Summer Bucket List

 1. Print Pictures. As magnets!!

2. Prepare for School. Preschool. Anticipation is 90% of the fun. Wears his new Monster University backpack everywhere with monster notebook and monster pencils. Toured the school building and met Miss Gretchen.

3. Last movie of the summer. Now he wants a planes birthday and to be the green airplane for Halloween.

4. Soak up precious baby Joel moments. Love this picture that Kayla took.

5. More berry pickin'! Blackberries and peaches this time around with Dad. 

6. Zoo Boise with the Bells. Awesome company and perfevt morning weather. So fun and it included a dinosaurs exhibit.

7. Spend time with Dad. Here Joel is Holding his head up well, smiling and sitting with Dad.

8. Document Joel. Three months next week! So smiley, chubby and coo-ing!

9. First and last  shave ice of the summer. Ecstatic about green and blue stripes.

10. See the Capps, play with the new neighbor kids, eat loads of corn on the cob, swing high at the park.

To do: bunny hunting, peach cobbler, daddy son camp, and stay at the Grand Geyser Hotel with Daddy in Baker! (My kindof camping!)

Sisters Get Together

The best thing that happened during our stay in Rigby was Kaycee's smooth operation and recovery! She felt well enough for us to hold our first annual Sisters Get Together! We played games all week and Danny was an honorary sister ;)

All six grand kids were together and Owen loved having two best buddies; Jaeger and Oliver to play cars and dinosaurs with.

Kayla made the yummiest lunch on Friday, our big day of fun.

Then we made sister T-shirts with puff paints. 

And took care of our littles while they dried. We also have a family tradition at prayer time to say something nice about the person on our right before we kneel in a circle to pray. For the get together, we decided to write out what we love about everyone and put it in a time capsule to read next year. 

Owen was excited for an adventure in the gardens and to see the  spitting lions (a water feature in the gardens) where we ate dinner and took silly sister pictures!

We sure missed Kim and Kortney and look forward to them being apart of it all next year!

Good ol' Rigby

Kent took a two week job in Salmon; so the boys and I headed to Rigby to crash at my fam's house. Owen was in heaven playing all sorts of make believe with Kass and Kenn. I talked my parents ears off, was out worked by my mom in the frame shop, and was able to comfortably care for this sweetheart baby.

I finally had many people to tend my kids so I could take care of the horrid color jobs I gave myself earlier in the year! After four hours, my green brown strands are now golden straws! I loved my hairdresser and talked her ear off too! 

But I missed my big blue eyed boys! Joel was so good and smiley. Even so his sleep training went out the window with everyone (myself included) holding him.

Kent came back on the weekend after a week of one patient and the rest of the day to hike and fish. He soon had the itch to get out again and took these two huckleberry picking!

Owen was wore out from the day and a bit grumpy but everyone else enjoyed the huckleberry ice cream that Kara made!

I looked through my baby scrapbook and found these gems! Owen and I at three years of age with the same curly white hair!

Baby Joel and myself at one day old! Fun!

And my rockin' parents in their young twenties with a new baby girl. Aww!

I'm so glad they let us Stringhams invade their space and soak up some family time!

Hanging Out at Home

Our life is a little too routine to be posting every week:) But I guess I can comment and dump my weekly Instagram pictures here. We have just been hanging out at home. Literally.

 The tree in our front yard. Owen has become so brave, seemingly over night. Climbing, jumping off of everything and talking to strangers. Yes, strangers, like the waiter, the cashier, and new people at church. I love his budding independence and friendly nature but strangers don't want to hear about his toys or plans for the day, haha. And of course there is stranger danger. Hmm. How to teach, I'm sure I saw a pin on Pinterest...

Owen has been talking about preschool ever since we drove by the little Learner's preschool building and playground. He can't wait to get a backpack for his papers and meet his teacher. I think he is so ready, he drives me and Kent crazy at home. We have to come up with chores like cleaning the bikes, pulling weeds as well as his normal chores of feeding the dog and emptying the utensil holder.

The Peterson's invite us over every month and always feed us but this week we brought pizza making skills! Kent's idea, he's coo like dat.

Owen needs his weekly/bi-weekly nap to catch up in sleep but he always refuses until it does catch up with him and he passes out. In random places ;)

Snapshots of the sweetie bugs together. Owen still adores Joel and wants to hold and kiss him. Joel is TWO months! 

Kent has been picking up shifts at two locations and will take a two week job at a third place next week. He is staying busy with on-call work and applying to full time positions in the mean time. 

The Master Plan

Beccah shared this story with me today and I have been reflecting on it all week.

The story is told of a couple who went to England to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and shopped at a beautiful antique store. They both liked antiques and pottery,and especially tea-cups,and so spotting an exceptional cup,they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."
As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the tea-cup spoke... "You don't understand." It said, "I have not always been a tea-cup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, Don't do that. I don't like it! "Let me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said; "Not yet!!" "Then, WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. "Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!" I screamed.
But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.'
He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then...he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door.
"Help! Get me out of here!" 'Not yet.' When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool.
Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible.. "Oh, please, Stop it! Stop it!" I cried. He only shook his head and said. "Not yet..."
Then suddenly he put me back into the oven. Only it was not like the first time. This time it was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged... I pleaded... I screamed...I cried... I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up and just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next?"
An hour later he handed me a mirror and said "Look at yourself."
And I did... I said, "That's not me, that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!"
Quietly he spoke: "I want you to remember, then," he said, "I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.
"I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life.
"And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you."

 

Snapshots of Life Lately

The week started off with one fussy little boy who just wanted to be held. This morning in particular was a rare quiet moment. Owen snuck to the foot of our bed in the middle of the night and the two boys finally ousted Kent from his spot. To a more quite room with more room :)

Feeling a little guilty about my rant last week. I'm lucky to create fun stuff and care for my boys at the same time. Owen tried to pick Joel up to hug and Joel was way to big for him. I helped and then snapped a pic of his sweet smile. What an awesome big brother he is!

These pics are of Joel smiling up at Kent. He is smiling often now and especially for his Dad. This time around he smiled cause he had just pooped on Kent.

These boys melt my heart. Kent is so great to take time with them.

The heat is making it hard to get outside and do anything. Over 100 degrees every evening. And when we do get out for a drive we come back and just want to nap. Went to a fun baby shower for a girl in the ward.

Most exciting news! Kent passed his national board of exams! Wahoo! He was nervous and it turns out forty percent of his class didn't pass; the test was tough!

We spent the evening outside and here Joel is with his chubby belly and look of adoration for his Dad.

Owen has a summer bucket list and it involves all the new movies, haha. 

That's it, life lately.

Joel's Blessing Day

Joel has brought so much happiness to our little family. With how stressed Kent and I are with our responsibilities, this little guy makes us smile and wonder at his perfectness every day. He is a good baby and slept all weekend. 

Joel was blessed Sunday the 14th of July by his Dad. In the blessing he was reminded of how much he is loved and of the temple covenant he was born into. He was encouraged to live his life and make choices that would enable him to take upon himself that same covenant.

It was a hot day but everyone was so happy to help and be apart of the event that it happened without trouble and was a peaceful day.

Saturday fun with family made Owen a bit tired and grumpy and the sun must of wore out Joel! Kent was able to go cat fishing with his best brother, Kraig. Beccah and I took the littles to the Peterson's stomping grounds to play outside. Lily was so fun to chase around and Lacie was wide eyed and her cute tiny self. Loved talking with all my girls: mom, Kels, and Beccah! thanks for making the drive out!

Kent's parents and great grandparents came. His brother and sister and their families too. My mom and dad and the younger girls came as well as the Peterson's being present. My two aunts on my mom's side, Alena and Kamilla came with their families! What a treat!