Matt is 11!

My sweet Matt turned 11 in October.

Here are some pictures from a couple of his celebrations...

It was fun to have Maggie and Angie there...

...and Jo and T (and everyone else too :)

Matt asked for a ripstick.

I love this guy!

One of my very favorite things about Matt is that he is so friendly!

He is kind to everyone.

He also has a fantastic sense of humor :)

Walk A Thon/ Arrow of Light/ Humphers

This was our elementary school's annual Walk-a-Thon...

In case you can't tell, Ben's the one wearing the helmet :)

Incidentally, we recently had him measured for a new one.  This one has become quite tight on him.  At least that means he is growing.  Most people think he's in kindergarten because of his small size.

 I think he loved having the freedom to run around.  His teacher said the first day (these are pictures of the 2nd) each time he finished going around the track he would sign "more, more!"

I tried to keep myself hidden knowing that if he saw me he would stop walking.

With just a few more laps to go though, his teacher pointed me out to him and he had me carry him around the track :)

I got pictures of Matt before...

...and after, but forgot to take any while he was running.

                   Matt received his Arrow of Light and we are very proud of him for doing that.

And lastly, we lost our beloved Humphrey PokeArt on October 1st.

Josh was usually the one to make sure he had food and water every night but that night he was already in bed when he remembered so he asked Andy to do it for him.

Andy came upstairs and gently told me that he had died :(

We don't know what happened.

We're pretty sure he was only a little under three years old which is a bit under the life expectancy of a hedgehog.  He was always well fed and watered so we are kind of at a loss as to what the cause was.  He was a cute, albeit pokey pet and such a fun little critter to have around.

It was hard telling the kids.  We waited until the 3rd to tell them since Matt's birthday was the 2nd.  I think he took it the hardest.  We all loved him though and he has been and will continue to be missed.

First Day of School & Swiss Days 2017

My 4 cuties on their way off to school...

Josh is a freshman in high school!?!?!

What?

Abby is in 7th

Matt's in 5th grade

And Ben is now in 3rd...my baby :)

 The beginning of the school year always means Swiss Days is just around the corner.  Always a fun day with the Bryan girls!

One of the booths featured two of my favorite authors...so that was fun :)

This is Julie Daines and Jennifer Moore!

I love their Regency Romances.  They are both very clean writers.  I have never been disappointed in their books.  For several years now I have been rating the novels I read.  As mentioned above, I enjoy regency romances.  I also really like historical fiction and mysteries.

I love being able to recommend squeaky clean books to my family and friends so I keep track of everything, good and bad, and buy my favorites to share.

I actually started a blog a few months ago to share my findings/feelings about the books.

If you want to check it out go to Bumblebee Book Reviews.

Andy and I love this quote about those with disabilities becoming "free at last" by Elder Holland.

I bought this to put in Ben's room next to the picture I gave Andy for Christmas last year of the man holding his son with "an unclean spirit" which, in our home, we interpret as epilepsy.

Here is a rather dark, but accurate picture of all of my purchases this year!

Lots of fabric and other fun things :)

Eclipse and Back to School Lunch

We did not experience the exciting eclipse in totality.

We had toyed with the idea of driving up to Idaho Falls.

However, Josh was starting high school the next day and the traffic was supposed to be horrendous and we were worried about not making it back in time.

In hindsight, the traffic was not as bad as expected...we should have done it...oh well.  

I tried to take pictures through the glasses but just kept getting these weird shots with a full looking sun, a football shaped glare underneath with the silhouette of the partly covered sun in the middle.

The shadows were crazy!

Abby had gone over to a friends house for the viewing and Ben was hanging out inside lining up his toys...completely oblivious to the happenings outside.

The rest of us were kind of in awe...even though we knew it wasn't nearly what those in totality were experiencing.  It did cool down a bit, the sky had an eerie tinge to it and, as seen above, the shadows were strange.

As per tradition, we went out to eat for lunch since it was the day before school.

Abby and Josh were still getting used to their braces and ate their best in spite of the pain :)

Morty's is a fave...and so close to Andy's work (although he didn't go in that day).

What a fun and interesting day.

Maybe we'll hit the next nearby total...when is that?...like 28 years from now?

Gratitude Quilt and a Gift

For my birthday I had asked my mom for some favorite fabric that I had fallen in love with.

This is Jo Morton's "Gratitude" line.

I just think it's yummy!

Anyway, she was kind enough to gift me a big bundle of fat 1/8ths.

I didn't waste too much time figuring out what I wanted to do with them.

I knew I wanted to make a quilt for our living room and I wanted it fast since the fall season was approaching so I found an easy pattern and whipped it out.

I just love how it turned out!

I'm not great with overall patterns while quilting but I felt like that is what this one needed.

I always feel like I back myself into a corner and don't have a way of getting out.

It was a good challenge for me though and I like the paisley/swirl effect.

I have absolutely amazing neighbors!

One day, while visiting, I noticed my friend had a beautiful, new quilt ladder in her living room.

I learned her husband had made it.

I commented on how much I loved it and he offered to make one for me!

After assuring me it was not a big deal and he could do it quite easily I told them that would be lovely.  Not long after, it arrived on my doorstep :)  They left it unfinished so I could choose whatever color I wanted.

I ended up going with kind of a chalky gray.

I am so thrilled with it and can't thank my neighbors enough!

Braces/Sodas/Soccer

The week before school started Abby and Josh got braces.

Here they are getting molds of their teeth a few weeks prior...

It brought back memories!

As I was sitting there watching I could again feel the cold gloopy stuff in my mouth and the gag reaction over and over again.

These two seemed to handle it just fine though.

And now here they are right before their brackets went on...

The orthodontist says hopefully about 18 months for both of them.

I don't know how long I was expected to have mine...I think 2 - 2.5 years but ended up having a silver smile for 4 years.

I have to share a new addiction at our house.

Abby suggested we make Italian Sodas during the summer.

I thought it was a fantastic idea so I went to town on buying syrups.

A local grocery store had quite a large selection which kept us happy for a couple of months.

Then Andy suggested a flavor that I couldn't find through Torani so I searched Monin and found a whole bunch of new flavors we needed :)

I've been buying loads of Sonic ice and carbonated water!

For quite a while it was a daily thing (sometimes more than once daily) but now not so much.  Except for Josh who is always sure to make one when he comes home from school.  

It's definitely a fun treat to have available

Matt has continued with soccer.

They got new uniforms this year which I think are a great color!

It's always fun to watch him play and interact with the other boys on the team.

Very soon after this picture was taken quite the storm hit.  The game was put on hold for a bit, then they tried playing again with all the wind and moisture and eventually ended up calling it off.

15 Years

In August Andy and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.

As a gift to him I ordered five canvases with pictures of our trip to Kauai.

There is a wall in our bedroom that is blank and would be perfect for the collage.

When I gave them to him he was appreciative and loved them and then hinted that his gift to me (that had not arrived yet) was somewhat similar.

This arrived a few days later :)

We have yet to decide how and where to hang them all.

Just for record's sake...

We have a history of this kind of thing.

When we were first married Andy would often say how he wished we had a nice picture of the temple in our apartment.

I put my very amateur artistic skills to use and came up with this for him.

Andy painted this one...

He added dry lilacs from the temple grounds....at which he actually worked at the time.

Anyway, we tend to think similarly when it comes to gift giving around here :)