2013 - Year in Review/Not very good at updating this!

When I started this blog the plan was to document my families life so we would not forget all of the good memories we make together. Well... a lot of time has passed and I don't know where to start. So I'll start with Vance.

Vance - He has changed. Vance has become active in the church, he was ordained and was given the Melchizedek priesthood. He blessed his second grandson Kyler on December 8th and did an amazing job. He is an amazing Papa to Braxton and Kyler and Braxton is obsessed with him. He has been working so hard this year but was able to take a little time off to shoot a deer (shot a horn off) and then to shoot some pheasants. He had some fun and hopefully he'll slow down and have a little more.

Me - I got nothing. I took care of family. :)

Hailee (16) - Hailee oh Hailee, oh how I love my Haileebug! Let's see, Hailee is a Junior in High School, she got her driver's license, her first car and her first job this year. She loves her car and hates her job at Wendy's. She has also been on many, many dates. This girl is busy! She was asked to 2 different proms but only went to one. Sabin couldn't get a group together so she went bowling with him instead. She had a great boyfriend named Hayden who she went to her first prom with. He was to overbearing though so she dumped him. And then came Jeremiah... I think he's scared to death of us but he's very nice and makes her laugh. He is putting in his mission paper's soon. She also entered the Miss Genola contest and did an awesome job. Man, this girl has guts! She danced with her Grandpa (who wasn't feeling well) and it was the highlight of the night. She won miss photogenic and was abosolutely beautiful! She went deer hunting but missed the deer.
Hailee is sassy, has attitude, talks back to her dad but she is also sweet, gets hurt easily, is very sensitive and is one of my very best friends. I love talking to her about her day, about boys, about her friends and just everything. I love this little lady.

Hunter (15) - Oh my, this kid has grown (6'2)! Hunter is a Sophomore this year, he got his first job working cherries, did morning football workouts, played a lot of football (got hurt), shot a deer, watched a lot of football (loves the Patriots) and got yelled at for bad grades. ;) He was #75 on his football team this year and played mostly on the starting line (middle, side, defense). He is an awesome football player! This year of football was rough though. His team didn't seem to come together and play as a team. Hunter wanted to give up more than once but didn't and I'm proud of him for it. He also hurt his shoulder. We thought he had torn his bicep muscle but after another trip to the doctor we were told he tore his pec muscle and had a bit of tendinitis. He was in some serious pain, poor kid. It completely broke my heart to hear how much pain he was in when he called me during an away game that I couldn't go to. This kid is tough though and his coaches won't let him give up. His coach Tolton thinks the world of him and so do I. :) Hunter gets mad and cranky when he is hungry, he gives dirty looks, he grunts when he is mad and tells stories (I think sometimes he makes them up), he says things like "remember that one guy" but he also has the kindest heart of anyone I know and would give the shirt off of his back to anyone, even his worse enemy. His best friends family is going through a lot and I know he would drop everything to do anything for them. He's a good kid.
No driving permit yet though, not until his grades are better.

Jessie & Ashlee -

Braxton (2) -

Kyler (7mo.)-

I'll be back later to finish. I have to work. :)

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!