{F-A-M-I-L-Y}

Can I tell you how much I love this photo? I had been going around the yard taking pictures of my mom. Previously my dad had my mom jump up in the swather to cut some weeds around the yard. As I was doing something else they all gathered around my dads tanker & pup. I turned around and saw this...and in my mind it translated as a beautiful photograph. No one was posed, it was all natural. I thought 'what a keepsake.' My children love their grandparents and cherish every moment they have with them. We had so much fun this last July with them in Utah. Thanks mom and dad!!

Savana Starts School

Savana has been soooo anxious to start school. She has been begging to go since Scottie started school. I put her in one of my good friends preschool here in Anthem. Savana's first day was about a week after Scottie's first day and it was pure torture for her. Everyday she would ask 'So, am I going to school today mom?' and I would have to say to her 'not today it starts on Wednesday.' When the next day would come the same conversation would repeat itself. She would get a little upset and say 'you told me it was starting today.' I would reply 'no, not today. Remember I said it starts on Wednesday?' She had no patience the poor thing. On her first day we pulled up and had about five minutes before school started and she says to me 'hurry mom, I don't want to be late.' My friend conducts her preschool in her house so it was just a matter of walking up the driveway and to the door. Her new choice of hairstyle HAS to be the same EVERYDAY with absolutely NO modifications. She wants it in a ponytail at the base of her neck. If I put it even an inch or two above that....well, watch out. So of course on her first day of school this was how her hair HAD to be done. She's never been so paticular and always let me do whatever to her hair until about a month ago when the pony-tail curse started.
School will be really good for her. A couple of her little classmates are really good friends of hers. Each day I see her wanting to just be bigger and I want her to stay little forever. I love her little voice and her big attitude. She is such a sweetheart and just adores her big brother. We love Savana SO much and are SO blessed to have her in our family!!

FIRST Grade

Will they ever stop growing? Nah, I don't think so nor do I want them to. Scottie started first grade this last Monday. There really wasn't any signs of him having the first day jitters until we got there. He didn't say anything, but I could see in his face he was a bit nervous. The only other thing he had a main concern about was his backpack. This is the one he bought himself from Target over the internet a few months ago. He says to me "Mom, I don't want that Transformer back-pack. I'm in first grade now and if I take it to school everyone will think I'm a baby. I just want a plain one. Like a red plain bag." I told him the funny thing was that he was the one who picked out that back-pack and that I thought it was rather cool. He wasn't so sure and tried to convince me to get him a new one. I told him it would be a good idea to just keep that one and use it. If he still wanted a new one he would have to do chores and be on his best behavior for two weeks. I actually haven't heard anything since. After his first day of school I asked him if he made any new friends and with a frown on his face he responded "no." It made me a little sad, but I knew it would only be a matter of time. He has now finished his first week and I think he'll be just fine. The good thing about Scottie is that he adjusts very easily and he's out-going. By the second day of school he had made friends with a few different boys. This is when the time really starts flying by. I can't believe I was pregnant seven years ago with my first baby and he's now in first grade.

Contemplation

What a great journey. My father carried on a dream his father also had. He's a good 'ol country boy with wranglers, carhart, boots, cowboy hat the whole kit n' kaboodle. He was raised in Oasis, Utah. Not many have probably heard of it and the population is quite small. In fact, most of the people who populate Oasis are his relatives. But to them it has been exactly what the name states....an Oasis. As probably more of a passion, you could say, he has raised cows and farmed many acres of alfalfa hay and other types of crops. This has been something he has done for all of his life. And that's just what it had become, a way of life. Now that chapter has come to a close. It's definitely something that is bitter-sweet. With all the joy of accomplishment there has also come the agony of long nights and long hard working days. It has also been something that my mom has put a lot of sweat, tears and blood into. I would have to say she is definitely not your "typical" wife when it comes to farmwork. She would spend many mornings driving the swather and cutting hay while my dad was out on the road in the truck. They had a well that they would water the cows with but after many years it finally dried up. They came up with a solution to haul water from the house down to the farm. This would be something that would be very time-consuming, but hopefully a temporary solution. All of the grandchildren LOVE to help grandma and grandpa at the farm and you don't have to ask any of them twice if they want to go. So, as a team my mom and dad held onto something, nurtured it, cared for it and grew close to it. As they've gotten older they've become tired and it's become too much. While it's something they've loved it's now time to let it go. As I said before it's bitter-sweet, but there are many irreplaceable memories and experiences that will never be forgotten.

Eight BEAUTIFUL years

This post is a few days late. I would have like to have had it done on the day of our anniversary, but since we were spending the day driving back from Utah for half of the day and spending the other half getting our teeth worked on it just kind of didn't happen. January 2, 2000: I had just gotten back from New York two weeks earlier and was trying to figure out where I would be living and when I would start college again. One of my very good friends at the time had been talking about this guy who was cute, nice, funny, the whole package that she wanted to set me up with. Finally, we had made a date to go on a triple date. We went to a friends house to play board games and eat homemade waffles. Scott was introduced to me on this day....wearing pajama's. I found in him a lot of qualities I was looking for in the couple of hours we spent together getting to know each other. He was kind and warm, very cute and talkative. He didn't think twice about engaging my mind, making sure to ask a lot to get to know me. I always admired that in a guy...if he could carry on a conversation and make sure there was no awkward silence. I also noticed his beautiful blue eyes, his "tattoo"(The tattoo was fake I found out later), and that he was in shape. I knew I had found the whole package. I was the type of a girl who just wanted to fall in love. I thought I had before so I didn't want to rush anything. I didn't want to ask him his last name for quite awhile because I knew I'd start saying my name and his last name together just to see how it sounded. I then found out that he was a bowler. I thought to myself 'well, that's interesting' until I watched him at it. Wow, he was good. I was proud to be the girl with the guy who was the "top dog" at the bowling alley. (Hahaha that's funny) After we had been dating for about a month we decided to buy a fake ring and tell everyone we were engaged. We tricked a few people, but didn't really have the heart to go through with it with our parents. April 07, 2000: Scott took me on a date to see the temple. I had been begging him for weeks to go see the new Mt. Timpanogas Temple that was just built. He planned this one carefully. We walked around the temple grounds admiring it then sat on a bench just to take it all in. He asked me if I was ready to go and when I said yes he got down on his knee and asked for my hand in marriage. August 04, 2000 was the beginning of our beautfiul life together. Scott was 23 and I was 21. He was my world and I couldn't believe I had found the man of my dreams! We really cherished every moment together and couldn't get enough of each other. He had taken on a second job and so our time had become very limited. It was hard, but we had received some great news and found out we would be having a baby in November. Our family slowly evolved and we added Scottie, Savana, and Luke.
My life has definetely been a dream. I really have to say Scott really is a wonderful man. He has always made sure that we have everything we would ever need. He has always made sure we have a roof over our head and food on the table. He makes it known that he loves me all the time. He is very quick to make peace and apologize if needed. He is very giving and would give the shirt off of his back to anyone who was in need. One thing that I know with every fiber in my being is Scott will always do whatever it will take to make sure we are together for eternity. I look in his eyes and I see that security in our future. We are always able to make each other giggle and if he really wants to make me smile he knows he can. He loves his children so very much and they love him. One of the major ways I can see that he loves me is that he puts my needs above his own. If I get my heart set on something he will make sure it happens.
Scott I love you very much. I love everything about you. I love looking into your beautiful eyes and remembering that first day we met and all that we've accomplished since. I love that you are so generous and compassionate. I love that you take pride in everything you've earned. I love how you cherish your parents. I love when you come home from work and give me a big hug. I love when you take me on a date on the weekend. I love how handsome you look when you get all dressed up. I love when I see those 'special' moments between you and your children. I love that you are a good example to our children and honor your priesthood. I love that you do not question your faith. I love how you take care of EVERYONE. Happy eighth anniversary. I am so happy to spend the rest of eternity with you and create many more memories.

Luke's 2nd Birthday

Luke turned two while we were in Utah. The great thing about having a birthday in July and living in Arizona as a kid is that Mommy and Daddy usually give you more than one birthday party. If I remember right, we celebrated his birthday one week before so Daddy and his parents could be there. Then, we had a little celebration on his birthday. Then we celebrated a few days later with all of his cousins. Man, the days are flying. Seems like just yesterday he turned one. He's so much fun. He wants to be a big boy and is talking a LOT. I think we'll keep him.