Father's Day

What can I say about this guy to adequately describe what I think of him as a father?! The best... truly. My kids are so lucky to have him. He is so fun and 100% engaged and happy to be with them. They adore him and so do I.

For Father's Day we put these pictures in a triple frame for him to hang in his office. I think he liked it, and the kids were so excited to give it to him. It was a Sunday, so he was off quickly to the church for meetings and things before Sacrament, but not before having some delicious cinnamon rolls first.

Happy Father's Day Brad! We love you and are so grateful to have you.

Catching Tadpoles!

This summer we have had a crazy amount of rain storms. Recently a friend was telling me about her kids finding tadpoles in a big rain puddle out on the mesa behind their house. I knew if I told Brad he would be all over that, and sure enough, first chance he got they were on the hunt!

The kids were totally intrigued. Eden, being the creature lover she is was so excited. She didn't mind the mud and slime one bit. Bentley was a little more reserved about it all. He got to where he was holding the tadpoles, but only for a second until the strange sliminess became too much. And Olivia? Well, she didn't get to go on the actual hunt, but she has been VERY entertained by them in the yard since. She also likes to pick them up and pass them from hand to hand a bit before throwing them back in the water.

The hunt begins! They were actually very hard to see except when they would come to the top of the water for a little breath but they were so fast.

Eden is Brad's loyal sidekick, following along with anything he did.

And then she just couldn't take it anymore, she wanted in!

Bentley was content to keep as much out of the mud and water as possible, while still trying to catch them.

I love how he sticks out his tongue when he is concentrating - just like his daddy!

Eden kind of gave up on the tadpoles for a bit and just enjoyed her little swim.

When they felt satisfied that they had captured enough, we got back to the house and they made a nice little home for them.

Ruby was really intrigued and couldn't figure out what the heck they were

Over the next several days, the kids have played with them a ton. On this particular day they were making a water park for the tadpoles to enjoy. Each bucket had a few swimming around, but I think I at least talked the kids out of putting them down the water slide.  :)

There's always some sort of adventure going on around here!

Company Picnic

We went to a company picnic held at Sandia Lakes. The kids had a blast with the big bubbles, fishing, BBQ, face painting, and the playground. It was fun to get together in a social setting with the people Brad works with because it seems like it's been a while since they have done something like this. They were all so surprised to see how big the kids have gotten. We had a good time.

This ended up working perfectly because Eden loved making the big bubbles, and Bentley loved swatting them at the end. They played like this for a very long time.

No luck catching anything, but Bentley enjoyed his first time trying!

The girls were very supportive cheerleaders.

And then, before I knew it, they had given up the poles and started tadpole hunting instead.  :)

My 30th birthday!

Weird... 30. Sometimes I don't feel a day older than maybe 24, the year I had Eden. Then I see young 20 somethings and I'm like... "oh yeah, I am getting older." ha ha  I'm looking forward to my 30s though... I feel like there are great things coming over the next ten years.  :)

Brad was so thoughtful (as usual) with my birthday this year.  For 30 days leading up to my birthday, he left a small gift and a sweet note for me every single day. There were things like gift cards, treats, perfume, a chick flick, hair ties... it was the most fun assortment of different things and they all had something to do with the number 30. It seriously was the sweetest and most thoughtful thing, and let's be honest, who doesn't like celebrating their birthday for 30 whole days?! It was amazing.

We also had a delicious ice cream cake on my actual birthday which was a huge hit for us all.

And then if that wasn't already enough, Brad surprised me with an overnight getaway to Santa Fe with several of my girlfriends the following weekend. We had such a blast! It was so fun shopping, laughing, eating a ton and staying up way too late chatting the night away. I'm so grateful for good friends and I love that Brad supports me in spending time with them.  It was such a blast.

We had two rooms at La Fonda Hotel, right on the plaza of old town Santa Fe. So cool!

I love the big things, and hanging out with friends, but overall I'm just so grateful for my everyday life as a mom and wife. Some days are totally exhausting and I feel like I have accomplished absolutely nothing.... but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I was meant to me a mom, and I can't imagine my life without my babies.

The three best things I've done in my 20s!  :)

Here's to the 30s! Bring on the fun!!

Olivia - 15 months old

Olivia's 15 month well child check-up:

weight: 22 pounds, 3 oz - 37th percentile

height: 2 ft 7 in - 71st percentile (she's catching up to her brother fast!)

Things she can say these days:

mom

dad

hi

bye

no

Bo Bo (Bentley)

Dee Dee (Eden)

Ruby

turtle

night-night

blankie

thank you

uh oh

baby

GiGi (grandma)

ba ba (sippy cup of milk)

hot

cold

She also mimics tons of things we say but she doesn't really know what she is saying yet so those don't make the list. :)

She has changed and grown up so fast lately! I feel like she is definitely not a baby, but my little toddler. I love her to pieces.