Parting with an Old, Dear Friend

2 years ago when we were at Disney World my flip flops broke. I was so bummed...I get attached to well-worn-in flips flops, but had to get over it quickly and get the only thing you can find there....Mickey Mouse flip flops!


Yeah they were cute there when I was just all about everything Disney, but outside of the park it's kind of like I was wearing kid's flip flops.
Needless to say, I was still wearing them over 2 years later. I could feel everything on the ground through the not-so-new flip flops but just could never justify spending money on new ones....that is until yesterday.
Wal-mart had their "clearance" on clearance and I walked out with these beauties!


Still not the most stylish, but what can I say, they had me at "a buck-fifty." Maybe tacky flip flops will be "my thing."

Morning Walks

My boys have gotten pretty into our latest routine of walking Seth to work and then around the lake. The lastest is James crying at the back door until we leave. It's pretty dang cute, especially when his tears and frowns turn immediately into smiles and giggles when he gets in the stroller.
Here's my little men all bundled up for our morning fall walk! So cute!

Look who's "UNO"

We had such a fun day planning and having James' first birthday. I think the best part about it was how Sam "got it" and knew we were going to have a party! He was very much into the decorations, presents, and especially the cake.


These are the fun invitations we sent out to the family. I just love how they turned out.





Here's the over-all look of the party. We had UNO cards hanging from the ceiling. I loved the look that it was so hard to finally take them down today.



I love the center piece. It was kind of a last minute thing because I wanted to use as many cards as I could, but it turned out pretty cute.





The napkin holders are toilet paper rolls cut up, painted with a card glued on. It worked really well, was a nice little touch, and didn't cost anything.



I made this shirt for James using my cricut, fabric paint, and freezer paper. I was SO pleased with it. It was so cute. He will defiantely be getting a lot of mileage out of it this year!

There are my "UNO cards" cupcakes. They were fun to do and for some reason cupcakes always taste a little better than just plain old cake!




And here's the big guy enjoying his first birthday cake. It was so cute how he didn't even bother picking it up at first! It was just lean over and dive in!





I can't believe that James is 1! I know he's been huge for a really long time and has been wearing 2-T's for months now, but at least me was still my baby! I guess I should have seen this coming with the walking, how he learned to tease his brother, the climbing of the couch, the animal sounds, the words....it's such an amazing processes, and fun to watch, but it just passes in a blink of an eye.
We had an "UNO" party for James. It was a fun theme, and the whole party cost me less than $10. It's amazing how far one deck of cards can go! We had my brother and his family over for the little party, dinner, and family night. We started with the presents and cake because our cute little birthday boy had to get to bed (After a hard day of playing, shopping with mom, and a McDonald's lunch he was tired).
Here's some shots of the fun!

And here's a video of sweet James' raising to new heights...


Here are some of my new favorite shots of the boys. Sam was giving James some "Loves". So adorable!

Labor Day Weekend...NO Labor Allowed!

We headed up to Bear Lake for a long Labor Day Weekend and loved every minute of it. It was one of our most enjoyable weekends up there. Seth got to relax (not as much as he would have liked, he was still a little sick), play his games, watch Lord of the Rings....I got to craft and sleep in, Sam and James got to play, watch shows, swing, go the the park, swing, go on walks, swing, go on 4-wheeler rides, swing, and go on their first boat ride....and Grandpa M got to provide all the fun, food, and entertainment. (yep, that sounds about right!) :)
It was a blast. The boys loved the boat....well, that is after they got all bundled up in sweatshirts, socks, blankies, and mom....oh, and let's not forget the tools they found in the glove box! What a life saver! We always teased Seth's dad about the old blue boat that just sat in the garage up there telling him he needed to ditch it. Well, I take it back. It was so fun to just "go boating" as they say here in Utah. The cute little boat tried it's hardest and it was just enough for our little family.


Here's about what I looked like the entire time...covered with children...as usual!

Here's what Seth looked like about the entire time...

And of course, no trip is a trip without a little Seth humor...

I love this shot of Grandpa M and James...

It was a fairly cool weenend which was nice....a lot less people there...just the way we like it. We got to see lots of deer. Here they are on the lawn right outside our porch. It's so fun to see.




Sam and Grandpa M got to see deer one night on the 4-wheeler and a water snake on one of their day trips. Sam thought that was just about the coolest thing ever.







We found a new fun game on my laptop. "Spider Solitare." Don't play. It's so additing. I had to take a picture of when I won because it's only happened once!



And here's some more fun shots from a great weekend of just pure family fun....

Couch Potato

James has finally got into the fine art of TV watching! :) We are SO proud! :)


(Don't mind all the laundry in the shot....oops!) :)

Sam the Fix-It Man

We have this wonderful friend, Don, who always helps us with our projects. He came over to help fix our fan, but sadly we will need a new one. Sam LOVES Don. He know as soon as he sees him that tools will be used and he is right there to help...and Don is so good to him.
Here they are assessing the problem.

Ode to My Boys

I have the 3 most wonderful boys in my life. I love them each so much. Seth is the best friend, husband, and dad ever. Sam is a great big brother and pure entertainment. James is a sweet, cuddle bear who makes everyone smile!
I am one blessed mama and just wanted to take time to say it.
We have been enjoying the end of summer and the cooler weather that is coming with it. I love nice weather and wish we had more of it. Here's just a few shot of my sweet boys and some of the activities we have been enjoying.
Sam riding the train at Lagoon. We rode it...actually, I think we lost count how many times we rode it! :)

Baby James showing his skills at the park and heading for the slide. This has become a new favorite activity for him.

James is now going on the rides with Sam. This is fun for him, Sam is still getting used to it. We even took James on Puff. He LOVED it. How many 11 month olds do you know who can handle that! :)

We have been going through Seth's old toys and ebaying and DIing them. Sam and James thought they had just won the lottery. They are still wondering where it all went!

Anything Sam loves James now loves too! Fun for James, not so much for Sam! :)

I've been making it a point to spend a time everyday reading with the kids. Sam has really gotten back into reading and I love it. It is so cute to see him love the pictures and point out numbers, colors, animals, and letters he finds in them!

James has also started to venture into the sandbox with Sam and is learning the fine art of dirt. Eating, throwing, covering himself in it....it's a beautiful thing to see a boy's face light up when he gets to get dirty!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

Our Temple was dedicated last week and it was a beautiful experience. It was fun to go with Seth (while Grandma M watched the kids) and enjoy the peace and excitement. It was so memorable as I sat there enjoying the spirit and thinking about how Seth and I used to sit on our front porch the first few months in our new house and look out and say, "someday the temple will be right there."
It has been about 2 1/2 years since then and now we can't believe that the temple is complete. It was fun taking part in the process and now can't wait to take part in the sacred work done there.
We are so blessed and are grateful everyday for the opportunity we have to not only be so close to the House of the Lord, but to have the every day and eternal blessings of his restored gospel in our lives.

I was able to have my Grandma M's handkerchief with me for the dedication and couldn't help wonder how may dedications and temples it had visited with her. It was her temple hanky and I am so grateful to have it now. It reminds me our my ancestors and gives me more desires to learn more about them and make sure their temple blessings have been provided for them.

James is Walking and got his First Hair Cut

He was on the edge for so long and it seems like he just decided that he could do it and it was easy. It has been so nice to have him walking. I think I am one of the few mom's who encourages her children to crawl and walk, etc. I love how happy they are when they learn a new thing, can get what they want, and have a little more independence.

Here are some of his first steps:


And here he is now:

I finally did it today. He is almost one, is walking, saying a few little things like woof (for a dog), ma-ma, da-da, na-na (for banana), ba (for bath). But I didn't want to cut his baby hair. That just seemed to seal the deal that my baby is growing up and no longer my baby. He runs around with Sam, steals his toys, his food, his sipies, and goes down the slide. My how time flies! I decided to save a few bucks and cute his hair myself. hopefully it looks okay. I was emotional and he was very squirmy, but didn't cry!


These pictures are a little off because I did this when Seth was gone and had to use the timer to capture the memory. Not too bad though...


And here's the after, I just love the little faces he makes!

Mom Slept in so Dad made Breakfast...

Thank you to my sweet husband who let me sleep in until almost 10 this morning after a hard night with James. This is just what I needed to walk downstairs to to have a good laugh and a fun start to my day! Love ya honey!
(Seth is eating left over steak while Sam is enjoying left over spaghetti!) :)

Thanksgiving Point Gardens

One of my new favorite places to go in the summer is the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. They are so beautiful and fun to be in. They have fun caves to play in, a lighthouse, cod fish to feed, and an awesome splash park with Noah's Ark.
The grounds are emaculate. The flowers, grasses, bushes, and trees are breath-taking.

Here's some of the fun we had:




Before we left we had to go back for a ride on the bear. Sam thought that was pretty cool.




So of course James had to get on too. I think he was wondering why Sam found this so fun.



And here are some of my favorite shots of the gardens: