6 years. Aug 5-6th

Since we were camping with the fam. on our 6 year anniversary, we celebrated a few weeks later.

It was simple and sweet and just perfect.

Thank you to our wonderful family and friends who watched the boys so we could have a night away! 

The boys all started out Friday at friend's houses, then Jonathan & Rachel watched them over night and then Shawn & Abby had them all day Sat.  It was so wonderful to have time to ourselves and to go where we wanted on our own schedule. It was pretty much heaven. :)

We have a tradition of doing sealings at the temple every year on our anniversary. We decided to try to go to every temple while we're here in Utah and close to so many. We are so blessed. 

We went to the Jordan River temple:

Afterwards we went out to eat and then headed back to our hotel in Draper.  It was nice being out of the provo/orem area.  

Sat. we slept in (bliss) and then Jeff surprised me by taking me to our favorite place for breakfast: Kneaders. Mmmm...cue mouth watering.

Then we went to a movie and then to the Provo river to do some canoeing.

It was so calm, quiet, and serene.  We loved it!!

We've had so much moisture this year, so the river was really high. We had to crouch down super low in the boat to go under this bridge:

It was hard to take a picture of Jeff, who was behind me and I was crouched down on the floor of the canoe...so it had horrible lighting, hence the black and white:

Our view once almost to the lake:

After our canoe trip, we headed to PF Changs.  This is where we went to dinner after Jeff proposed, so it was fun to go back.

The past 6 years have been amazing.  I love this man more than I ever thought possible.

Happy Anniversary, babe!

Shar, Trav, & the Girls visit!!! July 08-26, 2011

The day we arrived home from our Texas trip Shar, Trav, & the girls were driving to Utah!

We couldn't wait to see them! 

But we did have to wait a few days because we left Texas with pink eye and bronchitis. YUK!

Since Shar was working and they were staying with Shawn & Abby it worked out pretty well that we didn't hang out. Except we were bored to tears and so sad...but we had to make sure no one else got pink eye. 

We FINALLY met up at a park for a fun evening:

The kiddos hanging out one morning:

Reading with Uncle Trav:

We visited BYU's Museum of Paleontology, the kids loved it!

Weston's favorite dinosaur- a triceratops:

We spent a lot of time outside playing. This was a backyard swim day:

 Mila & Kapria thought this spot behind our gate was the perfect place to hang out, so cute:

Ryder hanging out with Aunt Shar:

Love my sister:

They're not smiling, but they really loved playing together:

We were able to get our sitter and her sister to watch ALL 5 kiddos so we could go on a sibling date. 

I love my siblings, we had a blast:

We spent the last day at the Lindon Aquatic Center, definitely a fav:

The kids really had a great time playing together this trip. They get along so well now, it makes it super fun to be together.  

Here they are playing their favorites - superheroes & princesses:

We also celebrated Ryder's birthday while they were here, went to the Bean Museum, had a fun girl's day of shopping and eating, had a guy's day out at the batting cages and miniature golf, got our family pics taken (THANKS TRAV!) and went camping. 

We filled it full of so much fun!  Oh we love our cousins!!
We miss them more than ever and can't wait to see them in December!!!

Summer Camping - July 22-23!!!

While Shar, Trav, and the girls were here we decided a campout was a must!  

The weekend that worked best happened to be our 6th Anniversary. YAY to 6 wonderful years for us!  

We had not attempted a family campout with 3 kiddos and it was definitely fun!  

The boys LOOOVED every second of it.  

The camping buddies:  Our family of 5, Shar, Trav & girls, Nate, Allison & girls, Shawn & Abby, and Emily. 

The tent was lots fun to set up and the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. It's big enough we could fit the packnplay in it for Ryder. Awesome.  

Weston had tons of fun digging and working on cutting wood.  Ryder just walked and walked and crawled in the dirt, and Tave ran around having a blast with everyone.

We had our traditional flashlight hike, (the dad's and the kids), smores, yummy food, and talking by the campfire.

Here are some fun shots of our campsite adventures:

We did some hiking and rock climbing while we were there.

It is gorgeous. Simply breathtaking. I love taking time to truly enjoy nature and this beautiful earth we've been given.  

Weston thought rock climbing was THE coolest. He climbed all the way to the top of the rock and then repelled down so quick. He was awesome. (can you spot him at the top of the rock...click to enlarge picture!)  Tave thought it was good enough to get hoisted up a bit and then come back down. So proud of both  my brave boys!

It was such an awesome trip and a great way to end Shar & Trav's visit.  

It brought back so many camping memories from my growing up years.

I have learned that camping with kids is a TON of work. I am so glad my parents did it, though, and that they gave us so many amazing family vacations. Camping is definitely a family activity we hope to do often through the years!!

Thanks Shar & Trav for planning it! We loved every minute!!

Ryder- 1 year!

Sweet little Ryder,

I can't believe a year has already passed since you joined our family.  Your laughs are the best part of our day and we all love to be near you. You are our little mover and love to be on the go.  You are so fast at crawling now but your favorite thing to do is hold one of our fingers to walk.  You LOOOOVE walking and get very frustrated when it is time to sit.  You've taken 5 steps on your own and pretty soon will be cruising on your own too!

 You have started 'talking' to us much more and definitely love to have your voice heard!  You love being right in the middle of everything and playing with your brothers- who you absolutely adore.  They can get you laughing so hard!  You are such a smiley guy and have 2 bottom teeth to show off every time you grin. 

You love music and dance any time you hear a song. You don't really watch tv but you love watching the music video you got for your birthday.

We love you so much, little man, and are so grateful you are part of our family.

Love,

Mom, Dad, Weston, & Tave

Ryder's highlights from his 12th month:

Signs 'All done'
Sings when music comes on, dances all the time
Started cruising along furniture and holds our fingers to walk
Is super quick at crawling up the stairs...one of his favorite places
Learned how to come down the stairs backwards
LOVES animals and will chase them
Really enjoys story time now and looking at the pictures
Is about to get his top 4 teeth
Eats tons of foods and is working on drinking from a sippy cup
Loves moving, walking, crawling, MOVING
Is such a happy happy baby!

Happy Birthday Ryder!!

Our little guy is ONE year old! 

This year has been so sweet and magical. 

Ryder is truly a blessing in our home and brings so much happiness into our lives.

We all love him to pieces and can't imagine life without him!! 

Happy Birthday, we love you Ryder!!

Pictures of the party and Ryder's day coming soon :)