Caches Baptism Pictures

It’s great to be eight and it’s great to have a great photographer. Jodie does it again!! I love this sweet face! 

Tan Man

Tanner is old. Pushing 14. He is a pain, but we love his just the same. Something strange has happened as he’s gotten older. Even though he is less patient with strange kids, he is more patient with our kids. Maybe its just the fact that he doesn’t have the energy to fight them, but he lets them pet him, hold him, pick him up. He even sits with them during car rides, which up until now has been my official job. It breaks my heart a bit because they are forging a stronger bond with him than they have in the past, so I know its going to be harder when he passes. But we’ll take it while we have it. The other day someone put their hat on him and it was just too cute not too share. 

Even Luna gets to love on him. 

We love our old man.

Labor Day

Apparently I didn’t post about our Labor Day. It was great! We were finally able to get back to the property and enjoyed a nice long weekend. Grandma and Grandpa Packard came up for one day and we were able to go on a fun ride. I love our slice of heaven. 

To my Husband: 14 years

 

Scott-

14 years! Can you believe we’ve been married for 14 years?! When I look back at the last year and even longer, I am just so proud of what we have accomplished. I’m so proud of the life we have built.

We are raising four beautiful boys. And it’s hard work. Half the time I wonder how much of it we’re screwing up  or why Heavenly Father would trust us with his choice spirits, but then I stand back and look at them and realize we are doing okay. They know they are loved and can trust us. They make good choices when we aren't looking and are building testimonies of their own. We are good parents.

We live in a wonderful place. I know leaving Las Vegas was hard for you, but because you made that sacrifice, I get to feel at home in Idaho Falls. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to you for doing that. Idaho Falls has afforded us many opportunities. We live in a safe neighborhood with friends and a yard (that allowed us to get Luna). The boys get to participate in sports with their buddies. You will be able to share your love of hunting with them. We have seasons and long summer nights. Our kids will grow up knowing their grandparents. Idaho is good to us.

We have a comfortable home. It started out as a house, but over the years we have made it home. We’ve put countless hours of work into it and have countless more. It protects us from the elements and the temptations of the world. Our home is where we get to rest after a long day, heal when we’re sick, laugh when we’re happy and be together as a family. Our home is a good place.

We have an amazing property. Snackards just gave me the best summer of my life. I would have never thought that a place like that would have been possible for us. But here we are and loving it. It’s been a second home for our family! The hours of fun and exploring have been priceless. Ashton is a good getaway.

We have learned to get along and let things go. Of course we still have our arguments and what not, but our relationship is getting smoother. We understand each other. I am patience to your exasperation. You are logic to my dreams. We have different ideas that balance each other out. We are solid. Our love has transformed from a young love to a deep living love. It has breath of its own, it runs through my blood and makes me more confident in life.  We are good together.

I am so proud of all of this. I feel so grateful I get to live this life. And it is all possible because of you. You are the key to all my greatest blessings. Thank you for providing spiritually, mentally and temporally for me. You are my better half. The ying to my yang. The chocolate to my peanut butter. You make life better! I love you, Scott. And I’ll never stop.

Love, Stacey

Out To Eat

Yesterday was full of football and cleaning. Taco soup was on the menu for dinner, but Scott really didn’t what it and I wasn’t in the mood to cook anything more complicated. So we decided get take out. But we took it one step further and let everyone choose what they wanted. We definitely won parents of the day award! 

Cache and Kyle wanted McDonalds Happy Meals. I’m sure mostly for the toy, but either way, we said yes. 

Tayden and Beckett opted to share a pizza and cheesy bread meal from Little Caesars. 

Scott and I got Fugi hibachi grill. 

We brought it home and all feasted on our special dinner. It was so fun. Expensive and a once a year event, but so so fun!! 

Grandma and Grandpa Packard

We have loved having grandma and grandpa Packard home. It’s been nice spending more time with them and having them around. We missed them while they were gone. 

 A couple of weeks ago we picked apples at Grandma Packard’s homestead where she grew up in Swan Lake. The apples make the best applesauce for baking and the people make the best memories!

We were also able to listen to both Grandma and Grandpa report home from their mission in sacrament. They spoke on two different Sundays so we got double the fun with them. 

And I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t my new favorite picture of Beckett!

We love living close to family! I’m so thankful my kids have these memories with their grandparents. 

Back to School 2020

We did it! We made it back to school during the Covid Pandemic! Like everything else, it looks different, which oddly enough is becoming more normal. I thought having to wear masks at school all day would be a big deal, turns out its not and the kids have handled it beautifully.

My favorite part about this year is that all the boys are at the same school! This is the only time in their whole school careers that all four of them will be together, so its really special. I love the idea of them together and watching out for one another. 

Tayden started sixth grade, his last year in elementary. He was more than ready to get going and walked out of the car like an old pro. Watching him greet his friends after a long six months warmed my heart. As cool as he is, he still gave me hug goodbye. And even went out of his way to tell Kyle he would be there if he needed anything. He is a good boy.

Beckett was more ready this year than any other. He woke up early and excited to go, even if he didn't know he was excited. He told me that he kept walking up in the middle of the night. I explained that was excitement, but he ensured me he just didn't want to over sleep! Fourth grade is lucky to have this boy!

Cache, true to form, talked to every person he could on the way in second grade. His little social face was beaming the whole morning. He found his friends and ran away without looking back. It breaks my heart, but I am so proud that he can do life without me. He is growing up right before my eyes and is leaving the little boy title behind.

Kyle was the most excited out of all four boys. He has been waiting for kindergarten for what seems like years. He got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, put on his back pack and asked when it was time to go. He waited for about 20-30 minutes for everyone else to catch up. When we got to the school he stayed pretty close to my side, but as soon as the bell rang he got in line and waved goodbye. He was so brave. 

Me, I'm handling it. It was hard to choke back tears in the morning. Not sad tears, but tears of pride and joy. I'm so proud of my boys. I'm proud of their strength and kindness. I'm proud of their independence. I cried for the joy of normalcy. Any shred of normalcy. The kids need it and I was so grateful that they got to be in school again with teachers and peers. No matter what this year throws at us, we are ready and are going to crush it!