A quick visit with the cousins

A couple weeks ago I made a quick trip to Salt Lake to help my mom with an outpatient procedure. She recovered so quickly I didn't even get to nurse her back to health. She could have at least pretended to be sick so I could cater to her every need.

All the cousins were together during the day. They played out in the backyard all day. By the end of the day they smelled as good as they look in this picture. Sweaty, dirty, and sun-screened. They smelled like summer.



We piled them in the hot tub with grandpa right before going to bed. Usually a small soak in the tub is just enough to make them tired but not this time. There were too many bodies crammed in. They were jumping all around.



I love living in Richmond but it is the little moments spent with cousins that I miss. It is fun to see their excitement when they see each other after it has been a while.

Are you kidding me???

All spring long Brad BEGGED us to "buzz" his hair. We put if off as long as possible but when summer came we could no longer refuse. Brad wanted to look just like his dad.

I had to work one night and Brad had been begging ALL day to cut his hair short. I told Randy he could do it but no shorter than a 2 on the clippers.

While I was at work I received this picture on my phone!!! I couldn't believe it. Randy bic'd Brad's scalp to total baldness. I mean shiny baldness. There was nothing I could do but freak out at work.

The next day I had to do some grocery shopping at Sam's Club. They just so happened to be hosting a big Primary Children's fundraiser for leukemia. Seriously??? Brad was acting really crazy at the store. He was touching everything and running up and down the isles. I kept hearing comments from other shoppers like "oh what a sweet cute boy". I wanted to scream out across the intercom "Do not cut my son any slack...He does not have Leukemia!!!! This behavior is NOT cute!!!!" That was the fastest Sam's Club trip I have ever made.

Thank goodness it has now grown out a bit. Both Randy and Brad have been given verbal and written threats just in case they thought it would be a good idea to do it again.

I have a good excuse

You will have to excuse my near absence in blogging. It is not due to lack of interest or desire. I merely lack the energy. It has been hard enough to keep up with others blogs let alone write my own. Honestly I am lucky to have the kids dressed and fed, and even luckier if I take a shower.

I have a bun in the oven.

We are thrilled, ecstatic, delighted, and overjoyed to welcome a new little one to our family. It is a good thing too because this little one has sucked every last ounce of energy out of me. I am completely fortunate that I only get morning sickness in my first trimester. But I can’t seem to kick the tiredness. I don’t remember being this tired with my other two. Maybe I just don’t remember or maybe I am just getting older.

I am almost 23 weeks along. We had our BIG ultrasound on Thursday and everything looks great. We decided not to find out what we are having. Since it will be a scheduled C-Section we wanted some element of surprise. The baby is scheduled to arrive on 11-11-11. What a COOL birthday. I hope I hold out that long.

I KNOW this baby belongs to Randy and I. It moves like crazy. I feel like it is whipping up my insides. Just like Brad and Claire did. Every ultra sound picture is blurry because of fetal movement. They can’t get the little peanut to hold still long enough for a picture.

I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this blessing. I am so thankful for the perfect timing in our family. We have waited so patiently for this… and not so patient at times. We can’t wait.

I did have a small burst of energy tonight at work so I did manage to make up a few posts.

Catch up Post

This is a late post. It is a long story about how I lost the pictures yadda yadda yadda....but I figure better late than never.

We had the privilege of having Brian and Kristin May family visit our house this spring. We shared a duplex with them when we lived in West Valley. We miss living next door to them. It is the ONLY thing I miss about West Valley.



Elle and Claire were so happy to see each other again. They were separated not long after birth. It had been a while since they had seen each other but they rekindled their friendship in no time at all.



We had a firepit... the girls loved their s'mores WAY too much.




Then it was time for a big old bubble bath. You should have heard them giggle.





Then the giggling and talking continued long into the night. It was near impossible to get these girls to go to bed.



I loved living next door to Kristin. She is one of my dearest friends. We spent a TON of time together. She is so easy to be around. We were pregnant with the girls together and it was so fun having someone to go through it with. We swore the girls would be best friends no matter what. We didn't have to try hard. The girls loved each other.

Claire was born the end of November and Elle was born in January.


Claire was always big for her age and Elle was always small for her age. The difference made us laugh.

The girls started sitting on their own about the same time.

Swimming at Murray Pool.

Playing at the pumpkin patch.

It was fun having them for the weekend. I miss the May Family. We need to convince them to move to Richmond. They would love it here.

Logan Canyon

Do you ever look at a picture of your kids and think "MAN MY KIDS ARE GROWING UP WAY TOO FAST". I can't stand how fast time flies!!!! It was just yesterday they were placed in my arms.

This picture was taken last week in Logan Canyon at Ricks Spring. Logan has been overwhelmed with all the water gushing out of the canyons. This spring is usually ankle deep and it is running up over the bridge to cross into the cave. It was impressive. Several homes have been flooded along with half of the golf course.

Fourth of July- Bear Lake

For the last few years we have been invited to spend time with the Hodges Family in Bear Lake over the Fourth of July. They have a beautiful cabin in Bear Lake West. Randy plays in the 4th of July Golf Tournament with all the men.

I was a dink and forgot the camera so I only have a few pics from Randy's camera phone. (I'll have to steal pictures from the other smart ones who brought their camera)

Randy took Brad to the golf course to hit a few balls. I think it was the highlight of Brad's trip.

We spent time relaxing, visiting the beach, of course eating good food and the kids loved every minute of playing with Sara and Derek's twins.

One of the nights Claire found my toiletry bag after I put her down for the night. When Randy and I came to bed she had put on blush, mascara, and sparkly eyeshadow. She also found some baby powder that she sprinkled all over the carpet then for some strange reason she licked the mirror from top to bottom. She obviously was NOT tired.

Aunt Kamie brought pirate costumes and pirate booty for several treasure hunts on the trip. The kids LOVED searching the treasure map looking for treasure. It was cute listening to their pirate lingo.

We always look forward to this trip and are so grateful for the invite.

Neighborhood Firework show

A few days before the Fourth our neighborhood put all their fireworks together to make one big firework show. I didn't count but there had to be at least 75 to 100 people there. Everyone brought a treat to share along with fireworks. The kids ran around with their friends swirling sparklers. When it was dark enough we sat on lawn chairs to enjoy the firework show put on by the men. I LOVE my neighbors and love this tradition. Thanks Leisa and Leslie for putting this on every year.