Here we go again!

**We have moved our family blog to www.laverylife.wordpress.com so you can find us over there :)

So I did not keep my promise I made myself back in April. The one that I would keep up to date on my cute little family blog. I have actually debated on just starting over but then I have decided that I will not. I will just pick things up from here and move forward. Hopefully forward will be often!



A quick update on where we are all at right now...


Anthony is a Sophomore, I know! Craziness is abound and football season is winding down. Thank goodness. He is doing so well and has become quite a "hottie"!


Reagan is in 6th grade and madly in love with a girl. He went from wranglers and cowboys to tight pants and motorcycles. (shhh...Don't tell him I said that about the girl.)


Carson is in 4th grade and actually taken an interest in school this year, go figure! He is still letting me baby him when no one else is around, I will take that.


Lawrence is still running the shop here at home and I am his full time parts runner.


Parts runner: A very special position that all wives should be envious of ;)


I guess you could say I am just unemployed. For those of you who do not know already I quit working 2 months ago. It was by choice and has been a great decision. Strangely it has nothing to do with money. Sometimes what is best for your family may be a little rough on the finances but well worth it. It has taken a full 2 months to feel like things are getting back on track in this household.


Life is good here in Lavery-land. It seems like daily I get reminded of all of the blessings we have been given and just how lucky we are to have each other. At the end of the day what is important is right here under this roof, our family.

Anthony turned 15

Anthony turned 15 in February. It is so weird to think he will be getting his license in less than a year. He had a party here the same as last year and again about 30 kids showed up. I guess he is just way to likable :) The one thing we did learn though is that next year will NOT be a boy/girl party far to many hormones to keep under control...lol
We absolutely love Anthony to pieces! He is so much fun to be around and his sense of humor and wit are hilarious. When he was younger he would tell me he loved me all of the time. To the point it could annoy other people. It never did annoy me and he still does it, but I know I am on borrowed time. Soon enough he will be far to cool for me.
He is doing pretty good in school but has the potential to do so much better and he will be the first to admit it. I think he is just a social butterfly! Of course he is still playing his guitar and I have not won the battle of diversifying his music but I won't give up. He has also gotten very good at the drums...luck us. JK seriously we could not be prouder of him and his belief to do whatever he sets his mind to. Recently he has decided to write a book about Zombies. I know what you may be thinking but he actually has some really good stuff and knowing him just because I cringe at the word Zombies he will make sure he does it!
Oh and I have to mention he has his 1st "real" girlfriend. I need to point out this is not serious but it is so cute and she is such a cute girl. (he will kill me when he reads this)
So anyway there is the update on our 15 year old. We love him and are so proud of him!

Face Book Took Over!

Okay I feel really bad. I let facebook get the best of me! I love this little family blog of ours and when Lisa introduced me to facebook I let it go...not Lisa's fault.

So I am going to get back on track and keep our blog updated with the latest Lavery happenings...although there has not been much lately!

Christmas Morning...Finally!

All of the waiting is over! Anthony was up at 1:00 a.m. quietly knocking on Reagan's door to try to wake him up. We sent Anthony back to bed only to have Carson wake up at 3:30 a.m. so being the mean mom that I am I made them wait until 5:30 a.m. to wake everyone else up. This brings back so many memories of growing up with my brothers. Wally was the worst he would go to bed as early as my mom would let him. I remember snooping with Chris, but all we ever found were "other people's presents" it's funny how they looked exactly the same as ours on Christmas morning. Hmm......My mom is so clever! I have caught my boys snooping before so I took extra measures this year. Everything that was under the tree before Christmas was disguised in a cereal box, cracker box etc. So the tradition that we have always done when I was growing up that we now do with our boys is to open 1 gift on Christmas Eve. They start asking which one they can open about Dec. 20th so it is a big deal to them when it is finally time for that one present. This Christmas Eve I was looking at the presents trying to pick one they will have fun with because it cannot be clothes or they will be bummed out. While I am looking at the presents I notice one of Anthony's looked like it had been opened and re-wrapped. He was standing right there and I asked if he did it and he said no. I started looking closer at all of the gifts and every single one of Anthony's had been partially opened and re-wrapped. He knew he was busted! I told him he could not open one on Christmas Eve. That lasted about 2 hours and then I felt bad so he got to anyway. I could not believe that he would do EXACTLY the same thing we did when we were his age!
Thanks to my Mom I have a plan for next year. When my brother's and I got caught snooping the following year my Mom did not put our names on the presents she actually numbered them. We did not know which number was ours so we could not snoop and figure it all out. At the time we just thought it was funny, but now I know she is very very WISE! Starting next year on December first you will need to address my boys as #1, #2 and #3!
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Just a Little LOVE

As many of you know I love animals. If you come to our house you are fully aware of our extra family members. Where we live we get drop offs all of the time. Over the course of about 10 years we have probably had a dog or cat show up every 2-3 months. We always bring them in and give them food and let them hang out to see if someone claims them or if they will fit in with our family. If they are aggressive with our other animals or us we have to try to get them a new home or call the dog catcher to come and get them. It is heart breaking every time. There has only been once that we actually found one a home. So we know what the odds are that they are in a good home somewhere if they leave here with the dog catcher. Not once has anyone ever came and claimed one of them. Our oldest dog Bandi was a dropped off about 6 years ago. Since the first day she showed up we have wondered why someone would do that, she is such a great dog. We have cats come and go all of the time. I actually got into an argument with a man over shooting a cat in our gravel pit. I tried to make him give me the cat instead and he wouldn't. I am still mad at myself for not forcing him to give me the cat. I know this sounds crazy but I am sure my sister in law Megan has my back on this! We had a little black lab show up a day before Thanksgiving. She is going to stay and join the rest of the Lavery crew. It is always nice to think maybe someone just lost her and is looking for her but we all know that she is another drop off. All of the Ray family was here on Thanksgiving and the kids fell in love with her. She started out being named BUD until we told them all that she was a female. So Mylee and Baylee changed her name to LILY. We are keeping that one and her name is LILY. Every time we walk out the door she is there to greet us and so sweet. She doesn't expect much just a pat on the head. She is great with the kids and other animals too.

For those of you who have dogs you know that if you give them love and attention they will do anything for you. A dogs sole purpose is to love and serve their owners. They are loyal and all they want in return is a pat on the head and to be played with.

We all know they can be a pain and chew up your entire couch but they would still love you if you chewed up their dog house!

Our Recipe Sharing Blog

The best way to bring people together is...

FOOD of course!

So we have started our new recipe box swap blog.

This should be a fun way for us all to share

our favorite recipes!

Click on our link

http://recipeboxswap.blogspot.com/

to check it out.

PLEASE share this with your family and friends we would love to have as many people participate as possible.

So get your recipes gathered up and lets start cooking!

Instructions are on the blog if you want to

share your recipes.

Just email them to us. (Shannon or Lisa)

Have a HAPPY Thanksgiving!!

FFA and Anthony???What???

Okay so Anthony is in FFA. For those of you who don't know what that is...Future Farmers of America. To be honest we thought that we would never attend an FFA event until Reagan was old enough but we were wrong. Anthony loves it! Not only does he love it but he is doing very good in this class. We just attended a degree ceremony and he received his Greenhand degree and pin. He had to memorize and recite the FFA 5 paragraph creed, pass off a ton of requirements in class and have a plan to raise a calf on his own. The FFA is no small potatoes! This ceremony tonight made us realize that it is serious stuff. He can work towards National opportunities and he says that he likes it because he learns so much and it is all hands on. What we all love so much about Anthony is that he makes decisions based on what he wants to do. It does not matter to him if his friends do it or not he just likes the opportunities to try out everything
You can never under estimate this kid. He is so versatile and can do well at so many things that he never ceases to amaze us. He is doing great in school this year and we are very proud of him.

Our Animal Crew!

This post is mostly for the kids. Since we talk so much about our animals we thought we would put them on here for you to see. We love having these guys around they are fun and add so much to our family.

1. Bandi...she was a drop off about 6 years ago she is the best dog ever.

2. Hazel...She is Reagan's favorite cat he loves her.

3. Licorice AKA Licky...Straight out stinker!

4. Gray...She moved in when I sold a house for my sister in law.

5. Sophie...We got her because Bandi is getting old she is fun and full of energy.

6. Einstein...The craziest cat on earth but so pretty.

7. Oinky...He is so sweet and loves to give kissess.

8. Dodge...He is Oinky's brother and the BOSS!

9. Daisy...She has some issues but we love her.

10. The new chicken...Well she came with no feathers and is Jim's GF she needs a name any ideas?

11. Jim the rooster...He thinks he is human that is why we got the girlfriend. He loves to follow Lawrence and hang out with him, but he attacks the boys it is funny!

12. Gieco...the salamander. Carson saved him this summer from the irrigation line. We have had him about 3 months he is fun and eats lots of flies!

Really Rotten Rockets!

Tuesday night the boys had Pack Night. Instead of derby cars they did these rockets. The blue one is Carson's and the black one is Reagan's. They spent alot of time on them making them look so COOL and they were really excited to race them. So the whole family went down to the church with all of the scouts to race their rockets. It was obvious when we got there that some of the rockets had issues. Lawrence and I looked at each other and thought at least we are ready and our boys have their rockets ready to race. (stupid of us to think!)
Just before they started racing most of the kids rockets started falling apart as they wound up the propellers. A few were fine and they raced all the way to the end of the gym.

First Reagan brought his rocket up to race they said GO and his rocket.........did not go! He took it off and tried again and again and again same result every time. Carson was watching this so he decided to have Lawrence work on his rocket at the back of the gym to be sure that he would not have any problems. After about 15 kids went Carson was one of the last kids left to race. He hooked his rocket up with a big smile on his face and then they said GO..........it went about 6 inches. The smile turned to tears while a very mad Lawrence was trying not to swear out loud at church. After a few more try's to make them work they finally had enough and we went home. When we got home I told the boys I wanted to take 1 more picture of the rockets. I had to talk them into it because they both wanted to blow them up. That is why the after picture is of only the rockets. The pictures with Carson and Reagan smiling were from before. Just in case you did not already know that!

We Have So Much To Be THANKFUL For!

My sister in law Lisa introduced me to blogging. Thanks Lisa! When she was showing me how to do it she also shared a blog with me called Nie Nie. The story behind this blog definitely gets your attention and pulls at your heart strings. There is a link on the side of my blog to hers. Her words are amazing and really make you think twice about all the little things in life that we take for granted.In reading her postings I have been reminded of many things.
With Thanksgiving coming up I wanted to share with you my top 10:
1. Never take 1 minute for granted.
2. 1 person CAN make a massive difference in the world.
3. You can never say "I Love You" to much or give to many HUGS.
** By the way I LOVE YOU! Here ARE 101 HUGS for you today! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOOXOOXO
4. No matter what religion or non-religion you are Heavenly Father loves and believes in you whether you choose to love or believe in Him or not.
5. Do not wait until tomorrow.
6. Enjoy tripping over shoes, backpacks, blankies and toys.
7. It is okay to have a voice and stand up for what you feel is right.
8. Everyone DOES have a Soul Mate.
9. If you hear someone calling you Mom or Dad you are truely blessed.
10. It's okay to still have a tea party and play with dolls even if your 36!

Little Carvers!

The Costumes This Year

Here are the boy's in their costumes. Anthony was a girl. He was really bothered that he looked so much like a real girl. We got alot of laughs out of it though! This was one of the 1st times we let him go with friends only, no parents. That is hard to do! He had a great time and his friends were cinderalla and some other girl thing. Reagan was a cool guy. He said he was kind of Anthony, just cooler. He looked really cute I think the chicks liked it! Carson was a skeleton, vampire, ghoul. He had a hard time because his costume came with a very cool mask that he could not wear to the school or church party. The makeup made him break out. By the time halloween night came he was pretty much over it. He had his whole costume off within 1 hour of starting trick or treating.
We hope you had a great Halloween too!

We all LOVE Grandpa's JUNK!

Well these two!!! What more can I say other than this town has never seen quite a pair like this. They found this behind Grandpa's shop and begged for it for quite a while. It was sorta falling apart and nothing worked on it. They got it home and within an hour or two of getting home from school they were traveling down the road. It is hilarious to watch them ride this around. it is a cross between a Mexican van with fringe and a redneck parade mobile! They love it and every kid (and adult) that show up just have to take it for a spin.

What a Week!

Well this past week has been fun. We will start with Carson...He went to his friends birthday party this past friday and did a flip on the trampoline. He went face first into a railroad tie. We ended up at the emergency room and he got 8 stitches. (10 if you ask Carson)
To look at him makes you just feel so bad. He missed school yesterday and went back today. He is still swollen but it is looking better. He gets his stitches out tomorrow.
Reagan did what he loves most this past week. He went with Lawrence to gather cows. He loves to spend any possible time that he can with Lawrence doing just about anything that Lawrence does. Reagan and Lawrence like to do things that a mom would not approve of and then just tell me enough to make me wonder what they have been up to!
Anthony.......Another fishing picture. Go Figure! He went on a fishing trip for 2 days with one of his young men leaders and some friends. He of course caught his share and then brought home all of the ones that no one else wanted to eat. He cooked them up 2 different nights and from what I have heard they are very good. (I am not that brave) He is a good little cook. I think if he could just eat sleep and live on the shore of a lake with a pole in the water he would be happy.

The Rarest Photos on EARTH! Kathleen's family get together June 08.

Well we have been married for 8 1/2 years and this is the 2nd time we have all been together. It was so much fun to see each other and get caught up. All of the kids are getting so big they grow up way to fast. It seems as if nothing has changed, all of the Men are still full of it!

Anthony is a FRESHMAN!

Anthony is in 9th grade! Yes this is his 1st day of school photo not halloween. To answer your 1st question....No he did not try to cut his head off! Don't ask me why I don't get it either. If he was not such a dang good kid we would be VERY concerned. LOL

Do you remember rolling up the bottom of your super tight peg legged pants?? I tried to show him how but he did not think it was very funny.

Carson 1st Day of 3rd Grade

Carson is now in 3rd grade. He asked me not to long ago after school started if the president makes it a law to go to school. He thinks if it is not a law that he really should not have to go. After all there are so many more things he can be doing!

The thing that makes it all better is that they serve lunch. His biggest complaint is that they just do not serve ENOUGH!

Reagan 1st Day of 5th Grade

Reagan is now a 5th grader!

He is getting much better about the "cowboy clothes" he will sometimes wear cowboy t-shirt with shorts. We have come a LONG way people you have no idea. How could a mom possibly think that it is okay to wear DC shoes with Wrangler's. He just thinks that I am completely off my rocker to make such a suggestion!

Can You say BLACK MAIL!

It is probably hard to get the entire vision of this photo. Anthony has his own style going on, just in case you have not already noticed. He loves his purple and black witch looking socks. I just had to take this picture of him mowing the lawn in his socks and reno 911 glasses. I know this will come in handy someday to use against him!

Carson is FINALLY old enough for (flag) FOOTBALL!

This is finally the year that Carson get's to actually play football. He has been so excited! We are not really sure which position he is playing or exactly what is going on, but he is part of the team and he LOVES it! We think the favorite part to all of the players is the mouth piece's that they do not take out for anything. The entire team proudly slobber's away while they are running around.

The best part about sports and being 8 is that it really is not about winning or losing as long as you have a cool jersey and a slobbery mouth piece.