35 and feeling fine!

What a wonderful birthday it has been!
New clothes, money, chocolate,
chocolate, and more chocolate...
it doesn't get any better than that!!!

Liz and Kerry took me out to lunch
today. Later in the day, Liz surprised me and
put together a birthday surprise from my
soccer team. I have the greatest friends!
Unfortunately, Amy was sick or she would
have been there, too. We missed her!
By the way...Ty was the photographer for that one!Yes, I know...I've never looked prettier
than the above picture. I just got home from
soccer practice. My friends gave me a huge
basket of my favorite goodies....including Dr. Pepper!
Yep, for those of you who don't know, I have been
off Dr. Pepper (I had a major addiction) for 2 years
to the day. I allowed myself 2 mini cans...just today!
My friends are my dealers! They're GUILTY!!!

Since Jason was in Phoenix all day,
he took me out to dinner last night
with the whole gang. We love Javelina
Cantina...where they give you a sombrero
and fried ice cream! Yummy!!!

Jason also left me hidden notes all over the
house for me to find throughout the day...
in the new clothes dryer, on my toothpaste,
under the loaf of bread, & even in the toilet.
I sure do love that guy and his crazy self!

Is it fair to call it a birthday present?

Last week, I was sad to lose my dryer
that has been with our little family for:
*3 babies
*4 houses
*11 years (at least)
I won't say that I shed any
tears (I was actually a little excited)...
until we had to pay for the replacements! :0)

How sad am I that I am actually so excited
about my new LG's! They are so cool!

Are they cool enough to pass as a good
birthday present from my hubby?
NOT QUITE! I'm still expecting something
grand on Wednesday. Just teasing!

Now that we have been without a washer
and dryer for a week, these new machine's
will get a grand welcoming to the Stewart home!

Ty and Sydney immediately started
building a fort with the big boxes.
It reminded me of my childhood and
the Voting Booths my parents had after
they held the voting center at our house.
I would spend hours decorating
my new 'playhouses'. :0)
KIDS ARE AWESOME!

Well, I guess I'm off to actually
enjoy doing some laundry (OK,
hours worth of laundry). Maybe
that's not so enjoyable after all!

She's a Young Woman!

Almost daily, Jason and I find ourselves
looking at each other and exclaiming,
'Are we really the parents of a 12 year
old?' Yep! And everyday, she finds
ways to remind us of this fact!

Last night she had her first paid gig as a
REAL BABYSITTER! $5 an hour to watch
the grandsons of some people in our ward.
She brought games, popcorn, and helped them
change in and out of their Halloween costumes
all night. The Grandma called afterward to
tell me her grandsons are officially in love.
As Summer put it, 'What's up with all the
young ones falling for me?' Too cute!

Another way she is showing her age is the
excitement she shows for her Tuesday night
Young Women's Activities. She loves getting
together with her friends. They have had a few
stake activities lately where she has had a chance
to hang out with her Girls Camp Buddies.

I missed her soccer game this week, since
Ty's was at the same time. I will get some
photos of her soon to post.

So long....Thomas!

Many missionaries have entered our lives
that we really liked. We LOVE Elder Wolcott.
His time finally came and he is being transferred.
:0(
The above picture depicts the way
we always were around him!
He was too much fun!!!

He could make a game of 'indoor soccer'
the coolest game ever. Let's not
even mention Ninja Destruction!

Elder Sundles has some big shoes to fill,
but we know he is up for the task!

Like I said, he could make
a game out of anything!!!

The girls really enjoyed his visits!

Cheesy poses,

awkward pyramids,

and successful

(or not-so-successful) body
building exercises!

We will miss you, Elder Wolcott!
We WILL keep in touch!!!

Syd's Turn!

Last week, I blogged about Ty's soccer
'success'. Well, this week he really did have
success. He scored 3 goals and dominated
the game. His dad said that earned him an
EggMcMuffin. Our kids are easy to reward!

Sydney gently reminded me that it should
be her week to be blogged about. Well,
let me tell you! This girl played the best
1st quarter I have ever seen her play (sweeper).
I was able to put her in as a forward for the
last quarter and she was really close to scoring
a few times. Now she thinks she wants to try
forward every game. As the coach, I will see how
well she does at home. :0) Is that her reward for
a good week? Sounds easy enough to me!!!

Our team RED DYNAMITE is awesome!
1st game was 9-0
2nd game 5-0
We could have scored more, but I keep
swapping the field to spare the feeling of
the poor little girls we are playing against.

Next week will be Summer's turn!

KFC for Kade!

Well, yesterday was the big day!
The city was abuzz with the news
and we had a great turnout!

The crew was fantastic! They
were truly touched by the outpouring
of love they felt for Kade from all the
wonderful families in the Verde Valley.

Ty was my biggest helper. He stayed
all day and helped clean tables and
entertained the customers.

Between school and soccer, Summer
was only able to spend a little while
there....during the slow time. She
was sad that she didn't get to be there
longer. We appreciate the time she
did spend there. What a good friend to Kade.

The Elder's helped Sydney with her
homework and showed their support
for the Backus'. Elder Wolcott had spent
a lot of time with their family and he
was there for Kade, too.

All in all, we had a very successful day.
Especially for a Monday, we did really
well. A check is being deposited for
Kade in the morning. Thanks, everyone!!!

DONATION BUCKETS ARE STILL UP!!!

Amy had the baby!!!

*****Updated with picture!*****
His name is MAX!!!

My brother-in-law called my cell phone
tonight in the middle of KFC for Kade chaos
to let me know that Amy had just had her baby!
So far he has no name, he was
7 lbs. 8 oz. (if I remember right),
and 19 1/2 inches long.

Congrats! I'm so excited to have
another nephew! Amy now has
4 boys and 1 girl!!!

Today's Kade's Day!

KFC for Kade Day is here!
It has been announced on the
radio, all the Firefighters in the area
have been invited (125+), and HUGE group
e-mails have been sent out! I cannot
wait to get there. We will be pulling the girls
out of school early so they can be there and
'work' the lobby of the Cottonwood store.
We are really excited to see the support of
such a wonderful community. I'll take my
camera. Wish us luck!!! We love you, Kade!!!

He's got mad skills!

Are Jason and I insane? I think the answer
is undoubtedly YES! We have all 3 kids
signed up to play soccer this year. Today
was the first game day....and picture day.
Needless to say, I am exhausted!

Let me introduce you to the cutest
soccer team ever. We aren't quite
sure who picked the team name
(we'll just pretend they are the
Raptors, or something a wee bit
cooler than Angel Wings).

Check out that dribbling! Right through
his competition. That's my boy!!!

The entire game we were in awe
of this boys talents! Check out that
foot trap. The whole crowd was
oohing and awing!

He was scoring goals left and right!

OR....
he ran a few steps and then put his hands
on his head in the above fashion
(the entire game!!!). What
is that? I'm not quite sure, but it reminds
me of how he used to call water 'ice'. I
swear he almost gave Uncle Brad a heart
attack a few years ago at Lake Powell
when he was constantly calling the lake
water 'ice'. What we thought was 'cute',
almost drove Brad to the loony bin. Well Uncle
Brad, we would invite you to a soccer game,
but what we think is cute may just push
you over the edge. He is cute, I swear!!!

Fundraising!

We have been trying to figure out

ways that we can help the Backus'.

We have decided to make a KFC day

for their family. Here are our silly

fliers and the donation jar labels for the

stores. Want to donate? E-mail me and

I'll get the info to you. sedonajen@msn.com

Thanks in advance!!!!

There is a Wells Fargo Account
set up for Kade now. It is
Kade Backus Donative Account
#2527432955
Thanks!!!

Kade Backus

Have you ever watched a movie when
the lead actors are a boy and girl that are
best friends and maybe, just maybe
it turns into something more later in
their lives? Well, that is the story of
Summer and her good friend Kade. The
moment they met they were instant
friends! Honestly, when the two of them
are together...there is no shutting them up!
We wouldn't mind if they ended
up together someday! :0)

Alec (Kade's older brother), Kade, Summer,
& Sydney on the Backus' boat last summer.

Summer and Kade showing off their
tubing skills last summer.

The Backus and Stewart kids last summer.
Well, sadly, this past week Kade was in a horrible
accident where he collided with a truck while
riding his bike. He has been in the Salt Lake
Children's Hospital since. We were able to go
visit him on Sunday and he is doing remarkably
well. They are slowly waking him up (he was
out while we were there). If you are interested
in more of the story you can go to the blog his
parents have started to document his recovery.We hope to help get some fundraising started here
locally for the Backus family. I will keep you posted.
We know that it is because of all the prayers
that have gone out for him and his family that
they are all doing so well. He has a major surgery
scheduled for Tuesday (tomorrow), so please
keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

He is a fighter and we know
he is going to be laughing it
up with Summer in the near
future! We love you, Kade!

Soccer Season is here!

Take a moment to imagine
your worst fear on the soccer field.
Don't scroll down to the picture just yet.

Let me describe what you are about to see:
The most ferocious,
scary, tough, and
dangerous thing I have ever
witnessed. Now, slowly
scroll down as you notice the
killer-instinct on this boys face!

Sorry if you peed your pants a little.
I know...terrifying, right!?!
I'm glad I'm not the 4 year old that goes
up against this bruiser!!!

Well, maybe not. So much for that tough
guy face. I'll take the smiley face any day!

If you noticed that we are on the NAU
campus, it is because they are already
recruiting this talented player. We are
in serious negotiations at this point in time.
:0)