Ranch Reunion

Is summer really over?? It can't be so, especially with these 90 degree temps we're still having. I'm in denial - not ready to say good by to swimming pools, sunshine, snowcones and backyard BBQs. So much to blog about - Christian starting kindergarten, first family trip to Disneyland, my very large belly and so many fun summer adventures.
Never a dull moment at our household! Just this morning I had the boys all dressed and ready for the day - Christian in a nice Polo and plaid shorts for school. They headed outside to play while I got dressed. I came out 10 minutes later to find them sword fighting in the neighbors sprinklers - DRENCHED. But how could I get mad?? They were having so much fun and taking advantage of the still very summer-like weather. So we started all over again getting ready for the day. Thankfully boys are pretty easy to dress and it took care of their shower today :)

The Morgan family headed back to the Reid Ranch (up by Strawberry) in July. Such a great spot for large groups if you're looking for a family trip next year. You stay in big cabins (beds, hot showers, toilets - my kind of camping), they cook all your meals in the cafeteria and have swimming pools, horse and pony riding, paddle boats, fishing, batting cages, mini golf, fire pits with stages, the works! I highly recommend it and it's reasonably priced too. http://www.reidranch.com/



Belly loves (checkout the gun in his back pocket)


My boys are getting SO BIG, makes me a little sad.

Wild Cousins


Yep, lifejackets and bike helmets for pony ride safety. Stylin!

Mmmm smores



Quite the fashion statement, the orange life jacket on my bulging belly.

Trooper Mason is 3!

Our Trooper Mason turned 3!! Here he is all decked out in his new costume ready for the big cousin party at Fat Cats. It was the third Star Wars party for us (as Christian's past 2 have been SW as well). My boys are quite the fans and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Our house is filled with daily Star Wars battles, Jedi costumes and light saber wars. Mason can tell you the name of every single character, including all the different troopers that all look the same to me! How will a little sister ever fit in around here?? She'll just have to play Pncess Leia I guess...

Birthday boy sat alone to eat pizza by his birthday cake and kept ripping the troopers off the cake and sticking them back on. There was a huge hole in it by the time we sang - however it was HIS cake so whatever made him happy.

Earlier in the day while fighting over a toy with Christian, he pulled the birthday card a few times as well, crying "but I'm da birt-day boy!!" He's still trying to use that line 2 weeks later of course.

Game time with Grandpa Jace

Happy Happy 3rd Birthday Big Boy (who always reminds us "no, I'm still little"). I secretly love that he's still such a baby because I don't want him to grow up. I love his little voice and all the hilarious things he says and does daily. If we can just work on the bully factor and beating up his poor big brother.

At bedtime he had to sleep with ALL his new spaceships and Star Wars guys of course. He's quite the HOARDER and the Birthday Boy always gets what he wants! Just don't know what his excuse is every other day of the year as he ALWAYS seems to get his way.

Fab FOURTH Fireworks

Oh how I love the fourth of July and lucky for us Utahns, we seem to get a full month full of fireworks, parades and such. It was an action-packed day filled starting with a daddy/son backyard campout, neighborhood breakfast, Evergreen children's parade (our FAVE), swimming with cousins, family BBQs, Grandma Jody's amazing never-ending firework show followed by Sugarhouse fireworks with Nana & Jace. WHEW, exhausting but what a FABULOUS 4th we had!!

Check out these DARLING patriotic cuties (cousins Jaxson & Kambri)





Down the slide and swimming in the deep on his own, SO big!

Collecting our candy stash with Morgan cousins at the parade...


Nice matching headlamps on my campin' boys.

And the 3 prego moms of those cute kiddos - my sister in laws (Jace's fam) all due 1 month a part with GIRLS!! (sorry ladies, hope you don't hate me for posting our belly pic :)

JUNE We have been...

Celebrating Fathers

with Daddy/Son golf practice

Happy Father's Day to our favorite, coolest Daddy (proudly wearing the "Greatest Father in the World" tie Christian made in church)! Checkout Mason's face.

Father's Day princess dress-ups? It didn't make it any further than this before he ripped it off...not such a good idea he decided.

Remembering Uncle Chad...with a cemetary sword fight?

Graduating Preschool. Now onto kindergarten for our big boy!

Seeing big growling dinosaurs

Getting sprayed in the face by dinosaurs

Congratulating other Graduates. My baby sis graduated from the U with my same Mass Communications degree. Way to go Paige!

Catching a baseball game

Loving soccer with neighbor buddies

Rocking the Disco look (with my baby bump which is MUCH larger by now) at a friend's 70's party. Totally Troy's style - he has numerous outfits like this that he actually wears to family weddings and such.

Check out those fine mustaches and burnt weinies. Looking good guys!

Summer Lovin'

I can admit it, I've been slacking at the blog world lately. What HAVE we been up to you ask? (or maybe you didn't ask)
Nasty surgery for Troy (tonsils out, uvula out, deviated septum fixed, throat shaved and neck sliced open to sew bone away from airway). Ouch!!. Hoping to cure sleep apnea, cross our fingers.
Playing nurse all Memorial weekend - not fun at all. Yuck.
Thrilled it's finally summer!!!
Day 3 at the pool and feeling fabulous. Bring on more sunshine, I can get used to this.
Snowcone season, mmmm. Yep, we are regulars at the local Aloha Snow Shack.
Feeling very large and preggers. Everything is so tight. Good thing for stretchy, flowy dresses and skirts. Already getting the comments from strangers that I must be due really soon. Um, nope, got a good 3.5 months left. Gotta love that.
Barbeque time, eating on the back porch, staying outside late, neighborhood strolls at night, working in our Garden (weeding is actually theraputic for me)...did I mention I LOVE summer?? Well I sure do.
Oh and the highlight of this week: we hired our first cleaning lady and I think I'm in LOVE!! (And thankfully my hubby is too.) So grand walking into sparkling bathrooms and bright white blinds not covered in dust. Highly recommend it, totally worth every penny.
Happy summer to us all!

Big 5 Year Old

WOW! Hard to believe we have a 5 year old and soon-to-be kindergartner. Our Christian is such a sweet, tender-hearted boy. He is so smart, he remembers everything and is starting to sound out words. He loves his friends and family and is so patient with his little brother. He's still into GREEN, although he's been adding a few new favorites to his color palette. He loves everything Star Wars and Super Heroes and video games. I'm holding off as long as possible on getting a Wii because this boy is game crazed enough.
Star Wars Party - 17 crazy kids in costumes, what was I thinking?? It was WILD! Kiddos played Jedi Training games and destroyed the Death Star pinata. However they were most excited about chasing each other with their pool noodle light sabers (and whacking the crap out of each other). And this is creative as it gets with cake making at our house - yep, I actually carved and frosted a light saber cake (using a funfetti cake mix of course, making from scratch would have done me in). I was pretty proud of my work and it definitely pleased the birthday Jedi Knight!

Birthday gaming at Fat Cats with Grandma & Grandpa



Birthday crown and "C" doughnuts at preschool

Happy Happy 5 Years Christian, we love you and are so proud of you!!

Mothers

After a very crazy/busy, yet fun and exciting week at our house, it was nice to spend time focusing on mothers today. I enjoyed hearing about the influence of other people's mothers and pondering the relationship I treasure with my own amazing mother. I thank her for teaching me to be strong, confident, independent and spontaneous. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing mothers. I look to so many of my great friends, family members and neighbors as examples of motherly patience (something I always need), nurturing, kindness...and the list goes on. I love being a mother, even though it's completely chaotic and stressful, it is truly the best job in the world. Getting hugs and "I love you's" from my boys (in between wrestling matches and sword fights) and tucking them into bed at night is the greatest feeling. Warm fuzzies all over.

Christian gave me a sweet handprint in a painted frame he made at school that talks about how someday I will miss the smudged handprints on the walls so here is one to last. Priceless. I cry when I think about those days when my little ones are all grown and don't need me anymore. I want to treasure them now and remember how precious they are. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day! Thanks for being great examples to me. Take some time for yourself and remember to treasure your little ones (even in the midst of chaos).

ps. I received some very exciting news this week. I'm going to have a daughter. That's right, it's a GIRL!!! The news was hard to believe at first (I truly thought it was a trick) but now that it's sinking in I am thrilled to experience that mother/daughter bond with my own little princess. And I can't wait to shop for everything girly - bring on the pink and bows and ruffles!