Ok it's seriously time to brag!

So this is WAY Over due. It is so time for a little brag session about my amazing husband. This last week he graduated with his bachelors in Accounting! I am so proud of him and all the hard work he put into his classes. I also have to note he won an award from the Accounting department and I got to go to the breakfast they had to honor him and a few others and meet some of his teachers, all of which LOVED him!







We had the WHOLE family there for the ceremony where he received his diploma cover, the kids thought his hat was pretty cool.


I can hardly believe it's over. When we moved here I thought it would take for ever and yet here we are done and in search of work.

Todd's parents were able to come out as well as mine.

Again babe, I couldn't be prouder. All the time and energy you put into your classes and doing your best just make this whole experience that much more worth it. I haven't ever regretted moving here so you could go back to school and it's going to be so hard to say good-bye when the time comes. But I know you'll continue to wow me where ever we go and to what ever job you'll be doing.

Soccer

Soccer has begun here for the first time here at the Crabtree home. Quinton and Weiland were both excited to play when the time came. So the first practice was a learning experiance for both since niether had played before. Quinton did pretty good to stick with it while Weiland spent most of his time at the water jug and even left before practice was done. This should have been an indicator of how the games were going to go. Game one: both boys still trying to figure this out, Quinton is not very aggresive so doesn't like to get in the jumble of kids trying to kick the ball, but does great when it's just him and the ball. Wei can get in there and kick it but mostly wanders.

Second game they had enough players that two needed to sit out and be rotated in. Weiland once pulled out never went back in, hence the end of Wei's soccer career for now, which is ok, soccer isn't for everyone. Quinton scored two goals in the second game and you could tell he understood much better this time and will get better each game. I think Wei would be better suited for T-ball next time so we'll give that a try when the time comes. It's just fun to go and watch the boys have fun and kindergarten/1st grade soccer is quite amusing!

boys getting ready to go (they wore their shin guards daily since they day I brought them home)

Boys with Ryker, he had a game on the same field just before the boys game.

Weiland liked to kick off or throw the ball in.

This is how Weiland spent most of the game, everyone needs a little entertainment right?

The fun things I get to do with my boys and looking forward to lots more!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a FUN 4th of July!

Our day started with the annual parade and we had great seats again this year.

Kids waiting for it all to start

Conner, Taylee, and Ryker (it's always more fun to do this with family!)

Ellie

Quinton

Weiland

Holland and Brynlee

This was one of the coolest floats in the parade, our local grocery store.

Holland enjoyed the grass more than anything, and no matter how many times I moved the blanket to hide the grass she'd always pull it back to find it again. I admit she probably ate some.

A parade in Rexburg wouldn't complete with out the tractors.

Todd is feeling the crunch of the end of the semester and so brought his homework with him, hey at least he was there. (he wasn't on it the whole time)

Now between the parade and the fireworks we had a fun family BBQ at my sisters with both my sisters and their families. And I did bring my camera but didn't snap a single picture, shame on me!

Later that evening we went to our annual neighborhood fireworks show, nothing too big we all just do our fireworks together for a better show. We did have some pretty cool ones to watch this year.

Dad and his girls

Ellie putting on her own show while we waited for it to get dark

Here we go,

Holland did exceptionally well with the fireworks. She stayed awake through the whole thing, not that she could have really slept. She'd jump when they'd go off but loved watching them in the sky. No crying through the whole thing!

Ellie on the other hand didn't like the noise. That's her, the lump in the blanket. Eventually Todd got her to come out and sit with him but she kept her hands over her ears the entire time. At the end we had a bit of a hard time convincing her that the noise was over and that she could take her hands down.

We had a great day with family and friends!
Hope you all had a wonderful 4th!!

Loyalty

As I watched my kids play this morning and over heard a few mean comments from both my kids and others I realized how important family loyalty is to me. I want my kids to have each other for support. I want my kids to stick up for each other. I want my kids to know that there siblings won't talk bad about them to their friends and that they'll defend them from others who don't speak kindly of them.

But I want it to go further than that. I want them to know that I'll never complain or talk bad about them to my friends or other family members. I want them to know they can trust me and what I'll say about them no matter what they've done in their life, especially when they're older.

My dad gave us a book when we got married that I have read a few times and need to read many times more. It's the "7 Habits for Highly Successful Families" by Steven Covey. In his book he talks about family loyalty and it's something I want very much for my family.

I want my husband to know I'll never say negative things about him to anyone and I'll defend him as well. I want my kids to know I'll also never say negative things about them to others and I'll defend them from others as well. I also want my siblings and parents and siblings-in-law, and parents-in law, that I'll never complain about you or talk negatively about you to another sibling or parent and that I'll defend you when needed.

If you haven't read this book I highly recommend it. There are a lot of things that made me stop and think about the way I treat others and how others see things.

Thanks for listening/reading my ramblings but this is something that I want in my life, Family Loyalty.