Happy Halloween Day Y'all!

Brandon the skeleton (before school)

Costume Parade at school

Carson/Wolverine (before school)

Carson/Wolverine (at school) with best bud Cameron the Swat Cop

Carson/Wolverine (at school) with Miss Alisha the good which of the West

School Days

 School has started again! 

Brandon is 8 and in 3rd grade! I cannot believe it, he has grown up way too fast! He LOVES 3rd grade, his teacher is Mrs. Rogers and he has a lot of friends already.  There has been a new school built and we are zoned for it, it's called Thunder Ridge Elementary and they are the Raptors. Brando has been excited all summer for it to be finished so he can go there!

I think his favorite part of third grade is that he gets to ride the bus...

...There are SO many kids at the bus stop....

...And it's right in front of our house, which makes me super happy!

 Carson is in his 2nd year of Pre-school, since his birthday is in September (he will be 5). He LOVES it. He is going to the same school as last year and is so happy.  I can't believe he is this big and grown up, his personality is so fun, he keeps us on our toes.

We are walking to school, he was so excited.

Miss Alisha (we LOVE her) Carson calls her
Muh-Lisha, it's too cute!

Carson and Cameron, best friends form last year.
They were so excited to see each other again!

Freedom

I know it's been a LONG time since I blogged, so here it is...no pictures just thoughts:

We have been so busy....

I have been going full speed in school, and doing well, getting almost straight A's on all my tests....Now don't fall over or anything, I know this may shock some of you, but I LOVE SCHOOL!! It could have something to do with the fact that it's FUN,and I totally get everything that I am learning SO fast.  At school we have a student council called the 'Student Unity Council' that changes every 3 months and this week we had re-election and I was elected to be the President or 'Student Unity Director' there are two other people on the council with me and one of our Instructors is the advisor over the council.  Thank goodness they are all three amazing women, who I already love, so it should be a good experience.

Brandon had his first Basketball camp a couple of weeks ago and he was in heaven for the entire week.  He was moved from the 'little' goal, to the 'big' one after the first day.  What does this mean you ask? He was too big and too good at shooting to play on the 8 foot goal with the kids his age, so he was moved to the 10 foot goal with older kids and he actually kept up with them and won games all week long.  I could not be prouder of him or have a prouder husband.

Carson is enrolled in these wonderful day camps that are organized and taught by his preschool teacher Miss Alisha (or as Carson says 'Muh-Lisha') They are in two week increments for two days a week.  The first one was cooking, the one he is in now is a science theme, the next one has an arts and crafts theme and the last one will be a 'Fit Kids' one.  He is LOVING them.  He already loves and adores 'Muh-Lisha' so it was a no brainer for us.

Les is just working, working, working his fingers to the bone to supports us in all we do. He is anxiously awaiting deer, duck, and elk hunting seasons.

This all brings me to the purpose of the title of my blog 'FREEDOM'....We have so many freedoms in this country that go unrecognized everyday, I just wanted to say that I am so grateful to have the freedom to belong to the religion I choose and to raise my family the way I want.  There are just not the right words to say how amazing it is to live HERE at THIS TIME to enjoy so many FREEDOMS.  I come from a very faithful and patriotic heritage, both of my Grandpa's were Air Force men and fought in the Korean war, I am grateful to them for fighting for our freedom.  I live in an area that is close to TWO military bases and I see service men and women all the time, there are members of my ward and husbands of my friends who serve our country, one of my best friends has an 18 yr old son in the Air Force.  I am humbled by the service of these men and women for doing their duty to protect my family and my freedoms.....THANK YOU! I cannot express enough gratitude for your sacrifice and the sacrifice your families make everyday!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Happy 4th of July Y'all!!  Celebrate with your whole heart and don't forget why you are celebrating!

Mother....

I LOVE this lady!!

She has been my best friend since the day I was born.  She has helped me through many of life's....choices, when my heart was broken, she was there to love me, when I made mistakes, she was there to help me right the wrong.  When I chose to serve a mission she was my biggest cheerleader and she never wavered in her faith in me, even when I did.  When it was time for me to marry my new best friend she was there for every step.  There are not enough words to express my love for her.  I feel so blessed that she is MY mom!

I also love this lady...

She is the woman who raised my husband to be the amazing man he is.  I cannot thank her enough for that.

These two women have helped mold me into the mother I am and they are the mother I hope to be someday! 

Thank you Mom and Donna, 

I love you both...Happy Mothers Day!!

Spring!?!?!

  This year has started and passed us by SO quickly already, I cannot believe it is almost MAY! In Utah you'd never know it, there is forecast for snow today....I'm SO ready for it to warm up for good.

So here's a peek at what has been going on with us so far this year....

We found king cakes in UTAH for Mardi Gras! Les was like a giddy little boy when I brought this home.  Its been TWO years since he's had one.

I had my first photo shoot through my school to start my cosmetology portfolio.

The theme for the shoot was an 'everyday look' I chose my darling little sister Lori to b my model and as you can see, I made a great choice!! I cut, highlighted and styled her hair.  (In my last post there is a shot of her 'before' hair)

This is my favorite one....it was the 'test shot'

                                                                        

 Brandon received his Bobcat in Cub Scouts he was SO excited!

He wouldn't pin my pin on me, he didn't want to poke my with it.

The patch on his uniform

I have gone through lots of hair changes since I stared school...haha!

First

Second

Finally (so far)


We went to a wedding in northern Utah on April 9th.....

This is what it looked like on our way up to Logan for the wedding

The Bride (Jenn Putnam, my first cousin) and Groom (Scott Twiss, lucky guy!) coming out of the Temple in the SNOW

SO happy!

IT'S SNOWING!!!

During the Wedding celebration it was fun for all the kids to play.

Lori (20), Melina (33), J.dub (31), Me (34), April (27) Me and ALL of my siblings together....it's a rare occasion, since we live all over the  place

Justin (Melina's) Brandon (Mine) Grant, Drake (J.Dub's) and Carson (Mine)

Cousins!

When we got home from the wedding (which was only 1 1/2 drive north) this is what it looked like:

  

Lastly...our boys are growing up SO fast, they don't look little anymore :-(

But they are handsome, if I do say so myself ;-)

Brandon (8)

 Carson (4)

.....Till next time.

Update!!!!

Ok..so, just a warning, this will be the longest blog post EVER!!! So be prepared....

Christmas 2010

Santa was VERY good to us this year!

These two were very excited, but also sick on Christmas morning.

 Christmas Eve PJ's

 My presents from Les (the gorgeous painting and pieces for my nativity)

My Present to him (an iPod)

Brandon is a CUB SCOUT!!

He loves being a Cub Scout

Carson.....

He may be growing up, but he's still my baby

Field Trip with Preschool to the Fire Dept

The Firefighters have rescue Jet Ski's because we live close to the lake (they also have rescue snow mobiles)

Carson's class with his cute teacher Miss Alisha (I just love her!!)

Carson laughing as Miss Alisha put on all that heavy Fire Fighter gear

Carson's best bud, Cameron.  

Inside the ambulance

By the Fire Truck

I'm in Beauty School!

I never thought school could be so much fun! It's hard work and a lot of hours, but it's a BLAST!  I go to school Tuesday through Saturday from 9am-5pm, it's like a full time job! I am so grateful for my wonderful in-laws who are here to take care of my boys so I can do this.  Also for my amazing husband who helped me realize this is a dream I have wanted for years now, he is such a STRONG supporter, I love him!

My 'business card' haha

Studying for my Freshman final (I scored a 98%)

My Freshman class

back: Liz, Amy  Front: Michelle (not a freshman but a good friend) ME, Jody 

I have made some amazing friends already, this group especially! I just love them!

My first attempt at an updo

My second updo

The back 

My first highlights and layered cut

My first foil weave highlight before and after. This is my baby sis Lori and, yes that curl is all natural and I did straighten it all by myself with a blow dryer and flat iron (It was no easy task, just ask her, but she helped me through it)

Me and Lori after all of coloring and cutting, LOVE YOU!

And finally.....

Brandon is playing Jr Jazz Basketball:

My little baller ;-)

Still figuring it out

Now he's got it.  This was their first game and they WON!!

They played their second game on Saturday and lost, BUT, Brandon scored 3 baskets and had a bunch of assists! He really is getting good, due to the coaching skills of Daddy and PawPaw.  There is some natural talent in there too, since his Daddy, PawPaw AND Grandpa ALL played Basketball most of their lives.

There it is...the longest post EVER...hopefully I will blog again sooner than later ;-)