Thanksgiving & Family

If I had to choose my favorite thing in life. It would be family. There is no other place you can get the unconditional love, peace, & memories that are shared among family.

I am Thankful for my family!

Thursday we had Lunch at mom's.

Saturday we went to Cornville & visited the Tayrien side of the family.

Sunday Dad's birthday....More family!

Family:)

Oh, one more thing about my family. We love babies! I love that about my family:)

4 William Scotts

Here they are!

Dad's Birthday was on Sunday, Nov. 30th. Grandpa Scott showed up so we thought we'd take a picture with the four generations that were in the room!

William Eugene Scott

William Samuel Scott

William Andrew Scott

Wiliam Charles Scott

Love them all!

Picture tag

Here's how it works. Go to your computer's main "picture" file and count the fourth file in, pick the fourth photo in that group, then explained.

I'm not sure Hayley knows I have a blog, but I'll have to tell her since she's the star of this post!

This was taken last winter while it was snowing outside. Who took it? Couldn't tell you, but I am sure that I stole this off of her myspace.

Thanks for the picture Hayley....your my picture tag:p

Fun with Friends!

We played with many friends this last break.
First cousin Charles! Yea! I LOVE THIS BABY! Here are some current pictures of Andy and Jessica's little one!

Second, we went and played in Coolidge. It's not often that we get to travel on a whim, but the trip was free, and the time was right, so we did! Gwen doesn't get to play with these friends often, but she talks about them alot! I also baby sat for 5 hours, three days in a row, 5 kids under the age of 6! Talk about a loud house! Holy Moly! They were good, I got lots done, and Gwendalyn had a blast! She enjoyed being able to play outside in the morning and not be cold!


We both enjoyed our visit to Aunt Donnie's house on our way there! She is one of Gwen's favorite people....she's been saying this for about a year now. She discovered that Cousin Natalie has some really neat princess stuff, likes classic movies and musicals like she does, and THEY HAVE A TRAMPOLINE! She had a blast and talks about her return!

Next time we'll have to give more notice and make it a play date with Preston and the babies. She remembers Caleb and Brigham TWO BABIES AT THE SAME TIME? WOW! (Gwen)For a little girl who talks about a baby (at least once a day) having two here at the same time was a dream come true! Here are some pictures from Alison and Mike's visit a while back!

We've had the opportunity to visit lots of friends in October. Thank you friends for all the fun!

We treasure the times we've had and the times soon to come!

We reminisce with pictures and remember with memories!

We will continue to enjoy time and cherish all the fun!

Fall Fashion with Fair Passions!

It has been a very busy October for the Lawrence family! Gwendalyn has been on fall break for the last 2 weeks, and we had to do something fun! Winter is coming fast and it's time to experience the cool October air!




FIRST, we decorated the house! I forget how many decorations grandma has! I hadn't even opened the cupboards in the laundry room, when she decided to raid them last year! I couldn't believe how many glass pumpkins, stuffed witches, and Frankensteins were stashed in there! Gwen and Grandma both get a kick out of decorating for the holidays! I heard, "this is SO much fun mom, thanks for the fun!" & "I love Halloween so much" a hundred times that day! I have never been one to get into "stuff" decorating.....but that all changes when you see the joy in their little thrilled faces!







After we had a little bit of time to relax after our hard work we decided that we should spend some time with Roger (Matt's dad)!
It opened on the 10th of this month, and the 11th was buy one get one admission day! I am always a sucker for deals so I figured we'd go. Four years since we'd been able to go....between Matt's work schedule, my school, it's distance, & having a undependable car, it just wasn't an option as a family! Only hurdle, BUDGET!!! HA! It's almost comical! I flinched at EVERY PRICE! It's hard for me to believe that people actually go and spend money on food, drinks, nick naks & frivolities! $100 not on a budget would last 3 minutes there! ME, NO PROBLEM!

Here's a list for the EXPENSIVE STATE FAIR!

- $30 Gas
- $12 Admission *42
- $ 8 Drinks for 4 people*50
- $ 8 Stuff for Halloween costumes *58
- $30 60 tickets, (6-9 tickets a ride 50 cents a ticket!!! this shocked me a bit) Matt rode 3 rides, 9x3= 27 I rode 1 ride 1x9= 9 Gwen rode 4 6x4=24 / 24+27+9=60 *88
- $9 Lunch for 3 people *97
- Daughter loosing her voice for 24 hours from so much fun, PRICELESS!

A well spent budget for a whole day of fun! (Pics will come shortly).

Acceptance!

I accepted that I lost my camera,

Stolen or lost, it's no longer mine!



I have accepted Anita's going away,

Until she serves her time!



I have accepted the life of karma,

Bringing love & peace sublime!



I have accepted accounting as my duty,

Also a mommie, wife, & friend as my chime!



Acceptance is a hard path to find,

But once trudged,

You KNOW it will be fine!



This poem may be a little elementary, but it basically sums up everything going on this past week!



I never thought that having to stand behind another family member in court would haunt me.....thought I was over that drama along time ago! Just remember, you never know till your there! THAT'S JUST IT! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE THERE! I STILL DON'T WANT TO BE HERE! I don't want to explain to 4 year old Gwen why grandma Scarim isn't here on Christmas, Easter, her birthday, year after year till she's out! I DON'T WANT TO! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO! CAN'T I JUST AVOID IT ALL TOGETHER? ( if you have no clue why, and want to know, just research Scarim on Google, you will get the answers from the Verde independent). I just don't feel like telling the story.



How long do I wait? How long do I prancy foot around the "where's grandma" question? Till she's 6 and can understand that just because grandma did a REALLY bad thing, that doesn't make her a bad person? How about...... NOT AT ALL!



Anxiety, tell me it's not rising in your chest the thought of it! I need an answer pill! I have been praying......god keeps telling me that this WILL be OK......this will all get better with time......Gwen is a strong soul, she can take this.......I just don't know if I can. The tears swell up and the chest gets heavy......anxiety!



I will stay strong for my family! I have done this before, with WORSE circumstances, I can deal with this now! I will accept the good, I WILL accept the bad! I will accept the mediocre, I will accept this challenge in stride, I WILL stop crying (when I get done writing about it), I WILL stand strong enough for both me and Matt.....and we WILL ACCEPT THAT THINGS WILL BE ALRIGHT!



To make it alright, I'll list EVERYTHING GOOD in September.......

Gwendalyn received student of the month, she had no clue that she was getting a reward, but she liked hearing her name at flag ceremony......was SSSOOOOO shocked to see me standing there she just stood there even after they were told to sit down now:) The picture is her singing her ABC song at flag ceremony! She is blooming so much now, it's amazing!



Next, Matthew and I celebrated 6 years of being married! We finally got to do something fun besides dinner in Payson! We attended a Santana concert! I was blown away! It was the MOST fun I have had for 50 dollars in my whole life!

We have TWINS! Pumpkins that is:) Hopefully it's in the water.....that would be nice! But seriously....we have pumpkins growing out front with two on one vine! They are partially connected....Siamese twins:)

We got our phone & roof fixed! Yea! This was a long time coming......we have a new phone number due to Qwest offering to fix the phone line for less if we connected a new number, along with GREAT Internet incentives! If you need our new number email me and I will get it to you!

And last, but not least, I have lost 4 pounds! Only 40 more to go and I will be content!

Dishwasher dreams & cheers to easy pets!

I WANT A DISHWASHER! My eczema is flaring up and constantly having to wash dishes isn't helping! Just thought I'd remind all of you that have dishwasher just how fortunate you are!
What do I care though? I have 6 siblings and always did dishes, I am use to it, just feel like a slave sometimes!

I'm done whining, thanks for listening friends:)

Next, check out the fish on the right side of our blog! Gwen informed me that she wants an aquarium with fish. Honestly, I don't want to go there! They are costly, sensative, and I don't like cleaning out the tanks, I did that as a kid too!
Matt and I had a beta before Gwen was born, it wasn't 2 month after she was born did we kill Zeus. Uncle John came over and saw how green the water was a told me it would die soon if I didn't clean it's tank more.....I think it died 3 days later! Oh well!

Bird, dogs, pest catching cats! NO MORE! So, as a compromise, I set the family up a colorful fun aquarium! Feed my fish as much as you want Gwen feeds them plenty! All you have to do is click on the water, leaves little orange flakes for them!

We thought it was fun! Easy! LOW MAINTENCE!!! Unlike many other things in my life!

September rang a bell......

September is here, and instantly the cool nights arrive!

It's been a month since Gwendalyn started school. She loves every second of it. Matt asked her what she does at school, she came back with, "we play in groups, we have snack, then we play outside at the green playground!" As she hopped out of the room, (as she so often does), I turned around from the dishes and clarified, "she plays, eats, they plays!" We both got a smile out of it.

What a great allocation of eight dollars a day! I like the Gwen that has been coming home from school with a the sense of sharing, listening, and rhyming! She has always sang everything... course she gets that from her mom.


We went to wal-mart today she tried her princess act out to get what she wants! (Princess aren't allowed to be sad mom, princesses get what they want, yes, she speaks in the third person, herself being the princess). I wasn't falling for it so she went and spilled the tears to grandma......and I talked her into not falling for it too! Without the full blown screaming temper tantrum! YEA! She just started these around January. I was hoping that going to school would help stabilize her ability to accept the rules and move on... and so far we've had success! Anyone who knows how well her grandparents are wrapped around her finger would have a huge successful grin on their face too!

On another note, I got to wake grandma up to great news this morning! Erin had her baby! What a great story to get to tell too! Nothing that will make you flinch and go.....oh! Is the mommy ok? I haven't had to many of those lately!
Grandma and I started to do the counting on how many great grand kids this makes it! As I asked her, she looked up and laughed.....I don't know:)

So......here goes the list (why not?)

Alyn & Nate - 3

Andrew & Jessica - 1

Brooke & Mike - 2

Kori & John - 1

Jessie & Mindy - 2

Allison & Mike - 3

Cody & Emilee - 1

Mollie & Matt - 1

Amantha & Colt - 2

Chase & Aliona - 1

Erin & Matt - 1

Brittany & Daniel - 1

TOTAL = 19


William Charles Scott
July 9th 2008


For those of you who
haven't seen him!

This is makes grandma a great grandma 19 times over! She love it! I told her that we can make a trip to go visit all these beautiful babies in the valley (why else did I get a grandma car?)




Also, if you have some special pictures, send them to me in my email.... I will print them off and put them in grandma's picture book. This is another thing that she looks at often. She likes being able to see the babies and know who is what name. I have been saving pictures I like off of your blogs and printing them for her. So, thank you for sharing......and continue to do so!

September is one of my favorite months! Not to hot, not to cold, and everything is in full bloom for a while! We are going to enjoy every second of warm we can find! It's disappearing fast! By the end of the month we have plastic on the windows, fire in the fire place and socks on our feet!

Berry Picking on an August Afternoon

We had a blast! Gwen recieved a bite from one blackberry bush and was DONE berry picking. It had been 10 years since I have gone berry picking, I completely forgot how unforgiving of an activity it truly is. After failing to find big juicy ones on the rim, we drove down to the girls camp where we found the Jackpot! Litterally. Matt, Myself, Kevin, & Heather were out there picking and we picked every ripe berry within a mile radius......Gwen slept the whole time and wanted NOTHING more to do with picking them, just wanted to "chef" them when we got home. She did too! She helped make cobbler and it was DELICIOUS! There are plenty unripened berries that will be waiting for us in the next couple weeks! Can't wait! I will remember glove & clippers this trip though.

Have you ever picked this many berries before???? It's a first for us!

Sweet tasting success!

Gwendalyn & I started a garden a year back. This will be the second year we have attempted to "grow" veggies & feed them to the family. SUCCESS! It's truly wonderful! We are proud of this garden....and look forward to sharing it with everyone!

Matthew & I worked our buns off for 5 years trying to get this property presentable.....and it's almost there! A few roof patches and we should be in the clear again for a while! Waiting for the bus to arrive I went camera crazy & took a million pictures of the property!

Yes, that's pumpkin that took over that WHOLE corner! It's so pretty though....we hope to have one by Halloween this year! One last thought....for those of you on the Tayrien side of this blog experience, what does yellow squash, pumpkin, & cabbage make YOU think of???? They bring me wonderful thoughts of a very special person:)

Cinderella's duty!

I never imagined what this year would feel like. I remeber sitting there looking at my beautiful baby girl trying to imagine what she would be like when she was ready to go to school. The tears that welled up in my eyes when my friends would send me sappy emails that had to do with sending the little ones to school for the first time. This day wasn't even about how "sad" it was, it was about how "happy" it makes me to see my daughter excited to attend the same school I went to!

Taking pictures in front of the tree was the most emotional time of this morning for me. Cinderella has ALOT of meaning to me. She was the tree my mother use to line us up in front of (even though it meant making one more stop before school) so that she could take pictures in our new school outfits. It struck me when Gwen was posing in front of that tree that Seth & Hayley were the babies only a short while ago! HOW ARE THEY 17???? How is Gwen 4 already! All the more reason to blog! Everyone is growing up so fast! Including my princess Gwendalyn!

For example, this picture was taken 3 years ago when seth & hayley were Freshmen. Now they are 16 taking college prep classes in high school! When did the babies grow up??? When???

Motivation for Blogging, with a hint of Introduction.

What do you know...it's been 4 years since I sat in the Den and wondered what it would be like to send my baby to school for the first time. It's amazing!!! Wasn't she JUST learning how to talk?? How does time go so fast. I look at the relatives blogs and truly enjoy the "journal" and "sharing" aspects of it. Now that Gwendalyn is starting school tomorrow I feel the need to document more of our family development & activities somewhere else other than all these pictures sitting in files on the computer.



I probably should have started this blog 3 months ago when the fun began....but we can catch up. It's OK. Fossil Creek is Gwen's FAVORITE spot to play in the water (during the week it's a quiet blast)! It was the cheapest "staycation" that we enjoyed this summer. We are still trying to get up to Telluride to visit friends, let's just say I'm not going to hold my breath. We had LOTS of fun with friends & family.


Really, the pictures speak for themselves. Check out the captions & enjoy.









Like I said....fossil creek is BEAUTIFUL worth it! Bugs & ALL! DON"T JUMP INTO THE BUBBLES that's my Banged knee that took 3 weeks to heal! That's what happens when you're having too much fun!

Brooke came with the kids in April. Andrew was already a year old before I ever met him! That was a first for a nephew! Emma is one of my favorite people she's always singing and talking to herself, and the curls! They remind me so much of........well me! There's not a whole lot of kids out there (including my own) that have a thick head of ringlet curls! Don't mind Colt (amantha's husband)....he was really excited to have his picture taken with Emma!

This picture is just fun. Gwen & I are having a blast with her ponytail! I have never seen a 4 year old be as articulate with their hair as Gwen is. She has several different shapes.......they include a "heart" hairdo, & a "rainbow" (you'll have to ask her for an explanation).



With this maturity of such independent thinking comes school. Wish me luck at staying strong as I walk her in, give her a kiss, and walk out the door. No crying is the goal!