The First and Last

Yep...I am back to blogging. I kind of took the summer off so now I have a backup of things to blog about but our summer things will just have to wait. School started last week and it was a bittersweet day for me. Bitter because the summer did not turn out how I wanted it to but it really was beyond my control. Don't get me wrong it was a good summer but it wasn't a GREAT summer. We made the best of it but it really did go by too fast. The sweet part of the day was that I like the beginning of things. The first day of school is the best! Everyone starts out with straight A's, backpacks, folders and lockers are organized, clothes and shoes are brand new, hair looks nice and newly cut, new goals are made, there are schedules to follow so much more gets done and everyone is excited about the new year. That quickly fades as the days go by, homework starts to pile on and the reality that summer is 9 long months away. So I enjoy the excitement of the first day while it lasts:)



This year will be a great year for us. Both of the boys are "big men on campus" this year! Zack is in 8th grade and Matthew is a Senior this year------I can't believe it! So even though it is the first day of school it is also the last "first" day that they will be going to that school---understand;) I have a feeling that it will be a whirlwind of a year but I hope to relish in every moment because it is Matthew's last year at home and the last one for Zack to have his older brother around. Things are changing...years are zooming by...hold on....life is a fast and bumpy ride with many thrills! Gotta enjoy it!

EFY 2010

This year Matthew attended EFY at Brigham Young University in Provo. The last couple of years he has gone to EFY Santa Barbara and has loved it but I wanted him to experience it at BYU at least once. Him and his friend Trevor flew to Utah (which was a little bit more costly than travel to Santa Barbara) and the kicker is that I ended up being in Salt Lake the same week!?! Long story----another blog post. Anyways, Matthew had such a great time and thought that the BYU EFY was just as fun and more spiritual. Only complaint was that the food was not as good but I will take more spirituality over good cuisine anyday.

When your son comes home and thanks you for raising him in the gospel, gives a very spiritual family home evening lesson and is looking forward to attending BYU for college next year-----every penny spent for EFY was worth it:))

Love Notes

When Zack was younger he would write us little notes all the time. Some were decorated with pictures and some were as simple as saying "I love you". Some told us that he was mad at us and others were simply drawn or written for us to just brighten our day. I loved the notes he gave me and I have tucked them away to save forever. Today while cleaning out their closet, well I was supervising them, I came across this little gem folded and tucked behind some boxes.........

Be still my heart

Hymns in the Home

We have always had alot of music in our home and I love it! The kind of music has changed alot over the years and in the last few years the music heard from our house comes in the way of guitars and drums...the boys choice of instruments. We hear plenty of Weezer, Blink 182, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. Mind you I like this kind of music also....the cleaned up versions at least. Most importantly I love that the boys love music and they are exploring many different instruments and they enjoy practicing them. Recently though a wonderful thing has happened!.........

We have a very inspired Bishop in our Ward that realized that it would be nice for the young men to practice their hymn playing for they will find this talent useful on their missions and in their life. He has called Matthew and Zack (and other YM) to be the Priesthood pianists at church. They don't have a piano to play on but they use the lovely church issued keyboard that they get from the library. It has been a long time since the boys have really sat down and practiced the piano besides when they figure out how to play a rock song on it. Because of a truly inspired Bishop my boys are excited at not only having a calling but also fulfilling it. On their own they are practicing the Church hymns (yes-I said on their own) and most importantly they are enjoying it!

This was my whole goal when we paid for piano lessons many years ago for them------I just wanted them to be able to play hymns. They are pretty rusty at the hymns but slowly they are coming along and with practicing I know that they will become better. So far it has been a blessing in their lives and I am so thankful for the opportunity that they have to serve this way. Almost every morning this is what I see and I could not be more happy:)

Good News/Bad News

Matthew was so wanting a job this summer and we were soooo wanting him to get a job. With him driving, he has depleted his money on gas and any extra money we might have! He went to a job fair about a month ago and filled out a few applications there and he was very happy to hear back from one of the places and they scheduled an interview with him. He dressed professional and took them a resume with a copy of his school transcripts (so cute!) and he was asked to come back for a second interview. Well finally after three interviews and a drug test, he was offered the job yesterday! Hallelujah! He will be the new cashier at the local Best Buy- He is so happy and also excited to be getting a paycheck (and so are we)! We have joked that now he will also get to see Dad more often because Adam is always at Best Buy doing retail therapy. So it is a win win!

Now with Good News always comes Bad News---Zack was fired yesterday from his trash can job

He has been taking out and taking in the trash cans for our neighbor for the last two years and they have been paying him for it but times are hard and they need to cut back so they let him go. I am hoping that he will just do it for them for free, just to be neighborly.....but we thought it was pretty funny that on the day that Matthew got hired--Zack got fired.

Mormon Prom

Matthew had such a busy Saturday last week. He had the SAT test in the morning, which he felt very prepared for, but when he got there and tried to check in he realized he forgot his ID (what??) so I had to race over there to bring it to him and he made it in by just a couple of seconds. What am I going to do with that boy? Anyways, right after the test he had band practice all afternoon and had to do some studying for upcoming AP tests! It is a good thing that it only took him 30 minutes to get ready for the prom that night:)

It was Matthew's first prom and I thought he looked pretty sharp. I love a man in a suit! He had a really great time and I think he enjoyed the formal feel to the night. He actually enjoys getting all dressed up formally. I remember that from my nephew's wedding where he was ring bearer.....he loved going around in his little formal tux. So cute!

I loved seeing all the youth in the stake dressed up. They all looked wonderful (and modest)!



These boys have been friends for a long time, growing up in the same ward. So fun to see such cute little boys grow up to be such fine young men. I am glad that Matthew has such great friends!

Raising teenage boys can be crazy at times but it is fun to see them grow and mature and make memories (good memories) that they will have for a lifetime!

"Toy Story"

Zack reminded me the other day about this and I had forgotten this sweet memory. The movie "Toy Story" was such a big hit when the boys were young and I have got to admit it was one of my favorite movies at the time. We had every Toy Story toy that you could think of, in fact I believe I still have a storage box full of them! Why I still have them----I do not know?? Well when Zack was a just a little one, every time he would see a jet trail in the sky.............

.............we would tell him that it was Buzz Lightyear. So for many years to come everytime he saw that in the sky he would yell out "There's Buzz Lightyear!" It would make him smile everytime!

And since he reminded me of it the other day I have a feeling everytime he sees that trail in the sky he thinks of Buzz still:) Thinking that brings a smile to my lips:)