Bear Badge!

This boy has officially earned his Bear rank in Cub Scouts!  Go Asher Go!  He has had so much fun so far, and really worked hard over the summer to achieve all the requirements he needed.  At Pack meeting I always love it when he gets to 'pin' me (proud momma moment but I have to be brave for that part, ha), and I love it when he picks a 'cheer' to do to celebrate his accomplishment.  Those cub scouts are sure silly, but they have lots of fun no matter what they're doing.  We are so proud of him!  He's had some great leaders along the way to help out with this too.   From weekly den meetings to day camp, everyone really puts in their time to help these boys achieve all that they can.  Here are some fun moments from his time as a Bear...

6 Months

A whole half a year has gone by since D joined our clan and I cannot believe. It's speeding by too fast.  Way too fast.  We sure love this little guy, and we love his fun personality coming out already.  He fits into the family perfectly and we can't imagine our lives without him.  At 6 months, we've had quite a few milestones!

• Shaking his hips. OH my.  This totally cracks us up.  When any music comes on while he's laying on his backs he just smiles and starts lifting his hips off the ground to the beat.  It looks like his body is moving itself independently whether he likes it or not.  So funny.  We all sing little songs just to get those hippies moving!
• Eating! We followed the pediatricians orders and waited patiently to start feeding this little guy.  Everyone was excited for the big rice cereal food reveal, and funny enough I believe everyone fed him a bite too. It was a family affair for sure.
• Books. He loves books, and has make it known that his favorite is The Very Lonely Firefly.  If you try to read another book and that particular one is anywhere nearby he whines and whines and twists around trying to grab it.  He already has his opinions and wants them known!
• At night or nap time when I lay him down I sing him a song, usually I Am a Child of God, or Silent Night, both of which he likes a lot.  After a few verses I just lay him down, snuggle him in a blanket, give him a kiss and voila!  Time to sleep.
• He loves playing with and trying to eat his feet.  What a fun new discovery.
• He is a total wiggle worm.
• First teeth!  After months (four now, I believe) of teething and drooling I am happy to say that the first two pearly whites have popped through.  They came in within a week of each other and are adorable.
• We thought he hated dogs, but actually just hates Brian, our friend's dog.  Phew!  We went to their place and Dawson burst out screaming and crying every time he came into view...even when the dog was outside!  It was crazy.  Poor little guy was really stressed out.  I thought it was a universal dog thing until we cautiously approached some dogs at the car dealership (getting something replaced) we were hanging out at.  He loved them both!  Now we just need to figure out how he and Brian can make amends.
• While taking his 6 month pics, he decided that eating the sticker was a good idea.  Off it came and in the mouth it went.  How does he even know that thing is there?!  While I was snapping away, he also discovered all the fun little ties on the blanket and was simply mesmerized by them.  
• Favorite thing to say: "Ah-boo."  Over and over.  So cute.

Summer 2015 Shenanigans

Woohoo!  Summer 2015 is in the books.  We had an awesome summer,  and here are the highlights...a fun visit to AZ (saw Corey's parents, my sis and family), swim team - Asher made it to district and city, biopark visits, tennis lessons, explora bubble fun, zoo concert nights, a visit from grandparents, Fourth of July fun at Aaron's (Emery's b-day), baby D fun with food and in a sling, big bro time (love), swim lessons, and Red Light, Green Light play time. Love these crazy boys, tiny, big, and bigger.  They're so much fun and make summer amazing!  As always, wishing we had just a little more time before school starts. Love you guys.

Ward Campout

Well we did it.  We finally went camping!  I haven't been camping in years...literally.  In fact, I think the last time I went was when Asher was 2!  The boys go every year with Corey for Fathers and Sons but of course, I don't go with them.  So, when our ward planned a campout for this year, we were in!  It's not that we don't like camping, we just always end up doing other things instead.  And camping in NM often means camping with fire restrictions and zero lakes or streams nearby, which to me is not camping, but more akin to suffering through a day in the dust without a bed to sleep in. 

The boys were excited and had so much fun running around with all of the boys from the ward.  Dirt, stinkbugs, s'mores, candy, fires, sticks, tents...they couldn't get enough.  And Dawson did well too... in fact, he slept better than I did. I was leery of camping with a baby and was gearing myself up for the worst, but to be honest it wasn't bad at all.  In the spirit of full disclosure, he did sleep in a pack and play, so we didn't exactly rough it with the little man.  But still. 

 

Asher had a fantastic time playing a football game called "500" and Beckett loved it when our Bishop found a snake and passed it off to Beckett to hold.  Beck also found a snakeskin that is now nestled in a container in his closet as his newest prized possession.  I loved visiting with friends, and watching my boys play to their hearts content.  And Corey had a good time eating breakfast burritos, shooting the breeze with friends, and playing with the boys.  I did give him a hard time about the quick light charcoal bag that he specifically requested (how could I not?) but honestly, who wants to wait for their charcoal to heat up for an hour so they can cook breakfast?  I'd have bought them anyway!

It was a great time and the boys are already asking about next year.  We really just need to go camping more!  My guess is that our future holds a LOT of camping, especially with these 3 fun boys around.  I'm just glad we broke my no camping streak...it was definitely time. 

First Day 2015

How, oh how did the first day of school come so soon?!  We have done so many fun things this summer, but there were so many more that I still wanted to do with them and didn't. At the beginning of the summer I was a little short on patience and low on energy (possibly from surgery, new baby and all that comes with those) and had a harder time, but this last few weeks, I was more myself and ready to go and do things!  Ugh.  So, I am sad to see them go back and I miss them even though the house is so peaceful and somewhat tidier.  Dawson, I think, misses them a lot.  He loves the excitement and the noise and all the attention and love that his brothers dish out.  They are just missed.  

This year will be fourth grade for Asher and first grade for Beckett.  They were excited on their first day and ready to roll.  We had a fun waffle breakfast, packed everything up and were off.  Corey was able to come drop them off on their first day (Super Dad, seriously), which they love, and frankly so do I since I'm such a baby after dropping them off.  I love that they love school and enjoy their days there, and recess and being with friends and everything else, but I do not love that they are growing up too fast, that the time seems to zoom by and that I can't do a darn thing about it. So, it's a little boo-hoo for me, and a big WOO-HOO for them, because they are great kids, smart kids, my kids.  Here's to another year of school!  I love you boys a ton.

LRP 2015 and Utah trip

Oh. My!  Fun, fun, fun. We just had a whirlwind trip to Utah for a family reunion and to do some fun things in Utah with the fam.  This was my first time outta town since before baby was born, and the day we left I had my last checkup after my surgery on our way out...adios, baby!  It felt good to be out and doing normal things for a change.  

The LRP Reunion was at my parent's house this year since so many of us had brand new babies, we kept things mellow but still had lots of fun.  Dawson did fantastic on the drive there, which was so much better than expected.  I was thrilled about that part!

We centered our get together around my parents house, making it homebased, and we all had lots of good time together.  We went fishing (a hatchery not too far away) and the kids absolutely loved being able to reel in a fish or two!  A visit with Grandma GG, swim time at the community center pool and slides, baseball, some visit time with Adam and Kayla (drove out just to see us for the day!), Legos, popsickles and trampoline time, ice cream at the BYU creamery, badmitton and bbq at my uncle's, and a lovely walk around Thanksgiving Point's grounds.  

Oh boy, oh boy do we love all of these people.  The pics of ALL the cousins together are just the best.  Totally priceless.  Great to catch up with everyone too!  As always, LRP was memorable and crazy fun!