Baby Scout

This picture speaks for itself. It also speaks for how the rest of us felt whenever we got our hands on baby Scout. She is so cute. We love the way she smells, looks, feels, and even burps. She is beautiful. And she is a perfect addition to Deborah and Vinnie's family. Reese and I loved waking up at Deborah's to a house full of cousins and fun. Doing laundry was pretty cool too, in that it made me appreciate how much less I have to do at my own house. Good luck staying on top of that one Deborah.

Reese was happy to stay with Grandma Patsy on the night we flew in while I attended a Timpview High School football game. I went to watch spunky Lexee cheer during the first half of the game and then perform at halftime. She was the most talented and coordinated dancer there, really she was--when she wanted to be. :) And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Timpview one of the more privileged schools in the valley? Well, you certainly wouldn't have known it by the quality of their mascots getup! Pretty sure some local ladies must have whipped this costume up at an Enrichment where I'm also pretty sure that Napoleon Dynamite was a guest.

Gardner Village was a treat. Lots of very well made-up witches. Pretty sure my sisters were annoyed with all the stops I continued to make so that I could snap a pic or stops just to take in the crispy fall moment. Living in south Texas leaves me longing for fall weather. I can definitely do without long winters but there is nothing that I miss more than fall. From left to right: Davis, Lexee, Kylee, Mia and Reese.

When I arrived in Utah Deborah was ill with numerous things I will not mention. So we played it close to home mostly. She felt much better towards the end of my stay and wanted nothing more than to go out with her sisters minus 5 children. So we did. Sarah picked a fine restaurant in Salt Lake just down from the Capitol called Eva. It was delicious. Among many other dishes we had that night Deborah and I felt we must order ratatouille pizza in honor of our kids. It was good too.

Also on this night we were on the 10:00 o'clock news. But you probably didn't notice us in the background walking aimlessly around or jumping up and down behind the anchor man's desk. He did though. Hind sight I hope that no one noticed us. We probably looked like we were one of two things: intoxicated or really hard up for a night out with no children. Or maybe a little of both? Who knows. We had the best time.

A couple of views from my run. And, yes, I had time to take these shots while my lungs were catching a break. I couldn't pass it up. Utah is beautiful.

We loved seeing all of you.

Ty is tardy

And for that matter so was Jaden. While it didn't phase her, it was proving detrimental to Ty guy.

We've only occasionally cut it close in our efforts to make it to school on time. Ty unnecessarily worries about being late for school throughout the getting-ready-morning-minutes. It might have a little bit to do with his sister's nonchalant demeanor as it applies to being prompt for school. She's typically the last one in the car. That's one difference between a 1st and 5th grader. So you can imagine Ty's panic last week when I was the first to wake at 10 minutes to 8:00 (that's another story). Mind you school starts at 8:00. Ty was irrational from the minute I woke him. Being labeled tardy was more than Ty could fathom. And I mean labeled in the literal sense. The secretary prints out a label that reads TARDY. After which, the sticker is slapped to their chest and worn on their shirt for the seemingly extra long walk to class.

So picture Ty in tears, frantically rummaging through his basket for school clothes. Then picture Jaden, as cool as a cucumber as she leisurely bellies up to the bar for breakfast. Classic. This is where I decide to turn this thing on its head. So I tell the kids, "well, if we were going to be late than we might as well be really late and what better than donuts to help us do it." To this they responded, "yeah right mom" because this is so uncharacteristic of me. Really it is. For two reasons: 1. I never (rarely) break from routine and 2. what a horrible, unhealthy breakfast. Something I am usually against. Don't you fret, I made them pound a bowl of oatmeal before we left for the donut shop.

After donuts we arrived at the school by 9:00. Protective big sis hurried in before the rest of us to prep the secretary of Ty's concern. The secretary was kind and proceeded to tell Ty that even teachers are late to school. That information seemed to do the trick. He responsibly took his tardy sticker from her and asked if he could carry it instead of apply it to his shirt.

Grandpa Lynn and his iPad make a visit

Grandpa Lynn flew in for a three day visit. The kids were thrilled. Reese especially benefitted from his trip by getting to know him. If you were to ask her about her grandpa Lynn she'd say that he has a mustache and he's going to take her favorite pink blanket. Jaden and Ty were on pins and needles for his arrival. They already know him well enough to know that they could count on some over-the-top teasing, a visit to the donut shop and some genuine interrogation about their lives and well being.

We dined at Sakura, Rain Forest and Gringo's where Lynn claimed his dish was the best Mexican food he'd ever had. And that's saying something because this guy eats out more than anyone I know. However, he is extremely easy to please. We had a great day at the beach. The kids got to go un-birthday shopping. We fished at a nearby lake but came up empty handed. And my personal favorite was taking him to both Jaden and Ty's soccer games. I enjoy watching Kyle coach the kids but I particularly got a kick out of both Lynn and Kyle coaching the kids that day.

The pic of the weekend, in my opinion.

A Few Fall Firsts

Jaden has mostly hung up her dancing shoes for soccer cleats (minus one lyrical dance class). She was 4 years old the last time she played soccer, which doesn't really count. If you ask me, I think that after Jaden sat through a plethora of Ty's practices and games these past 2 years that she thought it pretty cool after all and wanted in.

It's quite an understatement when I say that Jaden came out for Saturday's game pretty fired up. Here's just one example of her over enthusiastic state of mind: The referee had just dropped the ball at center field to set up for the opposing team to kick off. Not a player on either team was moving around much as they were waiting for the ref to blow the whistle to begin play. Jaden had no idea what was going on really but she saw a loose ball and with everyone else still standing she ran straight at it and proceeded to kick it straight off the field! Only for the said referee to have to retrieve it once again, bring it back to center field and stave Jaden off until she blew her whistle. If I were to use one word to describe Jaden's first game it would be: eager! It was a blast to watch. Shown above with her good friend Reagan--this is their "dead deer pose." Don't ask.

Here's Ty as he begins his first season of flag football. But don't worry (Brenya) Ty will still be playing soccer as well. Only 3 out of the 9 games will interfere with each other, luckily. I just hope this kid doesn't run out of legs on Saturdays. Here's how Ty's Saturday mornings will stack up this fall: One flag football practice, followed by a flag football game, followed by a lengthy soccer game on an oversized soccer field (in my opinion) . . . and all before noon! But he LOVES it, so far. And he is OH SO FUN to watch! Kyle is a coach for all three teams and he's pretty fun to watch too.

And last, but never least, little Reesey is taking a dance class of her own. She is so thrilled to be doing so. I can, and do, hold the class over her head periodically throughout the day. Works like a charm. So fun to have this little one to dote over while the other two are away. We are having the best time together.

Two Digits

Jaden is 10! That is so very hard to believe. Here are ten things we want to remember about Jaden:

10. Jaden will automatically cry if she witnesses someone else crying.

9. Jaden loves a good sleep-in.

8. Jaden babysits every now and then so mom and dad can go out. Typically, we leave for a nearby restaurant after Reese is tucked in and Ty is glued to the Wii. She is paid in HGTV minutes. Which leads me to number 7.

7. Hands down Jaden's favorite TV show is anything on the HGTV channel. At any given time of day you can find episodes on home decorating, landscaping design, remodeling, etc. She prefers it over anything else. And if you ask me, I think it's well spent TV-time.

6. Jaden has a real knack for decorating and designing. She has recently taken on designing/redecorating a little neighborhood girl's bedroom. Her name is Elle. Elle's parents have given Jaden a small budget to work with. Jaden (with Elle's input) has sketched 3 different design options for Elle's room. It's been really fun to watch. Only every now and then have the other mom and I had steer them in different/less expensive directions.

5. Jaden loathes piano practice. It is like pulling to teeth to get her to practice. I guess the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, huh Kyle? And thanks for sharing all of your childhood piano horror stories with her, it only fuels her fire.

4. Jaden is an excellent teacher. For the past 2 summers she has created and held her own little school in our home. Her students range from preschool age to 6 years old. This summer she had 10 students coming on 2 different days. She creates her lessons plans, makes lunches, designs and decorates her classroom (our game room), and collects payment from the mothers. She earned nearly $150.00 this summer. She even has the kind and bossy "teacher voice" going for her. Which brings me to number 3.

3. Jaden is bossy. I don't know where she gets it from. (We're both working on it.)

2. Jaden is: A pleaser. An excellent student. A great reader. A helpful big sister. A persistent dancer. A determined soccer player. And . . .

1. Jaden was the perfect way to start growing our family!

P.S. No, the cake did not fall off of the platter. And yes, I made Jaden hold the cake near the presents for a picture. Don't worry she was ever so willing. She too enjoys the presentation . . . just about as much as the gifts.

Moving up a chair . . .

Back to school today. Everyone woke excited. Ty will enter first grade and Jaden will begin her last year of elementary school in the 5th grade. In fact, this is the last time both Jaden and Ty will be in school together. Jaden would tell you that she can't wait to be attending a different school than her little brother. But that's what she would tell you and that is not how she really feels! She's going to miss him.

Ty wanted to set his alarm for 4:30 a.m. Thank goodness he was talked out of that. Instead he woke at 6:30 and was fully dressed and raring to go by 6:35. Ty's teachers name is Ms. Wang--hand selected by me, of course. I don't spend hours on end at the school volunteering for nothing. She is lovely and will be a perfect fit for Ty this year. However, if Ty would have been able to request his teacher, he would have chosen Mrs. Martin. Word on the street is that Mrs. Martin lets you bring toys to class. Yeah, I didn't hear about that all summer long or anything. Something else we often heard Ty utter during the last few weeks of summer was this: "I can't wait to go back to school so I don't have to do so many chores!" That kid can't see past the end of his nose. Even after diagramming and comparing how many hours he spends doing chores in a day to how many hours he'd be spending at school, it was still worth it to him to go back to school. FYI, the kid spends an hour at most doing his daily chores.

Jaden, well, I no longer get to hand select Jaden's teachers. Her grades do the selecting. So far she has been placed with those teachers I would have personally selected anyway. This year she will have Mr. Brantner and Mrs. Matula. We are excited to hear about Mr. Brantner's lessons involving his beloved guitar. Images from the movie School of Rock with Jack Black keep filtering into my mind. In fact, Mr. Brantner looks like a skinnier, similarly hairy Jack Black with beard and all. Stay tuned on that one. And both Kyle and I were thrilled to learn that Jaden would be studying US history in Mrs. Matula's class. Dinner conversations are going to be exciting. I'm sure I'll be learning a thing or two!

Here's to another big year learning and growing you two!

Copied from the blog of our recent photographer

Anything for a picture…

This is one of my most memorable sessions ever! It started out very “normal”. We were about done with the shoot but we decided to change locations to the mountains… This darling family lives in Texas so they wanted to get a picture by the mountains since they don’t have many where they live. They hopped in their borrowed car and followed me up to my home where we would take a couple more shots. Well half way there they pulled over. I was like oh their cute little potty training girl needed to stop, no big deal. Well it was actually a bigger problem… their tire had blown up!! Dad wanted to fix it but I still wanted them to have their mountain picture. This is my problem… I never know when to call it good. Dan is always on my case about this! So anyway, the mom and three kids all piled in my back seat. We left Dad to tend to the tire. We four wheeled up to this amazing spot and got the kids all settled down and ready for the famous “ONE MORE” shot. Mom hopped out of the way and I frantically turned around to back up so that I didn’t miss the shot and two inches from my foot slithered the biggest snake I’ve ever seen in real life!!!!!! It was not black and it was not a garden snake so that only meant one thing…. I wanted to DIE!! What was I going to do??? I couldn’t freak out the kids but I couldn’t even breath or move. I seriously just stood there. I finally mouthed to the Mom… UM…. SNAKE!! We just stared at each other in shock. How were we going to get the kids past the snake back to the car and were there more?? After what seemed like eternity we finally made it to the dirt road a couple feet from where the snake was and you know me. I made the kids all hold hands and SNAPPED this shot. After the TIRE and the SNAKE I was not letting this family go back to Texas without their mountain picture. Needless to say, I haven’t gone back to this spot. I am so tempted though!