Our Eagle Scout Boy

John got his Eagle Scout Award. It was a great night to finally have his court of honor. He was pretty excited. We sent out an invite on Facebook to everyone we could think of. And we had so many people show up. I was overwhelmed with the response really. Quite overwhelmed and touched that so many people think so much of our boy.

(look cake??!! mmmm)

Lots of Eagles in the Eagles nest to support and show Jake that he is next. 

This man is Tyson, affectionately called T-diddy or T at our house. He is has had a huge impact on our family and our boys. The first year John went to boys camp T was his dad for the week. This man and his wife are two of the greatest people i have ever had the pleasure of knowing. They understand our family and its always a joy to be around them. 

When we moved to Caldwell Bro Priest, the fine man in this photo, took over and helped to push John to his goals. Brother Priest has done a great job. I know he was used to working with much older boys but he got this young 13 year old, which must have been a challenge but he did a great job.

Look at his brothers face. Haha that kid makes me laugh all the time. He knew his sister was taking photos so he decided that was the time to be a ham. That would be why we call him piggy??!!!

Not sure how well you can hear this but he gave a little talk and it was nice to have him speak...I cant tell you how proud I am of him. It seems like just yesterday he was my little baby who was so sick we were struggling to keep him with 90% O2 in his body. Now he is big and strong and so smart.

Here is John and his Cousin Jared. John made sure to have Jared there. These 2 this summer have had a lot to talk about and have had quite a bit of time together. He is a great young man. Jared will be finishing school soon and going on his mission, John wants to follow his footsteps. It was so nice to have him with John.

These 2 boys with John are his buddies from camp. Matthew Harlin and Daniel Van Ormer. They have been with John since the beginning of scouts. its so nice to see these boys still hang even when they arent together so much. We try as much as we can to get them together, trust me its a smelly situation when they are.....Very SMELLY. 

My favorite part of the night was seeing John pin this on his dad. Shane is so proud. Shane never got a court of Honor so he made sure to have one for John and it was a success. 

Here is mine. Its a pretty neat thing. I am pretty proud of my boy. He is pretty amazing. I know i say it a lot but he is great. 

There wasnt a plaque at our building so we made sure to get one with Johns name on it and had it put up in the building. Now his name is there and soon Jakobs will be there as well. Tough hard work, but accomplished and onto the next endeavor. 

Jakob, Backyard, Big Deal

Jakob turned 12 and he was very happy. I have to admit i am a bit somber about it. I knew the day was coming....I had to work my way up to the day. In fact, on the actual day October 19th, i just couldnt say it. I promised him i would drive him to school that day. So i did, in the car he turned to me with his sweet smile and said "Mumma, its my birthday!" I smiled back and told him I was sad he is 12...he said not to worry, he will always be my Fred (my nick name for him) even when he is old. He promptly jumped out of the car and went to school. I drove off with a bit of a tear...ok more than a bit and realized that i have almost all of my children in the teen years. I am cool with it really...I am grateful they are so gloriously wonderful.

Brenda came over we had burgers and tater tots....he was so happy to have Brenda home. Those 2 have some sort of something that nobody can separate. 

He asked for an ice cream sandwich cake. I wasnt home that day so the girls made the cake. Its ice cream sandwiches layered with toppings and the "frosting" is Cool Whip...with some peanuts and cherries on top. He was so excited. I really love that boy. He has a wit and humor that I wasnt sure would come up in my children. He is definitely a bit different from the rest of them. He is smart, so very very kind, has the heart as big as the Rocky Mountains, a temper if you push him far enough, his humor is as dry as a stale cracker (much from the Thomson side)...he is a pleasure and joy to have in our life. He certainly was difficult to get here but a certain joy to have in our life. 

Some of Jakes favorite things: Reading scriptures...Questioning the Scriptures. Making people laugh. Riding his bike, some sort of sports, hunting with dad, watching movies with mom. What he doesnt like DISHES, LAUNDRY or any house work...who likes house work? He is so much fun. I love that kid. 

We sometimes burn stuff in our yard. It happens. Somehow we tend to have a ton of stupid cardboard at our house. Does anyone else have that? It seems to be everywhere. The nice thing about having our own house is that we can burn whatever we want behind our house. Just so happens that the "fire pit" is just by my bathroom window. Can you see Jake in this photo? He was being the fire creator.....There is always fun with fire around.

Our back yard is not quite where it should be yet but it is coming along. Shane and the boys are working hard on things. They have worked hard on getting the really bad weeds out of the yard. Jake has been on the roof taking care of the chimney with his dad. The boys have stacked more wood. The dog loves the back yard and so does Skyler and Brendas dog. They bring Jasper over and he hangs out in the yard with Jill. 

There is a bit of a joke going around the office. One day this sign showed up behind me. I work pretty hard. I tend to really pull in a lot of information and then figure out processes and pass them along. So I get a lot of things passed to me or sent to me in questions that I answer or somehow know the answer too. So this is behind me and stays there...i am kind of attached to it now. It kind of makes me feel like i AM actually important. I AM good at what i do. I AM worthy of all that I accomplish. It may seem like a snarky sign to others but to me it means something....especially from the person who put it up. She means more to me than she knows. She takes the time to know me, to understand me, to give me good feed back, to take the time support me (even if she doesnt do feels). I am beginning to really love her....just dont tell her.....

I hope you have someone like that??!! Someone who is there, somewhere just quietly routing for you and supporting you and loving you along the way...DO YOU? Think about it because you probably do not realize she/he is there....i have a few of them.....

So So Random

Sometimes silly things happen at our house. It was conference weekend we were all laying around and Makayla was bugging dad...and Dad was then in Makaylas spot. So then annoyance ensues at our house. 

I had to get my first flu shot EVER...it was horrid, absolutely HORRID....BUT i had the cutest little band aid. I was sick for a while a couple of days. I do not want to do that again but alas i have to do this every year, its required by my work.

The next installment of Wolverine is coming out in March and I must say i cannot WAIT. I am so excited. I have plans to go see this movie its going to be a great time.

Makayla got her senior photos done. These are the ones i took I personally think she is absolutely stunning but then i am biased. I hope our sweet Rachelle has them finished soon. 

Random photos of us laying around in our dark house. We sometimes just sit around and talk. Covered up and laying on each other. Love my family that they can sit with together and talk together.

The presidential debate was on and I had my phone on. Shane and I were brushing our teeth and we looked back there were the kids watching it. Whilst this was going on they were discussing what each person was saying as well. I was really happy to watch. I was so grateful they were and are interested in what is going on. They amaze me......

AND finally 

This poor guy...I have talked about him a bit but Jake snuck this photo of him yesterday. I have to say Skyler has been the best addition to our family. He is a wonderful man who is caring, kind, loving, musical, mechanical, understanding, grumpy when he is tired...but most of all a part of our family. I hope he loves us as much as we love him, because we are so different from his family. 

Review, Birthday, Sunrise,

This is long over due. Somehow life has gotten overwhelming, crazy and I have not been able to keep up with much. I feel like i cant really even go back this far....as i read what I have already written I realize all to painfully that i have such wonderful people around me. I forget sometimes that i need to stop and take advantage of the beauty around me. I need to be more grateful, more appreciative of things, people, love, life...everything. I have become painfully aware lately of my lack of awareness of others. I need to be brought back to reality and re reading my blog has done just that...I love those ladies around me, the ones whom I work with and the ones i spend time with. Read on and see what i mean......

See these!!! These are delicious cupcakes from Costco. I love them so much. They are super amazing. My birthday has come and gone again. My mates who sit around me spoiled me. I am not a fan of decor on my birthday but they did it anyway.

(btw these are the best peanutbutter balls i have ever had)

I was cool with it. Although i made it hard for them to do it. One of them, my Homie, had to drag me off to get me some lunch and i came back to all this stuff on my desk. 

It was a bit overwhelming for me. I like attention but not this much. It was nice of them. What you dont see is all of the little chocolates hiding on my desk and in every nook and cranny they could find. It was a few days before i found them all. It was sweet. 

on one of my rides home i was so amazed at the beauty of the clouds in the evening sky. I drive into the sun on the way to work and on the way home. I get some magnification views. I was driving along the freeway and just clicked a shot. I am always amazed at the beauty of the earth. 

All of these are my drives to work. They are simply beautiful. My photos do not give them justice. The colors in the morning are calming and lovely. Sometimes i just want to pull up a hammock and rest in the breeze while the sun rises. 

Back to me...of course this is all about me right...one of my fav breakfasts waffles and sausage links. I love love love sausage links. I could eat the whole package. There is nothing like warm waffles with butter and syrup. I also had a great dinner that day. Pork ribs and potatoes with some pound cake and strawberries and whipped cream. I love my family they sure know how to take care of me. I also got some money to get my hair done as well. I am excited that i can keep up the red. It was a lovely day. 

I love my family, i love those who love me.

Other Newlyweds, Old Port, Jason

I have written before about my brother Jacob. I love him so much. He and I have generally always been close. When he got into some trouble we kept in contact better. He is the kindest most gentle person i have ever met or had the pleasure to know in my life. I am more grateful that i have a son who is a lot like him. Interestingly enough that son of mine has the same name. It is a joy to have such peaceful loving presences in my life.

About a month ago Jake sent me a text with a photo of the girl he wanted to marry. I was so thrilled for him. A few weeks later, i got another text that he had married that beauty!!! Well it was a surprise but i was overjoyed for him. I am so grateful he has someone to love him, understand him and support him. Just so happened i made my trip to Boston and extra day long so that I could go up to Maine and see him. I wanted to meet this lovely lady. I was so excited to be able to drive to Maine and look at the trees. I love the beauty of Maine...and Dunkin Donuts. Off Sarah and I went and met up with Jake and his girl.

Jake and Shanna. looking so happy. 

Jake is as bad as my own kids, I can rarely get a photo of him not being silly. 

Lucky for him he has sisters that love him...

Sarah and I wanted an iconic photo of the Old Port area as usual. Walking down town is so nice. I miss the days when there werent so many tourists but its still lovely. 

As we were walking i noticed this street. Shane at one point had to work underneath this street. They tore up all the cobble stones one by one and Shane worked (with his company) on the pipes below the street. You couldnt tell that it had ever been disturbed....the cobblestones were all put back exactly there they were taken from. Historical streets...who knew. 

As i turned around there was the road going directly to the water. There is the ocean. I could smell it. So Shanna and Jake took us the loveliest spot to take a photo. 

LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THIS PHOTO IS!! We were in an alley it was so great. This is where we took the photos of Jake and Shanna. I wanted to stand there forever.

We had business to attend to...we met up with our step brother Jason. I hadnt seen Jason since Malcolms funeral. I miss him a ton. He is, always has been, quite close to my heart. He has 2 beautiful daughters who are extraordinarily adorable. It was nice to sit for a while with all of us and catch up. I forgot how much fun we have together. How much joy and support we bring each other. I think between us all we have each had not the best of times over the last few years but when we are together it all melts away and we find solace in each other. Without even knowing I saw the troubles of the world melt away. We laughed until we almost cried and felt love that we had all needed. 

I was so sad to come home but Sarah and I got to spend some time alone that night. I had originally planned to stay with overnight with someone, but Sarah and i decided that we needed to just sleep. So we found a hotel and split the bill and passed out. We were so tired from the entire weekend. Our voices were starting to go...we started sounding like Selma and Thelma from the Simpsons. 

We picked up Shanna the next day and took her to Boston, she had to go to Europe for her work, she works in the Beer industry and it was Octoberfest. We got to spend a few hours with her and found that we love her so much. She fits right in our crazy family. Oh and at the airport.....

You wanna know i sat and ate another 2 donuts before my flight.....