Pirate for a Day!

We were heading to Lubbock for Stake Conference and we heard it was pirate day at krispie kreme...so we just couldn't pass up the opportunity!  Arghhh Matey!  Hand over 6 dozen donuts!  (yep...1 dozen per person who dresses up!

(don't worry...we didn't eat all 72 donuts ourselves.  We shared with the Hickman, Mezba, Lucero, Nielsen, and Babcock families!

Tackle Football has Begun

Preston's tackle football season has started!  We are in full swing of practice and games!  Preston's tooth loosing at football tradition has continued.  However, this time he lost it before the game began so the tooth fairy didn't need to go searching the field this time!  Mom tucked it away safely in her purse until Preston could make the necessary arrangements for the tooth fairy that night!  Go Cowboys!  

Detric is a great cheerleader!!!

Preston's a BOBCAT

Preston did it!  He is officially now a Bobcat and on his way to Wolf!  He has been working hard at memorizing, learning, and becoming a good scout.  We are so proud of you Preston!

(we tried to take a picture of Preston and he refused....so we will have to do with the "candid" shots!)

16 week Belly

This pregnancy is going SUPER quick!!! I can hardly believe we are 16 weeks along already!!! After last weeks ultrasound, the due date is February 25, 2016!

Joyland

To celebrate everyone surviving the first week of school we headed to Lubbock with our good friends, the Hickman Family - Dave, Jenny, Maddie, Chandler, Jackson, Tate, and Ava.  We ate dinner at costco and then headed over the the family friendly amusement park!  We had a blast!  They had larger coasters and rides for the older kids/ adults and fun little rides for the younger kids.  EVERYONE enjoyed themselves and there were smiles all night long!!!  We will definitely be doing THAT again!!!!

First Day of School 2015

The school year is here again!  The summer went by quickly, but with Laura being pregnant and not the fun - always run here and there Mom that she was at the beginning of the summer...I think we were all ready for summer to end and school to begin!  CJ is starting the 5th grade with Mrs. Peffer and he is super excited because his good friend Chandler Hickman is in his class this year!  Preston is starting the 3rd grade with Mrs. Howard and he has his good friend, Ihob, in his class!!  and Aparri was super excited and super ready for school to start....the first day of summer began a count down for when Kindergarten began!!!  The day couldn't come fast enough- and to make matters worse - they start Kindergarten 3 days later than the rest of the school...so she had to wait even longer..TORTURE!!!  But, when her day did come - she was ready and rolling...no tears from her...Laura on the other hand, kept it together until they got in the car, then Clay looked at her and said, "You Ok?" and she lost it. She cried all the way home - her GIRL is off to school.  Clay laughed at Laura's tears and "comforted" her by saying, "You know she will come home tonight, right?"  That landed him a nice punch in the arm!!!  But, tears were dry as soon as they got home and have been dry ever since...my goodness having only Detric at home all day sure simplified life A WHOLE BUNCH!!! Holy cow!!! This is amazing.  I think Detric is enjoying having full reign of the roost while the kids are at school!  Happy School Year Everyone...

Yellow Roses for the Fifth Time

On our vacation trip to Idaho, in the hotel room - we decided it was time to tell the kids we were expecting.  So, instead of just telling them - we let the kids do a pregnancy test to see if Laura was pregnant.  The kids had a blast.  I wish we would have got it on video- it was classic.  When the double lines showed up they all started screaming for joy!!!! MOM'S GOING TO HAVE A BABY, MOM'S GOING TO HAVE  A BABY!  When we got home - Clay got Laura this beautiful bouquet of yellow roses (as is tradition) to celebrate our news!  Laura has gotten a bouquet of YELLOW  roses with each pregnancy.  Clay adopted the tradition from his parents, and we love it!  Laura dries them out and puts them in the baby's room for the first year.    

                                           Laura 12 wks.

TRADITION....

...........TRADITION

We started a new tradition this summer.  We have decided that every time we go camping we start the trip off with a stop at the local donut shop.   So...when headed off to Cloudcroft...donuts; when we up by Toas....donuts; even when we were in Idaho and going camping with the fam, our car HAD to stop at Albertsons and get donuts....because hey - IT'S TRADITION!!!  ***As you can see - we also have fun with the IPAD camera in the car during the long drives to the camp sites!!!  Good times!

The Miracle of the Butterfly

For an end of summer activity we ordered some caterpillars that we watched transform into butterflies!  We got 5 in our little batch!  We did this activity years ago in Vegas and loved it so much we decided to do it again.  The miracle of life and the transformation of a hairy caterpillar with a million little  legs transforming itself into a small cocoon and then coming out a beautiful new creature with wings and patterns is always humbling and awe inspiring.  The kids had fun feeding our butterflies for a few days as they flew around their butterfly house.  But, unfortunately there is always the moment when we have to let them go and fly free.  These butterflies let the kids hold them, touch them and tickle their palms before flying away....it was such a sweet little treat.  Thank you butterflies for being with us and sharing your spirits with us!  Fly free!

Making Memories

It is always nice to go home and see family!  We had a great time visiting with Clay's parents and all his sisters and their families, plus Laura's sister Kathy and husband Brett came down from Rigby so we got to see them too!!!   We had fun watching Papa "shoot" balls out of trees (there was a ball stuck up in the tree...we won't name any names as to whom got the ball stuck...but it may have been Stan and Amy's only male child...but again, we aren't naming names!  They tried several things to get the ball down- throw other balls at it, but when there were 2 balls in the tree - they decided to stop that method..probably a good idea!  While they were conversing about what to do - someone flippantly said....we should shoot the tree branch and then it would come down!  While Amy chuckled at the idea and then started naming off all things that were wrong with that idea...Stan walks off and returns with nothing less than a GUN!!! Yep...he is now determined to shoot it down!  And guess what people...he got that branch down in one shot!  and down the ball came.  And people....that's how they do it in Dietrich!).  We also went out to Tomatoes Restaurant with the crew - wow, we are not a quiet crew either! It was quite an adventure.  We also squeezed in going school shopping for the kids clothes, shoes and supplies (thanks Kat and Brett for your help in that department...it was life saving - seriously!!! You have no idea!)  Family brings fun, adventure and memories - We will miss you all, until next time!!!