SEP-TEM-BER!!!!

By September, football season is in full swing, preparations are happening for the last birthday of the year for the kids (whew) and we are trying to get in the swing of school and stuff.  This year, September also brought another addition to our family, Baby West, and some good times by the pool.  I absolutely love that the weather stays warm here for so long.  September is when the heat starts getting a little more bearable, and the combination of wind and shade can get a tiny bit chilly but I will take it.

Delaney joined us for the Desert Hills v Kanab game.  She wasnt really sure who to cheer for but it all turned out fair.  Freshman football has proven to be very different than little league in the sense that they really hold the athletes to a high standard and expect them to be responsible and dedicated in representing their sport and the school.  Braiden did a great job keeping up his grades and being a team player.
Braiden's family are his biggest fans.  The kids are still a little more interested in running around under the bleachers and raiding the snack stand than they are in the game but I think eventually they will come around.  Max has shown a particular interest in football. I am even getting pretty good at understanding football and rather enjoy it, even if I have to do time in the concessions stand a couple times during the season.  I especially love watching my son do something he really loves.  

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September 10th was Cameron's 6th birthday!  His party this year was kind of a last minute, thrown together thing since we just moved to a new place and really didn't have any friends to invite.  Luckily, however, Cameron isn't quite at the stage of caring what his party is as long as it consists of games, pizza and his family (wouldn't it be nice if it stayed that way forever?) so Pirate Island Pizza saved the day again!  Braiden invited a couple of his buddies, we had my mom and Ray and the rest of the family...wallah!  A perfect 6 year old party!

Ok, so I will be the first to admit that this looks scandalous, at best.  Don't be fooled, we are good girls. But...that's what I love about these ladies.  For my trip to Salt Lake in September the company paid for a hotel and you better believe we took FULL advantage of those accommodations and amenities.   The ladies came and joined me for an evening of food, fun and hot-tubbing.  I hope that we will forever be able to act like teenagers. It will be the only thing that keeps me young...and sane. 

Next up!  Baby West Joe Watson was born to Ben and Jenice on September 16th.  He was a whopping 6lbs 7oz and 18.5 inches long.  Just a widdle guy.  He has the cutest little chin.  Ben and Jenice's babies are very squishy..  I just love my little "Squishies".

We spent pretty-much every weekend at the park and the pool that we could.  All three of the little kids were able to really sharpen their swimming abilities, even Max.  He still requires floaties, but he isnt afraid to get in the pool and just kick around all by himself.  That could be a bad thing too but he is well on his way to becoming a little fishy. 

September's Favorite Selfies and Randoms

(I AM ALMOST CAUGHT UP!! WOOT!!)

August 2013- Good times

August was a fun month.  Another busy month consisting of family reunions, new arrivals, fun times with friends, great entertainment, HOT weather and, of course, my birthday!

We were invited to Pleasant Grove to my mom's cousins home to celebrate my great-aunts 80th birthday.  They had a horse for the kids to ride and we were able to visit with some of my moms side of the family that we haven't seen in years.  It was a very nice event.

Great Uncle Gary, Aunt Joy, Aunt Jonia and my Grandmother Elaine.

Baby Quincee made her way into the world in early August.  We were all very happy to see her and I gladly will share my birth month with her. She spent the first few hours of her life in the NICU but soon was out and doing very well. Now she is 3 months old and as sweet as can be.  I love that my sisters are still having babies so I can get my fix. 

I stopped in for a visit with Ben and Jenice and my little nephew McCoy. He wants to be just like his daddy who is a police officer. What a funny kid.

We learned quickly that everything happens a little earlier in St George.  School began for the kids on August 14th this year...just in time for mom and dads sanity.

An Excellent trip to Lagoon!

We rarely go to the water park portion of Lagoon but decided to take full advantage of the beautiful day and great weather AND get the most out of our money.  The kids had a great time.

Our good friends, the Webbs, saw that we were at Lagoon (thanks to Facebook) and decided to come and join us.  It was a quite pleasant surprise for the day.  They are fellow amusement junkies and know how to have a good time better than anyone I know.

Football season officially kicked off in August.  Braiden had some good times this year with the Desert Hills Thunder, made some great buddies and still loves the game so all is well.  I can gladly say that football season has come to an end, but I know it will come again. More on football to come.

Birthday Shenanigans

August 24th marked my 36th birthday.  This year I was joined for lunch by a few of my favorite people. 

Eric surprised me with a quick trip to Vegas to see the Celine Dion show.  It was so cool.  Of course, we had to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, as I do every year.

August's Favorite Randoms and Selfies

July really is the HOTTEST month of the year

My goal is to get this blog up to date by the end of November.  I am not far off.  July, August, September, and October were only slightly slower (not really, but in comparison to May and June, it has felt like a vacation).

To begin July, I should mention that we made the official move to St George over the 4th of July weekend.  My grandma has been kind enough to let us live in her basement while Eric is job-hunting and until we can find something more permanent.  At the exact same time that we made the move, I made the official transition to a new position at work that took me from a management responsibility to a more development-related position for the same company, which, most-importantly, allowed me to move to St George and work out of the office here.  There was A LOT happening at the same time. With Paige's baptism at the end of June and having to vacate my mom and ourselves from my moms house (where we were bunking for 2 months) the same weekend, we were frazzled to say the least. Finally getting here kind of felt like a relief.

So now, three quarters of our belongings are in a storage unit in St George (still) and the other quarter is split between my sister's basement in Eagle Mountain and here in my Grandma's basement.  It's kind of crazy and we definitely DO feel packed in like sardines at times, but overall, we know we are supposed to be here. The pace of life and outdoor centered community is just what we needed. Transition is always hard, but we will survive.

With my new position at work, I have had to be willing to travel back to the South Jordan office in order to train and integrate with my new team so I spent half of July in South Jordan while Eric and the kids were in St George.  There was a lot of traveling, a lot of back and forth, a lot of new stuff to learn and new things to get used to, not only at work but with life in general.  We love it here in Southern Utah.  Its a new kind of beautiful that I have learned to really appreciate.  The weather here is pretty HOT and unbearable for a couple months in the summer and I miss my family and friends like crazy...but overall, I would trade 6 months of cold and darkness for a couple hot months in a second and my people are a simple 4 hour drive away.  So that's where we are.  Also, GRANDMA HAS A POOL!!!

Here is July in pictures.

Whitney and Ashton invited us to spend the day with the Parry Clan in Heber on the 4th of July.

On one of my stays I met up with all the siblings for a Texas Roadhouse dinner.  This actually was supposed to be a "Girls Night" but my brother got wind and he decided to come in place of his wife.  It was a nice surprise.

The Tooth Fairy went broke in July.  Cam managed to lose 2 teeth, one day apart. Ew!

Delaney came to visit us one day and gave Braiden a tattoo.  Uh, well, sorta.

My sweet nieces Abby and Baylee both have July birthdays (along with their mom) so we were able to go back up to go to their awesome birthday party, complete with pinata and blow up water slide.

Swimming, Swimming and more swimming.  Gotta keep cool in that July heat.

July's favorite randoms...

...and lots of selfies.

I love these guys.