We Caught the June Bug

June, it's such a fun month of the year! M's work is calmer and the weather is finally summery! We had a great June, and enjoyed all the moments we could. 

To kick off the month, we did a little family temple trip. We met up with the Merrill's and Bryce's at the temple and enjoyed the grounds for a few moments before M, Katey, and I did initiatories. Jason and Jack took all the kids from the temple to a super cool park nearby where they had a blast. When we got to the park to pick up Jay, he was up on the second or third level with Betty Jane and Tia climbing and following them through the park. I love watching big cousins be big cousins to Jay. My big cousins had a huge impact for good on my life. I loved playing with them and always looked up to them. I am grateful Jay will be able to grow up near his cousins - and have big cousins on both sides nearby. 

Tia, Jay, Betty Jane

Jay looking down

Jay climbing through the tunnel down to Betty.

We had an awesome trip to the cabin with the Bryce's. We went up on Friday morning, and they arrived about an hour or two after us. The kids were anxious to get down to the lake, and loved every second of paddle boating, kayaking, and canoeing. Betty Jane, Allen, and Roxy all got very proficient at docking their boats on the island and getting off and on to explore. Jack was the only brave soul who jumped into the lake, and Allen got his foot soaked one time while docking at shore. We introduced the kids to laser tag, archery, and badminton. After Betty played laser tag a few times she said, "I don't like laser tag, I LOVE laser tag." We had so much fun running around playing, running the batteries down on several guns. We all played a little billiards in the basement and learned a couple new games. Sunday we attended church in Frisco, and enjoyed relaxing in the cabin for most of Father's Day. It was a unique way to spend the holiday, and we loved it. We all stayed until Monday afternoon, and came home. Jay was so tired by the end of the trip he fell asleep at the table. He spent a couple mornings sleeping in our bed. He would wake up in the middle of the night and wander around until he found us. It was easier to keep him with us than to take him back to his room.

The anticipation of getting to the cabin! 

Jay navigated the mountain terrain like a pro!

Betty Jane learning to shoot

Jay learning how to piggy back ride, he's still very wiggly.

M, Jay, and Roxy

Lindsay trying out the bow and arrow

Go Allen!

On the lake!

Allen was so cute with Jay, letting him play with all the cards.

All the feels at the cabin, we loved our trip!

Jay and Dadda

The crew!

Sleepy, tired Jay.

I also ran another mud run this year with the ladies in the ward, this one called the Muddy Dash. It was local to Denver, which allowed us to not have to get a hotel this time around. We all went to dinner on Friday night which was a treat, then ran Saturday morning. I tried to keep pace with the fastest girls, and was grateful for Breeanne who stuck with me even though we were slightly slower the whole race. We ran the whole time, and the obstacles were fun. There was more variety in this race, but I'm almost positive the race wasn't a full 5k. We made really good time, less than 30 minutes, and felt accomplished in the end. The wait for the rinse of stations was way too long, so we loaded up and went to a local pizza shop, Wholly Stromboli for lunch. We all used their bathrooms to freshen up a bit and we ate outside. M and Jay got to hang out around home while I was off racing. 

M surprised me with these beautiful flowers before my race to wish me good luck!

Friday night dinner!

My personal huge, gourmet, GF pizza

Lunch with the crew

The week after the race I had my first ultrasound. I love seeing the baby, hearing the heartbeat, and pondering on the miracle of babies! I'm so excited for this little one to join our family, and was grateful to know everything was good and healthy. This first trimester has been a little hard emotionally with what happened in first trimester with Jay. I have to remember Heavenly Father will protect our family and this little one, just like He protected us when I was expecting Jay. I'm still jumpy in the car, even more so while pregnant, and I am working on trusting in my prayers and other drivers so it doesn't get too overwhelming. 

We also had a big adventure day with friends, we went to the Plains Conservation Center down in Aurora. It was on a Thursday, so we carpooled with Jenny Graham and her kiddos. Jay enjoyed the tour of the plains, the sensory tables, and touching everything he could. Before we headed back, we went to a little river area nearby. Jay had fun splashing in the water and napped on the way home. We enjoyed the adventure and appreciated getting out of the house!

Sensory table with friends.

Gentle with the buffalo

Me and my buddy, Jay

Jay at the river play area

In other random fun events for the month, M won an Nintendo Switch at a work party! M also started to go into the office two days a week, so Jay and I are getting creative with our Tuesday and Thursday activities when we're homebound. Our true highlight of every Tuesday/Thursday is when Dadda comes home. Jay goes wild, so giggly and happy and runs everywhere. It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

M & J

Sometimes Jay likes to snitch a little breakfast with Dadda before he goes into the office

We go to the park multiple times a week, usually early in the morning before it gets too hot. Jay's been loving taking his buckets out at every park, and scoop anything he can into his bucket. Here he is collecting pinecones. 

Jay loves the swings, and is beginning to learn how to do the big kid swings too. 

My beautiful peonies blossomed!

He just learned this is a super fun way to go down slides, we haven't tried it at the park yet.

The skills of this kid - how do you do such a thing while buckled?!

Finally asleep on the bed, it still only happens about 30 percent of the time.

As soon as M starts washing, Jay will run and grab his stool and start helping.

Jay loves to help Dadda with dishes or anything!

Sometimes you just need a family pic.

Learning to climb all sorts of new things.

Ready to take on the world.

We hit up the splash pad with the cousins before heading to Idaho!

It was a little bit of a cold day, so Jay mainly stayed near the benches.

Garden update, got some starts from Lowe's and hoping they hold on. The squash, carrots, and green peppers all survived from seed!

May - The Beginnings of Summer

May was an awesome month! We had loads of fun and enjoyed new places and new summer activities. I'll begin with our at-home highlights. Jay got his first x-ray's and first out of the routine doctor visit. He was favoring his right foot for about a week. I kept an eye on it and when it wasn't getting better I called the doctor. As he examined Jay, he determined we should get an x-ray based on Jay's response to applying pressure. Jay was as wiggly as you would imagine for the x-ray techs. One tech couldn't handle him, was getting angry at him for moving and I was grateful when the other tech took over for her. They presumably got the best pictures they could and we went home. I was relieved later in the afternoon when they called to say nothing seemed out of the ordinary on the x-ray and to keep watching to be sure he improves. Jay has a high pain tolerance so I knew he could have broken it without us knowing. I also knew him having a cast would have been awful. Our prayers were heard and answered that day! Continuing on the Jay thread, I'll share some pictures of Jay moments. 

My two handsome men getting ready for church

Jay loves loading his truck and driving it around, he was troubled he could get both boxes of diapers.

Jay's sleeping habits are interesting and usually involve taking off clothes or unloading the dresser. This time, he could only figure out how to get one leg out.

And, here he was wrapped in a pair of pants.

Another fun highlight in May was M's work BBQ. We got to meet a few of the people we hear about all the time, which was fun. Jay stole the show, as usual, and everyone loved him. There was even one lady who asked Jay if he'd accepted his internship offer yet. Jay got a bubble gun, which he continues to think is the best thing in the world. We also signed up for the family races, where M and Jay competed in the three-legged race and the potato sack race. They crushed the three-legged race!

A bubble gun, makes a kids dreams come true

Potato sack race

The 3-legged dream team

Jay loved all the fun things to do and explore.

Mothers' Day is always special when you're married to M. He's always great at remembering, and spoils me silly every year. I love him and I am so grateful for him! I love being a mother, and it's even a sweeter holiday this year for me because I get to spend every day just being a mom. I've always wanted to be a mom, a stay-at-home mom. My dream became my reality this year, thanks to a loving husband who has worked really hard to be able to provide solely for our family. This year for Mothers' Day he made me a delicious peanut butter pie, and gave me some of my favorite other treats. 

Sometimes motherhood looks like this.

Other times it looks like this, and it's all I can do to hold on.

Someone in our ward donated flowers, and they've been so fun to have on our porch!

I also learned how to make bibs. I had a couple of friends having babies, and decided the best gift would be a bib and it would be something new to learn. Oma was an excellent teacher, and took pictures of every step to help me along the way, I could not have done it without her! I enjoyed learning a new skill and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. 

Towards the middle of the month, we got to watch Kade for a day. Abby had surgery, so Kade got to stay and play with us. He was a super trooper, and happy almost all of the time. I enjoyed watching the boys play together and I look forward to the day when they enjoy playing with each other. Right now, Jay is more of a nuisance to Kade than a friend but I know in a couple years that will change and they will have so much fun playing. 

I also tried some other new projects. I made this measurement board. I love measurement boards, and I want to be sure we are documenting height on something we can take with us wherever we go. I love how it turned out. I also started a garden! I transplanted right before our trip to AZ, when the weather was still very volatile. When we got back, everything was dead except my pepper plants and one squash. It was a little disheartening, but I definitely realized they might not survive the transplant and the little gal who watered for me did a great job caring for everything.

Measurement board

The little garden

We were blessed to be able to visit Arizona for a couple weeks again this year. It's a great way to escape the cold Colorado weather and start summer early. Klaire picked us up from the airport and took us to her beautiful home in Tartesso/Buckeye. I love seeing my siblings homes, I can now much more easily picture her in her place. We enjoyed hanging around the house and chatting most of the afternoon. Jay and Stanton had a great time in the water on the porch, and Jay introduced Stanton to a whole new set of toys, including the broom, shoves, and other tools which Stanton usually never touched (oops!). We made delicious treats, a yummy dinner, played a game and hit the hay. Klaire and I went running in the morning, and then we headed to Oma and Papa's house during nap time. 

Jay carried this suitcase around the house the whole day before we left.

The early morning rays of sunshine brought so much joy as we embarked on our vacation!

We take up a whole row now

Jay and Stanton, learning to play as only-children

Aunt Klaire is so fun!

M worked several of the days we were at Oma and Papa's, but was also able to take some days off. He tried to stay as close to Mountain Time as possible so he got off earlier every day too. We loved the pool time, helping Papa clean up the grounds of the church, relaxing in the new misters on the porch, and watching Jay and Stanton run around like crazy kids. Our time was slightly tarnished by the stomach bug. I got hit first during Sunday dinner, it got Matthew the next morning, and Klaire the next afternoon. It was awful! I haven't had a stomach bug in over a decade, and it was worse than I even remember. Luckily, because it rotated through us one at a time we were able to take turns taking care of the boys. I am also incredibly grateful for Oma and Papa who took care of Jay a lot for us. Papa would get Jay when he woke up, which was usually around 5 AM AZ time and take him outside to play and work with him. The extra sleep exponentially increased my healing, I am sure of it. By the time we started to feel better, we got one last swim in and then headed to Kara's house. 

Stanton and Jay, living their best lives on right-sized chairs

Papa, Papa Ross, and Jay - Jay just finished playing in the wet tree well

A better angle of the messy boy

M, Jay, and Stanton

Oma helping Jay do some coloring

Jay loved having a little friend 

Giggles with Aunt Klaire

Water time was the best time

Me and Stanton, it was so fun to get to play with him while his mama was sick

Uncle M working some magic

Jay helping Papa put away dishes, he wanted to do anything Papa did.

These only bloom once a year for a day, and they are beautiful AZ cactus flowers.

Jay, Oma, and Stanton - we spent every morning outside for at least an hour

Jay helping Papa take his stuff back to the office after getting home from work

Jay and Stanton watching Papa work on the sprinklers.

Kara's family got hit with the bug too, and fortunately we didn't get it again. Kara was due any day with her little guy. We were on baby watch and baby call, but sadly the baby wanted to stay inside while we were there. We even walked all the way to the grocery store for nail polish remover just to try to get him to come...no luck. We loved our time at Kara's. M taught the boys how to play the game of LIFE and they enjoyed it so much! Kara's boys think M walks on water, and he pretty much does with them. Hank even preferred M a lot of the time, they were buds. They played frisbee together, read books, and enjoyed just playing. Ross went with us on some of our earliest morning walks with Jay, when we left the house to not wake anyone up. We got to see Ross and Levi at their swim lessons, where they tried extra hard to do good for us. We took the boys to church when Kara wasn't feeling well, and they were super champs at being reverent. I am grateful we had the time at Kara's and enjoyed all of our moments! 

M and Hank

Levi, Ross, M, and Jay playing the game of LIFE

Aunt Kara being super cool with Hank and Jay

What a fun fort we built! It did get pretty hot up there though!

Hank and Jay enjoying the water

Jay and M trucking their way through the airport in PHX.

Best part of the whole month of May was I found out I am pregnant! I can write that now because I am writing a couple months after May. We have been praying and fasting and praying some more for a little baby to join our family. In April, I did a bunch of medical labs with a new OBGYN in the area to be sure nothing was wrong. Before I had my follow up appointment in June, I knew I was pregnant and truly the only thing wrong about sooner than now was timing. We are so incredibly grateful and excited for this little one to join our family!