BreAnnie

My cute sister now has a blog :) How can she be that old? I remember when she was born... I remember sleeping on the ground by her crib because I loved her so much and wanted to be close to her all of the time. She would peek out of her crib in the morning and smile at me. I still remember how nice it was to wake up to her cuteness! Now she's old and beautiful! She really is the prettiest 7th grader I've ever seen. She adores Holdyn and I'm always surprised that an almost 13 year old would want to play with a 2 year old... but she loves it! And he loves her... especially when he's on her lap playing computer games. She is always giving me hugs and really is the sweetest girl I know. I've never heard her talk back and I really think the naughtiest thing she does is torture her little sister now and then ;) Thanks for being such a great sister Bre. I know 7th grade is tough, but soon you'll be right into the swing of things. I love you BreAnnie!!

Quarter Century

I had a fabulous Birthday week! It all started with a triple birthday party for Maddy, Grandma, and myself in my Grandma's gorgeous backyard. I always get to celebrate with these 2 ladies because our birthdays are all in the first week of September! It was a fun night under the stars :) On Saturday, my mom and Bre braved a trip to Park City with Holdyn and I. We discovered that although Holdyn is pretty darn cute, he's not quite ready for a girl's shopping day! We had lunch on Main Street and shopped at the outlets. Holdyn was pissed at any of the stores that didn't have TVs. All stores with TVs were okay in his book :) We ended the day by driving up to The Cabin and visiting with my grandparents. I can't wait for the cabin remodel to be done! Sunday (my actual birthday) was a float day, as always! I woke up to lots of presents on my bed. Holdyn helped me open some cute running shoes (not for running, more for walking!), and an Old Navy gift card so I can buy my annual velour sweat suits :) He also helped me open my favorite presents... a darling charm bracelet with some special engravings and 2 MJ tribute books. Yes, my husband did really well this year! Then we had a nice relaxing float and a yummy BBQ at the bottom. Cory surprised me with his yummy strawberry shortcake. It was a perfect way to spend the day :) We ended it by jumping, flipping, and splashing in my mom's pool! We had one last birthday celebration with the Montys at La Fron... one of my favorites! HUGE thank you to all of my family and friends for a fan-freaking-tastic 25th birthday! I love you all! Thank you to my little man for always picking the best cards for your mama and for helping Daddy with my presents. And the biggest thank you goes to my sweet hubby for taking care of everything for the river, every last one of my presents (including the best candy in the whole world), and for making every last detail of my day special. I love you and appreciate all the little surprises and sweet little thoughts! Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hello... Meet my 4 Year Old!

It all started a few weeks ago when Holdyn found Daddy's buzzers, plugged them in, and shaved a chunk of his hair off right in the middle of the top of his head! All in a matter of 120 seconds! Luckily, we could part his hair to cover his buzzed spot. But ever since then, he's been BEGGING us to buzz his hair "like Daddy and Carter!" He tells everyone about how he "plugged" in the buzzers himself, then "buzzed" his hair. He shows everyone exactly how he did it!
I finally gave in.
This is my 2 year old...

And now meet my 4 year old!

I swear it makes him look like he's no longer a toddler! Oh well, it will grow back. But along with the haircut came a very cute and obedient little boy... maybe he's rewarding me for letting him get his "buzz."

Always, Sometimes, Never...

I Always. . .

* Make sure to show Holdyn just how much I love him. Daily, hourly, minutely…I am always kissing him and telling him I love him. I don’t ever want to take him being my son for granted.

* Put on deodorant multiple times a day. It’s not that I stink… it’s just that I can’t stand the feeling of naked arm pits☻

* Am worrying about something. My car made a funny sound, this mole looks weird, is Holdyn doing something dangerous right now, what if there’s an earthquake while I’m at work at can’t get home. It makes me crazy!

* Get butterflies when I am about to see Cory. Even if we’re fighting, I still get anxious to see him. I may not want to talk to him, but I like to know we’re within close proximity to each other☻

* Wear my seat belt. It saves lives people!

I Sometimes. . .
* Tickle Cory to sleep while I watch TV at night. I don’t love to tickle him any other time, but for some reason, I don’t mind so much when we’re cuddled up on the couch.
* Wish we could move to Lake Powell and work there for a summer ☻
* Worry too much about what people think about me. Even though I know I’m a good person and try my best, there are certain people who have consistently tried to make me feel otherwise no matter how hard I try to be nice. I have a hard time accepting that some people are selfish and just need the drama in their lives. It’s been a hard lesson to learn.
* Desperately want another baby. And then I realize that it’s the good parts I want, not the hard parts! I have to constantly remind myself that we are making the right decision… getting out of debt, getting a new house, and spending quality time with Holdyn… before we decide to bring in another family member. I know I’m not personally ready for another baby, but newborns always give that sunshiney feeling that’s so hard to resist!
* Wish my aunt, mom, and grandma lived with me ☻ Okay… not WITH me, but in some sort of extension off of my house! I love spending time with them ☻

I Never. . .
* Go to bed until I can barely keep my eyes open. I hate sitting in bed, waiting for sleep to come. I watch TV or read until sleep takes me away.

* Cook. I hope to one day learn, but I honestly can’t picture it!

* Go to the bathroom without the water on. I’d prefer that the fan be on and the noise of a giant construction site, but running water will do if it must!

* Go more than one day without rocking Holdyn to sleep. It is my favorite time of the day and no matter what kind of day it’s been, that half hour of him in my arms rises above all of the other moments.

* Sweep things under the rug. You will always know how I feel about a situation or you! I like to get things resolved and express how I feel so I can get it out of my brain. That’s how I roll ☻

I Believe. . .
* I will have a fairy tale life. Not the happily ever after kind, I’m not that naive, but I know I will look back at the end and feel so lucky to have had great love, great kids, and in general… a fairy tale life!
* Being a mother is what I am on this Earth to do. I’m kind of a lazy person ☻ But being a mother is the one thing I put my all into. I will never slack in this department!
* This too shall pass. Every good, bad, scary, heartwarming moment will pass. Take advantage of every moment and etch it in your mind. This is how you learn lessons.
* That love is all you need. I have doubted this before, but I know that if you love each other (spouses, family, friends), things will always be okay. If you have love, nothing can bring you down.
* Santa Clause does exist!

I tag whoever wants to do this!

Summer Delight

It has been such a great summer so far! I'm pretty sure Holdyn is in heaven this summer!!

Skateboarding...














Swinging...

Digging...

Mowing... He pretends to edge the lawn "Like Daddy and Uncle Carter!"...

Riding the mountain board...

And Kiting with the big boys!

He plays with his cousins 2 days during the week, one of those days he's at Amber's house running around with Jordan and his friends when he's not playing Petshops with Maddy. He gets Daddy to himself 2 days during the week and his grandma all to himself on Fridays. Saturdays are Mommy/Holdyn day. We swim, nap, clean, color, watch Barney, and play play play! He is one loved little boy!

We have been loving Grandma's pool this year! Holdyn is a swimming maniac and can't go more than a couple days without swimming. He jumps off the diving board now too!

We had a little visitor swim with us for a few hours one day...

We've had lots of friends come play at the pool with us. Mostly this cute pair...

Grace and Holdyn swim swim swim and I get to catch some rays while holding sweet little Brody. It's just about perfect :)

We went to the Draper Days Parade for the first time this year and it was so fun! I think this might be a new tradition because Holdyn had a blast asking for candy...

We've floated the Provo every Sunday for the last month and it really is such a great time! I've finally figured the river out for the most part so I'm not terrified anymore :) Thanks to my mom & dad for taking Holdyn on Sundays so Cory and I can play!

I am so grateful that my mom thoroughly enjoys having Holdyn and he can't get enough of her; plus, he gets to play with his aunties who love having him just as much as his grammy :)

Holdyn has been "camping" with Grandma and Grandpa and his aunties! He thinks he can do anything Grace can do...

We did it!

He thinks camping is the funnest thing ever!

Until he has to leave :(

Holdyn has been to some friends' birthday parties and he absolutely LOVES being around other kids!

We had his friends Carrera and JayLynn and their parents over for a little firework party and Holdyn thought fireworks were even better when he could "talk" about them with his friends :) He is going to have so much fun in preschool next year... ahhh!
I can't even think about him going to school :(

Speaking of fireworks, our schedules finally cleared up by the 24th and we were able to go see fireworks somewhere besides our front lawn. We sat on the grass at Sandy Amphitheater and watched the fireworks across the valley. Then it was time for the big show at Rio Tinto stadium! It was so nice to have plenty of space for Holdyn to run around and we were able to get right home after the fireworks. I love that our anniversary is right around firework time...
it's so romantic!

Last weekend we had a Glitter Toes party! Jamie is now doing glitter toes and while she made all of our toes pretty, I got to take care of sweet little Brody...

Holdyn was very interested in what we were all doing to our toes. He loved helping his Aunt Jamie :) Don't tell Dad!

So if you want toes as cute as mine...Email Jamie at jamers316@hotmail.com and she will make your toes cuter than you've ever seen them!

It's been a delightful summer!

Family Pics :)

We had so much fun getting our family pictures done! We went to Wheeler Farm and Holdyn was off and running from the minute he got out of the car. We got to have a family outing and get family pictures done all in one shot :) Holdyn loved chasing the birds, playing in the water, and petting the goats, and watching the roosters fight! He couldn't have been more thrilled to be at the park running around and getting his picture taken. He's a natural in front of the camera :)

We love how the pictures turned out... Thanks Julie!