DeVries Drama

Brian and I haven't had a family portrait for quite a while...or a professional photo taken of the two of us together that we don't hate since our engagement. I keep thinking we really need to just hire someone and do one that we can put on our wall and in Brian's office at work! The trouble is that there are so many options out there for family pictures! Do we do outdoors, inside, family pet, casual, dressy, themed? Ah! The decisions!!! I decided to get online and check out some different things that other people were doing. I think I've got a few good ideas to work with! Maybe if you have a favorite, you could tell me and we'd make it a little contest?

The website AFP has given me a whole new perspective on what we should be trying to record for our posterity!

So, if you have a fav that you think would work for Bri and I, let us know......

Jake is playing with his cousin Dylan. His Uncle Eric is helping out on the side line with most games. It has been an interesting way to see these two interact! They are both highly competitive. We have a another relative on the team and he's pretty awesome! Radley has two older brothers who play so he gets a ton of practice and training. But this is Dylan's 2nd year and Jake's first. We thought that it would be a great way to curb the fighting between them...letting Dyl have the upper hand at something he's clearly better at. Wrong. Jake is one of those kids who will compete just to compete! Thankfully my brother is there to stop the drama before it starts!

Jake has decided that lacrosse is AWESOME!!! It beats soccer! We love watching him play! It is so fun to see him pushing and hitting with sticks when no one's mom gets upset at him! He loves the physical aspect of it. We were surprised when he said that it ranks right up there equal to football!!! For now he is playing at Copper Hills in their little league program because there isn't a very strong program in Utah county for his age group. But we are okay with that because his coaches are pretty great and he really likes the boys on his team!

I adore this kid! As do way too many others! He is a charmer! He is funnier than funny and sweet as could be! He and his 2 little brothers (who are equally as adorable, if not more, but don't tell Al) are theatre geeks which is probably why I relate to them so much! It kind of annoys Bri that I like to drive to Cypress High every other Thursday in the Spring to see their Improv performances! Allie and Nate can't get enough either! It makes me so proud to watch him grow up!

I hope that soon he will figure out how important relationships that matter in your life are, like the ones with your parents and siblings! Hopefully someone will come along down in Cedar that can settle him down and help him feel The Spirit long enough to want to serve a mission. He could definitely use the time out there to grow! He has always been our family's own little "super star" and his parents have always sacrificed themselves so that he could have experiences that were out of the ordinary. You would never know that he was the oldest of 6 from Magna if you saw his passport! It is scary that he might expect that from the world! I hope sometime soon he is able to learn that repect is earned, not just given because you're cute!

Alex lived with us when I was in high school so I got to spend a lot of time with him which I loved!!! I have always been his Nannie and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him! It made me cry a little just seeing him meet a milestone and know that he fought it because he didn't want it to end! Also because he was so sweet to Allie and picked her up when he saw that she was wearing a grad cap too and said "Allie, did you graduate today too? We graduated on the same day? That is so cool!!" and let her have a picture with him! What a sweetheart! I love you Alex! More than you'll ever know! You are forever in my prayers!!!!

There are so many things about our dad that we love to talk about when it comes to memories. A couple of weeks ago he was sick and we were hanging out in an ER after he totally ruined our sweet cousin's wife,Tiffany's funeral (Just teasing Dad! But next time you don't want to speak in church or go to a funeral, just say it...you don't have to pass out and take an ambulance ride.)


We were talking about all of the hilarious things that Dad would do to make things easier for Mom, or think he was helping her out but really just making life harder for her! Like the time we went fishing at Paiute Reservior on Father's Day with Uncle Martin and dad lost his pole to a huge trout while he was baiting a pole for someone else and then in the middle of a thunder storm, the boat ran out of gas. Unfortunately, we only had one oar. That was THE absolute longest fishing day EVER!! (Especially since that was also the trip that dad had a stomach bug...yikes!!!!!)
The good news was that the next day he ended up finding his pole floating in the water with the fish still hooked!

Or the time he was supposed to take mom out on her birthday to keep her out of the house so her sisters could prepare a surprise party for her, so he took us all sledding and forgot about the party. Then mom broke her tailbone. She was so late getting home that the party was over and her bum hurt! He meant well!!!


My Dad lives to make my mom happy! He adores her and would do anything in the world to serve her or make her life easier! She loves him right back!