A Haircut

About a week after Sam turned 7 months, Ben and I finally bit the bullet and cut Sam's hair. I'm so glad we did because it was always in his face but man it hurt my heart a little. A few tears may have been shed and not from Sam. He actually just grunted and gave us his angry face. When I look back at pictures from before we cut it, I miss it so much but I also kind of forgot that he looked like that. His new hairdo has just seemed to fit him and his personality perfectly while still making look like a little baby instead of a big boy. And check out those lashes. He's just kind of really cute!

Samuel Teddy Bear~7 months

Our little Samuel is not so little anymore. This past month he has decided that he can sit up and army scoot/crawl across the room. He loves to watch his brothers play around the room and thinks they are so funny. They are the best at getting him to smile and laugh. I'm so grateful for those big kids who love our little bear.

 I mean look at this face. I can't resist it!

 I really love that birthmark too.

My parents bought this onesie for Sam because it looks exactly like something my dad would wear. He's so stinkin' cute but getting way too big!

Back to School 2015

Summer ended all too quickly and school is back in session. This year it has hit me pretty hard that my kids are really getting old. Stryder has moved on to the Jr. High and Shelby and Soren are still together at the elementary school.

Soren is a 3rd grader! His teacher is Ms Monson. He was bummed that he didn't have any of his good friends in his class but he's making new friends and seems to be enjoying third grade so far.

Shelby is in 5th grade and stuns me daily with how pretty she is. She's very tall and almost as tall as her teacher again this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Tory and Shelby is loving her class. She ran for student council vice president the second week of school but sadly didn't win. Shelby, however, was a rock star and simply moved on finding new things to do and try.

This stud is a 7th grader. He's made the jump to a new school with 8 different classes and teachers. I've been so worried about this phase but he's doing surprisingly well and just takes care of everything like a champ. He's kind of growing into an incredible kid.

These three have been super amazing kids. We have put them through so much over the last few years and I don't think they know how awesome they are and how grateful I am for their help and good attitudes. Of course, things aren't perfect but they have graciously gone through trials and challenges with their parents, moved to a new state, been so understanding when money is too tight for all the fun extras, and remind us daily how much they love us. I'm pretty blessed to call them mine.

Camping in Beaver

The last weekend before school started was spent in the mountains. Ben's sister Cari, reserved and arranged a really fun campsite up in the mountains outside of Beaver, Utah. It was simply gorgeous up there and we camped right off this lake. There were canoes and life jackets for us to use plus a great big pavilion with tables and power. We had so much fun all together away from the world.

These boys LOVED the canoes and it was all I could do to get them off the lake.

Even Ben and I headed out for a lap around the lake. I loved that the kids got to make so many memories doing such fun new things together.

We slept in tents and went to bed late and woke up early. Soren was exhausted and fell asleep waiting for his tin foil dinner to be done.

It was Sam's first camp out and he was such a good baby. The cooler mountain air was just what we needed to say good-bye to summer. 

August Happenings

I need to catch up on what we did in August. It was a busy month doing lots of fun stuff before the big kids were off to school. 

Sam started making this squish face when he was not getting what he wanted. Well that face and anger has continued and we just end up laughing at him. 

Trevor stayed for a long weekend with us at the very end of July and beginning of August. It was so fun having him around and having him help out. The kids sure do love their Uncle Trevor.

This is another one of Sam's hilarious faces he's been pulling lately. I'm so glad I was able to capture it.

And this is Sam getting into the charging cords for the laptop. It's been a long time since I had to baby proof my house and needless to say it's still a work in progress.
 

Stryder had to have his shots done for jr. high and so I took him and, of course Sam, out to lunch to reward him for being so brave. I love the sweet relationship these two have and I'm so thankful that he's such a big helper and great big brother.

Toward the end of August, we attended the White Family reunion. The food was yummy and it was nice to visit with a few of Ben's cousins we don't see very often. And Sam got to try out the swings for the first time. He pretty much loved it!