packer family

It's amazing to see that those two up there

 ^^ began this ^^

I know it was far from easy (I'm realizing that even more the older I get), lots of hard days, lots of exceptional days, all mixed in with a whole lot of very average days. But they made it work and the memories I have with these people are some of my most treasured memories.

The summer of 2016 reunion was a pleasant afternoon at the park in my hometown. We had delicious food (as always), tons of cousins running around, a moment where a child was missing and this mom nearly had a meltdown (a very much not needed meltdown), family photos, and laughter. There is always laughter.

I love all these people big time.

 :: those pictures are just too much!! ::

:: like I said, always laughter #favorite ::

 I'm feeling extra grateful for that extra big family...and for this little family Justin and I have created.

rudger is four

Rudger is officially four! He has been waiting for this day for such a long time. Four days before his birthday, we celebrated Levi's day, and so watching his brother get all that extra love and attention just made the wait feel even longer. It's all he could talk about. So naturally, he woke up with the biggest smile that hardly left his face the rest of the day.

My sister-in-law, who basically has the best ideas for everything that has to do with families and mothering, does birthdays really well. Friend birthday parties are celebrated every three years starting at four. Perfect! I kept putting off planning an amazing party for too long. But lucky for me, all he really needed was a simple theme, his two best friends, and treats. So that's what we did!

Rescue Bott toys, coordinating treats to go with respective bott, a simple game of rescue the baby doll from the fire, and then lots and lots of playing! And he thought it was the greatest day ever.

Plus his brothers were incredibly adorable with him all day!

That night, Rudger wanted to go swimming with our friends again, plus they invited us to come watch Angry Birds in their theater room. So we had pizza and donuts, swam, and Rudger fell asleep - a happy boy - on the giant beanbag - just a few minutes into the movie.

Rudger is exactly who we needed as our fourth child. When we got pregnant (and even before) I knew we would be having another boy...and we knew that this boy would be named Rudger...and he has been beyond perfect for our family!

My favorite line from Rudger:

"Mom, you would think I want one birthday, but no, I want 10."

levi's baptsim

 :: the boys found a fallen flower, and Levi thought he was hilarious putting it on his head (those eyes and smile though) ::

Levi's Baptism Day!

We love you Levi! The gospel means so much to us and watching you take this first step and make covenants with your Heavenly Father made us so happy!

You were so fun when we took your pictures at the Salt Lake temple on the last day of summer break. You had such good ideas of where to pose and your smile was spot on! Afterwards, we went to The Lion House Bakery for a free roll. It was a good day.

Your baptism day was full of excitement from you, love and support from grandparents + aunts + uncles + cousins + friends, there was plenty of yummy food, and a special spirit was felt throughout the day.

2016 labor day weekend

 

This weekend was a really good one. Mostly because we got to honor Levi in his decision to be baptized. We loved celebrating him and spending time with family! (separate post on that next)

Also this weekend:

Corbin had his first Jr. High boy/girl swimming party! Unfortunately, right at the very end, he banged his face on the diving board while doing a backflip. There was blood all over his face and the girls all crowded around him to make sure he was okay. (if there is any silver lining...that would be it)

There was an amazing sunset while we were driving home from the party.

Rudger went to a birthday party right next door. He was in heaven.

Season five of Once Upon a Time is now on Netflix, so we spent some time binge watching. (but we did skip one of the episodes...)

In our stake, we switch church time at the first of September. So yippee, we are back to 9:00 church! We are soooo excited!!!  The afternoon was amazing and I even got my first Sunday nap in a loooong time.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread! (Hello fall!!)

We played on the school playgrounds and felt chilly towards the end! (again, Fall!!!)

Monday morning we ate garden watermelon.

Corbin went to his second birthday party for the weekend at Cherry Hill and while he was gone, we played basketball and went for a family bike ride. Then we watched the new Jungle Book for our FHE activity.

We did not want the weekend to end!

 :: Rudger had zero interest in standing up for the fast Sunday picture ::

And now, here we are on a Tuesday, that feels like a Monday. Rudger is watching a show and playing with Scripture hero cards. Adeline is crawling around trying to find any crumbs on the floor... and we need to go shopping, do laundry, and start mommy school! Even with that, it is the least craziest day since school started!