This Week...

My parents came into to town, picked me and the boys up and took us to the Covered Bridge Festival in Indiana. During the Festival three towns host different boutiques for ten days. This is kind of like Swiss days but huge!!! They have one million people visit in ten days. They had all kinds of booths but mostly home decor. Along with this comes what my mom calls, "Carni food" and we tried it all. If you can fry it, they had it. We ate... corn dogs(only if they were hand dipped), fried mushroom, fried cheese, fried green tomatoes and fried corn fritters. We ate corn on the cob, chicken noodle soup and mash potatoes (I swear they fried the mashed potatoes) cookies and fresh squeezed lemonade. We were all sick at the end of the 2 days but we had so much fun.

We had to get a picture of McAllister's Bridge. They even spelled it the same way!
As we were driving up to the town my dad said."Oh my" (cause there were so many people) and then Mac copied him saying"Oh my bumpa" That was the phrase of the week, and we never got sick of it.
The festival was in the middle of no where. It was absolutely beautiful. With the fall leaves and the nice 75 degree weather.

Me and my mom took turns carrying this chunk around. Notice he's loosing his hair on his right side:(

Tuesday night we drove back to Lexington. Wednesday we went on a walk. It ended short because it was so hot (86*) am I making all you Utahans jealous? Then we took Drew out to lunch. We came back played and said our goodbyes. As my parents were leaving Mac fell off the porch into the bushes, for the second time you'd think he'd learn. He didn't get hurt but it was hilarious.
This time was hard saying goodbye. Mac was crying and screaming "no bye bye bumpa." I was ok knowing we'll see them over Thanksgiving but Mac didn't understand. He had so much fun with them and LOVES having his grandparents around. We can't wait to see you again, thanks for the fun visit.

Next...

Drew got Sworn in Today

Drew walking into the courtroom. When Mac saw Drew walk in he yelled Drew and started doing his big belly spooky laugh. Mac was really happy but hyper. He kept laughing and talking during the swearing in but it could have been worse. One little boy screamed and cried during it and had to be taken out. At least we made it through the whole thing.

All the lawyers getting sworn in. It's nice that Drew's so tall, you can't miss him.

Drew with the Judge

We tried to get a picture of the boys on the State capital stairs. This was our best attempt. Here are the others...

Mac turned 2!!!

Today Mac turned 2!!! I can't believe I have a child that is two. Weird! We invited some friends over. I asked Mac who he wanted and he said, "Josh, Me (Mia) and May (Mason) and Ses (Lex), funny I even asked cause he doesn't even know what was going on. So I made cookies, cupcakes and a football cake and invited the Hydes, Powells, Floyds and Reynolds over. It was fun to have some great friends over to help celebrate Mac's big day!

As soon as we started singing Mac covered his eyes and looked like he was going to cry.

Mac loved blowing out the candles. even when they were all blown out he kept blowing on the cake. Later when he was on the phone with the family and they asked what the cake was he just blew into the phone.
Mac opened a gift from the Floyds. He wouldn't rip it open, he just kept peeking into the hole on top.

Gray hanging out with Kels

The first picture is with Debbie jumping up and down behind the camera and the second is just Kev taking the picture. thanks Deb!
The Party Crew.... (sorry no pictures of the guys)

Reasons to Love Mac...

-he has the best laugh. It's kind of spooky but I love it.
-he has great taste in music. Most kids his age like groups like the doodle bops but he screams in the car until, Benny and the Jets (Elton John) or Heart of Gold (Neil Young) come on. When they finish he says "momma more." I'm quickly getting sick of these songs.
- He's smart... he's mimicking me now. Which I love cause he's learning new words everyday but I'm not a fan when he tells me to "sit" (I tell him to sit when he's in time out) orhe tells me to "go fast" or "no". He's quite bossy but I guess I'm to blame:)
-He tells me every time he poops.. "momma I poop" I think he's getting ready to be potty trained:(
-When Drew comes home from work, Mac wants me and Drew to sit by each other. When one of us gets up he cries or tells us to "sit." It's sweet how he wants both of us around him all the time.
-He loves GG. He hugs and kisses him all day long. I have been waiting for the jealousy to kick in but it hasn't shown it's face yet.
-At night when we put Mac to bed. He has to give us all kisses and as he goes up the stairs he blows us kisses and says, bye GG, bye Drew, bye Mom and bye to his toys. Tonight it was the football. Then when we put him in his crib he says "GG, mom, drew?" and we say we'll tell them good night. I love this nighttime ritual.


Mac is such a sweet boy. We can't wait to see what new things he's going to do this year. We love you Mac, you make life so much fun.

Raven Run...

First I should mention that Drew PASSED the BAR!!!! Next week he gets sworn in and will be an official lawyer! YAY!

Every year around Labor day we hike the short distance to the look out at Raven Run sanctuary. I think we keep hiking here for a couple of reasons: we can do it in an hour or two, it's not hard, it's beautiful but really it's for the picture. We have taken a picture in the same spot every time we hike here. I love how it shows how much our family has drastically changed in three short years. The first time we went, no children, not pregnant. We had just moved to Lexington. 2nd year, very pregnant just weeks before Mac was born. 3rd year, Mac was 11 months. Which leads us to yesterday... As long as we live in Lexington we will do our annual hike just for the picture even though they usually don't turn out:)

This year we went with the Powells. The way down was uneventful but the way back was another story. As we were hiking back up I pulled my camera out to take a picture. As I turned I somehow tripped and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I had Gray in the bjorn, luckily I had caught myself and Gray missed the ground by inches. The camera did hit the ground but as far as we can tell I'm the only one that got hurt. My knees and shins were cut up and my foot killed. I managed to hike the rest of the way out. Really, it was pretty embarrassing to trip but it hurt so bad I didn't care. Yesterday I laid around icing my swollen foot and kept the pills coming but yeah its still pretty painful. So for now I'm totally living it up. Drew is waiting on me hand and foot. It's pretty great:)

Gray did great. He slept most of the time. As I was loading him into the car he was being so giggly and the light was hitting him perfect. We love him so much!

Drew and I were talking tonight and as he was holding Gray he said, "Having two kids is not that much harder than one." I just laughed. He then quickly corrected himself and said,"Oh yeah,I guess it's different for you cause you're home with them all the time." I love having two boys close together but life is crazy. When I took Gray in for his check up the doctor kept laughing at me and said,"you have your hands full." I just laughed. He summed it up perfectly. I love my life and I know it's only going to get more crazy:)

PS... Conference weekend is the best! All week I was looking forward to hearing the Prophet and Apostles speak to us. I think with the way the economy is going and all the uncertainty around us, I was really wanting to hear from a prophet of the Lord. It was great. The talks on Faith and hope, unity and charity were exactly what I needed to hear. It reminded me what was important in life. Plus just hearing the announcement of 5 new temples adds to my testimony of this ever growing church. A temple in Rome! I teared up. What a blessing for those Italian saints to have a temple!

Journal post and S'mores

Mac loves the play room. When me and Drew go up there to play with him he gets so excited and pulls all his books and toys out. He wont let us put anything away while he's in the room. We have to wait until he's asleep to clean. If we try to leave he says "sit."

Mac has been talking a lot. His 2 favorite words are... frog (sounds like the "F" word) and GG (Gray). I love that he came up with this name for Gray on his own even if it does sound like an old Italian women's name.
The other day Mac was playing with a paper towel roll and got his hands stuck. Me being the mean mom I am, took a picture first, instead of helping him:)
Mac still LoVeS his blanket. He takes it everywhere, he even eats with it. He finds the corner and just smells and he relaxes, it's an all natural fix. Lately I haven't been letting him take it out of the house. So when I tell him to "leave the blanket." He grabs the corner and takes one big breath in and drops it. Pretty weird but cute.

Gray just went for another check up. Yes, I was only a month late getting him his 2 month check up. It's a long story, I'm just glad I LOVE this Dr!Gray weighed 16 lbs and 7 ounces (82%) and 26.5 inches long (95%). Despite him being a stubborn nurser he is still growing and healthy.







The other week I was on the phone with my mother in law when these baby squirrels came out of no where. Cute but a little scary. See, they're not afraid of humans yet. So they kept following me. One waited for me at our front door for hours. Well, Drew was doing yard work the next day and found all five of them dead. It would have been more sad but there are way too many squirrels out here. They're kind of a nuisance.

The other night we went over to our friends house for s'mores.

Nance and Gray

Mac is obssesed with Josh. When he sees Nancy or Josh he says" Josh?" (one of the few names he can say) Ella was mimaking Mac in the picture. When she fish hooked her mouth and talked she sounded exactly like Mac. She ran around saying "Josh, Josh" just like Mac did. It was hillarious.

Fall is here!!!

Today we went to Evan's Orchard with some friends. The kids didn't have school today so there was a big group of us which always makes for a fun time. I picked Jen and Jack up, and after getting lost, found the orchard. we unloaded the kids and let them loose. Oh wait, mine doesn't leave my side. So I took Mac around while Jen sat with Gray. We saw the goats, went down the slide, swang, and climbed the hay castle. after we all went and picked apples. Mac comfortably rode in the wagon with Anna Claire. We did all this while Gray sat peacefully in his car seat. Then we ended with a hot dog and fresh apple cider. So good! It was a Great morning.

Is it bad to want to betroth Mac and Anna?:) She is so adorable and love the family. Hillary pulled Mac and Anna Claire around in the wagon. They shared chips and threw freshly picked apples. Too cute.





Mac was too busy eating his chips and not watching where he was going and got snagged by a couple of branches. One of the scratches started at the brim of his nose and ended at his ear. Poor guy, he didn't even cry.

I'm 25!!!

I had the best birthday this year. Drew took me out Saturday night. We ate at PF Chang's and did a little shopping after. It was funny cause I ended up not getting anything and Drew walked away with a suit, pants and a vest. Who's birthday was it? When we went to go get Mac at the Hyde's, Debbie had invited some friends over and made me a birthday cake. I teared up, it was my first birthday cake in four years. We did the whole singing and blowing out the candles. So sweet. I have the best friends out here. Not only did Debbie watch my handful of a son but helped her kids make me birthday cards and put together a great party. Thank you!



I just plopped down on the floor and fed the half naked Mac and the twins cake.



Sunday morning I woke up to my real birthday. Drew did not fail and made me feel extra special on my day even though he wasn't there for a lot of it. He gave me some fun, thougthful gifts. That night we ate dinner at the Floyd's. Nothing like two parties. Later that night friends dropped by with cakes, presents, and cards. Like I said before I have the most wonderful, thoughtful friends.

Also I got so many phone calls, texts, and cards from friends and family that don't live around here. Too bad I forgot my phone for most of the day, so if I didn't answer your calls it's cause I didn't have it on me. But I did appreciate all of them.

Thank you, thank you to all my family and friends; you really made me feel so loved!!!

3 Months old!

Our little Gray is 3 months old today! I can't put into words how much I love him. He has the sweetest spirit about him. Lately he's been cooing all day and he's just full of smiles and giggles, we can't take our eyes off of him. Even Mac can't seem to get enough of him. I love it when Mac gives Gray a hug and talks to him in his super high pitched voice. But then it usually leads to Mac tickling Gray which usually ends with Mac hitting Gray. But hey, it all started with a hug:)

.Last week Gray let me sleep 7 hours two nights in a row! Perfect, I tell ya.