Triple Dog Dare

I dare you to look at this picture and NOT smile:

Just Me And My Dad

Road Trip

Friday afternoon Aaron's boss called and asked if Aaron would deliver some equipment to the middle-of-nowhere in eastern Washington. So, we packed up the kids and headed off on an exciting family roadtrip! Let me just keep it real: there was a lot of whining, a lot of squabbling amongst the kiddos, a lot of "when are we going to be there"s, and a lot of mindless count-the-mile-marker-its-so-boring moments. But, we also had some fun moments, too. Not fun like Disneyland-fun, but fun. Kinda.
Even though they drove me crazy at times, it was fun to spend quality family time together. No TV, no telephones (no service even), no internet. Just us.

On the way home we spontaneously decided to stop at the Darigold plant for a self-guided tour of the cheese factory. I have memories of sampling "squeaky cheese" at a cheese factory in Idaho when I was growing up, so I wanted to keep the tradition alive and share the experience with the boys.

Coming home over the Chinook pass, we had to stop and take in the beautiful mountain scenery.

It was 85 degrees outside but there was still snow on the ground!

Good times.

The Ball Game

We all love going to the ball game. Some of us love going to the ballgame to eat the yummy treats (me), some of us love going to play at the kids play place (Hank), some of us love going to see the choo-choos that run next to the ballpark (Max), and some of us actually like to watch the game (Aaron). In any event, we all had fun!

Pool Party

Yesterday we joined Robyn, Macie, Hailey, and Nana Grover for some fun in the sun at the pool! I loved soaking up the sun, and the kiddos loved splashing around and staying cool. Fun!

Does This Ever Get Old?

Nope. The Bouncy House is a hit every time. The kids love running amuk, getting all hot and sweaty, and mom loves the peaceful naptime when the kids are done bouncing:)

Check!

It finally heated up around here so we've been busy marking activities off of our summer to-do list left and right.

Spray park: check!

Saltwater State Park: double check!

Oh how I love the sunshine!

Three Months

That dimpled smile makes it all worth it. Happy Three Months, Baby Ben!

Blessings

Aaron was fasting and was therefore a grump, I was my usual stress-case self, the boys were in rare form throwing fit after fit, the house was abuzz with preparations for our after-party....the blessing was PERFECT. All of the morning chaos fell away as Aaron gave Ben a beautiful, inspired priesthood blessing at church today.

Being that there was no earthly way that Ben would fit into the blessing outfit that we used for Hank and Max, we broke from tradition and dressed Ben in a shirt and tie ensemble, matching of course.

My heart is full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for sending Ben to our family, allowing me to be his mother, giving me the opportunity to learn and grow from this valiant spirit, and letting him stay on this earth with our family. I thank Heavenly Father every day for the sweet blessing that Ben is to me. I love you, Benjamin!

God Bless America

This year I instituted a new 4th of July tradition: a family hike! Being the hardcore hikers that we are (ha!), we headed to Flaming Geyser State Park, tromped around the woods for awhile, and then picniced at the park. The geyser was a laughable, but we actually really enjoyed appreciating the great outdoors together. How thankful I am to live in America, and, as much as I complain about our weather, I do love the beauty and greenery of our beautiful state. God Bless America!
Old Faithful!

The boys take after their mom, insisting on cleaning the mud off of their crocs in the freezing cold river water.

Poor Papa Grover lugged Max up and down the trail.

Cute as ever, Ben snuggled with me in his bjorn the whole hike.

We even saw some wildlife! Here, Aaron was pointing out a giant slug to the boys.

With all that hiking, we worked up an appetite.