T.J. has done three pumpkins this Halloween so far, and this one was my favorite. He has been watching the new show Gotham which is how he got the idea. He’s really amazing! Just in case you’re wondering, he uses pottery tools and an exacto knife. It took him about five hours to do this pumpkin.
Here’s a fun Halloween video to get you in a spooOOooky mood! We are kind of obsessed with Halloween around here, if you haven’t been able to tell from my Instagram. So, I loved this spoof as soon as I saw what it was about!
The next day was Pioneer Day, so we went up to Salt Lake for the parade. The floats were really amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many neat floats, and we went to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade last year. Obviously, it wasn’t as big as that parade, but the creativity that went into each float was really impressive. I’ll post a video of that later.
In the evening, everyone came over and we had a fire pit to roast hotdogs. The kids played in the pool, then once the sun went down, we lit fireworks. It was a perfect Pioneer Day! I only took video that night, so I’ll post that later, too.
On the 5th, we took the girls to a little water park.
My dad and his four grandkids.
Spencer dressed up in the outfit his Aunt Katie bought him! What a cutie!
These cute cousins put on dance costumes and danced to the Peter Pan Ballet.
My mom with Baby Spence
T.J. and Mark helped the girls shoot off these water rockets… it was pretty cute seeing T.J. with Amelia and Claire.
Claire and Nana
Eva prefers the mallow part of the s’more.
It wouldn’t be summer without s’mores? Amiright?
More rockets!
This last one shot up so far we lost the rocket!
What a great weekend we had! I miss my family already!
What a whirlwind this July has been. I can’t believe it’s already half over. Each day keeps going so fast, I sit in bed at the end of the night and start getting sad how July will be over before we know it, which means summer is coming to an end and we’ll have snow right around the corner. I told that all to T.J. and he laughed at me, then reminded me to just enjoy the now. I know, I know. But this summer is going VERY fast. In fact, this year, it’s going lightning speed!
That being said, let me tell you about our 4th of July! We went down to DC Thursday night after T.J. got off of work so we can spend the weekend with my family. My parents came to DC too since my newest nephew was being blessed the following Sunday.
We saw a parade in Fairfax which was pretty impressive for a local parade, then we went back to my sister’s house and played with the kids. Pool, fireworks, bike riding… it was a great day! We didn’t go downtown since most of us had done that in the past and it’s too hard to do it with kids. Plus, my poor sister broke her big toe the day before we came and we wanted to stay close to her! But it was perfect… the cousins loved playing together and it was fun catching up together!
Thanks to my brother-in-law for taking so many photos! I mostly took video throughout the weekend on my iPhone, so I didn’t capture too many shots!
We are in DC right now celebrating Independence Day and seeing my baby nephew Spencer for the first time! Hope you have a great weekend!
Here’s an 11 year time portal for you:
2013
4th of July in Chincoteague, VA
2012
4th of July in Fort Thomas, KY then DC for the weekend to surprise TJ
2011
4th of July in Provo, UT, pregnant with Eva and fireworks with friends
2010
Newlyweds and camping on 4th of July weekend
2009
T.J. and I were dating and he was visiting me in Kentucky for the 4th.
2008
My family and I celebrated the 4th of July at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. Look how little Claire was and now Mary Beth just had her third!
2007-Seven years ago, I had just graduated High School and my parents and I were in DC visiting my sister Mary Beth before she was to have her baby a month a later. It was really special to visit the monuments during the 4th of July.
2006-Eight years ago… gosh, this is hard. I had just finished up my Junior year of school. I think I was just at home and took a shift at Snowie?
2005-I think it was nine years ago when my friend Katie Chichoni was in our ward for the summer and we went to the parade together with Blair.
2004-Ten years ago, who knows. I had finished up Freshman year so I was probably at the parade with Kelly and Blair and working a shift at Graeter’s Ice Cream.
2003-Eleven years ago, my parents and I went to San Francisco for the 4th of July. It was one of those last minute trips on Travelocity so it was really cheap and really spontaneous. I think it was the first time I went on a trip with my parents without the other siblings so it was awesome. Also, this hilarious and awful story happened.
The weekend of Father’s Day was followed by T.J.’s birthday on Monday, so we kind of celebrated T.J. all weekend long. On Saturday, I made donuts (the last time I did this was five years ago on T.J.’s birthday when we were dating), and then we went into the city for a walk along the river up to the meatpacking district. We tried a new a restaurant for lunch, walked along the high line, and then headed home. We have had a lot of beautiful days recently. Not too humid, not too hot, even with a little breeze. The weather is redeeming itself from that horrible Winter.
On Sunday, we took it easy, went to church, and just gave T.J. some presents. He got a bunch of new summer clothes.
Then on Monday, we met T.J. after work for dinner at Shake Shack. It was another gorgeous night and so fun to be in the park together as a family. I surprised T.J. with getting a babysitter so we could go see a movie! We saw the new Tom Cruise Movie, Edge of Tomorrow. It was sooooo good. Like Groundhog Day meets War of the Worlds, with a touch of romance. Loved it.
Happy Father’s Day and Birthday, Taylor Jay!
Before I start telling you about our weekend, I want to share a little video of what Memorial Day is all about.
“It is well to set aside a day in their honor to reflect on the cost of the freedoms we enjoy.”
Thank you to all those who have put their lives on the line for us, for our country, and for our beliefs.
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Memorial Day Weekend started off with lots of rain, which was kind of disappointing. We just walked around the mall Friday night while there was a HUGE storm. Eva learned the phrase, “A big storm’s coming.” And now whenever she sees ANY clouds she says that. It’s pretty funny, but is getting quite repetitive.
On Saturday, we had a slow morning and eventually went into the city right around Eva’s nap time. I convinced myself it would be okay, but it was not. She was a major grump the rest of the afternoon and was very strong-willed, to say the least. Also, as soon as we finished at the playground at Madison Square, “A big storm’s coming,” as Eva would say. Yeah. It POURED on us. We had umbrellas and a stroller cover, but our feet and pants got soaked. We were going to go to an AIGA graphic design exhibit nearby, but once we got there, we realized it wasn’t open on Saturdays. Really? So dumb. So we headed down in the pouring rain to The Container Store. I love that place so much. I just got a couple of small plastic containers for Eva’s toys, but it sure made me happy.
On Sunday, we had a different day than usual. I had a cousin come in town for work and since we rarely see family, especially these guys, we went into the city to meet up with them for lunch. Afterwards, we took their youngest to the park while they went to see a show. Later I took my little cousin back to nap at the hotel, Trump Tower on Central Park West. Wow… I never wanted to leave. Such an awesome hotel. Very swanky.
When my cousins got back from the show, we walked through Central Park together and caught up some more. It was so nice having some family in town!
On Monday, we couldn’t have asked for better Summer weather! Our friends who have a pool at their apartment building invited us over to swim. The water was heated so it was actually pleasurable to be in the water early in the season! There’s a huge wading area, so we got to relax while Eva splashed in the pool. So much fun! I can’t wait for more summer days!
To end the weekend, I scored a new shirt at the Loft for six bucks while Eva napped. And then we had Family Home Evening at the park, with a little picnic. What a great weekend! Of course, now we’ve had clouds and strange weather for the rest of the week, but it’ll be the weekend before we know it!
“Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail.”
“As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord’s secret weapon. Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning.”
“God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.”
—-
I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mom or not… it’s a great holiday to remember all of the mother figures in our lives and to celebrate the women (and children) around us who have helped to make us who we are today.
I am a firm believer in this little mantra, too. Three kids...April 30, 2017 - 9:00 pm by Carlee
We do all have those days! After sleeping through the night...April 23, 2017 - 11:16 pm by Nichole S
Lucas is the textbook definition of the "Terrible twos"....April 23, 2017 - 9:39 pm by Luisa Elton
Listen, you need to listen to Janet Lansbury's Podcast....April 23, 2017 - 9:29 pm by Melanie McGrath
I love the calendar! Great work, TJ.March 30, 2017 - 8:47 pm by Jeanette