Our Sweet Girl is 16!

This girl amazes me constantly, and we couldn't wait to celebrate her big 16th birthday with her!  I think I'll start with all the amazing attributes she's acquired in life so far.  This girl is determined, very capable of turning her struggles into strengths.  She works so hard in school, and it shows.  Beyond her years in wisdom, Hailey is always teaching me.  This is one of my favorite attributes, and I can't wait to see what she does with this in her life.  She is so patient, kind, and loving to those around her, even her brothers.  That's a big deal because, at times, they can be difficult.  Hailey is Hailey doesn't put on a show for anyone. She is true to herself and never cares what others think of her.  Hailey has grown into such a beautiful girl inside and out.  I'm so grateful to be her mom.  

This year she had a party at the warehouse with a few friends.  They made necklaces, played around, and watched Clouds.  They had a great time celebrating with her.  I tried to buy some of her favorite foods but forgot the easy cheese. so the Ritz crackers were a little dry. :)  I loved the picture I got of the group.  It really showed what COVID had done to all of our bubbles. Haha!

Sunday, we had grandparents over.  Hailey opened her presents, and we ate cake and ice cream.  It was just a great weekend.  

Here are some highlights!

Hailey still loves the same things:

Writing Stories

Reading

Chocolate

Movies

Friends

Nani

Singing

We love you, Hayes!!! Keep being you!

Brayden's 10th Birthday

These kids are growing up so fast.  We only have one more under the age of 10.  It is so crazy!  Ten years from now, life will be so different...

Brayden wanted a bike this year.  Bikes are tough to find right now, and it was a little bit more than I normally spend on birthdays.  So, I didn't buy him a lot of other gifts.  Instead, I decided to do a scavenger hunt with treats at each stop and a couple other gifts.  But, the table looked a little skimpy when he got up.  I was a little worried about that.  He noticed!  He said to me that morning that the kids usually get more gifts.  I couldn't wait to open presents now.  I didn't want him to think I didn't care about his birthday as much as the other kids.

Well, the scavenger hunt didn't disappoint.  He loves puzzles and figuring things out, so this was right up his alley.  It was fun to watch him and the kids run around to find his gifts.  He was pretty excited to get a new bike.

Here are the highlights!  He doesn't like to smile for pictures, so I did the best I could.

Brayden you are such a light in our home.  I love your inquiring mind.  

At age 10, you love:

Pocket knives I think he has about 10

riding bikes

camping/fishing

excited to try hunting

reading loves Harry Potter and Percy Jackson

leaning but not in a school setting

spending time with his brothers 

when Hailey takes him to the dollar store

We love:

How much you love reading and learning new things

your funny personality

the way you look out for others

your smile

your hugs and cuddles

We love you so much!  How did we get to be so blessed to have you in our family?!

On a side note.  Brayden loves knives so much he cut his finger back in May.  He tried to hide it for a couple of hours, but I found out, and we had to go get stitches.  He was really brave and let them just do what they needed.

First Day of School 2020-2021

With the pandemic and all of the uncertainty of how school will go this Fall, we decided to do it online.  Rigby set up a virtual school.  So, our kids are still a part of Rigby and can join in person after each new trimester.  So, for now, we are online, and we'll see where it goes this year.  

I want to start a new tradition in our family.  A back to school night.  So, this year we started that.  We all love shrimp so, I did a shrimp boil.

 

 During dinner, I talked to them about how important it is to learn and how there are good, better, and best books to learn from.  This scripture is our motto for the year.

And.......Here are some pics from the first few days of school not traditional either but this way we won't forget this strange year we're passing through

This isn't a first-day picture, but it is what our days look like.

I have enjoyed having them home (most of the time, HAHA).  I miss the freedom I had last year for about 5 months before school was canceled, but there have been sweet moments that have made up for it.  I also love the freedom we've had to go places in the afternoons.  We've gone to Rigby Lake quite a few times and taken in the fresh air before it gets too cold to go.

Hailey's Summer Adventure

 

The week before school started, Hailey had to have knee surgery because she had a torn meniscus from her crash last February.  It went very well, and she's healing pretty quickly.  I think for good this time. :)

Hailey also got her license in July.  It was like a switch got flipped, and now she has all the confidence in the world to drive around.  She likes the freedom she and the boys love that she'll take them places.  I love that we have a new driver!  Way to go, Hailey!!!

The Rest of Our summer pictures

The boys all fished a lot this year.  Bo took them quite a few times.  Hailey and I took Conrad with some of the boys or his friends many times.  They're a bit obsessed.  Here are some pics from that.