortified. Secretly, I was a little giddy. He, he...Years ago I remember uttering the phrase over her..."When you grow up, I hope you have a little girl just like you." This'll work.
Trick-or-treat...
Maddie has been sufficiently spooked. She is listening to her aunt Jodi talk about the movie, Paranormal Activity. Hearing about it was creepy enough. I highly recommend you never see this movie.

The plan: Invite all the family down for the evening and then make them do all the work.
A little chocolate milk to wash down the bag of candy.