Got your back.

I'm excited to share a special day with you.

It's mostly through pictures, but I have a few thoughts I'm going to throw out there too.

I have good friends.

Many times I stand back and wonder how?

I know why I love them so much, but I'm not sure why they love me back?

Maybe it doesn't matter.

Maybe just the fact that they do, and that they accept me even knowing all my faults is enough.

What a gift to have others who will make you laugh till it hurts.

Or to cry with when it hurts even more.

What a blessing to know someone has got your back.

No matter what.

I am blessed.

This day was lovely.

Can I share a few of my favorite things? 

*Watching Valoree.  She was a shining star.  A smiling, glowing beautiful star.

*Helping Val get her dress on, and helping each other primp. What fun!

 *Spending time side by side with my dear girlfriends.  ALL DAY!

*The limo ride with everyone in a friendly excited mood.

*Braving the cold & wind to take professional photos at the park

*Trying to pretend we weren't windblown and chilled while getting ready for the ceremony.

*Calming Val's nerves as we waited together to walk the aisle.

*Elise's prayer with just the 4 of us holding hands and wishing Val peace & joy.

My heart was warmed.

*Walking up the aisle with Ryan.  We had fun, and he helped me not trip!

*Watching Val & Chris exchange vows.

*Elise's awesome toast to the happy couple.  I promise...you rocked it!

*And lastly...eating CAKE!!!

And thank you Val for asking me to be a bridesmaid.

It was an honor and a joy.

First shot of the day.

What joy filled that room as we readied ourselves and Valoree for her big day.

The limo ride on the way to the park for photographs.

Oh, and to know Janelle is to know she is a joyful cut-up.

Val and Chris looked like this ALL day!

Just as they should.  It was beautiful.

Here are some of the bridal party.

What a FUN, great group of people.

And sorry you weren't in many shots Imelda,

I'm not sure where you disappeared to!

Oh yeah.  They looked like THIS most of the day too.

Do you think Heavenly Father blesses your lives with certain people?

I do.

Here are a couple of cute blessings.

Trev and Skoogles congratulating the Mr. and Mrs.

Okay, you can't disagree... Val is GLOWING.

Brought a tear to my eye more than once.

Working the reception.

In all honesty, here is a picture of 3 starving bridesmaids waiting for CAKE!

Here we are again with our beloved Coach.

Can you tell we love Rob?

I think it's okay to say he is another blessing.

We are lucky not only to be taught by him, but to know him.

And it's true that even at a wedding, we might talk tennis.

And even act like we are playing it.

It's okay.  Val & Chris met on the tennis court...

they would approve.

I just have to say it.

This was a special day.  It was just. . . sweet.

A strong spirit of love and sweetness.

The girls were in awe of the bride.

Skoogs was already planning her wedding.

Right down to what cake she would serve.

Loved it.

'

 Rocking the dresses & shoes.

You don't have to be a twenty something to rock it.

Right?

 Can you say tired feet?

Winding down.

Just a sweet little dance.

And there they go.

Walking through the bubbles on their way out.

Congratulations Valoree and Chris.

Happy day.

Unwrapped.

“When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives."

--Gordon B. Hinckley

"To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."

--Thomas S. Monson 

"Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

--Thomas S. Monson

Dear sweet Trevor,

I have a wrapped present for you.  

It's been sitting here for a while.

Why do I let it sit?

I'm so sorry.  I want you to have it . . .

Thank you.

I am so grateful for you.

You are the sweetest man,

The best husband,

An amazing father.

You work so hard for all of us.

You make me laugh like no other.

I am lucky, you are so affectionate.

Thank you for all your "i miss u" texts.

I love them.

You promise adventure.

You smell heavenly.

When you hug me, I am instantly warm.

Thank you for holding my hand.

For always telling me how sexy I am.

For always looking me in the eye

before asking if I really do know how much you love me.

I do know.

And I'm not as good as you are at saying it,

But I love you.

You are the greatest blessing in my life.
 

And I would be ungrateful

if I didn't let you know.

Two Peas.

I love October for many reasons.

One of my favorites is this tennis tournament.

"For the Love of The Girls"

Breast Cancer Benefit.

Elece and I try to play together in it every year and it is SO fun!

Here is our 2010 team.  Elece thought of a great name for us.

"Two Peas In A Pod".

This team name has more than one meaning.

Think Elece and I...Think of the cause of the tournament.  Maybe you'll get it.

 

We are always goofy before we play.  Good energy!

Trev came to watch a little.  Sporting Al's pink hat for the cause.

 Most people take a gel pack or something for energy.  Not "Two Peas In A Pod".

 We go for it with good old fashioned whipped cream.

 Bring it.

 Oh, and cupcakes.

 Tiny little clip of a tiny little point.

 Action shot.

And we won first place!

Way to go Peas!

Milestones.

 Last time I went to my stylist, she tried something new.

It's called 'Ombre.

You leave the roots, and handpaint the rest to keep it lighter.

Like Drew...

I do not look like Drew in any way, but it's always fun to try something different, right?

So as these roots of mine have grown out longer than I've seen them for a while,

I made a new discovery!

I have hit a milestone in my 38 years of life.

My ponytail makes it hard to see.

SO, I made it easier for you.

I plucked these babies right out the top of my old 'Ombre head.

They stood out, bright and shiny.

Silver hair.

NOT gray, folks...silver. 

Yes you are now folks, because silver haired people might just say folks.

I'm torn.

While it's a bit of a reality check, I find myself smiling.

My dad has the most beautiful silver white hair.

And so does his mother.

Do I get to have it too?

I must confess I have always hoped to.

Good thing it doesn't happen all at once.

What a shocker that would be.

But if a silvery white head is in my future...

Then bring on the purple shampoo...

because I will still be one happy girl.

The last picks.

Just harvested pumpkins!

We grew some beauties!

Cutting the last vines of the season.

Tasty fall treat.

Dog kisses.

The sunset out our front door.

G. Hummingbird.

When I was a little girl, my grandparents lived in New York.

I grew up in Washington state.

Every few years we would pile into the red VW bus and make the trip.

What brave parents I had, driving 4 noisy kids across the country.

But it was always worth the crazy drive.

From the time I was little, I can remember my Grandpa slipping me money.

While my siblings all got a five dollar bill, my Grandpa would sneak me a twenty.

I'm not sure what he liked about me, but it's safe to say I was his favorite.

I know my siblings were aware, but to their credit, they never got mad at me for it.

Grandpa served in World War II.

Whatever he saw and did there took its toll, and we always knew him to be a bit "crazy".

And yet, he wasn't.

He was also gentle, sweet, loving and hilarious.

He could make you laugh till you cried.

One day as we were all sitting around chatting outside,

we were interrupted by the hum of wings.  

Hummingbirds!  Taking little sips of red liquid from the feeder.

We rarely saw hummingbirds back in Washington, so it was a real treat.

That is the day "crazy" Grandpa turned into "Grandpa Hummingbird".

Because he got us kids giggling as he flapped his wings, and pretended to sip red liquid from the feeder.

As I grew older, Grandpa would call me often from New York.

Each time he called, the conversation went something like this...

"Is this Shelli?  Well, hello Shelli, this is a boy from down the street.  I think you 

are so beautiful, I really want to go out with you.  Will you go out with me?

Maybe we could go rollerskating.  Would you like to go rollerskating with me?"

And each time I would laugh and tell him I would love to rollerskate with him.

Then he would laugh and tell me it was really Grandpa Hummingbird.

As if I didn't know.

When I was 19, and away at college, my mom called to let me know

that Grandpa had passed away.

I was sure I hadn't heard her right, but I can still remember that punch in the gut.

I quietly went outside, sat against my roommate's old car tire, and balled my eyes out.

Did you know my Grandpa loved flowers?

He loved to garden.

The whole time I knew him, I was never interested in flowers.

Funny that it is one of my passions now.

Many years after he was gone, my mom gave me 2 wrinkled 

packets of flower seeds and a note that she had tucked away from my Grandpa.

They are Zinnia seeds.  One of my favorites.

And in his handwriting is my name written on each packet.

The note says, "Dear Debby (my mom),  Just came back from the nursery.  

New seeds.  I get a big kick looking at seeds.  These are for Shelli, NOT for you Debby!  HA!"

Now..I get a kick out of that note.

And the fact that he bought Zinnia seeds for me when I was an uninterested teen.
 

A few years ago my Grandma gave me a leather bound book, and a small jewelry box.

Inside the book are clippings of Grandpa's tennis tournaments he played

as a young man in Buffalo, New York.

And in the jewelry box are several gold charms that he won playing tennis.

I do treasure these.

I love hummingbirds.  I always have.

I have been lucky enough to see at least one every year that I have had a garden.

This year, the plants I put in to attract them had matured.

AND I tried a hummingbird feeder.

I love that I saw more hummingbirds this year than any other!

My kids laugh at my excitement when I see one...but they get it.

They never got to meet Grandpa, but they know the stories.

They know why hummingbirds make me happy.
And now so do you.

Lately.

I love this time of year.

I like how things slow down a little.

Time to enjoy some sweet little things.

Lately I've been enjoying...

 Cottage cheese with fruit.  

This is one of my new favorite things.

I very much like it with sliced red grapes, sliced bananas 

and slivered almonds.

It's like healthy dessert.

Oh so good!

 My coach has been working with me for quite a while to try to get my backhand better.

I used to have a two handed...think Nadal.

But it felt so much better to me to use a one handed...think Federer.

So the switch has been a long process.

But I am happy lately because I am starting to feel very comfortable with it.

Maybe soon it could even be a weapon!

Practice!  Practice!  Practice!

So I thought the birds ate all my grapes this year.

I have four different seedless varieties.

They wiped me out of my favorite green ones.

But throughout the last week, I have discovered

that they did not eat my blush colored ones!

AND they are DELICIOUS!

I just sit on the ground and pick off all the ripe ones,

and pop them into my mouth one by one.

Joy.

I'm not sure why, but sometimes I need soft music.

And that is all I will listen to for a while, 

because my soul likes the calm.

So, crazy as it sounds, I have had my radio on the 

SYMPHONY station of all things!

I know, I know.

But I have found that I really love Brahms!

And Beethoven.  

But especially Brahms.

One of my best friends, Valoree is getting married in October!

(She is the cutie on the far right).

I am thrilled for her!!  It is wonderful!

And you know what?

She asked me to be a bridesmaid!

Isn't that exciting?

Elece & Janelle are too!

This is DEFINITELY a sweet little thing.

The pumpkins in my garden are GROWING!

This is the first time I have grown pumpkins,

and I LOVE to see them.
Bright orange and round!

What kinds of sweet little things have you been enjoying lately?

A favorite thing.

Why I like my ATV

by Shelli

It's bright red.

It goes fast.

It takes me through rocks, mud and sand.

It lets me feel and smell the air.

It's noisy.

It's powerful.

It's even comfy for napping...you heard me...

Oh, and I do like dirt for lunch.

And that is why I like my ATV.

 

Jam Packed...

 That was our summer.  

Crazy, busy fun!

As you know, I didn't blog much.

We were here one day and gone the next.

But now it's time to settle down, clean house, update blogs...

So keeping with tradition, here is a little recap of our summer.

In pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Enjoy!

My "Voluptuous" tea rose.  I did not enhance this photo at all, this rose glows!

Love these climbers on my split rail.  Ahhh.  Enjoyed my flowers this summer.

Made a few 4-wheeling trips.  The sand dunes were a new experience, but I think I prefer trail riding in the trees.

When they got bored...

Did some outdoor camping in the backyard.  Perfect.

Check out the heart on this apple!  It made my day, and that apple tasted extra sweet, I swear!

My girls on our white water rafting trip.  Googles was a bit unsure. We came out soaked, but we did it!

In Sun River waiting for our bus to take us to the white water.  And that's my hot hubby. I told you...a hotty.

Posers.

Biking the trails in Sun River.  It was BEAUTIFUL there.  The trails are wonderful!

Seats four!

My reaction to Trev's comment.  Don't remember the comment, but he tried for this reaction and got it.

At the park in Sun River.  My oldest kept asking..."Where did Dad go?"  She didn't see him climb.

Listening to live music while waiting for pizza in Sun River.  Googles and I danced to it while the teens tried to look cool and not related.  Party poops.

Playing Farkle at Banks Lake with Cheryl and Heather.

Boating on Banks.

My son tearing it up on the stand up.

The kid crew at Banks.  A GREAT bunch!

Back to school cookie baking! MMMMM.  Made plenty to stick in the freezer.

The teens on their first day of school.  What happened to my kiddos?

The youngers on their first day of school.  Still kiddos.  Sigh.

Hope you all enjoyed your summer!

Now of course it is almost time to enjoy fall.

And you KNOW I will enjoy my fall.
CAN'T WAIT!