4 Year Olds

My husband and I both have darling little black and white pics of when we were 4 years old. So, I wanted to put together some pictures of each of my boys at the same age. I have been working on it for quite some time but forgot about it as I waited for my two youngest to pass the "golden" age I wanted. Finally, a few years late, I've put together the pics. Enjoy

My Thinker

 

My Seeker

My Planner

My Mover

My Observer

My Talker

Me

Dad

While we were eating...

While the boys and I ate a million calories today, Dad was out working them off at the Freedom Marathon. He ran it (rolling hills and all) in 4 hours and 13 minutes. Whahoo Dad!

An extra special pic

We have some friends in SLC. They are wonderful and we miss them a lot. I think the best thing about this couple is they were the first "couple" that we both felt super close to. I feel as close to her as my hubby feels to her hubby. And we are all talkers! So, when we get together the conversation can go on and on and on. We actually got locked in one of the visitor centers on Temple Square because we were just sitting on some couches...talking. We spent a lovely evening with them and I (of course) cried when we had left them. I look forward to the day when we live close again. I sure hope it happens again!

Fun with Family

My brother got married last week so the hubby and I flew home for a few days. Wow! I don't remember last time I had so much fun crammed into such a short amount of time. Being with my siblings and parents is always an incredible treat!

If you look super close you can see snow still on the mountains. IN JULY!!! I miss the mountains!

I watched while these two men tried to take naps and were constantly abused by these two little girls. It was endearing, hysterical, and pathetic all at once. I think the guys finally went down stairs to sleep. Needless to say none of us got very much sleep the last few days!

My sweetie serving two of my beautiful sisters-in-law! My siblings and I obviously have great taste. I'm simply grateful for all of our wonderful spouses!

My boys are missing as well as my brother and a niece and her husband. We miss them!!

One morning my hubby, oldest brother, and his son all went disk golfing while I took a run/walk. I got to study my favorite mountain for quite a while that morning. Oh, happiness. I love this mountain! I've always felt like it was "my mountain".

One of the fun parts of being there was being able to spend some time with Cinnamon Crimson. How we miss her since she has moved away! She drove a couple of hours to see us! What a gem she is!

This is my brother and his new bride. It's a fun love story. They knew each other as kids and reconnected after all of these years. I couldn't be happier for my sweet brother and I LOVE his bride!

What a fun bunch of people to hang out with at the wedding! Family and friends, nothing's better than that!

Caffine Free Diet Coke at a burger joint....ummmm.... Can you guess where we were?

One of the best surprises was that my friend was in the same state visiting her parents. We got to spend a fun filled morning together. Oh how I love her!

A pic snapped during the charming ceremony, in the charming setting, with the charming couple!

Some friends which have moved away from our current location moved out there and started a donut business. We happened to catch their son at the store. He gave us free donuts! What a sweetheart, and we were so impressed at how well he ran the store. What a fun thing to see how much he had grown up.

This is me and a very good friend of mine. We got to have lunch together and I actually got to meet her husband! I cherish the time I get to spend with her. Even though it has been years since we were last together, we fell right back into things as if we had never been apart. I totally love her!

This is my hubby being a reble at the airport! What a nut!

Pink!

A few months ago my cute hubby insisted he give me his iphone. He just KNEW I would love it. When he gave it to me it looked like this.

Well, the truth of the matter is I don't love it nearly as much as the boys do. There are a couple of features I have to admit I use on a regular basis. But I might love it more now that it looks like this.

You didn't want it back...did you Sweetie?

Happy Birthday Dad

This year for Dad's birthday we did things a little differently. Dad gave each of the boys a present. Yes, it's backwards, but the boys sure loved it. (We did get gifts for Dad too.)
They each got a pair of footie PJ's. They LOVE them. Yes even the older boys love footie PJ's. I can't say I blame them. I'd probably wear them too, but I'm just not sure how my hubby would feel about me in footies...
Here they are in their new PJ's. They were SO happy. We may have to start this as a new tradition.

WOW

I got a little email from my sweet hubby this week. I just HAD to blog one line of it.

Here is the line:
I was wrong, you were right. Save this email for future reference.

Thanks My Love! I know it was hard to say. But it is possible. ;)

Book of Mormon Trip

My hubby and three older boys have been gone for just over two weeks. Trust me, it has felt like a lot longer! They will get home late tonight.
We told our boys that when they finish a book of scripture we will take them to the part of the world where that book was written. Within the last year Star, Spike, and Blue Tiger have all finished the Book of Mormon. So, that is where they have been. Mostly in Guatemala and Mexico. There are more areas to see, but we decided to go with a tour and this seemed like the most comprehensive. Dad told me that he has been super pleased with the tour and has been really grateful that we chose the one we did.
The boys have had a great time.
The little boys have missed their big brothers and Dad terribly. But we've had some fun while they've been gone. I understand they have a few thousand pictures. I am sure Spike took the most. We will sort them out and be posting more. And I am going to have the boys update their blogs with thoughts about their trips. So, check in for further details later.

Happy Father's Day

Last night when Dad got home Puppy ran to him and said, "Daddy we have a surprise for you!" Meanwhile I am over on the side shushing him. Dad is great and just dropped it. But he knew something was up. After the boys went to bed Dad asked me, "Does it end in chocolate?" Well, his boys sure know him well. Last week we discussed what we wanted to do for Dad for Father's Day. This is what they came up with. We did all of the prep work for it and after Dad went to bed I set it all up (and then whispered to him that he couldn't get up before we got him up.)

So, this morning I got up and made poached eggs on english muffins with fruit and cheese. I should have gotten a pic. We made it super pretty. As soon as it was ready all of the boys and I went into Dad's room and sang "Happy Father's Day" And then after a round of hugs and kisses the boys handed him the first clue. It took him to breakfast which had another clue and a lovely bar of chocolate. The next clue led to a stache of hand made cards and of course another clue with a lovely bar of chocolate.

The next clue led to a whole mess of chocolate. And again a clue.

The last clue led to a room full of mylar balloons. One from each of the boys and me. (As they were planning this I am sure they knew that they would be the ones to end up with the balloons.) They are too funny.

And after Dad found all of his chocolates the boys did ask if he would share. Hmmmmm. Dad did so very willingly.

What a great Dad!

I got him clothes.BORING! (Or so I am told by my boys. My hubby was pretty happy about getting such a boring gift though.)

I got my own Daddy a book. When I was a child my favorite story was Cinderella and my Dad read to me every version we could find. As an adult we still share this love and so I am always on the lookout for another great Cinderella story. I happened on one very recently and sent it to him for Father's Day. I love that he loves Cinderella as much as I do. (Sometimes even more, I don't know a woman alive who has seen 'Ever After' more than my Daddy.) I love you Daddy!

Happy Father's Day to all of you great Father's out there!

Dad is cool!

Okay, so I don't usually post things about my hubby. But today I can't resist. Yesterday and today my hubby did something wonderful for me. He gave me the most wonderful gift.
A TON of ME TIME.
I spent yesterday afternoon and evening at the Temple. I was able to be there for six awesome hours, and then driving time on top of that, which was also fun because I went with a friend. All the while Dad took care of the boys. Picking them up from school. Feeding them dinner. Playing with them all outside. (Which always consists of at least a few band-aids and sometimes a lot more than that.) Getting through the evening schedule of baths, pj's, clean up, prayers, and good-nights. I got home late in the evening everyone and everything was peacefully in their places. So nice.
Then, this morning I spent four hours of the morning at a service project with my Sisters at church. I had so much fun and really enjoyed my time there. And when I came home everyone was happily playing outside.
And then to top it off my sweet hubby fixed my blinker. Something I've been needing to do, but haven't found time to do yet. I went and bought the light...but never got it changed. So, he did that for me too. I do have to put this in here though.... While he was changing the light we were debating about how to change it and after looking at a couple of different ideas, I suggested a way I thought would work and I was right. He even said, "You were right." I just had to document that he said that.
YEA! What a wonderful couple of days for me. Thanks Sweetie!