Our Summer

I have figured out why I don't blog very often. Of course there is the fact that nobody reads this, but the biggest reason is that I don't feel like we do anything "blog worthy." Looking back at the pictures, we totally do. We go and do fun things all the time; but when I think about sitting down and writing on the blog, my mind goes blank. I don't write anything inspirational. I rarely write anything touching or really personal. This is just my life. We work in the garden and yard, play/visit with friends, clean the house, go visit with extended family, hang out as a family, and simply enjoy each others company. To many, there is nothing glamorous or exciting about our life. And to be honest, I probably feel that way more often that not but we are happy. I enjoy my life and feel very blessed to have such incredible kids and an amazing husband to go through life with. I am seriously lucky!

Now, on to the pictures...I will explain as I go.

Carter and Riley at the airplane museum in Rexburg. They really enjoyed walking around the hanger looking at all the planes. Riley loves the yellow plane and Carter gravitated to the old truck. They really liked the old fire truck but I didn't post the pictures because I let them sit in it to take a picture...pretty sure I wasn't supposed to do that. :)

Riley turned 4!!! Can't believe this little twerp is already 4 and going to pre-school. He had a cowboy boot cake that was super easy and delicious and yes, Riley was really excited and took a big bite out of the cake before we could cut it.

He is so cute!

Playing at Bear Lake.

Carter's 10 min yoga pose at Bear Lake.

Carter on the carousel during the Payson Onion Days Carnival.

This is literally my favorite picture of the summer. They had so much fun on this ride!

Running in the sprinklers. Love this picture as well!

Carter running through the sprinklers.

We also went camping with Dusty's family and are currently working on potty training Carter (YIKES!)

Happy Fall!

Photography

Recently I have decided to start trying to do some photography. I really enjoy doing it and I have a pretty good camera. I have asked my neighbors and friends if they wanted me to take some family pictures and this is my first family session. The Morgan Family!

The whole family.

Della

Claire

Also, here are pictures of my totally cute kids. They are getting really big...just ask Carter and he will tell you at least five times. It is usually the first thing he tells people. Riley is getting even more sassy and has a wild imagination. He comes up with some great stories.

Carter

Riley

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Enough said.

Riley has planted this "tree" in our backyard...

He waters it religiously. Everyday he wants to go out and water that "tree". So, I decided to make it a candy tree. I went to the store and bought some candy and tied it on the tree today. Of course I didn't get the reaction I wanted. He was excited but not surprised. Of course he knew all along that the tree grew candy...how didn't I know this. What else would the tree grow but candy! This tree will grow candy throughout the summer and might even come inside during the winter just to add some excitement to the long winter days.

This is just a fun picture...having a brother must be awesome. Sitting in a wagon full of dirt...doesn't get much better than this.

Lately...

I just wanted to post some pictures of the boys from the last few weeks. We are doing pretty good but we would be doing better if it wasn't so cold!

You can't tell from the picture very well but Carter is giving me the "thumbs up" but he was using his pointer finger. He wants to be like Riley in the next picture.

Riley helping his Dad. He is so proud of himself.

This picture is for Grandma...I told you they love the bow ties.

Nothing comes to mind...

I am not sure what to write in this post. It has been awhile, so I am writing. We have had two wonderful days of warm and sunny weather. We have spent both of those days outside riding bikes, playing with friends (both old and new), and playing at the park. Those days have been glorious! Too bad it didn't last. The pictures with this post are just of the boys. I realized I hadn't taken pictures of them in a while and they are in desperate need to new pictures on their wall. So, we headed down to Main St. here in Payson and had a photo shoot. They were terrible. They wouldn't hold still or kept pulling funny faces. The shots of them together were ridiculous...the one posted is the only usable shot and it isn't very good but it was pretty fun and I did get some great shots. It helps that they are completely adorable! I hope that everyone is having a great day!

Carter's Birthday

Carter is officially two years old.

Where has the time gone?

It seems like only yesterday he was throwing up on me constantly, actually taking a nap, and always needing a new diaper.

Now, he is always hungry, has an attitude, and thinks he is three like Riley.

We had a good day though he didn't really understand what was going on.

His party didn't quite work like I thought. The kids didn't want to play the games (which is fine), and the boys (Isaac, Riley, and Carter) made Claire cry more than once. They wanted her to be a monster and they said they were going to cut her hair. They were just playing of course but obviously boys are really different from girls. I can't believe he is actually two! I love this little guy! He says "Momma" so cute that is make my heart melt. He is a good brother but a terrible snuggler. He is constantly on the move. He is always dirty. He does what we ask about half of the time. He is big for his age. 75% for height, 90% for weight, off the charts for his head size. He is starting to get potty trained (only a little). He wants to help cook dinner every night but the stove is no place for a two year old. He hates holding my hand while we walk through the store, parking lot, street, and basically anywhere else. He especially loves broccoli, potatoes, and bread though any food will do in a pinch. We never have to comb his hair. The only time he will lay by me is if he is going to bed and he only wants me...not Dad but Mom. He has started to say some sentences and knows his colors and some letters. He loves to play with Dad, and by play I mean jump on him. He is really tough, Dusty calls him our little linebacker. I don't know what a linebacker does but he must be really tough. He brings a lot of joy to our home.

Blowing out the candles.

He has just eaten a cupcake...he loves the frosting not the cake.

Riley love cupcakes.

It was a colder day so we played hopscotch inside. It was fun but pulled up some of the poly on the floor which isn't good.

Our friend Isaac.

Kitchen Re-do

I never remember to put these pictures in the right order when I load them so just bear with me.

Riley loves this nasty old alligator head. He chases me around the house with it and it is so gross. For some reason he thought it would be funny to feed the alligator some broccoli and it looks ridiculous, but we got a good chuckle out of it. Riley is pretty funny.

The boys were really quiet one day and I found them like this. Riley is reading a Blues Clues book to Carter since it is Carter's favorite. Oh! They are so cute.

I have finished painting my kitchen. We have been planning on remodeling the kitchen for sometime now, but cabinets are really expensive. So for now, we have re-painted the cabinets and walls. The first picture is adorable, but look at the cabinets...sad, sad, sad.

This is what the cabinets look like now.

The walls are a light green color...called frosted green grape if you were wondering. Oh, and I finally hung up my plate rack my mother gave me for my birthday two years ago. I just noticed that I am going to have to re-cover my seat covers...bummer. Oh, and paint the ceiling. Crap! Anyway, I am really pretty pleased with how it all looks. Yeah!

The Little Bankers

For Christmas, my in-laws opened savings accounts for the boys. We have also had piggy banks for the boys since they were born, so we decided to take the money in their piggy banks and deposit it in the bank. Riley was really upset becuase he wanted to keep all his money, so we compromised. Riley could keep $5 to go and buy a magnifying glass since he has been wanting one for sometime. That did the trick and off to the bank we went. They each got a turn handing the woman behind the desk their money and and we went and got our magnifying glass. It was a good day and now Riley is proud to say that he is saving money for his mission. He says he is going to South Carolina (origin unknown) and is hoping to bring me or Dusty with him...if only.

Riley was still upset about going to the bank.

Lady Bug Quilt

Um...need I say more! Love this quilt! It turned out way better than I thought it would!

I have been thinking...

I have been thinking today.

Actually, I have been thinking about this for a while now, but I am really happy.

I have a pretty good life.

I really love my husband.

I enjoy my children and am so grateful to be a stay-at-home mom.

I have a great neighborhood and ward.

I have good family and friends.

This isn't to say that my life is perfect.

I struggle with my shortcomings, I sometimes complain about life's situations, and I am not always grateful for what I have.

But, I look at my life and I am really okay with it. I can handle my life.

I really, really love my life! I am so happy right now, and I am truly content with my life.

I know I am probably cursing myself by declaring this...something awful is bound to happen...but today, I am happy.

My Dragonfly Quilt

I love making quilts! About 5 yrs ago, a friend and I bought a pattern for an adorable baby quilt with dragon flies and lady bugs. I decided to try and make one and this is the result...the cutest quilt ever! I still have to put a border around the white eyelet so that it will be a crib size quilt but I am totally in love with it! I love the colors, I love the fact that the baby that ends up with this blanket can play with the wings since they aren't completely attached, and I love how easy yet time consuming it was. There are a few finishing touches to make like antenna and tacking the heads down and of course quilting it but all in all...it was a fun project. (The lady bug quilt is next on my agenda...pics coming soon!)

Sledding!!!!

Today we went sledding. It is literally one of the funnest thing I have ever done. My kids love it and we have a great time out on the hill.

"The Great White Hunters"

After Christmas we went up and spent some time with Dusty's family. We spend two days in Idaho Falls and four days in Pegram. We went out every morning and fed the cows with a team of horses and a sleigh. The first day we went out, Riley got a little frostbite on his cheeks but it is pretty fun going out on the sleigh. The last day we were there it was -20 degrees and they still went out and fed but stayed in the tractor the whole time. We also played with cousins, played games, and relaxed the days away.

Carter after playing outside for a few minutes.

Riley wanted to go with Dad and chase the deer...what a sad face.

One night, we decided to go out and go rabbit hunting. Rabbits eat the hay...and that ain't good. Dusty's dad kept calling the boys "the great white hunters" because they had their toy rifles and were ready to go kill something. They both fell asleep in the car while searching for rabbits and we didn't really find any that night but...oh well!

This is the quilt I made for my sister and brother-in-law. The symbols around the quilt are family brands. This was really fun to make and luckily they love it.

Christmas

We had a quiet Christmas at our house. Neither of the kids slept well but I woke the boys up anyway at 7:30 to open their presents. Dusty made the boys a life-size barn...okay it is only 5 ft X 3ft but it is huge and really cool looking. Christmas really is so much fun with little kids and it was a really fun day. Hope you all had a great holiday season.