Casanova is 8...

Our handsome little Ace Face turned 8 Years Old and also morphed into a GQ model on us.  :)

More of that later, but first, pictures from the big guy's big day...

Ace's birthday fell on a Friday.  He patiently opened just one present that morning and then tore into the rest of them when we all got together again at the end of the day.  We'll call this the year of the Bey Blades since they are all the rage with all the pint sized people.

He got 8 birthday spankins from us and 5 pinches to grow inches.  

Ace wanted a Costa Vida salad for dinner. 

CHECK

He also requested a forest cake.

CHECK

And his smile said it all.

I got to go highlight our Ace Face at school and bring "Blueberry Donuts" per his request.

His class just adores him and they laughed hysterically at the funny antics I shared and the pictures we put on his "Star Student" poster.

And then we got Ace's light gray suit in the mail along with his new shoes and we dressed him up for his Baptism pictures.

He looked SO handsome and dapper.

Saturday, October 12th couldn't come fast enough for our little dude.  He had been praying for over a year that he would feel the Holy Spirit when he got baptized and I know he was SO thrilled that the day had finally arrived.  

Ace had the best support group there to love him and smile for him.  All his little friends, cousins and brothers sang the most beautiful songs and his cousins gave prayers and talks.  Grandma Gail and Grandma Janice took care of the music.  Grandpa Hooky and Grandpa Bob along with Kael and Dax were the witnesses.

 It was a beautiful fall day full of all the good things including 4 soccer games and a baseball game.  :)

Let it be known the star of the show scored 4 goals in his game after his Baptism.  He was on fire!

We hope Ace knows how much he is loved.  He is a chosen member of the Lord's battalion and he is an example and light to all who are lucky enough to know him.  We love you, Ace.  We're proud of you and we hope you always remember the spirit you felt on Saturday, October 12, 2019, the day you became an official member of the Church.

XO Buddy.

All's fair at the World's Fair...

I don't know about ewe, but I always wish these gnarly Wayne County rams could be shrunken down when we go to the World's Fair every year.

That is DAX on that sheep - you know, for size and rank reference.  

The dudes were just relieved there were no horns on the mutton they were bustin' this year.  :)

These kiddos surveyed the competition and went in guns a blazin'...

They brought home their share of prize money for sure.

I mustache you, what you do after dominating at the Small Fry Rodeo?

Hit up the Wayne County Pool, of course!

High Dive, Optional, but always done ad nauseam.  :)

And a little opera solo and that's a wrap.

From Summer to FREEDOM...

The irony isn't lost on me that when Tuesday, August 20th hit, I sent my boys from summer vacation to "Freedom".

Freedom Elementary, that is.

They cleaned up pretty dang nice, if I do say so myself.  I love every one of those little faces and I was resistant to send them to 4th, 3rd and 2nd grades and Preschool.

We had one heck of a ride this summer.

Dax has Mrs. Dibb and is in 3rd Grade

 Kael has Mrs. Alston and is in 4th Grade.

Boone is stoked to experience school for the first time ever and he goes every Tuesday and Thursday morning to 3-year-old Preschool at "Teacher Brandee's".

Ace has Mrs. Adams and is in 2nd Grade.

Ryan and I had the annual back to school talk and RyGar gave the boys blessings.

We decided on the theme, 

"Don't be the Same, Be Better"

We hope these little dooooods always remember there is room for improvement and that some of the best lessons and forward strides are made along the journey, in moments of informal learning.  We hope they make goals then work to achieve them.  We hope they'll not blend in to the crowd but will stand out for reasons of good.  We hope they'll remember to build others up and stay confident.  We hope they'll always remember they are chosen sons of a Heavenly Father who loves them and that we love them too, SO very much.

Now go get 'em boys!

XO

We RUN Summer...

Another quick peek into some of our summer highlights:

1.  The fellas secured an hour of play time on the Jazz Court.  I still don't know how but it had something to do with our neighbor, Jason and ALL my boys were in Heaven.

Especially the big guy in the middle.  ;)

2.  I ran my first half-marathon by participating in the American Fork Half.  13.1 miles is no joke.  I have to say I respect the distance, but I also trained HARD for the race all winter and spring.  I finished with a time of 1:56 and I felt pretty good about it.  

3.  Our big boys secured a couple of steady lawn mowing jobs and filled in here and there when neighbors were on vacations.  They impressed us with their sense of responsibility, their dedication to their job and their customers and their pride at work well done.   Proud of you fellers.

4.  Booner took more naps in the car than any of our kids combined.

{Possibly}

And this image of him dreaming and drooling represents an overarching theme for us this summer...

We played hard, we lived happy and we slept well.  REALLY well.

We adored you, Summer 2019.

Gardner's do Bear Lake...

August marked the Golden Wedding Anniversary for Ryan's parents.  So to celebrate, we gathered the entire Gardner clan at Bear Lake for celebrations and FUN!

Robert and Janice are such amazing people.  We are lucky to have them in our life.

They make the best Grandparents!

Can you even believe this handsome crew is mine? 

Swoon

I'm the luckiest gal on the block!

RyGar and Me

Kaelster (Age 10)

Daximus (Age 9)

Ace Face (Age 7 - almost 8)

Booner Bear

Age TROUBLE

Just Kidding - 3

 Ace had an eventful week at Bear Lake.  He is the best kayaker and does some amazing sky high feats on the tube.  :)

 Booner loved boating.  Especially if he wasn't "FA-REEZING!"

 Dax caught a little lizard friend and possibly a slight concussion on a major whiff on the tube.

 Kaelster loved the ice caves.  He also loved boating and tubing.

It was so fun to spend time with cousins and friends recreating in the beautiful 

"Caribbean of the Rockies" and celebrating The Gardners.

Bear Lake - We'll be BACK!