October Fun!

Cameron had a walk-a-thon at the elementary school.  He walked laps and we pledged to give him $$ for each lap he did.  He did a great job and was happy that I came.  Below is Logan and Julian his best buds.

Fall Lacrosse.  It was a good season with a strong learning curve for these boys.  They won every game in the regular season, but lost every one in fall because they were playing against Competitive teams, it was a bit of humble pie for all of them.

12th Annual pumpkin patch was a success again this year..  The boys learned how to work hard and tried to get along while doing it.  The ages of the boys right now are a bit of a challenge on getting along and not feeling like "he" is the picked on one who has to work harder, or drive the train more often.  It was a daily battle for sure.

Me and Cam decided to carve a pumpkin in the middle of the month when he had 3 short days in a row, just for something fun to do together.

For fall break the big boys went hunting, without success, and so I took Cam to the zoo with Tara, Mom, Kiley and kiddos.  It was really a good time.  I haven't been in years and it had changed so much. 

 Pumpkin Carving and caramel apple day at the Weston's.  We did it alone this year, although we did have Brent and Great Grandma Weston over for dinner, they just didn't stay long enough to carve.  The boys each go crazy with their designs and spend a lot of time concentrating on their Jack-o-Lantern.

 Grandma Becky had us over for a little Halloween fun and we dressed up.  

 School Parade and Trick-or-treating at Mauri's work and around the neighborhood.  

Cameron's Haul.  It was a ton of candy, in fact he counted and it was 304 pieces.

Cambone is #11

My baby boy turned 11 years old today.  Wow!  He is getting so big.

11 things that make Cameron great:

1-He has really great hair.  He cut it off in February from the really long look, but he still goes for semi-long and flowing and I love it.
2-He is always excited to see mom and dad.  Always.
3-He is a very avid reader.  He started the Harry Potter series and is loving every minute of it.  He reads for hours at a time and finishes them so quickly.
4-Cam just started guitar and so far is loving it.  He is catching on quickly and sits down often just to play.
5-Cam is a hard worker.  He loves to work outside and will do anything you ask him to do, even coming over and asking "now what" when he finishes one task and needs another one.  He has worked at Bella's a couple of nights this month when they were busy, and he loves scraping plates and handing them to the dishwasher.
6-Cam has the best attitude toward life.  He is always happy, smiley and goes with the flow.
7-He is very very smart.  Especially at math.  Things that take computing just come to his brain.  It is crazy to watch him figure things out.  Every teacher, every year says this about his amazing brain.  One down side to his amazing brain is he is very hard on himself if he doesn't succeed as well as he expected himself to.  This is about the only time I see him upset if he disappoints himself.
8-He does not care what others think about him.  Cam is comfortable in his own skin and I love to see him shake off mean comments or just move on with his day.  He has no desire to fit in with certain crowds, he is just happy to be.
9-Cam takes robotics club and he is seriously in heaven doing that.  He programs a robot and makes it go where he wants it.  He is fascinated by things like that.
10-Cam loves Lacrosse.  He loves to spend time with his Dad doing Lacrosse and gets so excited to play in every game.  One think I have noticed is he doesn't seem to mind if they win or loose.  He likes to focus on his accomplishments and things he can work on. I really admire this about my Cameron.
11-Bones (that is his nickname) is very kind.  He is kind at school, work, church, and play.  He sees all kids as equals and tries to be kind to everyone.  He reaches out and is such a sweet kind hearted little guy and I love him more than all the fishes in the seas.  He brings a smile to my face every time I see him and gives tons and tons of hugs.  I love you Cameron John Weston and am forever thankful to be your mama.

Braxton's Surprise 16th Birthday Party

We knew if we suggested a party Braxton would have nothing to do with it.  He refuses to invite people over to our house because he wont be the host.  So we decided to make his Birthday party a surprise and he had NO IDEA!  I asked his buddy Jamie to invite a few people and we rented the Bubble balls to play soccer and other fun group games in.  They turned out to be a blast.  I think the 5 of us had more fun then all of the teenagers, we loved it so much. Braxton was very surprised and also thankful that we did have a party for him.

Braxton is 16

Braxton turned 16 years old and we celebrated for an entire week, as usual.  Soon I will upload some pictures from the family pumpkin party where we celebrated his birthday and his surprise 16th party that we threw with his friends.  For now, I will do my 16 reasons why I think Braxton is awesome.

1-He is such a good boy.  He just likes to do good and be good and that always makes a moms heart happy.
2-He is so good with young kids.  They just love him and run to be with him and he is so patient and plays so well with them.  Knox, Troy's 18 month old son, loves to be with Brax.  He tags along wherever Brax goes when he is at my moms.
3-He was very nervous to bless the sacrament even though he wouldn't say so.  He stumbled a couple of times but stood up smiling and looked at the audience so bravely.
4-Braxton is very smart.  His brain calculates things that I could never dream of calculating.  Someday I hope he uses his mechanical engineer brain to invent something awesome.
5-He is very handsome, and I am sure the girls will start noticing soon.
6-Getting out of bed in the morning has never been hard for Braxton and I see that as a very good quality.
7-He has a great love for the game of Lacrosse.  He practices nearly everyday in the backyard and can hardly be seen without his stick in his hand.
8-Brax is no stranger to hard work.  He is good at hard, sweaty labor and as he gets older people around notice and ask him to help them fairly often.  It is almost like having 4 men at our house these days and Brax always sets a great example of hard work.
9-Braxton is a cheapskate just like me.  He hoards his money that he earns and can't stand to part with it.
10-Every time I ask him to do something he complains--every time--but he always does it!
11-His sense of style has changed and evolved over the years but being in High School really makes him keenly aware of what he is wearing and what his hair looks like.
12-Brax is truly and introvert.  He does not like being social but cannot stand to be alone.  These two very opposite things make his very best friends be his brothers.  They pal around together all evening and he perfectly content as long as one of them hangs with him.
13-School comes very easily to Braxton.  He studies very little and often asks me "I just don't get how people study?".  Luckily he retains large amount of information so he does well in school.
14-Brax got his drivers license the day after his birthday (it was on a Sunday) and he is a very cautious and good driver.  Lets hope it sticks.  This totally freaks me out!!
15-Braxton is a good example for Dakota and Cameron.  He is an example of kindness, hard work, and doing what you should.
16-Braxton hates hates to be hugged.  Lately we have been forcing him to give us hugs when he exits the house and before bed and while he complains every time he secretly loves it.  He needs it.  Everyone needs to have physical touch even if you think your too cool for it.

We celebrated at the family pumpkin patch party.  He bought 1/2 the civic and we gave him the other 1/2.  He loves driving it to school and back, but so far isn't fond of buying gas.  Welcome to adulting, sometimes it stinks to spend your hard earned cash on gas.  Kiley made him a license plate cake and all the grandparents and Shane and I gave him a gas can full of "gas money".

Hid actual birthday was on a Sunday so we wanted to do something fun so we did pancake art.  It was a blast.  It was a competition to see who could make the best Mario.  We had a great time and will definitely do it again.

Since his birthday was on a Sunday we had to get his license the next day.  He was so eager to get up there and get it.  He is one handsome driving boy.  I was and am a bit freaked out by the whole thing, but I suppose they have to grow up and I can't do anything to stop it. 

Salmon Run hike at Causey

Just a cute photo of Knox, Troy's youngest boy who we all adore and he brings so much joy into our lives every time we get to see him.

Alayna called on Friday and asked if my boys and I wanted to go for a hike up to Causey reservoir to see the Salmon run.  Brax and Cam were busy so I grabbed Dakota and took her up on the offer.  It was a great hike, not too steep but it did take a while to get into.  It was worth every step, the fish were spawning and they were beautiful.  I love going on hikes with good friends, we have so much time to have great conversation and really enjoy the things God has given us in nature.  The kids hike in front of us and we basically can talk about all types of things and it just feels good sometimes to have some uninterrupted, much needed conversation.

Harry Potter party 2018/Grandpa's Birthday

Tara and Kiley planned a fabulous Harry Potter Party on my Dad's Birthday.  We started in the Living room running through the door 9 3/4 into Hogwarts.  Then we were sorted by the sorting hat and assigned our houses.  From there we went outside and were given our wands, did some spells and went to herbology.  It was so much fun and the kids had a blast.  I couldn't believe the amount of work they put into the decorating and baking and crafting.  We even ended the evening with a game of Quiddich and some delicious tacos from Bella's.