Austin--My sweet 16 year old boy!

My sweet Austin Shane has turned 16! I truly can't believe it! When the kids were little, I used to think that they will never "grow" up and that they will always be my little sweet babies. I am now the mom of a 21, 16 and 14 year old and I honestly can't believe it. I long for the days when Austin used to wear his cowboy boots (just like Papa's) all day long, even with his jammies on. I used to have to sneak them off after he'd fall asleep and he would be so mad in the morning that they were off. Austin is now a young man and knows where he wants to go in his life. (I'm a little jealous of that, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up...other than his momma...) The other day, I received a call from a sister in our ward that wanted to tell me how wonderful Austin is. She told me that she was at church alone with 4 kids, a toddler on one leg, a baby in one arm and trying to collect her several bags for church, when Austin came up to her and told her he would love to help her out to her car. He grabbed the bags and the little boys hand and helped her out. I was so proud of him for being such a caring young man! Austin is a great kid, I am so blessed to call him son.

Merry Christmas!

Father's Day 2010

We had a relaxing Father's Day here with one of my FaVoRiTe daddy's in the whole world! The kids and I let Todd sleep in while we made him breakfast...french toast (made with Kneader's Chunky Cinnamon Bread), sausage and strawberries. Before breakfast was served, the kids woke him up with their gifts. They got him a shorts outfit, Red Sox hat and some grill accessories. Todd loves to grill and is REALLY good at it. For his special day, he wanted to grill some tri tip and had me make him his favorite macaroni salad. After church we came home and enjoyed lunch with his cousin, Rick. Rick's family is in Japan for a month so he was alone and I didn't want him to be by himself on Father's Day. The boys went and played some ball at the school down the street and when they came home we played some board games and had strawberry shortcake. I am so grateful for my husband and the father he is to our children. I am also blessed to have one of the greatest dads out there. My dad raised us by himself for many years and made so many sacrifices for my brother and I. I wish Dad could have been here to celebrate his special day with us...I pray he knows how much I love him.

Last Day of School

SO for the last day of school, I told the boys that they could have some friends over to celebrate Summer. The boys have done so well with their studies since moving to Utah. I'm so proud of them! I had this vision of all these crazy teenaged boys running around my house, so imagine my surprise when I found out Austin had a few girls on his list to invite. Seriously? When did this happen? Anyways, needless to say they all had a great time playing games, having a water fight and just hanging out while listening to music and enjoying a few hotdogs and root beer floats. We ended up going to 7 Peaks (a great water park. The kids had a great time and I was happy to get to meet the friends that my sweet sons made at school this year.

White Peaks Centennial Bagpipe Band

So this past fall, Austin started playing tenor drums in a bagpipe band. It is soooo cool! He has loved it so much and I am so proud of him and his desire to learn something new and that is not of the norm. I love it that my kids aren't "cookie cutter" to what is supposed to be cool. (No offense--it's just not us!) Here are some picture of my sweet boy at his first event--The Race for the Cure in Salt Lake City.