Working for the weekend...

Dustin, my parents and I took a trip up to Challis, ID on Saturday for me to photograph a wedding, and it was so gorgeous! The drive was beautiful, the mountains, the wildlife, all of it. We saw an elk, several deer, and even a wild turkey! I almost wished Kennedy was there...almost. :) Thanks to the awesome Jami, her and Hudson were happily playing at home in Rexburg, safely out of my hair for the day.

The wedding was really fun for me to do, with a gorgeous bride and stunning scenery, and I am excited to get the proofs to the couple.

Dustin was playing with the zoom lens, and caught this of me and my "assistant" (mom) working:

I love this shot, it shows how beautiful the location was...

One of my favorite cousins Jarvis was there, and I was smitten by his two darling kids, Mallory and Gavin. They are so adorable!

PS -Welcome home Cody! Sorry we couldn't be there yesterday, we heard you did a great job!

Won't you be my neighbor?

Ok, prime lake front property is on the market! This gorgeous lot behind our house is for sale, and there is a certain someone we are trying to persuade to buy it...you know who you are! We love where we live, I hope this doesn't cause a rise in the Rexburg population, we really like it where it is, plus or minus a few... :)

Fun with Gracie and McKenna, Weekend update

As you probably know, we had Gracie and McKenna came home with us to Idaho and spend last week with us. For the record, we are missing them! Kennedy and Hudson really had fun with them, and I loved spending time with two nieces I don't get to see enough. Here are some of my favorite pictures (among hundreds, you know me...) from last week!






We went back down to Utah on Friday and spent the weekend in Cache Valley. Garret and Trulie moved into their new house, and we helped them a bit. Well, Dustin helped a lot and I mostly tried to keep Hudson out of the way. G & T have done a bunch of remodeling before moving in, and it looks so great! We love that they have found the perfect place for them, and know they will be so happy there! We also got to visit my sweet Grandma Webb, and Grandpa Jorgy. We missed Grandma Jorgy, but guess where she was: the summer games. She took the gold in her division for shot put and the silver for the speed walk. Doesn't she rock??

Sorry no pics of the cute house, like I said, I was pretty busy chasing...I did however catch Jeff trying to prove that he can wheelie anything...even grandma's jazzy...silly boy. It is pretty hard to resist taking it for a spin...





















We went to Riverdale on Saturday night with everyone but G&T, and we had a ball! I haven't been there since high school, and it brought back a ton of memories from growing up. My dad used to take us there a lot, and it was fun to go back. Everyone I talked to before going had warned me that it was gross, but you know what? It was actually nicer than I remembered. The warm water felt so good, and I didn't submerge my head (not recommended, according to management - I know, don't think about it) so I'm pretty sure we left with no more diseases than we showed up with. :)

Hudson climbing on Preslie while she enjoys some ice cream from Big J's...a post-Riv tradition...

Sunday was great, we had a delicious grease bomb breakfast at LD's with my parents, Jeff and Jill, William and Hudson. Afterwards, we tooled around Richmond, where I grew up, and reminisced. We went to the cemetery, where I am still not used to seeing my uncle Lynn's headstone, and I know my dad is still not used to seeing 2 brothers and his Dad. I'm so thankful for every second I have with my loved ones, and miss so much the ones I don't see anymore.

We had a little picnic at Mack park that afternoon and relaxed, and of course, I made everyone pose for pictures. Here are some fun shots of Kennedy and Hudson loving their Daddy, and of my cute family!

And, to end with a laugh, this is what Hudson does to keep from getting bored on the long drive.

Our Little "Babe"

Ok, I know I brag a lot, but no one's forcing you to read this, right? Kennedy had a great game yesterday, she hit her first home run! (No one tell her they weren't keeping score... )





PS - I'm embarrassingly loud, so you may want to turn your volume down before watching this...

Kennedy is lucky enough to have 2 extra cheerleaders this week because Gracie and McKenna are staying with us. Cuties!

And one more clip of her in action at first base! These games are so fun for me, thanks to blogging, you get to be a part of my obsessions!

Pretty Boy VS. The Deer

Luckily, we did not get the little red Camry Hybrid we were looking at last month...

I'm afraid we would not have fared so well in a car. This unfortunate incident happened Sunday night on our way out of Preston. I figured it was only a matter of time, we have had so many close calls with wildlife on that stretch of dark highway between Preston and Downey. The only injury (besides to my sexy truck) was to the taco salad on my lap, which ended up mangled under the dashboard. Dustin is an amazing driver, and saw the deer pretty far in advance, and we were slowed way down, but it jumped in front of us at the last second. We were all a little worked up afterwards, but otherwise fine. McKenna (4 year old niece coming to stay the week in Rexburg) was a little panicked when we mentioned calling the cops, apparently she has been sufficiently frightened of being "taken away..." She is so adorable, we needed a little humor at that point. It's still drivable, good thing, since the body shop can't fit us in till next week...Pretty Boy is kind of embarrassed at being seen like this, but I've assured him it is a badge of honor.

Thank heavens for big ole gaz guzzlers, am I right??? And full coverage auto insurance, that rocks too.

Happy Happy Birthday Jami, dear!

Happy days will come to you all year! If I had a wish then it would be, a happy happy birthday to you from me!

Okay, boys, start lining up, gorgeous Jami is officially on the dating scene. Everyone else, get off the sidewalks! Just kidding, Jami is a great driver. I may actually let her drive Pretty Boy when I see her this weekend. I know, I know, that's very generous of me...actually, not really, you'll see why in my next post.

Hope you have a great day, I wish we could be there to spend it with you! Can't wait to see your license!

Catch up...

Wow, it's going to take me like, ten new posts to catch up on what's been going on with us! We have had a crazy week or so, some of it great, some awful...(Warning: this is long, sorry.)

Two weeks ago today, my 4-year-old nephew Rhett had an accident on his bike and punctured his pancreas. Yes, his pedal bike. Yes, his pancreas. After having surgery to remove part of it (the pancreas), he was making steady progress down the road to recovery when he developed a bad infection around the surgery site and has since had another surgery, with at least one more in the future. My heart has just been aching for him, his mom and dad, and whole family. Last Sunday night I took K & H and headed down to Riverton to stay with his brother and sisters while Mike and Kim were at the hospital. We were able to visit him in the hospital (where Hudson enjoyed taking him for scary wheelchair rides) a couple of times during the week I was there, and I am so very proud of him. He is being so tough, and I can't wait to see him up and running around again. Rhett, we love you and are so happy you are getting better!

Despite the horrible circumstances, I had a great week with my nieces and nephew. Luckily, world's-best-baby-sitter/sister and soon-to-be-drivers-license-owner Jami was able to come with me and help out...3 one & 1/2-year olds, and one each 8, 6, and five year olds (counting my kids too) is more than enough for one person, even two people. Kim is a rockstar mom and I am even more in awe of what she does every single day.

My Charges...

We had a quite a good time while in Utah, catching "Kung Fu Panda," hitting the "Kangaroo Zoo" in Provo and then meeting Dustin in Logan on Friday night. We went to his 10 year High School Reunion on Saturday, and it was surprisingly fun...even though Jeff and Jill backed out on us...I forgive you. We ran into good friends Cole and Mindy there, and it made it all worthwhile...so great to catch up, guys!

We had a great Father's Day Picnic with Dustin's family, and I totally failed and didn't get one picture of Dustin, or his dad, to commemorate the day.

I know this deserves a post of it's own, but I've been thinking about Dads, so here goes: A tribute to a few of the awesome Dads I've been inspired by lately:

I am completely surrounded by amazing daddies. First of all, my own. He is an amazing person, fun, funny, and completely the reason I have such an amazing husband and father of my kids. My dad has always set such high standards for the way a father should be, always putting his wife and kids first and honoring his priesthood, and then being the best Grandpa imaginable. I had no choice but to settle for nothing but the best...

Dustin: What can I say? Definitely my better half and best friend. He makes my life fun and happy and easy. I am the luckiest girl in the world to have found my perfect match. There is no one I'd rather talk to and hang out with, and he is the best kind of Daddy: hands-on and helpful, fun and strong. He had a great example, though...

Grandpa Steve-o: He taught Dustin everything he knows about being a gentleman and all-around good person, all by example. Thank you for being such a great listener and giving me Dustin. I know, you warned me! :) Kennedy and Hudson love their "fuzzy" Grandpa!

Jeff and Garret: My brothers never stop surprising me...in such a good way. You both absolutely excel at everything you set your mind to, and I couldn't be prouder! Also, the two funniest people on the planet, hands down.

Wes: Your endless patience inspires me, as does your tolerance for noise... :) You are giving it your all right now, and your family will never forget it. I know Dustin loves to joke that the second brother is the better-looking, but the first has grit and integrity that we all admire. Glad that handsome smile is still intact.

Nate: For turning Jenna into the great mom and wife she is today, and for patiently waiting for Preslie to stop screaming (SO worth the wait, by the way)...you know you have your ticket to heaven.

Mike: For being the rock that you are to your family, and for being so "chill" in the eye of the hurricane, you definitely inspire me. After spending a week with your kids, you are obviously doing something right. Keep it up.

Darin: For chasing your dream. It's never too late to do what makes you happy. What a great example for McKenna, and all of us.

Kennedy and Hudson are so lucky to have all of these great guys in their lives, and I want to wish them all a (late) Happy Fathers Day!

Stay tuned tomorrow for "the deer vs. Pretty Boy" and "Kennedy, AKA Babe Ruth"

Kennedy's First T-Ball Game

OK, today was great. No, awesome. The pinnacle of my parenting career. Well, maybe not quite, but I was definitely bursting with pride at Kennedy's ball game today. First of all, she looked so adorable in her too-big city league jersey, her new ball-cap pulled down low over her eyes (do you know how hard it is to find a ball cap for a little girl that doesn't clash with the red/blue jersey? Its all princesses and High School Musical out there!), and her shiny new cleats (did you know they make them with pink stripes, how convenient, what with the pink mitt...I know, clashing, but I didn't know what color the jersey was when we bought it about 3 years ago). Second, she was positively shaking with excitement from the minute she jumped out of bed this morning. Third, she was the best player on her team. No, on the field...maybe even in the state...of the 5-year-olds, of course. She played first base, my old place - until I got to HS and height became an issue - for the first 3 innings, and she was pretty much unstoppable. I really was surprised and delighted by how well she did. She loved tagging the base and throwing the ball home. She got three really good hits and loved running the bases. She only had one slight detour towards the pitchers mound on her first time rounding third, but got it right every other time. All of the kids were so cute, the game was very entertaining. Luckily, Dustin was on his own today and was able to sneak over to watch, and Kennedy was so proud. Oh, and her team won! Actually, no one kept score, but I'm sure, if they would have, it would have been victory for blue. Go Kennedy! Here's to a long and illustrious athletic career!

Ready to Play!

A little First Base action...

Up to the plate...

Kennedy with her (second) biggest fan!

The only way to persuade Hudson from the field was with treats...he was not happy to be left out of the game.

T Ball Practice

I think these are the cutest pictures ever. I have been really excited for Kennedy to start T Ball, and Dustin got these great pictures at practice (I was at a coach's meeting, because we somehow got roped into coaching her soccer team. It was the gayest meeting ever...we were forced to watch a Rexburg-made documentary about soccer, most of it on professional soccer- I'm sure that will really help me coach a group of rowdy 5-year-olds...and did I even get one glimpse of David Beckham for my troubles???...NO! ...pardon the rant)

Stay tuned for pics from the first game on Thursday! Only 3 short days away!!!

First Base, are you proud or what, Grandma Josie!?!