Hardcore

Carson has been so much fun lately.  His voice is changing and he is getting man hair.  Yes, man hair.  He has a cute little friend that at the moment is a GIRL.  I hear he has been holding her hand.  Come on now Carson. . . you are 13.  Let's wait a bit on the holding hands.  Maybe until you're 20?

It has to be pretty hard being a boy.  Mom, do this.  Mom, do that!  All I have to say to these boys is . . . . I LOVE doing this and that!  Thank you for making each day so fun and at some times challenging.  The boys have been having a lot of fun playing outside after school in what snow we have.  They have set up rails for shredding, and built really big jumps.  When the sun goes down it's no big deal.  They just get out the really BRIGHT flood light and shred until it's time for dinner or even bedtime.  Helmets PLEASE!!!

Kelton has mastered his front flips.  He is sure an outgoing little dude always wanting to further his skills.  He is a hard worker and really tries hard in all of his day to day tasks.  Carson and Kelton are amazing teachers.  Little Coop is learning how to shred and they both take turns helping him up and down the little hill.  Yep, I remember the days of hauling Carson and Kelton on my back up the hills.  Look at them now!!!  

 Cooper has started going to preschool and loving every minute of it.  He thinks he is such a big boy to be going to school and riding the bus with his brothers.  Wow, (tears)  where has the time gone?

Brian just finished an amazing bike he has been working on the month of January.  It is a coupler bike.  It comes apart and fits into a backpack.  What the heck?  Every time I look at this thing I am in aah.  He amazes me every single day.  I sure do love my smart hubby.  He is such a hard worker and does so many amazing things for our family.

Photography has been slow this past month.  I am actually so happy about that.  Picture frames have really been crazy.  It has been fun to develop new stuff and get reactions from customers on their products they receive.  www.rustymill.etsy.com.  I am so blessed!  I feel so truly greatful for everything and everyone in my life at this moment.  Can't say one negative thing!  I love my happy little life.

Oh What Fun!

 We had such a fantastic Holiday Season!  It truly goes by in a blur, but wanted to share a few fun blips.  Cooper - 4) Still believes in Santa
Kelton - 10.5) Winks every time I say the word Santa
Carson - 13) Cracks up every time I say the word Santa

I have a feeling that in a couple years life will be a little boring around here with no little fun ones to be surprised on Christmas morning.  This year was great!  Cooper was so happy and thrilled when he woke up and saw that Santa had drank all his milk and ate his delicious cookies.  I wish more than anything I could have captured that moment.

Being a photographer has made me realize that I no longer take photos of my family.  I didn't even pull out my camera.  How totally PATHETIC is that????  Oh how I remember the memories from years ago.  Growing up in a large family was actually pretty fun at times.  Christmas morning was one of those times.  My parents worked hard all year long to make our Christmas's amazing!  Oh what FUN!!!!  It makes me sad to think that my children are growing up and that these moments really do matter.

It was great being with family!  I love my brothers and my only one beautiful sister!  I LOVE my mom and dad!  I LOVE my living grandmother!  How amazing is life.  When I was a teenager I can honestly say that I didn't LOVE the things that are truly important.  Man, I am OLD!

A new BLOG beginning

So life has been absolutely fantastic!  The boys are growing to be wise young men and life's trials are just that . . . . TRIALS!  I have come to the conclusion that a journal is more important than any amount of money one could possibly have.  When you die you can leave money, but you can also leave amazing memories to your children and other generations to come.

That is why my new commitment to blogging has been restored.  After a year of not journaling I have realized how much I have missed.  My children are older and so many things that I thought I would have remembered have gone by the wayside.  I'm excited to fill in the details of the past 1.5 years.

prego + field + whitney = beauty

Over the weekend Whit was up.  I made her take picutes in some random field.  She wasn't too thrilled.  I was thrilled to get such amazing prego pictures of her.  Good times . . . Good times!

The Art of Fishing

Brian went to ride his bike at the RATPOD over the weekend with Randy.  It's a 130 mile bike ride that supports a great cause.  Way to go Bri. 

While he was gone I decided to attempt fishing with the boys.  Well, honestly I am new to fly fishing so basically they would be teaching me. I had to put a little bit of tape on Coops hook so he wouldn't keep jabbing everyone in the face. 

It was fun to watch the boys work together to get their flies on, and tie their own knots.  Brian has taught them well.

Little Kelt wadded out in his moms waders.

  I think they are just a tad big on you buddy.

Kelly and her family came down to join in the fun.  Little Coop was such a gentleman. 

Helping Kaitlyn down the hill.  Kelly also had a ton of luck - catching fish after fish. 

I also had a lot of luck catching some kind of sea creature.  I have to tell you though.  My fly fishing skills need some serious practice.  It is a true art that I have yet to master.  What a fun night.

Tree House

It's summer time, and the boys are kind of getting a little bored.  I guess not bored, but they are not very productive.  Carson and Kelton said they were headed out to build a tree house.  Now, what trees will they be using to build their tree house? 

 We have only a few small trees, but nothing that you could use for a treehouse.  Well, they did find a tree to build their house in.  Not your ordinary tree, but it will do.  They worked hard all day long.  They now have an official boy hideout built just for the three of them. 

Cooper is so dang funny.  He just sits outside by the boys and plays with ants, or weeds, or dirt. 

He is just happy to be hanging out with his big brothers. 

So Pretty

Got to go out and take more pictures tonight.  The family was awesome. 

Maddie is a total model. 

Just KELTON

Kelton cracks me up.  He is such a motivated little guy.  He likes any kind of outdoor adventure.  He woke up at the crack of dawn saying he wanted to go bird hunting with his bow.  Now, thank goodness that the birds go faster than his arrows because he is an amazing shot.  He rarely misses.  The rain was coming down and he was standing by the door dressed in his camo gear. Instead of killing a little bird, he actually helped save one. 

One of my Favs

Marsden Girls

Alright, so I am completely obsessed with taking pictures.  I can't even sleep at night!  What is going on?  Well, today I got to hang out with three beautiful Marsden girls. 

Annie's girls are absolutely adorable.  There wasn't one bad picture in the whole bunch.  So many to choose from, so little disc space.  It was fun shooting with my mom and dad.  They came up to hang out and join in on the fun.  What a blast.

Carson's turns 12

I honestly can't believe that my little baby has turned twelve.  Where has the time gone?  It was just yesterday he was crawling around in circles.  Today, he is a grown young man. For his birthday we took him down North and went to the bow shop.  He has been wanting a bow for the past year since his brother Kelton got one.  We went out to lunch, and then went to pick up his new bow.  The boys shot for a while, and off we went to more baseball games. 

Little Coop watched so patiently and posed while we waited for the boys.

This week has been filled with so many baseball games.  It was tournament time, and they seem to cram them all of the games into one fun filled week of parent tourture.  Brian and Kelton had a great season.  It was great to see Brian coaching the boys this season.  He did a fantastic job.  Kelton played hard.  He played pitcher, and catcher.  They made it pretty far until they got knocked out in the last game and lost by one. 

Carson's team played and played and played.  They made it to the finals and ended up taking second place - out of seven or eight teams.  Way to go boys.  Carson pitched some amazing games.  Although it was a great week I think I grew 3 new ulcers, gained 10 pounds by living off nachos, hot dogs, skittles, and pop corn.  Yeah, it was worth it.

Wowsers, I am absolutely beat! 

My house is a complete wreck,

 but it was all in the name of baseball LOVE. 

Good times, good times.

First Photo Shoot

So, I did my first photo shoot yesterday.  It was the funnest thing on the planet.  Natalie has the most adorable kids ever.  They were the best at posing. 

I had such a great time. Thanks guys.

Rainy Day Adventure

Wow, it has been raining a lot around this place.  We have been feeling a little cooped up so we headed over to Warm River to scout out some new climbing that we heard about.  We had a great time and found a lot of cool rocks. 

What a wonderful way to spend a rainy day. 

Be Thankful

So, I woke up feeling pretty amazing today. . . . until I got a call from my mother saying that my brother Cortney had been hit by a car while riding his motorcycle home late last night.  How can this be?  How crappy of luck can one kid have?  Now, many of you know Cortney and know that he lives for the outdoors and his family.  He is such an amazing person.  Actually, he must be some kind of angel because he really shouldn't be alive at all - several times over.

It makes me think of just how lucky yet ungreatful I am.  It seems that I often complain about the weather.  If it's raining - too much rain.  If it's snowing - too cold.  If it's blowing - way too windy.  It also seems like I often complain about not being in top shape.

Why do we do this?  Why aren't we just satisfied with the conditions or body we have?  Why does it take a death or accident to realize that we haven't said "I LOVE YOU" in a really long time?

  

So, today I am thankful. 

Thankful for my life.

Thankful for my healthy body.

Thankful for my family.

Thankful for my brother.

Thankful for the Gospel.

So tomorrow, wake up - feel the fresh air on your face, and appreciate life.  No matter what the weather. No matter how those jeans are fitting.  Say I LOVE you to those who walk out the door.  Because you just never know if you will get a second chance.

Happy Birthday Mom

School's OUT

Wow, that went fast. The kids are another year older and wiser.  They are now out for summer break.  I think they really enjoyed school this year.  Carson just finished 6th grade, and Kelton finished his 3rd grade year.  I remember the 6th grade well.  I gave a 12th grader a bloody nose.

It was kind of like in the movie "Christmas Story" when the little kid just keeps beating and beating on the red head.  Yeah, that was me.  Anywho, we celebrated by going swimming.  Cooper hasn't been swimming but a few times since he was born so this was fun stuff for him. 

It has been raining a lot around these parts.  I am just happy that it isn't snowing!  Things are sure beautiful and green.  Makes for a beautiful June.  Mom's birthday is tomorrow!  Can't wait to P.A.R.TA.! ! !