...Growing Up...

Tuesday was Kayden's very first day of Preschool. AAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I am excited for him, and sad for me, all at the same time. I am so proud of my big boy, but I am heartbroken at the prospect of being ALONE, that is- without a child- for the first time since I have become a Mommy. 5 1/2 years. A total of 64 months. It is only 3 hours per day, 2 days each week, BUT STILL! I don't quite know what to make of this, yet, but I feel a season of change coming..

Kayden and Justice ready for Kayden's FIRST day of preK at St. Peter on 10/18/11

Justice and Kayden walking to their classes. 10/18/11

Kayden standing at the door to his classroom.

Kayden was the first one through the door, when Mrs. Gail opened it!

I am glad that he is enthusiastic, but I didn't even get a "bye, mom."

This is Kayden's cubby...

Justice and Kayden ready for his SECOND day of school on 10/20/11

They don't even want to hold my hand to walk to class!

Kayden is always all smiles after school!

Kayden painted an apple for me, and was upset that the teacher wanted to keep it to hang in the classroom. He wanted to bring it home for me. We compromised on a picture of it.

I also wanted to share with you that Justice got ANOTHER good-kind-of yellow note on Thursday, 10/20/11.... I am SO proud of her! And Kayden....

But why can't they stay babies forever?!?!

...The Center Verse...

I have been on a quest: to find the center of (my) Bible. I have spent tedious hours counting each and every chapter and verse. Here is what I have discovered: my Key Words ASB has 31,080 verses. The center verse is # 15,540, which is Psalm 103 verse 1:

"Praise the Lord, my soul;

All my inmost being, praise His holy Name"

...My Girl...

Upon returning to school from the 2-week Fall Break, we received Justice's official school pictures. --insert sigh here--. She looks so GROWN! It breaks my heart to see her change so dirastically, so quickly. She sure isn't my baby girl anymore. She really is a beautiful young lady:

Justice Kent. Age 5. St. Peter Kindergarten. 2011-2012 school year.

...Couponing: At It Again...

Actually, I just want to update you all on my totals. So far I have found this couponing thing to be a lot easier and a lot less time consuming than orignially anticipated. I look forward to the ads on Wednesdays and Sundays. I enjoy combing through the sales, looking for a deal! Kevin seems to think that if I can save enough of our food and home goods to cover a car payment, we could be looking for a NEW one really soon. I'm trying not to be overly excited, but the prospect gives me goosebumps and butterflies!! Here are the cold, hard numbers:

To date I have spent a total of $ 345

for approximately $664 worth of products/food.

I have saved $319

That's  48%

My stockpile (not counting what is in my kitchen cupboards) includes:

11 boxes of pastas

17 boxes of gronola bars

9 boxes of cereals

4 packages of ZipLock bags

5 cases of sodas

8 boxes of CapriSuns

miscellaneous condiments

15 different AirWick, Glade, and Fabreeze products

I have also saved a bundle on canned goods, toilet paper, and personal hygeine products.

...Bear River day 5 (10/07/11)...

Here are some more pictures of our adventures in the snow at Bear River. These are from day 5 of our trip, October 7, 2011.

...Bear River day 4 (10/06/11)...

We woke up to more SNOW!!

 The snow covered all the toys...

 ...and everything else!

 I absolutely love this view! God is so amazingly awesome!

 Kayden couldn't wait to get bundled up to go make snow angels!

 Neither could Justice!

 A very short walk from camp, was a gorgeous view of Bear River Reservior/Lake.

 The kids enjoyed experiencing the snow, and seeing everything covered with it!

 Kayden loves to snuggle, whether he is cold or not...

 ...and I don't mind!

 We went on a drive, to explore some more of the area, when there was a break in the snow. Here is my 'self-portrait' in the side rearview mirror of Kevin's truck.

 Seeing the devistation of a forrest fire reminded me that God rises us up from the ashes of our own sin, and grows us into beautiful beings, time after time.

 Kayden and Kevin

 The weather started to roll in again, so we headed back to the trailer.

 I snapped a couple of great pictures of it actually snowing!

I have no clue why I took this picture. But I like it.

...Bear River day 3 (10/05/11)...

While we were sleeping, it snowed!  

 We still went outside and enojyed the fresh air, the beauty of God's creation, and of course, the SNOW!

 It flurried off and on during the day. During breaks in the weather, I took the opportunity to take some more beautiful pictures.

 I like this picture. Until I posted it, I didn't notice that the kids are in the background!

 The fog and low-clouds looked trippy on the lake.

It was a fun day playing in the snow!

...Bear River day 2 (10/04/11)

Thuesday was 'Wilderness Survival Day'. We did a little 4-wheeling, then some hiking to get to a pretty remote spot in the forrest surrounding Bear River Lake.

 Dad taught us some valuable lessons in survival. We emptied our packs, to assess our supplies. Needless to say, when we got home, we made a bee-line for the camping section of a local retailer to complete our packs. Thanks for the tips, tricks, and advice, Poppy!

 Along the hike, I was distracted slightly by my beautiful surroundings.

 After the hike and trail ride back to camp, I decided to go scouting/deer hunting with dad. In total, we saw 19 fawns and does. It was awesome!

...Bear River vacation day 1 (10/03/11)...

Monday October 3, 2011 we celebrated Fall Break with a week-long camping trip to one of my favorite places: Bear River. Up around 7700ft, this place has offered cool weather, wilderness to explore, and opportunities to make awesome memories to my family for years.

This was the second time that I have taken my kids, and they had a blast!

After we set up camp, we decided to take off and go exploring. We didn't know how long the nice weather would last, the forecast called for rain for Tuesday and Wednesday.

 Kevin and I strapped the kids into Poppy's jeep and we followed mom and dad in their Razr to this great (but windy and cold) lookout point. The view was spectacular, and was well worth the bumpy ride over the dry riverbed of rocks.

 On the way back, mom was super cold so she switched me places and I rode with dad, while she got to warm up in the jeep with Kevin and the kids. Kevin loved the 4-wheeling. I think the smile on his face says it all!

 After the ride, dad brought out the AR and we all got to fire a few rounds. This was Justice and Kayden's first time shooting an AR and they both had fun.

Kayden is very much a homebody - he enjoys being at home, and in bed. So after the novelty of camping wore off for day 1, Kayden laid down on his bunk and wanted to watch his cartoons.