Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Kelli & the kids visit...

At the end of May, Kelli and her kids came up for an impromptu quick weekend trip. These boys are OBSESSED with dinosaurs right now. Keyton a little more than Tucker, I think. But whenever Keyton is here, it is dinosaur mania. Kelli had heard on the radio about a dinosaur show coming to Spokane. So, she convinced Ben to take the boys, and they came up for a few days. It was fun having them here. 
Here are the boys with a Triceratops. 
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While the boys were at the dinosaur show, us girls got to go out and do some girly things. Of course, our first stop was to get some ice cream. Ice cream is a must at anytime when you are pregnant, or not pregnant. Then to the mall and dinner where we met up with Grandma who was just getting into town. I love it when family is here visiting!
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On Sunday afternoon we had a little BBQ. 
Taylor sure does love her Grandma Kelly:
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She also loves her Papa:
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{She also loves that Tie-Dyed shirt, I usually have to hide it on Sunday mornings because that is what she wants to wear everyday, including to church on Sunday. But it gets put on the minute we walk in the door after church}
The boys playing a dinosaur game on the Kindle:
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We love us some Summer BBQ's with cousins:
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Tucker loves Aubrey. He is always wanting to hold her, or carry her or put his arm around her. Silly boy!
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Keyton was very proud of himself because this was his first time climbing a tree. So all the other kids had to get in:
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This was just one of their many many trips this summer. I swear them and grandma have been up like every other weekend this summer, for the baby or to see family, or to just play; and  we love it! We don't have any cousins that live here anymore and we love having family in town to visit us!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Taylor Rae...

{So, I've had a few posts in my cue waiting to be published, and I want to get them done before I move on to the babe...I will get to him in a bit!!! :)}

Oh how I love this Taylor Rae girl. The last few weeks before the baby came, I really tried to just enjoy my time with her and Tucker. She is in such a fun stage. Besides the tantrums, she is just so fun and hilarious to talk to, she will just chat and sing and I love hearing the things she says and thinks, and how her little mind works. She always keeps us entertained with her dances, and songs and jokes and is just the sweetest, cutest and silliest little girl. I'm so glad she's mine!
This picture is perfect, because it shows the outfit that she wore for about a month straight. The tie-dyed shirt is still going strong, but now that it is warmer, she opts for shorts. I'm all about the kids getting to choose what they want to wear (for the most part, sometimes I have to intervene) but this little tie dyed shirt just may have to 'accidentally' get lost. She wants to wear it every single day.

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And we made sure to do a lot of this before the baby came. I did not want to have two in diapers. She is a champ. I tried in January, and failed. I tried in March and failed, and she was just ready and totally did it. It really does click for them when they are ready. Halelujia to not having two in diapers. And now none of my kids are even in pull ups at night! Woo-Hoo!!!
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This is how her faces looks most days. She is seriously the messiest eater I have ever seen!
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Ben & Tucker  went out to the lake one night with friends, so Taylor and I went on a girl date. Even though I was 9 months pregnant, and miserable, I had to return my diaper bag to Nordstroms downtown, and I knew if I didn't do it that night, it wouldn't get done and then the baby would come, and I would even be more tired. So, we went downtown and had a little dinner and did some shopping, just me and my girl. 
She is SO dang adorable! I just love her!
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Her in her cute sun hat for the summer...
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My mom came up here for the birth of the baby and the night before my induction, we had another girls night at PF Changs. I love these two ladies:
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I sure do love my girl!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Grandma Glenda's funeral...

Midst all of the craziness of Tucker's end of year stuff, and the baby stuff, my sweet grandma passed and we had her funeral. I made her program like I did my grandfathers last year. It is crazy how it was almost one year exactly to when my grandpa passed that she did! We tried to incorporate her favorite thing into the program: Roses! Cats came in a close second, but didn't look as nice as a funeral program background! :)

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After the funeral in Milton-Freewater, (which, they had to delay to wait for us, because we were, of course, late) the burial was in Union, OR; a very very small town in Eastern Oregon where both of my grandparents are from. I used to go there as a kid, so it has actually been fun to go back  these last two times these last two years for the funerals (my grandfather was also buried there last year) and see lots of extended family.
All of her grandsons were the pall bearers:
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My brother, Nathan dedicated the grave and did a great job! It was a very nice service, and it was fun hearing stories about my grandmother when she was a child. Her best friend growing up was actually one of the speakers at her funeral, they were childhood friends, all growing up and she was actually in Portland visiting my grandma on the day she passed away! It was very neat. My grandma introduced her to the gospel and she was baptized because of my grandma, and it was fun hearing her stories. Stories like, playing in the cemetery and putting flowers in the hands of the statues. It is an old cemetery, so it has lots of old big headstones, some with statues. Or like taking their dolls to the gas station downtown to give their dolls baths in the gas station bathroom! Gross! But so funny, that was the only bathroom that they knew they could get into to play, and she said they would just sit in the gas station bathroom and play for hours! Or the story of how they were in the park one day playing and saw a man that was sleeping  so they started squirting him with their squirt guns, and later found out that he wasn't sleeping, but that he was dead! :) 
My grandmother was a sweet sweet lady and left a great legacy!
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Me and my two cousins, Alicia and Lori! It is so fun having so many fun cousins my age that I got to grow up with, we had have had some pretty great times together! Lori and Alicia both stayed at my grandparents the night before, and are wearing her dresses and jewelry. I wish I could have joined them in that, but being 9 months pregnant, and late to the funeral, didn't allow me that! My cute cousin Lori did have the great idea for all the girls to wear grandma's signature lip color: Covergirl's Tahitian Coral. My grandma loved her some bright lipstick and never  left the house without it! It had kind of faded by the time we got to the burial, but we sure did love our grandma and her fabulous style (which is totally in style again, now!)
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And John, whom we unfortunately tortured growing up. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family!!!
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More girl cousins and aunts, we are for sure a family of girls!
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Lindsey is just a few weeks behind me. Janna's jealous she doesn't have a huge belly like us!
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Yes, this is the close up of that awesome bum shot of Taylor. Good thing I put these white shorts under her dress, because it looked like this most of the day! :)
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Mine, Alicia's and Lori's daughters: Taylor, Janell and Macy. The funny thing about this picture is that they are sitting in the order of age, Taylor being the youngest! :) She has always been the biggest of the three of them, and Janell is a few months older than Taylor and Macy a few months older than her! Cute cute little girls! 2nd generation mini-me's.
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