Back in Houston

The goodbyes in Utah were hard. But I was grateful for this wonderful family gathering at Aunt Colleen and Uncle Dean's.

Ben made breakfast for us. Whip cream is a must for Ben. Homemade. I love him so much. 

One morning, Liam was trying to cool off his oatmeal. LOL.

The never ending encouragement to get these kids to read is finally showing some progress. Time at the library had to be short because of the two smallest munchkins. Troy and Liam read to each other. 

Our elementary school does a reading bingo challenge during the summer and I LOVE IT. They get so motivated to read in different ways. This was what I found at some point during the day. Evidence of a reader.

Target run. They decided to spend their allowance on this popcorn. Although, I don't think I actually made them pay for it. But it's been a few months, and I can't remember. 

Michael Boyer was out of town when we got back, so when he got home, the boys were SO excited to see him.

Meet the teacher night. Cool mascot! Go Stallions!

More reading Bingo. Picnic reading.

Peanut butter ball magic.

Utah Summer Trip 2017 Part 2

I celebrated my birthday and my family was too kind. 

Mom decorated beautifully. And spoiled me with shopping. 

My family went to dinner with me and then we did some shopping. Love this group of amazing women.

It was wonderful to be able to visit Grandma Andersen. So much heritage to be grateful for. She reminds me of my dad and all that was passed on to me. 

Croquet is a must at Grandma Allsop's house.

We met up with the Melissa Garza, her sister, her sister's friend, and her mom at the Bean Museum. Melissa had reserved a wonderful class where they showed us live animals. The kids got to touch them and were quizzed about them. 

Miles and Gwen. 

Afterwards we got ice cream at the creamery, of course. Miles approved.

Already getting into climbing trouble. Fun at Seven Peaks with Mom. 

More fun at the Lindon pool.

Building the Harry Potter castle was a dream for Troy and Liam. Especially since we started watching the first Harry Potter.

Always fun board games at Grandma's house.

Miles thought this little chair was hilarious.

Fireworks! 

Utah Visit July 2017 Part 1

A picture truly says a thousand words. 

Grandma surprised the kids with m&ms with their NAMES on them. They were so excited. 

Their poor faces and chins were still in recovery from all of the sun. We lathered them with sunscreen every day, multiple times, but all of that dry air and heat. It took a few days to recover.

We went up Provo canyon to enjoy the amazing summer weather in Utah. Ben fell asleep of course. He takes short naps because he wakes up so early or stays up late to get things done. He couldn't sleep until the car was completely clean the night before. 

Grandma, Troy, Ben and Miles.

Liam, and Katelyn hiding. She his because she wanted everyone to take their own picture.

Utah grass is worth taking a nap on.

Daddy, wake up and play with me.

Mom, put the phone down and let me play with it.

10 years later! It feels like we were here not too long ago, just as two. I can't believe how blessed we have been with our kids.

Katelyn playing candy land with Grandma. This may have been a twice a day occurrence.

Troy and Liam dream about playing the Wii at Grandma's because she has different games then us.

Ben was only there a couple of days, so we squeezed in as many visits as possible. Grandpa and Grandma Allsop was a MUST. We treasure the examples that these two are to us. Examples of love, faith, and optimism. 

 Tim was turning 4 while we were there. We got to go to his birthday party, so Ben got to see everyone in just one place! Perfect!

These boys are going to bond more and more. 

 "Knuckles"

 Cousin time at Tyler and Annie's!! 

Hayden, Halli, Troy, Liam, and Katelyn

There is a whole lotta personality between these 5 children, and I love watching them interact, figure things out, and play for hours in the back yard!

Water balloon throwing in Grandma's back yard.  Great idea Grandma! The chairs were targets. 

I can picture Liam yelling out of excitement as I look at this picture.

Super fun Grandma!

Macy's run. Groceries and ice cream.

Ben and I bought them cougar hats while we visited BYU. Love our BYU!!

My mom, Sarah, Tim, the kids and I went up to temple square. It's been a long time since I've actually gone into the visitor's center. A lot has changed. And I didn't even realize there were two!

Ugh, my kids were so irreverent and done by this time. I'm sure someday this will be a peaceful place for us to ponder.

Family History Center to the rescue. Lots of games and coloring while the parents looked around with iPads. We switched off with the kids. I can't wait to take Ben back there. It was an experience seeing your family tree and relations to famous people, or even people in the room!

Tim and Miles. Pretty sure they're related  ;)

Troy and Liam made watch bands with legos. Katelyn was obsessed with the leftover plastic sticks from the balloon bunches. LOL It's been a few months, and she still carries them around. I think she treats them like wands.