Home Stretch?

Yep... it's official...

I caught myself waddling today. Actually "waddling".

(Which I typically make a conscious, concentrated effort NOT to do!)

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We must be on the Home-stretch...

Just over 5 weeks until Baby... WOW! I have a LOT to do!

St George Underwater

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Don't worry Ross and Liz...Greg was in good hands with us in St.George! Glad we ran into him to keep him safe and out of trouble! Ross, do you have a policy on Greg? :)

Soldier of Truth and Righteousness...

For Family Home Evening tonight,

Trevan taught us about putting on the whole "Armor of God",

as taught in the Bible by Paul...

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We talked about each piece and what it represents as he put it on

and then had fun tossing "Fiery Darts" at him (aka: orange and yellow markers)

as we shouted different "temptations" and he deflected them with his

"Shield of Faith" , "Breastplate of Righteousness" and "Sword of the Spirit" .

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The boys said this was the best FHE ever!

(If you have boys, you can pick up these plastic dress-up Armor sets at most Costume shops for about $10... )

A-MAZ-ing Race...

One word... WOW!

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Yeah... it truly was THAT incredible!

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If you missed this, you MUST watch it!

Click here...

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We cheered... We celebrated... We watched it over and over... truly history in the making!

It made us proud to be Americans!

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GO TEAM USA!

Squaw Peak...

So we followed this...

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And ended up here... At the top of the World!

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(Well, okay... the top of Provo/Utah Valley at least!)

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Kade & Trev have never seen the entire cityscape before and were in awe...

Trevan asked if it was bigger than New York City...

(Uuhhhh... not quite, Buddy!)

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But pretty, still the same!
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I'm not much of a Landscape Photographer,

but I had fun taking a few shots of the beautiful view...

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The clouds were so cool!

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The boys and I were actually the "Designated Drivers/Shuttle"

for Matt's Priest's Quorum, who biked one of the trails tonight for their YM Activity.

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What a bunch of tough guys...

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Matt and Len, their "Fearless Leaders"...

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And check out this HOTTIE! Woot-woo!

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My Man has become quite the Night Rider, lately!

He usually goes biking up the Canyon several evenings a week (2-4)

and loves scoping out new trails to try with his buddies.

(They actually ride with helmet lamps late at night! So fun for them!)

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And of course, as we shuttled back up to get the other cars,

I couldn't resist taking a few more photos of the gorgeous night-time view...

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A rare sight for me, that he enjoys all the time...

I'm going to have to get him to let me tag along more often!

Great to be 8!

Kade-o had his Annual Well-Child Check-up this morning...

He's growing like a weed!

53 inches tall...

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and 56 pounds...

(Stringbean... He still has a few to gain back from being sick a couple weeks a go...)

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He has perfect eyes...

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And seems healthy as can be!

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Yea! He's 8 and feelin' great!

Sigh... pretty feet...

Thanks to Cheryl for squeezing me in to her already busy schedule

and giving me a good excuse to indulge in Lunch and a Pedicure this afternoon...

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(Wait...who am I kidding? I can't even reach my feet... isn't THAT an excuse at this point?

And, honestly, I never need an "excuse", anyway, do I?!)

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Cheryl's French Toes turned out just darling... I am totally jealous!

I can't WAIT to be able to do them again!

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(I, on the other hand, am still growing out a bruised big toenail that went completely purple

after I stubbed it really hard last Spring. I have had to do a darker color to cover it for over a year!

But it is almost done. Yea! ...So maybe next time!)

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So thanks to this dear and wonderful woman, who is solely (no pun intended!) responsible

for my always beautifully maintained feet...

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Kristi Liam at ProNails has been doing my Gel-Pedicure monthly(-ish) for nearly 3 years now and trust me... She is the BEST! AND I just adore her!

Good CLEAN fun!

While were were picking up this morning,

I handed Trevan a pile of his laundry to take to the Laundry Room

and told him to go put it in the Washer, so I could start a load.

He disappeared down the hallway.

A few minutes later, I found that same pile in a heap on the Laundry Room floor...

Rolling my eyes, I picked it up to finish the job.

As I opened the lid to the Washer, I nearly hit the ceiling...

I literally about peed my pants as he popped out and said, "Boo!"

(It would have been the funniest video!)

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Just for laughs, we repeated the trick, this time on an unsuspecting older brother...

Same result... Kaden about had a heart attack!

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We are still laughing!

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What a little stinker!

How is it possible?

I put a toy sword to Kaden's chest this afternoon and said jokingly,
"Hello.... My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my Father... Prepare to die."
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He looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "Mom... What are you talking about?"
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I realized with horror that my boys had NEVER seen the best movie of all time!
Never even heard of it!
A travesty! I could not believe it!
We rushed upstairs to remedy that little problem... right away!
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I quickly introduced them to Wesley and Buttercup...

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Two hours later, I breathed a sigh of relief...
And, as I knew they would, they'd LOVED it!
(Really... Pirates, a Fire Swamp, sword-fighting, a giant, The Pit of Despair... what's NOT to love?)

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They spent the rest of the afternoon dressed in black chasing each other around with plastic swords and really bad spanish accents! :)

Kaden's Perfect Day!

There are few days that actually qualify to be called "perfect"...

This was one of them for our family!

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Kaden had a wonderful Baptism

surrounded by family and friends who love him

who came to show their love and support of his decision.

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Here's a look at his darling invitations... I loved how they turned out!

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He and his Daddy looked so handsome all dressed in white together!

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The men who stood in the Priesthood Circle to help confirm him...

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What an awesome group of incredible guys!

(Back Row: (Left to Right)- Dear Friend/Home Teacher Ross Schofield, Daddy Matt, Grandpa Joe Cotton, "Uncle Pete" Ron Kaas

Front Row: (Left to Right)- Kade's Idol Greg Schofield, Cousin Jeff Bench, Man of the Hour Kaden Staker, Grandpa Larry Staker, Cousin Kelly Kaas

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Kaden with "honorary" big sister, Alli...

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And favorite Babysitter, Cassie...

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And here's a peek at my latest "little project"...
A couple of weeks ago, I was looking around for a Baptism Book for him.

I couldn't find one I "loved" anywhere, so I decided to make one for him.

An afternoon Photo Session and a couple of sleepless weeks later... wah-lah!

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It has been so fun to do and I hope it will be a treasured keepsake from his momentous day!

I am so grateful for everyone who helped and offered input!
Thanks to all the Grandmas and Grandpas who took time to send their kind words and testimonies for Kaden. And thanks to my friends who shared their ideas... I knew what I "wanted" to do and had my outline, rough draft and most of the photos done, but it was nice to have input before I finalized my layout and designs! So a special thanks to Shannon Taylor and Gretchen Knell, both friends who's Baptism Books I borrowed, and Heather Gibb, a fellow-photographer (who collaborated on Gretchen's book), who I borrowed a couple "shot ideas" from at the last minute! They were the perfect finishing touch! Thanks, Ladies! I loved your creativity and it sure helped to inspire mine!
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Thanks so much to everyone who came to share this special day with Kaden and our family...

We are so proud of you Kaden!
You are an incredible young man... We love you and are so happy you made this great decision.
We loved sharing your "perfect" day with you!