Muddy Buddies

Sean and I had the messiest date ever. We completed our first of many 5K mud runs.
I would highly recommend completing this challenge with your hubbies. It was an adventure date like no other date the past 8 years!

The gang pre-mud...
(me squinting-the sun it was a little too bright.)

The gang post-mud with the exception if Phil.
He's the real runner out of the bunch that was finishing the 10K.

Living it up at the Lake

We kinda tagged along with my sister and her family to Lake Mead.
Who wouldn't? We had an unforgettable weekend!

Here's the Mower's (my sis's fam) and their awesome boat.

Here's my bro's little family. We were blessed with their presence before they moved to Hawaii.
Yes Hawaii! Robby's finishing school there while Courtney is teaching Natalie how to get a tan.

Brookie Love was in heaven with her cousins and swimming around with her new Ariel floaties.

Spanky got a little extra fiber on the shore. He especially loved hanging out with Daddy all weekend.

Some Q.T.

Tanner couldn't have been more happy to hang with his cousin Ethan AKA "Beef" all weekend.
They have a love/hate relationship. It's actually very sweet.

The cage...where the 3 youngest of the bunch hung out so the mom's could relax for a minute.

Some quality Brookie Love time!

Making family memories is the bomb!
Thanks Heather and Rob for letting us join the fun!
xoxo

Anything to make this Little Sugar Happy!

I couldn't have been more shocked that 10 months ago I had to drastically change my diet so that this little one could eat. It was one of those sacrifices that a person just goes along with and survives some how.

Eating is becoming enjoyable again. If fact I thoroughly appreciate food.

I can once again eat gluten products, nut products, citrus fruits, egg products, and a little corn, dairy and soy products.

The most exciting foods I've reintroduced to my diet are...
OJ with breakfast
I had cheese in a Miguel's burrito
Chips and Guac from Chipotle
Turkey sandwiches with mayo and normal white bread
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Cookies, cookies and more cookies...

Kaden loves to eat just like me and smiles tons when doing so.
His little body has made a lot of progress the past two months.
He refuses to eat baby food anymore. He loves to eat real food. He can now digest Pinto, Black, Refried and Garbanzo Beans. Potatoes, Yams, Carrots, Rice, Oat Bread, Oatmeal, Chicken, plain Pasta, Peaches, Banana, Honey Dew Melon and Watermelon. :)

Kaden is such a trooper. I am so happy he's growing out of all his food intolerance's.

My Simple Joys...

Tanner saw a herd of cows in a cluster. With excitement, he said, " Mom I know what the cows are doing! They are having a baby party! " I assured him that he must be right. Last year we were at a strawberry stand next to a dairy. About twenty feet away from our car, a cow had just given birth to a calf. So Tanner and I talked about the placenta and how the Mommy cleans off the calf and how cool it is that the calf learns to walk right away. It was so sweet that Tanner thought all the cows celebrate babies like when we have baby showers.

Brookie was blessed with curly hair. I on the other hand wasn't. When I recently curled my hair, Brookie was so happy and said, "Mommy you have curly hair like me now!" I told her I only wish I had curly hair like her.
She was so genuinely happy that our hair looked similar. I love you sugar!

Kaden says a couple words now. Dada, Momma, Daw (Dog), T-T-T.. for (Tanner) and Uh-oh! We love to hear his sweet voice developing. Also Kaden loves to climb up the stairs over and over as fast as he possibly can. I love that Tanner and Brooklyn can help shadow him during this eventful exercise.

After giving the prayer the other day, Tanner asked , "Heavenly Father doesn't need to close his eyes when we pray to him right? Probably not Tanner." So then when we die, will we be able to keep our eyes open in heaven too?" Let's wait and see Tanner. " Well are bugs resurrected after they die?" I love how his little mind is always analyzing.

Tanner and Brookie like to point out every smoker that we drive past. They understand that smokers can be great people but that they make bad choices. Recently when they brought it to my attention, Tanner said, " Did you know smoking makes your body rusty." He further explained how smoking makes your body get old. I think he got this idea from watching the movie "Robot's".

Brooklyn loves to play dress up. When she has a friend or cousin over to play, she likes to pick out what they get to wear. If her friend's don't want to dress up she comes and tells me " She won't wear the princess dress when I told her to!" Brookie has a lot to learn.

Tanner likes to help Brooklyn say her prayer's. She of course doesn't think she needs any help. He points out imperfections in her prayers. He often reminds me that even though she doesn't always make sense that Heavenly Father understands her.

Kaden can't get enough of Daddy. When he hears his voice on the cell phone he goes nuts! When Daddy walks in the door he isn't content until he's in Daddy's arms, and when he's tired he loves Daddy to rock him while he lays on his shoulder.

Fish are Friends, not Food!

Daddy planned a little weekend getaway for us. Recently we stayed in Long Beach at the Westin and got 4 complimentary tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Daddy finds the best deals!
We celebrated that Tanner is starting Kindergarten soon. I'm hopeful that Tanner gets more excited about going to school.

Surprisingly Tanner loved touching the sharks and rays.

Kaden loved being outside, pulling off his hat and checking out the water.

Kaden wrestling to get down as usual.
(I had to use the picture though it's out of focus.)

Cooling off a bit. Poor Kaden was coveting Tanner and Brookie's ice cream. Poor guy.

Brooklyn's typical pose for the camera!

Brookie thought this orange fish was Nemo. I was happy she thought that because we couldn't find a clown fish anywhere. She was clapping trying to get Nemo's attention.
She told him "It's okay, I'll help you find your Daddy." Apparently she thinks he's still lost.

It was an unforgettable weekend for sure!

Mommy Date's are the Best

Last month I surprised Tanner with a Mommy Date. You can never go wrong spoiling one of your children with individual time. We got some snacks and hiked up a hill at 6th st and Hamner in Norco. It was awesome. Seeing how I was never a scout, I hadn't thought about snake season. There were tons of snake holes. We hiked extra fast. Luckily we were safe and didn't see any.

As you can see Tanner was more than happy that afternoon.

He was on top of the world!
I love listening his thoughts and feelings. It's rare that we can have uninterrupted conversations during the day. What a treasure!

Tanner took this picture of me. I had to document that I was actually there.
(It's extra small because I didn't look to cute.)

Tanner I had a great time with you Son- I can't believe you are starting kindergarten soon. :(
I'm looking forward to our next adventure together!
xoxo

Grandpa's Touch

Grandpa McMullin helped Grandma watch the 3 kids while we attended the temple recently. When we arrived home, this is what we found.

Little did Grandpa know he had the prefect skills to keep Kaden asleep. It was so sweet to come home to see them together. Now that we know Grandpa is so good with Kaden, he might be in trouble!

Kadster's not so little anymore

Boys will be boys! Kaden's not so little anymore. Can you see him fighting back?

It's been down hill in the crib ever since Kaden learned to pull up! He used to lay down with a pacifier and not make a peep. The past two months have looked a little like this. He also decided that the pacifier wasn't so helpful after all. I guess we don't have to worry about weaning him from the paci.

We are blessed that Lil'Joe transfers sleeping from the car seat to the stroller and visa versa when we are out and about. That does happen quite often seeing how he is our third.

I had to capture his precious peaceful slumber. I can't resist kissing him when he's asleep.

Kade isn't quite walking but he is busier than ever. He loves climbing in this cupboard. He walks along anything and pushes the kitchen chairs around. His favorite trick is to to climb up all the stairs as fast as possible.

It's so rewarding watching Kaden light up when Daddy comes home. He already compete's for his attention. Kaden often repeats Da-Da a dozen times. Often Kaden doesn't even want to come to Me :( when he's with his Daddio! It's so sweet. Daddy is a hot comodity in our home.