catching up . . . on a lot

i kind of got lost amidst the graduation and anticipation of the upcoming move that i have failed to post about my day to day life with my darling boys and sweet husband. so here is a huge post, catching you all up. i hope you don't mind me squishing them all together. i'm kind of going backwards too, so be patient. here is goes.

ch. 1
camping.
well . . . the easy way with restrooms, car, table . . . but it was still a blast. we haven't been camping since sam was 2 months, so we weren't sure how they were going to do. they did great!! we got up there around dinner time. roasted hot dogs, boiled corn on our propane stove, ate chips, watermelon, the works. the kids ate it all up too.

here they are coming back with their sticks for roasting marshmallows. it's funny the way kids eat smores. it's usually snack on the graham cracker while the marshmallow cooks, burn the marshmallow and eat three cold ones, then stuff your face with chocolate. maybe deep down we all wish we could eat them that way yet we stick to tradition. maybe, but really i think the complete smore does taste the best.
elliot loved the fire. he kept asking, "can i throw this in?", about anything he could pick up with his hands. we had to keep reminding him what could go in and what couldn't. with sam we had to just make sure he didn't try to walk in.
we all slept great too, besides being uncomfortable. we went to bed around 10:30 and the kids slept until 6:50am. it was awesome! jeffrey let me sleep a little longer while they all got breakfast started. no breakfast is a real breakfast to me anymore unless jeffrey has cooked it. everything is awesome and he always insists that you eat it hot, even though that means he usually eats last. we had pancakes, potato cakes, bacon, and oranges. we should own a breakfast cafe someday, as long as jeffrey is the chef that is.

getting warm. man it is always so cold in the morning when you go camping. that is probably the part i have the hardest with. i hate being cold in the morning.
some cute boys offered to take our picture just as we were leaving. after we took a short hike up to bridal veil falls up provo canyon. it was so beautiful!



ch. 2
mo tab.
my dad has been in the mormon tabernacle choir since 1988. i was 6 1/2! so basically it feels like he's been doing this all my life. since we know we are going to been gone when he retires from the choir i knew we needed to go see a broadcast before we moved. we went on mother's day and it was such a good message. i love the sunday morning broadcasts and the sweet themes and messages they carry. we'll have to watch them while we are away so that the kids can still see grandma and grandpa weekly, on the tv! how cool is that. anyway. it was really nice. jeffrey was kind enough to take the kids into the assembly hall while i was able to be in the tabernacle to see the performance live. thanks jeffrey!




ch. 3
dinosaur museum.
the dinosaur museum was one thing i wanted to do for sure before we moved. i've never actually been through the dinosaur exhibit, so it was really fun that my dad took us all down to it. thanks dad! we had a blast!

here we are waiting for the dinosaur movie to begin. names left to the right. brian jr., spencer, and dave all 3 hiding behind laura, ben, elliot (can't see him), jeffrey, me, bekah, grandma, emma, sam, becky, and grandpa.
jeffrey under the tail of that huge dinosaur. good thing it's not alive, we all know why animals lift their tales. look out jeff!
bekah and sammy digging for fossils.
here we all are having our picnic outside. mom and dad, you are so great for taking us all sorts of places! not only to see cool things but to make so many wonderful memories! thank you!
nothing sweeter than cousin love!
(they posed like this for nearly 3 minutes while we scrambled to get the camera out. they smiled the whole time and just kept holding on.)

ch.4
birth mother's day
for those of you who don't know our neighbors, jenny and marcus, well, they are great! we have had so much fun getting to know them and having them be a part of our lives. we will miss them when we move. well, here we are meeting cosmo at the families supporting adoption activity. for those of you who don't know, i didn't, the day before mother's day is birth mother's day. it is for all those wonderful mother's out there who have given their child up for adoption and blessed another family's life. jenny and marcus adopted a little girl in january of this year. it has been so neat to see how things have worked out for them! it is great to see samantha get a little sister too!


ch.5
the dentist!
elliot had his first official dental work done. he was lucky to have the best dentist around! dr. homer, aka grandpa homer. nothing can top that, except maybe a super cute assistant. yep, favorite aunt becky! elliot did great. he was still smiling when we left. thanks dad.



ch.6
cutest boys in town!


ch.7
elliot.
box.
nothing more to say.


ch.8
last but not least, our final visit to training table. it has been a tradition in my life to visit training table often for their fantastic sandwiches, awesome extra cheese please fries, and don't forget, the dipping sauce! my family will know what i'm talking about. so will my asl buddies alisa and melissa. so many great memories from this place. we made it a point to hit it one last time.

yes, we brought playdoh and cars. it worked too! they had fun! basically we never take them out to eat anymore. it's too hard for us and too boring for them. i mean seriously, ask 2 toddler boys to sit still, be quiet, not throw things, and wait for their food? i mean come on!! we gotta love them for what they are!



ch.9
my boys . . . my life