just can't get enough

princess claire with bestie adi

i just love her. and claire loves her buddy adi. our house is diagonal from hers, and seriously the second adi is outside claire spots her and goes wild until they are together. its especially funny, because they play together, but they also play separately. they start together, and then they end up doing whatever they want, but when its time to go, they can't let go of each other. so cute. whenever claire talks about nursery, she always talks about playing with adi, and dance was always about adi, and when she wants to go outside, its so that she and adi can play. i hope they can always be such good friends!

Anyone out there?

Not sure if anyone reads this anymore?

Here's a quick shot of Claire after her dance recital last night. She was being a stink, but danced her little heart out when it came time. Cute little bug. Thanks for coming to watch linds!

Oh and my younger brother is here. Pretty happy right mow.

One

Bubbalicious turned one at the beach. Poor guy was suffering from his first ear infections, and other illness and spent that night screaming and throwing up. He did have some fun at the beach that day, and a great little party with the fam that evening. This guy is all about being on the move and what he can figure out how to get into next. He's brought so much joy into our home that I wouldn't trade for anything. He doesn't try words ver often, but is constantly giggling and laughing, and making grunts and blubs when he wants something. He loves cuddling, and is a pretty good sleeper and eater. And has more teeth than any kid his age, with more trying to pop through.

Love this guy. Love him to pieces.

And Joe. Love him too. Four years today for us. Keeping it low key, which is how we like it.

Since I'm talking love today, love Claire too. What a crazy little chick she is.

Beach.

This picture sums up a lot of our trip: just having a good time, doing whatever the heck we wanted. Its been a blast being with everyone. So great to finally introduce Caleb to everyone. Meeting the newest niece for the first time. Getting more sand in more places than I care to admit. Oh how I miss the ocean. Both kids absolutely loved it, didn't mind the water when it was colder one day. Heading back to Utah Monday and am really sad to leave everyone. The hospitality of southern people is so comforting. Gonna miss it.

love this little giggle

oh how i love this boy! he, like any baby, does not appreciate having his diaper changed. this was today's distraction.

12 hours til we leave for north carolina! time to start packing i guess?

why do i always wait til the last minute to pack? i don't like packing. but packing shorts and swim suits might be motivation today. although this red eye flight is looking like not such a good idea the more i think about it. oh well. to the beach we go! 

fabio to the rescue!

gosh i love my dad. see that little orange circle with the 76 in the middle? my dad is in oil, and through the years companies have merged, sold, bought, whatever with each other, but he started out sporting the 76 for quite a while. so, whenever we spot a little 76 memorabilia it brings a smile to our faces. this gem was found around the corner at the local sandwich shop.

anyways. reason #834839487 why my dad is a superhero, is because when i was having a meltdown about leaking water and my mom couldn't solve the problem (not that she can't, but dad is better at this stuff) he actually left a meeting to take my call. i know sometimes i probably don't give him enough credit because he puts a lot of work into what he does (and does WAY better at it than he gives himself credit), and sometimes that takes away from family time. BUT. when it really matters, he is there 100%. always.

anyways. i'm bawling now just thinking about what an incredible man he really is. love my dad.

blerg....way too much going on right now. just pile it on why dontcha! 

and. can't wait to see joe's dad, and the rest of his family so soon! right now in a week we will be on our way to the beach. can you tell i'm excited yet? i keep wanting to start packing in hopes that we can just go ahead and go, but i think that would only create a bigger mess than the one i'm trying to clean right now. 

recap

girls camp-a smashing success, if i do say so myself!

but really, after doing so much and stressing about it all, everything came together and fell into place, even at the last minute. and i think the girls enjoyed it. at least thats what they said...so worth it. although i feel kind of like i would if i had just planned the weddings of all the girls, and that feeling you get when you plan all that for that one day and then its all just over. but hopefully, like the marriage, those feelings, impressions, and relationships last, and the things they learned will stick. at least until next year!

i'm feeling a little heavy tonight, even though that weight of planning and planning is gone. maybe sadness? the week honestly flew by. the girls never stayed up past 1130, so i really got as much sleep as i normally do. i took an air mattress with me so i was comfortable, and mostly warm. i'll admit, beyond dealing with the demon spiders, endless mosquitoes and flies, and food going bad, i got pretty attached to most of the girls, and learned a lot from them. some jokingly called me "mom" by the end, and i thought "if i have teenagers like this, life will be pretty great." they are a small but wonderful set of girls, with little to no drama between them, and most of them have testimonies that shine brighter than they realize. i missed the kids, and joe especially, but it really was a treat to be among them for four days.

this week and next will be full of anticipation! i tried to not let myself get too excited about whats coming up until after camp was over, and now that i'm on the other side, things are going to be pretty great for us! beach trip with joe's fam starting next friday. pretty stoked for that one. and then marshy marsh gets home from brasil! the blessings from him being gone for so long far outweigh the sadness of not seeing him, but him being back is pretty great too.

and those sheep? the sheep i almost ran over as we were driving back from camp. came out of nowhere, around a sharp corner, absolutely no warning. i didn't take a camera, so i will be stealing pictures from everyone else this week :)

miss you already

four full days without these cuties? sad day indeed. almost can't wait so i can get back and love on them again. having family play time is my very favorite right now. 

love these little buddies. bubba monster and crazy hair claire. she is a wild one, and he is on the move. wouldn't have it ANY other way. 

cashing in

i called my mom on my way to the gym, to catch up without kids screaming, pulling my leg, asking for milk..... she asked what i was up to. "oh, just headed to the gym, and then the sweet tooth fairy." 

insert a burst of laughter from mom, and then more from me when i realized how awesome that sounded.

half off from groupon? yes please! i didn't even need to think about that one, so much so i clicked it twice. i did finally realize what sabotage i was creating, and limited myself from that third one though! 

i only ate 2/3 of one cupcake though, k? and that was my entire lunch! those boxes have (way too many) cookies in them, and those are all for mutual tonight. lucky girls huh? lucky i made the stupid mistake of clicking "buy" twice that is!

i needed a pick me up, its been a kind of bittersweet day. being gone for a week sans kids for girl's camp means no more nursing, so i decided to make sure i didn't get sick or whatever before camp (next week!). bubba has always loved it, and we've been weaning him really slowly, but knowing that this morning was the last time has made me fight back tears all day. i know he knows. and it stinks. but i made it almost a whole year despite setbacks and whatever, and i think i'll finally be able to lose the last of the baby weight that has been nagging me for six months. and have a little freedom. little guy is turning 1 in a few weeks, and i am so excited we'll be celebrating with his twinner cousin! anyways. too much going on during summer to post more regularly, but i'll try and get something else in before camp. go find a sweet treat and celebrate a little victory for yourself!

milk

it does this mommy good. sometimes i need a sane moment where everything is quiet, and sometimes that means having a milk session. claire + bubba + katelyn (the little babe in the middle i babysit) + 3 bottles/cups of milk/formula = a quiet moment for me. no crying, whining, questions, tugging on the pants, etc.

i keep being told i will miss this one day..... i'm sure i will. but sometimes, i just need a moment for me in the middle of the day. which is happening right now, thanks to some amazing nappers in this house. three kids napping at the same time = bliss. and the reason i can use the computer!

bubba has started this thing where he is not happy when i am in the room unless he is a)eating b)drinking or c)doing something he shouldn't be, like climbing on the couch and pulling on the blinds. i don't know what to do. i nurse him give him a bottle, and feed him a huge bowl of food and cereal, and he acts like he is starving. if i give him extra he barfs it up.... so i just leave the room. leaving claire to either follow me, or create a massive mess. i just don't know what to do! i am trying to teach them to play together, share toys, and read books with them, but bubba just gets mad and starts throwing things. so, we are constantly cleaning up messes, like flour. ugh. just keep working at it i guess?


and, i just need to mention that having my little sis around has been a.maz.ing. so glad she is here, and helping out this tired momma a ton. she's pretty awesome.