exhausted..

Ben is quite the photographer lately. He happened to capture this and made sure to take one from both sides.

Today at church, Zack was wound up after a couple of hours in the nursery.. he was running around squealing while Aaron and I were trying to clean up. Ben came in after primary and saw Zack with a pair of sunglasses upside-down and he said, "Man, I wish I had the camera on me. Maybe we can get him to do that at home and we'll take a picture of him." Like mother, like son.

the bowling alley

This alley was FUN because the bumpers moved up and down for the kids,

but we were still able to have a real game.
I only lost by three measly pins.
I consider myself a serious bowler.. but I have yet to triumph over "Big Daddy"

The first time I ever bowled against Aaron, I was kickin' his butt...
In the tenth frame, the only way he had a shot at winning was to bowl a turkey.
And when Aaron sets his mind on something, he doesn't back down.
He bowled 3 strikes in a row to beat me-- and the rest is history.
Someday I will have my sweet victory.. sadly, today was not that day.

he's an official, real-life attorney!

This afternoon Aaron took the official oath of an attorney
and was sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court.

Some would say it was a typical boring ceremony, but I loved every minute of it. We got a sitter for the kids and headed downtown, just the two of us. These are big official ceremonies-- where the whole extended families and their dogs can attend. (actually, I don't think pets were allowed..) Anyway, it was a little weird being the only one in the cheering section for Aaron, considering how large our families are and the extent of our support group. But today it was just us and it was such an awesome experience. I walked away feeling spiritually uplifted and SO proud of my man. I am sure all of the new attorneys have worked hard to get to this point, but I wondered how many had spouses (not to mention three little boys at home!) As Aaron took the oath, it seemed almost similar to the temple ceremony. I was emotional during it all.. I feel so grateful to have such a hard working, honest husband. He is so full of integrity and the world needs more attorneys like him. Today was a big day for our family! We did it! Years of studying, working and raising our kids has finally paid off... but this is just the beginning of our long journey. I am so looking forward to whatever comes our way.

Aaron has a job with an excellent firm in Vegas and we are so excited to enter in the "real world" (with a real paycheck) He's not starting for 2 weeks!! which gives us more time to celebrate. We are contemplating a family trip to Chicago-- are you ready for visitors, B&K? It's either the windy city or Disneyworld...... and we've been there, done that.

Tagged..... here we go....

My BFF, Karlin, tagged me (www.kesslerkrew.blogspot.com)

THE FACTS about me...strange or not ~

1. I love blogging and I am so grateful to have something so convenient and user-friendly. For years I have been searching for an easy web page... and no kidding, I have about 15 family websites.. you name it, I have tried it. I was the queen of sending out monthly massive emails with updates of our kids and now I don't have to overload anyone's email accounts! I love it. I also love keeping in touch with all my gal pals and coming in contact with long lost friends. Blogging is simply the best.

2. My absolute favorite treat is little pebble ice.. you know the delicious kind from Sonic? It's known as "celestial" ice in my house. Every time Aaron wonders what to get me for my birthday or mothers day, I ask for a fridge with a celestial ice maker. Do they even make them? I can't wait for the day....

3. I don't like to be tickled. In fact, I hate to be tickled. Ben also inherited this hatred..

4. I can eat/drink really hot things without getting burned... (temperature hot, not spicy hot.) I don't know if I have ever burnt my tongue before. My family thinks it's a super power... but it's actually a curse. I constantly serve my kids things that are too hot for them, but I don't realize it. And now they don't trust me when I say "it's not too hot, I promise." My boys are always blowing on their food... and I believe Zack's first word was "HOT!" My poor kids.

5. Ever since I was a little girl, I have had very vivid dreams. I always remember them after I wake up. Most of them are totally crazy and wild-- others are more spiritual and sentimental. Some odd ones have come true years later and others have really helped me through hard times. Lately, in my dreams I am yelling at people.. like really chewing them out. I do not have a temper, but maybe I should be thinking about anger management classes.

6. I don't know the words to any songs... or the artists, for that matter. But that doesn't stop me from singing my own versions. I would be so terrible at those new lyric game shows.

7. My mom knew I was going to marry Aaron at least a year before I did. She says the first time she saw him, she knew. This makes us laugh because she honestly says that when she first saw him, she "thought he was one of the three Nephites." I married a good man, but whoa... not that righteous! Anyway, this fact isn't really about me-- but it's funny and I wanted to share.

People I tag.. (I hate doing this... so if you don't have time, don't feel the pressure!)

1. Katie (www.clawsonfam.blogspot.com)

2. Terica (www.simplybreathtaking.blogspot.com)

3. Andrea (www.paxfam.blogspot.com)

4. Amelia (www.davieshandsacross.blogspot.com)

5. Sara (www.lakelove.blogspot.com)

6. Janessa (www.janessaben.blogspot.com)

7. Alison (www.aliboop.blogspot.com)

welcoming NOVEMBER

Today started out with double bubble and donuts for breakfast..
The day after Halloween is always a little hard.
the kids are hyper from all the candy and
mom and dad are worn out from all the partying.
I had a feeling it was going to be a not-so-good day.

But I was SO wrong.

After our healthy breakfast, we headed to the park for a bike ride.
It was beautiful outside and we thought it might be warm enough to SWIM.
Boy, was it ever. We packed a lunch and headed to the pool.
2 hours later (with the boys exhausted) we headed home for a nap.

Now that's what I call a great NOVEMBER afternoon.