"CAKE AND TOYS"

"Happy Birthday to us!"

Sooooo... my birthday buddy informed me that the best things about "OUR birthday" was that we get "cake and toys!"  So he got me two toy cars, Play-doh, a coloring book and a balloon!  I have the best birthday buddy ever!  He loved his baseball, glove and bat that we got him too....  I love celebrating with Jelly Bean!  I was spoiled by my sweet family and friend too!  I'm beyond blessed!  I love being 45!

Jelly Bean and Me

Me and my bestie!

I also got spoiled by my Visiting Teachers.  Cracker Barrel for lunch.  Yum!

Me - Wilma - Debbie - Mary

Kotten Kandy and I went to a Wedding Reception...  We felt pretty:

Me and My Girl

More fun:  Kiara got to go to Utah with her cousins last weekend.  They had a lot of fun shopping.  And they were grateful Aunt Kerri allowed them to stay with them.

Sodalicious is truly the BEST!

Key Lime Pie, Shaved Ice and Shortbread

"We love to see the temple!"

My beautiful eldest daughter!

And Key Lime Pie also has enjoyed working with Ruby Canyon Dental Group in Grand Junction.  They had  a fun BBQ.

Cousins who work together - have fun together!

And she got to work with one of my dear friends from childhood, my old babysitter, Mary White.

Our stake had an 80s Dance for the youth.  Kotten Kandy had a lot of fun with her friends:

This gorgeous 80s girl is my baby girl!

Maple and Kotten Kandy

Kotten Kandy and Sweet Tarts

I love these two beauties!

Scott finally shaved.  He looked very distinguished with a beard - but I think he's MUCH more sexier without one....  (and a mustache is just plain horrible).

He's soooooo cute!

I really do love this man!

HAVE YOU HUGGED AN EAGLE SCOUT TODAY?

It was an emotional evening last night... full of happy tears!  "My" boy, Taffy, received his Eagle Scout award!  (Thanks for sharing him with me, Maeva!)  Kotten Kandy and I attended the affair - and got to spend time with the extended family too - which was awesome!  They made us feel so welcome and loved!  I REALLY love this family!
Taffy (aka Tyler - he's 18 - so I can use his real name) is an amazing young man and truly exemplifies the scout values.  He is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.  I couldn't be more proud....
So here's the photo story:

I'm probably most excited about the fact that this young man is an Elder in our Church now!

Congratulations!

He wanted a cookie cake....

Mom and Dad are truly proud of their only son!

This is Grandma and Grandpa Coolbear!

This is Grandma and Grandpa Hesloot!

Everyone sang Tyler's praises!

He really is remarkable!

His dad make his Eagle award official with the neckerchief.

It's always special when mom is recognized too!

Taffy thanked everyone for coming.

And his father was his best mentor!

Maeva and Ben sang a GORGEOUS song!

Maeva sounds like an angel!

(I'm super proud to call her one of my best friends!

How lucky am I to find such amazing friends?!

I really have been blessed in my life with dear friends!)

Congratulations to Spencer and Tyler!

An Eagle Scout is a big deal!

I LOVE this family!

And I LOVE these kids!

Taffy - Maple - Apple Muffin

Grandma and Grandpa Coolbear are amazing!  And truly love my daughter!

They have "adopted" her as one of their own grandchildren!

She was excited to add them as one of her grandparents!

Kotten Kandy enjoyed sharing the joy of the evening!

We are super proud of this young man!

LIVING

 My favorite kids!!!

Apple Pie

Scott and I got him a fishing pole...  

Kotten Kandy got him a stuffed "head."

Happy Birthday to my Apple Pie!  He's 9!  And I love that boy!  We spent today picnicking and enjoying the beauty of the Arboretum with some of my favorite people!!!!  I took TONS of pictures and I will post them at the end of the post....

I have become quite a "critter collector" with Amy....  Of course, I only collect the pictures...  And this bug was so unusual, he made my critter picture collection!  What is he?  I have no idea.  But he's funny looking.  I think I'll call him Klutzy.
And another bug at the Arboretum...  This one was quite pretty:

And sometimes when we look up... we laugh at the view.  It made me smile to see these two looking down at their mother and I!  They are great kids!  Can I adopt them?!

We started a rogue self-reliance class this week.  It is great!  The church really puts out great programs and this is an amazing class that focuses on the temporal and spiritual concepts of self-reliance.  Our group is made up of Scott, me, Amy, Mark, Kotten Kandy, Taffy, and Juice.  We are learning a lot and starting off with finances.  I'm glad we have such an amazing group who constantly wants to better themselves.  Amy and I are calling our class teacher development for ourselves.  It's exciting to be learning, growing and having homework again.  I guess I'm kinda a nerd.

"Mowing is hard, but satisfying work!"

Kiara has learned some great things this year....  And one of our mottos that we reminded each other of often is "I can do hard things!"  I learned that I could mow our large lawn.  It was a wonderful accomplishment for myself.  And Key Lime Pie also mowed the lawn for the first time this week.  She also felt the great accomplishment of doing hard things after the fact.  Yay, Kiara!

I fell in love with JRR Tolkien when I was a little girl.  I've read The Lord of the Rings series of books multiple time.  And so I read all three of them again the past month.  They are wonderful!  Every time I re-read these classics, I am in awe of how poetic and beautiful the language is.  I am amazed at how complex the plot is.  And I'm impressed with the depth of the characters.  This story is not just another epic fantasy set of books, it is genius.  I love revisiting the Shire, Rivendell and even Mordor every few years!

I also re-read  Chaim Potok's The Chosen last week.  (Confession.... I'm not sure I re-read this book or if this is my first time re-reading it.  I remember reading the first chapter when I was a teenager, but I honestly don't remember reading the rest of it.)  And this book is truly awesome!  The story of the relationships between friends and fathers is inspiring.  And I think this book is a goldmine for human relationships and understanding human nature.  This book is a complex book about choosing your path in life.  I cannot praise it highly enough.  I truly love this book!
Here are some wonderful pictures from the Arboretum:

Jelly Bean

Nuts

Raisin

Juice was trying to hide from the camera...

Friends!

We love that the three of these kids are such good friends....

And I love these two kids!

Kotten Kandy and Taffy

These cute kids are adorable!

Jelly Bean loves his Kotten Kandy

THE MANY FACES OF KOTTEN KANDY:

She's beautiful!

She's kind!

She's fun!

She's smart!

She's mine!