Camp Out!

Ray has been working his butt off lately, he is incredibly committed to paying down our debts and ensuring a better present and future for our family.  We are doing "Dave Ramsey" at our house and are making excellent progress but have LOTS more to do!

With Ray working so much/late he took the trailer to work to camp out for a few nights ensuring he got a bit more sleep than he would have otherwise (yes he has been busy enough to warrant camping out in the shop parking lot!). Kate and I missed him terribly so we decided to go camp out with him one night.  It was nice that we were able to have dinner together then Kate and I played in the trailer while he went back to work.  After several hours he was able to come cuddle us, watch a movie and we all slept in the same location for the first time in several nights.  It was great! 

Kate and I even went with Ray to deliver a job the next day just so we could spend a bit more time together!  We had lunch at Dickey's where Kate got to have Mac & Cheese for the first time and she LOVED it! She seriously ate tons, I wondered if she would ever eat again! It was a great day and we were so happy when Ray came home to spend the rest of the weekend with us! Love this man of mine and all his hard work on our behalf!

Oh and something of note...Kate officially fell off of the bed in the trailer! Ray thankfully caught her and flipped her around and saved the day but it definitely scared all of us involved and she was not too happy.  We are lucky to have made it all summer without this happening and on our last camp out of course! Luckily she was okay and we are definitely going to be more careful in the future!

Ducks!

We had a great day lounging just the baby and I, we have fun playing, napping together (like every day...I really do love my naps!) and she tends to look like a hoarder sometimes as she has her arms full of toys! She also thinks she is pretty cool that she can put her feet up on her car and not tip over...I mean it's pretty talented.  The girls got skill!

We went to Jessica's for a delicious dinner (she really is a fantastic cook and uses lots of fresh produce which I love) and then we got ice creams and fed the ducks in the park.  They were coming right up next to us begging for food! Briele had a blast running around and making grandpa follow her every command! Kate LOVES Briele and couldn't stop watching and laughing at her!

Kate's 6 Month Pictures....ALOT late...

Jess was sweet and awesome enough to meet us to take some family pictures for Kate's 6 month mark!  Cody and Lexi also met us to do some pictures, which I am glad, because they turned out very cute!

Love this little gal of mine...she is just beautiful! And those eyes...my goodness!

She freaked Ray out by sitting on a chair by herself...at this point she was not sitting alone very well!

I like to think that we are a pretty cute family, I love that Kate is clapping in the top picture! Lexi LOVES Kate and Kate LOVES Lexi! It's fun to see them together!

North Shore...

This was our last time swimming at North Shore for the summer.  It was sad to realize (as we were shivering and frozen) that summer really is over! It seems to have passed quickly and ended right as we were really enjoying it!  Kate loves swimming, water and being outdoors.  She loved hanging on the railing that went into the water and would try to swim back to it each time I moved her away.  She is a pretty cute flower and LOVES crackers and pretty much anything we give her that she can chew on such as this breadstick Kip brought with pizza for dinner!

Random Pictures...

Some random pictures from the last couple weeks...

Kate is trying to stand up to things, she can't quite make it but if you help her up she will stand for several minutes! She LOVES Briele and laughs/claps every time she sees her!  My cute mom made an awesome treat for the kids for starting school, even though Kate is a bit young she got one too! I usually see an amazing sunrise each day I drive home from work, it's always a nice and peaceful drive.

Kate loves to play in the bathroom when I am getting ready, she thinks the corner is hilarious and will play in it for several minutes, no I did not put her in time out, she just likes it! She has developed a "poop" face and every time I put her in her highchair I swear she poops! I LOVE this picture of Tanner, he is such a handsome little man!

Cherry Hills

My work had an employee day at Cherry Hills and since we had never been we thought it would be an awesome chance to go!  Thanks to a kind co-worker we got some extra tickets and so my mom and Jess and Briele were able to go with us.  It was rainy and cold for a good chunk of the day but we still had lots of fun.

Kate just loves swimming, she is definitely a water baby like her mama! Briele had fun bouncing around between us all and floating in her tube!  Jess, Ray and I had a BLAST on the tube water slide.  Jess and I more than Ray.  We kept going again and again!  We felt like super old ladies, cackling and getting stuck while surrounded by little people but we didn't care! It was so fun!

We spent the whole day playing then Ray and I camped in the RV park.  It was fun to be together and get to relax, we didn't do anything super amazing but it was still wonderful! There were some awesome thunder/rain storms through the night so it was fun being in the trailer to hear it all. We relaxed some more over the weekend and got to spend more time together than the last 1.5 weeks combined so that was definitely awesome!

Fair Time 2013

You don't really understand the hype of the Box Elder County Fair unless you grew up in Bear River.  It is the bomb! Seriously, it out fairs all the other fairs!  I loved it growing up and love it still. I was grateful we got to attend one night yet sad Ray couldn't make it with us!

We went to the parade for starters, Kate was mesmerized by all that was going on.  The sirens were a tid lot loud for her but she managed well thanks to Uncle Cody! She loved watching everything, especially the horses and waved nearly the whole time! Briele and Lexi loved getting all the candy, them listening for the sirens is my favorite picture! I just love it!

We went out to the fair and turns out the ENTIRE family was there to party.  It was so fun, the kids LOVED going on all the rides.  Kate went on the carousel for her first time, she was so serious but held on the hold time and patted her horses back. It made me super dizzy but I turn around to quick and I get dizzy!

 We had DELICIOUS fair food, got some candied nuts for Ray, enjoyed lots of dancing to the music. Briele was going crazy dancing, it was hilarious!

**Funny Story**  Lexi was eating a piece of corn on the cob, looked down and saw blood, showed it to Cody and asked "Who's bleeding?".  Well the dear girl was missing a tooth thanks to her corn and since it couldn't be found there is a good chance it got swallowed! Lexi and her dad decided she would write the tooth-fairy a note saying it was lost and hopefully she would still leave her some money!  Funny girl!

Family Fun...

We had a very busy Sunday, which happened to be after my 2nd graveyard which meant I had 1 hour of sleep which was not ideal, but it still was a fun day. We first thing headed to South Jordan for my cousin's homecoming.  Katelyn was the star of the event, however!  Everyone was loving on her, she was LOVING the dogs! She seriously loves dogs, so much that her dad is almost convinced we can get one! We had a great time hanging out with the Stapel family, my uncles happen to be some of the funniest guys I know.

Afterwards we headed home and went to Moye's for a Whipple family BBQ.  Brenda was so excited to host and did an awesome job!  She went all out and had a cotton candy and snow cone maker.  Ray made a giant, very cute, delicious cake, which I failed to take a picture of! We had a great time playing a fierce game of badminton and visiting with the family!

8 Months!

This gal is growing so fast, it boggles my mind! We had such a fun day playing, we were both exhausted by the end and slept WONDERFULLY! Kate has been teething which means she wakes up during the night more and ends up in my bed so we both sleep better...secretly Ray and I love having her snuggle with us but we try not to make a habit of it!

I love how expressive she is becoming both through her facial expressions and her sounds!

She has so many fun looks/sounds she is always keeping us on our toes!

We went swimming at North Shore with my mom, Jess and Briele. It was so much fun and felt great to cool off for a bit! Kate still loves to be in the water and even left her sunglasses and hat on the whole time!

After swimming Kate had a nap, I took dinner to a neighbor and then when Ray made it home we went to Brigham.  We dropped off a bed to his sister, which Ray made brilliantly! Kate enjoyed playing with her cousins! Then we headed over to Whipple's to visit Rodger and Camille.  Kate loved looking at all the decorations on the walls. We don't make it to Brigham nearly often enough so we ended up staying late with lots to catch up on!  It was nice to be able to spend the evening with Ray!

Our Days...

We have had a few relaxing days...I hate to admit they have been lazier because Ray has been working so hard.  He has so many projects/callings/side work going on that he is always gone.  When we get him home Kate and I maul him but in the meantime we find ways to entertain ourselves.

Kate loves to help sort the mail...and sometimes eat it to! We go for walks and collect cool leaves that we can smoosh--Kate loves the crunchy sound they make!

Kate loves bath time. I love this picture because it clearly shows her BRIGHT blue eyes and BRIGHT red hair! She is such a beauty! We had a picnic with Briele, Jess and my mom.  We love when we get to play with them. Kate most definitely loves her family!

Grandpa...

We are always grateful when my dad can come over and play. He is always busy busy so we don't see him to often these days but Kate loves when he comes to play! It takes her a couple minutes to warm up to him and remember who he is but then she has a great time with him! Jess & B also joined us for dinner and playing which was super fun!

I am really careful (paranoid) about what we feed Kate and have just now started giving her Ritz crackers (after I rub off all the salt and lots of the buttery topping) and she LOVES them.  It is pretty cute to watch her nibble away at it and she takes her time enjoying each piece! I love watching this little gal grow up and learn!

Party...

We went to North Shore swimming with Jess and B and had a great time. I love nothing more than sitting in a cool pool all day! I was meant to be in water!  Kate agrees and was perfectly content and also caught a nap as I cuddled her in the water.  It was so fun running around with B and having crazy fun! 

After swimming Kate and I headed to a Mackenley's birthday party.  Michelle did an incredible job of making a fairy party, it was so amazing and yet made me so tired to think of all the time and effort it took her to do it!  It really was incredible! We had a great time playing and Kate even got her face painted for the first time!

Baby Kate...

Kate has started teething (and may never stop or so it seems).  She is taking it like a champ. She has super runny/watery eyes and nose, she is irritable, occasional fever and really just wants to cuddle. She cries whenever I leave the room while she is playing on the floor so we just stick together most (ALL) of the time to make both of us feel better.  She will sleep if I am snuggling her and always seems to keep her legs in the air.  On one particular day both legs were straight in the air and I had to physically hold them down til she relaxed them, although she was sound asleep! She has such a fun personality and is so excited about everything. I love it! She usually (always) gets stuck in a laundry bucket with toys when I am in the shower and she just laughs and plays.  She is such a great baby!  And although she doesn't feel well she is still incredibly happy.  She moves around so much in her crib occasionally we find her with her legs sticking out of the slats in the morning therefore her bumpers are back on! Love this little lady of ours!

Handy Ray...

 Ray is pretty awesome, he is very talented and is constantly creating beautiful pieces of work.  This particular night went with him to install a couple mantels he had made.  They turned out great, he is quite the craftsman! We had dinner with Blake & Kristi and had a good time visiting with them.  This little lady is all over the place and although she doesn't crawl yet she is pretty handsy.  She will grab anything that is near her for a split second!  Her and I got to join Jess, Briele, my mom and grandma for lunch and shopping in Layton one day.  She always makes eating out so interesting! I love it! Haha! We had a great time!

Play Time...

Kate and I were unable to make it to the dinosaur park with the family but we were grateful to make it to dinner with them and then they came to our house to play for a bit.  The girls loved playing on the castle and blowing bubbles and Kate loved playing with grandpa.  It was a great night to be lounging outside!