Peter Piper Pizza Play date-- was that a tongue twister??

I took the boys to Peter Piper Pizza for a play date with friends. Parker managed to bump a ride on the mary-go-round with some random kids. He went around-and-around-and-around at least 40 times! He looks like he's having so much fun doesn't he... :)

These kids are his friends--not strangers, I promise.

 Hudson was happy as a clam sipping on his bottle while watching the "big kids" run around and play! 

 Look at that face. What a life. :)

 My kid is awesome.

 And could this kid get any cuter/happier/adorably delicious (even with drool and snot on his face!) I know I'm their mom but they are so gosh darn cute!

Hudson is sleeping through the night so much better. I don't have to swaddle him anymore (my boys like to be swaddled for a long time!) He now sleeps around 8-9 hours straight without eating (but I do have to give him his paci once or twice in the night and he will go back to sleep.) It is so nice to be getting some good zzzz's finally! 

I am looking forward to watching General Conference this weekend with my family. I can not wait to be spiritually fed. :)

Birthday Month

September was a popular month to be born in the family! We celebrated Steve and Nick's birthday's together a couple of weeks ago. Nick shares a birthday with my nephew Colton. And my nephew Brayden's birthday was last Sunday so we sang happy birthday 3 times (Once to Brayden, then to Colton and then Steve!) I think I need to stop eating so much birthday cake-- it's making me have to work extra hard at the gym!

 Notice Parker helping Steve blow out the candles. :)

My brother-in-law, Nick, was ready to blow out his candles with the help of Kambri and Jase.

Good times! Next month will be just as packed with more birthdays! I guess that's what happens when you have a continually growing family! More grandkids= more fun!

A 6 Hour Camping Trip

We were so excited to go on our very first family camping trip a couple weeks ago. I had all of the marshmellow's, graham crackers, and hershey bars to make smores, and our foil dinner vegetables were all chopped up and ready to put together! But, due to my husbands insanely crazy job-- he had too much work to do and not enough hours, so he had to work late and we couldn't go. I was really, really bummed about it at first... but then reality hit me and I realized that I got to sleep in my bed that night and shower in the morning! Woo hoo! No more tears for me! :) We made the best of it and had a little bonfire in my sister and brother-in-laws backyard (they were camping) and then the next morning, we left early and drove up to Payson for the day to meet our fellow campers. We stopped and got a breakfast burrito on the way up and we were all well rested and ready to go. I think we got the best of both worlds!

Parker LOVES his uncle Nick!

We met up with Nick and Lori (Steve's sister and her husband) and their kids to go to The Arizona Natural Bridge. It was really cool! We walked across the bridge not knowing that we walked across it until we looked back and saw this!

 Hudson was ready to go out in the sun with his daddy's hat.

 Payson really is beautiful.

 Parker had a booger-nosed camping face an hour into our "camping trip."

 Those boys sure love their daddy!

 Kambri, Jase and Parker had fun playing together. They wuv each udders.

 This little boy was worn out by the end (we were there for about 30 minutes.) 

I can definitely do more "camping trips" like that again!

Haunted House?!?...

Steve and I got a baby-sitter last night and went to an incredible Stake Conference (it's a large community meeting that our church has twice a year to edify and uplift and strengthen us, for those of you who aren't familiar with the Mormon "lingo.") Steve put both of our phones in his pocket on vibrate in case of an emergency if our baby-sitter (who we adore) needed to get a hold of us. At the end of the conference, I asked Steve to hand me my phone to see if she ever texted or called, and I had a missed call and a text asking me if "Parker ever climbed out of his crib". 

I replied, "Just got your text. Sorry. No, he hasn't ever climbed out, he just likes to shake his crib for a while before he falls asleep. :)" 

She called back immediately after I sent the text, so I stepped out to take the call. 

"Is everything okay?" I asked, very concerned.

"Umm, I got really scared because I heard someone walking upstairs. It was so loud, it sounded like a grown man! I got scared and called you and my parents, but you both didn't answer, so I called 911..." she exclaimed.

Oh, boy. She then went on to tell me that six cops came to our house-- well four actually searched our house and two waited for the "intruder" on the street behind us.... oh and one was in a helicopter shining a light on our house from above! No biggie. ;)

The poor girl (who is very mature and responsible) was terrified. She sobbed on the phone with the 911 operator and they told her that help would be there immediately. They told her to go outside and as she walked out the front door, six cop cars came speeding down the street with their sirens going within three minutes. They jumped out with guns and flash lights in hand! They searched every nook and cranny of our house while our two little boys stayed fast asleep. They even turned the lights on in their bedrooms and they both never even budged (they get their deep sleeping habits from me.) Luckily, no intruder was found!

She was so embarrassed and I told her not to be at all. It's much better to be safe than sorry. After hanging up, I had a good laugh. I know it's not funny, and trust me-- I am so grateful that everything was okay and they were all protected-- but I have called Steve, scared to death for the same exact reason. Our AC unit needs to be fixed because it makes a really loud BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! sound when it comes on every once in a while. It sounds just like someone is walking upstairs. We need to get it fixed.

The only way, I felt we could truly thank her was to bring her some Cold Stone ice cream home. Ice cream always helps in my opinion. ;) 

I'm sure our house was the talk of the neighborhood last night. Anyway, I am grateful that we have brave law enforcement to come to the rescue when we are scared and in need of help. 

Thank you to my wonderful baby-sitter (you know who you are) for handling the situation so maturely.  Next time, we will make sure to answer our phone! :)

29 Years

My husband turned 29 today! I think this is going to be a really good year for him. After all, it's his last year in his twenties! 

Here are 29 things that I love about this guy:

1. He makes me laugh every day. If any of you know Steve, you know what I'm talking about. His sense of humor is what drew me to him when I first met him. :) 

2. He has this charisma about him that is so... sexy (I can think that because I'm his wife!) 

3. He is genuine.

4. He is an extremely loyal person.

5. He is so involved with our children and is an incredible father.

6. He is self motivated and has a lot of self discipline.

7. He is a leader, not a follower. 

8. He is so caring of others.

9. He makes up the most random songs that make no sense but he always manages to rhyme so they work! True talent right there.

10. He is THE BEST STORY TELLER. Once again, if you really know Steve-- you know what I'm talking about.

11. He likes to eat ice cream, big plus for our relationship. ;)

12. He makes me feel safe.

13. He is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. His work ethic amazes me.

14. He is very clean and organized... he's actually taught me a lot about this.

15. He see's a need, and gets it done, without having to be asked. Again, very admirable quality.

16. He loves learning and bettering himself by studying the scriptures and he loves self-motivation stuff.

17. He has his moments when he is very romantic-- a huge plus for me. wink wink

18. He always picks up litter when he see's it on the ground, most people don't do this-- I am guilty of it.

19. He has a kind heart and is very generous with helping others. He wants to see others happy and that's why I think he would make a great motivational speaker someday.

20. If he borrows something from someone, he will return better than it came. That's just how he rolls.

21. He has good taste in food.

22. He is a peacemaker.

23. He has really nice hands, I know sounds weird, but I like his big, masculine hands.

24. He likes to experience new places and has a desire to travel and see the world, which is exciting for me because I do to!

25. He is very patient.

26. He is extremely intelligent (had his associates degree by the time he graduated high school and is a CPA, which I think was quite an accomplishment!)

27. He is Parker's hero... seriously, that little boy wants to do everything Steve does.

28. He loves setting goals and planning for the future.

29. He is the best husband, father, friend, brother and son a person could ask for!

Thanks for being born. I can't wait to spend forever with you. You truly make the world a brighter place. 

Happy birthday Steve!

6 months old already???

I cannot believe our little Hudson is already 6 months old today! Where has time gone??? I feel like he is growing so fast, but each new stage seriously gets cuter! 

Hudson is, and I've said this before, the world's happiest baby! He is all smiles almost all the time. He likes to watch his big brother play all day long and he studies everything around him. You can tell just by the way he looks at things, that he is very smart. I love how when he smiles, his eyes light up. We always say that his "eyes smile." I can already tell that he is going to be a charmer with the ladies because of those adorable dimples and big brown eyes. His spirit is so sweet and kind. I know he will also be a peacemaker. Oh, how I love my little Hudson. 

6 Month Milestones:

He can roll over and reach for things around him now... and man does he have a good grip! He is officially on the bottle now. He has now tried eating sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal with apples. He likes food pretty good. He loves to kick in his bouncer, suck on his hands (or really anything he can get his hands on), smile, be sung to, or read to, or even talked to. He really is just happy to be here. And we are so happy he is in our family! What a blessing it is to have his sweet little spirit in our home. 

 Look at that cute little tongue!

 He's so cute, I don't even know what to do with myself sometimes! 

 Monkey feet. :)

Happy 6 month birthday Baby boy! You truly light up our lives.

I know I'm their mom... but man-- they are cute kids!

Photos courtesy of Sierra Studios Photography... she did an amazing job! 

Is this Deja Vu?

I know you probably think I am reposting the same picture I posted with Andrea a couple of years ago, when little Carter got blessed. But we just so happened to have babies around the same time-- again! Weird huh? Carter and Parker are 5 days apart. And little Lincoln and Hudson are about four months apart... close enough though, right? 

The picture below was taken two years ago at Carter's blessing brunch. (I think I liked my hair better then... I'm not loving my style right now.)

Anyway, back to Lincoln's blessing...

It was so fun to see everybody again. Andrea is ALWAYS fun to talk to. She has the BEST sense of humor, especially in her writing. Oh. My. Goodness. Read her blog and you will understand what I mean! I'm trying to convince her to move out here... we shall see...

 Hudson is starting to grow blonde peach fuzz! Can you see it?

 Parker and Carter were so happy to be reunited again (it has been a while since they've seen each other!) I think a play date needs to happen soon...

I think they had fun. Here's the evidence:

Parker also got to play the banjo while he was there, how cool is that?!

 Babies are so fun! Thanks for inviting us to Lincoln's blessing Jon and Andrea! Let's plan on having our next babies at the same time again, this is working out quite nicely. :)

Will I ever get better?...

I really do have an amazing life-- two adorable little boys and an incredible husband, so I shouldn't be complaining... but I am really tired of being sick. I got sick the last month of my pregnancy with Hudson and have been sick off and on since then-- that is SEVEN months!!! The latest issue I am having is (as you all know about my "nursing issues") I decided to quit and am now giving Hudson the bottle. I found a new doctor who is a nice guy but he made a BIG mistake-- he forgot to warn me not to go out into the sun while on the medication he prescribed me! I broke out in a horrible rash, am swollen all over and to top it off, I'm fried like a lobster. Thank you very much Dr. ... (I won't mention his name) but that my friend is not cool. I have been out of commission again. Thank goodness for my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, for watching my boys yesterday so that I could live on benadryl and sleep all day. I don't know what I would have done without their help!
Today is much better. The swelling and rash have gone down quite a bit but the sunburn still hurts. I've got naturally olive skin and I rarely burn, so this is a new experience for me!
I try to be as natural as possible when it comes to being sick. But I have had to go on antibiotics three times in the past seven months, and I am paying for it now! My immune system is completely shot! Uuuugghh. That's the problem with prescription drugs-- the darn side effects!

This is how I feel... tired!

Anyway, I am hoping to get better soon. Now I'm off to take a little nap while my boys are sleeping... the benadryl is kicking in.

Swim Party!

Parker has SO many friends his age in our neighborhood. There are 4 two year olds on our street alone (and they are all within 3 months apart!) He was invited to his friend Beckham's 2nd birthday party at Val Vista Lakes the other day. Hudson even got in the pool with us and liked it... the pools felt like bath water because it is 150,000,000 degrees outside! But it still felt refreshing.

 He had fun swimming with his bestie/girlfriend, Bella!

 They were looking at the stars together, how romantic (in a cute, innocent way!!)

 Steve and Billy had their "man talk" while hanging out in the pool. 

 Shari and I wanted in on the picture fun!

 Could their eyes be any blue-er (yes, I know that is not a word... but it is now!)

 Silly faces!

Although we had tons of fun swimming-- I am ready for summer to be over! It is so dang HOT outside! Bring on the fall!