Life comes at you fast...

Scariest thing ever

2010-12-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

There have been some pretty amazing things happen in the last year, so I thought I'd post some of them. We went to Lagoon, just before Halloween, with the Bradleys. It was such a fun day! I took lots of pics, but this particular post is about the scariest thing that happened that day....

drumroll please.....

I didn't think they'd do it. Even as I was handing over the money to the attendant,

I had my doubts.....

Even when they suited up and waited in line,
I had my doubts....

Even when their feet left the ground,
I had my doubts...

Even when they were higher than the Empire State Building (at least that's how a mother feels when her kids are going to free fall from the borders of outerspace)

I still had my doubts...

I wanted to believe they would chicken out

even after the attendant started the count down,

THREE..... TWO..... ONE!!!!!

They took my breath away and MY feet were still on the ground.

I survived. Barely.

Courtesy of: Zac, Devin, and Logan Bradley

Christmas Cards Anyone?

2010-11-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

We had family pictures taken a few months ago and I would love to send out Christmas cards, the only problem is that most of our belongings are in our storage unit, including my name and address book I use to send them out. Now don't be offended if you haven't received a card in the last couple of years, it doesn't mean I don't have you on my list, I just haven't sent any out for a few years :) Anyways if you will shoot me an email (coleyb15@hotmail.com) with your address, I would love to send you a card! Thanks a bunch!!

The Bradleys

October ~ 2010

Together Again

2010-11-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a while since my last post, and believe it or not,

a lot has happened in the last........

eleven months!!!

I'm not sure anyone even checks in on us anymore, but if you do,

thanks for being patient :)

The first major change is that our family is back together again.

This picture of us was taken on September 19th just before Derek and I got remarried. We were out in front of our church and YES the sun was shining directly into our eyes:)

A few moments later we went inside to our Bishops office, just the six of us, and tied the knot again. I had no idea Zachary had the camera but I was happy to see he had snapped these two shots of us.

So we are all under the same roof once again and we couldn't be happier about it. Our lives have made a full circle and we have learned so much about family, marriage, divorce and most of all love. I am looking forward to spending eternity with my best friend.

The support we have received thru all our ups and downs has been amazing. We are grateful for our family and friends. I will be on here a lot more often (which isn't hard to promise after an eleven month silence) and look forward to hearing from you.

With love,
Nicole

Yoshi

2009-12-30T12:55:00.000-08:00

Devins picture got deleted from the next post so I added it here...

Just read on and it'll make sense!! :)

Here's my little Yoshi!!

He had an awesome Christmas!!

what a year

2009-12-29T22:55:00.000-08:00

As 2009 closes I've spent a lot of time thinking about the changes that have taken place in one short year. I've blogged here and there all throughout the year and decided to touch on some details that either weren't included yet or that were important enough to add again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first big change was moving to Grandpa and Grandma's house back in April... It was difficult but the kids had fun meeting new friends and starting new schools. Devin grew this sunflower from a single seed. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G....

We spent soooo much time in the water during the summer months. Between the Legacy Center, the Outdoor Pool and the Classic Fun Center we were like fish. We'd pack a bag with fruit, drinks and toys and be off. And no, I STILL didn't get a descent tan. Not in my D.N.A....

Between swimming pools we went to the park, played with friends, played with cousins and enjoyed the nice, warm weather. (Which feels like an eternity ago.) I miss you S.U.M.M.E.R....

Taylor played soccer. He spent a lot of time practicing and learning new skills. We had a lot of fun watching him grow and become even better at a sport he L.O.V.E.S....

Taylor had a big year turning 12 and receiving the Aaronic priesthood. Derek came up and conferred this amazing power to him and it was a very special day. P.R.O.U.D...

Melissa and I spent months in the gym running and doing all sorts of aerobics. (Even though I didn't lose a pound, also not in my DNA) It was so much fun to have someone as motivated as she is pushing and pulling me along, which is what I need when it comes to torturing myself with running. It payed off though, we ran our first 5K together in August and I ran EVERY step of it which accomplished my goal. We are going to run another one in April so I gotta stop slackin and start hitting the track again. J.O.Y....

Cookie-Dough Bradley had 6 kittens. Luckily I found 6 homes for them by going to the parking lot at Wal-Mart and putting up a sign that said: FREE KITTENS!! GOING FAST!! People are so G.U.L.L.I.B.L.E...

We had to say goodbye to Cookie Dough to make room for Papa's new baby, Zorro. K.I.S.S.E.S...

I had a phase where I wanted a different look.

Oh B.A.B.Y....

It didn't last long.

I'm back to N.O.R.M.A.L...?

Valyssa wanted a change too. Her hair was getting soooo long but her and Devin took care of that...

B.E.F.O.R.E...

A.F.T.E.R...

Derek and I officially got a divorce. Taylor and Zac live with him and Devin and Valyssa live with me. We still enjoy spending time together as a family and do so as often as we can. It's been the hardest thing any of us have had to face and we are trying to do the best we can from here on out.

We love our kids so M.U.C.H....

Halloween was fun, I'm so glad to live up here by Melissa, she makes things so much fun. We were in the gym so much this year that it only seemed natural to dress like 80's workout girls, right?
A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E....

My little rock star D.E.V.I.N...

Taylor dressed up for a murder mystery party with his friends.

Curtis ~ Chris ~ Taylor

F.U.N.N.Y....

The crew at the trunk-or-treat.

Witches, cheerleaders, cowboys, Hanna, spider-man and Zorro.

C.U.T.E...

Another fun adventure with Derek, me and all the kids on Christmas Eve. We love Jump-On-It and spend so much time there. I think we're getting close to being part owners by now.
Boogie Woogie ~ Lucyduck ~ Valyssa or you can call her W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R....

Zac is so fast, he's like a B.L.U.R.R.R....

Devin set up some mats and cleared them, no P.R.O.B.L.E.M...

Derek got a workout trying to keep up with the K.I.D.D.O.E.S...

Taylor posing

U.P.S.I.D.E..D.O.W.N...
Cant see my face very well but that's me trying to re-live the glory D.A.Y.S....

This year we are looking forward to lots of fun events like Devin getting baptised and Valyssa starting Kindergarten. I hope it will be memorable and look forward to blogging about the special events in our lives. Thanks to all our friends and family for your support.

Love,

The B.R.A.D.L.E.Y.S...

Christmas 09

2009-12-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Taylor and Zac joined us in Lehi as soon as Christmas break started and the plan was to have them all until Christmas Eve then send the kids to Wellington to have Christmas with Daddy. It was a day I was dreading. Alone on Christmas morning for the first time since the birth of my first child more that 12 years ago. I knew the deal when I signed up for the divorce but the reality of it made my heart ache. I was excited though to have the kids together for the week and enjoy every moment of it.

We took an adventure riding the Trax to Temple Square. Sounds fun... We printed out our tickets, got the train schedule and drove to Sandy. The parking lot was full so by the time we found parking and RAN to the station, we watched the train zip by with no regard to our freezing, panting, begging faces. The next scheduled train was 1/2 hour away and you know me... I needed to find a bathroom. JOY. At least some of the kids are like their Mom and wanted to join me. So Devin, Valyssa and I raced to the gas station and back but not before the 2nd train whizzed by. We were determined though and waited in the cold. Little did we know what we were in for. Serves us right though, we put a 7 year old in charge of the tickets. Well when a 7 year old has layers upon layers of clothing on and tickets happen to fall out of them, how's he supposed to notice??? The 3rd train pulled into the station and we were there! ready! willing to board, but... tickets were nowhere to be found. JOY. We retraced steps to the car and decided to try the gas station bathroom. No luck. When we walked out of the gas station a car pulled out right where we had parked before and low and behold, laying there on the cold pavement, the tickets! We sped back to the rest of the family, who by now had been standing in the freezing cold for more than an hour, held up our found treasure but by the look in their eyes, I could see they were done. D.O.N.E. It wasn't going to stop me. I was NOT going to go through all that and give up!!! We heard a train coming right on cue and I told them to run for it. Reluctantly they followed and guess what? We made it... PHEW!! Kids are resilient. It only took a minute for them to settle in. Taylor and Zac decided to hold onto the straps and lift their feet every time we stopped or started. Fun.

Devin and Zac took off the boxing gloves long enough for me to snap this picture and then they were immediately separated again :)

Oh Boogs. She is so funny. Her nose was on the window for most of the ride looking for anything square. When she'd find something she's say: "Is that Temple Squares?"

Wrapping things up, we got one more shot of us in front of the Temple and headed back to the Trax. We got on the next train with no problem. Except it was a big problem. The train started out heading south and without even asking took a dive to the East. Puzzled I asked a couple sitting next to us where the obviously confused train engineer was taking us and they very politely told us we were headed to the U of U. NICE. We got off at the next stop, backtracked and waited for the right train. It came shortly but was PACKED!! I mean PACKED! A Christmas sing-a-long had just finished at the Energy Solutions Center and train after train was crammed like sardines. After watching 3 more trains go past we decided that the passengers on the next train were going to have to deal with 7 more because we couldn't feel certain parts of our bodies anymore. We used all forces as we climbed in, elbowed who needed elbowing, smashed toes of those who could still feel theirs and fell into place. Our place, on our train. That's right. We were shoulder to shoulder for 90 blocks. We laughed and sang Christmas carols and laughed some more. It was a horrible, wonderful evening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week continued on in its usual way, lots to do, fun to be had, shopping to be done. The works. Still a feeling of sadness was in our home knowing that the BIG DAY was going to be separated for the first time ever. Last year, Derek wasn't living with us but we still had Christmas together. Then my Mom asked if I would call Derek and ask him if he'd come up and join us Christmas Eve and spend Christmas together. I jumped at the chance and Derek agreed. YES. He wanted to surprise the kids so asked me not to tell them and let him just show up. It was so hard to keep it from them, I knew how happy they'd be. Christmas Eve day came and we were planning a trip to Jump On It when Derek came through the door. The aren't words to describe the kids reaction! It was the best thing we could have given them for Christmas. We went to Jump On It, shopped for gag gifts, played pictionary, spoons and opened the gag gifts. It was so much fun!! Thanks Derek!!! And thanks Mom and Dad for making it possible.

The kids went to bed and guess who came???
Jolly ol' St. Nick!

Valyssa.....

Taylor...

Zachary...

Dang it!! Devins picture got deleted so I'll add it to the next post. Sorry sweetie!!!

It was a wonderful Christmas for us. I am so grateful to my parents for the support and love they show us. I'm so indebted to them for putting aside any differences and truly enjoying Christmas with all of us here. I am thankful for Tyler and Melissa for coming over and playing games and laughing with us Christmas Eve. I wish Ben and Janet could have been there, food poisoning is the worst! But I am especially grateful to Derek for being an excellent father. For helping me give the kids the gift of having their family all under one roof, laughing, enjoying and loving. Thank you.

Merry Christmas!!

Good Times

2009-12-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

I enjoy times like these soooo much. Sometimes it takes a major change in life to realize what we're missing. I love these kids so much. I am grateful for the times we have all together.

Devin ~ Taylor ~ Zachary ~ Me ~ Valyssa

Braces be gone

2009-11-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

After almost 2 years of complete and total

TORTURE

the braces have finally come off!!!

Yay!!

Taylor looks so cute, not that he wasn't adorable before!!

I absolutely love the results.

When all his adult teeth come in he'll go through the process again.

JOY.

But for now he's showing off his newfound

pearly whites.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We had a trunk-or-treat in our ward on Halloween night.

This is how we decorated our trunk......

Have you ever seen a cOoLeR RoCk StAr?

RoCk On DeViN!!!

ScAaAaAaAaAaAaAaRy WiTcH!!!
What did you expect from a girl named BOOGA?

Mr. Jade the irritating salesman, was invited to a murder mystery party.
What a blast!!!
{Next time you see Taylor ask him who ended up being the murderer:)}

Oh yes... Thanks to Mo and Me, the 80's are back.

{I know you're jealous.}

My Zachary is down in Wellington and I missed him so much this Halloween. I got some pictures on my phone of him dressed up as a cHeErLeADeR, he looked absolutely adorable ;) but I don't know how to download them on here. He made out like a FAT RAT in the candy department and had a blast collecting it all.

I'm glad you had fun, I love you Zac.

PAY IT FORWARD

2009-10-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

PAY IT FORWARD!!!!

The Rules

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!

Family pics

2009-09-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

We had our family pictures done today and I just have to say KUDOS to Melissa for taking them. You are the BEST!!!! Thank you!

Sorry to some of you for giving you a sneak peak at what our Christmas cards will look like this year but they turned out so good I couldn't wait to post them:) Enjoy....

Wet and wild soccer?

2009-09-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy this summer and I've taken about a GAZILLION pictures but I haven't slowed down long enough to post anything, so now I'm playing "blogger catchup".

Another adventure we went on was Taylor's soccer tournament in Herriman.....

What a handsome kid!

Taylor is the one on the far right in red.

Here he is front and center in blue this game.

We found a little water park out in Herriman. We didn't have our swim suits but we did have a couple hours to kill between games so we got wet! Booga kept taking her shirt off, if we were the only ones there I so would have let her keep it off but we weren't alone so she had to be a "lady".

My little lady...

Zachary running thru the rings of water.

Devin was right behind him...

It was a lot of fun watching Taylor play in this tournament. His team took 2nd place and had a great experience. His season has started now and we are traveling from Park City to Tooele and everywhere in between. We're having some awesome adventures.

Goodbye Summer :(

2009-09-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun this summer. Its so sad to see it come to an end. There's a really fun outdoor swimming pool here in Lehi that we enjoyed spending lazy summer days at. Here are some fun pics of the kids.....

Zachary loved the high dive.

Valyssa started swimming with her life jacket all by herself. This is huge for her!

Here's Devin showing off his moves.

Taylor loved doing flips, 360's and anything else he could think of.

This one was painful just to watch!

He was attempting a back flip and ended up with a back flop.

OOOOUUUUCCCCCHHHHH!!!!

Devin again with the high dive, you can see the huge water slide in the background. This place was a blast.

And here they are, in all their glory. I love my little bunch.

I am so sad to see summer go but we had so much fun together and made a ton of memories.

THE END

( of summer )

Jr High and Preschool

2009-09-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

We covered the Elementary students in the last blog, now on to the Preschool and Junior High students. Holy crap, how many kids do I have????

Booga and me on the first day of Preschool!!!

Booga learning that her name is not actually Booga.....

Striking a pose before school starts.

She got to wear her brand new Preschool shirt, how exciting!!!

You cant find a cooler kid on the first day of Junior High than this.

What a stud.

School Dayz

2009-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of my "Elementary goers" on the first day of school,

ya I know, its like 2 months old but still.....

Classic

2009-07-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have a million pics getting piled up on my camera, it's time to start sharing what we've been up to...

We've been playing at the Classic Fun Center a lot! The kids love the waterslides and the weather has been perfect for playing in the water.

Taylor and Zac loved getting in a big splash at the bottom of the slide. It took about a trillion tries to get the pics just right!!

After we'd been here on three different occasions Booga finally decided to let Taylor take her down the slide. Even though he dunked her in the splash down pool at the bottom she decided it was a blast going with him.
Aaaahhhh.... freedom!!!! (Thanks Tay!!)

Devin invited his friend Jaide to the park with us. The two of them went down the slides together all day long. They'd get to the bottom and be halfway up the hill before you could say their names!!

One more big cheeser from Valyssa at the end of the day.

This is our new favorite place!!!!!!

Inside the fun center there are some huge bouncers that we have played on a couple times too,

I'll post those pics next time Tyler!!!

Devin Scissorhands

2009-07-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

I found a big chunk of blond hair cleverly hidden in the garbage can in my bathroom and went looking for some answers...

Me: Booga, did you cut your hair?

Booga: No....Pause.....Devin did.

Me: Devin, did you cut Booga's hair?

Devin: Yes.

Me: Why?

Devin: Because the front was longer than the back, I just fixed it.

We went and had it "professionally" fixed and here is the latest haircut at our house...

Stay tuned...

I'm pretty sure she'll be bald before summer is over.

The End.

JUNE

2009-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

It's July!!! How did THAT happen? I successfully did not post ONE TIME in the month of June. No, not on purpose. Just kinda happened. So I think I will do a little update....

here's what happened in June.

J ust got sick and tired of fighting Valyssa about doing her hair and decided to cut it all off (as you can see). We've been swimming a ton and her hair was a nightmare. I cut it in an A-line and I think it is super cute (yes I cut it)!! It is sooooo much easier to comb through!

U nusual amount of Doctors and Dentist visits this month! It all started with Devin having 2 ear infections. Taylor was next with one ear infection. While they were both on antibiotics Zac got a terrible toothache. We took him to insta-care the first night and then to the dentist the next day. He has an infection in his gum below his tooth. Here we go with the antibiotics again! While Zac is finishing his up, Devin is done with his but Taylors infection didn't clear up so after one more Doctor visit, he is on a second dose. Thank goodness Valyssa has been healthy, knock on wood :)

N ow that it's summer we have made a chore chart. The kids are LOVING this!!! First thing every morning the kids have made their beds, cleaned their rooms, taken the laundry out and vacuumed without my coaxing them at all. They are trying to earn enough points to go to Chuck E Cheese, Jump On It, 7 Peaks and hopefully Lagoon by the time summer gets out. They are working soooo hard!!!

E verything else has to fit on this last letter!! I'll just jam it all in...we all got together down in Wellington for Logans baptism. It was a wonderful day!!! Taylor is still working hard in soccer, he has 3 practices a week. He is also playing Rugby with Matt on Saturdays. Since Derek and I are not officially divorced yet, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary this month. WOW. That's all I'm going to say about that :) I have been running a lot this month with Melissa, we are looking forward to running a 5K in August. It is nice to have a goal to work toward. I also registered to start school at SLCC in August.

Thats all folks!!!

Soccer Tryouts

2009-05-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

SOCCER TRYOUTS...

Taylor had tryouts last week. There were over 50 kids there trying to claim a spot. I'm sure you guessed since I am blogging about it that he made the team!!! He is now an official member of the Arsenal Soccer Club. It is a AAA soccer league and we will be doing some traveling for his games. We are all SOOOOO proud of him, he has always loved soccer and this is a great opportunity for him to really excell. Good job Tay!!!!

Zac's 9

2009-05-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Pinewood Derby

2009-05-17T10:13:00.000-07:00

Thursday Zac had his annual Pinewood Derby! Zac and Grandpa Beagley made a car called the

"BONE CRUSHER". They worked really hard at cutting, sanding, graphiting and spinning. I never knew how much work really went into making these cars!

Thanks Grandpa for all the help!! On the first heat Zac took 1st place, but this is Zac's face after the second heat and he took 2nd instead of 1st......(ha ha ha)

Here's Beecher (our neighbor and Zacs scout leader) getting the cars lined up for the third heat...

This is a pic of some of the kids lined up watching the races.

Taylor ~ Reagan ~ Jackson ~ Colton ~ Zac ~ Kinley ~ Devin ~ Jake ~ Valyssa ~ Allison

ALL the kids in the neighborhood know Valyssa!!! They all fight about who gets to sit by her and hold her. I love it!!! When we go outside the kids all yell BOOGA!!!

One more snapshot of Valyssa with one of her buddies :)
Zac took 4th place overall, he had a really good time (even though the only pic I got of him doesn't look that way)!!! This pinewood derby was just our ward but there were 22 cars competing... so CONGRATULATIONS ZAC!! You did a great job!!

You've gotta see it to believe it

2009-05-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of SOME of the kids waiting for the bus in front of our house in the morning before school...they usually kick around footballs, play 500 or play tag. The kids go outside to wait about 15 minutes before the bus comes just to get a little playing time in before school. The bus has arrived and the kids start loading in. I was trying to get this picture snapped before any kids boarded but I wasn't quick enough. So you can feel free to imagine a few more kids in this line up. There are almost 30 kids on a regular day.

This bus stop only picks up the kids on our block!! And there are not any Junior High or High School kids on this bus, just good old Elementary kids!

Still going....
We feel so lucky to be here. I have had so many people in the neighborhood tell me that they cant believe how well my kids have fit in. You wont ever see one of my kids without something to do and someone to do it with. We are truly blessed. We are so grateful to my parents for giving us this opportunity. We love them so much.

Just a phase...

2009-05-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

My little sweetheart Valyssa has gotten into an annoying little habit of getting herself dressed. I just wanted to share with everyone how well she has picked up on my totally envied style...

This one is a classic 'pink and brown' outfit. She starts off strong with a pink nightgown and brown pants, white socks and to top it all off... black church shoes. You go girl!!!

Here she is trying out another variation, still starting off strong with the pink nightgown but this time adding a brown belt, (who'd a thunk?) pink striped pajama bottoms, pink leg warmers (I know you're jealous) and blue socks. Notice the pink shoes just tie it all together.

The perfect Punky Brewster outfit. A salmon colored shirt topped off with an orange vest shows off the color of her hair. Then to bring out her eyes, blue polka dot Capri's. The finishing touch is of course the purple trim on the top of her socks (which end about 1/2 inch under her Capri's). Taa Daa!!!!

Anyone up for a bike ride??? Well that's where we were headed this day. Her pink pajamas look awesome with these brown slip on's. And to take care of the chill in the air, top this look off with an over-over-sized black tiger striped jacket. Pull up the hood for those bad hair days. You Rock!!!!

In this outfit you are ready to hit the town, you'll fit right in at Walmart (at least in Price). Anyone who's anyone knows that you put a plaid jacket with a floral pant. "They both have pink" states the model when questioned as to why she picked the ensemble. She did vary a bit with the yellow undershirt just to add a little splash of color.

I love my little supermodel, she is adorable in anything she wears and this is the proof. I keep telling myself "it's just a phase" and I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Disclaimer: For private use only. Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted outfits by Booga TM

Bean Museum

2009-05-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the Bean Museum the other day to check out all the animals. They had such a good time!! They have added a lot of things since the last time we were there a few years back...

Valyssa ~ Devin ~ Taylor ~ Zac

(and the alligator)

The 'infamous' Kodiak Bear. When Derek went hunting in Alaska with his Dad and Brothers a few years ago the kids were convinced that he was going to shoot a Kodiak Bear, they had seen this one

and were waiting to have their very own version fully

mounted in our living room.

Valyssa loved this Elephant

and had to get a picture of it...

Valyssa also 'loved' the birds...

I feel somewhat responsible for the way she 'played' with them, I wonder if they have a wanted poster up that looks a

little like this....

Ya, I'm joking, they were dead when we got there. But I wouldn't put it past my little angel.

Taylors 12

2009-05-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

It's time for another update. Life is happening so fast, I can hardly keep up!! We've had several things going on lately but what I'd like to blog about today is my little Taylor, who is not so little anymore. . . . can you see all those candles on his cake??? Ya, he turned 12 in April, holy cow!!! (yes, I feel old). Taylor is an amazing kid. I know I'm biased but COME ON . . . anyone who knows him will agree that Taylor is the exception to the rule. He is so agreeable, he's a peacemaker, he's a joy to be around. He lights up the room. He really is my angel. He makes me so proud, he is a great example to his siblings as well as his friends and family. Happy Birthday kid.

Taylor also had the privilege of becoming a Deacon last Sunday. What a special time for him and our family. Derek came up to Lehi and ordained Taylor right after the block of meetings in the Bishops office. Aside from his Dad, Taylor was lucky enough to have Zac, Devin, Valyssa and me along with Grandpa and Grandma Beagley, and Grandpa and Grandma Bradley there. It was such a special day for us all.

What a good looking bunch of men, right???

Top row: Derek ~ Grandpa Derk ~ Grandpa Beagley ~ Bishop Beckstrand

Bottom Row: Taylor ~ Zachary ~ Devin

I absolutely love my boys.

Taylor, I am so incredibly proud of how you have chosen to live your life. You have accomplished so much in your 12 years and have touched so many lives. Congratulations on becoming a Deacon and receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. You did a wonderful job passing the sacrament Sunday. I love you, son.

Conference morning.

2009-04-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you don't have TV and it's General Conference weekend? You thank your lucky stars for GREAT neighbors. I got a phone call from Melissa Jeppson the Saturday night before Conference inviting us over for crepes and home made buttermilk syrup. (Who could resist THAT?) She continued to invite us to stay with them to watch General Conference. These are a couple of the pics I snapped...I know this is a little late but at the rate life is going, I'm better late than never!!

Jack ~ Taylor ~ Valyssa ~ Oscar ~ Devin ~ Zac

Getting ready to eat!!YUMMY!!! Melissa had printed off a whole booklet of activity papers ranging from Prophet dot to dot to words from Conference Bingo. I've never seen my kids so quiet in my life!!
One more snapshot of all the kids coloring and listening and just plain being good.

(It's a rare occasion so I had to take a couple pics:)

Devins Birthday...

2009-04-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

We haven't had a computer for so long, I feel like we have a lot of catching up to do. One of the things we weren't able to blog was Devins birthday. Those of you who know him, know he is totally obsessed with YOSHI. He wanted a YOSHI cake... I am usually pretty creative with cakes, but come on a YOSHI cake? I drew several pictures of YOSHI and showed them to Devin but all were sadly dissaproved of by my YOSHI expert. I finally decided to let him make the YOSHI cake and eat it too.....

The final product, made with M&M's, sprinkles and frosting.

What a creative little boy!!

Here we are playing games and hanging out with our little YOSHI.

Devin got the perfect gift of all from my parents.
An authentic YOSHI shirt with Devins name printed right on it!!!
His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he opened it.

Happy Birthday my little YOSHI!!!

What are you looking at???

2009-04-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

Whenever a 4 year old is being especially good and especially quiet for an especially good chunk of time....worry. I would like to kiss the person who invented washable markers.

Valyssa's Birthday

2009-04-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Have you seen my teeth?

2009-04-02T16:56:00.001-07:00

Devin was so brave...his tooth was really loose and he asked Derek if he would pull it out for him. He was so scared and kept changing his mind about if he should go through with it or let the poor little tooth hang out for another day. In the end after much deliberation he decided it would be worth it for 5 bucks. Out it came and he gladly recieved the money he was promised along with another heafty payment from the tooth fairy. Ya, you'd be smiling too...