Updated family photos and a bit more

    We've been long over due for updated family photos so we took a minute Sunday afternoon to make that happen. With Tanner's iPhone 10's nice camera feature we set up a tripod and timer and actually got some pretty great photos. (Apparently I was the only one messing up the photos because I kept blinking my eyes at the worst time.)

Even Smalls made it into this family photo.

Charlie

McClane was very happy about his hair.

Brock

Carter was really 'hamming it up' while we took his photo.

Isaac, always reluctant to cooperate

Mark and that hair! UGGH!

And our newest and most favorite, Beau Rae!

The Wendel's

     And developing a tradition means doing something more than once so here's our second porch/home made ice cream gathering.

Yummy ice cream and this time Andy W. made his yummy chocolate bundt cake.

    And the 3 younger kids had a fun time participating in their school's 'wolf run' and my neighbor kindly got this photo of McClane and sent it to me.

     So there's the highlights of the week. The weather is changing and I'm definitely not happy about that! Greg's garden was a total bust this summer and he didn't grow a single pumpkin so my outdoor fall decor is probably not going to happen this year.
     Our ward boundaries are changing this Sunday so we'll soon learn what ward we'll be a part of, which is going to be interesting. Change is sometimes hard but always necessary and we knew this was coming. If only we could go through and hand pick the families we'd like in our ward, ha ha.

A baby, ice cream and a heater

     We had a fun visit with baby Beau on Sunday. She just gets cuter and cuter! It was also Tanner's birthday so we felt very special that he would spend a portion of his birthday with us.

Aunt Charlie and Beau.

     Some of the neighbors decided we needed to step up our 'porching game' by adding homemade ice cream to the regular fun, it was a great addition and a perfect way to end a Sunday night.

    Sunday's visit with Beau just wasn't quite enough for me so I went to her house for a little more snuggle time a couple days later. She's seriously so SWEET!

Joey and Beau.

    And much to my dismay I felt the need to bust out the portable heater today. I hate cold weather! I'm glad I have this heater but it's not performing as well as it should so either it's got to warm back up outside or Greg's going to have to do a little maintenance on the portable heater for me.

     Now on to a quiet weekend!

At the end

     Our week didn't get very exciting until the end. I did get a quick visit with Beau early in the week but that was the only real highlight until Thursday. Thursday evening Carter finally had enough money to buy a nicer drone, something he's been eager to purchase for weeks. He found a really nice one on KSL classifieds and Greg agreed to help him make the purchase happen. He couldn't be happier with the purchase and so far it's proven to be a great buy, the guy selling the drone was super nice and had lots of accessories to go with the drone.

Isn't she just so sweet!?

One happy kid!

   Greg and Mark couldn't help testing out the new drone during their lunch break Friday.

Mark's pretty impressed!

     Then today Greg and I got to take a LONG motorcycle ride. This is the longest ride we've ever been on and it was great. (It was about 225 miles round trip.) We're definitely a little saddle sore but we saw some great scenery and learned a thing or two about making a long ride more 'bearable'. We'll definitely be attempting another long ride in the future, hopefully the near future!

Headed out of the neighborhood.

First quick pit stop.

My yummy personal pizza at the Summit Pizza restaurant in Kamas.

Pretty views.

Saw this pretty Triumph at another one of our pitstops.

More pretty scenery.

This was one of our main destinations, Mirror Lake. This was definitely a hot spot for the outdoorsy types.

Beautiful North Provo water falls. (This is no where near Provo.)

A nice couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary took this photo of us in front of the Provo waterfalls.

     So that's the highlights of our week. I'm so happy we got to go on such a fun motorcycle ride and thankfully there were no issues. There's always dumb drivers to contend with but no one too stupid that we felt our lives were threatened!

Slow week

    We've had a nice week but not that eventful. Labor Day we had an impromptu barbecue with several neighbors and as the night was winding down these great teenagers all gathered on the front porch. I love our neighborhood and the great relationships these kids share and all the fun we have with the adults in the neighborhood as well.

     And no post would be complete without a picture, or two, of our favorite baby Beau! I'm sure this picture has been viewed via other ways but I have to post it here too. She's so stinkin' cute!! I mean come on, acid wash jeans and Guns N Roses, classic!

This reminds me of photos taken of Charlie as a baby. Nothing like a hair bow over the eyes.

     Kids are still busy with school. I'm still enjoying my free hours five days a week. Greg is complaining about no rain falling. And no ones complaining about the warm days!

A fun week!

     We've enjoyed our first FULL week of school! We also had some fun activities outside of school. There was the orthodontist hosted swim party last Friday night and Charlie got to attend her friends fun Madhatter tea party last Saturday.

McClane & Charlie enjoying the free snow cones at the pool party.

Charlie at Grace B.'s Madhatter tea party with her best friend Sarah. 

   Greg and I took a Harley ride to the Harley store Saturday and Greg couldn't resist taking a seat in this weird/cool vehicle.

    Now for some sweet photos of baby Beau! Kayli, pretty much, sends me a photo of Beau at least once every day so I can see all her cute outfits. Can you imagine what life would have been like, Mom, if I'd had that as an option when I was having my kids, you would have been inundated with photos!

I think he likes her!

Close ups of that sweet face.

Fun outfits!

I bought her the dress on the left. 

   And for those of you outside of Utah, the BYU v. U of U football game was yesterday and it's kind of a big deal around these parts and wearing red can be a dangerous choice in Utah County but I took my chances and only got 'accosted' twice in a semi-negative way. No one's mean, just opinionated, ha ha. Good stuff! Good thing I love my son-in-law because I could honestly careless but I wanted to show support for his sake.

     So it's been a fun week! I'm super happy to have a three-day weekend to enjoy and especially happy that the weather is going to be nice. And of course there's always the traditional trip to Fiiz to look forward to. Life is pretty good!

Let the 2019/2020 school year commence!

     Greg and I FINALLY got out on a Harley ride!! We've definitely been neglecting the bike but any ride anytime is better then no ride ever!

We drove to Cascade Springs up American Fork Canyon.

     And no one ever says no to a trip to Fiiz! Got to love the flavored sodas!

     And if you need an excuse to avoid a service project with the Elders quorum a visit to see the new grand baby is about the best excuse you can find! You don't have to twist Joey's arm to see sweet baby Beau!

She's just the sweetest!

Beau loves her Mitch and Joey.

    Uncle Carter is pretty happy to pose with his sweet niece.

Finally another princess to add to the mix.

McClane is the BEST uncle!

Brock can't resist playing Van Halen's "Jump" whenever he sees a piano.

     Beau came to Mitch and Joey's house for the first time Sunday evening. It's hard to believe she's already a week old. (Actually nearly two weeks old now!)

    Then it was Tuesday and the first day of school for all five kids that live in this house! BEST DAY EVER!!!! I have all day to myself and it's amazing!!

Carter and the neighborhood gang chillin' on the porch before heading off to the middle school.

Isaac - 11th, Carter 9th, Brock 6th, McClane 3rd and Charlie 1st.

    And just like I've been predicting for years, my last child went off to her first full day of school and I've become a Joey, all within a week of each other, so I definitely have fun ways to spend my 'free' time.

The many faces of Beau.

   Kayli sends me regular photos and this is about the cutest thing ever! She's so tiny but she's finally fitting into a few of her little outfits.

    This is so cute! I'm pretty sure she's looking at the camera with disgust that her mom had the nerve to take her photo without a hair bow on her head.

    This was Beau's first snapchat to her Joey. I think the photos are sent to tempt me into coming over so I can snuggle her.

    Well we've survived the first week of school. I should say the kids have survived and I'm thriving! Making 5 lunches every morning isn't my favorite chore but at least there hasn't been any real homework yet. (But I know it's coming.) Here's hoping the kids can do a lot of their homework on their own.