Summer

I can't believe how fast summer came and went this year.  With the whole "trying to buy a house" thing it felt like we were always running like crazy.  But we still managed to have such a fun summer.  So without further ado, a summary of our summer in pictures.

The Pool

We spent almost every weekend this summer at the pool.   We got passes to Seven Peaks and my parents, Brittany, Shawn and Emily got them too.  I was definitely blessed with water babies because both of my kiddos love the pool almost as much as I do. 

Camping

In addition to our Topaz trip this spring we went camping in Toole with our friends the Arnolds and the annual Ephraim trip with Matt's family.  Both trips the weather was cool and nice.  We got rained on a bit in Ephraim but the temperatures stayed under 80 the majority of the time.  We made fires, had smores and enjoyed spending time together as a family.  

Fireman's Rescue (Planes: Fire and Rescue)

One of the highlights of Nathan's summer was finally getting to see Planes: Fire and Rescue.  Which he so adorably calls Fireman's Rescue.   Thankfully my mom agreed to come with me because I don't think I could handled two kids in the movie by myself.  Nathan was such a champ, I cannot believe how big he is getting.  He sat through the movie and ate an entire bucket of popcorn and barely made a  peep.  Every time Dusty would fly in the movie Nathan would pull out his Dusty and fly him around and around with a huge smile on his face.  Definitely worth taking him to see. 

Fourth of July

The kids absolutely loved the Fourth of July.  We (of course) hit the pool during the day, barbecue with my family that night and then Murray Park for the fireworks.  It was actually our first time going to the fireworks with kids and Nathan and Logan loved them!  Nathan was all a buzz at the park and when the fireworks started he barely moved and was mesmerized.  Logan made it through about 3/4 of the show and then passed out for the night.

Scheels

Yes, we are one of those nutty families who spend Friday nights at Scheels.  What could be better.  We can spend about five bucks between the Ferris Wheel and the gun arcade came and have hours and hours of fun.  We were always telling Matt's parents how much fun we had at Scheels so they tagged along one night and I think they thought we were a little nutty for having so much fun in a sporting good store but its all good.

Summer Randomness

We had such a great summer and I'm sorry to see it end but so excited for fall to begin.  Bring on Halloween, pumpkins, Swiss Days and Disneyland!

We Bought a House!

I just can't say it enough WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!  And that is the reason I have been so a-wall for the past few months.  Buying a house sucks.  I had no idea that buying a house would suck this much.  First of all, months of planning before you can even go get pre-approved.  Then getting pre-approved and shopping around for your loan and mortgage company.  Then once that is over its house hunting which is fun for about two minutes and then it gets really frustrating.  Nothing seemed right, nothing seemed to fit and we were getting so fed up and frustrated until we found OUR house!  And that felt so good and we knew it was the house we wanted and put in our offer.  And then the fun was over again.

 Offers and counteroffers and sitting on pins and needles until they finally accept and then you are under contract.  Fun? No. Because then they are so many things that have to go right, the home inspection, the testing the appraisal.  Those things have to be done before the bank will finalize your loan.  But wait you got pre-approved, that  means nothing at this point because you start all over.  And the underwriters ask you for nine million items and and want letters explaining every place you have ever lived and document every amount of money that you have and if they do have any questions they pull your file out.  And then you get to wait in line until its your turn again and its weeks and weeks of pure torture!

Probably the best part of everything was the actual closing.  Which I have heard is horrible but maybe it just seemed fun because you knew it couldn't get screwed up at that point and all you had to do was sit on an office and sign for an hour.  Not bad at all after talking to the underwriters for weeks.

But I think its all going to be so worth it.  Even though it was rough getting the house its seriously the PERFECT house!  It's in West Jordan in a newer neighborhood with nine zillion kids running around.  And people are so friendly, every time we have gone to the house people stop and introduce themselves and their kids.  It's just exactly what we were looking for and I can't believe we actually got it! And now some pictures!  (These are the pictures we took when we were putting on offer on the house, I will take more once we get all moved in.)

Fotofly Pictures

We got the boys pictures taken this past weekend at Fotofly.  Logan is 7.5 months and Nathan is 2 and a half.  Logan was pretty unsure about the photographer, the loud noises and the bright lights but did pretty good all things considered.  I love the way they turned out, especially the brother pictures!  Enjoy!

Topaz 2013

We headed to Topaz at the beginning of May for our yearly camping trip.  After a lot of coaxing from Matt and a lot of tears from me we decided to leave Logan at home with my mom for the four days that we would be gone.  It nearly killed me to leave my baby but am really glad we did.  Logan had a blast with my parents and it gave Matt and I a good opportunity to spend one on one time with Nathan.

Matt took a half day on Wednesday and we left right after I got off work.  We actually made killer time by not having to stop and give a baby a bottle or diaper changes and made it in record time.  Even still it was about 9:00 when we got there so we just set up camp and headed to sleep.

In the past camping trips have been really difficult because Nathan wouldn't go to sleep.  It was so awesome when he was thrilled to get in his sleeping bag and fell right asleep!  Camping is definitely easier when they are older.

The next day we got up early and Matt made us all breakfast. (I love being married to a man who cooks!)  Then we headed out riding and I got to try out my new ATV.  The point of leaving Logan at home was so that we could actually ride as a family.  Matt spent months before the trip building Annie a bed (that she was harnessed into of course) and a harness for Nathan so that no one would be left back at camp.  

Getting to ride again was probably my favorite part of the trip.  It had been three and a half years since I had driven a machine and I was so nervous!  But my ATV worked out perfectly and I loved how much easier it was to ride then a bike.

Annie did absolutely amazing, I couldn't believe it.  If we were going under 30 mph she would get mad and start to bark.  And her goggles!  Oh Matt found those on amazon and she actually wore them.

Nathan was such a trooper, especially because we would ride for several hours at a time.  There were a few times were he would get bored and want to sit on the front of the four wheeler or ride with his dad but overall he did great.

Annie and Nathan totally bonded on this trip and she insisted on sleeping with him.  

The rest of the time involved taking naps, sitting outside to enjoy the warm weather, yummy food, and of course smores.  We had a great time but by Saturday afternoon we were so ready to get home to Logan. So we headed out around 4:00 and as soon as we hit cell phone reception I started getting pictures of my sweet Logan.

We got home, unloaded the trailer and showered and then headed over to pick up Logan but by this point it was after 9:00 again!  Logan was adorable when we got there to pick him up, I have ever seen Logan so excited in his entire life.  He was jumping and laughing and giving us big hugs and kisses.  Nathan and Logan totally missed each other too and just kept laughing at each other.  My mom had a present waiting for boys and Nathan was so excited to open Lighting McQueen jammies.  My mom is so thoughtful.

Both kids are such a wreck in this picture!

The trip was really fun and it was so good to get away from work but it was nice to come home and have our family together again.

Logan at Six Months

Logan turned six months old last Friday and also had his check-up visit with his doctor.  Logan is actually looking like a normal six month old these days instead of the mammoth child like he did when he was three months old.  He weighed 16.75 pounds ( 38th percentile) and was 27 inches (65th percentile).  He is actually smaller than Nathan was at this age!  The doctor said it was fine that he hadn't grown as much in the past two months because he must have just had his growth spurt early.

Logan did really well getting his shots and only cried for a few minutes.  Luckily I had taken Nathan with me and no one can cheer up Logan like Nathan can.  Logan was screaming and crying so Nathan  climbed up on the table and started pulling funny faces at Logan.  Logan just busted up and started laughing at his brother at that was the end of that.

He did pretty good too as far as shots go.  He had a fever and looked pretty punky and just slept but by Sunday afternoon he was our little guy again.  His legs didn't get swollen like they have before because he moves and jumps so much now so that helped a ton.

The Dr also gave us the green light to start Logan on foods so he got his first taste of sweet potatoes.  To say he liked it better than the rice cereal was an understatement.  First time trying it and he ate the entire package and cried for more!

Logan is now rolling over from stomach to back and back to stomach and is so close to sitting up that I think he will have it any day.  He is working on the backwards scoot and can make it about halfway across a room before he gets so mad and frustrated because he isn't going forward. He is also talking up a storm and loves to hear himself make noises.  He isn't shy and will give anyone and everyone a big huge grin.  He has also learned how to give big open mouth slobbery kisses which are the best ever!

Logan is sleeping a good solid 10 hours at night and it would probably be more but we have to wake him up in the morning to go to daycare.  He is an awesome napper and we can usually get three good two hour naps out of this kid.  His personality has just been exploding lately and I can't believe what a fun, loving, happy baby he is!