Jordanelle 2013

 Here is how David spent his time.....or asleep....or in Grandma's motor home.

 Here's how the kids spent their time...along with a bunch of other things.

Here's how I wish I could have spent all my time.  Most of it was spent babysitting babies.  :)
In the end, every year is wonderful at Jordanelle with my awesome family.  I rented a cabin this year to sleep in. I know, what a whimp...but I had to take care of the baby...so I will be whimpy. It was funny. I listened to the kids in the cabin next door ooh and ahh at the outdoor movie night we had. Back to the Future in the great out doors. Such fun. Not to mention great food, paddle boarding, swimming, relaxing, and the kids doing all their scooter/bike/crazy stuff. Loved it all. Wish I had taken more pictures. Thanks Mom, Dad, Sandi, Scott, Nikki, Sid, Conner, Rick and Eryn. I am so glad to have such fun and fabulous family.

Basement Bonanza!

SO, here we are, months later. Our basement is almost finished. I mean...we are just so close. We (when I say we I really mean Nathan ;) finished up the sheet rock about a month ago.  After some soul searching we decided to hire someone to come in and do the tape, mud and texture.  Best money we ever spent.  They did such a good job.  The walls came out looking nice smooth, ready to be painted.  So, we (and again, I really mean Nate) tackled the paint job this week.  Ceilings and walls done.  Check.  Lights wired and working.  Check.  Plugs working.  Check.  Seriously, Nate is a miracle worker.  :)  Next on the list....doors , trim, and shelves in the closets.  Then we get the flooring and install the sink and toilet for the 1/2 bath. 

What an experience. Our goal is to have it all done in two more weeks. Then....we will be making a bold move. :)

What is wrong with this picture?

Ok. I admit it. I am getting a little lazy in my discipline. I took a look at Sarah swinging in the baby swing with a bottle and had to laugh. A - I am letting her drink from a bottle. B - I could care less if she wants to fit her two year old body into that baby swing. As long as she isn't crying we are good to go. Too many other things to worry about to care about these little details. Nate did finally put his foot down on the bottle the other night though. Big meanie. Sarah cried and cried. Ah, life has such sorrow. ;)

Summer projects - Fix it and forget it

After staring at these chairs for two years and watching them get uglier and uglier by the day I finally took action.  6 chairs , spray paint, fabric and plastic to cover it and make it easy to clean.  I love them...We are still working on the dining table.  I just bought a table top off ksl for $25 bucks.  The trick is to use the legs from my current table with the new table.  I think it will work.  In the end I will have a cute dining set that matches my cute and colorful house.  Anyway, it was fun to do. :) I guess that is an upside of having crappy furniture.  You certainly can't make it any worse so there is no fear. 

4 Months - We just keep chugging!

At 4 months David is just a sweet heart. Who can resist babies at this stage. They smile at you and you think you just won the lottery. You feel like you must be the best because he doesn't just smile at anyone. Life is going well and we finally feel like a normal family again...it's a new normal, but normal none the less. David can coo up a storm now. He if working on starting to grab at things. He enjoys walks and talks and watching video games. Yes, they start this early. HAHA. HE is still sleeping in my room, but hopefully that will be changing within a few weeks. Our basement is very nearly done. I will have to post pictures. David is the cutest!

Ah yeah!  Such a sweetie.

Getting stronger.  He'll be sitting up on his own in no time. :)

Sarah loves her little brother.  And...David is warming up to her too.

At the beach at Jordanelle.  He looks happy now...but he wasn't really a big fan of the hot sun.  He preferred Grandma's air conditioned motor home..

David loves to chill with his big brother. 

And of course, mom gets the best smiles of all. I deserve it. 

Wet and Wild Weekend

This was the most fun we have had on a weekend in quite a while.  Nate has been working so hard on the basement that we haven't spent much time having fun for a while.  :)  The 4th of July is a special occasion though...so we packed it in.  The 4th in our family has always meant enjoying the Parade at the Freedom Festival in Provo.  This was a big year for Sarah since she was at the age she could actually enjoy it.  And...she enjoyed it with a little fear and trepidation.  She sat on Nate's lap a lot...and then Nate finally tricked her into sitting with the other kids.  The parade was a bit smaller this year and there was no fly over by the jets which was a really bummer. 

 The first part of the parade was nice and cool.  We had shade from a big tree...but then the sun came out and we got hot!  Rachel and I walked over to 7-11 to grab a few slurpees...by the time we got back the parade had ended.  Another bummer.   We were still glad to have slurpees though. 

 I have decided to start getting pictures of myself more often...since it looks like my family is minus a mother most of the time.  So, here we are...mom, me, and David.  Yes..I know, I look just like my mom. 

After the parade we just kicked back and bbqed at our house.  Just our little family. Uncle Ryan came by to hang out too.  The older kids, Uncle Ryan and Nate all went to a movie in the afternoon while I stayed with the babies for nap time.  The movies would have been fun...but, honestly, I had a good time at home.  Those babies slept the whole time and finished a little sewing project I had been working on.  Fireworks were the finale of our night.  "BOOM" was the word Sarah learned.  The Pleasant Grove firework show was fantastic this year. They really won us over.  We usually go there just because it's not quite as crowded...but this year was really good.

.  .  .  .  So, after all that and staying up late we went boating the next day.  It is a blessing to have amazing grandparents for my kids.  Both sets are so wonderful in every way.  Something fun we get to enjoy from my parents is their boat.  No, we never had a boat when I was growing up.  When they got rid of all their kids though..it became possible for them to do fun things like buy a boat.  So, they did and we get plenty of fun from it.  I am so glad my kids can enjoy it...since it is unlikely Nate and I will be financially free enough to buy a boat anytime soon.  HAHA.

 I wasn't sure how David would do on the boat...but he liked it.  He was entertained by the wind and water...and when he wasn't he was rocked asleep. No problem.

 Sarah also loved the boat.  She didn't brave the open water so much...but she did enjoy playing in the water at the edge of the beach. 

 We all swam in the cold water out in the middle.  Really, that was the only time I braved the water.

We had such a fun time.  The end was also an adventure.  My mom had the three oldest kids in the boat heading back to the dock to pull the boat out of the water when a huge storm hit.  They were waiting with a bunch of other boats trying to get off the lake.  With all the wind and rain it was a nerve racking experience...especially for my mom.  She was awesome and got all the kids and the boat safely on the trailer.  On facebook she wrote "Spent a great day at the lake with my sweet grandchildren. At least it was great until about 6pm then all heck broke loose on the water. I was in charge of bringing the boat in with the kids on board in a severe Thunder, Lighting, Rain, and Wind, storm. Thanks to prayers being answered we made it safely back. Thank you Heavenly Father."
She told me that she and Ben said and prayer that helped. Good job Grandma!  

So, that's the end of a great weekend.  Back to the daily grind tomorrow...ok...it's summer.  Most of our family doesn't do the daily grind.  Just poor Nathan.  I guess the rest of us will just sleep in. Hahaha.

How to Make the Most of a Sunday

Sunday's are kind of boring for the kids.  They aren't like Nate and I.  We relish in the quiet time and a good nap.  The kids are just bored.  So, as they planned and prepared for some elaborate game this last Sunday I just sat back and let them make their mess.  One thing after another was moved or taken apart in the family room until it looked like this.  I think there was a hut in there somewhere.  :) Then, they asked if they could sleep in their mess.  So, I let them.  Hey, they had a good time.  They didn't fight all afternoon.  If my couch took a beating then so be it.  They were entertained and I enjoyed a relatively quiet Sunday.  We definitely need a bigger family room though. 

Camping with the Girls

The girls got to spend the night camping with their Dad up AF canyon last Friday. They went on walks and explored. They ate plenty of junk food...plenty. On Saturday morning they went and paddled around the lake with all the fishermen. Nate said they kept getting nasty looks from the fishermen for getting too close to them fishing.

Super great memories made for the girls and Dad.  Awesome Dad!