8 is GREAT!

I love this smile! It's even better now because he's lost the tooth on the other side of his middle bottom two.

On July 31st Brandon turned 8!!! Time is going by so fast!!! It seems like just yesterday I was at the hospital with him as a baby. We had a hard time getting him here. He was quite comfortable where he was and DID NOT want to come out, but he has brought such happiness to our lives since then! We forget too often what a great kid he is. He loves everything.... legos, sports (all of them), friends, family, drawing, fishing and anything that you would consider "boy". Sometimes we think he was born into the wrong family because of what a goer he is. He is just always asking, "what are we gonna do next?" He loves being busy and going all the time and Shane and I aren't really like that, but we are so glad to have him pull us out of our shells that we sometimes like to hide in.

He has been wanting a bike for his birthday so we got him one. He wasn't expecting it and his face was really funny when he saw it! His jaw dropped to the floor.

For his birthday he wanted to go camping so we packed up and headed up to Rainbow Lakes. We felt so luck because we got the very last camping spot. But that's where our luck ended. The weather was cold when we got there, then turned hot, then cold again then hot on our hike and then it turned cold and colder and colder! We decided to go home which Brandon was really bummed about but we decided to camp out in our family room instead and they all really like that idea so hopefully it ended up being a great night for him!

a beautiful beave pond on our hike. we got there and there was a rainbow going across the sky. Mmmmm.... perfection!

the designated fire wood cutter. He loves anything to do with fire!

camping in the familyh room with popcorn and a movie!

Of course turned eight is a huge milestone for other reasons. On August 8, 2009 Brandon was baptized! I am so proud that he made this decision. He was so excited for this day. He talked about it all the time... even at night in his room to himself. Brandon was baptized with 4 other friends from the ward and it made it extra special. The spirit was very strong and even Brandon cried a little because he felt so happy. I feel very lucky to be his mother, he has a really strong spirit and I know he's going to grow up and bless his family from the life he will lead.

grandma and grandpa shelton came

gramma cracker came

a special visit from great-grandpa! he came all the way from California to be with us!

oh the fun that is Jessica and Melinda