Happy 18th Birthday Skyler!!

Happy Birthday Skyler!! The years have just flown by. It seems like just yesterday you were a baby and blessing our family with your presence. You have been such a great son!! You have made us laugh and cry, but most of all you have made us proud. You are ready to go out and conquer the world, you have been well taught and prepared for this moment in your life. Have a great birthday and we know you will be able to make all of your dreams come true. We love you! Thank you for being such a good kid!! :).

A Fond Farewell to Cub Scouting

Last night we attended the final Cub Scout Pack Meeting for Bryson, our youngest son. He is now 11 and has joined Boy Scouts. He received the Arrow of Light, which is the highest award in Cub Scouts. His cub master did such a great job honoring him and had a cool box set up with lights that indicated all of the steps you go through in Cub Scouts (Bobcat, Wolf, Bear, Webelo, Arrow of Light).

It has been a fun journey to do Cub Scouts with all 4 of our sons for the last (almost) 10 years and we have learned so much and so have they. I believe scouting helps to turn our boys into men and gives them the leadership skills that they need to be successful in life. Thank you to all the leaders throughout the years who have helped my sons, we owe you so much!!

11 Years old and loving life

I can't believe this youngest son of mine is already 11 years old. He is so sweet and quiet and smart but lately he has really gotten a voice in our home. I think with maturity he is starting to see that he has to speak up to be heard in our group! He is our son who is always getting "picked up" by women all over (in restaurants, in stores, and on the street) who fall in love with his big eyes and dark eyelashes. I am going to worry about him in a few years when the girls his age start noticing him!! Happy Birthday to my sweet Bryson, we love you!!!!

Coloring the Easter Eggs!

It's always fun to sit back and watch what my kids create when they are given free reign of my kitchen with messy egg dye and hard boiled eggs. This year the "cyclops egg" was very popular, no doubt a throw back from their recent obsession with "Percy Jackson". This tradition begs the question though, "Why do we dye eggs at Easter time?" What does this have to do with Easter or Spring or anything? It's a fun tradition but I wonder every year who came up with this idea. Were the ancient Egyptians sitting around when they suddenly said "Hey hard colored eggs is the way to bring on Spring". Just a thought. I love to spend these times with my kids and it makes me pause to wonder how I'm going to do with Skyler gone next year although as you notice he's not in the pictures since he was working the night we did this, he is gone so much already. I guess it is preparing me to allow him to spread his wings and leave the "nest". Sigh....

Kick'n It Old School

Skyler and his five buddies from jazz choir put together a number to compete in their high school talent show. They sang an a-Capella medley of You are my sunshine, My girl, Ain't no sunshine, and I got sunshine. It was super funny and very good. They got a standing ovation when they were done (the girls especially liked them). Out of 12 groups that performed that night, they won first place! I love having a son with musical talent, it is so fun!! I did a video of the performance but it is on Facebook if you want to see it. It took forever to get it uploaded there so I am not even going to attempt it here :).

Vacation-Day Two "SeaWorld"

We are in the second day of our vacation. The first day we spent getting here (all day from Boise to Orlando). We had a nice welcome dinner last night on the beach and then we crashed in our hotel room - we were so tired.

This morning we got up and decided to go to Sea World. We haven't been there since 1995 and figured it was time to see what they were up to. It was great!! The shows were amazing - our favorite was the dolphin show. In the evening we went to the Luau show and dinner and saw some amazing dancing and had great food. Tomorrow we board the cruise ship and are looking forward to some more fun and some great memories!!

Going Private

I have decided after much thought (and a couple of creepy comments from "Anonymous") that I am going private with my blog. If you would like to be able to read my blog, please send me your e-mail address that you use for blogger and I will put you on the list of people who can visit. My e-mail address is nicole-fenn@cableone.net. Thanks for understanding!

-Nicole

Happy 19th Anniversary!!!

Today is our 19 year anniversary. It is hard to believe that we have been together that long. It seems like just yesterday I spotted this good looking young man walking into my institute class. I had butterflies in my stomach and I knew I had seen someone who would be very important to my future. I had no idea!!

After we took our family pictures this year, a lot of people said that we never age. Well, to show how different we look than we did 19 years ago, I am posting a picture from when we were first married and then one we took a few months ago.

Happy Anniversary honey!! Here is to 19 more great years. I love you!!

My sweet 15 year old son

My second son turned 15 yesterday and I wanted to complete a birthday tribute to him. It's amazing to me that he is already 15 as it seems like just yesterday he was born. How time flies and my kids seem to grow faster every day. Following are 15 things that you may or may not know about this special kid.

1) He does not like to have his picture taken.

2) He always volunteers to do things and doesn't need to be asked to help.

3) He comes and tells me "I love you" before school every morning.

4) He is great with kids, especially his little 6 year old sister.

5) He is a peacemaker and never wants anyone to argue.

6) He is really funny and can make anyone laugh.

7) He is taking a Senior level math class and has the highest grade.

8) He loves to yo-yo and can do just about any trick.

9) He is about to get his Driver's License - yikes!!

10) He is very strong and can wrestle most people to the ground without effort.

11) He is a great skateboarder.

12) He's sensitive and not embarrassed to hug his mom :).

13) He loves the movie "Avatar" and has already seen it twice.

14) He's hard working and loyal.

15) All the girls are crazy about him because he is such a cutie!

I am so happy to have this guy as part of our family. He makes us all smile and knows how to lighten any mood. He makes me proud to be his mom. I love you buddy and I hope you had a happy birthday!!