September 16, 1995

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

13 years ago today...

“Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter. Wait. It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail.”
Jack Handy

You have changed my life more than I could have ever dreamed...

You are PATIENT ,

SWEET, GENEROUS, FUNNY, SMART, TALENTED, WISE,

THOUGHTFUL, HONEST, BRAVE, TRUSTWORTHY, LOYAL, and OURS!!!

That day remains in the top 4 of my "Best days"

It was a crazy afternoon,
but the Temple was the highlight and I will always cherish those moments...

I know that I am the LUCKY one! You make me laugh, you make me a better person,

you love ME. Thank you for loving me....

"Marriage is still very much a living institution, worth all the time and patience invested in it. Marriage is the stable structure that encircles and supports two clumsy individuals, learning to love and live with each other."

Ronna Romney and Beppie Harrison

“He was a cowboy, mister, and he loved the land. He loved it so much he made a woman out of dirt and married her. But when he kissed her, she disintegrated. Later, at the funeral, when the preacher said, "Dust to dust," some people laughed, and the cowboy shot them. At his hanging, he told the others, "I'll be waiting for you in heaven--with a gun."”
Jack Handy

Labor day

MESS MAKING MANIACS!!!!

We barbecued at Brian's Dad's house on Labor Day...Jake and Brayden were (as usual) joined at the hip! I got a kick out of Allie, Jake and Brayden eating watermelon. They thoroughly enjoyed spitting seeds and chasing each other around the backyard with messy hands and faces! They are pretty CRAZY at Grandpa's house, but they LOVE playing together! I am so glad that they have cousins to play with! Cousins are GREAT!

Wooley is starting to get in on the action too! She likes to watch the kids run and laugh! She is a sweetheart! She is really starting to talk...

It is so cute when she says "Jakey"

My job

I LOVE to see the Temple!!!!! What a beautiful symbol of eternal life and the Gospel!

YES THAT IS A.M.!!!!!! (I am an idiot) I don't care for paper tubes or porches...especially in the rain, but I guess it could be worse right?

I don't know what it is about this lamp post, but it scares me! For some reason, anytime I pass it my radio goes crazy! And dogs are always barking in that area. I don't get it...and I don't like it!

I wish i would have been brave enough to snap one of crazy, half naked, drunk guy. He thinks I should deliver Saturday morning papers at 2 AM! I guess the hang over sets in by 3...FREAK!!

I actually don't mind the paper so much, I'd like a little more sleep, but I can make it work! I am grateful for the opportunity I have to contribute financially to our family a little so that our daddy doesn't have to miss out on our family with a second job. He is a fantastic counselor, but education is not something you go into if you care about having money! His biggest draw to it was that he could still spend the quality time with our family that he loves!

How FUNNY! I love to catch people pulling faces...mainly because almost all of my pictures growing up make me look like an idiot! Brian finally taught me that someday i will want to have a decent picture of myself so I quit pulling faces like this one!

This is my BIG sis Karrie. She really is an inspiration to our family! She suffers from bipolar disorder and addiction. She is coming up on her 3rd year of sobriety this October and is REALLY making a devoted effort to be a part of her children's lives. I know that Heavenly Father has a special purpose for my sister because she is still here and has over come incredibly painful addictions. I know that Karrie will never be 100% fixed, but I know that if Karrie can pull herself out of the deep, dark, rotten place that she was in for several years and continue in good faith with her recovery effort, ANYONE can do it!

Karrie is a strong woman and I am grateful to have my big sister...I am so proud of you Karrie! I am thankful to House of Hope and the Justice system of Salt Lake City for keeping you safe when you were not capable of it on your own!

First day of school torture!

I don't understand why my children refuse to have a first day of school pictures.... they seriously acted like I was the cheesiest, lame mom in the world! I wanted to share how cute they looked and I guess I used the wrong word...THEY ARE NOT CUTE!!!
I finally got a few and so now you can see how NOT CUTE they were on the first day of school!

Nate has Mrs. Zitto at Saratoga Shores in the 4th grade A.L.L. class and Jake has Mrs. McPherson at Harvest. I have to say what AMAZING women these 2 teachers are! They have already done so much to get to know my boys on a personal level and I am hopeful that Nate will have a positive experience in 4th grade (3rd was a STINKER!) He doesn't say that he hates school everyday which is HUGE for Nate and he is really being challenged! He has to think and he has tons of homework! I love to watch him solve problems! I can already see the change in his self esteem because he can figure things out!

Jake still has it pretty easy because they are still doing assessments to place them in rotation groups, his teacher says he's at the top from what she can see so far...he just discovered that there is more to reading than The Magic Treehouse! He is really enjoying The Boxcar Children...which was always my favorite growing up! I am such a LUCKY mommy!!!! I truly do have THE BEST KIDS in the world!

Insanity

What was I thinking? I have decided to try to contibute to our family a little more so that we can establish savings and build our food storage up a bit...so my goodd friend Kellie called me a couple weeks ago and shared her idea for the same purpose. So I am officially a "paper girl". That's right, folks! I get up at 2 AM and deliver newspapers in American Fork. I rode with Kellie here in Harvest last week and she was finished in 2 1/2 hours. The pay is NOT BAD for 2 1/2 hours of work, but my route has taken me no less than 6 hours every day! I am completely exausted because I am babysitting Sam Dawdy 2 days a week and still working at the school three days a week...YIKES! I am hoping to start getting better at chucking papers to eliminate the 6 hour time span I am sleep driving through neighborhoods!

Hogle Zoo

For the past 3 summers we have taken our boys to zoo camp. Nate went in June and Jake's was last week. Bri and I usually take a day each because it is usually 2 days, but this year he was already back to work for Jake's, so Nate, Allie and I did both days while Jake learned about reptiles! They both like the camp, but I think it is more Nate's thing. I think Jake likes to be away on his own without his brother and sister for a while. We had a great time checking the zoo out! Allie's favorite part of the first day was the new carousel! She rode a TORTOISE!!!!

We caught up with Jake and his class in the reptile house...he was watching a snake eat a dead mouse! YUCK!!!!!
Nate's class was about the big cats...so he really enjoyed watching the tiger being so active! But I think his favorite part of the zoo was the bird show and the lesson on why we shouldn't do "crack" during the bird show! YIKES! He was absolutely disgusted by this woman in front of us!!! Poor guy! That was not what he wanted to see when he was hearing about the giant sea bird on loan from San Diego.

Nate is so passionate about wildlife!

I took this picture of him while he was watching one of the Amur leopards. He had this sweet little smile on his face in a moment of sheer happiness! He thoroughly enjoys himself at the zoo! It is a place where he could spend an entire week and not be the slightest bit bored! I love his enthusiasm for nature and animals! If you ever go to the zoo with Nate, plan to spend all day!

Allie mad some buddies while flirting on the train! These 2 little guys were so cute! They told her that she was pretty and that they liked her "train driver" pants! She got a kick out of one of them because his name was Remington. She has a thing for boys named Rem!

Word verification?

I decided to remove the word verification step from my blog. Why? you ask? Let me tell ya, I think it is stupid! I don't get why it is there in the first place. Honestly, is it so that illiterate acid junkies can read it too? I have the hardest time publishing a post because I am not on LSD!

Go Arsenal!

Nate is back on the Arsenal team that he played with last year (with a few new changes)! We love watching him play...especially when he is not in a bad mood! He is really good with the foot work and can run like the wind if he wants to! He usually plays right forward.Allie loves hanging out with the Schmaltz girls...Sophie and Laynie are so fun to be with! She likes soccer games if there are girls to hang out with!

10 years of Nate...

Happy Birthday to our Nathaniel Brian DeVries!
Nate turned 10 on August 3. He was born on a Monday at 4:46 AM after an incredibly LONG labor! He has always had big brains and a big heart!
We love our Nate! He is a super soccer player and a fantastic big brother!

He has always been cute and stubborn...
We love you Nate! We love your curius nature and your
love for the Gospel and The Savior! You are truly an example to your mom! I appreciate your testimony and courage to choose the right! You are funny and sarcastic, witty and smart! Thanks for being our son!


I hope the next 10 years don't fly by as quickly as the last! You are so much like your dad...never change that!

FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!

Jake and his good buddy Brandt Benham started football practice.
They are both pretty good little players with athletic mind sets.
They understand football and really enjoy playing especially together! We couldn't ask for better friends for our boys! We have been so blessed to live in a community with such incredible families who are raising wonderful children!



We are looking forward to the season and watching these 2 little maniacs show everyone how football should be played!

Over Nighter

We spent a night with some of our good friends at their cabin.

The Elmer's are such a nice family! Nate's best friend in the whole world is their oldest son Matthew. The share a lot in common. Their home backs the park across from our house, so they have a great place to spend time with one another! Ian and Kellie are wonderful parents and we just love their sweet family! I hope we didn't scare them too much! We had a great time just being able to talk and play! Allie had ao much fun with their girls and Daniel who is her age. jake hung out with the boys and played with Samantha and James all day! It was a nice but quick get away