June

On the second day of June, Nate smoked some turkey legs. They were delicious.

Colin came out to help me in the garden one morning. I left my jacket on the grass, and Colin insisted on wearing it. He said it made him look like a Jawa.

Then he changed from being a Jawa to being a Jedi like Obi Wan. I have never been so proud.

I made a special Angry Birds pizza for dinner. It was a hit.

The kids gathered around the oven to watch the cookies bake. They are in their pajamas because we baked early in the morning. What, it's not like we ate them in the morning. It just gets hot here later in the day.

Can you tell who was really into it?

Guess I also made some crusty rustic bread. It's delicious.

Hannah offered to take my kids to the Art City Days carnival. I tagged along to help with crowd control. The kids rode a few rides, then we got a treat.

I snapped this little gem at church one day. I felt guilty taking a picture during church, but this just cracked me up. Colin was coloring in Kate's pony book. I looked down to discover that he was doing a color-by-number. He had read the directions and colored the numbers. Hilarious.

Hey Kate, what are you doing?
I'm just reading the scriptures, Mom. Leave me alone.

Gray still loves the Little People. I believe the llama was driving his friends around. He was making the cutest sound effects while he played. Adorable.

This was one of Gray's first nights in the big boy bed. I guess at one point he got out of his bed and found the paper ant the kids made at the library that day. Then he pulled it apart and slipped the paper rings around his arms. The pipe cleaner legs are in a pile next to his pillow. Silly kid.

Hooray for the dentist! I'm glad the kids are still young enough that they love the dentist. I even loved the dentist that trip, because despite my months with a high vomit/low toothbrushing ratio, I still didn't have any cavities. Huzzah!

Father's Day! Nate wanted a tool handbag thing, so we loaded up all the tool spots with candy. The kids helped me pick out what they thought he would like. Skittles, Nerds, Snickers, and granola bars. Oh, and a t-shirt with a turkey leg on it from my mom. (See previous pictures.)

Sorry, I only had my phone to take pictures with and everyone was moving.

Nate later crashed and burned on the wiggle-scoots (or whatever the h those things are called) at his parents' house.

We've spent a lot of time at the Springville splash pad this summer. The kids love it. It has a classic splash pad area as well as a fun shallow creek with rocks and fountains. I love that it is close and free.

Princess Kate all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Princess Gray all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Actually, he did have somewhere to go. He gathered up all his supplies and then told me, "Back soon!"

Colin also wanted his picture taken. He's super.

Kate still wins the award for strangest sleeping positions. She ends up in the most random places.

Putting my kids to work. Got to love the free labor, even if the quality of the work is low.

A trip to the dollar store ended with sunglasses for everyone. Lookin' good!

This is how the kids dressed to go to Macey's one day. You know that's right.

Aww. Brothers.

Colin getting all geared up for his superhero birthday party.

I don't know what I was thinking when I decided Colin could have a party with friends this year. He wanted a superhero party, just like last year. I made a generic superhero cake, and I like how it turned out, except for the part where it was leaning. I also made capes and masks for the kids (with a great deal of help from my mom).

These are the only two pictures I have from the party. I feel like there were more, but I can't find them. Maybe they're on my camera instead of my phone. Colin and his friends/cousins played Superhero, Superhero, Villan; and Squirt the Villan Picture That You Just Colored. Then they ate hot dogs and cake and ice cream and opened presents. It was a success—I think.

2013—the first half

A brief recap of our year so far...

In January life was fantastic, for about 2 weeks. We played in the snow. Nate built a sweet sledding hill in the backyard. He really enjoyed it. And it stayed there forever.

The kids liked playing with the shovels.

We also bought a van. You've probably seen it. It's nice.

Then I discovered I was pregnant, and that ended all fun for a few months. I spent the rest of January, February, and March in my bed, puking my guts out and getting my fluids through a tube. Blerg. I went to the hospital several times for IV stuff, then they let me do it myself at home, which was an expensive blessing. Nate, my mom, my in-laws, and my neighbors were amazing at taking care of me, my kids, and my house. I couldn't have asked for more.

Welcome to March. I curled Kate's hair one day before church.

Gray took his diaper off during his nap. It made me laugh. And thankfully he didn't poop in his crib or anything.

I let Kate comb my hair. I made a huge mistake.

My little monsters pretending to be monsters. Or maybe zombies?

I had to leave the house one day to run an errand at the mall. It wasn't open when we got there, so we played at McDonald's for a few minutes.

Happy Easter! I can't remember if I went to church that day or not. Probably not. But here's what the kids looked like when they got home. They are super photogenic and dedicated to taking quality pictures!

The family Easter basket. The Star Wars PEZ dispensers were a big hit.

And then it was April! I was starting to feel a little better, which was awesome. We built some sweet forts in Kate's room. I was really proud of my creations. They weren't destroyed for several minutes.

Gray wanted his to be a house.

Gray insisted on eating the pineapple before I cut it. I was busy trying to put away other groceries, and I got sick of listening to him whine for it, so I gave it to him. The experience was not all that he hoped it would be.

Welcome to May! On May 3 (my dad's birthday) I got a new niece! Margaret (Maggie) Grace Williams is the first cousin on my side of the family. She's a beauty. Gray was in love. He wouldn't let her go.

Colin was proud of the office he built. Looks legit.

Gray loves to dress up with Kate. He puts together some sweet outfits.

We stopped by Seth's new digs one afternoon. He lives with Fake Uncle Doug these days. Kate claimed that bear as her own. It is seriously the biggest stuffed animal I have ever seen.

My neighbor's tulips were dying, so she let me kids pick as many as they wanted. We walked the long way home after this so the kids could deliver flowers to their friends in the neighborhood. They made many a housewife happy that day. And it was all their idea—definitely not mine.

My sweet Princess. This is her Rapunzel crown.

We love Mo Willems! His books are my favorite.

Gray knows the importance of looking good while gardening.

And also while saving the planet. This Spiderman costume is a size 5 I think. It looks really nice with the Iron Man mask and the princess shoes.

Brad and DeAnna came out to Utah for a visit. This is the only picture I have of them. We went out to eat at a Chilean restaurant in Provo (which was delicious), and then we got a snow cone at a shack in the parking lot. This is after the four of us had already been picking at it for a while. And the bottom of the cup is under the table (the table conveniently had holes drilled into it to accomodate the snow cone cups). Best $4 ever spent. That single snow cone fed the four of us, plus four kids when we got back home.

We drove out to Topaz Mountain one Sunday evening while Brad's family was in town. The kids loved it, but it was not my favorite. Nate stayed home with Gray, and I took the other kids. Two and a half hours to drive out there, two hours to eat s'mores and hunt for topaz, and home by 1:00 am. Granny made little treasure bags for the kids to put their treasures in. Looking for topaz with flashlights/headlights is fun, especially for the kids, but to me it just isn't worth the drive. (Or the late hours. I likes to get to bed early, I does.)

June comes next. But I think I will put June/July in a separate post.