Hiking for a Good Cause

Saturday we participated in the Tyler Broberg Rollercoaster Hike and it was a great experience. For those who did not know Tyler, he was a wonderful teenager in our Stake whose life came to an end in an accident last year. He was such a good kid and was admired by many. They came up with a foundation in his name, to honor his good life, and have raised over $100.000 for the Habitat for Humanity organization. Wow! It is truly a tribute to the wonderful young man he was and also for such a great family that he has. They had a fundraiser hike on Saturday and I believe that over 200 people were there. It was a beautiful day and the hiking trail was awesome! It ended up being such a great tribute to a young man who led an exceptional life and touched many peoples lives in such a short time on this earth. Truly an amazing experience!

Some pictures from the day-

Oh Happy Day!

I finally got a new Roomba! On Saturday Adam took me to get me my new Roomba and it is the new model! It looks sleeker, it is quieter and has better attachments. I love it! I guess the holding off of vaccuuming a few weeks helped my case. The floors really do get dusty fast! It was really embarrassing because we watched the neighbors dog this last week and he went around eating all the crumbs off the floor in the kitchen. And I thought I kept a clean house! He was kind of like my Roomba. It is a happy day (and a clean day) in the Walden home again! Yeah!

Last Bite

Just this last week I have come aware that Matthew has trained Zack! For as long as I can remember Matthew has always asked if he can have a bite of Zack's food. If Zack is having pizza, he asks if he can have the crust. If Zack is having spaghetti, Matthew always asks "Are you going to finish that?" and so on. Now usually Zack says "No, you can't have any!" but then he always ends up giving Matthew the rest of his food or at least the last little bit.

Well now I have noticed that even if Matthew is not around, Zack cannot finish his food. He always leaves at least one bite left on his plate, always! I never have noticed it before because Matthew is always there to finish it for Zack but now that Matthew is rarely home I realize that Zack never finishes his meal, even if its his favorite food. Matthew has trained him to leave the last bite for him and now Zack cannot eat the whole of anything! The power of an older sibling!

Missing Roomba!

When we had wood floors put in downstairs, Adam got me a Roomba because we had been told that they are a necessity when you have wood. At first the little thing freaked me out because it felt like it was alive and it seemed to come right towards me all the time. (OK I get freaked out easily!) Well then I learned to just put it on in the morning when I went to the gym so that I was not at home when it was on. This worked out perfectly! I would come home an hour and half later and Roomba would be back into his docking station and my floor would be looking wonderful. I love Roomba! To really test how good he was I would purposely leave little pieces of trash on the floor to see if he would really pick them up. He passed the test! He would go vaccuum under the couches, chairs, tables and pick up all the dust that I would have to be cleaning. Roomba was my friend. I would find myself talking to him....sound scary but it was true!

Adam's friend said that after having his Roomba for a year he noticed it was not running as long, it wasn't working as well. So Adam foreseeing the future, and also having a beef with Costco because they would not take back a vaccuum that had broken 6 months ago, decided on his own to return my wonderful Roomba before it went bad. How dare he is all that I have to say! He did buy me a regular vaccuum but after using that for a couple of weeks I have come to realize how precious my Roomba was. I have to carry this other heavy vaccuum up and down the stairs. That's a pain! And I have to plug it in and push it around myself and not to mention I have to move the furniture to be able to clean the dust from under it (OK lets get real, how often do I do that....it is probably really dusty by now). So what I am trying to say is I WANT MY ROOMBA BACK!!!! They have come out with a newer model so I will settle for that...........

Haircut?!?!

For some strange reason the word haircut is a bad word in our house. Whenever the boys hair is getting way too long and I mention "the word", they go running and refuse to go. I have tried telling them that we are not going to get it cut but we are just going to have the hairdresser "shape" it. This use to work until they had a couple of times the "shaping" turned into a full on short hair cut. Who knew that boys would be so fussy about their hair! Well, Zack was definitely in need of a haircut and usually after I have him get it cut he says "Oh I do like it better!" but everytime I remind him of this he forgets that he liked it and he keeps refusing to get his hair cut. He finally relented and said he would get his haircut for Mothers Day and the results are that he does like it so much better....his hair was way too long. So I took pictures, before and after, so that he will remember how much he likes it when it is "shaped" and it won't be such a struggle next time!

Looks much better Zack-

The typical Walden boy pose.....we simply call it the "Walden Pose". Doesn't show the haircut real well, but oh well!

A Proud Parent Moment

Saturday night was Matthew's Eagle Court of Honor, he is officially an Eagle Scout! Yeah! It is just one of those many moments that you are so proud of your child. Matthew made the goal to have is Eagle when he reached 14 yrs old and he was finished with his eagle project before his 14th birthday. Way to go! We cannot be more proud of him and the many accomplishments he has had so far in his life. We think he is just so awesome! OK, sorry the mother gushing about her son is getting out of control but what a happy day!

The Court of Honor was great and we appreciate all the family and friends that attended. It really made it special for Matthew to have you there. He has been so blessed with good friends and wonderful family that have supported him and have been such good examples for him. It truly does take more than the parents to raise a child and we feel so blessed to have the help of many.

Matthew is such a self-motivated person and I am sure that this accomplishment is just the beginning for him. He truly does amaze me! Way to go Matthew! We love you!

A Missing Piece

Whenever one of my boys are on an overnighter or at Scout Camp they are definitely missed. With only 2 boys, you take one away and it totally changes the dynamics of the family. Zack has been at a Revolutionary War overnighter with his school class and we have truly missed him. Whats going to happen when they go on a mission, I am going to be a wreck! Actually I won't be because I will be so relieved that they made it!

Another "Zackism" : I was talking to the boys the other day about the fact that I hope that we have done a good job in teaching them how to treat girls; being respectful, nice, etc. Zack says "Oh Mom, I know how to deal with girls. You just act cool and play hard to get." Yikes!