Whew, He's Thirty-five!!!

Reading birthday cards

Bo turned thirty-five on the ninth.  It's crazy to think we met eighteen years ago when Bo was just seventeen.  This guy amazes me more and more as the years pass.  The first thing that attracted me to him was the way he treated me.  He was a perfect gentleman (I also thought it was cute that he was so shy).  It seems that he has all of the attributes I wish I had.  He's patient, smart, kind, fun, forgiving, and so loving with all of us. He's a quiet observer and sees the good in everything.  I always look forward to the end of the day when he'll walk through the door.  There is a peace in our home when he's here (not that there's never crazy fighting but the kids are more content).

Bo also has a way of thinking outside the box.  I've learned that he doesn't get intimidated by a big idea he gets.  He makes an action plan and dives on in. In Hawaii, I got to see him in his element and listen to him speak to a large group a couple of times and sit in on a couple question and answer sessions while they discussed business. When I get to hear him talk about business I'm pretty impressed because when he talks he says things I don't have a clue about and had no idea he knew.  I don't get to see the work side of him very often and seeing him in his element was one of my favorite things about our time there.

Happy birthday, babe!  Thanks for always being there for me and the kids.  I love you!  I'm so blessed to call you mine forever. :)

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BOO!

Bo is putting a bowling alley in the warehouse and they got a bunch of bowling pins.  Too many actually.  So, I looked on pinterest to see if there were any cool things we could make with them.  I saw these little ghosts and thought they'd be fun.  My Mom came over today to make a set with me.  It was a lot of fun and I just love how they turned out!

Hailey is Now Officially a Young Woman!

About a week ago Hailey had her twelfth birthday!  She has been anxioously awaiting the day since she was the only girl left in Primary and was the only girl that didn't get to go to girls camp this year. Bo also told her she'd be able to see some PG-13 movies now (I'm not sure how I feel about that). Movies like Star Wars and Harry Potter that she can't wait to see, I guess I'm okay with those ones. :)

It has been fun to watch Hailey mature this past year.  She's learned to be quite responsible and I've learned I can depend on her with many things.  She's also a great little baker.  She loves baking and it's fun to watch her put a recipe together and see what comes out.  Everyone loves this little hobby she is developing.  Hailey has also gone from putting things everywhere to being organized.  Her room is clean all the time.  She's also really a great cleaner and would literally clean all day.  She even cleans out her backpack and pencil holder. :)  The only catch is that Hailey only likes to clean if she can listen to audiobooks while she does it.  I'm good with that for the most part.

Hailey's birthday was fun and I had a great time getting her gifts.  She had a party with friends at the warehouse the Friday before.  All she wanted to do was eat junk food and watch a movie, so that's what they did.  After the movie they had a blast playing tag too.

We had a family party on her birthday and that's when she got to open her presents.  She had a lot of fun opening up gifts and eating the cake and ice cream!

Since she turned 12 on her birthday she got to go to mutual.  It was Young Women in Excellence so Bo and I got to go to her first mutual with her.  I'm sure she was super excited about that, haha.  But, we had fun learning about personal progress and even passed off a couple of items.

Hailey, you are such a smart, creative, gorgeous girl inside and out.  I can't imagine life without you! Thanks for always being such a great gal and big help.  You are also such a patient older sister to all of these boys in our house you are truly amazing!

Happy 12 Birthday young lady!  I can't wait to see what's around the next corner...

Star Valley Temple Open House

We walked through the temple at the open house in Star Valley, Wyoming.  It is a small temple but very gorgeous.  I'm not sure how much the kids appreciated it but they loved seeing the baptismal font and celestial room.  It was a silent tour so by the end the younger boys were ready to be done.  They still don't like the stay quiet. :)

Riding the bus from the Stake Center to the temple

Yellowstone and Conference Weekend

Bo decided we needed to get out.  Since we hadn't been to Yellowstone since Conrad was a baby he decided to find a room in West Yellowstone for a night at take a drive through on Saturday while we listened to Conference.

We had a great time and it was so nice to get out for a day. (It feels good to finally feel excited to go places again.)  We swam in the pool before we left for the day.  The kids love swimming so they had lots of fun doing that.

They didn't necessarily love the driving but Bo and I loved the gorgeous Fall scenery and listening to conference while we went.  They did however love the Paint Pots, Old Faithful and the museum there too.  

Moose

Elk

Elk

Bison

Bison

Paint Pots

Kids Museum

Swimming!