SAWDUST AND WATER DON'T MIX!!

What an experience.

I just wanted to sit down and tell you all a few more details about my Master's degree while the experience was fresh in my mind. I know you all might disagree with the following statement because you are my family, and that's what family does. But, I want you all to know that I'm not smart enough to get a Masters. Now, let me explain. After about a week in the program, I realized that I was in over my head. I'm telling you, this degree is for people who are A LOT smarter than I am. But, since I inherited a deep desire to finish what I started, I made the decision to FINISH, no matter what it took. I wanted to quit SOOOOO BBBAAAADDD! I remember crying to Dan multiple times saying that I'm not smart enough to do this degree.
There were a lot of bumps in the road, and I can't begin to tell you how many times, I wanted to give up.

After I graduated, (without being done), it took me a REALLY long time to be able to start working on my degree again. I was pretty depressed about it. I was probably in the lowest part of my life, when I realized that I couldn't do it on my own, but I could ask someone to help. I NEEDED HEAVENLY FATHER TO HELP ME. I honestly prayed to have the desire to want to finish, because at this point, I had lost the desire completely. I also prayed that I would be able to finish.

Although it took me awhile to finally get to this point, I can't begin to tell you how much help I received from our Heavenly Father to help me. I read parts of my thesis, and I don't remember typing the words. I know that it was Him who gave me the ambition, the strength, and the brain to finish.

I cannot take full credit for my degree because without Him, it wouldn't have gotten done.

I just wanted you all to know that my testimony has grown a lot over the past few years. I know that Heavenly Father loves me, and He helped me obtain my goal. I don't ever want you to doubt my testimony, so I decided that I'd better share it with you.

I have experienced the atonement, first hand. I know that through Heavenly Father's plan, we can be forgiven for our sins. I know that perfection isn't expected, and that is why our Savior came to earth. He died so that we could obtain eternal life.

I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple. Although, it would be extremely hard to lose any of you, I know that I'll be able to see you again if I live worthy for that blessing.

I know that we have a living prophet on earth, and I have 100% confidence in him to lead the church in the very best way possible. I know that callings are given with the spirit, and we should accept them and magnify them to the best of our abilities.

I want you all to know that you are part of my testimony. You have all influenced me with your examples. I love you all.

Have a good day.
-Brooke

RELEASED!

Our Young Women's presidency and advisors were released yesterday! I was completely blind sighted. I didn't see it coming at all. After Young Women's, Kris said that we were all supposed to go into the Bishop's office. He told us we were getting released in sacrament meeting.

It was funny. Ross had called Kris on Friday to tell her. She called me after church and said that the only reason she had thought it would be all right was because she thought I was the new president. NOT HARDLY!

It was hard because our Young Women's in Excellence program was last night. The Bishop had gotten it OK'd for Kris and the past presidency to conduct and finish out the program. It was very difficult for everyone.

I guess change is good . . . and hard!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

I saw one of these on Jayci Crapo's blog & I thought it was pretty cool! I thought it was kinda funny that it says that I look like Beyonce & Scarlet Johansson!! haha--if only it were true!!
I couldn't get the REAL one to post right & show all the pictures, so you can't REALLY click on it to get your own, but here's the link if you want to try it!!
http://www.myheritage.com/celebrity-collage

OUR Kids!

We decided since Brooke is putting pictures of their kids on the blog that we would put pictures of OUR kids on the blog! Here are OUR kids at Lagoon!

LOOK AT MOM'S FACE!!

We had so much fun at Lagoon this weekend. We missed all of you who couldn't come! We actually convinced Mom and Dad to ride the rocket! It was hilarious. Sure love you all.
-Brooke

NEW CEMENT!

We are excited about our new cement! Last night, Dad and I and Eric, along with Zane Pentz, Doug Nielsen, Mike Wilcox, and Mike Josse poured our new cement. Zane had a lot of great tools - big floaters, etc. - that really helped. I'm including pictures.

Dave Lund helped Dad pour cement up to Grandpa and Grandma's. Dad helped them fix their front steps so that they can get in and out the front door now.

Slackifier....Def: 1. One who slacks often. 2. Phil

Hello everyone!

It turns out we are alive and I actually looked at the blog in complete surprise to see all the sweet stuff about me and my fam! Thanks so much everyone for posting our pics and saying such "nice" things about me (Brookie you rock). Aubs is feeling great, but occasionally feels a little sick in the evenings or like at church when she hasn't eaten anything for a while. Anyways, school is sweet. We just went on a couple canyon tree frog (above) and lizard catching field studies. It was kinda crazy and funny. I didn't even know tree frogs existed in Utah especially on desert canyon walls! It was nuts! I have a funny lizard catching story for everyone, but the story must be told in person as it requires many hand motions and much reinacting......... We're going to yellowstone this Friday for a few days and I'm super-pumped to hear all the bulls bugling and see the beautiful fall leaves. I'll post TONS of pics when we get back. I have made a September resolution to be a better blogger and let everyone know whats going on so here goes......................

Love you all!

PHIL AUBS ADDIE AND BABY

SKY FEST!

Philip, Aubrey, and Addie went to the Sky Fest in Cedar City this morning. Here are a few pictures!

Lagoon...

Hey family...
Dan and I are going to Lagoon this Saturday (the 13th). Feel free to come if you'd like. The more the merrier. Love you all!
-Brooke

GREAT JOB, MARCIE!!

When Marcie got home yesterday she told me that she had gotten a Thank You note from her Teacher! She was VERY excited about it!! Well, when she got it out & showed it to me it was actually a certificate--She was named the "Cafe Rio OUTSTANDING STUDENT OF THE WEEK"!!! She got the certificate & also a card that lets her get a free meal & a drink from Cafe Rio!! WAY TO GO, MARCIE!! She's SUCH a great student & always does her best!

We're SO proud of you, Marcie!! GREAT JOB!!! =D

THANKS!

A special thanks to Brooke and Adrian for setting up our blog and designing it. We love you!

I'M EXHAUSTED!!

Ariel...

Oaklyn Singing

I thought this video was pretty funny, so I decided to share it with ya'all!
Love you,
Brooke

A LITTLE AT A TIME . . .

We're plugging along a little at a time. We are trying to get ready to pour the porch slab and we have been putting on the outside sheathing. Dad and I worked for over 12 hours on Saturday and then stayed up until 1:00 because we both hurt so bad we couldn't go to sleep! WE'RE OLD!!!

We're including some pictures.

WAY TO GO, PHILIP!!

Philip got this bull with his bow and arrow on the open bull hunt. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time!

Happy Birthday Brookey--Love ADBUG!!

Happy Birthday Brooke!!

I decided since Brooke is the one that's been posting a Happy B-Day to everyone else I'd better make sure that she wasn't left out!!! We LOvE YoU!!!
Here's a few reasons why I love ya SOO much!!

You're a great friend!! I don't know if you realize how much I depended on you in High School. You were SUCH a great friend to me & I wouldn't have survived without you!! Our crazy adventures are some of my favoritest memories ever!! Thanks for being such a great friend! I'm glad we're still close & I REALLY value our friendship!!

You put up with ME!! I laugh to myself ALL THE TIME when I look at Morgan & Marcie & how they are with each other because they are TOTALLY ME & YOU when we were little! (Morgan is you & Marcie is me!) They either get along GREAT or they REALLY don't! But, deep down they're the best of friends & I love that! I always remember our fights over who would turn off the light at night & about you scaring me in our bunk beds--we had a lot of great times when we shared a room, didn't we--remember my contract to keep our room clean?!? hehehe! Thanks for the memories!!

You're SOO fun!! Whether it's going on a trip to Dean's Imporium, (is that how you spell that?!?)playing games, (in which you are INCREDIBLY competitive!!)or painting toenails you always make it SuPer fun!!

You love to laugh!! You have one of those laughs that is SOO contagious!! I love listening to you laugh 'cause I KNOW it'll make me laugh too!

You are a great Mom!! You are such a fun Mom! I've always been SOO impressed with the things you do with your kids! I think it's so great how you take them to the cabin & to the cattle drive (is that what it's called?)!! They are going to have some WONDERFUL memories of these fun, amazing things you've done with them!!

Speaking of amazing--You amaze me!! I am SOO proud of you for getting your Master's Degree--I cannot fathom all the thousands of hours you put in towards reaching that goal, but I am pretty positive that I wouldn't have been able to do it!! GREAT JOB!! You will ALWAYS be soo happy that you finished!!

Thanks for being a great sister! You're the best! I love your guts!! Love, ADBUG!

Happy Birthday Philly....Love, Brooke

Well, I'm sorry it's late, but I just wanted to write a few things about Philly to tell him how much we love him. Happy Birthday Brother!!!!

10 random reasons why I love you.

1. You used to let me ride you all over the house. I loved calling you Betsy the horse. I think you also let me curl your hair and put makeup on you, more than once.
2. You have such a love for all people, and you would do anything for ANYONE. It's so fun to hear you chatting it up with perfect strangers. You have always had a talent in this area and you are so easy to talk to.
3. You can EAT a LOT! I love how much you can pack into your toned body. I think it's pretty awesome that you eat so much and still be as fit as you are. Way to go!
4. You picked an AMAZING wife. I have told Aubrey this before, but I just wanted to thank you for picking such a perfect fit for yourself. She is probably the ONLY one on earth that would put up with all your hunting brigades. Good job!
5. You are an amazing Dad. I can tell Addie absolutely adores you.
6. You always put Heavenly Father first. I have learned a lot from you in this area. I have watched you make decisions and it's such a testimony builder to watch you succeed by trusting in the Lord. Thank you for being such a great example to me.
7. You are a good listener. Thank you for letting me call you with a few sobbing moments in my life. As you know, your sister is a baby sometimes!
8. You take time to "smell the roses." You do a good job at living in the moment. You always keep yourself busy with things that you enjoy. Even if it means getting up at the crack of dawn to do so.
9. You have been a fantastic friend to Dan. Thank you for involving him in your adventures. (Remind me to thank you with a punch in the shoulder for introducing him to duck hunting...and deer hunting...lol).
10. You are a hard worker. Whether it's working in 120 degree weather on the construction site, or working your butt off to get good grades, you work hard.

Thank you for being my little brother. I hope you know how much you mean to me. I sure love your guts.
Love,
Brooke

Ken and I and Eric are plugging along with the foundation walls. Our plan is to pour tomorrow. We are slow but Ken knows what he is doing, and we are saving money by doing it ourselves. I'll be so glad to get the cement poured so that we can start framing the porch and sheathing the house.

SLOWLY BUT SURELY

GRANDBABY #12!!!

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting Grandbaby #12!!! Aubrey and Philip are expecting in March! We are so excited to welcome another little one into our family. We have always said that we have enough love for as many family members as we can get. WE ALWAYS HAVE ROOM FOR ONE MORE!!

Congrats, Aubrey and Philip!!

We also had a wonderful weekend blessing Grandbaby #11, Kaitlyn. Thanks, Adrian and Nathan, for a great experience Sunday. We are so proud of you and your family.

Little Fox ...

I thought of one more memory that I don't know if anyone else remembers . . . Do you remember the fox skeleton that used to sit on the fence right by Beverly Thatchers dairy, well the opposite side of the road? It was always a mystery to me, when I was little of course, how it really got there. Does anyone else remember that?

Love you all,

Natalie

Speaking of WATER...!!

Last week me & the kids spent a couple days in Delta & Holden before we went down to Zions National Park for a family reunion with Nathan's family. On Tuesday we went straight to Nat's & the kids had SO much fun together!! They all wanted to swim--OF COURSE! & they had a BLAST swimming & floating around!! I've picked some of my favorite pictures for this post. I thought they turned out pretty cute & they definitely show how much fun they were having!! Bracken & Hayden did some AWESOME jumps & tricks! (I wasn't so great catching them all right at the right moment, but they're pretty fun anyway!!) We had a great day finished off with Mom, Dad & Eric coming over for dinner...the only thing that was missing: the rest of the family!

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE!!!

Well, rain is fine BUT NOT WHEN WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING FOOTINGS READY TO POUR!!! Poor Heavenly Father. Most pray for rain but the hay farmers and construction workers hope for sunny skies!

Ken and Eric have been working really hard getting out the concrete sidewalk and getting the footings dug for our new porch and garage. We were looking forward to really getting a lot done in the next few weeks. I guess we're "on hold" until everything dries out again. Eric was a trooper to get it all bailed back out again. He got soaked but it really helped us. We'll be concentrating on another part of the construction for a few days.

I wanted to write a cool experience that happened to Eric last week while he was working on our house. He was cutting the concrete sidewalk with a circular saw and had been working quite a while. He said that he was cutting away when he suddenly heard, "STOP!" He said it was loud enough that it made him jump, and he stopped and looked around to see who had spoken to him but no one was there. He came right in the house and told me about it. I know that Heavenly Father protected him from something very scary, and Ken and I have been so grateful that Eric listened and was protected.