celebrating the 24th of july

On Friday night we went Bountiful's "Handcart Days". We met Kyle after work for the big parade. (And, can I just say how CRAZY people were?! For real.)

It was so stinkin' hot.
The boys got tired after awhile, so we walked over to the park to see what was happening.

Bosten and I were happy to sit in the grass and eat a sno-cone.

Kaden and Kyle checked out the rides and activities.
When were done, we walked back over to the mortuary to pick up the chairs and the parade was still going (although the sun had gone down, and it was MUCH more pleasant).

On Saturday night we did fireworks.

The boys thought they were great and were bummed that their wouldn't be any more until next year!

cherry hill

We decided at the last minute to get Cherry Hill passes again. We're so glad that we did! Its only a few minutes from our house, and the boys love it. We go all the time.

A few weeks ago, Mimi and Papa, the cousins, Lindsey and Kacey came to go with us!

(its hard taking tons of pictures when I'm in the water with kids.)

Daddy and Bosten floating in the lazy river

our little fish

Bosten thinks he's big stuff walking around the pirates cove

picnic lunch

new crocs

We love Crocs during the summer! They can get dirty or wet. They can get put on or taken off by little hands.

Bosten got his first pair this week. He was so excited.
Seriously.

I'm not sure if it was because it was Crocs (just like Kaden) or because it was a new pair of shoes. Either way, he was strutting his stuff around here all day and was not interested in taking them off.
At all.

What a funny little boy.

batter up

Kyle just finished playing league softball. He played on a team with some of the guys from work, which was fun. I think they enjoyed having more stuff (if that's possible) to give each other crap about, plus it was a good outlet for Kyle.

He played Thursday nights, and for the most part, Kaden went with him. They had a good time together and Kaden always came home with stories of all the fun stuff he got to do...like run the bases before the games, sit in the dugout, he learned how to spit sunflower seeds, and got to play with one of his friends.

Bosten and I went to be a part of the cheering section on the last night.

Here's 2 of my favorite boys before the big game.

He played wherever he was needed...this night it was first base.

Nice hit!

Kaden watching Dad.

Check out those blue eyes!

Nice job, Daddy! We want to come to more of your games next season.

pioneer day

Kyle wanted to get married on Pioneer Day. He thought it would be funny. We weren't even in Utah then, so it probably wouldn't have been a big deal.

However, I said, "NO WAY."

So, we did it the day before.
This was our engagement picture. For real. (Again) Kyle thought it would be funny. You should have heard the things people had to say about it. For the record, it was all just for fun. We didn't know who's headstone it was, we didn't do it to honor our heritage, and it wasn't one of our parent's graves.

Happy 11th Anniversary. Its been quite a ride.

I've been thinking a lot about my Grandma Sheffield this week. (She passed away when Kaden was almost a year old). As far as I'm concerned, she was a pioneer....an adoption pioneer.

They had been married for 10 years when they adopted their first baby.

TEN YEARS!
It must have seemed like forever. I can remember how long five and a half years seemed before we brought Kaden home. Anyway, I love the story about how my dad joined their family. The requirement then was that you had to have your own house.
That's it.
They went to the adoption home and there were eight baby boys there. The lady told my grandparents to hold them, change their diapers, and find one they liked.
(Honestly, that blows my mind...how different it is today!) So, both of my grandparents did just that...on their own. Then they asked each other which one the other liked...they both liked the same one and the rest is history. (They adopted a baby girl a couple of years later too.)

I love that story. Makes me cry even thinking about it.

Grandma and Kaden...the day we got home with him from Utah

So, in addition to honoring the pioneers that came across the plains, I've got lots to celebrate and be thankful for this Pioneer day.

sprinklers are fun

A few times this summer, we've turned on the sprinklers in the evening and let the boys run through them...in their clothes. They've had tons of fun doing it, and we love watching them play together and listening to their giggles.

Pretty stinkin' fun.

it must be in the air

I love the r house. Every time she writes something, I am right there with her...laughing, crying, or totally agreeing with what she just said. I get her. She gets me (even though we've never officially met).

I love that this quote was on one of her posts earlier this week:

"My infertility resides in my heart as an old friend. I do not hear from it for weeks at a time, and then, a moment, a thought, a baby announcement or some such thing, and I will feel the tug-maybe even be sad or shed a few tears. And I think, "There's my old friend." It will always be part of me..."
~Barbara Eck Menning

That's totally been me this week. Nothing and everything has made me sad, and its just been a rough week. (See, I told you she gets me). The funny part though, is that I've had discussions and read friend's blogs that have talked about the same thing.

It must be something in the air.

Thankfully, I have this to remind me that its all good and that next week will be better:

good buddies

Kaden and Bosten have become such great friends and such good brothers. I love watching them together. Sure, there are moments...but overall I couldn't ask for better buddies.

Bosten has decided that if Kaden does it, it MUST be cool and great and he has to do it too. Its actually a little funny.


Last week before church Kaden was laying in our bed with his puppy and blanket. Bosten wanted to get up on the bed too. As soon as he saw Kaden hanging out with his stuff, Bosten HAD to have his. Notice the blankets are even the same?

I can't remember where we were going this day, but Kaden grabbed his hat before jumping in the car. Even though Bosten was totally ready to go (and already in his car seat), he started yelling, "ME HAT, ME HAT!". As soon as I put it on his head, he looked at Kaden, said, "hat" and was a happy little camper.

Kaden keeps his shoes right by the door. When its time to go somewhere, he slips them on and heads out to the car. Bosten took his shoes off yesterday and had to add his to the pile.

What funny little boys I have.

4th of july with the fam.

We went to church in the morning and headed down to Riverton after a nap. Papa had fired up the BBQ, and we had quite the feast: tri-tip, baked beans, watermelon, potato salad, strawberries, and corn on the cob.

Kaden's favorites were the meat and watermelon. Bosten's favorites were the baked beans and strawberries. Either way, so good!

We had hours to kill before it got dark, so we played soccer in the yard.
Then, we went down and hung out with all the neighbors.

Thank goodness we had more fun snaps!

My parents whole street got together for a fireworks show. We contributed to the pile, and then got to see quite a show!

Bosten was sooo tired, but loved watching them. Kaden informed us that they weren't too loud anymore...or scary!...just so fun.

actually, pretty accurate

Remember this?

It should have been a clue.
For real.

When we found out that Bosten was coming, we would talk to Kaden about what we should name our baby brother. He would always say, "George" (aka Curious George, little monkey, etc.).
We laughed about it. We never really considered it.

We should have.
We have a climber on our hands. We've found him in a few crazy places lately...

-like sitting on top of the kitchen table.

-or doing this:

This time I caught him before he went any further. The next time, he was actually sitting on the entertainment center and pushing the power button to the TV on and off.

This is where I found him yesterday:

Its a little dark, but he'd climbed up on the ledge behind the couch. He was just sitting there playing with all the remotes...you know, the ones we put up there so Bosten wouldn't get them.

He thinks he's pretty funny and he's pretty proud of himself.
Oh yikes.

Who knows where he'll turn up next.