Tyson's First Pack Meeting

Tyson had his first pack meeting and was so excited because he was received his Bobcat award and a belt loop for baseball. Here he is reciting his Cub Scout Promise. He takes a lot of pride in scouting.

His pack master, Mike Masters, giving him his awards.

If you look at the smirk on his face, he was beaming with pride that he had worked so hard and was given recognition for it.

After the ceremonies, the troop had fun and games for the boys and their siblings. Tyson was all about the donut eating contest.

The problem was trying to get the suspended donut to hold still long enough for him to get a bite on it. It was fun to watch.

My little scout is now a Bobcat. I am so proud of him and all his accomplishments. I know this is just the beginning, but it is a great start to something BIG!

Aunt Kariann was able to be with us on this night of awards. It is always fun to have extended family present when things like this go on. I know Vaughn enjoyed having his sister in town to laugh and hang out with.

The last game was "Making a Mummy." Tyson made his partner look like a pretty good mummy.

The whole night was fun. Tyson enjoyed the pack meeting and receiving his awards. He is now in the process of working on more achievements. So proud of you buddy!

Taryn Turns Three

There is my little princess. Last year when she turned 2 she was still a baby, but now she is a BIG Girl and all princess. We were so fortunate to have her Aunt Kariann and cousin Grace Ann fly in for her party weekend. Since Tyson had a BIG party, Taryn decided she wanted to have a party as well. So, we planned a princess party and she told me who to invite. Tyson didn't want to be in the princess party, but he wanted to be in a photo with his sister and cousin.

Here are all the princesses who came to Taryn's party. We sent out little invitations that looked like purses, made by Grandma T. I didn't think everyone would show up, but we were so lucky that they all did. We asked that they all dress up in their favorite princess outfits. As we waited for all the girls to show up, Cinderella II was playing on the TV. By ten o'clock in the morning, all the girls were there and it was showtime. Luckily my sister-in-law and Caryn Marlow stayed to help out with the princess party. We all headed into the kitchen and proceeded to make princess crowns with jewels and glitter flowers. The girls had a ball decorating their own Princess Crown. I was so glad it turned out to be a success. Once they had them all decorated we had to take pictures of all the gorgeous princesses. Taryn was the bell of the ball. She was so happy to have all of her friends at her house for her party.

Grace Ann and Taryn haven't seen each other since they were babies, literately. Each one played well with the other and having Gracie here for her party was wonderful. Here are pictures of the other little princesses:

Madison Lambert

Taylor Rambo

Kylie Ritter

Julia Mueller

Kate Rambo

Kamren Taylor

Lauren Lambert

Iris Marlow









It was so much fun to take all their pictures. I felt like we were all in a little fairy tale. Once the pictures were over we took the girls back into the kitchen, because it was too cold outside, to hit a pinata. I bought this cheep pinata and figured that the girls would each get maybe one hit and it would fall apart. I was SO wrong! They all got to hit it once and it didn't even have a dent in it; so, we tried again. I let them all hit it several times during their turn, and nothing. Then I let Tyson hit it, hard! Still not a dent in this thing. I let them all go one more round hitting it, and some of those little girls could hit it hard, and still nothing. I ended up tearing it and then shaking all the contents onto the ground. We had it stuffed with sparkly sunglasses, little flutes, necklaces, rings, stickers, and a few pieces of candy. The girls all loved grabbing the goodies and putting them in their princess bags.

Then it was time for cake. My friend Megan Schultz, made this amazing Princess Aurora cake with the three fairies. This picture doesn't do it justice. It had yummy butter cream frosting. Needless to say all the little girls loved the cake and ate their piece all gone. Last was the presents and Taryn's little friends were so generous to her. She received all kinds of Princess items and girly things. Thanks so much to everyone for all the presents and the kindness.

Taryn and Grace Ann after the party, all dolled up in their treasures from the pinata. It was a successful party, but the party day was only partly over. We still had fun things to do.

That night at the Thompson Bowl Area the Shriner's Circus was in town. I thought it would be a great way to end my little princess's day. She lasted the first hour and then fell asleep in my arms. She was too tired to finish out the circus acts. So we only stayed until intermission, which was about 2 hours and then we left.

They had all kinds of rides the kids could handle, but they were pricey. So I allowed Tyson to ride the big slide. He had a ball and that was all that matters.

I was able to get down on the floor and take a picture of all the circus stuff.

Tyson found little little niche up above our seats, and he and Taryn thought they were cool sitting up in the nook, watching the circus. Then Taryn became tired and the rest was history.

The opening ceremonies. It was pretty cool to see all the masons who work so hard to make the circus possible.

I love the high flying trapeze artists. They are probably my favorite to see in a circus.

I loved the whole day and I think Taryn did too. Happy Birthday to my little princess. We love you and are so glad you are in our lives!

Halloween Decor

The kids have been begging me to decorate for Halloween, but honestly we just haven't had a free day or night in which to accomplish this task. Today we didn't have anything going, which doesn't happen very often, and so the kids and I decorated till Taryn said it was a Haunted House.
The kids made the spiders and we hung the webs for them to put their creepy creations on. Since we move ever so often, my decor is limited, because I know that in a few years I will just have to pack it all up again. I try to keep it small, but when we are finally settled into our own house, I will go crazy and have TONS of decor for every season.

Tyson's thumbs up sign means we are ready for Halloween. Now they ask me, "When can we dress up and go Trick-or-Treating?" It is going to be a long month!

Darn it!! Go Away!

I have been sick now for the past 7 days and I am still trying to kick the stuff out of me. It all started last week when I lost my voice. This is typical for this time of year and so I didn't think much of it and knew my voice would return eventually. Several days later, the aches, stuffy nose and tight chest came to play, and it hasn't been a fun game. Today I have some what of a voice, but I still cough every five seconds. My chest is beginning to hate me! Add to all of this the fact that I have had NO energy and my kiddos are suffering from mom being sick and not being able to play. This bites the big one!

The Boy Is Now A Scout

I am still in utter shock that I have a son old enough to be a Tiger Scout. We were fortunate enough to have one of Tyson's good friend, Davis, from school ask us to sign up with him for scouts. Davis's dad is the scout master for the Tiger Den. Tyson has all of his friends in his den with him and so scouts has been a blast so far. He was officially made a Tiger Scout tonight at one of their outings, where he received his neckerchief and his Tiger Trail badge. He is pretty proud of himself. He has been working for several weeks to memorize the motto and promise of a boy scout, and to understand all about scouting. I am one proud momma! Way to go buddy!