Brayden's Birthday

Brayden turns 11 today. We had his party last night since I have a college class tonight. We met with a few family members and friends at Naples park for pizza and presents. He was so glad to have his good friend Stephanie McConkie there. He made sure that she was in all the photos with him. Makes me chuckle.

He was spoiled...and I know he loved every moment of it. His dad and I decided to get him a shotgun, since they have raised all those pheasants and chuckers and will have plenty of bird hunting in the next couple of months. He was so, so happy to get it. He loves being on the older end of childhood.

He also had a massive orthodontist appointment yesterday which included the consultation and impressions. He will have braces in four weeks, and yes, he is very excited about it. If he only knew!, which he soon will.

A New School Year

The first day of school is always an exciting day at our house. The kids woke up early, and so did I! I even had enough time to bake german pancakes for breakfast. Then we made everyone beautiful which was easy to do with all the new clothes and shoes. Then we posed for photos in the yard for the annual first-day picture. After that we hopped in the car and drove to the school to join the other hundreds of moms and kids at Naples Elementary. My kids are so great to allow me to take a photo of them with their teacher....and I know that some day they will cherish those photos.

Brayden is in the 5th grade. This is his last year in elementary school....and this thought makes my stomach sink. His teacher is Mrs. Robbins, who is new at Naples so I don't know much about her other than I heard she know how to juggle, which is very important to 5th graders.

Madison is in the 3rd grade and has Mrs. Garner. Most of her friends happen to be in her class, which makes her a happy girl. I know she is going to have a great year.

Spencer is now a 1st grader. He has Mrs. Schoenfeld, who was Madison's teacher last year for 2nd Grade. I LOVE her! Our school is doing a new looping program where the 1st graders will also have the same teacher next year for 2nd grade. So I am very thankful that he got a teacher we admire so greatly. He also has quite a few buddies in his class.

I hope they have a great day....and a great year.

Our Last Hoorah

This past week we traveled out to SLC to play around one last time before the summer weather is gone. We school shopped at the Park City outlets and then went to Raging Waters. The kids loved playing on all the slides there. But surprisingly, their favorite thing was the rope swing. Spencer must have done it seven times.

We also went camping one last time. Our good friends, Mark and Leah Stewart came with us. We had a ball on the four-wheelers and our kids really played along so well. Good friends are priceless.

The mountains are showing signs of summer ending...and it put a horrible feeling in my stomach thinking of the cold and dark days ahead. If only these late August days could be endless. I love this time of year!

The End of Cub Scouts

Brayden is nearing the ripe old age of 11, and with that closes the chapter on Cub Scouts as he prepares to enter the Boy Scouts. Last Tuesday, we went to his last pack meeting where he received his Webelo and Arrow of Light. He has learned perseverance, dedication and I'm happy to say....appreciation through the course of it all. After we got home from the event, he hugged me and said "thanks, not only for tonight but for all the years of help, mom." Yeah, I melted....Scouts really is worth all the hassle.

I know that Brayden will be a better man some day because of the values he has learned these past three years. He has learned the motto well, "Do you best," and I remind him of it daily.