Texas Trip - June 28th-29th

Gramma & Papa and Aunt Pat & Uncle Rick came over to James & Amy's to visit us!  

It was so good to have a little one on one time with them and get to visit &  catch up.

The kids loved playing with all of Ava's toys & in the backyard. It was definitely hot, but since our summer was so late in coming to UT, we were pretty thrilled with the heat!

 Handsome Cole:

Sweet Nora:

Adorable Ava:

June 29th - The next day we had to pull out the pool & popsicles!

Cute Owen, I just love his face in this shot:

Ryder LOOOVED this car!

My cute Tave:

The kids found a new friend!

West was brave enough to let it crawl on his finger, I was impressed!      

Texas Trip- June 26th- 27th

Jeff's grandparents, Gramma & Papa, drove up with Aunt Pat & Uncle Rick (mom's siblings) for a few days to visit.  We appreciate them coming to see and loved spending time with them!  It was a really fun visit.

We had a delicious bbq on Sunday when they got in. ( I hope Amanda or Amy has more photos to send me!)

And then Monday was spent in our favorite place - the Pool!

Texas Trip - Friday June 24th

Quick recap of the trip: 

First night was at mom & dad's. Then we headed to Joe & Amanda's for a few nights. Next was James & Amy's for a couple of nights. Then on to Guy & Sharon's for a night. Then back to Mom & Dad's for about 5 nights and we finished it up at Joe & Amanda's the last night (or two, I can't rememer!) 

Whew...I think we got it all in there! 

In between all the moving around, we also did the zoo, date night, girl's day/guy's day, the movies, swimming,  ran a 5k, the fourth of July, and of course - just hanging out together.

The adults also all passed around some kind of cold/cough combo that wasn't fun, but at least the kiddos didn't catch it!

We had a blast and miss everyone even more now!

So on to the pictures.

We headed over to James & Amy's friday morning (June 24th)  We hadn't met little Nora yet and the last time we saw Ava she was about 6 months old. So to say we were thrilled would be an understatement! I couldn't wait to get my  hands on that adorable baby!  

I know I say it over and over, but I just love seeing my kiddos with their cousins. The boys had so much fun and have started playing better with everyone. It was great:

I think Nora convinced Jeff that girls are okay. :)

Ryder was super interested in her and loved to crawl over to say hi:

The kids loved the air mattress we slept on:

Ava loved 'helping' Ryder:

SO cute...reading together:

Getting some snuggle time with Nora, love this baby:

Friday afternoon we headed to the movies to see Cars II.  

Cute show, a little long and complex for the kids, but they were with their cousins, so all was good:

Texas Trip - On our way!!

We were SUPER thrilled to go to Texas this summer to visit Jeff's family. Most of his siblings are there now as well as his parents, grandparents, and extended family. We love our time there and look forward to our next visit the minute each one ends.  

We LOVE that the Salt Lake Airport has a kiddie play area. It is a great way to burn off some energy before the flight:

Jeff's parents were waiting for us at the airport in Dallas. The kiddos were super exhausted, so this is what happened while we waited at the car rental place:

Mom and I waited with the boys (while the guys were doing the car rental stuff). West took this cute pic when he woke up. We LOVE spending time with Grandma & Grandpa.

Our vacation was off to a great start...

Ryder- 11 Months

Ryder turned 11 months old 6.20.2011

Dear Ryder,

You are such a happy boy and we could not ask for a sweeter little guy in our family. You think the world of your brothers- they can always get the best laughs out of you. And they adore you just as much.We truly feel so blessed to have such a loving and happy spirit in our home. We all love giving and getting attention from YOU!! The minute you wake up in the morning you are squealing and hugging and loving everyone. You especially love seeing mom and dad when we get you out of bed.  The minute anyone sees you, you give a HUGE smile and we can't help but smile back.

We love you little man, you make our lives so much better by being here!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, Weston, & Tave

Here are some highlights from Ryder's 11th month:

• Pulled himself up to standing for the first time
• Find him standing in his bed now a lot.. he thinks he is super cool when he does it!
• Loves holding our fingers to walk and has a definite opinion of where we should go
• Learned how to clap his hands
• Makes funny faces to get a reaction
• He has gotten Louder-- he makes LOTS of noises to get our attention
• Definitely knows what he wants & finds a way to let us know what it is
• Clicks his tongue all the time
• Loves doors: closing them mostly
• Crawls ALL over the place
• Learned how to climb the stairs and wants to do it all the time!
• Drinks his bottles great: 4 6oz bottles a day
• Eats lots of finger foods, is done with baby food completely
• LOOOVES to splash in the bath tub (and gets everyone wet)
• ABSOLUTELY loves music.  He dances to it every single time it is on and will stop crying the minute anyone starts singing a song.
• Such a HAPPY little guy!

Happy Father's Day!!

I have been so blessed to have the most amazing Dad. I look up to him in so many ways and am forever grateful for all that he taught me and does for me & my family.  Because of him, I had the bar set pretty high for my future husband.  I am so lucky that I found someone who would be an incredible father to our children.

I know that is due to the amazing example his own dad was to him. 

We are deeply blessed to have wonderful father's who we love so very much.
Happy Father's Day Dads! 

This doesn't quite cover it, but Thank You for everything.

Jeff is the best dad to our boys. 

He plays with them, laughs with them, and teaches them.

I love watching them together and seeing the magic that happens when a daddy loves his boys.

We spent the day together and it was perfect and relaxing, just how Jeff wanted it!

The boys drew him pictures:

And then gave him the shirts THEY picked out for him:

Tave was a little excited, and told him about an hour before Jeff opened it that we got him a Transformer shirt. Silly  kiddo, where was this when I needed it: ;)

All in their transformer shirts. (I am dying over this adorable shot!)

Ryder loved our special father's day dinner of calzones:

These boys love to wear their daddy's shoes:

My favorite guys:

I hope we were able to show you  just how much you mean to us!

Happy Father's Day, Babe!

Weston's Birthday Date!

I love how much the boys look forward to their special date with Mom & Dad 

especially since we get just as excited for it!  

Weston picked Mcdonald's and this time we were on a time constraint (due to the next activity) so we went simple and picked up Taco Bell for Jeff & I.

He has been talking about Kung Fu Panda 2 for MONTHS, he couldn't wait to see it!

I love getting to take the boys out one on one for a date. We try to do that during the year, but this one is special because they go with BOTH of us. My cute, sweet Weston is at such a fun age and we just love hanging out with him.

Happy Birthday, West.

We LOVE you!

Girl's Day with my sisters!

Shar was in town back in June for a work conference. She was staying at a hotel, so we all joined her for dinner and an overnighter! It was so awesome to have time to just talk and laugh and eat and talk. 

LOVED it and LOVE these ladies. 

I am so lucky!

Happy Birthday Weston!

My little Weston is 5 years old!

I really don't know where all that time went. 

The past 5 years have been...more than I ever anticipated:

more tears, more happiness, more learning, more love

Happy Birthday Weston!

We like to make birthday's special. 

Weston picked out everything we did on his birthday:

Splash park with friends

NO nap or quiet time, instead we played games and read stories together

Duck pond park with dad

Yummy dinner and watched a movie with his brothers

Sounds like a perfect day to me!