Cake Pops and Double Digits!

My first attempt at Brysons birthday cake didn't turn out quite right...

 I tried stacking the layers when the cake was tooooo warm and as a result, the top layer just split all over and slid off.

And then Jace had his way with it...

Fortunately for him, I didn't even care since the cake was already a disaster.

And so I made cake pops.

They weren't beautiful, but they tasted pretty darn good!

And we officially have a 10 year old!  (TEN!?!)

Bryson's favorites at age ten- 

Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Restaurant: Burger King or Froyo
Favorite Food: Cheese Pizza
Favorite Drink: Sierra Mist
Favorite thing to do: LEGOS!
Best Friend: Deen and Emory
Favorite Movie: The Lego Movie 
Favorite TV Show:  Johnny Test
Favorite Toy: Legos
Favorite Animal: a dog
Favorite Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
What he wants to be when he grows up: in the military

Memorial Day Camping

We went to our usual spot at the Mindens up on the Pend Oreille River for Memorial Day.  A good amount of the time was spent raking and spring cleaning, but we managed to fit in some play too!  It didn't rain, but it wasn't very warm =/

Chad gave lots of rides to lines of willing riders...

Nice photobomb Bryson. 

Papa pulled out his airsoft AK47.  Bryson about died with excitement, because of course he's an expert and knew all there was to know about gun safety and guns in general.  

I don't want to discredit the knowledge that he DOES have about guns and military and such, because he spends a lot of time reading about them, but he can be a bit of a 'know it all' and rather bossy when he gets passionate.  In the end he got blacklisted from getting to shoot for the rest of the day.  He was pretty devastated and "never wanted to shoot a gun again".... *ahem* but after a good talk about how he doesn't actually know everything about guns and how he wan't being very fair OR safe and that there is NO wiggle room when it comes to gun safety, he was a smidgen more rational about the situation.

Everyone took their turn...

and I mean e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e.- Heaven forbid Jace be left out!

He seriously loves guns...

And apparently I forgot that it was the end of May in the northwest because I totally forgot to pack a jacket for Jace.

He didn't mind though, he thought wearing Eli's hoodie was the coolest thing ever!

Despite the cool weather, it was a great weekend.  Cousins played, ate way too many s'mores, and were thoroughly filthy when we got home.  The weather didn't bother them one bit, except that it meant that we didn't swim or go boating.  We ate great (as always) and enjoyed the time away.  It was kinda nice to sleep under our own roof again, even if it was in a trailer, HA!

Spring is Here!

We have had some amazing weather so far this spring.  Warm and sunny and just perfect... we walked to the bus a lot, which Jace loves- his favorite thing in the world is to watch the cars go by, and then especially to see the bus!

Bryson went fishing with the cub scouts and caught a little fish- he was very proud...

Jace contemplating freedom...

and when we go outside, he doesn't care what shoes he's wearing *grin*

Cutest players on the team!

Look out, there's a new boss in the office..

And just like that...

Oh ya, just remembered AGAIN, Heavenly Father is looking out for us... things happen for a reason!  So a few months before we found the land that appraised low, we looked at another piece of land and we really liked a lot about it, but the land was very raw and at the time our house hadn't sold, so we couldn't do anything about it.  And then we found the overpriced land with the crazy sellers and it totally overshadowed the other land because we could literally build our house and not need to do anything with the land, it was park-like.. it made us overlook a lot of things that weren't so great about the land.

A few days after we were devastated by the low appraisal, I revisited the first land, and was blown away by how great it is!  So much closer to town, yet way more secluded... and while the land is a lot more raw, really, it'll be so good for my boys to have the work to do... though I'm sure they'll totally disagree!  So we have a new contract on this piece of land.  It's putting us a little behind our previous schedule, but with how much less we're spending on the land, it's totally worth it.

We've got a lot of work to do *grin*

14 Years in the Making

Nathan's good friend got remarried the week before our anniversary, so we combined his wedding with an anniversary get away... sunny Arizona, yes, please!  Honestly, I wasn't super excited about going at first because it's a lot of work to get ready to leave and I feel like I'm leaving SO much for my parents in watching my kids, but it was a little easier for them since we're living with them and all *wink*  In the end, I was so so so glad I went, we had a fantastic time and enjoyed being away, just us... oh, and " the guys"...

Nathan and "the guys" have been best friends since they were teenagers... and well, they pretty much revert back to teenagers when they're all together.  It's pretty funny to watch.  

Ryan and Caroline married in the new Gilbert, Arizona temple, and it was gorgeous!  Too bad I didn't get any pictures of the newlyweds.... I did get some of a happy couple though, *cheese*

The quintessential wedding picture of the guys....

The weather at the reception was wonderful, the food delicious and the music rockin'- A wonderful evening with the man of my dreams.

I can hardly believe that we've been married for 14 years and that we have 5 kids!  It just doesn't seem possible.  There have certainly been ups and downs, and it takes work to keep a marriage lively, but there is no one else on earth that I would rather spend my eternity with.

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Eli wrote Hailee's name on these post it notes and stuck them on her...

I'm not sure if she knew they were on her or not, but it was crazy how long they stayed on!

Ugh.

Bad news.  Despite all the C.R.A.P. we've dealt with and all the concessions we made in buying this land, we just found out that the appraisal on the land came in over $70,000 short.  And the sellers won't drop the price.  So we're out a bunch of money and starting all over.  Devastated.