sully turns FOUR

last friday, sully turned four years old. we took him out for donuts when he woke up. nothing like sprinkles to get the day started.

speaking of sprinkles, sully (with a little push from tagg) requested an ice cream party for his birthday.

i have been waiting for an excuse to purchase acrylic ice cream cone holders so i didnt mind the theme request. 

"uhhhhh, mom. hate to tell you this. but i dont think thats going to work." tagg, when he saw me start to put together the ice cream cone pinata. so there, tagg.

birthday boy (we had to call him that for the entire "birthday" week!) enjoying his cone.

why is he so cute?

ice cream cone holders!

getting ready to take the first swing.

sully and his little friends.

mini ice cream cone sugar cookies for the favor packages.

favors.

we looooooove our birthday boy.

HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY to our sully putty. he is sweet, smart, a sports whiz, a great cuddler and an amazing sharer. craig, tagg and i are very lucky to have him.

san diego to celebrate tucker's return

we spent last week in southern california with our family to celebrate tucker's return from his mission. the boys love any excuse to play at aunt brooke's pool.

tagg, sully and i went a few days early so we could claim our favorite room. :) the first night we roasted marshmallows, had smores and played with pete (until tagg's allergies got the best of him and brooke had to run and get benadryl).

before the boys went to bed we played in the (medium temperatured) hot tub.

the following day, everyone  arrived. poooooool party.

that evening we all went down to old town to visit the mormon battalion center and have dinner. i love old town.

during the tour through the battalion center, i volunteered craig to dress up like a soldier. its only fitting since lot smith (one of the leading soldiers in the battalion) is his grrrrrrrrrrreat grandpa. the boys were mesmerized.

family picture. of the five of us. ha!

the next day we played at la jolla shores. the boys loved searching for sand crabs with craig and my dad. tagg and sully tried boogie boarding for their first time and they were naturals!

later that night we went to fashion valley to shop and have dinner at stacked. eli (my cousin on the right) was in pure heaven.

my boys were pretty pleased too. tagg had so much shake in his mouth he couldnt give me a proper smile.

and sully was too preoccupied with his shake to even try.

group shot.

the next day we went down to sea world. i was a little conflicted about the sea world situation after seeing the documentary, blackfish. but i guess not too conflicted. sully loved the shark exhibit.

we went to dolphin show and sat in the last row of the splash zone. we live dangerously like that.

shamuuuuuuuuu

that night we went to oscars. best breadsticks on the planet. i love this shot of sully and grace. so sweet.

and then i jumped in and sully wasnt feeling it anymore. and thats one disturbing photobomb!

then we went back to brookes house and enjoyed the pretty evening.

smores again!

the next day we went up to orange county. the waves were really intense but so beautiful. i felt like we were in hawaii.

intense wave.

my boys are so happy to have tucker back.

who doesnt love laguna?

because after a great day at the beach you get to hop on over to the best restaurant, javiers.

it was a wonderful week. spending quality time with family and celebrating tucker and his mission. 

elder short returns

my youngest brother, tucker, returned home from his two year lds mission to las vegas a couple weeks ago. its a tradition to make fun posters for the airport to welcome the returning missionary. this was my attempt to recreate the infamous las vegas sign.

the nervous little guy coming up the escalator and seeing us for the first time in TWO years!

my boys were so excited to see uncle kucker.

taylor and rachelle got married while tucker was gone so this is the first shot of our complete family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

two prrrrrrroud parents.

the originals.

that night, tucker came over to watch his first movie. he lasted about 45 minutes. apparently being an elder for two years does not make one a night owl. :)

the following sunday tucker gave his homecoming talk in sacrament meeting. he did such a wonderful job. we are all so incredibly proud of his hard work over the past two years and cannot wait to see what his future holds.

crafting at girls camp

a few months ago i was asked to be craft lady at girls camp this summer. i was a wee bit apprehensive about saying 'yes' (a. i dont like to camp b. im pregnant. and c. i dont like to camp) but when megan said she would come with me to help i figured it was doable. :) the morning we arrived, we set up the craft supplies for that day and decorated our craft shack.

amy joined us as the third crafteteer and we couldnt have done it without her. it was quite the party.

the nail station all set up for the girls. needless to say, i kept trying to color coordinate the polishes and the girls kept messing them up. silly girls. dont you know a nail polish station at camp should be organized and pretty?!

i set up the tent all by myself. a very proud moment.

our crafts went really well the first day. and afterwards the three of us snuck off to taco time, floated down the river and almost broke the tire swing.

and later that night, after the girls' skits, there was a mini dance party on stage. we danced for a minute until we felt like the girls were all thinking "why are these old (and some pregnant) moms dancing with us?". and then we got off the stage and went to bed.

the following morning was another craft session. the girls loved the tshirt headbands and pom pom earrings. i loved having grace/sophie at camp. always fun to have a familiar face around.

overall, a pretty fun 36 hours. im glad its over but im glad it happened. and i love my besties for coming along and making the experience that much more fun.

independence day 2014

we had a super fun and super busy fourth of july this year. i have decided it is my new favorite holiday. friends, family, food, fun, fireworks. kind of doesnt get better.

we started off the day with the bothell parade. craig's parents had set our chairs for us FOUR days in advance so we could have a great view of tagg and sully coming down the line with their festive bikes! it was very exciting to see them be a part of the parade.

after the parade, we went back home to make to treats to bring to our friends' pool party. these are my new obsession: homemade whoopie pies. taste EXACTLY like hostess suzy-qs.

i wouldnt let the boys touch the whoopie pies until we got to the pool so sully enjoyed one of his red white and blue popsicles instead.

after the pool and before we headed to the big fireworks show, the boys lit up some tanks and flowers.

this is the second year that we have gone to a local golf course to watch fireworks with our friends. their firework show is perfection. no crowds, easy parking, free glow sticks and what seems like five different grand finales. love it!

such a fun day with my boys.

the morning after. after the golf course, we came back home and put on a fireworks show of our own with family and friends. by that point, tagg and sully were zombies but nothing was going to keep them from the party. fourth of july is the best.