Tatum's 8th Birthday!!!

And just like that, SHE'S 8!!!

I can't believe how blessed we have been with this beautiful young lady in our home!  We just LOVE her so much!  She sure keeps us laughing and on our toes at all times.  She is the perfect youngest child and will NOT be left out or cheated out of anything:)

She had the choice of a birthday party or $100--she chose the $ (yay!:) and so we went shopping on her big day!

We went and had her hair trimmed up, clothes shopping at Old Navy, then over to Deseret Book to get her scriptures, lunch at Wendy's, sodas at Circle K, and then HOME!!!  Later that night, we went to Carlie & Ethan's orchestra concert and then out to her dinner of choice--Red Robin!  "Today was just PERFECT!" according to Tatum:)

New clothes & scriptures!!!

The traditional Birthday Crown!!!

Ice cream cake is the best!!!

She just looks so dang CUTE in her glasses!!!

And the next thing on this girl's to do list--her BAPTISM!!!  Tatum will be baptized on Saturday, October 31st--YEP!  That's Halloween!!!  That's our assigned day and we are SUPER excited!  We love you oh so much Tatum Jane!!!

Softball Time!!!

Tatum took the spring season of softball off this year and we REALLY missed it!!!  So we were extra excited to jump back in this fall!  She is on Team Inferno!!!  Check out these cute girlies!!!

Kendal, Tatum, & Eliana

Check out the blinged bow!!!

AWESOME visors that match their flame socks!

Tatum's team is currently undeafted--3-0.  At her second game, Tatum was hit in her left eye by a softball.  I did not see this happen, I arrived shortly after but I could see the bump all the way from the bleachers!!!  So apparently, she was hit in the face during warm-ups and got mad about it.  So the first hit of the game, Tatum was playing 2nd base, and it was a pop fly AND SHE CAUGHT IT!!!  HOLY COW!!!  This was super exciting because #1--it was her first pop-fly caught in a game and #2--she forgot all about her eye:)  She was awarded the "Rocky Balboa" award after the game and even got a special softball pin to put on her visor:)

Coach Trish giving Tatum her award:)

Right after game #2 we headed over to the stake center for the Powder Puff Derby.  Tatum was super excited to participate in this as her first "Activity Day" activity.  Her car was middle of the pack--but at least she wasn't last:)  But the best part was that she got to tell everyone who asked about her black eye:)

Ethan is an EAGLE!!!

Well, it's OFFICIAL!  This boy ROCKS!!!  But I already knew this:)

I wished I could have taken pictures in the chapel where the 12 Eagle Scouts first met.  Ethan was BY FAR the smallest guy up there!  They all had to introduce themselves and tell about their Eagle project and about their favorite merit badge they earned.  I could not have been more proud of my son and how he presented himself!  HE WAS AWESOME!!!

He passed his final interview with flying colors and he is now an Eagle Scout!  The first one in either of our family lines--Meekers & Knoops!  (Papa Frank even bought a 4-wheeler that only Eagle scouts are allowed to ride on in NM:)  Way to go Ethan.  Words cannot express how AMAZING we think you are!!!