Outside Family

It's no secret my family is happier when we are outside, so here's a bunch of outside things from last week. I had gotten a $15 pool from Walmart and has been the BEST idea in this 80/90 degree weather. Emerson comes home and just maxes and relaxes in it........like it owns it.

Everly LOOOOOOOVES it and screams (SO SO SO loud) when you try to get her out. This day I happened to have her in her regular diaper and ONLY coaxed her out of the pool for this riding toy.

I couldn't stop laughing at her full-to-the-brim diaper.

Seriously, she KILLS me. I love this picture so much.

We also have two mulberry trees in our backyard that I'm obsessed with. Well, the whole family is. 

Anyway, Aleeya, EVERY day when she gets home picks me a whole cup of mulberries and comes inside with purple-mulberry-picking hands.

And since she's out there for basically a hour everyday her legs, face and everywhere get painted too.

The sweetest thing is she LOOOOOVES mulberries but she picks more for me and Brooks to eat. She says it feels better to give them to us then eat them herself.

And that says a LOT because her top three favorite things (she told me) are:

1)Jelly Bellies

2) Oreos

3) Mulberries.

She's naturally such a giver and service-oreiented.

We also had time for a family walk through the woods to catch frogs and Camden actually caught a little snake too, which of course he let Kellyn hold.

Get used to the whole frog thing Everly......it's how we roll.

And while they were (unsucessfully) catching tadpoles I became the appointed frog-holder.

What has become of me?......

14 years

WHO WANTS TWO SAPPY POSTS IN A ROW?!?!? So I will TRY to keep this light. 

But on May 18th, Brooks and I celebrated our 14th Anniversary!!!

It's crazy, and fun, and it doesn't feel like we are old enough, yet I can't remember life without him very well. He's just too easy to be with and lean on and apparently I need him.

*shoot, it's getting sappy, must. change. focus.*

Our kids knew it was our anniversary, so they assumed we were going out that night. But after we had Family Home Evening and the kids were like, "Um, we haven't even had dinner yet" that's when we told them we were going out to eat as a family for our Anniversary (what I wanted was to have my house all clean and KEEP it clean by not having to cook. Win-win)

We went to Stevie-B's which is a pizza/pasta/salad buffet place that actually has my favorite Loaded Baked Potato Pizza. It's pretty amazing.

Well, it WAS until the DARN TV showed this commercial.....

So it's hard to see, but while I was eating, it was NOT hard to see. It was a 1/2 hour long infomercial on this machine that gets all the chappy stuff off people's heels. I stared at feet being "shaved", basically, and then stared at my pizza and couldn't eat another thing. Oh well, the kids ate plenty.

And outside there was a full arc rainbow. I love rainbows because they remind me of God's promises (Noah-story) and I smiled thinking of Brooks and I being married in the temple and how we were promised to be sealed for all eternity. 

Next we surprised the kids by pulling up to Gravitopia (trampoline place) because that's really where we wanted to go. Where ELSE would we be celebrating our Anniversary?!?!!? 

But don't think for a SECOND that picture was easy to get. It was kinda like marriage. Some moments are perfect and other times of marriage and life go like this.....

Or you are off rhythm .....

But overall still having fun regardless.....

Oh wait.......not ALL of us were having fun. Royce got stuck in the foam pit and had a hard time getting over it. hahaha

I LOVE watching the kids have fun though, plus I enjoy playing WITH them. (parents against kids won in dodgeball.....we killed them....and I was even the last one standing)

Aleeya is pretty talented on the ribbons too.

Mostly I just followed this man around and watched him.

I'm kinda lucky and plus, wherever he goes,  that's where the party is anyway.

A Treasure

I recently received a treasured picture to me.

You see, Brooks is the head coach of Camden and Emerson's minor league baseball team this spring (don't ask about their record). He FINALLY has a schedule that he is able to do that and he really has been so excited to do this for YEARS!!!!! We actually never order the overpriced sports pictures, but I guess the coaches get a free 5x7.

Here it is:

Did you notice anything unusal about this picture?

Yea, I know, Brooks, nor Camden NOR Emerson are even in the picture.

So why is it a visual treasure for me that I plan on keeping forever?

Because of what it stands for.

Commitment. Obedience. Priorites.

This picture is from Opening Day of the season (hence the pants that are still white). Opening day in this league is a HUGE deal. There's games being played because EVERY team plays that day, free things being handed out, booths set up, balloons, team pictures, etc. 

The boys were all looking forward to it since it was on a Saturday last March. Well, a huge rain storm came the Friday before and was supposed to continue that Saturday of Opening Day (which it did), so all the games were moved to Sunday.

I was touched that when the boys heard the games were moved that they just had comments like, "Guess we can't go",  "Too bad", "I don't think they can win without me, but they'll have to try" (Camden said that of course), etc. 

They. just. knew.

I find no fault in other people who participated in those games that day because they haven't made the covenants and promises my boys (and husband) made when they were baptized: to keep His commandments (including keeping the Sabbath Day holy), and always strive to live righteously to keep the Spirit with them.  

So when I look at this picture for many years to come, I will get teary-eyed (as I am now) knowing I'm pretty lucky to be married to a man and have awesome sons that try to put Heavenly Father first and that are PRACTICING being obedient to the commandments so when harder things are asked of them later in life that they will have the habit and the spirit of obedience already in practice. That's the best gift a mom could ask for.

Oh, and if you were wondering...... they lost by 2. When Camden heard that he said, "They would've won if I were there."

Aaaaaaaaaand, guess we need to start working on humilty next.........

Scout Camp

It's hard for me to believe I have a 12 year old who is old enough to go to overnight scout camps.....and it is even MORE hard for me to believe that my husband (who works with the youth young men in our church) actually GOES camping with them. Hilarious if you ask me.

But it IS nice because I have someone who can take pictures for me so I can get a sneak peek at all the fun he has.

These 12-14 year old boys were all given some cardboard and plastic things along with tape and were assigned to build a raft. Then were were going to race against the other 7 groups/wards from our church there. 

Here are the four boys with their raft.

And an upclose of the raft. If you are anything like me, then you would be thinking, "ummmmm, not sure if I could see that floating long enough to race!"

 They came up with a plan to have the two lightest boys (Bronson and Liam) be the ones to race it, so here they are putting it into the water (you can see another group's raft behind). They came in all shapes and sizes!

And they are off!!!!! (apparently it had rained the night before and through the night so it was a murky day)

They had to go over to the island thing and back and here they are coming back........neck and neck with one other raft (that looks more like a canoe!)

AND THEY WOOOOOOOON!!!!!!

Bronson's smile in this picture is PRICELESS!!!!

And what do you do to celebrate your group's win? Well you push the rower in the water, of course!!!!

Testosterone.......sheesh.

Aaaaaaand there he goes.

Is this bad that I giggle whenever I look at the picture Brooks took of the other group's boat that didn't make it ?.... hahaha

Aaaaaaaaaaand they are going camping again this weekend. They go once or twice a month so Bronson is in heaven, obviously.