the ranch

i have learned 3 important lessons about vacationing with small children.

1. you cannot care what they eat and what they do not eat. this includes dirt.
2. you cannot care if they sleep or do not sleep. naps, bedtime, throw it all out the window.
3. you cannot care what they smell like, unless the smell includes poop.

i'm sure some of you are wondering why it took me so long to clue in. but i applied all of the above to our one and only vacation this summer and it was divine. the ranch was divine. order was restored to my universe.

the boys were in heaven. so many things to do, so many people to play with, so many ways to get utterly filthy.

i loved every second of it and can't wait to get back.

iphone pics

you ready for this? shoulda done this a looong time ago. shawn takes pictures every once in a while on his iphone and only now did it occur to me that i could download them on to the blog. do remember that this is an iphone, so quality is not so high. we are about quantity not quality. so les get down to da nitty gritty.

fyi...if there is an explanation to be had, it is above said photo.

lindon has some great city days. one evening, they had "huck fishing" where the kids got to fish in the creek. jack, surprisingly, was not into it. sam totally was. we were ill prepared, however, and he was manned only with his bucket. some nice gentleman had mercy and told his grandson to dump his 5th catch into sam's bucket. he was mighty proud.

it did not go home with us, by the way. it was released back into the wild, only to be caught in someone else's bucket, i'm sure.

jack did t-ball for the first time. loved every second of it. nailed every ball and was the only kid who could throw the ball all the way to 1st base. just like his papa.

sam went through a "phone" phase. this power bar served well for a day.

fierce, definitely fierce.

shawn and his cousin, dave. pretty sure they should've married each other.

these guys love to bowl.

i love, love, love this shot with his pants and those shoes.

uncle brad must have been super funny.

jack looks super young to me in this pic. these were taken last january.

ps

ps. don't you just love the new background? i'm seriously obsessed with quilting as of late, and this just warmed the very corners of my soul.

happy quilting:)

the fourth

mmmm. i love the fourth. i was telling shawn that besides christmas and thanksgiving it is for sure my favorite holiday and he said,"not sure what that leaves us. colombus day? you don't like colombus day?!?" he can be a smartass sometimes.

anyways. i love the fourth. bbq at grandma's, seeing cousins i never see but that i love with my whole heart, warm nights, fireworks, the parade, and i heart the balloons.

i especially loved it this year cuz it was spread out over the whole weekend. 3 wondrous days. so fun.

i love our country. i love my freedom. i love how safe i feel. i love that i feel the spirit when i hear the national anthem or recite the pledge of allegiance. i love the men and women who are brave enough to serve in the armed forces and defend all of the things i love. thank you. thank you to my brother, mike. and i thank my Heavenly Father for helping it all come to pass.

now, after all of that feeling and emotion, you would think it would be well-documented with pictures. but no. there are but two.

i was excited for the hot air balloons because this would be the first year that sammy would like it. so was jack. on the way there, he kept saying, "i'm so exciting! i'm so exciting!" ha ha! i couldn't bring myself to correct him, it was just too good. unfortunately, they couldn't fly because of the weather but we still had a good time watching them blow up.

this was the first year that the darth vader balloon joined the fest. with him came his whole crew as crowd control. the costumes were awesome, even did the cool voices when they spoke. jack was in awe. he gave this guy a high five seven times.

boys will be boys

behold, the weaponry...

we do love each other though.

sam-boy is 2

sammy turned 2 on the 23rd of june. luckily, he doesn't have quite the fire that jack did at this age, he's a little more tender, but he sure does have a stubborn personality that is all his own. he's a sweetheart and his smile still melts my heart.

this boy l o v e s his blankie. many is the time i have caught him loving on his blanket. he loves to roll around on it and hang out, just the two of them. and more than the blankie itself, he loves the tag that is on the corner of the blankie. he grabs his blankie and asks "co-nuh, pease." we find the desired corner which he promptly grabs and then sticks his two middle fingers in his mouth. every time. without fail. i love it.

this is the only actual birthday shot. he was not in the picture mood and i never have the energy to pin him down. we tried with aunt jamie and it kind of worked. notice the toothbrush on the table. this kid loves toothbrushes. he carries them around, sucks and chews on them, and occasionally uses them as weapons. it's a handy 2-for-1. this is important for the following story.

so the presents...sam starts to "open" presents, which is really jack doing it for him. sam is not as enthusiastic as jack would like. they open balls, sand and water toys, a cool puzzle, etc. the main event is supposed to be this sweet wagon that the grandparents chipped in for. it's awesome. red radio flyer with seats that fold up and down, drink holders, snack holders, the works. it's rad. and he loves wagons. he loves to ride and pull them. so i was super excited. we roll it out and we barely get an acknowledgment.

THEN

my brother brad grabs a gift bag that i had put a ball in, of which sam had already opened. brad shoves something in it and says to sam "here's your last present, buddy", courtesy of his cute girlfriend, lydia. sam sticks his hand in and pulls out a brand new toothbrush (lydia is a dental assistant) and sam goes WILD. he's yelling "a toofbwush! a toofbwush!" and jumping up and down.

lesson learned. next time, avoid the $80 dollar wagon/bike/scooter and go for the FREE toothbrush obtained from lydia's dental office. what was i thinking?

summerfest

we sure do love summerfest. rides, food, throw some polynesian dancers in and we're good to go.

i love jack's face in this one.