Brynlee's friend party

Brynlee's birthday was not til the end of the month but we decided to have her friend party a couple weeks before her actual birthday because she wanted to take her friends to see the new movie, Dolphin Tale 2. We thought if we waited to take her friends to the movie they all might have already gone to see it. I told her this year it needed to be small with all that has been going on at our house so she invited seven of her closest friends and of course her sister Baylee. All the girls met at our house, we opened presents, and then headed over to the movie theater. I bought all the girls popcorn and brought in drinks and licorice and we had a great time at the movies!

Happy 16th Birthday Connor!!

September 17th, Connor turned 16 years old. Wow, where did the time go? I'm really feeling the pressure of only having a few more years left with him before he leaves on a mission. The week of Connor's birthday we were in the middle of putting a new roof on our house and shingling both the house and the addition. We asked him if we could celebrate his birthday a couple days later because we had to get the roof done before it rained. Connor was fine with that and was the biggest help to his dad roofing the whole week. Connor has really stepped it up and helped his dad build this addition. He's been the biggest sweetheart lately and I just love it. ( He is a teenager after all, you never know what mood they will be in.) We asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and of course it was Panda Express, a favorite to all of my children. All he wanted for his birthday was money so that's what he got. I'm so proud of what a good kid Connor is and is really coming into his own. He hugs me and tells me he loves me more and is really trying hard to be a nicer brother to his siblings. He is so excited to get his license in the next month and is really a pretty good driver. Happy Birthday Connor, we love you so much!!

Vote Brynlee.... she Rocks!!

Brynlee decided to run for student council this year and she was so excited. As a mom I was so nervous of the let down if she lost, so I prepared her for either outcome. Brynlee put this poster together all by her self and it says: " Make the WRITE choice... Vote Brynlee she ROCKS! She glued pop rocks and mechanical pencils to her poster and then handed out mechanical pencils to her classmates. She also had to write a paragraph on why she should be on student council and then read it in front of her class. Each 5th grade class voted for the top two candidates and Brynlee won along with her good friend Ary! Brynlee's teacher came and told me in the lunchroom the day the votes were counted and wanted me to know before she told Brynlee later that day. I was so excited knowing how much this meant to her. She gets to help out with different activities through out the year and she goes to a couple early morning meeting twice a month. Great Job Brynlee..... you do Rock!!!

Labor Day Weekend

Our life consists of nothing but working on our addition 24/7. Warren and Jake decided to get more finished on the addition; so Sarah and I decided to pick up some lunch and take the kids to Wheeler Farm. We had a great time feeding the ducks, looking at the animals, playing on the playground, and floating boats down the stream. We spent a couple hours there, and the kids would of stayed longer had we let them. Later that evening when the guys were finished working, us adults got dressed up and went out to dinner.

Connor's Eagle Scout Project

I'm so proud of Connor!!!! Connor just finished his Eagle Scout Project earlier this month and it was a great success! Connor, his troop, neighbors, and family passed out about 350 fliers around our ward and stake asking for donations of after school snacks for the boys and girls club here in Sandy. Connor met with the director Linda and she said they were in dire need of after school snacks. Connor over the period of two weeks collected donations and at the end of the two weeks our front room was filled with donations. Connor and a few scouts loaded the snacks in the back of our truck and it filled the pickup truck. We showed up to the boys and girls club and Linda walked out to our truck and about broke down in tears. She said in all her years of collecting donations she has never had this much food dropped off at one time. The boys carried it in and we filled a room at the club with all the donations. Linda was so excited and grateful for what Connor did! It was a great experience for Connor and I know he felt joy in serving others!

First Day of School 2014

August 20th was the first day of school. Connor is a Sophomore in High School, Carson is in 8th grade at Eastmont Middle School, and Brynlee is in 5th grade, and Baylee is in 2nd grade at Bell View Elementary. They were all excited and ready to go back, its nice to be on a schedule again. I was bummed for the first time to see them all go back to school, I wanted more time with them to play this summer! Love my kids!!

Addition- Phase 1

Two years ago Warren and I refinanced our house and took out a chunk of money so we could put an addition on our house. At that time the cost of lumber was quite high so we put it off until this year. We started in the middle of April with first tearing down the garage and breaking up all the concrete. Boy was this a big job! We filled two dumpsters and had many hands out there breaking concrete for hours. Then came the fun part for Warren; he rented a mini excavator and dug the hole for the footings and foundations himself. Our brother in law owns a foundations company so thanks to him we borrowed the panels and set up the walls for the footings and foundation. The day they poured the footings it was literally pouring cats and dogs. Everyone who came to help was drenched! Next came the flat work which Warren is great at but he needed lots of help to pour the 20 yards of concrete. It took most of a Saturday, three cement trucks, and six men to get it all done. Warren just amazes me at what he can do, seriously he can do it all! We are so lucky not having to pay for labor on this addition, so far.