Lovin summer nights

Sitting in our new backyard sunday night. Watching the beautiful sky and listening to the kids cry, play, cry, play while they are supposed to be sleeping in their room. Ben and I both decided it is way better sitting outside, enjoying the air and listening to them cry and ask for everything under the sun, than trying to get things done inside while listening to their every word.

Monday night before we headed over to swim with the Adam Eyre clan, we had dinner out on the "patio". I just loaded everyone's plates and served it outside. It was so great!

We had a short family home evening lesson in the car on the way to swim, and then had another Family home Evening in the hot tub with all three families. The kids loved that. (Adam and Kimberly's friends from Arizona were visiting.) It was a fun memorie of songs, prayers and lessons in the hot tub.

Brooke still LOVES jumping off the diving board and now Livy has joined her. Thank goodness we are doing swim lessons right now. Livy has no fear (that is a good thing and a bad thing, right.

Swimsuit and Boots

Gotta love this girl's style.

Sunsets and Magic

I surprised Brooke and took her to Kimberly and Rachel's baby shower. She was in HEAVEN. She loves babies, loves parties, and loves to see her cousin Madeline. She played with Madeline, held baby rachel and ate "real ice-cream." (She is lactose intolerant, so at home we have coconut bliss ice cream- its really good, but has limited flavors. And of course there were lots of toppings for her to choose from.) On the way home the sunset was just gorgeous! Just seeing it made the feeling of summer rush through my veins. Brooke and I looked in awe adn Brooke said, "Mom, I wish i had one of those pink clouds for my pillow." and "Jesus really loves us to give us beautiful things." It was so fun. It turned out to be a fantastic mommy/daughter date.

Ben is so amazing at capturing the kids attention for small things, by making them so fun. Lately, all the stories he tells and the things he does has to do with magic it seams. He tells the Magic Fruit Tree stories every night. Brooke and Livy tell me all about them the next day. I just am so amazed at Brooke's ability to remember every (and I mean every) little detail of things. She has an incredible memory. Today the magic trick was turning starburst colors. Luke was over playing and he wanted orange, ben showed him that he only had red and pink....but with a few magic words and some special rubbing of the wrists- wala-Luke got an orange starburst. The littlest things, make kids eyes light up and give them so much joy! And I think Brooke REALLY believes that her dad is magic. He always uses his magic to find lost toys, help livy and brooke play and tell cool stories.

Ben, you are one awesome dad!

Cute Sayings

After asking Brooke and Livy to clean the toy room for the umpteenth time...Brooke walks into the kitchen and says, "Mom, could you just do the Mary Poppins snapping thing?" Me: "What snapping thing?" Brooke, "You know to help us clean up. Just try it!" So I tried. Thankfully, Brooke wasn't too disappointed that i don't have magical powers. I think deep down, she knows it isn't real, but is still hoping.

Driving home yesterday from picking up MaKenzie, Brooke was telling makenzie all about pre-school graduation. And then she says, "And Luke was in my school. I was so happy he was there. You know the very first time I saw him it made me so happy." So I guess it was love at first sight.

Livy's common sayings, "Mom, you get me fud. (food)" "I tant tantates. (I want pancakes) Widt suwip n de tide. (with syrup on the side.) "I wun miul" (I want milk)

End of School Week

It was a busy, fun week last week.

Tuesday was the end of the year party for Brooke's pre-school. We had a potluck at ardenwood farms. I love the farm and I loved, loved, loved that preschool for Brooke. They are just so great!

I started doing volleyball lessons at city beach again, so I had those on tuesday as well. Wednesday night was pre-school graduation. Again, so cute. (We didn't get to go to the U2 concert because Bono had back surgery. So they postponed it until next year, it was nice to not have to rush from the graduation-but we'll be excited for a fun concert next year.)

Thursday was private lessons, zoning and play dates.

Friday was the first day of Summer beach day!! I love the beach. i love that my kids love the beach. And I love that we have so many fun friends in our ward that go to the beach. I am soaking in the fun with so many great people around! And I can't wait to go to the beach again. We rushed home for ward temple night. All but three couples there, were also at the beach.

Saturday we went hiking at sunol, tried to clean up a bit....and then went to Toy Story 3 at the drive-ins. We wanted to hike to "little yosemite", but didn't quite make it. So we had a picnic lunch by the little river and the kids played in the water. It was so fun to be out in nature with the kids and watching them enjoy the simplest pleasures.
We left early for the movie and "tailgated" and played games with the Becks adn Droubays. It was so much fun. Definitely something to do again this summer!

Sunday we had baby Rachel's blessing, a nice father's day dinner and a walk to the garden. Then Ryan and Melissa came over for cake. It was a jam packed weekend of fun.

And now it is on to recovery.

Trying to catch up with laundry, clean bedrooms, cars, put the backyard together, and try to make our front yard look half-way decent.

Brookie's Dance Recital

Taylor & Carly's Wedding

Motorcycle Kids

Seraphinas funeral

Vegetable Garden

Yeah!! Today we got our first red tomato and some green beans!! I am so excited because I was a little worried what was going to happen to our garden when the workers had to transplant all of the tomato plants, bell peppers and all of our herbs to a different part of the yard. But it looks like they are doing well. Too bad most of the lettuce patch got smashed. But at least all of the kale is great, and we are still using about five of the other lettuce plants. I am so glad my girls get excited about the garden. Maybe this year they will eat some more of the vegetables! The gophers ate our zuccini plants, but the birds haven't gotten the strawberries yet. I love summer with all the fresh fruits and vegetables!

Concrete and an awesome neighborhood

Monday is the big day we get to FINALLY walk on the new concrete and enjoy our new backyard. It has been an eventful backyard makeover, but it will be so worth it.
We had always thought we would have to wait a few more years to do our backyard. (We spent all of our money on the house when we gutted it...so there wasn't anything left for the outside.) We have been saving and saving for a minivan, and when we got one quite a bit less than what we had planned on, I decided we were going to use what was left to at least put in the concrete in the backyard. So my dad told us about how much it would be (and of course we planned a little more, after doing the entire house we learned that everything is about 20% more than what you think. Not because my dad is off on his calculations, but there are always so many other little things that "will just make it so much nicer." ), and we had Martin (my dad's concrete guy) come over and we designed everything. But we also found out that it wasn't going to be as easy as thought. Instead of just pouring over the existing uneven pad, we were going to have to tear it out completely and dig down a about a foot, over the ENTIRE yard. I am SOOOOO glad we hired that part out. Even if it did cost more. So it took four workers 5 days to break up, haul out and dig up the backyard. Literally, back breaking labor. Then we made all the desicions, and let me tell you the memories of the MANY, MANY, MANY decisions we had to make during our house remodel started flooding in. And I started to remember why I was such a nut case for the year we were remodeling. You just have to make so many little decisions and there is just so many things to think about and look for and decide on...I can see why some people get divorced over house remodels if they can't communicate.
Anyway, so we got it all squared away with color and design and size, etc. And the big day finally came to pour. Let me just tell you we never have stray dogs out in our neighborhood, but on thursday, we happened to have 2! The first was early on when it was totally wet and the crew was still here adn they hadn't textured, so they fixed it. The second one happened about 5 hours after they had already poured the salt and finished everything. AHHH! We couldnt shut the gate becasue of the framing on the side. So the workers blocked the entrance with a wheelbarrow and shovel to keep dogs like the one in the morning out. But another dog somehow got through and left deep grooves of dog paws on the beautiful new concrete. Yeah, I was a tad frazzled, mad and stressed. This is all while Brooke had Riley and Emma over playing tea party. i was trying to get the rice started so it was finished for the "rehearsal" dinner (not really a rehearsal, but I guess that is the traditional name.), shower, and get brooke dressed and out the door for dance pictures. I called Martin IMMEDIATELY and asked him what I should do to fix it. He said there was nothing he could do and to catch the dog and the owners would need to pay for it to be redone. Well, i don't like dogs, but I was willing to catch this dog. I was walking over to Cheri's to see if she could come watch the kids while I caught the dog. Luckily Brittany drove up at that moment. (Have I mentioned how great a neighborhood I live in. We love it here! We have the most awesome neighbors and friends.) All the girls in the toy room were coming out of the house screaming at Brittany what happened-I had to keep telling them to go back inside. Brittany caught the dog with some turkey. It turned out to be my friends dog that lived around the corner. I called ben to see what I should do and he said, "You have to go over and return the dog and tell them what happened and see how we are going to resolve it." In my mind I was thinking, can't I just wait for you to get home and you can do it. But, i had to buck up and do it. Brittany and Cheri stayed with the kids while I walked over. I had a pit in my stomach walking the dog over, i just kept thinking about how this was going to go over, how much we had just spent on our yard, and I was so frazzled-and sweaty since I hadn't showered all day and had been running.... My friend was so great about it. When I told her what happened she apologized and said just tell me what we need to do. Again, I was so grateful for such a wonderful neighborhood with great people. Thankfully, their renters insurance will probably cover it and we will still get some awesome concrete!
And at this point when I got home, I had 40 minutes to get the rice done, showered and ready adn brooke dressed for dance, while jackson kept crying to be nursed. AHHH! And then there was a knock at the door and it was Rochelle, Brittany's little sister. "Would you like me to watch the kids while you get ready?" Me: "YES!!! I would love that." I almost started crying, I was so grateful! (and stressed about how I was going to pull everything off.)

But it turned out great. Brooke was only about 5 minutes late to pictures. The rice got finished (Mind you this was rice pilaf for 60 people.) and I showered and actually put make-up on.

The dinner was great and the wedding the next day was awesome. But I am sure it will take me a while to post about that one...but i'll still hope I do it by tomorrow!

And our concrete looks awesome!

Dance

Brooke had her first dance recital yesterday and today. She was so cute. It brought back so many memories from when I was a kid! I took dance for the city of fremont as well, and it was so much fun! Brooke was in the same class as her friend Makenzie. And of course they were the cutest little girls. Livy actually loved watching the first half. She kept saying, "look mom, its miss tracy, and there, too. It matches." (She is really into things that match.) Miss Tracy was brooke's teacher. Brookelyn's class was really cute and all th little other little kid classes were so cute. But there were a few too many "adult" dances. And they were not so cute...but hey, its through the city and they have to give everyone a shot. (But someone really needs to tell them that really overweight people don't have to do a belly dance, there are a lot of other options to choose from....but that is my personal opinion.)
Ben took her last night because it was in the middle of Taylor and Carly's reception. And I had planned on getting her flowers, but I figured since she had her boquet from the wedding that would do. So when i picked her up from the dressing room after the finale, she said, "Mom, next time you need to bring me flowers." Okay Brooke, I will do that!

And Chris and Hedy, just keep bugging ben to put up more pictures and the vidoes so you can see how cute she was.

Backyard

Big Moments

Jackson turned 8 months on the 27th and Ben turned 30 on the 28th! Huge moments- and I was so busy packing for Gualala and trying to get Livy's fever down (she had a 106 fever the night before we left) that I didn't even record anything.

But better late than never, Right?

Jackson is still the smiliest little guy! He grins all the time. And he is so handsome. he really does get more handsome every day.He is still a big eater. 2 packs of baby food at each meal. (Or two whole pieces of fruit or big spoonfulls of veggies in the babyfood grinder). He weighs 25 lbs. (I know he is huge.) He is starting to scoot in circles on his bum. He still has no interest in crawling. He just started liking standing while you hold his hands. He laughs when livy tackles him. He smiles when Brooke carries him around, even when he is practically slipping out of her arms. He has a great belly laugh. He has the two bottom teeth, but no others have come in. He loves to swing, especially at gualala! He loves to nurse. He pulls on his ears when he is tired. It used to make me nervous that it was an ear infection, but after getting it checked a few times, i realized that is just what he does when he is tired. He likes to blow rasberries as soon as you put a spoonful of food in his mouth. We cannot be more in love with him. Brooke still brags about him to her friends and family, it is so cute becasue I thought by now the "newness" would have warn off, but that little girl still can't get enough of him. Brooke and Livy talk baby talk to him in his face while shaking their heads, (hmmm, wonder where they get that from? :)). I wish the time would slow down so I could soak his sweet smiles in even more each day!
And for the Big Moment....Ben started a new decade!

Thirty things I love about the old man, Ben! (in no particular order)
1. He is tall.
2. He lights up the room with energy, love and fun when he walks in.
3. His red hair.
4. he loves playing sports, especially basketball.
5. his hands
6. how much he interacts and plays with his children
7. how much he loves me
8. how he doesn't care at all what other people think
9. that he loves to read the scriptures
10. he is such a great role model to his seminary students
11. that he tells stories to his kids every night, even when he is tired and still has to finish his seminary lesson. (we love the magic fruit tree stories right now.)
12. How he builds confidence in anyone he comes in contact with
13. what a great worker he is
14. that he never, never, never speaks unkindly about anyone-even when they deserve it.
15. that he loves to have fun
16. he is so smart.
17. he is ambitious
18. he isn't afraid to try new things
19. he forgives people instantaneously
20. how much love and effort he puts into making his family his first priority.
21. that material things don't matter to him.
22. he supports me in everything, and encourages me in everything (even when it takes up a lot of his time)
23. that he always came to my volleyball matches
24. he genuinely loves to share the gospel
25. he loves to travel and see and experience new things
26. he is proactive in teaching and guiding his family
27. He makes goals and sets out to achieve them.
28. that he is an incredible writer (i keep telling you, ben, that you should write a book-maybe by the time you are 40?!)
29. He is incredibly patient
30. I love that he chose me!

I love you Ben! I could go on FOREVER With things that I love about you! Thanks for being so Awesome! We love you! Happy 30th birthday! Can't wait to go to Monterey!

Memorial Day Weekend

I am not the best at painting pictures with words. I used to think I was good at it when I was in college...I was an english major-and I had to write a lot of papers. Although, I wouldn't even believe it when I go back and read some of the things I write. But hey, this journal isn't being graded! (Or edited and rewritten three times).
But someday i hope to capture in words and pictures what Memorial Day Weekend at Gualala means to me. But until then-the list of the fun will have to do!
-5 hours on the rock beach at the river on Saturday enjoying a beautiful day (and it was even more sweet because the forecast said rain and cold all weekend.) watching Brooke jump off the log again this year-that alone brought back so many memories as a kid playing on that log, getting the courage up to jump into the FREEZING cold water.
-watching livy get pulled around the river by emma in a little raft boat.
-floating down the river from the infamous loggers bridge (that is where we used to go dirt biking!) on our slow leaking queen air bed with Brooke and Livy. It was cold (monday), but livy and brooke loved it-except for the black spiders brooke and I kept finding on our legs. A few years ago ben and I floated down the river on an double high air mattress that my parents were going to throw away because it had a slow leak-it was so awesome because we never had to walk once. Now we do it every year!
-pushing kids on the swings for HOURS. literally Hours. But it is great because you can just chat with everyone at the playground, or spend good quality time with your kids!
-McCoy stories at the campfire
-Abolone feed
-starring into the sky and trying to comprehend how amazingly tall all the redwood trees are.
-ewok village
-seeing brooke and her friends play on the same log we spent hours on as kids with Micah and Heidi and Jessica
-hearing the excitement from Brooke about buying things at the snack shack. I loved that too as a kid.
-Celebrating ben's birthday with a pinata in the redwoods. That is a fun tradition-more for the kids-but a fun tradition.
Riding bikes on teh uneven pavement around and around the entire campground.
-the best food ever!
-soaking in the beauty from the beach, the river, the campsites, the trees, the green foilage! Everything.
-watching the guys clean abolone in their garbage bags.
-sunday night fireside around the campfire.

Things I missed this year
-going to point arena and out on the boat
-grandma smith's christmas lights in campsite 208 and 208A. (Man, I miss her so much.)
-going off the rope swing half-way down the river
-a few campfires (it seemed every night at least one kid ended pu crying after we put them down and we had to go to the tent early.But we still got some good stories and fun memories in.)
-the teeter-totter in front of the bathrooms (wish they would put that back)
-biking into town and going to the cutest little grocery store.
-sacrament in the beautiful grove next to the river. Feeling the spirit bear witness to you while you soaked in the beauty of God's creations in a majestical setting (Jackson was starting to get sick and he fell asleep right before we left for church, so I hung back with him in the tent. But I really missed that part.)

Thank you Grandma Smith for starting this Tradition and Making it such a priority for our family to be there every Memorial Day Weekend. And thanks mom for keeping up the tradition and getting our family organized and there every year. "Traditions are the glue that sticks a family together" -

and someday, hopefully soon, I will post pictures with it too.