I love this!!!

What a great way to start a day. I think this little girl is so cute and I love her positive attitude. Happy day to you!!!

Still Smiling

Yep, It's official. I've turned 40 and I'm still smiling. Onward & upward, that's my attitude. I wouldn't erase any of my wrinkles to go backwards either. I am grateful for the years behind me and looking forward to the years ahead of me. I believe that over those years I have become a little wiser, a little stronger & a little kinder among other things I hope. Looking forward to the next 40 or more. It was a great day! It started off with this happy belgian waffle made by Camdon and continued to get better from there. I want to say to all of my family & friends thank you for the love I received all day long. From texts to emails, blog posts & phone calls. Messages on facebook to loved ones stopping by. Breakfast, lunch & dinner dates, thoughtful gifts, and the love went on all day. Thank you for making me feel so special on my birthday. I love you all!!!

Back to school they go

The house is quiet this morning and I must admit that I am enjoying it.

The boys headed back to school this morning. As they get older they are not quite as cooperative in getting their picture taken. I told them it is tradition, I always take a picture on the 1st day of school. Jaron said that he will never torture his kids by making them take pictures. Thank you Jaron for smiling even if you are being tortured. Oh and don't worry this someday Grandma will be happy to stop by when your kids start school and I will be armed with a camera ready for torturing them too!

Isn't he so handsome? He is a big, bad Junior this year.

Ahhh my cute Trevon trying so hard to keep his eyes open is (Yikes) a freshman this year.
and just look at the smile on this adorable boy! Can boys be adorable? Yep, one look at him will solidify that question. Camdon is in the 5th grade and his last year of elementary school.

Atleast I've got one who doesn't mind having his picture taken. We had to be sure and get this view to show his smile where he lost a tooth just in time for back to school.

and now I am going to clean my house and enjoy it for the few hours it will last.

HaPPy BirThdAy SisTeR DeaR

Today is my sister LoraLeighs birthday and this isn't the best picture of either of us (hello we were camping) but it's the first one that I could find of the two of us. I just want you all to know that she is the best!!! Here are some things you may not know about her; She is fun * An Inspiration * Athletic * Awesome Mom * Very best friend * Competitive * Usually Late * Beautiful * A big tease * Healthy * Generous * Dedicated * Awesome Sister * Big Heart * Kind * A homebody * Loves to excercise * Fabulous Cook * Coupon Clipper * Funny * Loves to laugh * Spiritual * Go-getter * and the very best thing is that she is my sister & I love her to pieces!!! Have a fabulous day in Texas where you are too far away and I hope that you will be home oh so very soon. Miss you! Love you! Talk to you soon.

Hardy Family Reunion

Just got back from our family reunion and it was great as always. Lots of rain this year but it didn't put a damper on any of our festivities or fun! Here is cute little Tatum riding her oh so cool bike.

She can't quite reach the peddles so Jaron was helping her out a bit.

She loved my umbrella, even in the trailer without the rain. Such a cutie!

Warming for a volleyball game.

The kids games sure were fun. Here is Camdon trying to get the frisbee through these hoops. He did it!

Jaron & Torrin

Shooting Nerf darts at the target.

Shooting down army men with a water gun.

After the games were over, I headed down river with my chair and just totally relaxed. Read my book, snoozed, watched the kids play & loved every minute of it.

Camdon even came down for a little visit. He was trying to sneak up on me, but I saw him.

Even had some cows come by for a visit.

Camdon playing in the river with his cousins.

They climbed trees

and tubed.

Love this boy and his sense of adventure!

The big volleyball game - Jaron in action!

More creek time.

Isn't it just beautiful there

and of course, lots of card playing as well.

It was a great week!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

There are many places that I like to go but this is one of my favorites!

Yes, the time has come to go and spend some time right next to this little creek. I plan to set my lounge chair right here in this cozy little spot. I will read a book, visit with family, and maybe even take a nap or two. Yes there will be lots of card playing, roasting of marshmallows, and cooler temps as well. Indeed, it is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

CaMdoN the RocKeR

This is the real deal. I assure you it is not a photo that has been photoshopped. Camdon really does have a mohawk. Yes, this all came about on Monday when his Aunt Carrie was fulfilling her end of the deal to give Camdon his long awaited mohawk. He wanted it to be red, white & blue but it was decided that bleach may not be the best thing so he got 2 colors. He went to the mall with me Monday evening and I had gotten used to it so didn't think a thing when we headed in. After a few minutes I felt like everyone was staring at me and giving me really funny looks. I thought to myself... Is my shirt on backwards? Do I have 2 different shoes on? Oh please tell me I don't have t.p. hanging out my pants. Then I looked at Camdon and realized it was his mohawk. Yep, I was actually getting dirty looks from people (mostly older women) who were shaking their heads and probably saying 'What was she thinking letting her little boy get that haircut?' It was an interesting lesson to me about pre-judging people based on their appearance. On one hand, I couldnt help but agree with them. Appearance can be important, especially when applying for a job & such. However, it also clinched the old saying "You can't judge a book by it's cover".

Well, despite the looks he got (which he didn't even seem to notice & I said nothing) he is loving it!!! We went in the pet store which is his favorite place to go and when exiting he said, "Mom, did you see that girl in there that was my age?" I replied that no I hadn't noticed her. He said, "Well, she was checking me out and I'm pretty sure it was the mohawk". Funny kid!!! He makes me laugh. The mohawk will be short lived for all of you concerned folk, about 10 days. He does get to go to church one week with it (should be interesting) and he gets to wear it to our Family Reunion. Upon our return and school starting he will be shaving it off and can enjoy the rest of our hot summer with a buzz.

CouSiNs!!!

My sister LoraLeigh and I have been swapping kids this past week and it sure has been fun. We had Kamrielle first for a week and loved every minute of it. She loves to be in the pool as much as I do so we did lots of swimming. On Sunday we were getting ready for church and I was just planning to braid her hair but she announced that she wanted her hair to look just like Aunt Marcy's. Well..... you know I loved that! So..... we had to curl it to look just like Aunt Marcy's. Love that girl!!!

and now it is Carder's turn but just for 2 days (he's still a little guy). I took him to Wal-Mart with me today. He was just plain tuckered out after all the swimming we did this morning. Fell asleep right in the cart. His little head was just bobbing everywhere so I laid it down on his new truck. I think just about every other person we passed stopped to say how cute he was and I had to agree. Not only is he dang cute but he is just as sweet as they come.
LoraLeigh has my two big boys. Yep, I got the better end of the deal. Sorry boys, love ya!!! We are meeting in Payson tomorrow to trade back kids before they head off for the big ol' state of Texas. Thanks for sharing your kids with me, love them to pieces!!!

SuMMeR DaYs

Summer is in full swing here at our house and going by far to quickly. Seriously, didn't the kids just get out of school? I don't even want to think about them going back yet. We have LL's daughter Kamrielle here staying with us and she is so much fun! Girls are just so different and so fun dress up. We had to make a hair flower to match her outfit for the day. All of the young women came over for mutual this week and we made hair flowers. They each got to make 4 and Kamrielle got to join right in. She loved it!

She can certainly strike a pose. Too cute!
We have been spending lots of time in the pool trying to keep cool. Even Pack Meeting this week was water themed. They did a water relay and had so much fun.
They had to walk with a cup full of water down to fill up another cup. Pretty fun.

Didn't get pictures of all the stations but here is another where they had to toss a frisbee through the ring while having water balloons thrown at them. They loved it.

Camdon receiving his "cool" awards. They were frozen in the middle of these blocks of ice. So creative. (Did you notice the nose picker in the bottom of this pic...kids are so funny)

Oh, and I just recently took down my 4th of July display and put up summer even though it is halfway over. I love these colors. They make me HaPPy!

Hope you are enjoying every minute of your SuMMer!!!

Fun times with people we Love!

Jaron & C.R. with LL's beautiful Hollyhocks behind them.

Playing some football.
Carder & his new big boy haircut.

We got to go & visit a friend of Kamrielle's house today who had lots of fun animals. They had a great time.

Even got to ride a horse.

Look at those smiles!

These were such interesting little creatures, Alpaca's.

More Football.

Feeding the pony.

Fun times with people we love = a great day!