before and after

                                                             then...

now...

we're getting more used it.  he looks so different without them.  they are s.t.r.a.i.g.h.t.

fall photos

abbey road?  this picture cracks me up.  they look so robotic. 

sometimes i feel like the luckiest mom in the world.  i REALLY love these guys. 

btw- preston's date said yes.  the dance is this saturday. 

my boys are growing up

spencer had a choir concert last night.  when he came upstairs all ready i seriously thought he looked like he could be leaving on his mission soon.  (without the braces, of course.)  i instantly felt scared and sad- i'm not ready for them to grow up and leave yet!!!

preston is asking a girl he doesn't know very well to the herriman inaugural ball.  these are the notes he's putting inside the balloons.  she has to put them together to figure it all out.  too easy? 

it's that time of year again....

i'm frantically trying to plan our party. 

cruisin'

the mariner of the seas.  it was ginormous.  3200 passengers and 1600 crew.  crazy big.

this isn't the best view of the deck, but you can get the idea.

it was rainy in mazatlan, but it looked like a pretty area.

there was a huge storm in puerto vallarta late in the afternoon.  there was so much rain on the decks, water was just running everywhere.  the lightning and thunder were insane.  not the most comforting sound on a ship. 

too many formal nights for my taste.  i prefer casual. 

the inside 'promendade' look of the ship.  it was 14 stories high.  so amazing. 

cabo san lucas had the best weather and prettiest water with white sandy beaches.  but...still some of the filth i wish wasn't there. 

i don't know how anyone could go on a cruise and not gain weight.  all we did was eat.  and eat.  the food was extremely good.  on the 3rd night we were asked to dine with the captain.  it was interesting.  very formal.  his name was jarret, he was 35 years old, and he was from canada.  he was very down to earth.  not at all what i was expecting.  it was nice.  don't ask me why they picked us. 

we had a good time.  next cruise will be alaska, i hope. 

pride and prejudice

last week some friends and i drove down to cedar city to the shakespearean festival to see the play pride and prejudice.  it was good.  (not great though.)  we had a really fun time- which made it worth it.  we stayed in st. george and ate and played.  it was awesome for me because i got a private 4 hour lesson on crocheting granny squares from jen.  (while we drove, which worked out perfectly.)  i seem to always miss the classes she teaches- so this was really great.  there was an incredible lightning storm while we were in st. george.  our condo was right by a canyon, so i sat up that night and just watched it out the window.  it was pretty amazing. 

we all bought masks at the festival.  i love stuff like that- and apparently so do my kids.  :)  i was even thinking of making the halloween party this year a masquerade.  i'm not sure all of the husbands would go for it though?  

the mighty provo

last saturday we took the younger four boys and rafted down the provo river with a group of friends.  i have to say, the first 30 minutes or so were horrible.  lincoln was crying, and quincey and i were both close to it.  i kept telling will i was 'done'.  but we stopped and moved lincoln over to our friend's raft, (which was the cadillac of all rafts) and re-situated in our own raft and then we were fine.  it was our first time, so we learned all the things we'd do differently next time.  clayton and brig were in their own raft, which was comical to watch.  (and a little scary.)  but they had fun, even though clayton was pretty nervous the whole time and brig was screaming at him constantly to "help row!!!"  overall, it wasn't that bad.  i think i'd do it again.  will had fun- and sometimes that's all that matters.  :)

the boys are all back in school, except preston (who starts tomorrow) and spencer (who starts thursday.) i'm sad summer break is over.  i'm not sad to see the heat go away and i'm not sad fall is almost here.  but this is the first year i'm dreading fall just a bit- because that means winter is not far behind it.  and i have to say- i'm not excited for winter.  really not excited.