Beck's head - again

I'm telling you, Beck's head does not get a break from being bumped, bonked and dinged up.  And it always seems to be in the same place - right side of the forehead.  Poor noggin.

Vacuuming Skills

Beck has become quite the vacuumer at our house.  That's his job of choice and he has gained some good skill over the summer.  

Hailstorm

We had a huge hailstorm come through today.  All of a sudden it was raining then hailing really loudly!  The kids couldn't figure out what was banging against the garage door.  I went out and gathered up a few of the hail stones to show the size of them.  They were covering our lawn!  It was pretty crazy. 

1st Day of School

School is starting already?  What?!

The kids were so excited to get back to school and see friends.  And mom is excited for a routine to start again.  But it does seem crazy that summer has come and gone.  Here we go with another year!

Rhen is starting 3rd grade and has Mrs. Workman for a teacher.  I love her cute high top shoes she chose to wear today!

 Rease my superhero girl is starting 5th grade and has Mrs. Chambers for a teacher.

 Rease and Izzy have the same teacher this year!  They are excited that they get to be in a portable this year.  I guess that makes them feel pretty grown up!

 Liev started a day after the girls did.  The school gives the 1st graders a day to meet with their teachers one on one before they start with the full day at school.  His teacher is Mrs. Hernandez and she is awesome!  He can't wait to start eating lunch at school.

 Liev and cute Alivia Brown.  They have been buddies growing up and love being in the same grade.

 And Keen started a whole week after the other kids.  Kindergartners have a week for assessments so he got an extra week of summer!  But he couldn't wait to start.  He is just ready to be at the same school with his bigger siblings.  We are trying out afternoon kindergarten this year to see how it goes.  I'm sure Keen will love that he doesn't have to take a nap anymore!

 Keen's cute friends in kindergarten with him.  

I bought these cookies from a cute girl in our ward who makes the most darling cookie arrangements.  I wanted to be able to celebrate the first day of school with the kids when they got home!

Happy school year kiddos!

Rease selfie

I love finding pictures like this on my phone!  Totally makes my day!

15 months

This summer is quickly coming to an end and before we know it the big kids will be back in school and I'll have just the two little ones home with me.  I'll have to say, I can't believe we're already to this point!  Desh is so grown up and I don't know quite how that happened!  He is the best caboose we could imagine and LOVES being with his brothers and sisters.  He hasn't started walking yet, but crawls like a speed demon and doesn't have too much of a problem keeping up with the other kids.  And he's finally getting some hair - though it's a little hard to see because it's so blonde.  His teeth are hilarious and those cheeks won't quit.  And I'm just going to say it because it's true - he has the biggest fat pad around his little penis that you can barely even see it!  Sometimes it's hidden like a frighten turtle.  Poor kid.  Dr. Erickson says the fat pad will get let fatty over time and everything will be normal.  I'm sure it will - for now though we just thinks it's hilariously cute!  We adore this Baby Desh and don't quite know how to handle him growing up in front of our eyes!

15 month stats from Dr. Erickson:

Weight: 25 lbs. 13 oz. - 68%

Height: 32 inches - 83%

Head: 19.4 inches - 94%

Booger Face

Josh hates seeing pictures of boogers so I took this one especially for him and sent it to him at work!  Happy work day!

Eclipse

We got to witness an almost total eclipse this week!  It was pretty amazing and so fun to be a part of.  We weren't in the direct path so we got to see about a 90% coverage but it was still pretty great.  Our neighbor Ron had a big gathering and talked to all the kids about what was happening and how.  And we all shared solar glasses and watched it as time went on.  Such a cool thing to be able to witness!

One last boating trip

We took one last trip up to Deer Creek this weekend before the days get too cold to boat.  It was definitely chilly in the morning when we got there, but oh the water was nice and so smooth.  It was such a fun day to end our awesome summer of skiing!

Family Pictures

Boxing

Someone forgot to tell Liev and Beck that you box with your hands not your feet...

Keen's 5th Birthday

Keen turned 5!  He requested a turtle cake so that's what he got! We had a small gathering of family and friends for cake and ice cream.  Keen's birthday is always one of the last things we do to celebrate summer.  Soon enough school will start and we will have to get back on a schedule.  For now though, the days are still long and the kids can play into the night!

Some of my favorite things about Keen at age 5:

1) Keen has a smile that can melt any heart.  He has some striking features about him that I'm afraid are going to give me grief when he becomes a teenager.  For now I can enjoy his big eyes, chubby cheeks, big smile and curly hair without having to worry!

2) Keen is a very sweet soul.  I admit that he is a bit whiny sometimes when he's at home, but he is as sweet as can be to everyone else and I think that is his natural self.  All his teacher's love him and grandmas and grandpas think he is the best.  I agree with them!  He is the best (mostly always!)

3) Keen is a snacker.  He loves chips, cookies, crackers, fruit snacks, candy, suckers, goldfish, go-gurts, or any other portable snack.  I don't know if it's because he can eat on the run or what, but he is a sneaky snacker and I often find him shut in the pantry sneaking something to eat.  Love this big boy of mine!  

5 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 3'11" - 99%

Weight: 50 lbs. 15 oz. - 94%

Happy Birthday Keen Gregory!

Andy's wedding

Josh's brother Andy got married today!  He married a great girl that we all love and are so excited to have part of the family.  They got married at the Provo City Center Temple.  It was a beautiful day and so much fun to be together with the family!

Family Selfie

I love these late summer days where we can all play outside together!  Even Baby Desh loves being out with us!

Meeting Danny Ainge

Our good friend Tanner Ainge is running for Congress.  We have been to a handful of events for the campaign and were invited to this event tonight that featured his dad Danny sitting in the dunk tank.  $20/ball to throw at the target to dunk Danny Ainge.  Pretty cool.  He gave a short speech first and they raffled off a few signed basketballs then on to the dunk tank.  Rease, my avid sports fan, was so excited that she got to meet Danny and got her shirt signed by him.  It was a fun event and we were happy to be there to support Tanner and Heidi.  Ainge for Congress!

Flashback

Our friend Dave texted me this picture today and said he was looking through some photos and came across this one.  What the!? I don't even remember looking like this!  How have we changed (and grown older) so much in the past 10 years!

Beutler Reunion Downata Hot Springs

 We had our Beutler family reunion at Downata Hot Springs this year.  It's always a fun place for a big group.  We all camped in tents or trailers and had a great time together.  Everyone came to town for the reunion and planned on staying for Andy's wedding the next week so it worked out perfect to have everyone there.  

One of the activities was making marshmallow blow guns with pvc pipe.  The kids love being able to make them into any shape they wanted.  And of course there were marshmallows all over camp for the next couple of days!

 We had a lot of time to relax and do whatever we wanted so Keen and I took the opportunity to take a nap in the hammocks.  It was such perfect weather and the kids were entertained with the cousins so I loved the down time to just chill.

We played cards, laughed, ate good food and got really dirty.  Just what a camping trip should be like!

I was in charge of one of the activities at the reunion so I decided to do spotlights on each of the kids.  So each morning at breakfast and each night at dinner I'd spotlight 3 or 4 kids.  I had talked to all of the mom's beforehand and come up with a few things for each of them and also made a little certificate and gave them a box of candy.  I have to say it was a hit!  The kids really looked forward to being spotlighted - even the teenagers!  They loved hearing what things I had found out about them and getting embarrassed by the funny stories.  These are the awards my kids got.  I think this might be something we will carry on at each reunion!