Scarlett turns 4...

4 years ago I headed to the hospital with the very vivid reality that I would be delivering a baby for the very last time. At the time that seemed wonderful. Terrific. Relieving. 4 years later it just seems kind of sad. Funny how life works out that way. But I must say...she has been such a joy to this family. She is feisty that's for sure, but how can you not be when you're the youngest of 6? And being that she is my youngest she is still the baby...and there's nothing any one can do about that. :)

Epicness...

12 of us girls did Epic relay for the third year in a row. We ran 187 miles between all of us. It's a race similar to child birth. You hate it while it's happening because you run for two days straight on a few hours of sleep, then it ends and you're ready to do it again a year later. My 1st run was 4.72 miles. My 2nd was 8.56 miles and my 3rd was 4.30 miles. On my longer run Tammy jumped in and did 2 miles of it with me to help the time go by fast. That was the funnest run of my life. We could see a guy running up ahead of us about a 1/4 mile or so and we became determined/obsessed to catch him. He kept looking back at us with fear in his eyes. Bwahaha...it made me laugh. I finally caught him but didn't have it in me to pass him....he wore on my heart because He was having a really tough time and was a new runner. I stayed with him to the end and we ran it together. That was fun and made the time fly by even faster. I love meeting new people who run. I feel their pain and they feel mine. I paid Tammy back and ran a mile with her on her last run that was nearly 80 degrees. I jumped out of the bushes and scared the crap out of her. It was awesome. True friendship...that's all I have to say. It was one of the best years ever. Every single girl who participated was amazing and not just as runners. As people. As mothers. As friends. I learned a lot about each of them and I will take all that knowledge and use it to better myself. Thanks again girls for another great relay.

I say TOUGH, you say MUDDER. Tough Mudder! Tough Mudder!

We did it. We finally did it. I have never done a race like this. I'm used to running. Not jumping in 30 degree water...crossing 28 rungs of monkey bars...jumping over 12 foot walls...or getting shocked. But after doing this race I am so glad I did. I conquered fears I didn't think I could conquer. I went into the race hoping not to skip any of the obstacles and with the support of all my friends and husband cheering me on, I got through it. Chris did amazing. I didn't know what to expect from him because he never does stuff like this, but he was flying over the walls and kicking butt big time. I was a proud wife indeed. How hard was it, one might ask? Physically Chris and I both agreed we wish it had been a little more difficult. But mentally? Game was ON. I really had to talk myself into jumping off the 15 foot high plank into water. That was my hardest one mentally. Physically the hardest was jumping into ice water. That hurt BIG TIME. All the obstacles in between were challenging but mostly fun. Would I do it again? Probably not. I loved the experience, but concluded in the end that running and only running is what I find most rewarding. But oh so happy I can say that I DID IT.

Austin turns 13...

My boy is 13 years old. An official teenager. This means in 5 short years he could fly the coop to serve a mission. WOW. That first 13 years flew by. Where will next 13 go? We love you Austin! You are a puzzle piece to our family that I will never take for granted.

Happy Fathers day!

Chris and I laughed when we looked at the above picture. Chris almost looks scared and when you have six kids...who can blame you? Chris often makes the comment to me when the kids are acting crazy "If we don't get in the celestial kingdom for having all these kids, I'm going to be so mad!" But in reality, those stressful moments are few and far between. In fact the older the kids get the easier it has become. I love Chris. I love the father he is and will always be. Halee wrote him a card saying how thankful she was for him and that she wants to find a man just like him one day to marry. That's because they see how very much he loves me. He is pretty amazing and all of us are blessed.

Photography...

Okay so I found this pic on my camera and asked who took it. I couldn't believe it when Connor said he did. Are you kidding me? Wow. Great job Connor.

Connor the epic...

Connor is good at just about any kind of sport he tries. He is a great athlete. He loves to compete. He will kick tail at whatever he sets his mind to. You're awesome Connor.

Austin turning old...

Our little...not so little boy graduated 8th grade. He graduated with an above 3.5 average. We are so proud of him. His voice has started squeeking and I'm not sure how to handle it. He is going from a short little boy to a tall little man. It's a little scary and also a little amazing. I love him so much. He is such a wonderful kind loving boy. No matter how tall or deep his voice gets he will always be my baby boy. In the words of my favorite book... Austin, I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

Charlie's angels and a little John Wayne...

Guns are my friends. They didn't used to be. I used to be afraid of them. Sometimes I still am. But we have purchased two guns in the last few months and after shooting with a group of good friends I feel so much better. I'm still a bit intimidated but I believe if you can safely have a gun in your home, it can be a powerful tool for keeping your family safe. I like that power. I wouldn't want to surrender my safety or my children's safety to anyone with bad intentions. This home is protected by Smith and Wesson so watch out... Bang bang, baby.

Ballerina...

Our beautiful ballerina performed a lovely dance this weekend. She was so confident up there and even smiled during the dance. She is lovely to watch. Chris gave her flowers afterward and she lit up when she saw them. She carefully placed them in a vase right when she got home. We love you Grace. You are such a graceful loving little girl.

Scouts...

Summer is almost here which means Cubscouts is done for the fall. Connor is 11 years old now and earned the highest rank possible in Cub scouts...the arrow of light. He worked his tail off to earn it and I'm so proud of this guy. And also to my Christian. He earned his wolf badge. I am his scout leader and I have loved working with him and seeing him get so excited about completing goals. I love you boys. You're pretty darn awesome.