And...

He's a Graduate!!! With a Masters In Health Science. Which means he just has to take the National Boards and he will become a CRNA!!! One more month to go until that test, and then we will officially be done! Here he is walking in with his class to the graduation ceremony.

There he goes, hood in hand, cap and gown on! So exciting!

Here he is standing up and taking the oath as a Health Care Professional in the Anesthesia Field.

And here he is after being hooded and shaking hands with the Dean.

And there he goes, an official graduate.

I can't even express how proud of him I am. He worked so hard. He deserves so much in his life! All the graduates followed bag pipers and the three flags. It was incredible.

And the only picture I have of us together. Terrible. He has his eyes closed. And well, I look pregnant. And I most certainly am not.

In fact I wore these clothes home and when my oldest son saw me he said, "Mom, why are you wearing those clothes. They are crazy." Here he is with my parents. (Yes, they are the ones with ten kids, and yes, they look like they are our age... I sure hope I get those genes!)

And here we are with His parents.

Thanks so much to everyone who supported us along this incredibly hilarious journey in our lives! We truly could not have done it without you! It's been one heck of a ten year period, and we are so glad it's done... Bring on the future...

Oh and as a funny side note. We were on our way to a formal dinner that his school held for the graduates the night before graduation. We are all dressed formal, it's 120 degrees outside, and... the tire blows. Are you kidding? Really, that happened. So in his suit Eli changed the tire in 120 degree weather on the side of the freeway. We got to the dinner, everyone went to shake his hands. He held them out and we got some pretty funny looks. So he went in the bathroom, composed himself, and 45 minutes later, we were there ready to have fun! And well, the both of us just laughed. Because of course that would happen to us. So happy graduation to my husband... now we have to come up with $350.00 more dollars that we don't have to buy two new tires for his present! Isn't life grand sometimes?

We wanted to visit friends but it ended up being so fast, and we headed out right after graduation because Eli was ready to see the boys. He hasn't seen them since Easter! And he sure did miss them, and they missed him!

Crayon Wreath For My Door and For Their Teachers

I've seen these floating around pinterest and decided to give it a try and put my spin on it. You can see different versions that I also love here, here, here, here, and here. You get the idea. Just google Crayon Wreath, there are millions of different versions. So I am going to add mine to the world wide web!

Let's get started, shall we? Grab two embroidery hoops. One 9-10 inches, the other one 4-5 inches. Separate the hoops. You only need the outer one with the clasp. Set the other two aside for a future project. Take the smaller hoop and place it directly in the middle of the larger one.

Then grab your crayons and your hot glue and start gluing. I just put two dots on each of the embroidery hoops where the crayon lays. I also make sure the Crayola sign is facing perfectly up.

Then start going around in a circle. Place the ends of the crayons directly next to each other but space the crayon tips a little distance apart.

Just keep grabbing and gluing. I used an 84 pack of crayons. This is one section from them.

And here is two sections.

And three sections.

And four sections. Funny thing was I made three wreaths. Two of them I only had one crayon left over but one of them I had five. Not sure how I pulled that off.

To line them up the same and make sure they fit correctly I placed the bottom black line on each crayon even with the inside edge of the smaller hoop.

And for my wreath, because I'm a little OCD, I glued the colors on in hues going with the color wheel.

You can now add some decor if you like. Scissors, pencils, erasers, glue, and rulers would all be fun. I laid it out. And then decided I didn't want any. But here it is laid out in case you decide you like it  better with. I did get small chalkboard from the craft store and glued one extra crayon across the corner of it.

Then grab 1 1/2 yards of ribbon. Cut the ends into upside down v-shapes.

Either frey check the ends or burn them with a lighter to set the edge.

Then slide the two ends into the middle crayon where the hoops go together. Put one end on each side.

Turn the wreath over carefully and pull the ribbon through.

Pull the ends until there is 5-6 inches left in a loop above the wreath. Make sure both ends of the ribbon are the same length.

Then I slide on my chalkboard. Put it on both of the ribbons coming through the front.

Take each end of the ribbon and lay it out flat to the side.

Take the right one and loop it so the loop is on the end of the crayons.

Repeat with the other side.

Then take the right loose end and loop it again. This time making it 2-3 inches shorter than the first loop.

Repeat with the other side.

Take the two sides and tie them together in a knot in the middle.

Slowly pull the large loops on the bottom on each side until they are tight.

Then pull the top loops until they are tight.

Write the teachers name on the chalkboard and you have a fabulous gift for your teacher!

Or write Back 2 School for a fun wreath for your front door!

Let me know if you give it a try or if you've seen another fun version that you love that I've missed!!! And hurray three cheers for school starting...

P.S. I'm almost set up and ready to go to start college once we move when the new semester starts in January. So excited that it's my time now! I've been so patient for the last ten years to finish my degree. (I've got a long way to go I only have a year and a half under my belt... ack...and I'm sure none of those classes will count for anything anymore... but here's to hoping!)

The Last Week Of Summer

Wow. Summer went super fast. The last week of summer the water heater my parents just put in a few months ago decided to break. All the water just poured out the bottom. But never fear. My mom and I got it under control. My dad replaced it with another one, (Yes it was a free replacement) and the boys had a new toy! If I would have known 8 years ago what boys are really like I would have a playroom with  boxes, duct tape, scissors, paper, metal vegetable steamers, kitchen gadgets, and tools. It keeps them entertained for hours. They locked each other in the boxes and then stood them straight up so the person inside was on their head. And then they had to try to get out!

And while the oldest two did that Ledger played in the pool. 

My brother, my sisters, and I have been trying to get Rylek to ride his bike without training wheels for the last two summers. He absolutely refuses. Then this little silly guy got on his bike today and did this. With no help at all. And he is now riding all over the place like he's been riding his bike for years.

Then in the middle of the week we got to go to my nephews fourth birthday party! Complete with a super fun pinata! And yes, this is the only picture I ended up taking that night. Who knows where my brain was? 

The next night my cousin got married to a fabulous gal and we attended their beautiful wedding reception. I don't have a full head to toe look but I went looking like this. 

Which apparently made people think I'm a hippie now. LOL. It's alright the bride and groom stole the show anyways! Just how it should be. Look how amazing. And the decorations were just scrumptious. 

And this little guy didn't realize it but he came decked out in their wedding colors and fit right in. (Sorry Jess for blurring out your face... however... if it was mine... I'd want it blurred out too... you know those pictures where you are staring into space? Yes, it was one of those... and you are way more gorgeous than it gave you credit for... love you, girl!) 

Then the following day I met up with my two fabulous cousins at the park. The kids played in the water rivers and then before we left we headed on over to the rides. Much to my surprise they all wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. I knew my oldest two would love it, but I thought my youngest would hate it. I was wrong. 

My sister went with Ledger. He wasn't tall enough to go without an adult. And well, circles make me vomit. And that's to put it nicely. I would have been sick the rest of the day. No thanks. 

When my sister and Ledger came around the top. I was shocked. Are you kidding? Hands totally up in the air and a huge grin on his face. I fully expected him to be in tears. He was having a blast though! 

And Rylek and Brizden seemed less than thrilled. They said they had fun, they just didn't appear to be having a party in their chair!

The next day. whoosh. Have I lost you yet? It was a whirlwind of a week. We had pack meeting. We went up the canyon and had dutch oven desserts. And please. Don't mind the boys. They dress themselves. And I think it's great unmatching, and all in yellow! That's the way we roll.

Oh forget about it. Who needs a normal picture anyways. These ones pretty much some up my crew of boys. But we tried standing. Hoping it would be better. 

This is the best one. And it's hardly great. But it makes me laugh. Because it is totally each one of my  boys to the t! Man I love them. 

And here is what I look like in action. All crazy talk den leader I am. Don't mind, I'm doing a cheer. "We think you're grate, grate, grate!" 

And Brizden. He received a lot of awards. He earned 5 silver arrow points, and the leave no trace award, and a bunch of belt loops and badges from camp! I'm so proud of him! It's fun to be his leader! (And who knows what cheer I'm doing here... but I swear I'm not flexing my lack of muscles...) 

Then it was Friday. And we took off up to the cabin again. My boys went on a walk with my parents, and I stayed behind. When they came back home they each had a bouquet of wild flowers for me. Man how I love them... they treat me so well... (even if I say other wise when I'm less than thrilled with their behaviour.) 

My favorite thing in the entire world happens to be wild flowers. And I love them from my cabin even more... So many memories...

While we were up at the cabin all the boys came down with a case of the dots. 

The Target Dots to be exact. 

While the older kids shot the BB Guns, the younger kids decorated themselves with the dots that repair the targets. They were so funny. And yes, I encouraged and started the behaviour. Hey, what can I say? I'm pretty much just a great big kid when I'm relaxed and enjoying myself. 

These two cousins are best of friends. Maxx and Ledger. I just don't know what they are going to do without each other once we move. They are both going to be so sad. 

Ohhhh. Stole me heart... 

And this makes my heart melt even more. They love this girl. Charlie Ann has turned my boys into soft lovey little guys. They are begging me for a girl... If only I could give them one... I think I'd like it too! 

We were getting ready to go and loading the cars. I took the box we use as a target and went to put it away in the shed. When I got to the door, I looked down and their was a bunch of screws and stuff on the ground. It made me wonder why they were there. And then I heard giggling coming from inside. I opened the door and this is what I found. 

They were so proud of themselves. They had no clue how dangerous they were being. I told them, and Maxx, being the smart little genius he is, said "Shannon, it's okay. I put the bucket of nails at the bottom of the ladder to be safe so it won't fall." Hmm... Smart thinking... 

As I was coming back around the cabin I noticed alot of buzzing around. I opened the latch to the propane shed and found this little beauty. Okay it's a HUGE one. And next time we come up it will be coming down. No bee stings around here thank you very much. (Being allergic to bees is a pain in the rear...) 

Before we left we had to stop by the old broken down tractor to take some photo's. Ledger was in heaven because it's yellow. 

Once Brizden got up in he realized there was bees everywhere inside, so we opted to take the pictures outside of the tractor instead.  The boys are going to treasure these photo's once we move. 

I already do. Look at these two. My little guys. Who aren't so little anymore.

On the way home, we jammed out to some Neil Diamond. I wanted to fall asleep. But the boys apparently like their Grandma's taste in music. 

I know it's sideways, but here's proof of his mad dancing skills.

Wow. That's a wrap. We had a blast the last week of summer. I think we filled it as full as we could have!

And just a side note. I'm not allowing anonymous comments anymore... I'm tired of being lectured on my English and grammar skills, I'm tired of plain rude comments, and I'm tired of punches to the gut. I hope you understand.