Our Boys

Crew and Drake make me so happy. Lately they've done a few things that I have to record.

Since we went to the USU homecoming football game Drake has been super into their mascot Big Blue. When Rett and Crew throw the football around he gets geared up in his own little outfit complete with a belt for a tail and runs around waving and cheering them on. I wish I had a picture! It is so funny! At first we thought of discouraging this as parents. But we've decided that we have to support what our kids want to do so we joke about putting him into a cheer camp. He says that's what he wants to be when he grows up. One reason is because he won't have to talk to anyone. This is typical of Drake! So cute! If I get a picture I'll post it!

Crew is growing up so much! He missed the bus today for the first time this year. And the reason why is what makes it funny. He was supposed to be putting his shoes on to get out the door. But when he went into the mud room the messy shoes all over apparently called his name. He was trying to organize them. It reminded me of when he was 3ish. He wouldn't get in bed until the living room was picked up. He is just a little OCD. And isn't always. But he's definitely neater than Drake. Sometimes I feel bad that they have to share a room. And Crew does a lot more of the cleaning than Drake even though it's usually not his mess.

I love these boys! They are so cute and so fun. A ton of work and definitely not perfect. But they are growing up and learning tons. They try hard to do what's right and continue to amaze me with how smart they are. They teach me so much! I love being a mother to Crew and Drake! And I am so grateful for the blessing they are to me!

Drake is 5

I cannot believe it has been 5 years since my Drakey Baby was born! Crazy! Last month we went camping for Drake's birthday. He had a good time, I think. It depended on the moment, because when things weren't going how he wanted he did tell us a few times that it was the worst birthday every and that we ruined his birthday. But I think that was just ornery Drake not getting his way. He was super excited to get a power rangers costume, a bow just like his brother, and some legos. 

These are pictures taken throughout the last year. Most of them just make me laugh and smile because they show me the true Drake! He's such a goofy boy! And the sad part is, only his family really gets to see his goofiness. Because he's usually so shy that he's a quiet, calm kiddo around others.

Drake and I made a little road trip the other day to pick up and drop off dogs for Rett. Drake was so good. And he was coming up with all these funny ideas. "If dogs could drive we could take a nap together". It was a great idea! I would have loved a nap!

Recently on another day I was on a phone call that I took in another room to make sure it was quiet. When I came back, Drake was on the floor in the pantry eating out of a huge Costco bag of M&Ms. When I told him he couldn't have any more because I'm sure he had enough he told me "Why not, it's a party in my mouth!" in this silly voice. It made me laugh so hard! Such a funny one! We are so grateful he is part of our family! Life just wouldn't be the same without him. We love you Drakey Man!

Archery Elk Hunt

Rett got an archery elk tag this year and planned to take the week off to hunt with his Dad. He didn't get a chance to do much scouting beforehand, but they have hunted this area a lot in the past, so he was just planning on seeing if he could find out where the elk were at, and maybe getting close to them at some point during the week. He started out early Monday morning and got right in the middle of a herd! Lucky man! He was all by himself, so no one got to see him bask in his glory. But his boys were sure excited when we got the text message and saw that Daddy shot an elk with his bow! Rett shot it way up in the hills, and couldn't get a four-wheeler to it, so he had to do quite a few trips within two days to get it packed out. He was a tired boy, but that didn't stop him from going back to work on Wednesday. He got to save three days of vacation since he got the elk so early in his week! Yay for Rett. We are so excited for our mighty hunter. This one isn't as big as the one he shot when I was with him, but any animal is a trophy when you're bow hunting. Although, he made the "mistake" of telling the boys that if he shot one they could put it on their wall. And that is the first thing they said to me when they saw the picture! Crew was ready to take things off the wall, and thought he was getting a full shoulder mount. When he didn't see the cape attached when Rett pulled in he was a little disappointed. And we had to explain to him what a European mount was. And we'll see....I'm not sure that it will even fit on their wall! It's also nice to have the meat. And Rett tells me this is actually pretty inexpensive meat since he didn't really buy anything but the tag for this hunt. Crazily enough, we just bought half a beef for our freezer. So it's a good thing we have another one. We just have to clean up and organize the ducks that are in it! Anyway, we were excited for Rett and his hunt. And really excited that he came home early to be with his family!

Walk-a-thon

Crew's school does a walk-a-thon to earn money for field trips. I didn't know how far he'd be able to run or walk. We guessed maybe 8 laps which is 2 miles. The boy went 19 which is just short of 5 miles! Crazy kid! He had to go to a soccer game afterwards too. He was tired! But we're so proud that he did so well! Way to go Crew!

Go Big Blue!

The boys have been wanting to go to a football game and an opportunity came up with a leadership reunion at Utah State. We had lunch and got to meet Big Blue, the Aggie mascot. The boys were so excited to meet him. Then he came running in with the cheer squad, jumped up on a chair right by us, and scared Drake! He didn't even want to take a picture with him. You can tell in the picture! However during the game all Drake was concerned with was watching Big Blue. It was really funny. It wasn't much of a game. The Aggies won 70 to 6. It started pouring rain around half time. We got really wet and left early. But it was a lot of fun and the boys got to experience a college football game.

First Grade

Crew started first grade a couple weeks ago. He's loving it. It's a little rough to be gone all day long. He won't admit that. But we can tell a difference by the end of the day when he's really tired. He is doing great, has lot's of friends, and plays REALLY hard at recess! He's such a little sports boy. He's either playing basketball, football, or some other game with his friends at recess. And he comes back in to the classroom all sweaty! Such a boy! He loves taking his own lunch and getting to pick some of the things that are in it. Although, he really only wants what I consider once in a while treats, like pudding, chips, other treats. But he's working on being better about eating his sandwich too. And he has decided that there are occasional items on the school lunch menu that he wants to eat. I don't mind if he eats the school lunch occasionally but definitely think it's cheaper and healthier to make him his lunch. And since I make Rett's lunch in the morning, it's no big deal to make Crew's at the same time. He also loves riding the bus. He does not want his mom taking him to school! He has no problems getting up and getting ready, and is a great morning kid. His teacher is Mrs. Morrison. And she is awesome. She always has the kids so prepared to move on the next year and is super at helping them get good at reading. The school uses a reading program where the kids read books, and then take comprehension quizzes online. Depending on the level of book, they get different amount of points. Most of the beginner books are only worth 1/2 a point. Crew was the first one in his class to get 25 points and he was so excited that he got to pick a prize. His teacher gives him prizes at 25, 50, 75, and 100 point increments. Then, for every 100 points they get to "walk the hall of fame" where they walk in a parade with other kids who've made 100 points and the other classes watch them. We haven't seen this yet, but apparently it's quite the big deal and very motivating for the kids. His teacher also sent him a cute post card when he got to 25 points, and he was thrilled to get it in the mail. I'm hoping we can keep up the motivation for reading and he can develop a desire for lifelong learning and a good attitude about school. Drake misses his brother a little since he's gone all day long. But he's a pretty easy going boy and has always been good at playing alone, so he's adapting. So far, our experience with first grade is great!

More Photo Class Favorites

Digital Photography Class

I am in the middle of a digital photography class with a friend. It's once a week for a couple of hours down in Logan for 12 weeks. And I am learning so much about my camera and taking pictures. It's been fun and challenging. Sometimes I feel like I'm very successful and sometimes I really struggle with light, exposure, composition, and metering. I've learned, and continue to learn, about depth of field, blurring backgrounds, freezing and blurring motion, and shooting in manual mode instead of automatic! But I hope to be able to increase my abilities and take better picture of everyday life, the dogs, and our family. Here are a few of my favorites so far.