They WON!

THEY WON, THEY WON!!! 12 to 2, that's right 12 to 2. Hunters game last night was AWESOME! They passed well, they caught well, they got the ball when the other team fumbled, they caught the ball when the other team passed it. It was so much fun and so great to see them play so well. Even better, the smile on my boys face when it was over. He was soooooo happy.

And a little sweaty.

Hailee did a great job cheering at his game too. She took a helmet to the bum by one of Hunter's fellow players who was knocked out of bounds but her and her cheerleaders laughed and thought it was hilarious. Poor kid!

I am so happy for Hunter. What a great game! Good job Bud!

Grandpa and His Honey (not gma, actual honey)

Hailee is in FFA and she gets to enter something into the State Fair. Thanks to Grandpa Gump we have bee's at our house this year so she chose to enter Grandpa Gumps honey. Grandpa Gump has been in Arizona and came back sick. Bless his heart, he came down anyway to teach the kids how to extract honey. What a great Grandpa!


Results and pictures to come....

Now Entering the Field - Number 90 - Hunter Baxter

Hunter is now an official football player, number 90 for the Payson Green Lions and boy am I proud of him.

I'm not just saying this because I'm his mom but he's really good and even better he LOVES it. Hunter started football by going to NXT Football Camp in July. He got to practice with NFL players that included John Beck (he has played for the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens & Redskins), Harvey Unga (plays for the Chicago Bears), Chad Lewis (has played for the Eagles & the Rams) and many more players that can be found here http://www.nxtlevelfootballcamp.com/?page_id=8.

And then he started playing 8th grade football. Whahoo! Hunter plays lineman and is an X man (he weighs more than 140lbs, he's proud). Because he's a big boy he is not able to carry the ball but that's fine with him, he's great at what he does. So far, they have had 3 games. The first game they won 25-0 that's right 25 to 0! They lost the second one, its ok though we expect them to win against Springville later and the third one was last night, sadly they lost 6-0. But man, it was a good game.

Football keeps us all VERY busy and with Hailee starting cheer I might lose my mind. What keeps me going??? A comment from my Hunter telling me "Mom, I think I've found my sport", this comment melted my heart and told me this crazy busy is so worth it.

My Boys and Their Elk

Vance and Hunter set out to get them a big Elk and here it is.

I can't see it either... This picture was taken with Vance's phone. I can see the gross blood on Hunter's pants and the elk is on Oscar, I think. Hunter was soooo happy and was so excited to tell me all about it. Both Hunter and Hailee have their first deer tags this year and are so excited to go get them a big one. I'm so happy that they got to do this together, that they share the same excitement and enthusiasm for this sport that Vance does and that there will be many more hunts to come. Watch out deer my kids are coming for you....

Hailee's Finger

Hailee's hand and 5 stitches. It was grosser than it actually looks in this picture. Poor thing, she was helping to change hand lines and slipped in her flip flops and grabbed the barb wire fence to catch herself. 5 STITCHES!!! Funny thing is, I looked down at her flip flops as we were walking out and said "your going to wish you would have worn different shoes", she claims she didn't hear me.

My Birthday

I need to write about this before I forget it. Hailee and Hunter tease me all the time about forgetting everything, that's partly why I started this blog in the first place. I guess losing your mind is what can happen when you get hit in the head by a horse.

Anyway, my family is awesome! This birthday was and will be one of the best in my 36 year history. It started out a little depressing. Vance had worked all night the night before and I thought he would either forget or come home and crash and tell me we would do something for my birthday later. Nope! He was wonderful! First, he text me Happy Birthday just so I would know he didn't forget. Then he came home in the middle of the day (without me knowing) to take the kids to get me a present, cake and decorations. I came home to the best birthday ever! I pulled in the driveway and there was this big, homemade sign on the garage.

My parents were there and my dad had made me the most beautiful picnic table I could have ever asked for. He had written a cute, special message hidden underneath. I love love love this gift and will treasure it always. They also made me a sweet card and had dinner waiting. So sweet!

Nick and Heather gave me a punching bag, I'm hoping to get rid of a lot of stress on this thing and get great arms while doing it.

My Vance, Hailee & Hunter got me an Elliptical and I love it! I have been wanting one for a long long time. So sweet, hopefully I'll get skinny because of this thing that makes me sweat like crazy (its gross, ask Hailee). Also, we have a tradition I started when the kids were younger. I decorate their rooms in the middle of the night because I want them to wake up and feel special on their birthdays. They decorated my room while I was at work and yes it made me feel so special and loved. Poor Vance was soooo tired that night but tried so hard to stay awake so I wouldn't be disappointed. I love that man! I felt so appreciated and loved that day and appreciate all of the efforts and love that everyone showed.  Overall, it was one of the best birthdays I could have ever wished and hoped for. I love my family!

Flaming Gorge & Babies

We ran away to Flaming Gorge again this year over the 4th of July. It was so good to get away and spend time with our little family and other family. It reminded me what is really important. It reminded me how much I love and value my little family. It reminded me that Vance and I can joke and really do love each other. It reminded me that NOTHING is more important than those I love and that I will ALWAYS put them first. I am beyond greatful, I am blessed.

The first day of our trip was spent packing, shopping, driving and setting up. Later in the afternoon Nick and his little family arrived and Hunter and Cutler went on a 4 wheeler drive and saw a bunch of deer. They were so excited.

It rained a few times and then hailed like crazy. It didn't seem like July, it seemed more like January in July.

We also went on a Damn Tour. Not a Dam Tour, a Damn Tour. Lots and lots of damn jokes were made. It was pretty interesting. Because of security issues we all had to remove belts, leave pocket knifes and camera cases behind and then go through a metal detector. Funny to me that the light turned red and beeped but they told people to go ahead anyway. In my case it turned red and I think he was to embarrassed to ask about my underwire bra and let me through anyway. I captured one picture on the Damn Tour that I absolutely love.

Its sideways but I think we all know what it is and who it might belong to :)

We also went fishing and saw a lot of deer (some had antlers, some didn't) and some elk. My mom likes to compare this to Yellowstone (kind of the same but not). Hunter did an awesome job at fishing (he always does) and limited out 2 out of the 3 times we went. The only reason he didn't limit out one of the times is because it was to windy to fish and he was busy swimming in the stream. We felt bad grandpa didn't catch any and Nick was not so lucky and caught this little guy. It was so little, so sad but so cute.

We thought this was pretty funny of Shea. Her pole was snagged, then chipmunk. ADHD maybe?

And here is what my clan caught.

The kids had their hearts set on swimming and since it was cold and windy we found a little stream for them to play in. It may look deep but don't worry it only came up to Hunter's calves, Cutlers waist but Hunter's calves :). Good thing Cutler had a flotation device.

The girls weren't so nice and would only show me their best sides.

Wish my bum was that small.

Oh the smells of camping.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. It was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and just relax and spend time with my awesome family. I was a little sad to come home and was dreading unloading the trailer and going back to work. This seemed to cheer me up though.

There's 11 of them. They are so cute, even the little one that we call Gimp.

Hunters Birthday

My son turned 13. I have to admit I'm a little sad about it. I can't believe 13 years have passed since this big boy was born. I am so proud of the young man that he is becoming. He has such a big heart and it makes me proud when he offers to help someone (once even helping an elderly lady get into her car at the mall) in need. He is so loving and up until it didn't seem cool anymore, he would give me alteast 1 hug every day and tells me he loves me every day. I keep asking him to stop growing, I can't believe how big he has gotten but am glad that he is so protective of his family and escpecially his sister. He had a great birthday filled with camping, riding 4 wheelers and was the first to reach his limit when we went fishing. I love you bud and am so proud of you!

My first Blog

I've decided to join the Blog world. This decision was made due to a few reasons.

1. Blogging my thoughts is cheaper than therapy.
2. My kids are growing up so fast I need to keep track of the events in their lives.
3. I love my family and want them to know that I've tried my best to make them happy & healthy.
4. To keep me sane.
5. To use as a type of journal. To get thoughts and feelings out.