Lions, Tigers, and SNAKES!

I thought I could handle a snake until I felt one move from under my foot while weeding.... EWWWWWW! It freaked me out! Shayne has managed to find it and hold it several times. The boys love seeing it and holding it too. I didn't get a picture of the actual snake yet, but here is the evidence that it must be eating well and growing while helping us in the garden. It is just a gentle gardener snake and I realize it is good for my garden but, I still shake in my shoes while weeding.... My strawberry patch...


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Sign of the times...

my baby is growing up. Not only is he going to be in 1st grade and eat school lunch (occasionally), but he's now missing a little baby tooth. The tooth fairy treated him better than fair (more than I ever hoped for when I was little!). I'm secretly hoping that his front teeth will fall out in time for the Christmas classic, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" - that would make shopping so much easier.

Traveling amongst the Southerners

I had the opportunity to go to Atlanta, GA and then to Charlotte, NC to visit family! I took Danny in my lap and left the older boys with Shayne. He had the help of his sisters and my mom while he worked and I couldn't have done it without them! It was a fabulous vacation and I can't believe how much I did over the week! Danny was a great traveler and made friends with EVERYONE everywhere we went. The Southerners were so friendly! Here are few of the highlights:

Visiting Lara and Greg in Atlanta
Riding in style to see Peachtree City. They have over 80 miles of paths for folks to run, bike, walk, or drive their "household" golf cart around!

Beautiful sunset over a lake near Lara's home.

Lara, Greg, and Danny

Visiting the CNN building in downtown Atlanta.

Smith Plantation Home in Roswell. This was my favorite tour. Lots of old furniture, good stories, and an amazing home.

Martin Luther King's Grandmother's home in Atlanta. He grew up here till he was about 12 years old. Very beautiful home and a great tour about his life as a child. I especially enjoyed the stories about him trying to get out piano lessons.

This telegraph system in the firehouse down the street from MLK's childhood home was still in use until 1985! That BEFUDDLES me!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Nelson in Charlotte, NC

Grandma and Grandpa in front of their office where they serve as Church Employment Missionaries (they offer services to help people find jobs!)

This is a beautiful Magnolia tree. The blossoms are AMAZING right now... just a few blooms decorate each tree EVERYWHERE. This is my FAVORITE tree!

Here are a few of those amazing blossoms. They are bigger than Danny's head!

Grandma smothering Danny with a couple of those "thousand kisses" saved up for him


Happy to be together!

The "lot" of us!

COMING HOME
Hunter told me on the phone that "EVERYTHING is different when you're gone, mommy." Yes, I'm sure it was! Shayne had the house spotless and he finished the HUGE project of doing our backsplash. Isn't he AMAZING!?!?!

10 YEARS and Counting on more...

Tomorrow we celebrate our 10th anniversary! I can't believe it has been 10 years. All the details leading up to our marriage seem like yesterday.... then again, it was ages ago! Today I'd like to share our story. No one has to read this - but it's fun for me to go down memory lane!

Our Story

My roommate was dating Micah our freshman year. When she went home (out of state) for the summer, Micah and I hung out a lot. He was "safe" (I knew he was crazy for my roommate) and we also worked together on staff for the AF Marching Band. That summer was filled with parades, practices, and just hanging out. It was a GREAT summer. When he went to visit his girlfriend over the July 4th holiday, I ended up hanging out with his "little brother" Amos. I didn't even know Amos, but he immediately treated me like he had known me for years and I felt like I had two brothers to hang out with. It was at the end of the summer when Amos asked if it was ok for his best friend, "Shayne," to hang out with us too. Sure, why not? So, I don't remember meeting Shayne the first time. It was if we had always hung out together. When school started in the fall, I spent a lot of time just hanging out with Amos and Shayne - my two buddies. They were both preparing to serve LDS missions and I had no intentions to be romantic with either of them!

Halloween 1995

A couple weeks before Shayne left on his mission (Feb 14th), things started to change. I kept thinking that it was Satan was doing everything he could to make it hard for Shayne to leave on his mission. Why else would our feelings suddenly change right before he left? I was becoming "addicted" to Shayne. He was easy to talk to and I loved to be with him. We were best of friends and I knew that things would probably be very different after his mission. It was only days before he left that he held my hand and it was a defining moment in our lives. (sounds silly, I know, but true) That week I wrote in my journal:
"I know I'll probably be married when Shayne gets home from his mission. But, if I am, I must have married Superman because I can't imagine anything better than this."



I was able to see Shayne off (back in the days when you could go to the terminals!) and it was not an "I'll wait for you" farewell. We just told each other how grateful we were for our friendship. We wrote weekly and we both knew there were no promises. (PS I still hadn't kissed him!)
I dated PLENTY during the next year but, no one came close making me feel the way I did with Shayne. We wrote and wrote and 1 year later I, too, decided to serve an LDS mission. Seeing Amos and Shayne serving their missions definitely had an influence on my decision. My religious beliefs defined the person I was and the way I wanted to live my life. I knew I had a special message to share and it was an amazing experience to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ 24/7 for the next year and half!

After our missions, we started to date again. It was picture perfect! He was the first (and only) boy I kissed. I'm not sure why I waited until I was 22, but it was worth the wait! We were married a year after I got home from my mission.
10 years later, here we are with 3 kids, a dog, and our love that has GROWN beyond measure. Shayne, you are my Eternal Sweetheart and I'm so grateful for our wonderful lives together! I'm so lucky to be married to my best friend!

Danny waves bye

I love the way he sticks his arm straight out... so cute!

Saying Good-bye

Our neighbors and best friends have moved to bigger and better adventures in Tennessee. It was assumed if I couldn't find my kids - they were probably next door! And with that thought, if my kids couldn't find me - I was probably next door! If Hunter was starting to look like a TV zombie, I just had to say "why don't you go find Carter" and he'd jump up and run over to see if he could play. I loved hearing them play on the trampoline - their funny games about "powers" and "special tricks." Cole and Whitney would talk about who would play at who's house on the way home from preschool and maybe Whitney's mom would let her eat Mac-N-Cheese at our house.

I can't help but to reflect back 4 years ago when I met Chari - they moved in a few weeks after us. She had a newborn and I was 9 months pregnant. We already had a lot in common! After I had Cole, we decided to start going to the gym together. We started with walking around the track and at first that was plenty! Then we decided to be "REALLY BRAVE" and try a class there. It was such a big deal (to me!) to try a class because it was challenging and exhausting... but we did it! We even did as many as 5 classes a week.... we were crazy. We kept each other going this past year as she was pregnant with #4 and I was pregnant with Danny - we both worked out till our delivery days. (all that stuff about recovery being easier with exercise is SOOO TRUE). Anyhoo - I'm so glad that Chari got me going and kept me going. Our friendship wasn't only about the gym, but it was the starting point. And it has been our "escape" for just an hour from the demands of children, housework, and everything else. We always have SOMETHING to talk about! Luckily, I have a new work-out buddy. So, the gym will continue to be a part of my life (it wouldn't happen without you Kristy!) But the fact that our next door neighbor is going to be someone else, makes us all sad. We've really enjoyed their family next to us and they are already sorely missed (it's been 4 days)!

Last week the movers came to box up their belongings and their family moved into our basement for 5 days. It was a dream come true for my kids. I know that Chari and Brian would have preferred their own beds - but it was sure fun to have them here all week. Here are some pics the morning they left. You've gotta love that Danny is already making moves on that cute little Kemery!

Summer Chores

Well, today is the first OFFICIAL day of Summer Break and we're starting with a run. I made new "to-do charts" for the boys and I'm afraid I've set the expectation way too high! I have a pretty long list for Hunter - but then again, I really think he can do it! I have him doing the following things:
Get Dressed
Brush Teeth
Piano
Brain Game (flash cards, writing, or a page in a math book)
Read 15 minutes
Chore 1
Chore 2 (THIS IS NEW AND I'M LOVING IT!)
Bedroom (just picked up)

Cole has the same things, except for Piano. His "brain game" is going to be writing letters. Today, he wrote his name.

So, I think I'm ambitious and then again, I think I'm such a slacker that this seems like such a big deal to us! Hunter is excited to fill out the chart everyday and Cole just wants to play with his buddy. Hopefully the "no friends, TV, or games till the chart is done" will stick. One day done and many, many, many more to go!!

Recital Time

Many of you know that I have been doing a variety of "musical" things with Hunter for the past couple of years. First we did "Let's Play Music" which is AMAZING, WONDERFUL, and I can't say enough good things about it. This past year, we transitioned to regular piano lessons. He was doing fine with me - but at the same time, it was really tough to be the mommy, the encourager, and the critic. We managed till February and I decided to send him to a neighbor for lessons. My role changed dramatically. I became the helper and the motivator - which is what I really want to do. I still sit down with him every day to help him with his lesson and I really love that time. It's so fun to watch/help him progress. He's so bright and talented. (I'm the mommy, I can be prejudice!) One of my favorite things is hearing him run to the piano and do something over and over and over again - just because he loves playing it. I'm so proud of his hard work! Tonight he had a little recital - check out the clips! And yes, Cole decided to be a part of the duet.