Well ~I wish I could report that we had a GREAT start to the new school year...

but that was not the case!

It was a Horrible morning and I had to leave 2 kids in tears,

however I do NOT owe Tyler a dime!

I didn't shed a tear ....until I got home! This was before the chaos... Yes, I know Tyler's hair is in rollers

(she starts an hour and 20 mins after he does)
Doesn't he look handsome...
but to little to be in Jr High??

This was hair do #1
Not lovin' it so she had me change to...

Hair do # 2!

She likes this MUCH better (and so do I)
so for once I was happy to redo it :)

This is the back. If I say so myself she has BEAUTIFUL hair!

I am on pins and needles for them to get home... I can't wait to hear about their day!

I have been praying for the last 5 hours that is going better than this morning.

Clothes picked out.....Check.

Back packs ready......Check

Lunches packed....... Check.

Back to school blessing given....Check

So I guess they are ready to start a new school year...

But am I?????

School clothes fashion show....

ATTENTION: I guess the last post I put up didn't get published... so check out the one after this one :) Sorry! I don't know what happened... it's just me.

The pictures didn't turn out so great(and I didn't want a re~do) but, the kids had fun and look great! So, I guess that is all that matters right?

He is enrolled!!! Yep, we went and got Brayden all signed up for Jr High! It only took 2 hours and 40 mins and cost a measly $183.00, but now he is ready to go... I am NOT sure how I feel about that :)

Part of the reason it took so long is that they get their school pictures taken and their ID cards issued. Brayden was THRILLED to see how much he had changed from last year… I however swallowed hard and tried to ignore the booth that said “85% of kids all kids that drink and do drugs start in Jr. High” YEP, exactly what I wanted to hear! So for the rest of the hour+ I reminded what would happen to him if he chose to be in that 85%. And just like Brayden who is use to his CRAZY mom he just smiled gave me a hug and said “Oh mom you worry too much”! REALLY???… well then prove it! I WAS excited however that he still will give me a hug in public… Had to swallow hard again! I have a feeling I will be doing a LOT of that in the next few weeks… I have promised to NOT cry when I take him to his first day of Jr. High (which by the way Tyler is totally betting against me… stinker) And I also promised I would TRY not to cry when I tuck him in on his last night as a “tween” and again that morning when he wakes up an OFFICIAL teenager. I am with Tyler …. I am doomed!!! I am NOT an emotional person UNTIL it comes to my kids and then I am a mess! I am thankful for everyday I get to watch them grow up and I have actually LOVED all of the stages we have gone through. It is NOT that I don’t want them to grow up … because I do! I can’t wait to see what they will do as adults, the kind of spouse/parents they will become… I just want them to SLOW IT DOWN!!!

WELL… we have officially been living in Heber for a year! Some days I can’t believe it has already been a year and others I feel like it has been FOREVER! Last year at this time I remember feeling so over whelmed with the unknown and change… I so know better … I guess I got exactly what I should have expected… A nice heaping helping of “I didn’t say it was going to be easy … only worth it”. First it started out with health problems and with every Dr. visit something else would come up, and because we had moved, this meant new Dr.’s in unfamiliar places. NO FUN!!! I had to stop taking Tyler with me because one Dr. scared her silly. But like with all things, some good came out of it… like new ideas, test and perspectives. A blessing indeed! Then we had the whole Grandma thing not too long after we moved up here (Grandma was one of my BIGGEST worries about moving up here) Again, a BLESSING! I have known for a while that it was NOT in her best interest for her to be living by herself, but she is stubborn (gee, wonder where I get it from) and she swore she wasn’t moving except to the cemetery… Yes she would tell us those EXACT words! So I was actually kind of relieved when the Dr.’s told her she couldn’t live by herself anymore and I didn’t have too. I did feel bad for her having to leave her home, friends and independence behind. And I am not going to lie it was/ still is a MAJOR adjustment for our whole family, but the blessing keep on pouring in and we are so thankful she is with us. But undoubtedly I think the hardest thing we have had to deal with this year is Aunt Shel dying… MY poor sweet like kids who loved her so much! It breaks my heart to listen to Tyler tell me how she feels like nobody remembers them anymore… she was ALWAYS so good at coming to everything; school plays or concerts, baseball games, Birthday parties (even when she would have to drive for 11 hours to be there) anything that was important in their little lives she would be there for. And when she couldn’t be there they would get mail/out of control care packages for every occasion. But this too has brought blessing… lessons that can only be learned at times like these.
I know I have said this a MILLION times and I still mean it… I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS EVER!!!!!!!!!

I think moving has made me appreciate this even more than I did before. I have always been blessed with the BEST friends, but this year they have turned into Angles from above! I can’t even count the hundreds of miles/ hours traveled to: take me to lunch on a bad day, stock my freezer full of meals, support my kids in the things that they are doing, pick up/ drop off kids, help move TWICE, help paint/pick out house stuff and anything else that comes up. They are ALWAYS there through the good, the bad and the ugly. I will never be able to thank them enough! It has really made us realize who we truly are important to… actions speak louder than any words! P.S. to all of my friends who have supported us through phone calls, “chatting”, blogging and kind letters …Thank you my cyber angels :)
Even though it has been a difficult year I would sum it up as a good one.

Trav and I are still madly in love, our kids (and grandma) are happy and healthy, and for us there is still no place we would rather be than together….

EVEN in Heber!

I am doing a Pantry Secrets white bread class on Thurs. Aug 19th at 7 pm. If you are interested in attending Please call me so I can reserve your spot… they go FAST!!!!! If you don’t think it is worth the drive to Heber (which BTW it is, but I understand) I am willing to Host a class at your house. HOWEVER, there must be at least 10 guests no more than 15. If you are not familiar with this bread I HIGHLY recommend trying it. It is AMAZING and so fast, easy, healthy and cheap to make. I PROMISE you won’t be disappointed.

Our blondie

Every year since Brayden was 7 or 8 we have been bleaching his hair in the summer. Mostly because it was so HOT standing out in the field when he would play ball all SUMMER long, but this year he didn’t play (I am still sad about that) so he was trying to decide if he should still bleach his hair. He doesn’t like it when it is first done but give it a few weeks and it looks AWESOME! Besides his mom thinks he makes a cute… ooops … I mean HOT little Blondie!

It BURNS at first... but then as luck would have it his head just goes numb!

Because he is so dark to start with , it takes like 4+ hours/ 2 or 3 applications of bleach to get it to look blonde and NOT bright orange. And as you can tell he loves every min of it :)
But here is the end result... Nice and white!
I will post an update so you can see how cool it looks in a few weeks.