Before it's over

So even though summer is (much too quickly) coming to an end, I wanted to do a post about what we've done so far (mostly in anticipation of the many posts I will have to do for my family reunion in a few weeks). So, I'll try to do this chronologically....

Most of our summer has been spent just hanging out, going to the Y, and spending time with friends, with some short trips thrown in there.

We went to a place called the Exotic Feline Rescue Center with some friends. That was super awesome! We were so close to all of these amazing animals!

We made a trip up to the Children's museum in Indy, and Steven hasn't stopped talking about it since  (and it happened in May...)

We also, unfortunately, made a trip to the hospital when Steven stuck a tiny, clear lego up his nose. That was fun! Even though the doctors couldn't find it, the lego worked its way out and made an appearance two days later when he blew his nose. gross....

We've explored many of the parks here in Bloomington - mostly with some meal involved.

We spent a few saturdays trying to clean out the garage, and even though we didn't get it all finished, I think we got a lot accomplished! We did have to come up with some creative ways to keep the kids busy...

Earlier this year I was called as the Assistant Stake Girl Camp Director. It was pretty stressful since I haven't been to girls camp in about 10 years, and we had about 1/3 of the time that we should have to plan it. But, in the middle of June, it finally happened! I thought it went great and it was so much fun.

We have spent a LOT of time playing with all of Grandma's awesome toys in the basement.

At the end of June, there was a retirement party for my high school band director, who had been working at Macomb High School for 30 years! I was able to go back to macomb with TJ and the kids and my good friend Lindsay. It was so fun to see people I hadn't seen for years!

The most recent exciting thing that has happened this summer was our trip to Florida to visit the Wilsons. Even though it was way too long of a drive with my kids, and a pretty short visit, it was so much fun to spend time with them and celebrate Tyler (and PJ's) birthday! Tyler's baptism was awesome, and even though I was put in the program as Julia Rands, I was so grateful to be part of it (especially since I just had to say the closing prayer!)

Lucy still isn't walking, although she has taken around 3 steps at a time, so hopefully she'll get there soon!!

So that's what we've been up to so far this summer, but we have a lot more coming!

A 4 Year Old??

I figured I should keep going with these posts before I lose steam….

Nov 8 2013

So before I move on to the events of our next birthday, I wanted to catch up a little on Steven. I figured I would stick with the same format I used for Lucy and talk about a few of the things that Steven loves…

Steven is total boy in that he loves anything that goes fast…

Children's museum with the Kilgore's
Feb 24, 2014

March 31. 2014

He loves his "Yuce." Sometimes he loves her a little too much, but his heart really is in the right place. He is a great helper and has gotten so much better, as time has gone on, at playing with her and keeping her happy. In fact, just today, Lucy would not stop crying at Play and Learn at the YMCA, but when they put her with Steven, she was all better!

Feb 5, 2014

Dec 6, 2013

Steve and Kellie's wedding
Feb 22, 2014

Besides helping with Lucy, he loves helping in almost every other way, too! He always asks to help with dinner, help with yard work, and so much more!

Dec 6, 2013

This boy loves his cousins! We are so lucky that now that we're living closer to some of his cousins, we get to see them much more often. Plus, living with Grandparents makes this the epicenter for family get-togethers!

Thanksgiving in Florida
Nov 21, 2013

And to be a little selfish, I'm going to add in here how much I love him!! With him off at preschool twice a week this year, I definitely value the time we have together a lot more. He's such a smart, loving, talented, handsome boy! He's my bud, and I love having him around.

But do I really have a 4 year old? Man, this is crazy… The birthday festivities continued today with Steven's birthday! Especially after barely being coherent due to pain medication for Steven's birthday last year, I was really feeling the pressure to make this year special for him. I also feel like we're getting to the point where we need to decide what our birthday traditions are going to be. I decided not to do a party, just because I feel like I wouldn't have really known who to invite, and I also just wanted to do some fun stuff with just him! I would like to think he had a great day, because I sure did! TJ made him some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and then we followed that up with opening presents! Afterwards, all he wanted to do was, of course, play with them. We spent some good quality Mother/Son time building legos and playing angry birds. We got him a "4-year-old haircut," played at the park (which it was finally warm enough to do!!!), ate a cheeseburger and fries for dinner, and came home and had some cake! It was a super fun-filled day, and it really felt nice to have a day just focused on my little, but not so little anymore, man. I love him!!

March 31, 2014

Lucy is 1!

Well I guess I'm really sticking to this semiannual blog update idea… Not one of my best ideas ever, but that just leaves lots of room for improvement.

(Nov 8, 2013)

Today, my baby turned one. I can't even believe it. It's gone by WAY too fast. Just to catch up a little, here are some of the things Lucy loves…

She loves eating! She devours anything you put in front of her - puffs, pouches, cupcakes...

First time trying puffs
(Nov 18, 2013)

(March 30, 2014)

She loves her brother! Whenever he's around, she's laughing and smiling (except when he inevitably does something to make her cry…), and especially now that she's crawling, she loves playing with him!

(Dec 24, 2013)

Building a fort with Steve
(Feb 5, 2014)

She loves Daddy (and Grandpa)! I can already tell she's gonna be a huge Daddy's girl...

She loves her sippy cup. This is a new discovery, but she already gets so excited when she sees it!

(March 28, 2014)

She loves her cousins. They all give her so much attention when she's around them, and she definitely does not complain :)

Steve and Kellie's Wedding
(Feb 22, 2014 Mt Timpanogas Temple)

She loves the beach…

Florida for Thanksgiving
(Nov 21, 2013 Mexico Beach, FL)

And last, she hopefully loves hanging out with her mom as much as I love hanging out with her!

Steve and Kellie's Wedding

Visiting the Knowles
(Feb 28, 2014 Red Rocks, CO)

We had so much fun today celebrating our Yucy's birthday today! Steven loved "helping" her open presents, and also loved eating birthday cupcakes afterwards. Lucy loved eating her birthday cupcake, too!! I figured for her first birthday, a little mini one was just the right size for her!

Even though there are so many other things I could say about my beautiful daughter, I'm just going to say that I am so happy she's a part of our family. She brings us so much joy, and it's impossible not to smile when she's around! I can already tell she has such a soft heart and has so much love to give. I'm so blessed that I'll get to be a recipient of even a small portion of that love.