How does this happern?

 

17 years ago, this amazing kid came into my life.  We've learned so much in these past 17 years.  Austin has made me smile and cry with happy tears, he has frustrated me and made me stretch and grow, he has amazed me with his brilliance and charm, he has annoyed me with his carefree and laid back attitude, he has melted my heart with his kindness and gentleness.  He is a HUGE part of who I am.  

A few days before his birthday he was able to take 6 friends to a Real Salt Lake soccer game.  They came early to celebrate with a great pizza party and a lot of noise.  I think they had a great time.

On Austin's actual birthday we celebrated in the evening...Austin is not a morning person and we were waiting on a few Amazon deliveries anyways, so it worked out just great. 

 Later that night we had cake and ice cream with some family members.  He was touched by our rendition of Happy Birthday and was able to blow out all 17 candles in one breath (and a little through the nose at the end).

He had a great birthday and received some amazing presents from loved ones.  Thank you to all his family and friends that made his birthday so special.  I am trying to forget the fact that Austin pointed out to me that this is his last birthday at home.  We shall see...

New Carpet

 After we had some water damage in the back room, the landlord agreed to replace the carpet in that room.  I got a bid and the next thing I knew they were coming to replace the carpet in two hours.  I had to move all the books off of 3 bookshelves and clean off the desk.  Luckily, my boys got home with 30 minutes to spare and were able to move out the bookshelves, couch, and desk before the carpet installers arrived.  I'm glad they were such good helpers.

Shooting

 

On Labor day, Dave and some other family and kids went shooting in the west desert of Utah.  They had a great time shooting clay pigeons and having competitions along the way.  Kim and Mayce were able to learn to shoot and Mayce even hit a pigeon!

Evan loves having his shotgun that he got for his birthday.  He begs Dave to take him shooting and just took the first part of his hunter safety course to be able to go hunting.  It looks fun!

Donut Falls Hike

 

With Grandma in town we headed up the canyon for an afternoon hike to Donut Falls.  It's was a nice afternoon and everyone did very well.  Once we arrived at the falls, some of us went rock climbing all the way to the top.  Others stayed at the bottom and played in the rocks and trees there.

All in all we had a great afternoon and enjoyed the canyon and each other!