April Adventures: Part 3: Steve & Mary's 50th

April Adventures: Part 1

March Adventures & Project Life

I recently learned about an amazing archiving company called Project Life. I have always loved scrapbooking, but found it difficult to keep all of the supplies organized and find the time to sit down and actually create the pages. In recent years, this blog has been my method for preserving memories. However, I have concerns regarding the fact that all of the memories are preserved electronically. There is just something special about being able to flip through the pages of a photo album and share memories with others.

With Project Life, those concerns have been resolved. The Project Life app allows me to scrapbook and create beautiful pages using my iPhone. I can literally scrapbook from anywhere which is extremely convenient for my busy schedule! Once the pages are created, I can share them with friends and family electronically and print the pages for our family album. It is truly the best of both worlds for me!

Let me know if you would like to learn more about Project Life!
 

Proud Mom Moments

This is one of my all-time favorite photos of Matthew and Peter.
Summer of 2006 - Do they remind you of anyone?

I have very high expectations for myself and my children. I want them to grow up to be polite, respectful, considerate, and motivated adults. All of the boys help around the house and on the ranch. Matthew and Peter are expected to work hard in school and always strive to do the right thing. I have to admit, all four boys live up to these standards and make Toby and I proud every single day.

Despite their successes, I am not great at giving out compliments. It is something I need to work on so the boys know how proud we are of them. This week, I was reminded of how lucky we are to have such fantastic children.

On Monday night, I received the following text from a friend:

"Just bragging on your Peter. He is so sweet to Rocco at wrestling. Rocco totally looks up to him! Good job raising that one Mama!"

Less than an hour later, a different friend posted a video of Peter helping a classmate at wrestling practice with this comment:

"Your son is soo good with helping other kids. He takes the time to show them how to do the moves that they don't know. Such a big heart."

On Wednesday, I received the following email from one of Matthew's teachers:

"What a great kid! I have been promoting the "Zumbathon" to help out the Reed family. Today before class, Matthew walked up to me with $9 of his own. I asked him what it was for. His response, "I am not going to make it, but want to donate money." WOW!! WOW!! No other teenager would think of doing something so selfless."

Each of these comments made my heart burst with pride! We truly have amazing sons!

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

Each year, we try to attend the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet. It is always a fun time and supports a good cause, as it raises money for elk preservation. This year, the banquet happened to fall on Valentine's Day, so our romantic evening was spent playing games, bidding on items, and enjoying a delicious prime rib dinner. We shared a table with my Dad, Jana, Tiffany and Chad. Matthew and Peter also went with us. The banquet appeared to be very successful, as there did not seem to be an empty seat in the place. While we did not win any of the drawings, we did purchase a set of three RMEF duffle bags in the live auction. As always, we had a lot of fun and saw many friends at the banquet!



Happy Valentine's Day!

These two are quite the pair!

Peter won a set of knives!

Matthew participating in the youth gun drawing.

It was a big night for Tiffany and Chad.
It was their first night out without MacKenzie.



Love her!

Dad and Jana

 

The table decorations and RMEF swag were very nice!

 

The Feeding Crew

William, Toby, and Joseph

This time of year, Toby is extremely busy with the cattle. On a normal year, he will trail all of the cows home in December or January and feed the 900+ cows hay until March. This requires hours of transporting hay on pickups to three or four different locations on the ranch. Now that Matthew and Peter are older, they wake up early and help feed each weekend. They help drive pick-ups to the different feed locations, which significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to feed.

 

Recently, William and Joseph have joined the feeding crew. They get so excited for the weekend because they love helping Toby and seeing all of the baby calves. We are right in the middle of calving, so each morning there are at least 10 new calves born! This morning, I decided to join the crew. We took two pickup loads to one location, two loads to a second feed ground, three loads to a third feed ground, and one pickup load to the last location. It is always so much fun watching the new babies jump, run, and play in the sunshine. It was even more enjoyable to see the delight in all four boys' eyes as they helped on the ranch.

 

Meet Stickers. He is almost 20 years old! He has been on the ranch longer than I have!

Yum, Yum, Yum

Top feeding dog Daisy.

Newborn calf. Probably a day old.

Sunday Funday

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. It is the only day we don't have meetings, practices, games, or other activities. As a result, it is typically the only day of the week we can stay home and enjoy time as a family. Last Sunday was no exception, and the unseasonably high temperatures allowed us to spend much of the day outside!

 

The boys were extremely busy. They built fences.

 

 

 

 

Hit A LOT of baseballs.

Played with the dogs and cats.

 

Groomed Clancy.

 

And just had fun!

 

 

While writing this post, I could not help but notice that William's shirt was on backward all day long! I guess that is okay because that is what Sunday Funday is all about!

Cousins

William (4), Peter (10), Bryson (4 months), MacKenzie (3 weeks), Matthew (13), Joseph (2)

Until just over four years ago, Matthew and Peter were the only grandchildren on either side of our family. While they benefited greatly by being the only grandchildren, I always wanted them to experience having cousins. Growing up, some of my best memories were made on adventures with my cousins, and I always hoped that my children would have that same opportunity.

Since August of 2010, our family has grown significantly. William was born in August of 2010, Madison was born in January of 2011, Kennedy was born in April of 2012, Joseph was born in May of 2012, Bryson was born in September of 2014, and MacKenzie was born in January of 2015. In four years, our family exploded from two to eight grandchildren! We were able to capture a photo of six grandchildren last week, and I am hopeful that we can get all eight together in March when Jodi, Madison, and Kennedy are here to visit.

I am so excited that our family is growing, and I cannot wait for my boys to make lasting memories with their cousins!

Idol

i·dol (n.) - a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.

Thirteen

Well, it has happened - we officially have a teenager in the house. I know that I am too young to have a 13 year old, so I am not sure how this is possible! Seriously though, it is difficult to fathom how this adorable little boy grew up so quickly.

Matthew - 2 Years Old

I simply cannot describe how much Matthew has matured during the last year. Over the course of the summer, Matthew transformed from a boy to a young man. He is extremely driven, smart, and strong. This has allowed him to experience significant success both academically and athletically.

Matthew is also a natural on the ranch. He is truly Toby's best hired man, and I know that Toby looks forward to the days that Matthew does not have school because it makes his life so much easier. Matthew is passionate about the cattle, the feeding routines, and can easily identify a sick calf out of a field of 300 pairs. After a recent visit to Uncle Tim's, his uncle commented that "Matthew can load a 100 pound bale of hay like a man!"

Matthew is an amazing big brother. All three of his younger brothers look up to him and try to imitate him. Matthew and Joseph truly have a special bond. There are instances when the only individual who can console Joseph is Matthew. It is very pitiful when Joseph cries - "I want my Maffew!"

We are so proud of Matthew and the young man he has become. He is compassionate, has a wonderful sense of humor, and an infectious smile. We cannot wait to see what Matthew will accomplish in the future!

October, 2014

Matthew's Birthday Party

The Magic of Christmas

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child?

 

This is what it is like...

 

 



And this...

 

Oh, and don't forget this...

 

And finally...

I had the rare opportunity to experience the magic of Christmas through the eyes of William and Joseph when Santa made an appearance at Papa Dan and Mema's house just days before Christmas. To say that the visit was amazing would be an understatement. As you can see from the photos, William and Joseph were simply enamored by Santa. They sat on his lap, visited with him, and even enjoyed an early gift from Santa. When it was time for Santa to go back to the North Pole, Joseph waved and told us all goodbye because he was going to leave with Saint Nick.

 

Thank you Papa Dan and Mema for creating this priceless memory!