THIS AND THAT

I feel like I'm trying to play catch up...because I am.  So here are a few things we've been doing.

Boston has had a few acting gigs lately.  He loves it.  He's always making up plays or movies with his friends.  He loves putting on any type of production.  It's so fun to see him and I'm so proud of him for doing it all.  The first movie he was cast in, he emailed the director.  I was in China.  The director thought it was me pretending to be Boston.  I told him "Nope, that was Boston.  He's so excited to get the part!" Boston can't wait for his first movie to be out in theaters.  It is supposed to be this fall.  We can't wait! He's done several commercials too.  It's been fun for him.

He also got to be in a play with some people in Katie's ward. His friends all came to watch his performance. Boston's face lit up seeing his friends there.

 These next two pictures make me laugh so hard every time I see them.  We were on a group message with Alyssa and she had just gotten her new goggles for Lacrosse.  We asked her to send us a picture and she cropped them halfway so we could barely see them.  (I swear this is the trend for how to take a selfie.)   So Gentry replied with these two pictures saying "Look at my new TV"  and the second one saying "Look at my new shoes".  Seeing them I couldn't stop laughing.  Since then Alyssa has been a little bit better about cutting off pictures.

 I found this card from Boston address to Frannie. (our dog) He took one of my cards and wrote this.  I thought it was hilarious....even though he wasted one of my good gift card, cards.

 "Happy Day 'Foo' I love you so much I love you too much.  Thanks for being you Foo-Foo"
(Family)

Alyssa has become such a pretty dancer.  She just had her last dance competition.  She's decided to quit and only play Lacrosse.

 Alyssa FINALLY got her braces off.  I couldn't wait.  I think I was more excited than her.  I asked her to send me a picture of her teeth.  This is what she sent.  (Picture with her forehead cropped out.  Just like I mentioned earlier.)

 Tenli is one of Boston's best friends.  They were lucky enough to be on set together!

 Alyssa's Lacrosse team...

 Boston, on set again.  This was for a commercial for insurance.

 Boston getting his makeup done for a Kickstarter video.  They made him look "sick". He had to act like he was puking.

 He was supposed to look like a younger version of a hispanic guy so they darkened up his eyebrows too.

The boys decided to take the stuffing out of their giant stuffed animal. I was dying laughing.  Of course I made sure to ask where they put the stuffing.  They assured me it was all cleaned up in a garbage bag.  They made some pretty funny music videos with the costume.  Boston asked if he could wear the costume to one of Brock's games and be the mascot.

 Boston loves wearing these pajama pants that are too small....

 Gentry took a break from being head coach and just assisted.  He likes not having the pressure of head coach.

 We LOVE going to Brock's baseball games.  Especially when the weather is nice.

Brock and Boston's 12th Birthday

Boston and Brock had their 12th birthday!!! Crazy how time flies.  I know I say that all the time, but I seriously can't believe I have boys that are old enough to pass the sacrament.

On their birthday Boston took a picture of Brock at 8:02 am standing next to the clock on the microwave.  (That is the time Brock was born.  Boston was born at 8:04.) As soon as Boston took the picture he said "Awe, I don't want to turn 12 yet!" Brock replied (dead serious) with "Boston, it's so much fun!"  That describes my boys perfectly. They are ALWAYS laughing and giggling.

The boys really wanted metal detectors this year.  You can see their excitement while opening their shovels.  After a day of searching and only discovering gum wrappers Boston said "Mom, so many people have gum wrappers just fall out of their pockets." --Apparently they don't realize that most of the world thinks it's ok to just litter.  (Which is good because I can't stand when people just drop their trash for someone else to clean up.)

The boys wanted a "hang out" party this year.  I told them no birthday parties anymore, so this is their way of getting around that rule.  They wanted to have all of their friends come over and swim and hang out.  They also asked if they could have a Piñata....so I got them one.  I told them they couldn't look in it until the hang out party....funny story:

While driving home the other day, the boys were talking about the 2nd coming and about when they would die etc.  Boston is always very concerned about these two subjects.  He turned to me in the car and said, "Mom, I have to tell you something.  I accidentally looked in the piñata." Knowing he was lying I said "That's fine, it just won't be a surprise, but don't try to tell me it was on accident." Then Brock chimed in saying "Yeah he found a harmonica in there and started playing it!" The next day I found the harmonica in the wash.  I guess he forgot to put it back in the piñata and ended up putting it "accidentally" in his pocket.

We had my parents, Janay and Gentry's parents over on Sunday for cake and ice-cream.  We also had a pretty good game of Heads Up.  It's actually funny to watch the boys play with each other because I swear they can read each other's minds.

I got the boys suits for their 12th birthday.  Since they would be passing the sacrament and all.  They look pretty cute in them.  As I watched them pass the sacrament I couldn't help but giggle.  They took their job VERY seriously.  I could just see it in their eyes and they kept trying not to smile....but I know they thought they were pretty cool.

I just love these boys! They are so creative and always keeping us laughing.  These are a few notes from Boston.  He loves to leave us notes.  Mostly at bedtime cause I'm sure he's just avoiding going to sleep.  They also love to come in and give us hugs and kiss my cheek before bed.  They are the sweetest boys.

This note was attached to a balloon.  He just threw it in our room and ran out.  Hilarious. (At least we know we need to work on how to spell science.)

WEST TEXAS INVESTORS CLUB VIEWING PARTY

OK so if I'm being completely honest, neither Angie or I wanted a viewing party.  Normally I like doing something like that but I seriously had no idea what the editing would be like on the show so it made me nervous.  I posted on Facebook about the show and a few minutes later got a text from Becky Pickle.  (She's the owner/Operator of the South Jordan Chick-Fil-a.)

As you can see it didn't take much convincing...but I didn't tell Angie right away.  I waited until the next day to tell her.  This type of thing makes Angie super nervous so I try to plan a good time to tell her.  She had plans of watching the show in bed with no one around and a blanket to cover her face if she were to get embarrassed.

Angie agreed that it would be fun....or maybe she just knew she couldn't talk me out of it once I made up my mind.  Either way it was happening.  Planning starting Friday the 27th...the party was Tuesday the 7th.  We had to plan QUICKLY!  When Angie got back in town we started planning with Allison and Sunny.  They were AWESOME. They took on every single detail.  I came up with a few ideas and they executed them better than I could have imagined.  I don't know what I would have done without them! We reserved the movie theater at the Megaplex.  Sunny sent out invites so that we made sure not to overbook the theater.

 Now I need you to look closely at these little bags. Allison even made us set them up every other sack with the little ribbons like this.  She cracks us up.  It's because of her and Sunny this night was as amazing as it was. It's all in the details ;).

 The guys put together about a million boxes for decor.  We couldn't go into the theater until about 15 minutes before everyone came so we had to set it all up outside of the theater.

We decided to get a photographer (Peter Loosli from Loosli Taken.  He does all our family pictures so  I called him.) We wanted to remember this night.  With all the chaos so many details are already a blur.  I wanted to remember everyone that came.  It was such a cool humbling experience to see a movie theater filled with people who are supporting you. It was a night I never want to forget.  With this business I've felt so many lows.  I've been more stressed than I can express. (I got shingles twice!) But on the flip side, when you work this hard, the reward is that much greater and means that much more.  I wanted to soak up this excitement.

 My kids were really excited about the night.  They were chomping at the bit to get to the theater.  They have been so patient and helpful through all of this chaos.  I couldn't have asked for better kids.

 My friend Adrienne even came early to help with the event.  We created a couple hashtags to use on social media and so she took pictures with everyone's cellphone.

We got a few of our favorite shops to bring some items for a giveaway.  I wanted to keep everything for myself.  In fact if we didn't have a theater full of people watching me I might have tried to stuff it all in my purse.  Ha ha.  Seriously we gave away some awesome gifts!

Sara Kelly from @ariebdesigns gave us her famous custom trucker hats.  I had her make a few with gold hearts and I gave one to Angie because she is truly the best business partner with a heart of gold.  I knew Angie would be upset if I did something without telling her...but she would also be super nervous if I told her we were doing something.  So I got a hat for myself, from her.  That way it took the stress out of shopping.  See what a good business partner I am?

We also gave a gold hearted hat to Nicea Degering.  She was such a huge help in the beginning.  From the killer show on Good Things Utah, to the lunch strategy meetings she met us for. We feel indebted to her.  We just love her.

Nicea took over the mic....weird right? ha ha. This is what I just love about her.  She said such sweet things about us!  

Becky Pickle has been just as big of a help.  From giving us free meals to hand out to people putting their shopping carts away,  to helping us throw the viewing party.  She is truly a GEM.  Not a nicer person in the world.  So naturally she needed a hat too:) She also provided 250 Chick-Fil-a chicken sandwiches for everyone who came!

Eric has been more than an investor to us.  He's brought so much organization and drive to the company.  We love him and appreciate all that he has done for us.

We gave away jewelry from @brinandbell My friend Lindsay started the company.  She has helped us a ton with social media since she was already ahead of us with building her audience.  When I saw them give the flamingo necklace alway I tried to pay attention to who got it so I could swindle it back ;)

Amy from @pearlandjane has been so awesome.  From one of our first lifestyle shoot (yes, she stayed there for 8 hours) to anything we do now, she is there supporting us and decorating our rooms!  She gave away some of the cutest banners ever!

Both Angie and I were wearing clothes from @pinkishtrends so naturally I called Anna to see if she would want to give away a couple items.  She brought some of my favorites.  I couldn't wait to hear how the winners liked their clothes.  I get so passionate about things I love.  The stretchy moto pants are heavenly.  If you don't have them...buy them.  NOW.  You're welcome. :)

My friend Courtney from @tnees_tpees came with her husband on their ANNIVERSARY!  How dang sweet is that?

Seriously I'm telling you this is the coolest part about the business.  Making new friends and seeing all of your family and friends support you on these big events. It was an indescribable night.  So happy to have so many people there supporting us.

The show was a success.  The movie theater was perfect.  I had a few panic attacks worrying that the show wouldn't work on the theater screen. But there were no issues! (YAY!)  It was so fun to have everyone cheer when Angie and I came on screen.  Everyone came up to us after the show and congratulated us. Such a great night!

I've included just a few of the pictures from the night.  I didn't get approval from everyone and hesitate to post without their permission:)  But at least you get the gist of it.

Gentry's parents have bought so many Beddy's sets and they are always so supportive of us!

Brock's baseball coach and his wife came to the event!  So fun that they supported us too.

 Shelly....how do I even describe this woman? I literally just met her a couple months ago and she has helped us SOOO much!  From the vinyl on the balloons with our Beddy's logo, to the TV she bought at the DI to make for decorations. She even used her own remote to  make it look more legit.  One of the busiest, kindest, funniest people around!

 My parents are so supportive.  From the original prototype my mom made to the new bedskirts she helped me design.  I couldn't have hand picked a better family.

These four are some of my original clients.  They have supported me and cheered me on during all of this.  I was so glad they came. They tried to hide from the cameras but when I saw them in the audience I made them come get a picture with me. :)

 This is Sandy from SANDY a la mode.  We recently met her and were so excited to have her come.  Everyone was in love with her little girl. Isn't she the sweetest?

 When you have your cheer friends from high school come...there's only one thing to do....a cheer pose.  Oh how I just love these girls.  ALWAYS so supportive.  I couldn't have asked for better friends.

 We were SO excited to have Nick and Mignon come.  We don't see them very often anymore but we still feel like they are part of our family.  We love them!

 One thing I love about sports with kids is you become good friends with the other parents.  Ivy and Charlotte were so sweet to come!  I just love these two.

 Candice is one of my oldest friends.  She feels like family too. She even came and took off her sling (broken arm) for the picture.  Love her and her husband.

 Ryan is our attorney, so we can't do business without him.  Luckily his wife is one of my favorite people in the world.  How I love this family!

 Trent and Mendee are the worlds most supportive neighbors. It's been so fun even collaborating with businesses too.  Love her!

 The Dunfields....who doesn't love them? Matt and Michele...so happy to have my family there!

 Jon was our very first fulfillment guy.  He is amazing.  The nicest guy in the world.  He helped Gentry and Greg get started with our fulfillment center.

 My cute niece Maren.  She is the AMAZING author to our new book A Monstrous Misunderstanding.  She is currently writing the 2nd book to the series.  I can not wait to get it printed.

 These are my sister in law Jenni's family.  So basically...they are family too.  Love them.

 Tara...also known as my only source of sanity while the twins were little.  She was THE BEST babysitter.  I just knew she would be the best mom some day....and she is.  So happy she could come. I consider her family!

Our accountant Josh and his wife.

 Oh how I love these girls.  They missed the Bachelorette just so they could come see our show...which is a big deal ;)

 Brenda...our running/exercise friend.  She is a gem!  She listens to our stress every morning and still likes us:)

This night was a huge success thanks to these people.  I don't know what I would do without them.
Sunny, Adrienne, Allison and Abbie...THANK YOU.  Love you all!

Gentry is the world's most supportive husband.  For him to leave his job and security there to join me on this adventure is more than I could have ever asked.  I love working with him.  I feel like it's always been our dream to work together.  Now we FINALLY get to work together.

-Betsy :)