Happy Birthday Cameron!

and now he's EIGHT!

happy happy birthday to one great kid!
he is super smart (beyond his years...), super helpful, and super kind & loving... especially to his little sister!
oh and i did i mention, super handsome?!

we love you cameron!

sleeping in seattle...

savanna and i have been away from home for a few days
spending time with
this cute family...

and
enjoying this...



and this...

and this...



and this...



and these...

ha ha ha...



but really missing all those boys back at home...

on my mind...

it's amazing how connected we can feel to people through this wonderful thing called blogging. i, like so many others, have been reading this wonderful blog for quite some time. when i came across her blog i was hooked. she is an amazing mother, wife, and daughter of a heavenly father who knows who she is and centers her life around it. she has an amazing zest for life and is so in love with her little family and it shows in everything she does. if you don't read NieNie, you really should. she is inspiring.
so when i checked a couple of days ago and heard about this, i was so sad. i am in shock and just so sad for this tragedy. even though i haven't ever met her, i feel as though this news came about a close friend of mine... right now all we can do is pray, pray and pray some more. you can get updates
here - her sister's blog.

this is the second major tragedy to hit "acquaintances" of mine in a month.
really gets you thinking...
life is short.
the Lord is really in charge.

makes me want to live each day with
a little more faith,
a lot more love,
and full of things that are really important... (much like Stephanie lives her life)...
i am hoping and praying that they will recover and that this little family will soon be back together loving their beautiful life.

and he's off...

i'm not quite sure if i am ready for this...

but apparently ethan was!
i left to run a few errands and came home to my little guy riding a two-wheeler! it was his idea to learn... he had never been on a two-wheeler even with training wheels, but he just took off! he was so proud of himself... oh, he is getting so big!

the lake

we had a blast on the lake the other day... even if it was the "worst boating trip ever..."!
thanks arthur's - for taking us with you!
it was the first time the boys had been dragged behind a boat... and they loved it!
and now i think we are convinced we need a boat too ... *sigh*... we can dream can't we?

you asked for it...

i've totally given in to peer pressure and finally updated my blog.... and i mean updated and backdated! this getting so behind stuff has so got to end! i am really going to get out of this vicious cycle... once and for all. we'll see if i can really stay on top of things... until then, enjoy these posts for the next 4 or 5 months! ha!

family fun and friends...

for family night last week, our friends invited us up the canyon to bbq, have a campfire and play. it was a blast! we ate delicious food the guys cooked up and played a killer game of kickball... boys vs. girls.

i won't say who won... it might embarrass them... but only that it was so much fun!
thanks for planning this, elisa!
it was a great reminder how much fun the simplest things can be!

elisa is my way fun friend who makes me feel so young when we hang out! maybe that is because she is so young (ha ha), or that we totally can laugh about everything when we are together. she is hilarious! oh and she has the cutest kids in the universe. seriously, her baby is edible! ethan and her hallie are pretty much in love, but that deserves a whole post of its own...

earlier that week...

we took the kids to 7 peaks for the day... the pictures say it all...

july holidays

we're having fun celebrating this month...


the 24th of july
we spent pioneer day in our town celebrating. the kids were in the parade... they were supposed to dress up as someone who has given a lifetime of service. for some reason, they interpreted that as... dress up like something you want to be when you grow up. well, we settled on cameron dressing as a scientist / inventor and barrett as a pilot... cameron didn't think it was very funny when i told them they looked like "cade & susie"..ha ha. ethan dressed up as a doctor. i don't really know why elmo was part of the parade, but i do know that it made ethan's day to meet him!




after the parade we spent the afternoon at the city park for the games, treats, entertainment and fun...



i love this day here in this small town. it is a lot of fun and really old-school which makes it all the better!


later that day, we went over to bbq at my parents and babysit cute mariah. savvy and mariah are becoming quite the little buddies. we went over to the owlz game to watch the fireworks... we had a great view! mariah and savanna were SO cute and so opposite during the fireworks. savanna was jumping up and down, laughing and squealing while mariah was quietly covering her eyes just waiting for them to end... wish i had had my camera with me.





the 4th of july




the boys participated in a great flag ceremony early morning on the 4th.
my dad is in charge of this every year and it is quite the ceremony!
we spent the rest of the day at my parent's relaxing, eating, playing with cousins, setting off fireworks and then going to watch the big fireworks... fun stuff. oh ya - and we went up to the mall the meet glenn beck... we ran into our friends there and it was totally fun... i really like glenn beck... i think he is hilarious... i feel old now that i know the talk radio guys so well...