This is a picture of one of the gorgeous PA sunsets we are graced with most every evening. The sky turns a brilliant pink and we never get over how beautiful it is. Our niece, Sara, and her husband, Jonathan, came over for dinner last week. She ran in and said "I need your camera!" Then she ran outside and took this picture. Thanks, Sara!

Kelsey

My mom is just so busy that she doesn't get to blog too often, even though I know she loves it! So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and give you a little update! Basically, what has been going on is sports, sports, sports! I ( by the way, this is Kelsey) have been playing Jr. High volleyball like crazy! I am captain and I start outside hitter. We had a tournament on Saturday, and we were undefeated until the championship game where we lost! I was so mad because I knew we could beat the other team! We had already beaten them earlier in the tournament, so I was especially angry! Seth has been doing great. He signed up for basketball, football, and ultimate frisbee at BYU-I. He was also just set apart as the ward greeter and he is on the Proclaim My Gospel committee. He is having a great time out west! Brooke has been playing soccer non-stop. She starts middle midfield and is awesome! She loves it and was so mad when her team lost their first game by one goal! Jake is a great football player and starts the seventh grade team as a linebacker. Gideon plays football too. He is a monster, and everyone thinks he is going to be amazing when he grows up! Savanna has started preschool and is having so much fun. She loves being able to do crafts whenever she wants and is in seventh heaven! Well, I guess that pretty much sums up our life, besides Dad being branch president and Mom being crazy over their new business. I hope this little update lets you know that things are going great!

It was Grandparent's Day this past Sunday so I thought I would post a little tribute to my grandparents. I feel very blessed to still have my maternal grandmother and both paternal grandparents with us. They are such wonderful people and examples in my life. I love them dearly and my kids are grateful for their great-grandparents. They all live in Dillon, MT. I grew up living smack dab in the middle of both sets of grandparents. They each lived 1/4 mile on either side of us. I'm not sure how that always worked out for my parents, but for us kids it was heaven! I could always walk, ride my bike or eventually my motorcycle to either house whenever I wanted. They spoiled us, supported us, and loved us and then sent us home. So, in honor of all grandparents and great-grandparents out there, "We love you!"

This is a picture taken when we went out to take Seth to college. Pictured are my dad, My Grandma Rebich, me, Grandpa and Grandma Taylor.

Another birthday!

Savanna turned 5 on September 6th. Our baby.... Wow! Kelsey and I went shopping for her birthday and we decided it sure is fun to shop for a little girl. We had fun picking things out for her and it was so easy. Shopping gets harder the older kids get, I believe. "Happy Birthday, Savanna!"

We happened to be having a Branch picnic on Savanna's birthday so we celebrated there a little bit. Our cousin, Sara Lawrence, has been visiting for a few weeks and she made Savanna some yummy cupcakes that she took to the picnic and she gave Savanna some cute presents. "Thanks, Sara!" At this moment Sara is on her way back to Alaska to see her commercial fisherman husband, Jonathan. We can't wait to meet him.

Happy Labor Day/Birthday!

On Monday, September 1st, it was Brooke's 17th birthday and it happened to be Labor Day as well. So, we were happy to get a day off and we went up to Centre County, PA to see our cousins for the day. We got to celebrate Brooke's B-day with great food (thanks Jen), swimming and football. It was a gorgeous day and we had a super time!

I honestly cannot believe Brooke is 17! It just shouldn't be. Brooke is such a neat girl who we are grateful to have as a daughter. "Thanks, Brooke, for being a wonderful part of our family. We love you."

It's kind of sad to see the summer coming to an end, but autumn in PA is gorgeous and I just love it, as long as it's not too cold too soon. So, happy end of summer, everyone!

Ahh, reading again....

One of the things I have missed these past few years in being so busy with life is reading. I have definately not taken enough time to read good books. So, one of the things I have decided to do with some quiet time during the day, besides catching up on numberless projects, is to read more. So, I went to the library and got three books by Jane Kirkpatrick. I love to read historical fiction, especially about pioneering people. I just finished A Sweetness To The Soul. It was wonderful! I highly recommend it. And to all you Twilight fans out there... I know, I know. I'll get to them soon. I'm not sure why I've resisted so far, but they're on my short list.

This was a bittersweet day for me this year. This is the first time in 13 years that Seth has not been in our "first day of school" picture. This is also the first time in 18 years that I am going to be home with no kids during the day because Savanna started preschool and here it's all day, everyday. I have asked her teacher to PLEASE let me volunteer. She is the first one I've sent to preschool because I've always had a hard time letting go knowing that the school will get them soon enough. But, Savanna misses the Kindergarten cutoff by 6 days and she is so ready for something new. She is going to love school! Brooke is a Junior, Kelsey's in 8th, Jacob's in 7th and Gideon's a big 2nd grader. I'm so proud of you guys! It's just hard for me to believe that I've reached this new chapter in my life where my kids are all growing up and leaving. I still feel like a kid myself sometimes. It's exciting and scary, fun and a little sad all at the same time. We also had our annual Family Home Evening where Steve gives a father's blessing to each of the kids before they head out to school and we really missed Seth then. So, in honor of Seth, I wanted to post his very first "first day of school" picture from 13 short years ago. We waited anxiously for the bus to come and I just remember being in tears after I sent him to the bus and turned around to walk back to the house. I feel like that every year with all of the kids on the first day, but then life goes on and we fall into the routine. So, this one's for you, Seth....