Carter turns 4!

My sweet little boy is not a baby anymore! Carter brings so much joy and laughter into our lives. I'll never forget the first day I fell in love with him. I can't believe in 4 short years he has gone from this....

To this!

We started his big day out with some doughnuts, this gift,(which we searched everywhere for and finally found it in Utah!) and yard saleing with G & G Hymas....it was Saturday! We couldn't pass it up!

Then we rushed home to finish preparations for his party!

 As the kids arrived we dressed them up as pirates and gave everyone a tattoo.

 The mustaches were a major flop! They stuck so hard to their little faces it was like waxing their lip when we took them off!! Poor kids!

 They were all so well behaved and we had so much fun!

 Then we headed outside for a treasure dig!

 And back inside for presents and cupcakes.

 This little man was on cloud 9 with all the goodies he got from his friends. Thanks everyone who brought such nice gifts!!

 Then we did some sword fighting...

 After the kids went home we started preparing for a family party later that night! We had ranch chicken tacos and both sets of grandparents were there. Jordan, Adam and his girlfriend all came too. We even had the Sorenson family over.

Carter has been begging for a BSU helmet for a long time. We found a good deal on one and got it!

 This was his reaction....LOVE IT!

 After more gifts and more cupcakes.....

 These two little guys played football the rest of the night.

 Absolutely hilarious. We are so blessed to have wonderful family & friends who support us in all aspects of life. We love you all so much. I'm so proud of my little Carter man. We were at the park the other day and a complete stranger came over and told me she could tell my son had a good heart. He is so kind to everyone and happy all the time! I love you Carter. You are my pride and joy! Here's to many more happy years ahead of you!

Best Vacation Ever

A few weeks ago we loaded up the car and headed to this beautiful place...Cascade Lake. It tops my list of favorite vacations! It was so wonderful and relaxing!

 We got there Thursday night which happened to be the season opener for BSU. We crammed ourselves into this little local all you can eat pizza joint and cheered our team on! Meanwhile all the kids played in the arcade in the back. Im pretty sure that night the arcade made bank from all our kids!

 The next day we hopped into the boat and drove to this little beach which we had all to ourselves. The kids loved just playing in the water and had some older cousins to watch them so I could do a little of this...

Dirt or Oreo?? You decide.

 We built Carter's first sand castle...pretty impressive skills Dad!

 And Carter started practicing riding his bike without training wheels! Just trying to keep up with all the older cousins! He never got it, but came so close!

 This little beauty is what we called home for 3 days. Staying in a yurt with a fridge, beds, TV, cable, microwave, heater and wood floors VS. a tent was AMAZING! It made such a difference in our trip!

 The RV park we stayed in had a fun little play area for the kiddos.

 And a beatiful bonfire spot right by the lake.

 Day 3 we headed back to the lake and spent most of the day!

 The boys stealing a picnic table.

I dont have many pictures of the guys because I seriously lounged all day on the beach. While the girls sun bathed, the boys stayed busy playing football, baseball, frisbee, water fighting and boating.Here are some other highlights from the trip....

• Boating... of course! I even tried surfing for the first time...lets just say it wasn't pretty
• Yard saleing and visiting flea markets. Yes you are camping in the mountains, but town is right there too! Its the best of both worlds.
• A little Ice Cream/candy shop which we visited twice. I fell in LOVE with some 'unBEARably hot cinnamon bears.'
• The food...OH MY GOSH..I thought my family ate good while camping. I wont lie...I gained 3 pounds in 3 days! Dustin's pasta tops it all though!
• The lake. Its huge and warm. Loved feeling the sand between my toes and the sunshine on my face.
• Having my hubby all to myself for 4 days over Labor Day tops it all. Life has been crazy lately to say the least. He is my best friend and I am so glad I married him and into such a wonderful family.

Cascade Lake, I hope it wont be long before we see you again. Good Bye Summer!

Lately....

So this will be the most random post ever. But quite a few things have happened lately. A few weeks ago I was tested for allergys. After 36 painful "scratches" on my back and 46 shots in my arms i found out I am only allergic to 4 things. Horse hair, corn pollen, and a few weeds. Not a fun process and since I wasnt very allergic to them I dont get any treatment. Just the regular claritin and nasal spray...ugh I hope things get better soon!

 We begged Chad to take off from work a little early one day so we could beat the heat and go to Nat Soo Pah! Lots of fun! Carter is crazy about the water slide. You can hear him laughing the whole way down.

This picture is just too cute not to share. These boys are constantly yelling "Go Aggies!" and "Go Broncos!" back and forth. Cute kiddos!

 My dear Aunt Carol passed on to a better life a few weeks ago. She will be missed. My dads family put together a very nice funeral service for her. Its blury, but this is my dad speaking at her funeral. Im sure she was proud.

 We hit the fair yesterday and did rides & food with the kids. Super hot and lots of waiting in line wore me out pretty quick. But the mini doughnuts and these priceless pictures are always worth it!

 Mol loved the baby pigs and we went back quite a few times to pet them.

 I straightened her hair and she looked so cute and grown up I could hardly stand it! What a beautiful little girl!

 And my little man started Joy School again this year! Today was his first day. He has been asking for weeks when he is starting. Here he is on the first day!

 And this is his little Joy School group. Its going to be a fun year!!

Now on to our Lake Cascade Trip!!