Every year we look forward to the school fall festival. It’s such a big deal to the kiddos and a fun evening with lots of activities. This year didn’t disappoint.

Davis had the time of his life! He won at the cake walk 3 times which was every time he participated. {{boys got crazy good luck}} However, after the third win they officially banned him from the game. Needless to say he was devastated. Poor little guy was having a blast. Me too, those cookies and cupcakes were yummy.

Drake enjoyed the Daddy time and getting a new sucker at every booth.

I thought this Velcro spider web was brilliant! They put the other side of Velcro on the balls. fabulous.

I’m now officially a girl stalker. I had Jason take a picture of this poodle costume. Don’t freak out, we made sure her little face was covered. Isn’t this the most darling costume idea? I had to show you.

It was a fun event! We all left with smiles, lots of sugar in tow, and had a great time had by all. Thanks PTA and Radio Disney!

Saturday was a big day with too many things scheduled. It started early in the a.m. when we got to Dylan’s soccer game, it was rescheduled for later that morning. So we met at McDonald’s with another team mate to keep the kids occupied and kill some time.

Dylan did such a great job during his game. I think we’ve finally found a sport that he enjoys and is decent at. He takes initiative on the field and tries his best. {{relief}}

I brought suckers to the game to try and keep Drake in one place, at least for a couple moments.

There were lows

and high moments in the game. His team ended up loosing but they played the best game so far. Great Job Dil!

By the time we got home, it was time to head on out to the Air Show. It’s a highlight for all the boys in my family.

Jason works on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program and has loved it. He’s much happier designing jets than oil drills.

Davis still wants to be a pilot when he grows up and has since he was 5.

There are lots of fun photo-ops at the air show.

We had to take advantage of them.

This is what Jason and I did during most of the show, wrestled with Drake.

Oooooh!

Ahhhh!

Holy Crap! Watch Out!

Afterwards, we picked up a babysitter and Jason and I went on a date. Yep, a real date. It was so nice to spend some time with my man. We like all the same things which makes the evening easy going and delightful.

After much anticipation, Dylan was baptised on Saturday and became the newest member of our church. It’s a big deal in our family and I tried my best to uphold all the traditions we started with Davis and make this a special day for Dylan.

Dylan is such a spiritual little boy and really understands the concept of not only right and wrong but compassion and service. He’s the peacemaker in our family and we’re so blessed to have his tender spirit in our home.

He was a little uncomfortable with all the attention but handled it so well. I was really proud of him. He’s so gracious and loving.

It’s sad to say, but I’m getting used to being bombarded with a little drama. Saturday morning we arrived at the stake center (church) at 9:00am to find out a few minutes later (after walking around trying to find someone in charge) that the baptisms have been moved to another building.

Panic surged through my body as I’m trying to recall all the invitations I sent out and to whom I would need to text about the building change. Gratefully, the building was right around the corner and not the 15 minute drive I had anticipated.

Turns out there was a Regional Singles Ward conference scheduled for the building that morning and no one was notified of the scheduling conflict. Nope, not any of the 8 children’s parents who were being baptised that day Nope, not any of the Primary Presidents. Nope, not any of the Bishops. No one.

At this point I’ve delt with worse, so in reality it wasn’t a big deal. Dylan and I were a little concerned when we arrived at the building and they were vacuuming the church and the font had just started being filled with water.

The baptisms started 30 minutes late, so all the kiddos were a little restless. But other than that it was a special day felt by all. My mom gave a talk about the covenants we make on this special day and she did a good job.

I was so glad that my family was able to make the drive down and come celebrate this special day with Dylan. It made the day even more special to him, having his grandma, aunts, and uncles there. I appreciate the sacrifices they made on our behalf to attend. {{hugs}}

Uncle Scott was the hit of the party! He entertained all the kiddos during the open house & preparations. It was so nice to have an adult who’s energy rivalled that of a toddlers.

Of course my Mom couldn’t come empty handed. So she brought a cake for each of the birthday’s. Dylan’s, mine, and Scott’s are each a week apart. Since we were all together we celebrated Mills style with fabulous yummy cakes.

Huge thanks to my Mom, Lisa, and Bonnie (SIL) for helping me make all the food for the open house. Yes, can you believe it? I actually made the food. Thanks to Wendy and Jenn for their uber yummy and easy recipes I was able to pull it off.

My brother’s kiddos didn’t sleep at all while they were here. Boy, I remember those days. Who am I kidding, I’m still IN those days. Geeze. I really felt bad for them. They even ended up giving away the guest room and slept in the media room so they could watch movies and play with the kids during the night. That’s sacrifice for ya.

Jason made a DVD of pictures of Dylan growing up. He did such a great job and it was so wonderful to sit and watch my little boy grow up before my eyes. Ahh the memories.

Lisa was such a huge help! Her allergies were acting up and she could barely see but she was such a trooper and helped cook anyway.

Here’s my Mom enjoying some of the fruits of our labors. {{giggle}}

Man, how many cakes has this boy had this year? Geeze!

The open house was so much fun and a huge success thanks to Unlce Scott who kept every child busy outside. That boy has a talent that could earn some good coin! At one point all the adults were able to sit eat and chat. That never happens in a group like this. Thanks Scott!

Huge thanks to everyone who came to celebrate this special event with my family. We loved your company and enjoy your friendships!

Now that all the events are over, I’m looking forward to catching up on my e-mails, stacks of paper work I need to attend to, and even reading up on some of my favorite blogs. It’s now time for me to recoup and relax from a stressful couple of months. I’m looking forward to it more than I can express. I’m even going to work in a couple naps. {{relieved}}

Lisa and Billy came down over the weekend and we took them on the seedoo’s for a day at the lake.

Drake was in heaven being in the water with Aunt Weesa.

Billy enjoyed it too.

Jason took Lisa and Billy on a wild ride!

Oops.

Luckily they enjoyed the beating.

Jason and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary a little early. He knew I needed a relaxing day and so he asked Lisa and Billy to watch the kids, while we went out for 2 movies, a little shopping, and lots of yummy food.

The best part was getting 10 hours of consecutive sleep!

We also planned out our 15th wedding anniversary to Italy. That’s a huge dream of mine and we not only talked about the places we want to visit but our personal and family goals to get us there.

Huge thanks to Lisa and Billy for watching the kids and playing with us. You guys ROCK!

This week, Rebecca arranged for us to go to Burgers Lake with the kiddos. Even though it was a little pricey and smaller than we thought, the kids never ran out of things to do!

The boys loved the large trapeze!

Here’s Dylan taking his turn. He couldn’t reach it, so the teenagers took turns helping him up on it.

The 20′ Slide and High Diving Boards were amazing!

Here’s Dylan getting ready to jump!

Way to go Davis!

Dylan making his way up the slide.

It had a sandy bottom which was fun and Drake absolutely loved it! Of course, I couldn’t convince him to play at the beach, so I could sit and chat. So we made our rounds and jumped off the little kids diving board, ran around, and mostly floated.

Jenni came too and it was wonderful reunion for the boys. Our boys have such a beautiful bond. Thanks Rebecca for planning our day we had an amazing time!!

Over the weekend we ventured over to Oklahoma and spent the day at Lake Murry.

It was a beautiful and smooth lake – especially considering all the water craft in the water.

We spent the day with the Shanks who recently moved into our area. Their boys are almost exactly my boys ages (within a couple months), so it was a match made in heaven. We first met them pre-kids at BYU. You can imagine our surprise when they came up to us at church one day.

All the boys had fun knee boarding.

And playing in the sand.

It was a crazy fun day!

I had forgotten my camera, so Megan not only made me a CD of the pictures we took, but also made us an awesome Thank You card using the pics. Fabulous!!

This week on our excursion with Rebecca’s gang, we went to the US Currency Facility to see how money is made. It was fascinating! We learned all about the new generation bills and how they are currently designing the $100 bill. It’s top secret.

The boys were really good, considering, and even got a play date out of it. 😉 Good times.

I’m running a bit behind in my posts…

Friday, we visited Gramma & Grandpa and played a little in Galveston.

We had a lot of fun at Schlitterbahn. The boys loved the torrent river the best. It’s like a lazy river but with tidal waves.

Drake was getting a little sleepy – so I took him on the torrent river and he had a nice nap while we floated the river for over an hour. That’s my kind of fun. {{wink}}

My favorite part was the funnel cake at the end. {{of course}}

Saturday we spent the day at Gramma & Grandpa’s on the river.

Davis knee boarded for the 2nd time.

Dylan kneed boarded for the first time! It took some serious negotiating and finally threatening to get him on it. However, once he got going, he had a blast! We were so proud of him.

Look at that bust. Way to go Dylan, you did an amazing job!

Dylan has decided to collect Indiana Jones Lego’s. This year will be the first year I’ll know what to get him for his birthday. {{huge relief}}

Davis arm-wrestling his cousin. Hmmm – are you wondering who won?

It was a quick, but really fun weekend with our loved ones.

I finally finished the backyard project Lisa and I started.

Before

After

I left early (for me) Saturday morning and got 3 car loads of St. Augustine grass to replace the crushed granite. Over the next few years, my hope is that the St. Augustine will take over my backyard and I’ll finally have lush green grass to enjoy.

Here are the boys “helping” me in our family project. I do have to give Davis some credit, he did carry 4 squares of grass to the backyard. Thanks son.

I’m so excited! I’ve been wanting St. Augustine every summer since we moved in. I can’t wait for it to start growing.

Drake has finally decided it’s ok to talk. He probably has a 20 word vocab that I’m working on daily to expand. However, he still refuses to say “Davis”.

Here we’re talking about colors. I had to bring in boats and cars in order for him to pay any attention. Can you say, “stubborn”. I have no idea where he got that from. {{giggle}}

Jason received the fish he caught in Alaska and shipped home to us. He went all out and made us Alaska Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch, grilled corn that he chucked, and green beans. It was AMAZING!

I was so proud of him. He’s such an excellent cook. Great job, baby!

Even the boys were thumbs up! They ate all of it. Good thing – we’ve got a freezer full.

You can imagine their disappointment when they received mini-corn dogs for dinner the next night when Mom cooked. {{HA! That’s reality babies}}