My little GIrl....

I knew this day would come....just didn't realize it would get here so quickly! I can't believe that I am now the mom of (almost) 2 teenagers! Where has the time gone???? My little Peanut will turn 12 in about an hour. If you want to get technical she won't actually turn 12 til

9:46AM October 29th.

I always wanted a little girl. I am grateful that I had Baylee after Graison, for selfish reasons. Growing up, I always wanted an older brother. So, I always wanted to have a boy first, so that my daughter would have the relationship with a "big brother". Things worked out perfect!!! (Unless you have met my kids and realize that they haven't quit hit that stage where they like each other!!)

Baylee has been such an addition to our family. She definitely has a little attitude, but that is just her personality and we have all adjusted to it. She has a very loving and caring side to her as well. But defiantly learning to come into her own.

I am so proud of her. She has joined the ranks of "middle school" this year and has jumped in with both feet. She ran cross country, ran for 6th grade vice president, made the dance team at school, is playing the cello, joined the chess club, and making plans to play tennis and run track in the Spring. I love that she has tried every opportunity she could.

I will never forget the day of dance tryouts. It was an all day Saturday affair. I signed her in at 10AM for her to call me at 4PM telling me they were done. I sped (yep sped) up to the school to wait outside with her until they posted the results on the door of they gym. She was up all huddled with friends, about 100 girls auditioned. I sat in the car....on the phone with MY mom. In tears, reliving the days of when I was trying out for dance and knowing that my mom was outside waiting for me. How funny how the circle continues....

While I was on the phone....my mom could hear the girls scream! Here come the results!!!! I had to hang up with my mom cause I was in hysterics!!! I will be honest, I was ready to console Baylee, telling her she could try out next year. But the look on her face.....and her yelling I MADE IT!!! Our first call was to my mom....

So, Baylee, I just want you to know that I love you. I know you will probably never log on to read this (do you even know we have a blog??) haha But to all my friends and family, I want you to know how much I love my daughter. How proud I am of my daughter. I don't think you could ever explain the bond between a mother and daughter.

Believe me I have tried!!!

Catch up....

I know its been a while since I have posted anything to my blog. Just seemed like time got away from me....plus it was summer and we really didn't do much.

I do have a new nephew! My sister Jennifer had her 4th little boy. She didn't find out what she was having this time, which drove me crazy! I just knew it was a little girl though. She had a neat experience with her husband Joseph being able to deliver this little bundle of joy. When she called to tell me is was a little boy, I was both thrilled and excited for her. They named him Lennox Ottoway. Which is so cute!

I have been looking forward to school starting...I think since the last day of school last year! But as we are on the eve of the first day, I am sad that summer has gone by so quickly. I feel that we really didn't get the chance to do much "fun" stuff.

I have been talking with the kids about being in middle school. Here in Meridian, 6-8th graders are together in a middle school. So this means Graison and Baylee will be at the same school. Graison of course is devastated, Baylee of course is thrilled!! We have been telling Graison to have fun and enjoy his last year of being "top dog" as this won't happen again until he is a Senior. We have talked to Baylee about changing classes and peer pressure. Which lead us to talking about growing up and becoming a Young Woman. She will turn 12 in a few months and she asked me about.....

Yes, she learned how to shave her legs. It was a funny experience, and she only had a few little scrapes.

So, that pretty much brings you up to date. I am sure with school starting, I will have more to update. Graison is playing football and Baylee is running cross country. They are both excited to get back into a routine and to be around friends.

End of The School Year

I can't believe that another school year is over with. It seems like just yesterday that we arrived in Boise, and here we are finishing the first school year here. I think the kids have done amazing as far as adjusting to new schools.

Graison finished the 7th grade with a GPA of 3.2. He had to work hard the 4th quarter to get this GPA, but I am proud of him for sticking with it and getting it accomplished. Graison played football for the Sawtooth Sabercats. Then he decided he wanted to try his luck at tennis. His record was 6-2, and I was pretty impressed for never playing tennis before.

Baylee finished 5th grade with all A's. She scored perfect on her ISATS (equivalent to MAP tests). With her grades and test scores she earned the President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence. I was very proud of her as only 5 other kids in the school were awarded this amazing accomplishment. She is also excited because she has math homework over the summer! This will allow her to be in 7th grade math next year.

Baylee had a surprise waiting for her after school yesterday. Her and 11 of her friends were greeted with balloons and then taken around the corner to see this waiting for them.....

The moms had all been in touch and behind this amazing surprise. We wanted the girls to have something special to remember their last day as "elementary students" and on their way to MIDDLE SCHOOL. The look on their faces was priceless! They were all surprised and couldn't wait to get on their way.

They went on a scavenger hunt. The first stop was Target where they had $2 and had to buy the biggest item they could find. The next stop was Edwards movie theatre where they had to find a ticket stub for a certain movie. Then the last stop was b&b photography (scott's work) for a group photo.

I think Baylee will remember her last day of school this year and her first ride in a Limo. They had a great time and it was so worth the planning!

Family Ties....

Memorial weekend gave my family an excuse to get together. This was the first time since Christmas 2007 that all of my siblings and their kids have all been together. I was missing a brother in law because of work, but I am so grateful that Joseph let us steal Jennifer and their 3 boys. This was also the first time that my kids were able to see their newest cousins, Haylee & Peyton. I had not seen them since they were in the ICU and weighed about 5 pounds!

So, all in all, it was a great weekend and I had such a wonderful time being around all of my family. I will get to the fun part....PICTURES!!!

Jennifer & Joseph live in Des Moines. They have 3 beautiful boys, with a little one on the way!

Javien Kassius Tytus

Kasey & Cory just moved to Idaho Falls. They have 2 sets of twins....10 months apart! And no there were no fertility drugs involved!!

Gage Taya Haylee & Peyton

Joy moved Idaho Falls from Seattle a little while ago. I love having her so close!

Baylee, Joy, Graison, & Tate (Joy's son)

All 10 grand kids

Graison is so proud of how tall he is getting!

We were lucky enough to have a hotel that was right on the falls. Scott & Baylee..and Max...walked down and took some pictures. Baylee doesn't know how to pose at all!!

Day Trip....

On Mother's Day, we took one of our famous day trips. This time instead of going into the mountains we went the opposite direction and found a place called Lucky Peak. People were out on boats and enjoying the beautiful weather.

We had a lot of fun, and loved looking at the beautiful water. The kids are more daring than I am, and climbed down to be near the water.

Of course, we brought Max with us. He is getting to where we can't leave him for too long. I was impressed that he could climb on the rocks. He tired out quickly, but it wouldn't have been a family outing without him.

Dance Festival

One of the things we have come to love about being here in the Boise area, are the extra activities that are offered to the Youth. Every 4 years multi-stakes get together and have a Dance Festival. This year it was performed in the Taco Bell Arena on the BSU campus. You have to be 14 to participate, but our stake was short boys so they allowed the next 4 oldest Deacons to take part. Graison was reluctant to volunteer, but after I pushed...just a little...he agreed. The theme for the YM/YW this year is "Be Thou an Example of the Believers." So the theme for the Dance Festival was Dance to a Different Beat. There were 6 stakes involved which equals to over 1500 Youth. I was shocked to see that within a 10 mile radius we have 6 stakes!! (Can you believe that Sikeston??!!)


















(graison is 2nd in line)


(yes, a little blurry sorry!)









The youth from our stake





Each stake was assigned a different dance style. Some had the Salsa, the Tango, Swing, and Cha-Cha. Our stake was lucky enough to get the Country Swing/Line dance. Hard to believe i had not been to 1 of the practices. So I had no idea what the routine looked like. But I have to tell you that I was amazed at how well they all did! It was awesome!

Besides your stake dance routine, the entire 1500 youth performed an Opening number to "You Can't Stop the Beat" from the movie Hairspray. It was so much fun seeing all these young adults dancing and having fun.

Road Trip

Today was a beautiful sunny warm day here in Boise. So our neighbors, the Tibbitts, and our gang decided to take a road trip. They have 2 little girls who we absolutely adore! Their little one, Reese, loves Graison and it is so cute to see how sweet Graison is to her.




We drove to Twin Falls, about 2 hours away, to the Shoshone Falls. It is said that this waterfall has more water flowing over it than Niagara Falls. So we packed a grill and snacks and made a day of it. We had so much fun, and enjoyed spending time with our friends. Both of our extended families live far away, so we have come to rely on each other.


















YES, we brougt Max. But he was looking for shade everywhere! We forget that he is an old dog!

UPDATE....

Just thought I would post an updated picture of Graison's eye. They do say things get worse before they get better. I hope this is the "worse" part! Now... off to another game! haha

There's No Crying In Baseball....

Graison's baseball team, the Texas Longhorns, had a game Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day, the sun shining, a nice breeze blowing.

Things were going great. Graison had 2 good at bats, and got on base. Our team was in the field, and Graison was playing 3rd base, which is where he usually plays this year. The batter was at a full count, and there was a runner on second. The batter made contact, and the next thing we saw was Graison on the ground!

Graison took a line drive to the face...right to his eye! Luckily the sunglasses he had on saved his eye. He went down in a heap, and was down for a few minutes, before getting up and finishing the inning. He has a nice bruise, and his right side of his face is pretty swollen. He said his teeth even hurt!

Here are the pictures.....

Saturday after the game

Sunday Morning before church

Pictures...

A few weeks ago, I posted an "update" of all the things that we had been up to. Well, finally I am now posting pictures to go along with that post!

Fitting that the first few pictures are of "bunnies, chicks, and goats" from Scott's Easter shoot that his studio did. We had to babysit the bunnies, chicks, and ducks for a few nights. Needless to say all the kids in the neighborhood thought we were so cool.

I have to admit, that they little goats were so cute. They were only 3 weeks old. They would just follow you around like little puppies. I wish all my nephews and nieces could have seen them!

BASEBALL SEASON....

Today was Opening Day for the St. Louis Cardinals. I was recruited to become a Cards fan when Scott & I moved to Missouri 12 years ago. I have loved every minute of it! We have been lucky enough to have the chance to go to many of the Cardinals games. One season, we even went in with some others and bought season tickets.

On of the few draw backs to moving to Boise, was that we won't be able to watch many of the Cardinals games on TV. Not that this will discourage us from proudly wearing our Cardinal Red on game days.

so irritating....

i know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I am SO annoyed that i sit and typed that whole "catch up" post and had it all layed out nice...then i go to post it and it is all weird. like it cuts off sentences randomly and its like the computer hits the "enter" button. UGHH ok I'm done.

CATCH UP....

So, it has been a while since I have posted to my blog...and naturally there are a few things that I should catch everyone up on. Brace yourself...this is going to be quick....


1. YES Scott & Graison were lucky enough to score tickets to go watch Mizzou play here in Boise.
From what I get through their excitement everytime they talk about the game...they had a
BLAST! Mizzou won the game against Marquette to advance them to the Sweet 16. Mizzou
went on to play against Memphis, where they also won and advanced to the ELITE 8!
Unfortunately they lost the game to Uconn, but they played one heck of a game! We are so
proud of the MIZZOU TIGERS!!! MIZ.......ZOU



2. While the boys were having a bonding weekend, Baylee & I went to Idaho Falls and visited my
family. We had a lot of fun hanging out and enjoying their company. We went to the museum
there that had a Titanic exhibit. When you get there, they give you a boarding pass with
someones name that was actually on the Titanic. You walked through the exhibit looking at all
these artifacts that have been rescued from the actual ship. Then at the end, you had to see
if your person lived or died. It was really an awesome exhibit.


3. For the first time, my sister Joy, talked us into participating in Earth Hour. Where you turn off
your power for 1 hour. It really wasn't that big of an inconvenience, seeing that it doesn't get dark
here until late. I am not as big of an advocate as Joy, but I do appreciate her willingness to
educate us, and explaining our "little" part we can do to better our Earth.


4. The remaining time of Spring Break was spent playing games and enjoying baseball practice.
It is very weird not running into our "summer" family that we have grown to love during baseball
season back in SIkeston around the complex. Here we sit at practice, surrounded by
mountains, and enjoying the beautiful weather. I might be speaking too soon, but I have yet
to see the Missouri state bird....the MOSQUITO!!!


Ok, I think this pretty much catches us up to date. I will get back to posting regularly, and hopefully have some fun and exciting things to post as the weather turns to Spring. We are eagerly awaiting the opening of the Boise Farmers Market. So stayed tuned.....

MIZZOU IS COMING TO BOISE

YES you heard right. The first round of the NCAA March Madness has games being played here in Boise. You could hear the cheers on Sunday when Scott found out that Mizzou was going to be one of the teams to be playing here in our city.

I have been trying to find tickets, but with no luck. Unless you want to pay up to $250 a seat! I am hoping that Friday after the first round, that maybe there will be some up for grabs.

I would love to be able to send Graison & Scott to go support our home team. What are the chances that Mizzou would come here! It would be a great treat for them. So stay tuned to see if I can "score" tickets....hopefully I post again with GOOD NEWS!

Baseball Time

You know Spring is in the air when we start talking baseball. Eventhough we are in Boise, we are faithfully getting updates and scores from the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training games. Scott has already told me that we will have to buy the baseball package through cable so we can get all the Cardinals games.

And speaking of baseball...we signed Graison up for the Meridian City league. Graison has been playing baseball since he was old enough to hold a bat! I love sitting at games and watching him play. Graison has come a long way in his baseball career. Growing from a little T-ball player to this year he will be on the regulation size fields.

Graison had his assessments this morning. Where they evaluate you and your skills to see where to place you as far as teams. Scott just called and said that Griason did great. Graison was out there with 14 & 15 year old and he was told he had the best arm out there. Graison of course was thrilled!

I am looking forward to another great year of baseball. Eventhough we are in a new town, it will be great to watch Graison continue to grow into a great player.

Turkey Chunks.....

Doesn't that sound YUMMY? NO, not at all.

Today was my first experience inside of the church cannery. I thought I would do my good deed and service so I signed up with our ward Relief Society. We had a good time laughing and making jokes about the hair net, gloves, and smocks we had to wear.
All laughing stopped when we actually went into the cannery and SMELLED the turkey chunks. Oh my heck, it was the worse smell.

We were divided up into groups, and we were all nervous waiting to see what area we were going to be working in. A few of my friends were thrown into the "stuffing the cans" area which was the first phase of the process. Let me just tell ya, that I have never been so happy to have a cold! Because that got me out of working in this area!

So, I was led to the packing and labeling area. Which I thought I had lucked into the best area. That was until I started loading the warm, wet, and stinky cans of the finished process of turkey chunks onto the conveyor to get labels. The smell was almost as bad as the raw turkey!

Ok, so I did my good deed. I got my little card so that I can go and buy products such as jams, frozen fruits, wheat, potato flakes, honey and soups.

Believe it or not, I actually signed up to do another session in April...Strawberry Jam!!!

PAIN....SICK....HELP...

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.....

As you can see, it is 1:20AM. I am the only one awake, and I am in pain! After taking about 10 Pepto pills, I finally got up to do some research as to why I am feeling so bad. It started off as just an upset stomach feeling. Then the gas, bloating, stomach turning began. Now, it is like an acid feeling crawling UP my chest and gets worse when I lay down.

I have tried my trusty "WebMD" and it says possible heartburn, and so take an antacid. Which of course we don't have!! It also said to elevate your bed so it "keeps the flow going down". That's out of the question as my dear husband is sleeping like a baby! I don't think he would appreciate my turning the lights on and stacking books under our bed.

So, here I sit...now 1:27AM, in misery, extremely tired, and blogging!

FAT TUESDAY!!!!

Today is Fat Tuesday. Coming from Missouri, where New Orleans was only about 8 hours away, Scott & I were lucky enough to go to Mardi Gras a few times. It was truly amazing! Just the atmosphere down there is so much fun. Scotts brother, Mark, and his sister, Jana, have been to New Orleans with us. Once for a paintball tournament (which was played in the mud!)

The Things we Love about Mardi Gras and New Orleans:

1. The Parades

2. The Beads

3. Creole food

4. French Quarter

5. Beignets

Graison, Baylee, and Scott all wore beads today. We have a collection of the nice New Orleans beads, so they wanted to show the off to Idahoans who aren't quit sure what Mardi Gras is all about!