Sunday, August 3, 2008

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! :)

Saturday, August 2, 2008

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!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Awfully far from home, ain't ya, Bambi?

Imagine my surprise when I looked out our back window
and found THIS face staring back at me!
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Silly, I KNOW, but I grabbed for my camera and yelled for the boys to come see... Quick!

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It's not evra dayee that us city kidz see wahld critterz a-wanderin' though our yard
a-munchin' on our them-thar bushes-a-owrz!
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We live a good several miles from the eastside foothills where they usually frequent, after all.
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So we had a few magical minutes watching them, watching us!
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And pardon my non-deer-saavy- lingo, but there were 2 young bucks
hanging out up on our back rock-wall... (Look close!)
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Note the big 5-pointed horns/antlers on the far right, in the shade... he was the "look-out", I think.
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I jokingly told Kaden to go get his new cross-bow and we'd eat this guy for dinner...
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You should have seen his face... I thought he was going to cry!
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(Yeah... we're a bunch of softies... NOT a drop of Hunter-blood amongst us!)
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This little fawn wandered and galloped all over the place! Soooo cute!
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Trevan wanted to go out and pet it!
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And didn't understand why it ran away when he climbed into the window to get a closer look... City Slickers! I guess they have a few things to learn! :)