weekend wordage

visiting and laughing with family. oldest boy determined to have a movie night even at 10:00 and convincing mom that he-man is really cool. harvesting garden. making several quarts of freezer corn. enjoying watermelon from the garden. baking zucchini bread. going to the neighborhood havenwood days that started off with a bike parade. playing carnival games. running for cover because a HUGE wind and rain storm crashed the party. grocery shopping date with Levi. meetings all morning for daddy. final touches on  lesson for young women. baking pumpkin bread because it really felt like fall this weekend. baby yelling uh-oh over and over during sacrament meeting. back to school dinner where our theme for the school year was introduced. daddy's blessings. tucking babies in and then reading 'the lost hero' as they drift into a deep sleep. mourning the loss of summer but feeling good about the coming weeks

reunion

Tony's Grove is such a beautiful place. Love it up there.

It was great to be away from technology, house chores, work, callings, and just spend time with the family. On the way up there we drove into a cattle drive. Seriously the coolest thing. Justin and I have officially decided we want this life. (just imagine cooking with that amount of butter everyday.)

Sorry for the photo. okay, I digress. I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

 Just a few Rudger pics. I rarely was seen holding him.

(jon, you are hilarious)

sleeping in tents, campfires, hot chocolate in the morning, breakfast in nature, carving knives for nephews, canoe rides, walk around the lake, the 'garrett dance', plenty of food, lots of pop drinking, talking around the campfire, laughing, lots of potty humor

that pretty much sums this up. That was all so wonderful, but I think the best part of this whole trip was the part that we wanted the most.

Cousins playing together.

p.s.
you want to laugh....or roll your eyes. this is the Garrett dance

isn't Garret the coolest kid ever!

he is one

One year ago I was sitting in the hospital holding this little bundle of joy. As the weeks went by we fell more and more in love with his sweetness. He got bigger, his cries became louder, his smiles melted our hearts, he was patient, he laughed, he cried more, he cuddled, he sat up, he was sick, he was happy, he crawled backwards, he crawled forwards, he loved baby food, he hated baby food, he stood by himself, he played with his toys. Throughout that whole time there seemed like such a sweet calming joy that was always with him. 

And that is what I love about our Rudger. 

I wasn't consistent, but I'm still glad I did it. 

five reasons we love him

It's crazy that it has already been five years since this squishiness entered our family.  

Love your happy attitude towards life.
Love how much you love to play Mario with dad. (It doesn't seem right that you are as good as you are.)
Love how incredibly expressive you are.
Love your little lisp when you talk.
Love your tight hugs.

Happy Birthday Buddy. Oh...no, no, no! I love you more!!