Sisters and Kids

My sister and I have an incredible bond.  Every summer, we have a list two miles long of all the things we are going to do together, bake together, go together.  We never do them all, but we always try!  One of our goals while she was here this year, was to get a picture of us together with our kids.  Talk about hard!  Sounds easy...not though.  We were barely able to pull these off.  I'm so glad we did though, I really like them.  And next year, I'll want to attempt this with my sister-in-laws. lol.  Good luck...

 Madeline kept scooting closer and closer to Kate to avoid Cooper pulling her hair

I love this picture:

 I love my sister!

 And guess what?  I love her kids so much too!

 Fashion shows always make the summer vacation complete:

Ack!  I can't believe she was here a month and now that she's back home, it doesn't even seem like she was here.  I had so much family in the last month here, from both sides, and now that they all left...it's sad.  Heaven is families together forever (and not just a couple weeks each year), that I know for sure!

Miss you Raelynn!

Eleven Months Old!

I was planning another catch-up post today.  But then Ethan reminded me that Cooper is now eleven months old and I better remember to take his picture!  Ack!  How did I forget?  Good thing I have a son who keeps track of what I'm doing.

Cooper.

 He's really grown up a lot this month.  He doesn't like baby food much anymore.  I love how he loves chicken and avocados and bananas.  He likes toast and pears and has already tried more sweets than his two older siblings combined at this age.

 He loves to wave and point and recently started clapping (thanks to his cousin Kate for teaching him!). But don't even consider clapping around him.  He's TERRIFIED of clapping and bawls hysterically.  Strange, because he's my first baby who doesn't mind the mixer and the vacuum.

 He loves walking along the furniture and can go from one couch to other around the bend.  His army crawl has gotten incredibly fast the last few days and while he's done a little real crawling here and there, he doesn't seem all that interested in it.

He does, however, have a great interest in his Dada.  And when he hears the garage door going up each afternoon, he stops what he's doing and looking toward the door, squeals with delight!  He also loves splashing in the tub, being outside (especially swinging), and any chance he can get to sneak into the bathroom or the computer room to tug and chew on things he's not supposed to.

With his first birthday just 31 days away (Ethan informed me of that too!), I can hardly believe the blessings and joy this little guy has brought into our lives.  And I can hardly believe how fast this year has flown.

A Hike to Battle Creek Falls

I'm going to be doing some catch-up blogging in the next few days.  This past weekend was Todd's brother's wedding and it was INCREDIBLE.  The day was so perfect.  Seeing family was so wonderful.  The wedding was beautiful and powerful and seriously the best.  And the pictures are no where near done being edited.  So until they are, catch-up blogging it is!

A couple of weeks ago, Todd decided we needed to go on a hike.  And he was right!  His plans inspired us all to get the house clean and our attitudes happy and off we went to Battle Creek Falls!  It's a perfect hike for little kids.  Short and sweet and only steep at the end.

There's a mini cave along the way:

 We took treats and drinks to eat at the top

 I hauled Cooper up the mountain

 and Todd had him on the way down.  It was a good trade for me.  Empty backpack (since we'd eaten the food)  for me instead of heavy baby on the way down when I was tired.  Plus Cooper on my front going down the steep sections would have no doubt been a topple!

 What a fun evening.  We ended the day going to The Purple Turtle in PG.  We ordered entirely too many french fries and way too much ice cream.  It was awesome.

My Kindergartener

Yesterday was Madeline's first day of kindergarten.  I seriously can't believe she'll be in school every single day now.  

 Oh, but she was so ready.  Ethan asked her if she was nervous and she said, "why would I be nervous?  I'm just excited!"  And she totally was.

 When she woke up, she told me, "I know exactly how I want my hair for my first day Mom.  Two big braids!"  This girl always has creative ideas and big plans.

 And she was so thrilled to have a PINK dress and fancy shoes.  Just take a look:

 I'm ready for school Mom!

 Um yeah, I couldn't pick my favorite picture, so I'm just posting all of them...

 standing in line

 blowing me a goodbye kiss

 after her first day with her two friends from our neighborhood.

She was so deflated to have to wait two whole days before going again.  Why they had the first day on a Friday, I'll never know.

This next week is sure going to be quiet.  Love you Madeline!  xoxo

July's Ten Things

July is always a month where I could easily list a million things to smile about, or simply just list one:  FAMILY!  I love July because it's always all about family!  Here are July's Ten Things to Smile About.

1.  COUSINS!!!  And in matching shirts.  That always makes me smile.

 2.  Helping throw a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law!  Aaaaah!  I'm so excited.  The wedding is in TEN DAYS!  Mellaina, I already love you to pieces.

3.  Ethan finished first grade and had a fabulous year!

4.  My 30th Birthday.  My family did a good job making me feel loved.  It was a great day.  And I'll be honest, I kinda like being 30.

 5.  Going out for sushi on a triple date with my siblings and their spouses.   First time eating sushi and I really liked it!

 6.  MORE COUSINS!  This time with matching umbrellas...aaah, the fun of cousins.

 7.  Everything about this kid makes me smile.  His wrinkly nose, his wave, the way he walks along the couches, the way he says dada.  Ack!  SO CUTE!

 8.  The Pioneer Parade was tons of fun!  It's a great neighborhood tradition where all the kids ride in the parade and the neighbors watching throw candy at the kids IN the parade.  I was proud of my kids though; they chose not to pick up any candy in trade for going out for frozen yogurt.

9.  Ethan started second grade.  Yes, the same month he finished first.  SHORT SUMMER.  But boy was it fun!  And so far, he's loving school this year too.

10.  Madeline met her kindergarten teacher this week!  She is SO NICE.  I have a feeling it's going to be a great year for her too.  Madeline is SO EXCITED.  I can't believe she is seriously old enough for school.  Wow!  That's all I can say.

Summer Fun Pics

I've been such a slacker with my camera lately!  I only have a handful of pictures from this summer and all were from my phone.  I guess since my sister-in-law is a photographer I've really just let her do the documenting of festivities!  But here are a few cute ones from the week my whole family was together. These pics are straight from my phone with no editing (told you I was a slacker):

Slip-n-slide awesomeness.  Ethan was really good at it too, always sliding all the way down and off the slide!

 A trip to Scheels turned into quite the fun photo shoot entertainment.  The kids loved posing in all the booths set up there.  We also rode the Ferris Wheel!

 Christmas in July.  Kids had dinner, then watched a movie while the adults enjoyed king crab legs.  Aaaah, that was awesome!  Then we opened presents...fun fun!!

 We enjoyed a trip to Temple Square and ate in the Nauvoo Cafe.  Lovely little place.

 My mom helped all the kids make Mexican Poll Puppets....lol!!  Just look at them.  It was so funny to watch them march in the parade!!

 My sister and sister-in-law all ready to drive the go-karts at the Miller Sports Park.  The kids were so funny to listen to while everyone was racing:  "My Dad is winning!"  "Well my Dad is faster"  "My Dad just passed your Dad!!"  You can imagine how pleased Ethan was when Todd had the fastest lap. I had to hush him up!

 Cute cousins!!

 We also enjoyed an exotic fruit tasting

 a Root Beer tasting (you wouldn't believe how different they all tasted!!) and a caramel tasting!  What can I say?  We love food!

 My parents with all their grandkids:

 And right before my brother and his family left, we all took a turn trying out the slackline.  If you haven't seen these things before, you should look them up.  It was so fun.  So hilarious.  And impossibly hard!

Boohoo.  Summer ended.  But boy, was it fun!

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First Day of Second Grade

Summer is over folks!  And what a completely fabulous and fast summer it was.  I took some great pictures while all my family was here and I hope to post them eventually, but until then I wanted to post some pictures from Ethan's first day of school.  

 Year round school is hard for me to take, Ethan's summer this year was three weeks.  I definitely wasn't ready to start carpooling again, not ready to pack lunches and all of that.  

 Kindergarten starts one week later than the other grades, so Madeline will be with me for a few more days.  But this kid - just look at him:

 He's gone from home 8 hours a day now.  It's SOOOO long.  But he loves it.  He is so happy.

 His very best friend is in his class.  Along with all his friends!  The ALPS program kids stay the same each year (give or take one or two), so the kids in his class never change.  Only the teacher.  And he already loves her.  This made him a lot less nervous for the first day.

 See?  There they go, and he didn't even look back.

I'm so glad he loves school!  I just wish I knew how he is growing up so fast.