Summer's End

I hate when summer ends. Don't know why. No one here is in school(thank heavens). We can really pick and choose when to go on vacation, and I usually prefer going in the fall when it's a little bit cooler. And summer is so blasted hot! But I still hate when summer ends. It's been a fun year! Josh has loved swimming in our little pool in the backyard. He loves the outdoors, but struggles with the heat. He will play baseball and "run the bases" in the backyard a few times, then he'll throw his hat off and toss his bat and say, "It's too hot!" Anthony is becoming a little chatterbox! I think he may be teething. His gums are swollen and he is so fussy! He's making up for being a perfect angel his first three months. But I adore the little guy, and love him so much! I am loving not going to work! I think my hubby is loving me not going to work as well. I'm much happier with life! I love my new calling in Young Women's. I'm over the Beehives, and they are the cutest, sweetest girls! I also love the women I serve with. They are so on the ball, and I'm so glad I'm not president over the Young Women:) My Grandpa turned 95 this year! He misses Grandma so much, I know it's been such a trial for him. Grandma died 2 1/2 years ago! I think my whole family finds solace visiting her grave. My mom and her sisters make certain it always looks beautiful. I love going now and again to just reminisce about the amazing times together. And I love spending time with my most amazing husband. He's always doing such sweet things like dropping my kids off at our parents and taking me to a movie, buying flowers, etc. What would I ever do without my sweetheart? I won't even think about it. No more blabbing, now just summer pics:)

Isn't he the cutest thing?

And isn't Josh the other cutest little thing:)

Anthony loves going on walks with his big bro.

Gotta love $2 Tuesday at the Dinosaur Museum!

Josh was excited to get to touch one of the dinosaurs.

Matt and his boys.

I know, I look way too chipper when a shark is about to eat me!

My boy is getting to be a chunky monkey:)

Giz worn out from a long day of running away from Josh!

Way back when on July 4th. We got Josh out of bed early to watch for the jets.

Fathers and sons camp out. Very disappointed cause we lost pics of Anthony camping with us at the ward camp out! At least we found the ones of Josh!

Josh kept Matt up till 2:AM! He loved the lantern!

Boating in Mona. We were the only people on the reservoir!

Matt showing off his mad skills!

Matt took Josh out on the tube. I thought Josh would freak, but he hopped right on!

Josh crashed on the boat. Matt loved snuggling with him.

Matt crashed at my parent's. Anthony loved snuggling with him:)

What is summer without the zoo? I thought Josh would pick the tiger to ride on. Nope. The panda! A boy after my own heart:)

A very dark pic of me and Anthony with the mama and baby elephants. Matt's idea!

Terror when faced with a water-squirting dinosaur!

He did much better with this one. He said, "Hi T-Rex!" Then, made Matt hold him, a bit nervous.

Josh with his cuz, Kyle. Whenever we go to see Kyle, Josh now says, "I'm so excited!"

Matt and Josh at Thanksgiving Point. Still gotta love $2 Tuesday!

Me and my handsome hubby:)

Had to get a pic of just me and my baby. Don't you love the flowers?

My Josh

My Anthony

"Bye, Mommy!"

Two simple words that changed the course of my life. Anthony is three months old. Quite the milestone. He is past the colicky stage-though he didn't really have one; sleeping through the night; and, if he gets a fever, he no longer requires a lumbar puncture to rule out sepsis in a newborn. It also means the end of my maternity leave. My first scheduled day was Saturday. I dreaded it as it came closer. I love being a peds nurse, but I love more being a mom. Friday night I put Anthony to bed. He looked so sweet, so innocent, so perfect. I caressed his face as he slept, and told him I was going to work the next day. I know he doesn't understand, but I still had to explain why Mom wouldn't be there for him. I then went in to put Josh to bed. I said to him, "Josh, I won't be here tomorrow. I have to go to work. You get to spend the day with Dad." He gave me a big pouty face and said, "Bye, Mommy!" Tears were in his voice, and it broke my heart. I left him in his room and turned to Matt. "I can't do this anymore. I can't leave my babies!" Matt gave me a hug and told me, "That's fine. Quit your job." "When?" "How about Monday?" I was a bit in shock as I said, "Okay, I will." I have had so many doubts since then. How are we going to pay for the continuing education credits to keep my license? How will we come up with the money for car registration, new tires, medical expenses, even the gas in my car! We've used my money for all of this. But I know it is the right decision. The knowledge of it burns within my soul. I know the Lord wants me at this time to stay home with my boys. I don't know how we will come up with the money, but we will find a way. We just have to have faith that the Lord will provide, and go from there.

It may sound silly to some when I say it is changing the course of my life. I only worked two days a month, but I have been a nurse for ten years. I worked so hard to get where I am today. It has always been a major defining part of my life. I was twenty years old when I started working as a nurse! I have always prided myself on my skills. And I'm now cutting the last ties I have to my profession. I will miss my hospital, I will miss my coworkers, I will especially miss the cute little kiddos I took care of. I will miss the feeling I get when I help a child get better. And, prideful as it is, I will miss the pediatricians telling me what a great nurse I am. But I now get to spend all my time with my family, and working to make our life at home as great as my life was growing up. The greatest gift my mom gave me was to always be there for me, and now I can do the same for my children.

Chasing Birds and Anthony's Blessing

I remember when I first got married how important my job was to me. I loved being a nurse, and I don't mind saying I was a pretty awesome peds nurse. I absolutely loved taking care of the kids. I always came home happy. Kids do that to me. They make me so happy. I'm so grateful for that time in my life, and all I learned. I still love being a nurse, and love even more that I rarely have to go in to work. It makes me sad that I have less than a month now before I have to start leaving my boys, even though it is really only twice a month. Now, my favorite thing to do is chase birds with my boys. It is really Josh that chases, as I carry little Anthony behind and encourage Josh. He never catches them, of course, then runs back to where I follow. He is breathless as he gasps, "Chase the birds! They flew away!" I love it! He is so cute and sweet, and such a little handful! We're in the process of potty training Josh right now. He has his good days, and his very defiant days. Those are the days when Matt gets home and I hand the boys over and take a bath! But I absolutely love being a mom. It is a bit scary, looking at the responsibility involved in raising a child. Making sure physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are met. Hopefully, I will do a decent job raising these sweet spirits the Lord has entrusted in my care. If you look at the background of the top pic, you can see the birds Josh is chasing, as he waves his hands in the air and screams. I'm so glad I got the picture!
I should add a bit about my little Anthony. Lately he's been going to bed around 10 or 11, then sleeps till 6:30 or 7. It is quite nice! I wish he'd go back to sleep after I feed him, but he is up for a couple of hours, then goes to sleep right around when Josh gets up. I hope to someday get to sleep in again! He is the happiest baby! He has a cute little giggle, loves to talk, and he sticks his tongue out when he smiles. It is so fun having him in our family!

Anthony the day of his baby blessing, June 12th. It was a perfect day, not too hot or cold. We held it at our house, just having a bishopric member come over. It was a beautiful blessing, perfect for my beautiful little baby!

Had to get the brothers in a picture. Josh's face is a mess from all the treats he ate!

Little mischief maker kept pouring water into a cup then dumping it out all over the patio and grass. Fortunately, little got in the house!

We decided to try and get a family picture since we were all dressed up. First, we wanted one in the house.

We decided the backyard was a pretty place for a pic, so took the camera outside. Anthony was starting to fuss, Josh was looking in the grass for bugs, and Matt and I were laughing in absolute frustration!

Best pic we could get. Josh totally cheesed it, Anthony was crying like crazy. But that's kinda how life is now, so the picture fits!

We've done a lot of yard work lately, so we borrowed my awesome bro's truck to take everything to the dump. Josh thought it was the coolest thing ever riding in a truck to the dump, then crashed on the way home after the 3rd trip to the dump. Thanks again, Dave and Tami!

Josh loves running through the sprinklers. His favorite part of it is chasing me!

Anthony smiling while I talk to him. I have better ones, but they are not on the computer yet, and I'm too lazy to get the camera out right now:)

Josh sometimes doesn't like to go to bed, and crashes next to the door cause he likes to look under and try to see us.

We took the kids to the park to fly a kite.

I love this one of Matt and Anthony. Matt loves to hold him like this and play with him, and Anthony always gives him good grins and giggles!

Josh's smile here reminds me of a picture of me when I was younger. It's nice to occasionally see glimpses of me in my husband's clone!

Happy Memorial Day!

I was debating whether or not it was appropriate to write my Happy Memorial Day title of my blog, but then, when talking with my cute hubby, we both decided it really is a happy day. It provides an excuse to reminisce about lost loved ones. I love going to the cemetery. I find it very peaceful. I know that one reason I love going is it brings back very fond memories. My grandpa used to go for walks every day. My brothers and I lived a block away from my grandparents while growing up. We always wanted to go on these walks with him, and, of course, the very best place to walk was Spanish Fork Cemetery. We spent so much time there! I have been very blessed in my life not to lose many loved ones until recently. We would visit the graves of Grandma and Grandpa's family, all of whom died before I was even born. It was very hard losing my grandma. She was one of my 3 best friends (my mom and sis being the other 2). She was a second mother to me. When I lived in Spanish Fork, my brothers and I would go to her house before school, after school, after church, and pretty much whenever our mom would let us. She was always excited to see us. We always felt welcome, and she always had candy for us in her apron pockets. She played the organ at church on Sundays. We would take turns sitting at the organ next to Grandma. If we played the keys we had to sit back on the bench. I don't think any of us made it an entire sacrament meeting without sneaking a note or two on the organ. I miss her so much. It has been 2 years since she passed away. I was blessed to be with her when she died. It was a horrible experience knowing she was leaving, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I wanted to take my Anthony to the cemetery to introduce them. I know, it's silly. It's a grave, she's not there, and I'm sure Anthony still gets to see her. But I wanted to introduce them anyway:)

The introduction to Grandma Wood (Matt was a bit sneaky taking some pics).

Josh loved the decorations at the grave.

After the cemetery, I took Anthony to meet Grandpa Wood. He was sick after Anthony was born, and just barely is getting over it, so I just barely got to take my baby to meet him. Grandpa was tickled that I stopped at the cemetery first. It made his day:)

Backtracking to the hospital. This is the day I went home, and the flowers Matt bought me.

My mom finished making this quilt the day Anthony was born. She brought it to the hospital to make sure we had it when we got home. I wanted monsters on his blanket because he was so active, I thought for certain he was going to be a monster baby! I was very wrong! He is the happiest, most content baby ever! He almost never fusses! It is wonderful! Now if we could just get him sleeping:)

Josh is such a little helper! He has to mow the lawn with Matt every week. He loves his little lawnmower, and even parks it in the garage next to our real lawnmower.

We got home the day before Easter. Josh had so much fun finding candy, then wanted his picture taken with "Josh's baby," as he calls the baby.

Family movie night on the bed. We always watch Scooby Doo, because it is Josh's favorite cartoon in the entire world at the moment:)

My little sis jumping on the trampoline with Josh. He loves to jump!

Gizmo doesn't mind the baby so far. The baby never pulls his fur!

We took Josh to Pirate Island. They have lights that flash on and off in the trees and look like fireflies. Josh got so excited when he saw them!

Josh takes shooting guns very seriously!

Josh adores his little brother! The biggest problem I have is trying not to let Josh suffocate the poor kid! He never leaves him alone! But I'm good as long as he loves his little bro:)

Josh wanted to be swaddled just like baby

My sleeping angels

Josh loves to dance to the musice when I play the piano.

My cute little baby.

Josh's cousin, Kyle, came to visit after the baby was born. They had a lot of fun chasing, shooting, and rolling around on the floor.

Josh loves holding the baby.

I love Anthony's facial expressions. He's starting to give some good smiles. Hopefully we'll eventually be able to catch one on camera!

Josh playing peek-a-boo through Grandma's legs.

Matt pruned our tree, and Josh had to climb the tree, just like daddy!

My baby is nearly 6 weeks old now! He is growing so fast! Starting to get some nice rolls in his legs, and cute little chubby cheeks!

I hope all of you enjoyed your Memorial Day as much as I did!