The Big 2 and Other stuff

We've been having LOTS of fun around here livin' up our summer. Hence, I'm way behind on all the stuff we've been doing and so I'm going to attempt to record it all now...so, warning...lot's of pictures. In summary this is what we've been up to since St. George:

1. We got a 4-wheeler and went out with it. It was more fun than I expected. Darrin made me face my fears and drive it.

2. We went to the zoo for Parker's Birthday. His favorites were the Monkey's (of course!), the birds and elephant.

3. I went to youth conference allllll day and took Spencer with me. It was fun-I taught a class at the church first in a rotation of 8 classes and then we went up to Camp Williams and did repelling and some challenge courses. Testimony meeting was afterward and it was wonderful to hear the youths testimony's and what they learned. Lot's of fun!

4. Parker's 2nd Birthday! He woke up to Streamers and balloons out his bedroom door (loved that!), then we had breakfast which consisted of pancakes in the shape of the number 2, stars, and balls :). He then took a bath with lots of bubbles and went to church. After church we opened presents and played with them. He loved to play with them and open each present. Then we had dinner and family over for cupcakes and sparklers! I feel so blessed to have my little boy Parker in my life. He is so sweet, caring, loving, brave and fun! My life wouldn’t be nearly as fun without Parker. Love you Parker! Happy Birthday!

5. Tracy Aviary-fun!

6. We went to the Manti Pageant and stayed the night in Nephi. It was a wonderful experience! The pageant really brought the Book of Mormon to LIFE! Through different experiences my testimony grew in bounds. On our way home we went through a scenic byway. BEAUTIFUL!!! It was a wonderful weekend.

7. Seven Peaks. We've done this a few times this year so far with our Pass of all Passes. Parker is LOVING all the waterslides. Darrin takes him on all the big ones on the tube and the laughs and smiles all the way down. That boy is adventurous!

8. BBQ & Granite High School Fireworks with Darrin's family. Always a GREAT show! Our Brother and Sis in Law are in town and we've LOVED spending time with them. Parker was terrified of the fireworks at first this year saying "Hurt, Hurt" becuase they hurt his ears and "All Done!" Because he wanted them to be over already. But he finally warmed up to them and was trying to name all the colors and saying "pretty!" :). Spencer stayed up and watched them. He was in awe and loved them.

9. West Jordan 4th of July Parade and time with the Simon's. Parker was such a great candy grabber/beggar. haha. He really enjoyed himself :) although it was HOT HOT HOT!

10. On Saturday we went Boating/Tubing and Darrin went 4-Wheeling with his Bros. We then had Dinner, family pictures, and did LOTS of BIG fireworks at my Bro and Sis in laws house.

I know what you're thinking-THAT's a SUMMARY? haha. We've just been having a great time and I wanted to record all the fun! Here are pictures:

4-wheeling and the zoo:

Youth Conference:

Parker's Actual Birthday:

Manti:

Scenic Byway going home:

7 peaks fun:

4th of July:

Parker's face watching the fireworks at the beginning:

Boating:

St. George

We went to St. George again with Darrin's family. This is the 3rd year we've been to the same condos and again, we had a blast! We did all sorts of things: Swimming, lots of hikes, going out to eat, playing on the playground, swimming some more, napping, went to a trampoline place, saw Men in Black 2 (Really liked it), and spent a lot of quality time with family. I love Darrin's family and I'm so glad we were able to go again this year! Just look at the pictures and see all the fun we had :). I'm way behind on my blogging-next comes a blog about Parker's 2nd Birthday!

Spencer's Blessing

This past Sunday we had the opportunity to bless our sweet baby Spencer. Darrin did such a beautiful job giving him his name and a blessing. Can I just say I LOVE MY BOYS?!? Every single one of them. I'm out-numbered now ya know? :). Let me tell you a little bit about my newest addition Spencer: Let's be honest, he's a very good baby and he doesn't fuss much. When he does, he's usually consoled by a binky. He LOVES that thing!! Parker loves to give him kisses, hugs, give him his binky (and then usually steal it to give it back again), and when he cries Parker will tell him, "Shhhh, It's ok Spencer" or he'll simply tell me "He's sad!" :). Spencer's smiles are SO precious! I could swear that he poses for the camera already-at least for me :) when I start snapping pictures he usually grins it up. He's been cooing and talking more lately which is so.dang.cute!! Spencer has a strong preference to stand over laying down when being held. When it comes to tummy time, he's usually ok when he has his binky on his tummy and then he usually gets real comfy and falls fast asleep. Sleep wise, the past week or so his first stretch of sleep will be about 6 hours and then another 3 hour stretch. Not too bad. So, for the most part I get three hours of sleep the first stretch because he's obviously in bed way before me (Bad choice Trisha!), and then another three hours until Parker wakes up. This is not counting last night where he was up every hour or so...it happens... BUT nonetheless, we love having this kid around and can't wait to see more of his personality come to life. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who is such a help to me and the kids, and my boys who bless my life with massive amounts of sunshine!

My Life

I feel like it's been so long since I've blogged! I will say, I feel like my life is SOOOOOOO busy now that I have two kids. I didn't really expect that-what's adding one more? Well, apparently it makes my life really busy :). Attempting to get a million things done while trying to give attention and love to two little boys takes up a LOT of time. But, I am loving life. I love my two boys! Here's what's been going on around here: • We got a new car and I LOVE it! We got a 2008 Toyota Matrix! I'll share pics :) • We got a new Camper (Tent Trailer) and we're SO excited to take it out this weekend! • Because we got a new car and camper we're selling our Volvo and old camper • The other day Parker started BREASTFEEDING his MONKEY and saying, "He's Hungry"! haha. • Parker is starting to put together more and more multiple word phrases rather than one word. Such as “See ya Sucka!” (Daddy taught Parker this phrase and mommy isn’t too fond of it), and “It’s OK Spencer” and much more. It’s exciting! • Parker is getting so good at saying prayers! If ever we forget he usually even reminds us :) • We’ve found a few things lately that have SCARED Parker! This was surprising since he seemed fearless to anything-he is SUCH a boy. But he was so scared of Darrin’s stuffed Parana from Brazil, Darrin’s LOUD alarm clock, and Darrin’s LOUD air compressor. I don't know what it is about loud things lately but he doesn't like them. • At 6 weeks old, Spencer is pretty much on the same sleep schedule that he has been. He’ll do a first stretch of about 4 hours and then wake up every 3 hours after that to eat. One night he slept for a 7 hour stretch and a few nights he’s done a 6 hour stretch but the rest are about 4. But I’d say he’s not doing too shabby • Spencer is a great baby-but one of the hardest things these past couple weeks is that he’ll be dead asleep in my arms and then when I put him down for bed he wakes up and is not happy about it-even when I’m SUPER careful to set him down so he wont notice-but he seems to almost always notice… • Spencer continues to be a binky baby-he loves that thing! • I'm not going to lie-one of my least favorite things lately is going out with two kids-I'm sure I'll get more used to it but it's a lot harder loading in and out two kids and trying to keep them both happy :) • Mother's Day was wonderful! Darrin changed diapers, gave Spencer a bath, did the dishes, cleaned the microwave, made dinner, and got flowers for me from the yard! Parker made me a handprints poem in nursery that made me cry. SO cute! So, there you have it-my life lately-now for some pictures:

Now, check this out. I got BOTH Parker (bottom pic) and Spencer's (top pic) first Smiles on camera!! Check out how similar-I love it!!

Family of 4 Pics

My wonderful friend and talented photographer, Vallery Bunnell, took pictures for us when Spencer was one week old exactly (he's two weeks today). I love how they turned out and had to share :). Enjoy: