Sam's Blessing Day

Sam was blessed on July 4th. We waited a few months so my family could be here. It was a great day in the middle of a great weekend. We came home from the reunion on Saturday, blessed Sam on Sunday and did all of the 4th of July celebrations on Monday (post to come). Wow! Just remembering it makes me tired.

This picture sums up the kids' thoughts on the matter. They were pretty much on overload by this point. Zac was itching to get his Sunday clothes off; Sariah was loving all the family time; Brook did not want her picture taken again; Ally just wanted to get back to playing with cousins. Thanks for your patience, guys.

We are grateful to the family who made an effort to share our special day.





We all crowded into our house for dinner after church. It was quite the party, literally. The tattoo parlor up the street from our house decided to hold an outdoor concert in the parking lot. Our street was lined with cars and we were serenaded (if you can call it that) from about 5-10 pm. Most of the lyrics involved screaming; not my favorite. It was LOUD. I was really worried that it would last all night. Good thing it didn't because we needed to be up bright and early the next morning. We love our Sam and can't imagine our family without him.

Wolf Creek

At the end of June we had a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. My Aunt Kathy hooked us up with some condos in Wolf Creek. It was great fun. I loved the time to visit with extended family. We swam in the pool, played games, watched movies and thoroughly enjoyed being a family. One morning we drove to a nearby ranch to do some horseback riding.

Brook was a little nervous. We had originally told her we were going to do pony rides. No doubt she was picturing little pink ponies with glittering tails. The real thing was a bit of a shock. Good thing Grandma was there to save her.


Zac, on the other hand, was thrilled about a chance to ride a real pony. He hopped right up, listened to the instructions and took to it like a pro. The trainer that helped the kids was wonderful. She was very patient (as was the pony) and helped them all have a great experience. Zac loved it so much, he talked us into letting him go on a longer trail ride. He felt very grown up to be with the big boys.

Ally wanted to try it, too. But up close that horse is a lot taller than it seems. She had a death grip on my shoulder. What a sweetheart. Don't we all get a little nervous about the reality of life?

While my family was here for the reunion we made other great memories. One of my favorites was watching Uncle Brian meet Sam. He was so good with Sam. He gave Sam a bath one night he stayed with us. Sam was not to sure about it but Brian loved it. I always marvel at the connection people have with babies. There is a purity and innocence we are all drawn to.

Another great outing was to the baseball game. We actually celebrated Dad's birthday by going to see Toy Story 3. Then we grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the ball field. The kids loved it, except for the movie which scared Ally a little. (She has actually instructed us not to ever buy the movie.) After the pre-game warm-up, one of the players tossed the ball they were using over the fence to Zac. It made his night. It was a very hot evening, but they were all troopers. Once the sun went down, the kids went wild. They had a great time running all over the grass playing catch and rolling down the hill. After the game, they let the kids on the field to run the bases. It was a great night and they slept like rocks.

Friend Party

While our backyard was all torn up, we appeased the kids by promising a big "friend party" when the yard was put back together. We set up the swimming pool and the slip and slide. We handed out yummy treats and let them play to their hearts' content. Although I did not get any pics in the backyard, I could not resist posting the few I did snap, especially the one of Zac and his friend. I am so glad my kids have fun friends.



And although Brook did not get to invite a friend, she had a great time on her pink towel, stuffing her mouth full of Oreos; and she didn't even have to share.

The Great Wall of Anson

Our big project for the summer was putting a new retaining wall in our backyard. When we moved into this house nine years ago, there was a nice wall made from red cedar beams. It made a nice elevated garden spot, but it also grew a ton of weeds. Over time, the ties broke and in one spot the wall started to fall down. We thought of all different ways to fix it and even dreamed of tearing down the wall and building a new one further back, giving us more yard to play in. This spring and summer we were finally in the position to do just that.

We hired our neighbor to tear down the wall, excavate the dirt and haul it off. That was a huge project. We had toyed with the idea of renting equipment and doing it ourselves. I am so glad we didn't . He brought in a Bobcat and had it all done in a day. It would have taken us forever. Sometimes it is worth paying for the expertise of a professional. The kids liked watching the machine dig out the dirt, although they did not like watching their backyard disappear.


Believe it or not, we found these old tires buried in all the dirt. Maybe I should be surprised that this is all we found.

The next phase of the project was to build a new wall. We hired our neighbor to do that, too. Once he got the first layer set and level, it went up pretty fast. Each of the blocks weighs 80 lbs. Again, it was a lot of work that went much faster in the hands of an experienced professional.


After the wall was built, we took over. We leveled the ground and ordered the sod. We called Grandpa and he came over for a "sod" party. They worked hard and had it done in one evening.
Of course, they had a few "helpers."




This is the picture that tells it all. Joseph and Dad were exhausted at the end of the evening. We ordered pizza and Dad took his with a few Ibuprofen. They were too tired to bother with sitting at the table. Thanks for all your hard work. After the sod was down, we had to water and wait. It was so hard for the kids to see the new green grass and not be able to play on it. They were very patient. And where was I during this whole project, you may ask? Most of the time I was feeding a baby. However, I did make a contribution. I spent a great deal of time online searching classifieds for a used swing set to put in our new backyard. (Joseph teases me that I was obsessed with my search. I probably was. It was almost addicting.) Our old set was breaking anyway and now we had much more room. In fact, moving the wall almost doubled our space. After weeks of looking, my efforts paid off. Thanks to some amazing friends with a flat-bed truck, we were able to pick up a swing set, haul it to our house, and have it set up, all in one day. The kids love it and Joseph was thrilled that it was already put together.





The best part? It even has a picnic table that Mom lets them eat lunch on. Could life be any better? I am so glad they have a fun place to play. I love to hear the swings going and the giggles. They have already had great adventures and I look forward to many more in the summers to come.

Bunny Day

As per tradition, all the cousins gathered at Grandma's house for the Bunny Day Easter egg hunt. This is a greatly anticipated event that is always fun.

All the kids waited upstairs while Grandpa and the big boys hid the eggs. While we waited, Grandma had Easter jewelry for the girls and lizards for the boys. They loved them.


When the eggs were ready, the kids got to take off in waves. First up, Brook and Benjamin. Can't you see the uncontainable excitement?

Then came the girls; they at least knew what was going on.

Last up, the Easter ninja. It is a good thing we gave the others a head start. In the end they all came away with plenty of candy and all of Grandpa's pocket change. He likes to hide both in the eggs. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa for another great Bunny Day. I love this tradition. It lets us do all the Easter basket fun and leaves Sunday for us to focus on the Savior.

On Sunday the girls were adorable in their new dresses. Thanks to my sewing skills, which are quite limited, I turned Sariah's jumper (which was too short) into a skirt so they could all match.

Joesph and Zac had fun in their matching ties. I am grateful to know that Easter is more than new clothes and baskets filled with candy. One of my favorite Easter thoughts says, "There would be no Christmas had their not been Easter." How true. We celebrate His birth at Christmas because we know the significance of His life, a life that He gave for us so we might all live again.

Brook's Big Day

Finally, I am getting around to playing catch up on the blog. Brook turned 3 at the end of April. It was a big day at our house. I was especially excited since that morning I had a doctor's appointment where I got to schedule my induction for Sam. The end was in sight and Brook and Sam would each get their own birthday. Whew!

Poor Brook waited all day for her party, hence the beautiful hairdo. It was cute in the morning. She insisted on wearing her pony dress that is a little too small, but hey, it was her birthday. She also wanted a Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake. Thanks to my amazing sisters, it turned out fabulous and Brook was thrilled. Laura and Katy were here for a visit and she volunteered to try out her new found fondant skills. It took us all day but we had fun (despite a few mishaps and "frosting words.") We worked so hard it was a bit depressing to cut it and eat it all up in the same day. Thanks, Laura and Emily. On a side note, we loved having Laura and Katy here. I wish we would have taken pictures of the kids together. They loved their cousin time. The only thing that could have made the visit better was if Sam had cooperated. Laura dearly wanted to be here for his arrival. We all thought she would be, but as it turned out, she missed it by one day! She seriously considered changing her tickets so she could stay. Her wonderful husband, Donny, even told her she could. (That is not a typo. I called Donny wonderful, and I meant it. Thanks for taking such good care of my sister.) In the end, she needed to get back home. We understand and can't wait for her to meet Sam in person.




So, back to Brook. She got some fun presents including a pink bat from her brother, a Strawberry Shortcake coloring book from Sariah, a Hot Wheels car from Ally, a Polly Pocket from us (the exact same one Ally has, now they don't fight over it. For some reason, they named her Noni. Beats me), and lots of other good stuff. Laura, Katy, Emily and Chris were all there to help us celebrate. We celebrated with the Ansons a little early since Grandma and Grandpa were out of town on her birthday. It was a long, but good day for all of us. I love my blondie girl and look forward to another year full of adventures. Happy Birthday, Brookie Cookie!

For Aunt Amy

Dear Aunt Amy,

Now that my mom has finally downloaded a summer's worth of pictures, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. She's a little behind on the blog, and since she feeds me well and snuggle time is great, I thought I'd help her out. As you have heard, I am growing up way too fast. I am a happy kid and my the whole family competes for "Sam smiles." I hand them out like candy so it keeps everyone happy.

I am settling into a pretty good routine. I'm a great sleeper and I like to snuggle down for a nap, just like a few of the other guys at home.


I have a huge fan club. My cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents pretty much adore me. Who can blame them? My new cousin, Hannah, is pretty cute herself. They all dote on her, too.




I have learned a few new tricks. I can roll onto my tummy. Yep, I can roll all 18 pounds of me. Up until yesterday, I could get onto my tummy but not off. So after I was done with tummy time, I would have to call and call until someone came to my rescue. But, no more. Yesterday morning I finally learned to flip myself back over. Life is good.

Yesterday I also got my first taste of the good stuff -- baby food. Dad fed me carrots. I inhaled them. I've already tried rice cereal and I can down a bowl like nobody's business. All I have to say is keep it coming. I've had lots of other fun milestones and adventures that Mom will get around to blogging one of these days. She's just so busy taking care of me. (This is the part where I should probably say that she is pretty much the best mom ever). I can't wait to meet you at Thanksgiving! Say hi to Uncle David, Caleb and Jacob for me.

Love,

Sam