-Now and Then-

I love this man! I feel like the luckiest Lady to have Ryan in my life; even as different as we are we sure complete each other. He makes me a better person and hopefully I do the same for him. I just wanted to share these pictures, so fun to look back on the many twenty fourths we have shared. Love this time of year.

Wonderfully Ordinary

 More than not lately I have found myself feeling sorry for me. I have felt the weight of the title I carry; MOM. I find myself short tempered and tired by a day of constant service to these little ones. Which left me feeling really guilty..as two people that I know had little ones (one and five) diagnosed with cancer. I have found myself praying for a little more patients. While reading updates on these little ones I realize the need to appreciate the ordinary day...Even if we have had two potty accidents or I find myself in several rounds with Brax. It truly is these days that can change at any moment or simply be a memory before we know it. I know that the role I hold is not easy but it is my job to teach and love. I am so grateful for these little ones in my life as they bring stress and tears but also laughter and a love I did not know I could posses. Here are some pictures of our Wonderfully, Ordinary days =D

Funny Boys

I thought it would be fun to write all the funny things the boys are saying right now.
Tayven : "Spider Man save da Day"
               "You're a Hot dog!" (he thinks that is a pretty good insult..)
               "thinking, thinking..I got a dea." (idea)
               "Hot Cccereal is my favrate" (hot cereal is my favorite)
               "Gentleman and glentleman"
I love to catch Tay doing his own thing..He will be playing and just talking to himself, so entertaining! I defiantly think he is going to be our little entertainer. We are constantly laughing at the things he does and says. I think I could listen to him talk all day. He is my happy boy.
Braxton: "Mom, what was the cents of my spiderman?" Mom, "you mean how much was it?" Brax, "ya" Mom, "I think that it was 24.99" Brax, "Oh, well do you remember when we went to get Jaxon a present and I saw that blue transformer spiderman?" "I think that he was 24.99" "Can I get him for my next Birthday?" Mom, "Yeah!" Brax, "Okay!! (jumping and yelling) YES!!" "wait what is my birthday after?" (we have been doing all the months of the year and when our birthdays are) Mom, "It is after November.." Brax, "Yes"
Brax lately has been using some rather large words..like complicated, he told me what he did at school was complicated. Awkward, which he actually used in the right content..apparently the silence at breakfast made him a little uneasy. Sometimes I catch him saying things that I would never think he understands..he is my smart boy and usually has me thinking..latest: Me: "Brax where did I get you?" Brax: "the hospital" Did you get hurt having me? Is that why you had to go to the hospital?" needless to say this opened up a whole conversation about babies..what barley four year old comes up with this stuff?!! I think I am in trouble.

My Life and the Boys that Surround Me

I lay in bed at night and reflect on my day. All the good things and unfortunately the bad too. The worst part is that I very rarely write these things down. My blog has always been a place I can go to remember. Sometimes I come here to take a trip down memory lane and pretend for just a minute that time is standing still. My kids are growing way too fast and before I know it I am going to forget all the cute things they did when they were little. So here it is..a little catch up on each of us!

 I will start with the head of the household Ryan: Ryan has been on a big learning experience with his job. Ryan went from working as a union employee for a company called TFS to being hired on as a Project Engineer for that company. He works in an office and has been given his first project after some travel trainings. The good news is his first project has done really well and despite all the stress that comes with the job, I think that he is doing awesome!! Ryan also started a new semester of school a class at a time closer to getting his business degree.

As for myself: After almost eight years at a local Utah credit union, I decided it was time to trade that for a more rewarding career..my co-workers call me MOM! I love them and seem to get a little more appreciated at this job. Being a Mom is possibly one of the hardest jobs that I have ever done!! It is a constant battle with yourself, and the little ones that run around this house, however also the most rewarding. I get to be there when they are sad or sick, when they are happy and silly. As they grow I can be there to tech. Honestly when schedules were not working out at the credit union I was not so sure that I could be a full time mommy. I wanted to be patient and loving all the time and sometimes that did not happen part of the time. I would say that is alot of my attitude and sometimes a day to day thing. Most of what I have struggled with is my feelings and what society might think of me JUST being a MOM. ..which really is silly! My children need me and I am contributing to caring for them and hopefully helping them become there greatest self. I love it and I thank Heavenly Father every day for allowing me this opportunity!

Braxton is now four and I must say four is a fun age. It feels like he is finally starting to get it. He is so smart and I am finding that he can be so fun to be around. Lately he has been contributing to what I guess I would call conversations that I have with myself. The other day while stopped at a railroad crossing (the train was completely stopped) I said aloud, "how can they just shut down at a crossroad?" Brax replied, "I think the conductor must have got out of the train." ...It caught me off guard but I suppose he may have been right. haha. He also understands that there are consequences to your actions and is getting better at trying to do the good things and apologizing, mostly to brother when he doesn't get it right. Braxton has always blown me away with how smart he is. He is loving preschool and teacher Lynda says he does great!! He is into anything completely boy and somewhat obsesses about them. Thanks to a trait mom gave to him. I can not imagine life with out him; those yummy checks and big brown eyes.

Tayven now almost two and a half keeps us laughing all the time. He is my more easy going child and keeps a smile as part of his regular dress. He also is a little more daring and seems to get into a little more trouble..latest, climbing up his dresser to feed the fish and tipping the whole thing over, barely escaping so that he could call mom to the rescue. Mom saved the fishy. I hope to get a little more video of him this year. He just says the funniest things that I am afraid words might not be enough to explain. Tayven is also my little eater, you can not tell to look at him but he has a bottomless pit for a stomach and is always hungry.While I was in the tub the other day he kept coming in with a mouth full of what looked like chocolate...also new trick: moving the chairs to get donuts off the counter. When I got out I found a box of donuts practically gone with a coke to drink. I am learning quickly that I get more out of him when there is food involved. . . I Love it!!

Trophy HUNT

 This year was a really good year for hunting. Maegan, Jessica, Melissa, John and Myself drew a Arizona deer tag!! I usually just put in for points and this year was lucky enough to draw a tag..which meant that I would finally get to shoot something bigger than a pot gut. The hunt was a little different than I had expected. We had about ten days to hunt. Halloween landed right in the middle of the hunt so we decided that we would try and get my tag filled first so that I could take the boys home for all the Halloween fun. The hunt was particularly hard with the boys because it meant that we mostly had to road hunt. Opening morning we were only a couple miles away from camp and someone had already got their deer; I was so excited and I knew that I had a good chance at killing something decent. It was nice to get on so many deer, get my scope on it and practice a bit. However we still had not seen anything worth taking a shot on, so we decided to hike a little and sit some water holes while Ry entertained the boys.  Well some odd handful of two points passed and we are into the hunt a couple days. At this point everyone had made it out for the hunt but I was running out of time and my deer was getting smaller by the day because I wanted the experience and I was not going home empty handed! I was able to go after an ok four point but did not get a shot. Time drew ne'er for me to head out and nothing to show for the hunt. Honestly the hunt was stressful and I really was not having fun nor did i like the fact that now we were not even seeing two points for me to take. I packed the boys and loaded up..after eating at Jacobs Lake I decided that I would make the trip back out after Halloween for the remainder of the hunt. The boys and I had a lot of fun and I am so glad we made to all the fun parties. When returning to camp I found that no one else had killed and with Maegan going home we still had four tags to fill in just a few short days but I decided that I was going to have fun and kill whatever I could get on...That next night we dropped Jessica off to sit a water hole and the boys and I went road hunting. I saw some really little bucks and just could not bring myself to kill. We were hunting in a pretty thick area and seeing lots of deer. I was getting anxious and off the road a little we spotted an ok two point..I got ready in position really slow. I had to wait for a doe to move out from in front of the deer and Ryan was having a hard time keeping the boys quiet (they were so excited to see mommy shoot her deer) Once the deer was in the clear I took the shoot. He jumped up and took off. We waited a little bit and started looking for a blood trail. I was not seeing anything and I was sick that I might have missed or made a bad shot. The boys wondered off a little bit and out of no where I hear Ry whistling at me...I meander over to him looking for blood and he says go claim your prise. I see the deer laying off in the distance not to far from where I shot it. We had just enough light to take a few crappy photos with the boys and head out. It was exhilarating and really fun to have the boys there to experience it all with me. We returned to camp in a hurry because we still needed to go pick Jessica only to find that john had also killed a nice four point; all in all it was good night and i was able to spend some fun time at camp and enjoy.

Brax and his RED SOLO cup.. 

Houston's in Kanab, Yumm!

Our little tether ball players :)

Tay had a lot of fun!! The dirt loves him. He could not just play in the dirt he had to lay in it and it was not long before he was covered.

Great fun and good times were had by all!

October FuNN-

 Thriller!! Every year we head to the big city for Thriller and The Pie (they have the best cheese sticks) It is so fun to spend time with family and have a good laugh.

 Ha Ha This is at The Big Red Barn in Santaquin... Another family tradition during October. We take the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and get our pumpkins. Dad always has to get the biggest one!

 This year at the pumpkin patch they had a really fun slide. It was funny because Tayven only wanted to go down the biggest one and Brax would not even go to the top, let alone go down that slide..he stuck to what he knew was safe and enjoyed running through the maze (below).

Brax going down the small slide..can you see his face?? He is my little chicken, just a little more cautious about things. I love how different the boys are..So fun!!

-PreScHOoL-

Braxton had his FIRST day at preschool!! He is getting so BIG. I thought that it would be hard for him to go all by himself for three hours but not the case :) Teacher said he was good and when I came to pick him up he did not want to leave! I am so impressed at how big he is. I am so excited for him to start this new adventure and learn lots at preschool. He is so smart and could not be more ready for SCHOOL.

Toddler FuN!

Tayven is TWO!!! We had a BLAST Celebrating this big step into toddlerhood. Starting with fun at the ZOO! Tayvens favorite thing at the Zoo was the new and entertaining Polar Bear! He did not want to leave. They fed the bear while we watched it was so fun. We also got to show Dad the bird show. It was hard to get pictures but was really exciting.

 

After the Zoo Tayven got to check out the pet store, where we bought him a blue fish named FISHY. He loves his fish and even thinks he needs dinner...three to four times a day. Monday we had friends and family over for ICE CREAM and Dutch Oven Cobbler. Tayven opened his first present and was done :) so Mom and the cousins got to open his presents. I am thinking that the TERRIBLE TWO's have already set in.

 

We had a very fun and eventful weekend of TODDLER FuN! I am loving the age that Tayven is, he is such a fun addition to our family. He is very sweet, he says sorry even when it is Braxton's turn to say sorry. He is always giving hugs and usually has has a smile on his face. He is happy with whatever you give him, 100% boy and can come up with the funniest things to say. I am looking forward to our time together while brother is at school and the years to come. Happy Birthday Tay man love yaa!!

(Tayven in his super costume and his fishy..of course)

Tayven

Where to start.. Tayven thrives on the chase, he is outgoing and usually can be found in things he should not be in. As crazy as this little guy is I actually love that he keeps us on our toes and mostly that he and Brax are so different. The other night we were up the canyon after a couple rain storms and Tayven found what he likes to call Chocate Water...It was so fun to watch him charge through the mud puddles with a grin on his face. It was all i could do to get him to the next puddle so we could keep moving..It was not until we were about ready to go that Brax decided maybe it looked a little fun. Brax asked if he could try it and he proceeded to tiptoe in with caution. (I loved it!) this small experience showed a tee both of their personalities. Tay a little more adventurous and Brax cautious and putting thought into each adventure.

Tayven's talking is so fun and makes me remember how fun his age is. Although love you mommy is probably my favorite, he can  not help but pick up the naughty words like stupid mommy...(this morning when I was singing to him.) He also is 100% if not more boy.. Shooting bears, Motorcycles and dirt are among many of the boy things that he loves!! He is really easy going and good at sharing. I am happy this wild yet sweet boy is a part of our family. We love and enjoy him very much.

Braxton

It is crazy to think that I have a three and half year old. Especially because at times I feel like I have a teenager already! Braxton is so funny he likes being big, he is really smart and kind of sassy. Honestly I would say Brax is most like me..including some of my weaknesses, which can make him hard to reason with. He also keeps us laughing with some of the stuff that he comes up with. Some of the most recent things that I can think of are: One night we were at dinner and Brax needed to go potty. Ryan took him in the bathroom and held him up to his first urinal. Brax thought that this was pretty cool and said "Wow Dad, look at me go!" Ryan was not sure what to say but we had a good laugh about it later. Brax is a big movie guy. I love that I get to finally see movies like Star Wars and Transformers. He has such a big imagination and even in our night prayers we can not forget to mention we are thankful for the universe, aliens and bats?? Sometimes I wish I knew what went on in his little mind.

Braxton is about to embark on one of his biggest adventures yet: Preschool! It is funny how so many mixed emotions can go into it. I hope that he learns alot and that he enjoys learning. Mom is feeling stressed, excited and also a little like keeping him here in our home with me :) I am so proud of my handsome, smart little boy.

The Summerset's Maiden Voyage

 So we bought us our first campin' trailer! I could not be more excited.. It has been hard tenting our camping trips or flat our not going with the boys. We took it on our first adventure to Arizonia. It was a lot of fun and as you can see the boys are in heaven! Dirt, Food and more Dirt! Looking forward to many more summers in the mountains.

Solo Cup

The boys are growing so fast and it seems like the more they grow the less I document those fun spontaneous memories. Life goes on and we of course get busy but here is a little bit of this and that:one of our favorite hats that we get at the expo every year

I believe this is Braxtons Monster face..haha

Tayven

Tayven being silly and getting comfy with dad

Ryan and I at the Grand America brunch

Drum roll...LADY A!!!!!!

I love life being the lady in my boys' life. I really feel so blessed the boys are so much fun and all of them keep me on my toes.

Braxtons funny things: still saying the darnedest things as he has since he was tiny. The other day we were in the restaurant and he just belted out Red Solo cup for all to hear..then we made a trip to Arizona and took uncle Jaxon, well Brax turns to him and says Jaxon..Lets have a party. haha (not the best song to love but he loves to sing it.) He is getting better at sharing and really can be a really good brother. His latest thing is telling people random made up things like..I don't love him and so on...Here we go.

Tayven: Still my go getter. He is all over and enjoying life. Honestly this is horrible but he is hard to get made at. Always so happy and the things he does naughty you can not help but grin back at him sometimes. He also is a persistent little thing; if I am doing the dishes or cooking and he needs my attention he will step on my toes until he has it..

writing this makes me realize how much I need to keep blogging and sharing the things we are up to because other wise I will forget! These are the days and I do not want to forget!