I am a LUCKY mom!

If you have ever been in need

of a babysitter

you will understand the JOY and Relief

of finding a great one!

The search for that perfect one, is not an easy quest.

My search is over

and I don't even have to pick them up

or take them home!After a date night a couple of weeks ago,

we came home to...

The Tinker Palace!

Mandi and Mitch had turned our kitchen-

into a restaurant!

Some of the items may have been a little over priced,

but definitely worth it!!

This is what my kitchen/restaurant,

looked like when I came home.

Need I say more??

I LOVE summer!

I love having my kids home.

The kids like to "play" school and

Justin and Gracie eat it up.

(not to mention how all this activity helps mom!)

They have class time, P.E. recess, snack...

I just had to take a picture of the cute letter

that was sent home from school.

I love how the letter is signed-

"Miss Mandi and Mr. Buhrley."

(and apparently Gracie needs

some work on her focus.)

I am a lucky mom.

Now if I could just figure out a way ...

to stop them from growing up so fast!

The Big 41.....never looked better!!!

Louis Jay Buhrley Happy birthday Lou!

I am missing this birthday boy like crazy.

I am in Fargo ND, (wrestling Nationals)

and away on his b-day-

for the 2nd year in row!!

Not only am I away, but the kids are gone!

Because there is not a

dad

in the

entire world loved more -

I think this is as hard on the kids as it is me to be away on his day!

(Yes, my mother-in-law looks like a model!
And, she has hardly aged since this picture.)

Thank you mom and dad B for raising this little boy
to be the amazing man that he is.

Before leaving, I asked all the kids
to give me 3 words to describe their dad.
The only trouble they had was keeping to only 3.
I told them to give me the first ones they thought of.
I'll start with me.

Joni-generous,devoted,full of integrity
Mac-hard working, determined, FUN.
Mandi-smart,creative,FUN
Mitch-nice,cool,FUNNY
Justin-He plays "bull" on the trampoline with me,
he helps me, he is excited to see me.
Gracie-he jumps on the trampoline with me, he puts me on his shoulders, he holds my hand, he kisses me, he tickles me, he plants the garden with me..
(she didn't like the keep it to 3 idea.)
and he LOVES me!
I think it is fair to say FUN is a common theme!

The other day I overheard a friend ask Mac,

"Who is your dad's best friend?"

Without hesitation he answered, "My mom".

You see not only are we lucky

to have a husband and dad

who is devoted and generous with his time for us...

but blessed because he actually

wants, enjoys-and prefers being with US!

We do not take this for granted because

we want, enjoy and prefer to be with him too!

WE LOVE YOU!

HAPPY BIG "41"!

"You say it's your birthday...it's my birthday too!"

Mitchell William Buhrley

goes double digits!

Happy Birthday Mitch!

Mitch has been adored since the day he was born.

We got a glimpse of his sweet personality when as a toddler

he would daily say,

"Mom, you can count on me!"

Mitch has kept true to his word!

Mitch is the first to take care of someone in need.

We tell him he is "magic''.

When the little ones are having a hard time-I will say,

"Mitch can you work some of your magic?"

He can make a child forget he is mad or sad like magic!

Really, it is amazing!

and a mothers dream!*10 things to know about my 10 year old*
1.affectionate-Mitch will ALWAYS give you loves

2. Helpful *he truly can be counted on.

3. Funny *witty,quick,and highly entertaining.

4. Athletic *will try anything-and does it well!

5.Determined *I have never seen him back down from a challenge.

6. Self motivated *wants to do his best

7.Organized *very good remembering things!

8.Diligent *can always be found kneeling in prayer before bed.
9. Playful *kids of ALL ages flock to him!

10.He loves otter pops, salad w/ranch dressing, and skittles.

Look at this face!
I remember wishing I could freeze time.


We love you Mitch!
What a wonderful day for us all to celebrate!
Happy BIG 10!!

Rock-n-Rollin Seattle!

The last weekend in June was spent

Rockin-n-Rollin in Seattle! Well, perhaps more rolling then rocking...

or should I say crawling!?

I ran the Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon

with some of my best friends!

Although, 2 of the running sisters couldn't make the trip.

They let things like school and kids come in between us!:)
(we missed you Emily and Lori!)

I think after this weekend Bret-

Kristi's husband, is officially one of us.

Even though he is actually a "biker"

(or should I say "cyclist"?)

He humors us and joins us for a marathon

without even training!

We have always wanted to do a rock-n-roll marathon

where there is a live band every mile.

Having my brother Jeremy in Seattle made this the perfect location!

This is Jer- our personal "chauffeur"!

He took us to and from the race, which meant he had to wake up @ 4:30 a.m.!

As I was already feeling pain in my leg...

(yes, mom I WILL see a doctor and find out what is wrong-and NO running the marathon did NOT make it worse!:))

It was really tempting to skip the 26.2 miles

of a hilly course and stay in the car!

Some brother/sister bonding time

was looking really,really good.

I did get out of the car...

and the above picture was taken minutes before the race.

the picture below...

minutes AFTER the finish!

Something about completing a marathon, brings your emotions to the surface.

It's quite the amazing-and a little insane- experience.
Crossing the finish line you see many tears

and excited friends and family members

cheering and hugging the exhausted runners.

As I started into the crowd feeling a little lonely-

I suddenly saw Jeremy!

How did he manage to find me?

Minutes after my finish?

There were 28,000 runners+spectators+volunteers,

finding someone is next to impossible!

I was so happy to see him.

I love this guy!

It made the entire weekend

to be able to spend so much time with Jer.

He took such good care of us

and it is always fun to have

friends you love meet family you love.

The running sisters

Jolyn, DaNel, Lori, Emily, and Kristi

I feel so lucky to have such good friends.

Meet them and you will see why I get up

in the wee hours of the morning.

For a run?

YES!

But these ladies make it so much more.

We are able to solve our days problems in an hour run-

and the entire worlds problems in a 20 miler.

These great women are so uplifting and have saved me

many $$$$$ in therapy sessions!

I feel lucky to have experiences like these.

Grateful for a supportive husband

who encourages me to

GO FOR IT!

Anyone up for the Newport, Oregon Marathon next June?

It is a beautiful and flat course that I plan on being 100% injury free to enjoy!

Celebrating the 4th!!

Get ready for picture overload!

Sorry, I couldn't help it!

We spent a WONDERFUL Holiday

weekend in Idaho Falls,

and of course documented it all.

Keep in mind there were 3 of us taking pictures,

so it isn't all my fault.

(believe me, I could have posted more.

I think Dad B alone took like 35o pictures !) We have decided IF is a great place to spend

the 4th of July.

Summers there are perfect.

Even when it is hot, you always have a breeze.

It really was the perfect weekend.

We started the day-

with the parade.

Moved on to fair rides!



These are some of my favorites.
They LOVED this obstacle course.
They LOVED the competition!
They were laughing so hard,
I think they could have done this all day
if it wasn't so much work!
I love the pictures of Lou below.

Gracie shared her 4th of July hairband....

We spent time at a fun park nearby.

Mckay may want to stop teaching Mitch all his moves.

It's backfiring on him!

Seriously, I think Idaho Falls

has the best firework show I have ever seen!

It is right along the river

and right by the temple!

Highly recommend coming to see them!

Amazing.

The next day no one was ready to leave!

The kids had to fit in every last thing they could.

We went to church, had a wonderful dinner,

fit in last pushes on the swing,

tree climbing and walks...

It is never enough!

This picture of Mac and Gracie

is also one of my favorites.

My little ones

have my big ones

wrapped around their fingers.

Happy Fourth of July!

Summer WORK and PLAY!

This year's planting was not the usual! Everyone helped with the veggie garden,

but Lou had another "vision".

This vision included raspberries-

many, many raspberries.

I came home one day to a driveway

full

of dirt and railroad ties.

The end result is quite amazing,

and well worth all of Lou's hard work...ha,ha

Especially, when we are all eating raspberries.

We eat them like candy around here!

Lou planted 70 raspberry starts.

Wow.

I had to take "planting" pictures, because the

"weeding"

pic's won't be quite as exciting!

-

(if you look closely in one of the photo's,

you can see Lou's beautiful

raspberry patch behind us.

More pic's to follow!)
-

As I mentioned,

we had a LOT of dirt in our driveway--

(for a few weeks.)

The kids LOVED it..

I thought it was a mess-

a fun mess, but a mess.

As I was pulling out one day

and saw Justin and Grace in the dirt pile,

again...

I said, " Oh, guys. I really don't want you in that!

You get your hands so dirty and it gets all in your hair.

This is really dirty dirt."

( not sure what I meant by that. Is some dirt not dirty?)

This picture shows what I came home to!

Their solution to dirty hands and hair.

By the look on my face, they knew I didn't buy it.

With some quick thinking....Justin very sweetly says,

"Mom, do you want to take a picture?

We look so cute!"

He knew if it was a picture moment,

I couldn't be mad.

One of my kids FAVORITE summer activities

is sleeping on the tramp.

These pictures were taken

BEFORE

the 1:30 a.m. sprinklers came on

and drenched them.

Whoops.

Dad is always there.

I remember as a child ,

knowing there was nothing

my dad couldn't do, or fix.

(I knew this, because it is true,

there is nothing my dad can't do or fix!)

A fathers love and strength

can give such a sense of security,

confidence and well being.

If dad is there,

everything will be, OK

The confidence and Trust

I see in my children's eyes when they look at their dad,

is one of the greatest blessings in my life.

They have no doubt

they will be taken care of,

they are loved, and that if dad is there-

everything will be, OK

This fathers Day

I am overwhelmed with gratitude

for the three fathers in my life.

My own,

Lou's -whom I am blessed to call my own,

and the father of my children.

*

Howard W. Hunter has said,

"True greatness is never a result

of a chance occurrence

or a one-time effort or achievement.

It requires the development of

character.

It requires a multitude of correct decisions

for the everyday choices

between good and evil."

*

How grateful I am

for the choices these three men have made

throughout their lives.

They live their lives in

"true greatness".

They lead, through daily examples of

loving the Lord and following the Savior.

*Happy Fathers Day to all Fathers*

We honor you.

And an especially heartfelt

Thank you and expression of deep love

for my three fathers.

Thank you,

for making everything,

OK