Est. April 13, 2013

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July

We kicked July off with a super fun day date, and ever since I've been convinced that day dates are the way to go.
Some friends from our ward that live a minute or two away from us invited us to go riding up in Kelly Canyon. Taylor was so excited to get on a bike again, and I'll admit that I was too.
The scenery was so pretty, and a motorcycle ride is one of the best ways to take it in.
We followed some trails, got a little lost, and rode through a small river. 
Trevor peeked around the trail, thought it didn't look too deep, and took off through it.
Once we were all on the other side we discussed how it was way deeper than we thought-like up to our knees. It seemed even worse on the way back through. It was a good thing that Taylor is an experienced trail rider because we ended up going through some really rocky and hard trail.
All of the surprise terrain ended up making the adventure SO much fun! 
We're dying to get Taylor a bike, so we can go again as soon as possible.

Our ward had a little barbecue one evening to celebrate something probably? Again what I get for blogging so many months later.
I do remember that the food was so tasty!
Hudson enjoyed playing with his little friends, and he loved having the big field to run in. 
On the way home we stopped by the Jorgenson's to drop something off (?) and these two little monkeys kept themselves entertained while we were there.

Sunday festive wear before a holiday is my favorite!
These two loved riding in the wagon to church every Sunday during the summer.
The Fourth of July was so much fun! 
We started the day off at the city's parade.
Rebekah and Emily got us a great spot in the shade to watch the parade from while they participated in the Firecracker 5K. We were in the shade for all but that last 20ish minutes which was so nice.
The truth behind the perfect picture that gets posted on social media.
Hudson was a huge fan of the parade.
He came home with plenty of candy, coupons, and a balloon.
The parade absolutely wore Ella out.
She fell asleep so fast on the way home, and she has never been one to easily fall asleep in the car.
We spent the day playing outside, enjoying each other's company, and celebrating our great country,
We swam in the pool in our backyard, barbecued, played with sparklers, and enjoyed a few games or corn hole.
At some point in the afternoon we wandered over to the Bushes.
We let the boys play with some sparklers and poppers, and clearly they entertained themselves playing with each other.
Carly and I just happened to buy the same shirts for the boys for the Fourth of July.
They were the most adorable little twins.
After a late nap for Ella we went to the Snake River Landing for the fireworks.
We each got a sno cone, and then sat on the grass across from a small pond to watch the fireworks. 
We loved the new location for the event!
It was so much fun, and we were glad that we made the effort to go.
Sitting in the car for forever in a parking lot waiting to get out so we could go home wasn't our favorite thing ever, but it was still worth it.

Taylor's grandparents came up from Arizona to visit for a few days Unfortunately, living an hour and a half from Taylor's parents and where they were staying didn't leave us much time to visit with them. We had the chance to drive down to Grace the Saturday that they were there, and the kids loved it. 
I was impressed with how well Ella warmed up to her great grandparents. She really isn't a fan of anyone except Taylor and I, so we were thrilled that she let them hold her.

Cute little girlies while we were apparently over at the Bushes one day.
All I can think about while looking at this picture is that Ella has gotten more hair since July.

Cow Appreciation Day has to be in our top ten days of the year.
This year's did not disappoint.
I couldn't miss the opportunity to make this shirt for Hudson.

'Repping the family business in his 1st Choice Security Technologies shirt :) 
The phone and the cooler were the only way to get him to sit still long enough for a picture.


After our ward's pioneer breakfast we went the the Blue Angels air show.
It was kind of a last minute decision to attend, but Taylor got a free ticket from work, so we figured we might as well go. 
Hudson loves airplanes. He liked getting to be up so close to different airplanes.
We had watched the airplanes turn around over our house for a few days prior to the show, but it was way cooler to be right under all the action and not just catching a few seconds of them.
Hudson got some stickers from some army guys, and we decided to be nice and get him a little airplane. He still flies that plane around regularly.
Not a tree or any bit of shade from clouds in sight which made us super extra grateful for our super brella. There's no way we would have survived watching the show without it.
It was HOT that day. We promptly jumped in the pool once we got home. 

The highlight of the day for Hudson just might have been seeing this Lightening McQueen car. 
A local guy owns him so we see the car around town every now and then.

Cute naughty boys during sacrament meeting at church.
How can you even yell at them when they're so dang cute?!

This little boy took a LOVING to his bike this summer.
He would go and go and go, and most of the time we would have to force him to stop riding it. 
He started in the spring needing to have his feet strapped to his pedals, and by July he became a pro and didn't need the straps anymore.

Hudson gave the truck a wash one Saturday afternoon.
Did I mention we bought a new truck?! Because we did.
After trading in our Journey we no longer had a vehicle that had 4 wheel drive.
This wasn't the end of the world, but then we found out that Taylor's little Dakota had quite a few problems and it wasn't worth it to us to put the money into it that it needed. So, we sold it for cheap and bought a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500.
Taylor is in love with it, and I'll admit that it is really nice to have a nicer truck and the 4 wheel drive has come in handy.

Bike rides at the Snake River Landing became a weekly occurence during the summer. 
Every Sunday after church and naps we would load up the kids and the bikes and make our way to one of our favorite trails.
The kids absolutely loved it.

A trip to the library.
Hudson couldn't wait to read his new books! 
He climbed in the van while I was getting Ella in her seat, sat down on the floor, and started reading. 
It was absolutely adorable to see how excited he was. 

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June

We started the month off with the Idaho Falls' Temple rededication. 
Rebekah and Emily came down and watched our kids and the Bushes kids, so we could attend the dedication. The stories from them when we got back were amusing. We only left them with the four kids for about an hour, but they had their fair share of events in that time. 
We were so grateful to them for watching our crazy kids. The dedication was good, and we are so happy to have our temple back after just over 2 years of renovation.

These pictures on Ella and how small she was killll me. 
I can't believe how big she has gotten!
Anyway, splash pad fun!
We didn't get here too often thanks to at least one child napping all day long, but when we did both children were in heaven.
Hudson loved both the splash pad and the playground, and Ella loved hanging out in the shade with me.
Those cheeks!

I went to a LuLaRoe training in Wyoming.
I got to meet one of the founders and owners of LuLaRoe, and enjoyed a yummy dinner while we listened to some great training and advice.

Father's day 2017.
I made Taylor and Hudson's ties as well Ella's matching bow.
I'm pretty sure we did dinner with the Bushes that night, but I have no idea what we made. 
This is what I get for blogging about it 5 months later. 

We (mainly I) potty trained Hudson just shy of officially being 2.5 years old.
Taylor was home for the first few days of potty training (And by home I mean working at least 9-10 hours a day), and then he left on a work trip for a week. It only took Hudson a week and a halfish to fully master it. (We weren't concerned at all about naps and nighttime because he loves to go to bed with a drink) We told Hudson he could pick out almost any toy he wanted from Taylor's work. He couldn't decide between two different toys, but we convinced him to go for the slightly cheaper service truck.

Great Grandma Thomas, Aunt Sue, and Aunt Terri came to visit for a weekend.
We went out to dinner, walked the greenbelt, did some shopping, swam a little bit, made some shirts, and enjoyed each other's company. It was so great to see my Grandma again, and having her meet Ella for the first time. Hudson absolutely loves when people come to visit, so he was in heaven the whole time.
Grandma brought Ella's outfit on the right with her, and I'm pretty sure she gave us Ella's dress on the left a while ago.
Grandma Thomas brought this little cake pop making kit and recipe book with her, and Hudson was dying to make them the whole time they were here. 
We never had two seconds to make them until after they left, but they did not disappoint! :) 

If you didn't know where Hudson was in the backyard, there was a very good chance you'd find him in our little strawberry patch. Both of our kids are OBSESSED with fresh strawberries.

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Ella's First Year Video


One of my favorite parts of my kids turning one is getting to make their first year video.
Watching this makes me wonder what was so hard about Ella for the first 6 months of her life..
Maybe we should have recorded her colicky crying all day long haha. 

Happy birthday, baby girl!

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12 Months of Ella// Month 12

Weight: Almost 22 pounds

Height: 29.5 inches

Diapers: Size 3

Clothes: 12 months

Sleeping: Usually goes to bed a little after 7, but she is always in bed by 8. Lately she hasn't been waking up for the day until 8. Some days I'll hear her awake before 8, but she always goes back to sleep. Today she didn't wake up until after 9. She takes two 2ish hour naps at 10 and 2-3 depending on when she woke up and what not.

Eating: She drinks 6-8 ounces of straight out of the fridge whole milk when she goes to sleep. We're so happy about not having to warm it up for her. She's no longer on formula at all. She's gotten pickier with the food she eats. I made meatball marinara sliders with corn and olives and cheese for dinner the other day, and the only thing she ate was olives. She loves to drop her food off to the side of her high chair for us to sweep up later. Overall, she still loves food. Her favorites include waffles, strawberries, bananas, olives, pasta, and anything sweet.

Milestones: She walks all the time now, and it's been that way for a few weeks. She has gotten 3 teeth in the last month with the last one popping through 2 days ago. That means she has a grand total of 4 teeth. She does pretty good at copying sounds (mamama, dadada, bababa, etc), but she hasn't said any actual words yet.

Likes: All of her new toys from her birthday (she went from hardly ever playing with toys to playing with them all day long)/ sippy cups/ being held/ riding on the tractor with Hudson

Dislikes: Not getting enough attention/ being left alone/ being put in her car seat/ Hudson holding onto her so she can't move away from him/ Hudson taking her toys or any object from her

Personality: Ella has really become such a sweetheart this past month. She loves to be held, and will actually sit with you for a few minutes. If you're holding her and looking at something, she will turn and bend down so that her face is right in front of hers and you are looking at her. She is still super curious and most days she can be found wandering around the house to see what she can find. The sassy side of her is still very real and isn't going anywhere any time soon.


I truly can't believe that it is already time to be writing this update. You went from being so hard for the first 6 months of your life to the sweetest little girl. You bring so much joy to our little family. I will never get tired of watching you learn, grow, and explore the world. Happy birthday, little one!

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