4th, and final, first day of school

Today was Jadon's first day of school as an 8th grader. It's nice to finally have everyone getting up in the morning and going off to school. I have mixed feelings about him going back to school. He was frequently bored this summer so it will be good for him to get busy with school. However, he did a lot with me during the summer and I will miss having him to talk to. I just hope he has as good a year as he did in 7th grade!

Byers bunch

I thought it would be fun to get a picture of the 8 "Byers" kids that are attending the same elementary school. This is the most kids we will ever have going to school together at the same school. It's so much fun for cousins to go to school together and sometimes be in the same class.

3rd first day of school

Today was Kierra's first day of her last year in Elementary school. She was so excited to go back to school. She was getting bored at home and was happy to be with her friends again. It was fun to see the big smile on her face when she got to school this morning, especially when she met up with all her friends.

What she was most excited about is that she gets to be in the same class with her cousin, Kamry, this year. In past years we have kept them in different classes on purpose. We decided we would let them have their last year in elementary together. Kierra is so excited about spending so much time with her. I had to take Jake's backpack to school today because he forgot it. I found out Kierra was at lunch at the time I brought it so I went in to say hi to her. It was so fun to see her sitting at a table full of girls and they were all laughing and having a great time together. I think she's going to have an awesome year as a 6th grader!

A day at the lake

Yesterday Kierra, Jaxon and I were able to spend the day at Echo Lake. We have some friends in our ward who invited our family to go boating with them for the day. Unfortunately, we couldn't leave Jenny all day so Dale stayed home with her and the rest of the kids. (Jadon was at a Young Men's boating activity) We had a great time! There were 5 families with their kids there so Kierra and Jaxon had a great time playing with all the kids.

I got to take the kids out on a waverunner and ride in a 3 person tube behind the boat. Once Jaxon got the nerve up to go, we had a lot of fun. Since there were so many people there, we each only got a few rides on the boat but we had a lot of fun just hanging out together, having dinner and getting wet! I felt really bad that the rest of my family wasn't there because they would have had a great time. Hopefully we'll get the chance to go again.

15 years!

Yesterday Dale and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary! It is so hard to believe it has already been that long. When we got married, we had a wedding video made that we had playing at our reception. For our Anniversary, I decided that I would make a continuation video as a present to Dale. It was so much fun to go back through 15 years of pictures and remember all the wonderful times that we have had together. I find it interesting that it's the good times we remember the most. We have had struggles and bad times in the last 15 years, but it's the special times together that are more prominent in our minds. It was so fun to watch the video together. Someday I might be able to watch it without getting a tear in my eye. I am so thankful for all that I have. I have a wonderful caring husband who has always spoiled me. He has always taken care of our family and he LOVES his kids almost as much as I do! I feel very lucky for the type of relationship we have. We get along and enjoy being together. I am looking forward to the next 15 years together!

Jenny

Since things didn't work out too well with Honey, we decided to try our luck with a puppy. This is Jenny. She is a Golden Retriever puppy that we got last Thursday.

She really is a cute little dog and everyone is having a great time with her. Jadon was at scout camp the day that we got her and didn't come home until Saturday so he was very excited to see her and spent most of the day with her on Saturday.

So far, Dale is her favorite but Jadon is working on changing that. Dale has been getting a taste of what it's like to take care of a baby at night since he has been the one getting up with her and taking her outside to go potty. We are excited about training her and making her a really cool dog.

2nd first day of school

Kyson started Kindergarten today. Up until last week he didn't want to go to school at all. After he had his Kindergarten assessment with his teacher, he changed his mind. He loved his teacher and has been super excited for the last week. Last night he got his clothes out so that he could be dressed and ready to go before I got up.

He wasn't ready to go when I got up but he was definately ready before the other boys. He was following Jake around all morning (all ready to go) telling him what he needed to do to get ready.

He looked a little nervous as he lined up to go in but luckily I got to spend the first half hour with him so that made him happy.

When I picked him up from school he was very excited about everything he did. I asked him what the best thing about his day was and he said "Seeing my brother Jake in the library!" I asked him what the worst thing about his day was and he said "I burped in class and I thought I was going to go to the principal's office" What a cutie! Kindergarten is so much fun!