Goodbye, Peanut

Our dear, sweet Peanut died yesterday. We will miss him SO much! He was the best bird EVER! Here are some of the things we will miss the most about Peanut.

His sweet kisses on our neck and cheeks.

Him chasing the boys down the hallway.

Taking him in the yard and watching him fly all over (that is until he would get stuck in one of the high trees and take about 1/2 hour to work up his nerve to fly back down to us)!

His whistles every time we were in the garage (He would totally go through all the whistles he knew in hopes that we would think he was just precious and take him out of his cage).

Him jumping on Caden's bowl of Fruity Pebbles and flipping the entire bowl over onto himself!

Him falling into Chase's bowl of cereal and getting himself covered in milk!

Him freaking Kelli out every time he flew by her (you have never seen 6 feet hit the floor so fast!)

Most of all, we will miss his sweet personality and all the love he brought to our family. He truly was one of a kind!

Baptism Day!

My baby was baptized yesterday! It was such a spiritual experience with ALL our family (minus Brett) together for the first time since our wedding over 13 years ago. Chase was SO excited. He could hardly contain himself. He and Geoff were both flooded with emotion during both the baptism and confirmation. Chase is such a spiritual young man. He has the most interesting personality - he is a mixture of pure crazyness and pure sweetheart! I love it! Congratulations Angel Boy! We love you and are so proud of you!

Birthday Bonanza 2! (i can only post 2 pics!)

The cookies I brought to his class


Just a few of "The Boys"!

Birthday Bonanza!

Happy 8th Birthday, Chase! We are in the middle of what we'll refer to as "Chase's Birthday Bonanza"! It all started yesterday at Jump On It with his party of 34 friends - his whole class, whole soccer team, and all the neighborhood friends! It was a BLAST but very hectic! We went straight to scouts after the party where Chase earned his Tiger Cub Badge and moved onto become a Wolf. Then his friend from school, Brogan had a sleep over. Today, his actual birthday, I woke up extra early to make him crepes with sparklers. As much as he enjoyed that, the highlight of his morning was when his daddy drove him and Brogan to school in the Ferrari! Then I brought him a Happy Meal to school and even made sure he got the right prize he has been looking for, only to find out later that he gave his prize to one of his girlfriends (he's such a ladies man). Then I picked up his best friend Boston from his school and we brought in two huge cookies for his class. After school I took him to the skate park so he could "train for the X games" and then it was time to come home for presents! I'm exhausted, my house is a mess but Chase is still having a blast playing with all his new toys. The night is still not done - we're going to Janes in about an hour. Tomorrow I have a little time to clean and then our whole family is coming into town for Chase's baptism on Saturday! Phew - this week is one for the books. I hope Chase will always remember it. He is such a special little boy and we are so blessed to have him. Most people know that he's crazy but he also has this incredibly sweet, sensitive side to him as well. I love him so much! That's probably why
I spoil him rotten!

60 Years Young!

Can anone believe that this foxy lady is 60? My mom is the best mom in the world. She inspires me and others around her to greatness. She is a ton of fun, caring, loving, giving with all she has -- she is a wonderful teacher, not only by profession but also to her children, grandchildren and friends. Happy birthday, Mom! You are such a blessing in all of our lives.

Primary Program

We had our Primary Program at Church today! My boys looked so handsome in their matching suits and did so good on their speaking and singing parts. Caden looked quite nervous, but excited. Both boys looked over at us for approval the whole time and had trouble hiding their proud smirks of joy. We also had the pleasure of having Bryan and Kelli with us today. We wish they could stay longer but they have to get back to New York for work. Lucky for us, they will be back next weekend for Chase's Baptism.

We Are the Champions!

Our last soccer game of the season was last night - yeah! Don't get me wrong, I love soccer, but it occupies EVERY Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for 2 months. I'm just excited to have a little more free time. Chase's team had another impressive win last night 8-2. Geoff commented that it was one of the better teams we've played against and we still easily won. His team was undefeated on the season. They are REALLY good and have a great coach. Chase is not the leading scorer, but always scores 1 to 2 goals a game, and always plays GREAT defense! His goal last night was a great angle shot from about 3/4 of the way down the field almost from the sideline. It was quite impressive. Way to go, Chasers!