Monday, October 22, 2018

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.
























Wednesday, October 17, 2018

August adventures

At girls camp we were challenged to attend the Temple once a week for 3 weeks in a row.  I helped the MiaMaids accomplish this goal by driving them to the temple on Wednesday mornings for 3 weeks.  It was such a special experience for me to spend that extra time with the girls right before I was released.  It was quite a difficult experience for me to be released.  I cried a lot for a few days because 1) I hate change 2) I love love love those girls and wanted to watch over them forever! 3)I wasn't ready, I needed at least one more activity to say goodbye and make sure they knew how much I love love love them. 4)I was just sad.
This was our last activity together, a beautiful hike up to Lewis Peak.  It was quite steep and made us all realize we can do hard things and its better to do them together.  I found out minutes before this that we were going to be released and I was very thankful for sunglasses because I cried most of the night.  I shared some of he best experiences of my life with those girls.  We laughed, cried, and felt the spirit together so many times and my heart had a really hard time letting go.  As with all change there are other things on the horizon and I was called into the Nursery and turns out I also love love 2 year olds.  I still feel a bit of sadness each Wednesday night and miss them like crazy, but life goes on and they have great new leaders and they are still being taught and loved and that is the most important part.

We went to the Weber County Fair like we do every year.

Kiley has been put in charge of the Pilgrim Family Reunion every year and this year she did a Mexican Fiesta.  Troy and Tyler were Human Pinata's and they ran away from the kids while they tore candy off of their shirts.  It was a riot.  The whole reunion was really fun and the food was excellent.

The boys started yet another year of school.  This year they are in three different schools Fremont (Braxton 10th), Wahlquist (Dakota 8th) and Plain City Elementary (Cameron 5th)


This year the boys decided to invite me along for their backpacking trip to Wall Lake. We went shopping for some Mountain House meals and began the packing of 5 backpacks. It was quite the chore to get us all ready, but it was totally worth it.  I was amazed at how hard it is to hike with 30 pounds on your back.  Each boy carried his own pack and I think they were tougher than me.  They did so well and wanted to keep going farther and farther.  The second day we did a day hike to another lake and the hike was straight up a hill.  It was steep but the fishing up there was much better.  They were small fish, but they were catching them every other cast.  The camp was so peaceful and quiet and we really grew together as a family by doing hard things and enjoying nature.