Summer Vacation (or the lack thereof)

It seems it hasn't even been a month since the kids got out of school... Oh, wait... probably because it really hasn't been a month. What kind of summer vacation is only 3 weeks long?? The summer vacation of a kid in year round school, I guess. In any case, I thought I'd quickly document what little we did manage to do during this little window of summer freedom.

First up... D'Ann gets married!!
My sister and Antone decided it was high time they made things official - and they did it in style! Party style, that is. What a fantastic way to do a wedding. D'Ann and Antone said their "I do's" in the shade of a clump of trees at a family park. It was a beautiful ceremony that literally brought tears to my eyes (and Gracee's eyes. She chose this, of all moments, to have her very first inconsolable crying spell... of course). After being pronounced husband & wife by a military chaplain who has performed many a wedding in our family, D & Antone were showered with a million cliche bubbles - and then it was barbecue time! What a spread we had! I'm starting to sound like a broken record by saying this, but my family seriously rocks the house when it comes to party/food planning. My Mom, my aunts, and my super-woman-of-a-sister-in-law, Vicki, had an incredibly impressive mass of food for the countless family and friends who came out to celebrate.

My Dad and my brother, Lynn, manned the barbecues, dishing out hundreds of hot dogs and tiny hamburgers (which were washed down with homemade root beer). It was all delicious, and I enjoyed the excess food in comfort while wearing shorts and a t-shirt. That's my kind of wedding! Thanks to those of you who came out. It was so fun to see so many family and friends. I told D'Ann she needs to get married every year... but to the same guy, of course. You could see how that statement might be taken the wrong way.

For the two weeks after D'Ann's wedding, I'm afraid we did a whole lot of nothing at all. You see, in the summer, it's hot. It just is. And I'm not a huge fan of being outside in the heat. I'm just not. I wish I could say we went swimming to cool down, but I'm not squeezing this stretched out, postpartum body into a swimsuit this summer. Sorry. I think I'll stick to cooling down, fully-clothed, in the cool breeze of my central air. We did manage one exciting camping trip... in the backyard. And I think we even went to a movie! And we played some intensely competitive games of Mario Kart. And then we... crap... I got nothing.

The weekend before school started back up (Pioneer Day, to be exact) we did venture out of the nicely air-conditioned house, and made our way up Millcreek Canyon for a fun little cookout and overall day of getting dirty. Mmm... tinfoil dinners and s'mores. (I think it's a little disturbing how much my enjoyment of life revolves around food right now. No wonder I haven't been losing any of this baby weight!)

Pictures of my adorably dirty children and their cousins...





It's amazing to me the level of filthy these kids can reach in such a short amount of time. After we were all stuffed to the point of illness, and our limit of patience with our wild children was met; we went home for showers before meeting back up at Lynn & Vicki's for a spectacular fireworks show. Well, as spectacular as any show can be when the fireworks were purchased at a local grocery store.

The following Monday, it was back to school. McKenna started 3rd grade...



And on Tuesday, Mathew started 1st grade...



McKenna thinks her new teacher is the nicest, funniest teacher around. She also thinks 3rd grade is super easy so far. Oh, and she has officially chosen her 3rd grade crush... I'm keeping my lips sealed, now that's she's old enough to get embarrassed about it.
Mathew merely nodded his head when I asked if he liked his teacher (he's not my most vocal child). He did give me an earful about how much he likes eating lunch at school though. Way cooler than eating at home, apparently.

Even though I got a little pang of sadness in my heart watching them take off on their bikes for school, I have to admit that it is quite nice spending the day at home with just Nater and Gracee. Especially at nap time, when I get a full 2 hours of uninterrupted "me" time (which usually includes a nap of my own).

So, that's pretty much our summer for ya! Better luck next year, right?

A Day of Blessings

What a wonderful day I had yesterday! Seriously, it is a day I will bookmark and place on my shelf of great memories. Despite all the stress I had the day before, while preparing food and my house for Gracee's blessing, I woke up in the morning feeling excited, yet peaceful. As I dressed Gracee in her beautiful blessing dress (made by my talented mother), I was overwhelmed by how much I love my little angel. And how could I not? Just look at her!





(These pictures are cute enough to forgive my blatant bragging... right?)

Not only were we able to bless our sweet Gracee, but we also surprised everyone by finally blessing our charming Nathaniel.



(I love that he loves his baby sister, even when she steals his mommy's attention)

What, you ask? Why are we just now blessing Nathaniel?? Well, quite honestly... it's none of your business!
Ok, ok... I'll quit being snotty and acknowledge that inquiring minds want to know. Nathaniel was born within weeks of Brandon finishing up his months of chemotherapy treatments**. He was sick, depressed, and just not in a good place at the time. We always swore we'd bless him later. And then later turned into later and later and later, until we almost forgot about it. When it came time to bless Gracee, we saw a wonderful opportunity to make that moment even more special. And it was. I can't tell you how amazing it was to hear Brandon bless Nathaniel that he will use his "enthusiasm to serve the Lord." If you know our Nater at all, enthusiasm is the perfect word to use in reference to him. There's something good to be said about blessing your child after you already know what kind of personality they have!

More pictures...





This is what I felt like doing all day. Gracee was tuckered out. It's exhausting being held by so many people who love you!



Thanks to all of you who showed up to support us (and eat our food... you knew there had to be something in it for you!) Speaking of food, thanks to my mom and my sister-in-law, Vicki. I swear to you, I did almost nothing but clean my house and show up. My family put together everything: the food, the seating, the cleanup... And Brandon wonders why I'm so against the idea of moving out of state. Apparently I still need my family to take care of me, like the child that I am. I'm just trying to stay young at heart.

After the last of our friends and family left, we made our way to my brother's church to see him set apart as a member of the High Council. What an amazing experience that was. At the risk of sounding sappy to the point of eye-rolling, I have to say that I rarely feel that much love and Spirit in such an intimate setting. I'm so proud of my brother and his family. They are an amazing example of what mankind should be.

To wrap up this fantastic day, Lynn and Vicki had us all over to their house for a few family pictures and a lot of delicious food. Haven't I built myself a nice little family?



The weather was perfect and so was the company. I went to bed that night content and happy (and 3 pounds heavier. I think I overdid it on the whip cream balls.) My cup overfloweth.

**I guess there's some back story some of you don't know. I don't mind sharing the story in the least (especially since it has a happy ending). In 2007, Brandon was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (only weeks after we discovered I was pregnant - talk about an eventful year!) He underwent 4 months of chemotherapy and that did the trick! Thankfully he is in full remission and the doctors don't anticipate it ever coming back. We were very fortunate. It was a hard time, but we're just so grateful that he's healthy and still with us! Thanks to everyone for your kind words.