Hello Summer.

Technically the calendar hasn't declared it to be Summer yet, but I think it's safe to greet it early. It's hot, school is out, road construction is in full swing, and BBQs are a plenty! This past week/weekend we did our part to welcome in Summer with a picnic in the park and back-to-back BBQs.

Late in the week the boys and I joined Carrie, Archer, and Joy for some top secret Dad's Day gift making which we followed up with a picnic lunch at Sugarhouse Park. Despite the hot temps, we found a nice shady spot under a tree and enjoyed some face time with each other.



Ben has been trying his had at picture taking lately. The only photos from our picnic were the ones he took.

I love Ben's shot of the coolest picnic blanket ever! I so need to make one of these.

The boys and I headed to the Bruhn backyard the following evening for some tasty kebobs and a fruit-tastic pitcher of Sangria. Yum! Joy came over with Courtney, Josh, and a recovering Ulli. It was just a super chill, relaxing evening with some of my favorite people.

There are not enough words to describe how stinkin' cut I think this boy is! Love him!

The following day Zach did some cute harassing and scored us an invite to Jonas' house for dinner. There are very few days when I don't hear frequent requests from Ben and Zach to visit Jonas. It doesn't even matter if we just visited him the day before. They'll ask, and ask, and ask when we're going back. I'm so glad that they have as good of a friend in Jonas as I do in his mom!  Brandi prepared us a delicious meal, which was followed up by a water balloon fight amongst the boys, and some pie later on. It was a treat that Darius was off from work that night and was able to join us.

I knew during the hour + time I spent filling water balloons that they would be gone in minutes...about 2-1/2. It was all worth it! Ben handed me balloons and kept telling me that he loved me as I filled them, and it was lots of fun to watch the boys launch them at each other.

We're very grateful and extremely happy to have family and friends with grills...especially when they're nice enough to have us over!

Thank you BBQ hosts, we love you!

Birthdays & Banana Peel

It's January and that means lots of birthdays! I love it! Carrie kicked off the month and enjoyed a quiet day at home with her new little guy. I would have gladly spent the entire day with her, but my gross little boys were still off limits from Archer...and I totally get it now why little kids shouldn't have much contact with babies. For example, as I sit here and write this, Ben is next to me on the couch with his big toes (yes, both of them) in his mouth. The list of other gross things they do is long....they lick things which have no business being licked, they chew their toenails, stick their hands down their pants and then sniff/and or lick them, dig around in their noses and lick their boogers or wipe them on things. Little boys are gross!

The following week was full of birthdays...five of them! Celebrating were my siblings Eric and Michel; niece and nephew, Karissa and Ian; and my very dear friend, Brandi. I had plans to make Brandi a cake and thought she would be busy most of the day, so I was only planning on a quick visit to drop it off to her. I was happy that I got a little more than a quick visit.

The boys and I met up with Brandi and her three men at Jump Around a/k/a the Banana Peel which is where her oldest, Ian, works. When I told the boys where we were going, Ben kept asking me when we were headed to the Banana Peel. It took us a while to get it out of him, but apparently Ben calls it that because there's a huge jumping pillow there that he thinks is slippery like a banana peel.

Brandi and I enjoyed a little birthday breakfast and a nice visit while the boys had fun being boys! I loved the opportunity to spend part of her day with her. There was a time several years back when we had lost touch with each other, and it feels wonderful to have her back in my life! She's a wonderful friend, and is such a positive influence in my life.

There are more birthdays coming up...my brother James celebrates this month as well as a delightful little girl who will be turning one. The boys and I are excited to be heading out to Florida next week to celebrate Emma's first birthday with her family and friends.

To each of you with a birthday this month, Happy Birthday! What better way to kick off a new year each year than with so many beautiful individuals starting a new year themselves! Love and best wishes to each of you for a wonderful year, and many more happy and healthy returns!

"Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone." - Gladys Browyn Stern

The last couple of weeks have been stressful and delivered us blow after blow of unexpected crap to deal with. It happens, and I know we're not the only ones who struggle. Despite our less than desirable situation and what we may not have, I'm still acutely aware of how much we do have, and I'm grateful for those things. For those people who have listened and offered their love and support, thanks so much.

It's hard to focus in on the great stuff sometimes when we're worried about finding solutions to deal with the challenges we're facing, but we have two great reminders that greet us each morning with smiles on their faces, and they're the best form of motivation to keep us going.

To all our friends and family we may not have reached out to this past week, we hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and the people you shared your day with. We're grateful for each of you, and to the Bruhn & Canfield families/members we shared our day with, thank you! We enjoyed a relaxing day with great people.

And to my family (specifically my husband) I'm blessed for each day we have with each other. I have not shown you that gratitude and support lately and I'm sorry for any hurt that may have caused you. We're a team and that's what I signed up for 5 years ago, and it's team JD-RA-BD-ZM for life. Love you.

Pre-Thanksgiving day of fun was spent with Bea and her handsome boys. Ben and Zach had loads of fun with their friends Jonas and Damon, I was treated to my annual haircut and other assorted goodies, and we wrapped it up with feeding the birds at Sugarhouse Park. LOTS of birds! (Thanks for the photo and awesome day Bea!)

Post-Thanksgiving Day fun continued at Carrie & Bobby's house (my memory card was missing in camera on T-Day). We helped put together Archer's room and their Christmas Tree. Ben organized his bulbs like he organizes everything else...tight and in a line.

Zach mostly followed Uncle Bobby and Skoog around but got in on a little tree fun.

 

Big Mouth, Big Head

Time runs out much too quick when visiting with a good friend....at least on my end anyway. I wouldn't be too surprised if my exits were welcomed.

I'll explain.

I know I have faults at verbal conversations...several. I tend to ramble and easily stray off subject. As quickly as I intend to make a story, it just never works out. I can't always get out the right words I'm looking for, and I know I tend to interrupt people so that I can squeeze in another string of random thoughts I feel relate to the conversation (so rude). I know all these faults I have, and I can't tell you how many times I've stepped outside myself during conversations and silently screamed at myself to just shut up. I'm baffled why people can tolerate talking to me.

So this was the case again today. I got together with my good friend Brandi, and I found myself unable to heed my warnings. I guess the only thing I can possibly say in my defense is that there just wasn't enough time to talk about all that I wanted with her, so I just let spill out of my mouth whatever my crazy brain could generate. Maybe it was a good thing our time was limited. If I had to talk to me for a lengthy period of time, I might find myself wanting to bang my head against the wall. I seriously need a filter installed which limits my ability to talk more than what's necessary.

So now that that's all out of the way, I had a wonderful time "visiting" with my friend today. I love being around Brandi. I feel at home when I'm around her, and I can talk about anything with her, which I do a little too much. Ben and Zach absolutely loved playing with Jonas and Damon's toys. When I asked Zach to tell his aunts what toys he played with, he excitedly told them about the excavator, cement truck, and trains. I knew Jonas wasn't used to the boys' manner of playing and sharing all his stuff with 2 extra sets of hands, but he did so well with them and was super kind.

I forgot to take pictures until we were all ready to head out the door...maybe next time I'll remember to talk a little less and snap a little more.

Ben, Zach, and the top of Damon's adorable head.

Ben and Jonas

I tend to forget what a large head I have until I take a picture with someone with a normal-sized one.

Brandi, Damon, and Jonas: Thanks again for lunch and the lovely visit! We had an awesome time and wished we could have had more time with you. Thanks for making time for us with your busy schedule, and Brandi, sorry for talking your ear off. Feel free to tell me to zip it next time when I get out of control!