"Whatta Y'all Think?"

Hunter has decided to grow his hair out while we are here in Nashville, since ducktails grow really fast here in the South. I think it's the humidity. We decided to let him so he fits in better at school. Whatta y'all think?

"Shiver Me Timbers!"

Walking the Plank

Hit that pinata, girl!

Opening up the treasure chest to check out all the loot and booty. I kept using the term "booty" during the entire party and the kids were getting such a kick out of it.

Captain Jack Sparrow

He wouldn't keep a doo-rag on for long, and his facial hair got really smeared early on during the party.

Here is the treasure chest cake I made. I crushed up graham crackers for sand, and used a lot of toy jewelry and coins for decoration. It was fun, and not too hard.

Ok, I finally figured out how to do photos. I know they are a little crazy, but I will get better at this...hopefully!

Lizzie's birthday was a blast! I took her to the party store and told her to choose a "theme"...I figured princess, Strawberry Shortcake, etc. She walked through the entire store and said, "I want a pirate party. Arrrgh Matey!!!" It was hilarious! So we had so much fun preparing for the pirate party, and all the neighborhood boys did too. They kept coming up with different ideas and games. They even started dressing up as pirates the week leading up to her party. There were pirates lurking through our streets for days.

We had her party on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Pinkerton Park. It is this really cool park where everything is made out of wood, and it is huge. The kids love it! The section we were at is called "Tinkerbell's Castle" which went perfect with our pirate theme, but Captian Hook never did show up. :o)

When everyone showed up, if they weren't already dressed as a pirate (all the boys were) I gave them all a black doo-rag, eye patch, ear-ring and facial hair. That was a big hit! Everyone loved having facial hair. I even had a couple of kids I did not know that were playing at the park and ask if they could have a beard and mustache! Everyone just had fun playing at the park for the first little while, and they all seemed to be playing "Pirate." We then had pizza, grapes and juice for lunch. Then we gathered them all around and I taught them all a bunch of Pirate Lingo and told them they all had to walk the plank while using their favorite pirate sayings. Before the party Jared and I had hidden a bunch of clues, so the kids went on a treasure hunt. They had so much fun. I then passed out their "loot and booty" and then we did the pinata. Jared tied it up to a zip line that was at the park so the pinata could move, and since most of the boys were 8-10 years old we made them wear a blindfold. It was pretty funny! After that they ate treasure chest cake and Lizzie opened her presents. I think everyone had a really fun time.

Honestly I was worried before we moved that we were not going to know enough people by the time Lizzie had her birthday party, but I feel so blessed that we have been able to make such great friends so quickly. She had 11 kids at her party, and they are all her and Hunter's close friends! I am really happy for them that they have made friends so fast and easy. All of the boys are 3rd and 4th graders that are in our neighborhood, and I don't even think they realize that Lizzie is a KINDERGARTEN GIRL! They just think she is cool and fun to play with. There are a bunch of great kids in our neighborhood and we feel really blessed.

After the party was over everyone went home, and then about 15 minutes later they all made their way over to our house to play some more. Lizzie was playing with her birthday presents...can you picture five boys trying to do Polly Pocket's hair and nials? It was quite a sight! It was about 6:45pm when I finally said that I think its time for the party to end. Lizzie said she loved her pirate party and had so much fun with all of her friends.

The Day in the Life of a Starving Musician

Ok....so we are not very good bloggers, we admit it. But, this sure is fun. We haven't taken the time to post photos but that will be this weeks goals. This is Jared. This has been an awesome adventure so far. Life is great without a real job...but don't tell Kerri I said that. Here is what a typical day looks like for me.

Wake up...7 am. Help get the kids out the door to school. Kerri then leaves with Jack and the kids and goes on a walk every morning with some of the neighborhood ladies. I tell her that I am going upstairs to "work." She says, "I don't care what you do up in the bonus room (thats where the office is) just make us some dang money!" Ok honey...no problem. She comes back 1 hr later and usually catches me playing my guitar. If I am careful I hear her come in the door and quickly put my guitar away an open up career builder so it looks like I am actually trying to get a job.

Actually, Kerri is very supportive and that is my little practice time. So.....we are still working on the job/income thing. I have a few jobs if I want them. #1 sell my kids. JK. #1 Sell cars. #2 Sell roofs. #3 um....i forget. Or...I am seriously working on some internet business ideas. I wrote an ebook on "how to play the guitar by ear for beginners." I will let you know when it hits the net. WOW....I better end this paragraph...I am making myself feel like a royal loser!

So...9 am or 9:30 or 10:00...I quit playing the guitar and decide to get serious. So....I go take a shower.

11:30....Long shower was great. Couldn't figure out what to wear. Should I wear my jeans and polo shirt (boring, but ok for job hunting). Or should I wear my shorts and t-shirts (great for open mic nights). Or pajama bottoms and t-shirt (great for internet business).

12:30....Its been a big day. Time for lunch. (Kerri is cracking up right now as I write this. She is laying a bed our neighbors gave us right here in the bonus room/office. I thought it would be good to get a bed in here cause work gets really hard and I need to nap a few times each day).

3:00 - Wake up from my siesta. They have those hear ya know. I think!

3:30 - get in my truck with my guitar and drive around. This makes me feel productive.

5:00 - Where the heck am I! Call Kerri and tell her I might be a little late getting home from work.

5:30 - Call Kerri again and tell her I found a sweet open mic night in Nashville. Go in and get a stamp so I can play there next week. Stay for 4 hours hoping to "make some connections."

9:30 - Well...no connections tonight but what a great day

10:00 Get home...tell kerri about my great day....head upstairs and search career builder for a job.

I love you guys. Life is great here. Thank you for all of your prayers. But if you really want to help...JUST SEND MONEY!!! Just Kidding. Peace. Love. Rock On. Jared Bootch :)

We Are Still Alive

Ok. My test worked, so I am now prepared to attempt a longer post. Things are going great! The kids and I had a successful trip. Jack was quite a handful in the Denver airport, but other than kicking the seat in front of him the entire time on the flights he did great. Hunter and Lizzie thought flying was "Soooooo cooooool!" They both had a blast. Their backpacks were too heavy, so of course I carried two backpacks, Jack's diaper bag, and carseat, all while pushing the stroller. Can you say "sweaty." In Denver we saw Vince Gill and Amy Grant. Amy (we are on a first name basis now) was standing in line to get on the plane for about an hour, and she just watched me wrestling Jack the whole time...every once in a while smiling at me. When I went to get on the flight, Vince and Amy were in the front row, and the stewardess said I might want to check Jack's carseat and just hold him. I said that I thought he would do WAY better strapped down, and Amy Grant laughed and winked at me. In Nashville, Jared of course took the liberty to talk to Vince Gill. It is kind of fun wondering what celebrity you might run into. I tease Jared all the time..."I saw Faith Hill at Wal-Mart!" etc.

Tennessee is so GREEN. If you look out on the hills and imagine you are on a tropical island it feels like you are. It is so pretty. Everyone is so friendly and we have great neighbors. In the first week we received a fresh apple pir, cookies, salad, a BBQ, and a huge bag of really nice hand-me-down clothes for Jack. These southerners really know how to make you feel welcome! There are about seven 8 year old boys on our street, so Hunter and Lizzie play with all of them every day. They are both loving school. Lizzie is in full day Kindergarten. She loves it. I miss her. She comes home really tired. Jack is my little buddy. He is talking a ton! Ever since we have been here he has turned into a little parrot. He repeats everything!

Lizzie is planning her birthday party for next weekend. We went to the party store and I told her she could pick whatever theme she wanted. She went with the pirate them and topped it off with an "ARRRRRR MAITY!!" So in honor of the 8 boys and 2 girls that will be at her party we went with the pirate theme. I will update then hopefully with photos.
Bye Y'all!

Test Blog

This is a test... Only a test....Man, I wrote the longest blog and it got erased, and I have not had the emotions in me to write everything again. It has been about a week and a half now, so I am going to try this blogging thing again. Everyone knows what a computer whiz I am!! I still havn't attempted to put pictures and slide shows on. Be patient...this is a total work in progress...as am I. We're doing great! We love Tennessee!

We Made It!

Hi Ya'all this is Jared. We made it and we finally have our internet up and running. We are having fun. We rented a house accross from a great elementary school. It was late the night that Kerri and the kids flew in. I think they were all excited until they saw the house. Lizzie was asleep with her mouth wide open facing the car roof. Jack was wide awake. Kerri was excited until she saw how dirty it was and realized that she was in Nashville. Hunter had a melt down. He was really tired but he was balling and saying that the house was small, ugly, stinks, and that the garage smells like hamsters. He He He. I told him this will be good mission prep. We have a lot of stories already but I will let Kerri catch you up.

As far as the music scene goes, I got to go to the famous Bluebird Cafe (where songwriters showcase their songs). It was awesome because I got to see the people that have written a lot of the hits that are on country radio today. It was fun talking to them and rubbing shoulders after. It is just this small little place you would miss if you didn't know what to look for. They have open mic nights once a week that I plan on going to regularly. There is a place here in Franklin TN where we live that has writer nights on Saturday nights. I asked them how I could showcase some songs there. They said no problem as long as I have a hit song that I have written or a grammy!!! No problem. He He He. This is a cool place! Our neighbors best friend is Ricky Skaggs (one of my childhood country heros). Kerri rode down on the plane from Denver with Vince Gill and Amy Grant. I talked to him in the airport but he didn't really seem to want to talk. He He He.

We will keep you posted. We miss ya'll. Love us. P.S. am I still the Elder's quorum president?

My First Blog

We are moving to Nashville, TN!! Can you believe it?! I am so excited to share our exciting journey with everyone! Jared is already on the road right now somewhere in Kansas. His mom went on the adventure with him. The kids and I are flying out on Tuesday. Maybe Jared will have found a house, a job and a record deal by them. Just kidding. :) Hopefully a house. What are we thinking? Are we crazy? YES!!