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!

Wrapping Up July

July was a month of firsts...

We bought this toy car for Stryder when we was a baby and managed to hang on to it throughout all these years, even when we were getting rid of all things baby. Well we finally pulled it out for Sam to tryout. He kind of liked it but I think the big kids got a bigger kick out of him in it.

 And then naturally Dixie thinks it's the perfect dog bed.

Then this month was my first time leaving Sam with a babysitter for more than a half hour. For months, Ben and I had been known this night was happening. Steve and Jess got tickets for all of us to see The Little Mermaid at the Hale Centre Theater and we were really excited but the night almost didn't happen. I has really worried about leaving Sam for that long but just like everything with Samuel, he totally surprised us all. He did awesome! He got a little fussy but never started a crying fit that never stopped. The play was amazing and I'm so glad we went. The Hale Theater is in a round and the stage lifts and drops, basically it was unlike anything I've ever seen. I even waited after the show to meet Ariel. But my favorite part of the night was walking back into the house and seeing Sam's face absolutely light up with pure joy and excitement upon seeing me. I am so loved by him!

My parents came into town this week to bring Trevor to volleyball camp at BYU. Then it worked out that my dad had meetings so I got to spend the day with my mom doing some back to school shopping with the kids and other adventures. We hit up Scheel's and my mom is such a good sport and rode the Ferris Wheel with Shelby and Soren while Sam, Stryder, and I watched the fish. Sam loved sitting up in the carts for the first time that day and was such a good baby throughout the day. My mom is so awesome for being so generous and spoiling her grand kids. We sure do love her and grandpa.

And finally Sam had his first taste of a fudge ice cream bar this month. He thoroughly enjoyed it.

So much so that the next time I gave him some he was all smiles waiting for his next bite. He is such a sweet baby and we sure so love experiencing all these firsts with him.

Samuel Teddy Bear ~ 6 months

Samuel is 6 months old! It has been a pretty amazing half of a year and we are so happy that Sam is a part of our family. Over the past month he has figured out how to roll all over like crazy. He's even started to scoot and occassionally gets his knees up under him but can't get his arms figured out yet. He babbles a lot and it sounds like he's saying momma when he gets really upset. He loves sweet potatoes and ice cream but is just happy to be sitting in his bumbo at the dinner table with us. Sam and I are pretty much attached and together all the time. He's starting to notice the difference between someone else holding him and me holding him and really prefers just me. The sound of Ben's voice or even his snores will put a smile on Sam's face though, and when we are laying in bed it's super cute watching Sam try to get at Ben to wake him up. Some days I feel incredibly overwhelmed and wish things weren't so hard or going a certain way but when that sweet miracle baby is snuggled up in my arms, all is right in the world. He makes me grateful everyday and gives me hope. Oh Samuel Teddy thank you for these first 6 months, I can't wait to see what the next 6 months old for us.

Sam was born with that little red birthmark on his back. It's shaped like a perfect little sideways heart. I don't know if it will fade away one day but I hope not. I like to think it's his stamp of love from all those he was with before he joined our family. I know so many special people where loving on this precious boy before they finally let him come to earth. And again I will always say...he was worth the wait.

The Fourth of July, Family, and Fun

So far the month of July has been a fun one. We headed south to Henderson for the 4th of July weekend. We spent all of our time soaking up the sun and lots of time with family. The Robbins family lovingly welcomed us, along with Cari's family, to their pool for hours of swimming. I'm so grateful for such good friends who I miss terribly. 
 

I started out taking pictures of Shelby and how she's almost as tall as her almost 15 year old cousin Meghan but I'm so glad RaeLeigh jumped in and I was able to get a picture of these bathing beauties. They are growing up so quickly.

This was Sam's first time swimming and I think it's safe to say, I may have another fish on my hands. And that makes me super happy. Now I just need to find some more places and time to swim here in Utah.
 

We loved having Uncle Trevor with us and getting to spend so much time with him and even meeting his "girl". I sure love how helpful and patient he is with my kiddos. And I can't wait for him to come spend another weekend up here with us.

On the 4th, we hung out at my mom's and had a barbeque. Then we headed to Boulder City for their fireworks show. We found an awesome spot and parked alongside Cari's car. Her Olivia handed out little bags of popcorn and soda and it was the perfect celebration of our independence. The first big boom of the fireworks scared Sam but he soon relaxed and watched the show. 
It was a nice little getaway from life for a few days. The drive home was a bit annoying since Sam hates being in his carseat and isn't sleeping all the time. He cried from Cedar City to Nephi. It was a long drive to say the least.

On the 13th, Ben turned 32! We were just planning a quiet night at home with the kids when we got a text from Randall asking about a double birthday date. Ben's sister Candice, that we live with, shared her birthday with Ben when she was 2 years old and they have been sharing ever since. So we hurried and fed the big kids and then Ben and I with Sam headed to Texas Roadhouse with Candice and Randall. Then we went bowling. It had been a really long time since any of us had been bowling and it was hilarious fun. 
I'm so grateful for Ben and all he does for his family. We sure do love him.

And finally, this past weekend Shelby and I had a very merry unbirthday Mad Hatter tea party. It was an activity days mother daughter brunch and it was awesome. The decorations were amazing and it was so nice to spend some special time with Shelbs.

June Wrap-Up

Here is a picture overload of what we've been doing so far this summer. June is always busy with birthdays and Father's Day but this year we seemed to add even more to it.

On the first official day of no school for summer, we went to Neptune Park. Ok this monkey bar pyramid is like 25ft tall and yes that is Stryder up at the very top. And of course they loved it.

Then I decided to send my phone up to the top with Stryder. He put it in his pocket and then was super scared to take it out and was so afraid he was going to drop it but I love the pictures he got. Looking down from the top you can see Meleah, Soren, Carter, and Shelby, the crazy kids that climbed really high.

 Poor Sam, he's got one sister and she's already dressing him up. At least it was cat ears.

Right before Stryder turned 12 he got to go on one last adventure with the 11 year old scouts. He has had so much fun with those boys and had the best leaders. Brother Alba in particular, has made a lasting impact on Stryder and was even in the circle when Stryder was ordained. For this last adventure they went on an overnight camp out. Ben was able to get off early and go at the last minute and I know both of them were so excited about that fact. While at the campout they did a little ceremony for Stryder turning 12 and Brother Alba gave him a necklace with a tomahawk (the name of their troop is the flaming tomahawks) and with it came a commitment to get his Eagle award. He's so determined to continue on with his scouting career.

When my parents came up they brought Trevor and our nephew Mason. We had a blast taking them to the zoo. Neither of them had ever been to a real zoo before and it was made even better by the fun fact that Hogle Zoo is doing a big Zoorassic Park theme this summer. I thought it would just be dinosaur statues around but they were animatronic and moved, roared, and spit. It was such a blast.

Trevor took my camera for the trip and captured so many great shots. I loved this moment with Sam watching the seals and sea lions swim by.

This is the T-Rex that moved and roared. He was pretty rad.

This little furry guy totally caught Sam's attention for a few minutes as he jumped around his tree. It was so cute watching Sam follow him around.

I loved all the Jurassic Park things they had around the park. It made me smile.

We sure loved having Mason come visit us for the weekend. It was so fun having these cousins all together.

Stryder was eating a cookie and Sam thought it looked so yummy. He tried to grab it and eat it himself. It was pretty cute.

This pretty much summed up Ben's Father's Day. He got a yummy breakfast and dinner and watched his boy pass the sacrament for the first time. Plus a lot of love from his family.

We took this whole crew to see Inside Out. It was seriously so so good! We are still talking about it. I cried, like a lot. Made me really think about my kids growing up and making sure their is a lot of Joy.

The last weekend in June was Cub Scout Day Camp. Up here they only go for two days instead of a week but it was pretty much all day. The first day was dinosaur themed and the second day was Lego themed. How could it not be super fun?! Soren did come home really dirty both days though, another sure sign of a good time. Stryder got to participate in a team building and ropes course activity with his young men's group at Camp Williams. He came home and would not stop talking about all the cool stuff he did. The Saturday before he was able to go perform baptisms for the dead at the Timpanogos Temple. He'd only been 12 for ten days and got the chance to have that experience. Such a blessing for him.

And finally we spent some time out on the trampoline trying to take pictures of the kids flying through the air. It was pretty funny but laughing and making memories is what I was going for anyways right?! HA!

I sure do love this crew of mine and I can't wait to create more memories and have tons more fun this summer.