Birfday boy!

The new "big thing" book that Papa picked up with a gift card for Barnes and Noble...He's a reader! He got to go use the gift card the next day with Nana and Papa...reserved his copy of the Eragon book comin' out in November.

New bike from Daddy...bike rides will be MUCH easier because of this bike. We have some MONSTER hills around here:)

Cool "cowboy" leather pouch with collector coins from Grandpa and Grandma Briggs...made from one of their cows:)

Kickin' it on some new cowboy bedding. This kids sure loves horses and the farm life. Woah! You can really see the eyelashes in this one:) Nummy.

Mr. Michael is now a big ol' 11. I love this lil' boy so much. He is such a joy. He is by far the easiest kid to raise. He is so self-motivated and obedient. He brought home some "sample" problems the first day of school to practice for the next day...not assigned, but he just wanted to make sure he was ready. What a guy! He is fun, loveable, and very compassionate. He is so genuine. What a blessing to get to be this boy's mama.

ugh, here we go!

Baseball was a nice sport. What about basketball? BUT WHY FOOTBALL? I really don't get that sport. I don't understand the little rules and all the many ways to get injured. Dallin really wanted to play, so ...here we are. It was kind of fun watching all the boys across South Kitsap that played together in baseball meet on the football field. They were on opposing teams, but still cheered each other on. Kinda cool! Tom loved meeting up with all his ol' football buddies from "back in the day." Some were coaching, so he got his two cents in whenever he could:) tee hee. He's like a little kid when it comes to football. I can tell it frustrates him to no end to watch and not play. He was DYING to get out there and show them the right way:) This could be a long season for him. It has brought a new chapter for our family, that is for sure. We now go to the gym as a fam 3 times a week for weight and cardio training. Dallin has bulked up so much in just the short 2 months we've been doing this. His suit coat was too big, now, it's a tad snug. Crazy huggin my "baby" with such broad shoulders. Dang. Good thing I still have Scott and Michael for a few more years.

Padding? Why, YES!

So, Mr. Dallin has begun the trek into football world. He has had practice 6 times a week for the last 2 1/2 weeks. It is very demanding, but he loves it...well, he has chosen to stay with it. He likes it. He looks forward to it. Crazy. I asked him if he was having fun. "Mom, how could you call that fun?" So, one day, he decided to show his lil' brothers how it was done. What could they use for pads? hmmm....

no me gusta

Michael and his gorilla flotilla:) (I have NO idea why he chose a gorilla to draw)

Scotty chose "Knights of Right" from the books he's been reading...cute:)

This month's pack meeting for the boys was the Rain Gutter Regatta. YUCK. This is worse than a Pinewood Derby! My biggest beef is that the rules are NEVER enforced and the ones who bend the rules are always the ones to win....HOWEVER, our boys didn't seem too phased by all that. They just had fun racing. That is why I love my boys:)