It has been a busy couple of weeks, and it's only going to get worse!! With Halloween, a trip to the beautiful Idaho to visit family, then Thanksgiving, black Friday, and Christmas!! Holy smokes!! But I can't wait. We just celebrated the boys birthdays on the 24th of September, my birthday, and it was so much fun! We had lots of fun and the boys got some good presents! I can't believe that my boys are getting so big! I love watching them play and laugh together! They have become really good friends!

I couldn't find a recent picture of Raef without me in it and my camera is being difficult(hence no birthday pictures!) He is such a fun little guy and he is learning so much everyday! He is walking now and can say daddy and mommy! We love his little guy so much!


Bryce is so smart! He amazes me everyday with how much he knows! He is finally starting to gain a little weight and look like a "big boy"! He is such a special boy and we love him so much!



I am such a blessed woman, to have such amazing men in my life!

September 11, 2011

Today I am grateful for my family, my freedom, and my country. I am so grateful for the millions of men and women who still believe in America. Who serve everyday to protect our freedoms. I am thankful for the people willing to help in times of need. The selfless people who put others need before thier own, whether they are in the Military or not. It is such a comforting thing to listen to the many stories of 9 11 and realize that thier are still good people in the world. People who care about others, no matter thier race, sex, religious beliefs etc. I am grateful for past and present leaders in our country who devote thier lives to keeping this country free. I love this land I live in. I am a blessed women to have my family and friends and my beliefs. Today in church we sang The Star Spangled Banner and you could feel the pride in that building. Everyone rose to thier feet, kids stood on thier chairs, and we all sang. What a beautiful thing. The freedom of this country and my religion go hand in hand. How grateful am I to know that I will always be able to do the things I want. Today I pray that the families and friends of those lost in 9 11 know that the people of America are 'with' them today, our thoughts and prayers go out to you.

A change of heart

I have always thought that I would love the city, and now that I have it I'm starting to reconsider! Don't get me wrong there are alot of things about the city I like, But as a whole, I'm starting to wonder what ever drew me to it? Maybe growing up where I did? I'm not sure. But lately I have dreaming of a big open feild to run in.



I miss the days when my boys could just go outside and get muddy and dirty and I didn't have to worry about other people or cars. I want my kids to be able to walk to school and the local store for snacks. I want to actually know their friends parents, not just casually. I miss knowing my neighbors and being able to trust them.
Lately I have been really thinking about how being in the city is changing our family. Maybe it's the coming holidays and seasons, maybe I'm just starting to notice it more.
Another down fall of the city we happen to live in, Phoenix, NO WINTER!! Now don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of cold weather. I would much rather live in the hear, and the heat hasn't been a problem, but not having a winter at all is killing me. I miss the snow. I miss playing in it and building snowmen. I miss the need for a jacket or gloves. I miss drinking hot cocoa after playing in the snow.

I guess what I'm getting at is being ready to settle down. I want to find our place in this world. Our 'town' I guess you could say.

Just a little update...

Bryce ...is doing wonderful. He is learning so much and growing up so fast. Everyday he amazes me with the things he knows! We are so excited for him to go to Pre-school soon! I can't believe he is old enough already. He is still in love with his daddy and his brother, and he still LOVES guns!

Bryce and Daddy at breakfast. Those goggles are his new favorite thing! He wears them everywhere!











His kissy face!














Raef ...is trying to walk! He officially took his first step the other day! We were so excited! He is into everything and always doing things he knows he shouldn't already, so walking will just make it so much worse, but I am so excited for him to walk! I can not believe he is almost one year old!




Yummy chocolate!







Charlotte ...has been busy looking for a job! Now that I am done babysitting I have been trying to find something little to do to keep myself busy! Rhett's work schedule leaves him available every morning, so if I could find something for just mornings we wouldn't have to get a babysitter! I have also been working on my sewing skills! Trying out some new patterns and trying to remember everything my very talented mother taught me!















Rhett... has been doing wonderful at his job. He loves it and is very good at it.He has been working there a little over a year now! He has also been playing alot of basketball, alot of PS3, and lot of wrestling...with two very crazy little boys. He is such a good daddy!















All together the Savage Family is doing wonderful!

Every time I think things are going to slow down and give me a chance to catch up something new comes up! Although moving was a good thing, it is still a hassle! We finally got out of that old crappy apartment! Sorry but that's the only word appropriate. We are now in a much nicer neighborhood and apartment! No gun shots every night! yay! We are also about 15 minutes closer to Rhett's work which is so nice! I couldn't be more happy with our decision to move! With that being said I have never been more tired in my life! We did all of this in one week, and when I say all I mean everything!! Decided to move, looked for and finally found a new apartment, and then moved everything! Then on top of all that chaos, I have been babysitting my cousins little boys! They are such good little boys and they get along really well with my two rascals, but two more boys is hard even if they are well behaved! Every day I feel like I am a walking zombie. Rhett gets home from work and tries to talk to me and I don't remember him even coming home! It has been a very VERY busy week! I am hoping that things will settle down here soon. Next week is my last week to babysit, and the moving is all done! Maybe I can catch up on some sleep, get started on plans and invites for the boys party, and spend a little time with my hubby!
I love my family and I am so thankful for the joy that they bring me everyday. I don't know what I would do without them.

Rhett Scott Savage . . . aka The best daddy ever

I hate to brag, but I'm pretty sure that our family has the best daddy ever! He is so much fun and he loves his boys more than anything. He plays football with them and wrestles around with them all the time and he loves it. He does it because it makes him happy as well as them. Everyday they wait for him to get home from work just so they can tell him goodnight! Every time Raef hears his daddy's voice he smiles. Bryce tells him everyday that he is his best friend. I am so extremely grateful for a man that LOVES being a father. He is such a good example to our family. He always makes sure that we have what we need and so much more, and most importantly he makes us happy. I will never understand why God blessed us with this amazing man, but I thank him everyday for the blessing that he is. We love our daddy so much!

Every year since I was tiny my Parrack family has had a family reunion! They are always so much fun. We play cards all night and talk alot! There is always alot laughs and memories! This last week it was time to do it again! We had it at Lake Powell and it was so much fun! The weather was perfect! Bryce wore himself out everyday running around with the kids and catching bugs and lizards! He is such an outside boy! Raef got spoiled alot by everyone but especially his Ga Ga (grandma yarn) It was so much fun to just get away from everything and enjoy some family time! My uncle brought some canoes and everyone got to take turns using them. Also my amazing brother and sister Chancy and Chantel brought their scuba diving gear so we all got to take turns looking under the water and seeing how deep it went! Although these family reunions were started just to keep the family close and to have fun, I feel like every time I come home from them my testimony has grown. I remember what the gospel is all about, family. Without my family I wouldn't be who I am today. I am so blessed to have such a strong, supportive, and loving family. It never seems to matter what problems any one of us may be going through or however different our individual courses may be everyone is always so accepting and supportive. I am also so grateful for my husband and best friend Rhett. He fits into my family so well. I love him more than words could ever express. He is so good to me and our boys. He is always doing what is best for us and keeping us headed in the right direction. So anyways this week was definitely needed and I am so glad we had so much fun!















The view from our tent

Photo Shoot

I know that I'm not a "photographer" by any means, but I decided to have a little mini photo shoot with the boys today! Of course it was difficult and one or both were unhappy or frustrated at some point, then to make everything go so much smoother Raef decided he needed a snack right in the middle of it all! So there aren't very many of him but I think I got some good ones of my Bryce boy, of course when your subject is as handsome as him it's pretty easy to get good pictures! He is such an amazing little boy. He has such a sweet little spirit. He loves everyone and everything. He is always telling me "you don't have to be so mean" when I lose my temper. He always wants everyone to be nice and happy. He is definitely my little peacemaker! I love my little man.






Raef on the other hand is such a sassy little guy. He is into literally everything in our house all the time. He thinks he needs to be held or have your attention all the time also. I can't really blame it on him though when we are the ones who have spoiled him rotten!! He is such a smart little boy and is growing up so fast. He LOVES his daddy! Just hearing his voice makes him smile! It is so cute to watch them together. Raef will just follow Rhett around and watch every move he makes.
(the comb was the only thing keeping him from a melt down)



My little Model!


Notice the huge bump on his head! He always has a bump or scrape of some kind! What can I say he's a boy!

Football again already???

If you know my husband at all, you know that he is completely addicted to football. He literally lives and breathes for the game. All I have heard for the last month is "the draft" this and "the draft" that! He has been "scouting" all the new players and making his guesses on who is going where! He has done this every year since we got married and before that, but this year he had someone to enjoy it with. Josh is just as addicted to it as Rhett! Valory and I have done our best to act like were interested, but after a month of football talk it gets hard! Anyway, today was the first round of the draft and my poor hubby had to work! So while Josh watched the Draft he made sure and text Rhett every time a team made their pick! It is nice for Rhett to have someone that shares his passion for football! So Before work Rhett put his jersey on and made sure that the boys were supporting the game as well!! It was so cute!!


My boys!








All the boys


The Cardinals had the 5Th pick today.


The big boys

Birthdays, Balls, and Boys

Since we moved to the valley Bryce has become pretty good friends with his cousin Breydon! They are so cute together and they both love lions and tools and being rough! Bryce went to his first birthday party for a friend, which was for Breydon! They had so much fun playing with the balloons and "beating up" Elmo! They ate pizza and of course birthday cake that had a football on it! (Bryce loved that part!) They played "pin the nose on Breydon" which was so fun! They all looked so cute blind folded trying to find his nose!


My pictures aren't very good but as you can imagine they were running around like crazy little boys do which made it kind of hard!







He was so excited for the candy!












This is the boys at the park later that week. They had so much fun! I love the weather right now! It's perfect!











Raef loved being outside also! He kept trying to eat dirt but thats ok! He is such a cutie!



I think they love each other...



They are such good friends! I hope that they always stay close! I love those little guys!

Push

Sunday night was spent with our good friends playing Push ALL night. We were up until three am. It was so much fun! Valory cooked yummy pork chops and potatoes for dinner and cherry pie and ice cream for dessert! It was a very fun night!


Valory and Josh


Rhett and I















Our goofy husbands



Bryce was eating chips off the floor with Mae





Raef helped daddy play for a while



and Bryce helped mommy