4th of July Highlights

We had such a great time this year.  Our ward put together a primary parade and then the bishopric made breakfast for them afterwards - pancakes, bacon and eggs with orange Tang to drink.  Winston was so excited to decorate his bike - he had a blast riding in the "parade" and wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July.  

Here's the proud rider.  :)

He was so excited to go I could barely get him to hold still for these pics. 

He wasn't quite sure if he should just jump in - it was his first parade.

Off he goes!

After that we headed up to my mom's for the annual 4th barbeque and water games.  The grandkids (and now the great-grandkids) look forward to this event every year.  Winston hardly ate lunch - he just couldn't wait to get the water fight going. I didn't get a pic of it (because I was the one filling them) but we filled up over 150 water balloons for the water fight - boy did they go fast!

This was my brother Bruce's gun and it was taller than Winston but he managed to make it work.

Winston and Jack had a great time together.

Brad with our "grown-up" boys - it's so great to have them back home!

My mom jumped in to get their pic too!

Jack, Winston and Clay were all on one team fighting against their older cousins.

My beautiful sisters Heidi and Lauri and my beautiful niece Brittany.  Lauri's holding little Scott - the youngest grandchild for my mom.  It was so fun to hang out with these amazing women.  I'm blessed to have them in my family! 

Me and my wonderfully awesome mom.

I had to catch this shot with my mom, Bo and Zack.  I like that you can see Brad and Bruce  in the background.

Jack, Luca and Winston - we finally got them to hold still for about 30 seconds to snap a few pics of them together.  They're all within about a year of each other and it's been fun watching them grow up together.

Winston, Jack, Clay and Tucker bouncing and squirting each other - good times!

Winston and Jack having a jumping contest.

All in all it was a great day!  I sure love my family!!  :)

Happy Birthday Daddy! Love, Winston

 For Brad's birthday, I took him out to an early dinner on Friday night.  Bo watched Winston for us and while we were gone, he helped Winston write a birthday message for Brad using sidewalk chalk.  We saw it as soon as we got back - they had written his happy birthday wish right at the front of the driveway so we wouldn't miss it.

Winston was really proud of his handy work.  Bo did help him with the spelling but said that Winston wrote most of it himself.  I love the drawings of Brad and Winston right in the middle.  It's kind of hard to see in the picture but he drew them with big smiles.  What great boys we have!  :)

Helping his Big Bros.

Zack and Bo changed the oil in their car this afternoon and Winston "helped".  He loves and idolizes his big brothers so much.  It was cute to watch them.  Zack and Bo were so patient with him and Winston kept counting their tools, "One, two, three, four, five.  Look Mom, I have five tools."  He was so proud to be helping his brothers and I'm so proud of them for letting him.  :)

Superbowl Pics

We had a great time watching the big game, hanging out together and eating lots of yummy, fattening food.  I made way too much food and ate too much of it - Mmmm.  I love having an excuse to bake.  : )  Brad was especially happy since he's been a Greenbay Packer's fan since he was a boy.  By the way, what's a Cheese Head anyway?

The Gang - Back Together Again

The last one of Bo's group of friends came home from his mission just over a week ago.  They've all been friends since junior high - a few of them since grade school. 

I'm so proud of these boys (really they're all grown up now but I'll always think of them as boys).  I couldn't have picked a better group of friends for Bo.  They're just the best and I'm so grateful for the influence they've had in Bo's life.  They encourage each other to be their best and to go after their dreams. 

This picture was the first time the whole gang (with no one missing) has been able to get together since returning from their missions.  It's great to see their strong friendships endure.  Congrats you guys and good luck on your future endeavors.  I know you'll all do great things.

All Together Again

So much has happened since my last post.  Bo arrived home on November 18 - my family is all together again!  His arrival was every bit as exciting and thrilling as Zack's and I can't even describe how great it is to have my boys home again.  Winston has been on cloud 9 - he adores his big bros.  It's so sweet to see him wrap his arms around them and tell each of them that he loves them.  It's so pure and heartfelt that at times it still brings tears to my eyes.  He really is thrilled to have them back - probably as much as I am. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - visiting with all of our family on both sides.  I made Zack and Bo's favorite desserts (we had tons of food!) and of course at the end of the day we watched Christmas Vacation - it's been an annual tradition of ours for at least the last 10 years.  Even though I was already stuffed, I just had to have a giant slice of my pumpkin pie while we watched the movie.  Boy was it yummy!  Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it to the end and fell asleep on Brad's shoulder - my boys laughed at me for dozing off.  All in all it was a fun and fulfilling day.

Just 7 More Days!!!!

Wow, I can't believe the time is almost here for my whole family to be reunited.  Bo will return home from his mission next Thursday and by this time next week, we'll all be home - together again.  I'm so excited to see him and can hardly wait to get that first hug at the airport.  It'll be so great to see all three of my boys together again - just 7 more days...  :D

Books - Oldies but Goodies

The other day while putting some stuff away in our storage room I noticed a box of Zack and Bo's old children books mostly hidden by other storage boxes.  I pulled it out and thumbed through the contents to see if Winston might be interested in any of the boys old favorites.  I found a couple of  Bo's books - old classics - I thought he'd like.  Bo simply loved these books when he was little.  I brought them upstairs and we read them for bedtime that night.  Of course Winston loved them too and he really loved the fact that they were old favorites of his beloved brothers. 

The first book - "There's an Alligator Under My Bed" we had to read 5 or 6 times (I finally had to say enough).  This short story fascinates him and we've had to read it several times each night ever since.  I can't help but smile as we get to the end of the story and he's already saying, "Again Mom, again!"  Zack and Bo used to do the same thing.  I've always enjoyed reading time with my boys and I'm so glad that they all love to read as much as I do.

I love the illustrations too.

Here's the other new favorite:

We only read a few pages at a time from this book because it's quite long - 76 pages full of fun pictures and lots and lots of words.  Winston's captivated by all the details.  He'll sit still for several minutes studying the pages and then ask all kinds of questions about the pictures. 

A precious find for me - Bo signed his name in these books.  He was just learning to write at the time and looking at his name scrawled by his child's hand brings back all kinds of fond memories from when he and Zack were little boys.  At the same time, I can't help but think of all I have to look forward to with Winston.  I just love books (and my boys) - both old and new!

Cool Cars

For Bo's last P-Day, he and his companion went to a car museum.  Bo loves cars - you could even call him a car fanatic - so as you can imagine he was in heaven.  He sent these pictures home to share with us - a few of his favorites.

These are called Gull Wing Mercedes and are some of the rarest cars in the world.  They're worth upwards of around five hundred thousand dollars apiece.  Wow!

An old Rolls Royce that Bo really liked.  What a beautiful car.

 Bo said this is the kind of car that Hitler rode around in. I'm not surprised he included this one.  Bo enjoys history (he gets that from his dad) and has been checking out all of the World War II sites he can find.

Heidelberg Castle

Just a quick post today.  Bo sent this picture of the Heidelberg Castle and bridge with his email last week.  He said they're both famous over there but didn't say what they're famous for.  Bo always has been short on words when it comes to telling me about things.  :)  I guess I'll have to do some research on this to see what it's famous for.  Anyway, I thought it was a great picture and it shows how beautiful the area is where he's at right now. 

Flashback Friday

OK, I admit that I'm borrowing this from my sister, but I was feeling a little nostalgic tonight and missing Zack and Bo. I started going through some of our old pictures and reminiscing. We've had some great times together over the years. I still think of them as my little boys - probably always will.
Spring break down at Zion National Park.

Zack when he was on the 9th grade football team.
The boys favorite jumping rock. We go back to this site every year - it just happens to be up our favorite canyon on Lake Powell.
Brad's a boy at heart and was always right there with the boys looking for the next rock to jump off of - good times full of fun and laughter.
Zack loves to water ski.
Bo loves to wake board. We'll have to wait and see what Winston likes.
This was our last trip together before Zack and Bo left. My three boys - oh how I do love them. Just looking at this picture tugs at my heart strings. Our time together is fleeting - gone before you know it. I've learned not to rush through things but instead to sit back and savor the experience while it lasts. Winston was so little when they left. They won't recognize him when they get home but that's OK. They'll have a blast getting reacquainted.

Picture from Bo

We finally received a recent picture from Bo. He's pictured here with Elder Meyer on his right and Elder Woodruff on his left. These are two of his very good friends who will be heading home in two weeks. It's good to see him happy and healthy. :)

HaPpY BiRtHdAy Bo!

Today is Bo's 20th birthday. I can't believe how the time has flown by. I still remember this day 20 years ago. The first time I saw Bo after he was born it was like meeting up with an old friend I hadn't seen in a while. The feeling of recognition was so strong it amazed me and I just knew that I had known this sweet little boy before. He just fit right in to our family and I wondered how we had gotten along without him. Bo is in Germany right now doing great things - serving his Lord and offering his time to help others. He is a great person and I feel so blessed to be able to be his mother. Happy Birthday Bo. We Love You!!!!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy Bo!

Cool Castle in Germany

One of the towns that Bo gets to teach in is Aschaffenburg and they have a beautiful castle there. Bo sent us a couple of pictures of the castle he recently took. It's winter there now so it's not as picturesque as it can be. I went online and found a couple of pictures of the castle during the summer months. It's really beautiful and I'm already looking forward to touring the countryside with Bo when we go to pick him up when his mission is over.

Elder Bo Shafer - Off to the MTC