14 years and counting...

It's a simple story.

Girl meets boy.

Girl stalks boy.

Girl begs boy to marry her.

Boy actually agrees.

Girl is happy...

I so love this boy! I'm smiling right now just thinking about him. I know that sounds cheesy, but I don't even care. He was and still is just what I want. I knew that after only knowing him for a little while. I told my mom, "I'm gonna marry that boy." Of course, I never thought he would actually agree with my plan, but sometimes you get lucky. :) Love you, babe!!

New hair

So we all know that I get bored with my hair a lot...so Friday afternoon I decided to make a change and got a new 'do. I went for an a-line cut and so far I think I like it. At least it's way less to dry and way less to straighten. That's ALWAYS a good thing! I can't quite do a ponytail anymore which is sad, but it's fun to have a change!

By the way, I just love my Brandon...he has been so helpful lately and asked me several times today if I needed any more help with all the housework. He did a ton for me and it went so much faster! I can't believe he's going to be 12 soon. He sure is getting old! But I'm not! :)

Happy B-day Ryan!!!

Ryan Mitchell Bryson is 9 years old today!!! He is my original blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy and is so stinkin' cute! I remember when he was little and looked nothing like his older brother. People sometimes wondered if they were really related or not. I assure you they are. :)

He has always had such a sweet temperament. He is so much easier to please than some of our other children...such a wonderful thing! He is a total gamer and would play board games, card games, and/or video games all day long if I let him.

He is getting his wolf bagde in Cub Scouts tonight, along with 1 gold and 6 silver arrow points (more that either his dad or older brother got!!!). He has been taking piano lessons from his uber-talented mom this summer and is already doing so well! He just finished baseball and was a great hitter this year. He has decided he loves fishing and caught more than Tim last time we went camping. :)

I'm so glad to have him in our family and to have been able to watch him grow and learn up to this point. I can't wait to see what an amazing man he becomes one day! He makes me smile all the time. :)

Girls' Camp

Last night was the white shirt dinner and bishopric night at girls' camp, so Tim and I went with the rest of the bishopric and their wives up to Pine Top. This is the 3rd year Tim has been in the bishopric and we've been up there for the night. It never ceases to amaze me what girls' camp is like for these girls, and how it is NOTHING like the experiences I had as an awkward teen...

First, they get to stay in cabins, and there is a pool there...seriously. When I went to camp, we got tents that we set up ourselves. Then comes the real difference: they have COOKS!!!! There's a big lodge that has a kitchen, and when it's time for a meal, you just line up and get served by the cooks. Last night they had pork ribs, baked potatoes, and fruit--all prepared and ready for you to just eat. This is not camp!! Whatever happened to each girl making her own meals on her little home-made tuna can stove?? They just have it too easy!

It makes sense to me, though, why all these girls seem to love camp more than I did as a girl... Perhaps I would have liked it better if I didn't have to cook anything and I got to go swimming! Plus there are no chiggers in Idaho like there are in Texas...

We had a fun time, though, and I wonder if this was our last trip up there as a group.

Baseball scare

So Ryan had baseball practice tonight, and Sydney always plays with the other little girls there. Tonight she was playing with my friend's little girl most of the night, but when practice was over, her mom couldn't find her...she had wandered off or something. I figured she was on the playground on the other side of the school, so I got the kids in the car to go home...I wasn't too worried...

Then as I was about to pull out of the parking lot, SOMETHING made me feel like I shouldn't/couldn't leave and I should make sure she was o.k. So we all got back out of the car. Turns out she wasn't on the other playground and no one knew where she was. Everyone there started looking everywhere...in the ditches behind the baseball field, in trash cans...we were getting desperate. Afer 25 or 30 minutes, my friend finally called 911 and as she was describing what her daughter was wearing, I found her hiding in between some big rocks, perfectly quiet and still. I had just been checking the front doors to make sure she hadn't gotten inside the school. It was a miracle I saw her--she was so still and so hidden. Apparently she thought it would be funny to hide from everyone...

Anywho, I'm just so glad I stayed and helped look for her and everything is o.k. I had feared the worst, and was reminded of that HORRIBLE feeling you get when you don't know where one of your children is. Hopefully next time we have baseball it will be less dramatic.

Clip clip here, clip clip there...

So, it's official: my new addiction is Picasa collages....

Today I attempted to give Jake his first haircut. It's been hanging over his ears for a while now, really bothering me, but I've been afraid of how it would turn out, what with him most likely not sitting still and all. But today I at least tried. I focused on the hair around the ears and in the back around his neck. He WAS very wiggly, as expected. Probably should have waited til Tim was back from Scout camp and he could help hold him down, but it's not too bad, if you don't look too close. My other fear was also realized...

He looks older now. :(

Clap, clap, clap

Jake learned to clap on command last week--how smart is he?!? You forget just how cute all the little things like clapping and waving Bye-Bye are! He gets so excited when he can actually do what you are telling him to do! I know I've said this before, but he is such a fun little guy! He just makes me smile. :)

P.S. So do these cool collages from Picasa...I think there will be many more of them in the future!