A Different Kind of Mothers Day

My sweet husband brought me home beautiful hanging baskets a couple days ago, for Mothers Day. I can't reach them to water, so he is doing that for me too! I like that kind of gift!  After they made me breakfast in bed, belgian waffles with strawberries & whip cream (my fav), we went to Church. The gift at Church this year was a cd of the primary/youth singing to the Mom's....just like we got to hear that day at Church. I loved it! They did a great job too!

After that, we met up with a bunch of families at Emerald Downs. No we don't gamble, and yes we went there on a Sunday. Neither of us had been there before, and Tyler's Mom was out of town, so we just hung out, Ella was spoiled by the dads with lots of icecream, (Connor too)...and the kids played. 

A fun group of boys. Zach's still the new kid, but that will change with time.

After there, we all headed to the Weeds to BBQ....it was a fun day.

Zach's 11th Birthday

Happy Birthday to our first born! We love you Zach!  His choice of breakfast before he headed off to school...sausage breakfast sandwiches.

Since his birthday was on a Friday, we threw his friend party on his actual birthday.

The cake I made for his party :)

The sweets table.

Fillin' up on pizza....

The party gang....the goofy picture.

Tyler laying down the rules for dodgeball....

It got pretty crazy....there is definately 2 boys we shouldn't have invited....they were so rude. One surprised us with his snotty attitude, the other I made him invite so he wouldn't be the only one left out....after the party I promised him I would NEVER make him invite that kid again. Wow.

That kid just kept throwing the balls at Zach & his teammates heads...so they got fed up & ganged up on him. I don't blame them....it quickly became a shirts-skins game.

Ella & buddy Kagen taking a break....

Yeah.....leave it to our daughter to rip her shirt off too. She came and announced she had "privates", pointing to her chest.....we tried to explain to her that she needs to keep her "privates" covered.....ugh.

Opening presents.....he sure has generous friends!

Blowing out the candles!

"Calling" in a Birthday Present a Few Days Early...

So Zach has been wanting a phone for years...we didn't think a young kid needed one..but now that he's almost 11, and going to Middle School next year...we felt he had waited long enough! That & Tyler is never good about keeping a surprise, so when he brought it home, he was SO excited to give it to Zach :)

Yup, it's a nice one....lucky!

We Didn't Knew what Cold Was!

Other games have been cold this season...but wow, this one sure took the cake!  The won though!

Cold and muddy....not fun....what we do for our kids....gotta love 'em!

Predators vs. Billings

This week Zach brought Tyson R. with him to be ball boys. Brae brought Carson & Tre R. to the game. It was quite the Wolfpack night!

Hoping for a ball to come their way...

We invited Hudson & Corey Barker to come to the game. Thought it would be a fun night out where he could sit and watch with his dad. Connor was so cute. He was so happy his friend was there. The cheerleaders even threw a t-shirt to Hudson too :). The next morning, Tyler brought Hudson one of the game balls. We know it wasn't a big deal, but it was something we could do to make his day a little brighter.

Zach & Tyson workin'!

Brae with buddies Gunner & Hunter T.

After the game waiting to get autographs...

A Wolf, a Webelo, & an Arrow of Light

So let me start off by saying we are not a "scouting family" by any stretch of the word.  Tyler didn't have great scout leaders growing up, and I didn't have any brothers...so we are kind of clueless when it comes to scouting.  That being said....today was a really special day! 

Braeden has been counting down the days until he could be a scout. He's only 8 as of last January, yet he had almost the entire book done in the first month....on his own.  He was determined to get his Wolf right away.  He just needed a flag ceremony that had to be done as a troop....and thankfully Janet Tracy got that taken care of when I couldn't get his scout leaders to organize one...so he actually would have had this award MONTHS ago....

Zach didn't have a great experience starting off as a scout.  We weren't even told about scouts until he was almost 9....crazy right....but we didn't know to ask, and poor kid is our first...our guinea pig so to speak. He has been playing catch up ever since....but he's done it - on his own! His old scout leaders never gave him his Wolf or Bear patches either, even though he had earned them.....so tonight was big....he was finally given those, along with his Webelo. :)

...and on top of that, he earned his Arrow of Light.  We are so proud of you Zach! We love you! Wow...almost an 11yr.old scout....that is so crazy!

After awards were given out, the Wolves performed a skit for us...cute job Brae! :)

Popsicles Brighten Any Day

Our neighbors have been treating us horribly for almost a year now. One family since last May, the other since the end of last July.  It's days like this one (when the neighbors aren't home, lol) that make me appreciate the little things....like how much fun it is to eat a popsicle.

...and how much more fun it is to have those special moments with our kids. I am so grateful for how close they are to each other, how they have each others back always. So kids - when you look back and read this - remember it....remember the special moments you shared with each other. I don't know why these horrible people keep trying to break us down, but it won't work. Their constant hateful words, actions, and attitudes will make you stronger. Don't get me wrong - this is the most awful thing we have ever gone through. I wish they would just leave us alone. I am scared, I think the 'crazy man' is completely nuts & very unstable. So when we have a day where those rude people are about - have a popsicle, and kmow how much Dad & I love you!