{ My Mom }

My mom has been diagnosed with ALS. I am devastated. Read about her diagnosis on her blog:

jprserenity.blogspot.com

{ Cabin fun! }

Last weekend we went to the Hammer Hideway for a little family getaway! The kids are always so excited to get away as a family. (something we know they will soon grow out of)

The last time we went it was cold outside and the kids definitely got cabin fever. They are too active to stay inside all day. So we were excited to go up there with good weather! One of our first adventures was the 3 Bears Trail.

When Logan was little it was a very well-kept trail with signs, benches, and treats along the way. But it has become very run-down over the last 20 years and is in need of some repairs. The kids still just love it!

{ stopping at Mama Bear for a rest }

{Daddy fixing up Papa bear }

{ Lewis and Daddy }

{ Mama and Baby Jae }

It's great to have kids old enough to take pictures of us together. This was taken by Sophie.

The hike was a little scary in parts, especially where a huge tree had been uprooted and was blocking the path. It never ceases to amaze me how strong Logan is. He carried a backpack with snacks and drinks in it, as well as the Myla Jae the whole way up and down. He's awesome.

{ the uprooted tree }

{ the roots }

The best part of being away as a family is seeing the kids play together. I know some siblings choose to play together, but that is not the case with these 2. They have their own friends and their own interests. But when we step out of the real world for a few days, they have the opportunity to spend time together and build their friendship. They were good buddies this trip. And it melted my heart when I woke up the morning we got back from the cabin and found Sophie had climbed into bed with Ayden during the night.

{We stopped at Mama bear on the way down for a quick rest and drink break }

{ Myla was such a good sport. Love her. }

There is a rope swing a few cabins down from us and the kids love to go swing.

Lately I have really been enjoying Boston. He is such a good dog and I really enjoy having him in our family. Not only is he super chill, and doesn't beg (a pet peeve) the kids adore him. Especially Myla! And he is so wonderful with her. She will come up to him when he's chewing a rawhide bone and take it right out of his mouth. Then she'll run away and get him to chase her for it. He will run after her so cautiously and try to snatch it without ever knocking her down or biting her fat little hands. It's quite impressive. Her face lights up when she sees him and I'd say they play for at least 20-30 mins out of each day together.

{ Myla and Boston playing ball }

{ the kids on the big swings at the park in Wildwood }

It was a great weekend and I'm so thankful that I have such a great family. I love my children and my husband with all of my heart. Although being a mother is very challenging at times, these people bring me more joy than I knew I could ever feel.

{ Summer fun }

It has been a "party-on" kind of summer. My kids believe that if they aren't having a "rockin awesome time" (Ayden's new phrase) at all times, then the day is unsuccessful.

{ Ashlee, Madi, Brock, Sophie, Brooke, and Ayden }

This is a picture of them last night. They had some friends over for a swimming party/BBQ. It's a pretty typical day around here. At some point we have many kids at our house and we are outside with the pool and slip-n-slide out. I don't mind because I love being the host and it makes me happy when the kids like to play at my house.

So today I attempted to have a "stay at home" not "party-on" day. We made it until about 2pm and the kids started showing up looking for Ayden and Soph. And once again, we ended up with a party!

Sophie was at her friend Ashlee's house having hotdogs so I let Ayden invite some friends over for a pizza/dance party.

{ Making their pizzas }

{ Ayden, Kathrine, Lucy, and Madi }

{ Yummy! }

I feel very blessed to live in such a wonderful neighborhood. When you buy a house you never know what you are going to get. But we lucked out big time with awesome neighbors and great little friends for our children.

{ My girls }

I have been thinking for a while that I want to post some random things about my kids because I know I will soon forget the current stages they are in. I'm so surprised at how quickly they grow up and how quickly I forget the great things they do and say as they are growing up. I'll start today by doing the girls:

Myla Jae

This girl is amazing. I feel like I haven't done a very good job blogging her life thus far. I was better about taking pictures and writing about the other 2.

Myla is a character. She has figured out how to make us laugh and she is pretty good at it. She makes the most hilarious faces! She also copies faces and sounds that we make. She recognizes when she does something that makes us laugh and then repeats it. (A trait she inherited from her mother and grandfather no doubt.)

Myla is an incredible sleeper. On an average day she wakes up around 9am. She plays for a couple of hours and goes down for her first nap around 11am. She sleeps for 2-2.5 hrs and then plays for few hrs before going down for her second nap around 4pm. That nap is usually a little shorter, about 1.5 hrs. And even after all that sleeping she will still go to bed around 8pm and sleep a full 12-13 hrs! Any mother's dream come true!

Myla is a beverage stealer. If there is a drink within a 2 mile radius she believes it belongs to her and she will stop at nothing to acquire it. I have learned that I have to hide my drinks, (the counter no longer being a safe zone) especially my protein shake in the morning and any delicious gas station beverage. Her favorites are capri suns, any kind of soda, and anything with a straw. This is how I found her this morning . . .

Which leads into my next topic . . . Myla has become somewhat of a climber. I remember Logan's mom telling us stories about how he would climb all over the kitchen. Sophie is mischeivious so there has always been some element of climbing with her, but Myla is different. She sees anything that is climbable as though it was a challenge extended to her and will stop at nothing to accomplish that challenge. Her most recent climbs are:

The Bunk Bed:

{ mission accomplished }

The Computer Table:

{ mission accomplished }

And let's not forget . . . The Counter:

{ mission accomplished }

She also enjoys climbing up and down the porch stairs (not my favorite), and on and off any bike, big wheel, or scooter she can find. Oh the climbing . . . I won't be surprised if she gives me a heart attack.

She is starting to talk a lot more than sign these days, although a lot of her words are mostly jibber jabber. She will talk your ear off with jibber jabber and by the look on her face you know she means business. Some of her more coherent words are:

"Mama", "Da da", "Ayden", "De de" (her nickname for her special blanket), "dinkty" (this refers to her binky), "ah me" (which she says when she wants something), "hi", "bye", "dee do" (thank you), "eezz" (please), and "ah doe" (there you go). She says "na na" for banana, Nana Jan, and night night.

I'm so glad that Myla is in our family. I'm lucky to have such a fun and easy baby. She was so good all last weekend with all the late nights and long days celebrating the 4th. She is the perfect addition to our crazy family.

Sophie Lynn

Oh this girl. She always keeps us entertained. Not only is she still (on occasion) all kinds of trouble, she is totally hilarious. She keeps us laughing. Some of her recent side splitting one liners are:

"Mom, I know what an orphan is. It's a lonely kid with crazy hair."

"Wow Dad! Myla's diaper smells like a firework!"

She's also very inquisitive. She asks me questions all the time like:

"Mom, why did Jesus make spiders?"

"Mom, did Jesus make my bed?"

"Mom, why do girls have big boo boos?"

"Mom, how did Jesus make houses?"

"Mom, when I'm a mom will you be dead?"

"Mom, why did Jesus make flies?"

"Mom, when you are dead will I be Myla's mommy?"

She is always working through things in her head and trying to make sense of her world.

She still loves anything messy that she can rub on herself. Lotion, sun screen, soap, make up, dirt, you name it. We were watching a show the other day where a girl fell face first into the mud. Sophie busted up laughing and said "I wish that would happen to me! Then I'd be all dirty!" And she really does LOVE being dirty.

Sophie has the best facial expressions. She watches movies and tries to copy the expressions she sees on the actors faces. This is her making the face of Juilet on the movie Gnomeo and Juliet:

"Or a purple hat like . . . like some Wierd guy"

Sophie has surprised me with how smart she is. I always knew Ayden would be smart because he spoke very well at a young age and he was always interested in letters. Sophie has surprised me though, because it all comes so naturally to her. She reads almost as well as Ayden does now. She has an incredible ability to figure out what words are based on their context in the sentence and not just sounding out alone. And the way her mind works, I can tell she is always thinking through things and weighing things out.

Sophie loves to swim and has improved a lot during her second round of swimming lessons this summer. She is so fearless, which is a good thing, but when it comes to water safety a little apprehension is probably better. But at Cherryhill she is a little fish and I can hardly get her out of the water.

Sophie is a great part of our family. She has a lot of energy and brings a lot of excitement. I am excited and a little nervous at the same time to think about her growing up.

{ Happy July! }

We have had so much fun celebrating!

I'm not always a huge fan of the 4th of July (because I'm a wuss and it's hot) but this weekend has been so fun! We have a wonderful neighborhood and lots of good friends.

Friday we went to Ayden's Kindergarden program. He sang songs they have learned throughout the year. I was really fun for Sophie to watching since that will be here school in just 6 weeks!

{ Ayden's class }

{Myla and Mama enjoying the program. (still waiting on that hair to come in) }

{The 3 kiddos outside Lincoln Elementary School}

Our weekend of fun continued when we did fireworks both Saturday and Sunday night with our neighbors!

{ Bronson, Bridger, and Sophie }

{ Brinley, Brock, Lucy, Kathrine, and Ayden }

Sophie was so excited to do the fireworks on Saturday night that she asked me about 50 times that day if it was dark outside yet. What a silly girl.

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of Baked French Toast with Buttermilk Syrup (my favorite) before we headed to Kaysville for the parade. Our nephew Josh was is the parade for his Tykwondo class. We also learned that a lot of people go to the Kaysville parade over the Layton one because they throw candy! The kids were in heaven.

{ Ayden, Sophie, and Clara waiting for the parade to start }

{ happy baby with Daddy }

{ sleepy baby with Mommy }

{ The 2 biggest Utah fans I know. Aren't they cute in their twinner outfits?! }

It was been a wonderful 4th of July weekend and the night is still young! I am loving this holiday and I especially thankful for the reason we celebrate it!