Feeling Guilty!

Yep - I am feeling pretty guilty for not keeping up on my blog!  This is my attempt to catch up - it is a new school year all ready!  I will have to start from last October!  Geesh!!
Right after Caden went to Homecoming, we started doing some remodeling on our house.  We just couldn't stand our carpet anymore!  Dustin worked a lot of overtime and we replaced it with new laminate.  We also bought a new rug and couches.  We found a really nice entertainment center, on KSL, and Dustin refinished it to match the new mantle he built for our fireplace.  I have to credit Dustin for working so hard both at work and at home.  Plus, he is super creative!  He has come up with alot of ideas for our home and if I have had an idea he has been able build it, fix it or change it.  Thanks honey!

BEFORE - Gross!  You can totally see where our couches were! No matter
 how many times we cleaned the carpet nothing made it look good!

AFTER





Mantle - rock on the fireplace not finished yet

Next up was Caden's 16th birthday!  We had our family parties and on my side celebrated my sister Tara's birthday too.

He also had a party with his friends.  We set up a big table in the backyard with pizza, drinks, treats, and music.  They were able to play basketball or just hang out.  Later, when it got dark and colder the kids came inside and watched a movie downstairs.  You can tell how excited some of them are to get their picture taken!  The picture below was taken before the movie.  When the movie started, Dustin and I stayed upstairs and all of a sudden it was rotating teenagers!  More kids showed up, ate and went downstairs while others would come up and leave for 5-10 minutes and then come back.  It was funny to watch but everyone said how much fun they had and I think Caden enjoyed it too. :)

Towards the end of the month, we had our traditional Halloween party at my mom's.  I didn't think Caden and Carlin would dress up but they literally put their costumes together that day.  I knew what Carlin wanted to be but when both of them walked out dressed up - we were in hysterics!  Carlin was "Facebook"  and Caden was an old school basketball player!  I don't know how but he managed to wear a pair of Carlin's basketball shorts.  Holy Cow!  The kids get to paint a pumpkin to take home and they hit at a pinata for lots of candy.  Plus we get to eat lots of food!  Good Times!

Time to catch up!!

Yes - it is 2012!  Yes - I am behind from posting many things for the end of 2011!  Yes - I need to do better!

Let's catch up shall we?

When we left off, Caden had just asked a friend of his to Homecoming!  About a week after he had asked her, I got a text from her asking if she could come decorate Caden's room.  He was just starting Fall Baseball so it worked out great that he would be gone after school.  We set up a day and she showed up, with her friend, to decorate his room.
I expected a full on trashing of his room but it was pretty tame!  Both of the girls were really cute and friendly!  They decorated it with balloons, streamers, and the glow in the dark stars that stick on the walls.  They put a sign on the front of his door and then the answer on the back of the door.  He was pretty surprised when he got home!

So, a few days later Caden was playing in his SECOND game of Fall ball.  He was playing First base, a ball was hit towards him from the Batter,  Caden scooped it off the ground and went back to First to tag the runner.  The runner hit into his gloved hand and somehow bent back Caden thumb on his right hand.  I took him to instaCare to have Xrays.  He ended up having a small hairline fracture along the base of his thumb on the inside of his hand.  No more Fall Baseball and just in time for his first dance! :( .  Because his hand was so swollen they wrapped it.  We were told to bring him back after a few days to put a cast on.

Dustin took him back to the doctor a few days later.  The doctor decided to not cast it.  Caden just needed to keep a brace on it for a few weeks to let it heal.

HOMECOMING!

     After Caden was given a "Yes" to Homecoming we had very little time to get the plans rolling.  We took him shopping for new clothes.  He was double dating with his friend Justin and his date.  They planned to take the girls to Boondocks for their day date, go home and change, pick up their dates, go to dinner and then the dance.  Since both boys couldn't drive yet, Justin's family would take and pick up for their day date and I would be driving that night.  Depending on the girl's curfews they would possibly end up back at our house to watch a movie after the dance.

     The day of the dance they headed off to Boondocks.  I told Caden to take pictures on his cell phone while they were there.  Do you think he did??? NO!  He didn't want to look stupid!  GEESH! (I told him I could be an embarrasing Mother and next time follow him around with my camera - You should have seen the look on his face - LOL).  AND wouldn't you know it some of his other friends had taken their dates to Boondocks too and were posting their pictures on FB later in the day.  Anyway, when he came home it seemed like he had a lot of fun.  He got changed for the dance and looked very handsome!

He grabbed the ticket and her corsage and off we went!  Her mother was very nice to let us come in and take pictures!  They all looked so great!

All the kids seemed nervous at first - it is a lot different to be on a date than talking to each other at school. I just laughed to myself.  When the night was over everyone agreed the dance had been awesome!

Homecoming!

Caden wanted to ask a friend of his to Homecoming - his first dance!  Now, it has been over 20 years (really???) since I have had to be creative on how to ask a person to a dance.  Caden and I came up with an idea and got to work (well Mom and Dad did - he picked out the balloons!)

Mom typed up the note



Dad typed up the small notes to be
hidden inside the ice cream. 
Dad likes to be funny and wrote about
12 for Caden to choose from.  Here are two of them!
Hillarious! (Double click on the pics to open)

 

Another two - After reading the funny ones
we were in tears from laughing so hard!



The Chosen Note!

After said note was picked; Dad laminated it, carefully softened the ice cream to slide it out of the container, slid the note in at the bottom and got the ice cream back in the container!  Don't ask me how he did it because I wasn't home and didn't see it.  But, let me tell you Dad is one creative and imaginative guy!

Leaving to drop her surprise off at her house
before she gets home!  The lighting wasn't
great but the balloons were Purple, Pink and
White which I was told were her favorite colors.



 

TO BE CONTINUED . . .



New driver on the road!

7/7/11 - Caden finally passed his Learner's Permit!  On the fourth try!  (Sorry Caden!)  Studying actually works! :).  He now has to drive his 40 hours with us and take his Driver's Ed Class when school starts!

Update - Caden has been practicing and is doing a good job!  We have our nervous moments but all in all nothing too serious!

Caden's Copper Hills Baseball season and the End of the Year Dinner

The sophomore team had a great season and we were lucky that a lot of our games were not rained out.  We were told that sometimes the sophomore games don't always get made up due to making sure that the Varsity rained out games were re-scheduled first.  So we were happy our money didn't go to waste. :)
Caden mostly played first base but he did pitch a few games.  The team's record was 6-4-1.

Every year it amazes me how much these boys improve and they really show how much they love the sport!  We have known almost all of these boys since about the age of 9 and it has been exciting to see all of them grow and excel!

The team had an end of year dinner which was really fun! The booster club had table decorations and pennants hung up around the walls that the boys could take home.  All the boys got achievement certificates  and few select got some recognition awards.  I was soooo mad because I brought my camera but no batteries!!  So I missed out on pictures at the dinner but took a few when we got home.

GO GRIZZLIES!

Caden made the Copper Hills Baseball Team!  For only being a Freshman, that is awesome! We are so excited!  Caden and nine other of his Freshman friends made the team too.  They will probably mostly play on the sophmore team and we are looking forward to this whole new experience of high school baseball!
Who would have thought my cute little boy who started playing T-ball, at age five, would grow up to be such a great ball player (and handsome too)  :)

School update!

2nd Quarter ended for the kids and time for me to brag again!  Caden earned a 3.5 grade point average and Carlin earned a 3.8!  They both made honor roll again.  We are so proud that they continue to keep up their high level of progress in school with their good grades!  I hope it is not just the monetary reward they receive when they do make honor roll that keeps them motivated.  :) 

Life is a dance, from one stage to the next . . .

Caden and Carlin signed up for social ballroom this year in school.  Carlin has really liked it, Caden not so much.  I think he thought it was going to be cooler than it turned out to be but he has been a good sport about it.  It is only a half year class so their semester performance was a Christmas/Look back through the years recital.  It was a recital with the advanced dance classes along with the social ballroom classes.  Each class was assigned a certain type of dance and that is what they performed.

Caden's class had to do the Waltz.  I am not sure what song they danced to - it didn't have words but it was very pretty!  I told him before the performance to please try to have fun and to smile :) - As you can see my request was not granted!

Carlin's class had to do the Cha Cha and they performed it to "Chain of Fools".  Before each dance, chosen students gave the audience a short speech that pertained to each dance.  Carlin was a "chosen" one and did a great job!