DAY 1581-1583... 4th of July Weekend

I started off my Saturday morning with a 6.5 mile run to my parents house,
and had a 5 minute PR,
so I was feeling pretty good about life.

When I got home,

Spencer had decided that we should go to Utah ASAP for the 4th.

Luckily,
I was in a killer good mood and

we were able to quickly get everything packed up and on the road within a couple of hours.

I feel really blessed that we are able to have these mini-trips as a family.

Aniston was thrilled because she had been missing her Grandparents and her cousins from our last visit.

She likes to dress like Darth Vader often these days...

Spencer and I have been talking a lot,

especially since our last Utah trip,

about where we want to end up.

He has job offers in Las Vegas and the Tri-Cities in Washington after he graduates in April,

and although we LOVE the idea of Vegas,

Utah has been on our mind a lot lately.

We have so many AMAZING friends and family members there,

we know the area very very well,

and we LOVE those mountains.

But we will see....
Hopefully by February we will know where we will be headed.

We stayed super busy over the holiday weekend.

Because of our crazy schedule,

church did not go so well.

Spencer and I ended up in the foyer,

both with a crazy grumpy child.

Luckily mine fell asleep pretty quickly...

Spencer's took a while longer.

We did LOVE our Sunday afternoon walk up in Daybreak.

After our walk Aniston really wanted to go swimming.

I kid you not,

the minute we got to the pool and insane storm hit.

Like crazy prick your skin rain!!!

I thought it was hail!

Aniston was very disappointed,

especially when after 20 minutes it was super sunny again but we had already changed and made other plans.

Our nap schedule really gets thrown off when we are road tripping.
Usually Benson will only fall asleep with his blankie,
a bink,
and in bed.
The poor little guy was completely exhausted!

We celebrated Aniston's birthday early with family and cupcakes.

The morning of the 4th,

I went for an early morning run around Daybreak and then my Aunt Julie came and joined me.

She is seriously the best,

and I don't even have a picture of her from our trip....

Ani and I rocked our matching shirts,

while the boys rocked theirs.

We headed out to Scheel's,

because you can't go to Salt Lake without going to Scheel's.

And also the Cheesecake Factory.

Aniston asked if she could live there because she loved it so much.
I think she and I will be moving there quite soon.

After lunch we headed over the cousin's house and then to Great Grandma's pool.

Perfect day for swimming,
thank goodness!
It made up for the craziness the day before.

Benson had a little anxiety going into the water without me.

But he was okay when Uncle Bill took him in the water!

Those blue eyes!!!

These are actually my first cousins,

but Aniston always insists that they are her cousins!

She loves them!

When we were done swimming,

of course we had to jump on the tramp.

Benson was exhausted,

so he napped with Uncle Bill for awhile.

Have we told you that Julie and Bill are our favorites????

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

Don't forget what happened 5 years ago on the 4th...

I just love the freedoms that we have in this country..

Although I really worry about the future,

at this moment I feel blessed.

Aniston had a really rough time leaving Utah this trip.

I guess it's a good thing we have a family reunion in a couple of weeks so we can go back.

Everything You Missed... June 2016 Edition

June always seems to go by so quickly!

It's probably one of my favorite months of the year for sure!

The weather is always great,

which in turn makes everyone else so happy because we get to be outside and not stuck in the house.

June really was a GREAT month!

(Also, the pictures will not center no matter what I do,

and I am lacking serious patience to deal with it,

I apologize.)

Sometimes,

I just want to take a nap.

But these two will not let me and insist on laying directly on top of me to watch their movie.

The movie that I specifically picked for them so that I could sleep.

 Benson started nursery...

and he HATES it!

Spencer pretty much just sits with him for the 2 hours.

The one time we tried to leave him they brought us to him after an hour because he was crying so hard he couldn't breathe.

This is a total 180 from Aniston. 

She walked in that nursery door at 18 months old and never looked back.

Poor little man!

I have LOVED coaching Ani's soccer team this season!

Go Gators!

She struggles to get her jammies on right after a bathroom break.

She thinks she is pretty funny.

I think she does it to get that laughs.

  We work hard to entertain ourselves at the doctor's office.

Benson seriously has abs of steel!

He will hold this position for minutes like it's no big deal.

He hated the carousel.

She loved it of course!

This gorgeous lady was one of my cheerleaders from my very first year coaching.

She was up in Idaho Falls and texted me,

so of course I dropped everything to meet up with her.

She has grown into an AMAZING woman!

I am so proud of her and I'm so glad that we are still friends!

When Ani was a baby,

my sister gave us this pottery kids backpack with her name on it and we have used it for her church bag.

It was time for Benson to get one too and he will not take it off.

Probably one of his favorite things ever.

He loves to be just like his big sister.

She probably falls asleep reading more often than not and I LOVE it!

Bear watching!

Aniston's choice of outfit for a hot June day.

My boys.

 Benson bites when he's mad and it is a problem.

To be fair though,

Ani did lightly touch his shoulder...

Maybe he has anger issues.

Spencer sculpted this nativity on his mission.

I have been trying for years to get a copy of it but the museum where it is sold never gets back to me.

I guess I'll have to take a trip down to Alabama soon.

A lady from Jake's mission came to the states and met with Mom and gave her some shortbread cookies.

It was super fun for my Mom to be able to talk with someone who had seen Jake recently.

Only 8 more months!

He LOVES the swings!

I truly thought Benson would be terrified of the water,

but I couldn't keep him away!

So handsome in his new booster seat!

He loves his Daddy!

I only asked her for a smile,

but she gave me a little bit more.

His love for animals may get him in trouble some day.

Aniston is really into self portraits lately.

I cannot get enough of them!

This is seriously such a fun age!

Aniston lined up all her Disney characters and said,

"Mom! Take a picture! We're ready!"

My tiny dancer!

This girl loves to dance and I love to dance with her!

It's a work in progress.

The older he gets the more intense he is.

He has got a HUGE set of lungs on him!

Gelati plus Worth It is her favorite!

Benson has been doing this thing where he closes his eyes and dances.

It reminds us of Stevie Wonder and we cannot stop laughing over it!

That backpack...

The cutest cowboy around!

What missionaries in Scotland do on their P-Day's.