Dance til You Drop

Last night for mutual we had a Stake dance and Austin, Justin and I all got to attend. It was a sock hop and Justin insisted that we dress up for it! I didn't think it was necessary but since Justin is now in the Stake Young Men's presidency, he felt he needed to be more supportive.

We found a few pairs of socks that we though would work for Austin and ended up getting 2 different pairs for him. He chose to wear both pairs. He isn't afraid to be himself, anywhere. I think he had a great time at the dance. He did a great job dancing every slow dance and a one of the dances he danced with a senior!!! We might need to get him signed up for ballroom dance lessons and then he'll impress all of the girls come high school dances!!!
Austin, Pearce, Jayden and Brendan

Justin and I found these socks and he said that we really needed to match. I don't have much to wear that would show off my socks so I opted to wear a skirt. Justin dressed up in his dress slacks also and then rolled his pants up. He looked a little like a leprachaun.

What can I say except, "We're goofy!!" We enjoyed ourselves though. We got in about 4 slow dances and I came home VERY tired! It was worth it though. I got to hang out with my best friend!!

They had prizes for different things during the dance. One category was the most colors and Austin was in the running for that. The other was the most crazy socks. Since Austin had on 2 pairs of socks, he won that contest and got chocolate out of the deal. (Austin is the one on the right, striped shirt!)

It was a fun night and I can't wait for the next dance in the fall! Next year Braydon will be joining us on all these fun dances! What fun we'll have then!

Special Night In

This is how we spent our Valentine's Day this year-
Madison made name cards for everyone and she did a wonderful job with her cursive! (When I asked Madison to make the cards, she asked me what they were for. When I told her we were decorating our table for dinner she asked, "Oh, are we have a decent dinner tonight?" I laughed and corrected her that we are having a 'fancy' dinner, not a 'decent dinner. I wonder what she thinks of all of our other meals??!)

Austin and Mayci

Madison and Kenzie

Braydon with our bottle of bubbly!

My sweetheart and me! Oh, how I love him!!

Our dinner for the night consisted of Cordon Bleu Casserole, green tossed salad, beets and Fruit Pizza. My kids said that we need to have a dinner like that every night. I don't know if they said that because the food was SO delicious or if it was because of the candles we had on the table. I'm thinking it's the candles. (Funny thing on the candles. The only ones we could find were the little black ones we bought for Halloween to put in our pumpkins. No one complained though.)

I truly have the BEST family ever. They are so willing to help out around the house (anywhere for that matter), they have great imaginations, they play well with each other and they are so good at doing things to make me smile.

Justin is the greatest dad ever. He knows just what to say to keep everyone around our house calm when mom isn't as calm. He has a positive attitude which helps smooth out any rough mornings. He know when to step in and take over when mom gets overwhelmed (that seems all too often lately). He is a hard worker and we don't hear him complain very much, if ever. He does a great job completing me and covering all of my weaknesses.

Happy Valentine's Day to the most amazing family ever!! I love you!!

Oh Shoot!!

We don't lack for things to do around our house. If we ever do get bored at our house, our kids tend to find something else that will keep us busy outside of our house.

Braydon managed to get involved with the Hoop Shoot at his school and the next thing we know, we're heading to a local high school for the day. We spent the day watching all of the younger ones shoot first and then finally got to Braydon's age group.

Braydon is the one in the blue shirt towards the back.
Mayci spent the afternoon practicing her dribble. She actually got pretty good after awhile. It was fun to watch her with the ball.

I will admit, it was a long afternoon. Especially after spending 4 hours on those really hard bleachers.

We hoped Braydon would have taken 1st place but he left the Hoop Shoot taking 4th place. Not bad for someone who doesn't shoot everyday.

Braydon's 11th Birthday

My Braydon is 11 now!!

This is a little strange sounding to me. I still think he is my 9 year old and I have a few more years before he is in Young Men's. That's not the case though. He's now in the Boy Scouts as an 11 yr old and loves being into everything else he can be in. He loves helping out with things at the school and even helps with serving lunch every Tuesday at the school. He loves sports, plunking around on the piano, playing games, teasing, being competitive, being outside, and my favorite, giving his mom hugs!

With Braydon's birthday so close to Christmas, we try and have Christmas all taken down before his birthday comes around. This year we didn't get it taken down until the day of his birthday since the 26th was Sunday.

We grilled up some elk steak and had mashed potatoes for lunch. Braydon's request. I felt bad because we spent most of the day cleaning/organizing the house. Justin had the day off and the boys were all going to go shooting guns. The wind was blowing too hard to go shooting though. We decided that we'd go shooting on January 1 in Bear Lake and he was good with that.

We got him a nice watch for his birthday and he got a leatherman kind of tool from G&G Pugmire and piano books from G&G Brower. We decided to take both him and Austin out for their birthday and went on Wednesday, Dec 29th to Olive Garden. We went for lunch and the boys ate TONS!!! We even came home with some of the food. It was just fun spending time with each other!
Braydon, Brandon and Kenzie waiting for the ok to open presents!

These 3 boys are pretty cool boys. Don't get me wrong, there are days that these 3 together means trouble. For the most part though, they're not bad to hang out with!

Kenzie got the bow off of Braydon's box. What a silly girl! She makes me laugh most days.

That night after dinner and oreo icecream pie, Braydon wanted to play some games and so we got out Jenga that we got for Christmas. The kids started playing by themselves at first and were playing it a little wrong. Then Justin and I came and showed them how to play, the correct way.

We got 29 rows, if I remember right. The boys were kind of impressed with our results!

Mayci really wanted to knock the tower over a time or two.

Happy Birthday Braydon! You are one of a kind and we love you for that!

Can it Be?

Did I mention that there is a TEENAGER living in our house now??
Austin had his 13th birthday on January 2. It's a little hard to celebrate big on his actual day when it falls on a Sunday and it's right after New Year's. We did lots of partying the week before his birthday and so it was a nice, relaxing day for all of us.

I do think that one of the kids were a little tired after the weekend we had. Can you tell which one?

Madison cried most of the morning before church. We started 9 am church that day and so we didn't have to listen to her cry for very long. These are some beautiful kids- if I do say so myself!!

Austin was a little anxious to open some presents before we left for church. I figured the one he wanted to open was similar to the one Braydon opened for his birthday. This is the only thing that Austin had asked for: a watch!

After church and some lunch, we opened up a few other presents from Grandparents. Austin got a gadget pocket knife like Braydon had gotten and also a new shirt from G&G Pugmire. G&G Brower gave Austin some drumsticks and a practice pad so he can start learning the drums.

We had Oreo icecream pie for his birthday cake. It's kind of a favorite of ours. Very easy to make and even easier to eat!!

I think we lucked out with one of the BEST teenagers around. He's such a great helper around the house and with his siblings. He is always willing to serve and you can count on him to be there for whatever is needed done. He is very self motivated- which comes in handy when you are doing online school. He still loves to read and has read so much more than his mom the past 6 months. He enjoys learning new things and loves doing anything his dad is doing.

Happy Birthday to one amazing 13 year old. We love you tons Austin!!

Sonehrolm's visit Ely

I thought I should probably post some pictures since I have been a very big slacker with the posts.  We went to Ely on March 3rd for a memorial for Aaron's dad, Paul Arthur Sonerholm.  The memorial was great and so was the weekend.  We were able to spend time with Aaron's whole family which doesn't happen often because we are all spread apart!  While we were there we got to ride horses that Aaron's sister Kiersten and her husband Tonto have, it was lots of fun.  I think the kids had a blast, they got to be kids and get all muddy on Saturday.  They got to hold a baby chick, sleep in a camper, and just play outside.  I know I enjoyed having them do that, it made it nice for the adults to be able to talk.

This last picture is of Aaron after he was thrown from the horse.  Don't worry he is okay the only thing that was hurt was his thumb!  Not sure how he managed that but at least that is all that was hurt.  He did get back on and keep riding.  The horses had a nice lazy winter so they weren't all that used to riding so this guy was a little anxious.  He did great with all the rest of us so that is good!

Goodbye 20's....Hello 30's!!!

Yesterday I celebrated my 30th Birthday! We went out with my family on Monday night to the Texas Roadhouse in Ogden. I know, we always go there, but it is one of our favorites and we know we will like it!
We met Grandma & Grandpa Brower, Matt, Nat, and Hallie there.

Despite the snow storm we had to drive home in, it was a fun evening and we all got our fill of rolls and yummy food!!! Luckily, I didn't have to sit on the saddle! Something about being 8 1/2 months pregnant makes sitting on the saddle 100 times worse than it already is! On Tuesday (my actual Birthday), Nick was home from work by 9:30 so I could go get my hair done before we went out for the day. By the time I got home, Nick had baked me a chocolate cake and taken Kaylee to preschool. I was pretty excited to see the chocolate cake!!! We made arrangements with Jana to watch the kids for the day while Nick and I went to lunch and did some shopping. We first met up with our friends Virginia and Randall at Olive Garden for some lunch. YUMMY! Not only was the food great but we also shared a piece of really chocolaty chocolate cake! It was amazing!!!

We headed to Ikea after lunch, which was the first time Nick and I had been shopping there. (I went a few weeks ago and got a sneak peek of what it was all about!). We wanted to find Kaylee some new furniture for her room and had quite a bit of success! By 4:30 we were done and headed back home to pick up the kids. I got the kids some dinner and then headed to the church for the RS Birthday Dinner. I figured since all of my friends (which are in my ward) were going to be there, it would be a fun way to spend my Birthday! They did a mystery type dinner where we had to guess who the real Emma Smith was.

It was a fun night and they even sang happy birthday to me! I sat next to some of my good friends, including Rachel Youngberg. I really enjoy the RS women of our ward! They are all the sweetest women and they each have taught me so much about being a mom and wife!

I had a fantastic day! I got spoiled from my family and friends! Nick got me the Glee 5 CD and the Journey to Sectionals Glee CD along with my favorite Peanut M&M's. And he gave me some money to buy some new running shoes! So as soon as I have the baby and can get out and about I am going to the running store to do some shopping! :) I am a little sad to think I am not in my 20's anymore, but I am going to embrace the next decade of my life and make the most of being in my 30's.