Month: September 2009

My mother in law has been doing this hike since she was a little girl. It’s a hike my hike my husband did as a little boy, and it was great to take our boys up to continue the tradition. It was a beautiful day, and an even more beautiful hike, it was perfect for the little kids, and at the top was a natural spring.
We took a few shots while waiting for everyone to arrive:
This seriously, is one of my new favorite pics, a natural smile from both of my boys. Aren’t they handsome?


Tucker enjoyed rocking out with his Uncles in the Huffs Car…

The newliest weds

And a sweet pic of Em and Ava

Toph, posing while getting the Bjorn set up for Elliot

Brian (Christopher’s brother, whom the neighbors all think is his twin)

More Miles

Love this shot of Grandma and The MI Phillips

Toph, and Eli

And finally we reached the springs..

If you notice, Tucker was so excited about this, and he carried his yellow cup all the way to the top, so he could have a cup to drink out of.



Tucker fell in, and was so upset, I can’t remember exactly why, but I think it might have been that he got his shoes wet..poor boy.


And a few last shots on the hike down

A beautiful and serene afternoon!

Christophers Brother, Brian, his wife Lexie and their three adorable children were in town for their yearly visit. While they were here, WE PARTIED! The adventure began on our drive up to Bear Lake.

The cousins wanted to ride together, so Sophie and Truman switched cars. Sophie came with us, and Tru went with Nora. We headed off, but had to stop a shortly after we got on the road to feed Elliot, so we stopped at the Airplane Museum.

Then we drove, drove, drove, and arrived at the Bear Lake Center for loads of fun including:
Making Fire Flies with Grandma:


Playing outside, in the GIANT SANDBOX, (Notice how gently Truman is helping Ava…what a sweetheart.)

Cuddling with Grandpa:


Making the boys new favorite T-shirts (they now wear them at least once a week!)


Here is all the grandkids, sporting their new creations:

And a close up of the Big L:

The kids loved being with their Uncles and Aunts, including Patrick:

And Dallin Paul:

We got to know Miles a little better:

Ate some good food:

And honestly, is there anything more fun than being on vacation with your cousins?

Or course there was a lot of ‘dog piles’ here are a few, Cat and Jo were both on the bottom at different times:

My talented sweetheart got some chicken dancing in:

Lexie taught us how to play some hilarious games, including the violent chair game, here is Becca’s winning move–

And another snap shot, taken by my brother in law Matt, classic pic, uh?

One night whilst we were there, Elliot didn’t sleep so good, so Eli and I drove around Bear Lake at 3.00 in the morning for a few hours…the following day, we weren’t up for too much partying, so whilst we took a little nap, the other went to the beach…(the camera didn’t go down, so I don’t have any beach pics), but from what I understand from here there was some awesome times had by all!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for starting our vacation off with a bang!

To the Man of my dreams.

Another perfect List, for my Perfect HUBBA. 33 Years Old, and 33 things that I LOVE ABOUT YOU….

1. The way you describe yourself and your handyman skills, “I am learning one step at a time, how to keep a house from falling down’.
2. That you come across things in your daily life, like pictures of robots, or tweet feeds, that you know your boys or I will like, and you always shoot us an email containing the information of these little gems that will make us happy.
3. Your beautiful blue eyes, that I always secretly wish our children get. Because you have such handsome looks.

4. You heart Public transportation, You don’t heart driving…and don’t mind when I want to drive.
5. PATIENCE. Were you born this way? I remember when we were first married, and I was trying to pick a fight. And no matter what I did, you were still calm as a cucumber. Then I left ANGRY. You’re so patient, with the me, and oh yeah, the kids too. 🙂
6. That when choosing our children’s names, that with out fail, the name McCloud ALWAYS comes up. And that you’re okay with the fact that I will NEVER name a child McCloud.
7. That it is more important to you to come home to a happy family, than a clean home.
8. That the other day, when we saw people from Albania (where you served your mission), who were suffering, it brought tears to your eyes, to see those people who you love so much suffer.
9. The way you cheer your family on…At soccer games, or special olympics, you just can’t help being proud and excited, and yelling ‘way to go!’ when something wonderful happens.

10. the way you MAGNIFY your calling, and when you took a break from it, for a few short weeks when Elliot was born, they nearly fell to pieces. You rock.
11. I can always tell what mood you’re in, by what music you’re listening too. And that you sing Michael McLean at the top of your lungs (the wrong words might I add)…Now that’s rocking out…
12. That although I roll out of bed first thing in the morning, with a little bit of grump, you even ‘us’ out with your happiness that just radiates. How is it possible for you to be SO HAPPY in the morning? I am still not sure I will ever understand that.

13. Very rarely, if ever, do I remember you taking days off of work, to do something totally and completely for yourself. You take care of your wife and children, and do things with them on your ‘days off’. What’s up with that?
14. MOVIE TRAILERS. You keep up with them, and know what is coming out when, and get gitty with anticipation waiting to see the good ones, and the not so good ones.
15. That you figured out how to get our old lawnmower to work, and do it awesomely: Taking the push bar, down to your toes, and back up again, in a pumping motion. Repeat this numerous times while mowing the lawn, when the motor begins to sound funny.
16. Your strong arms, that seem to keep us all safe, but yet are gentle enough to cradle a newborn.

17. I love when I hear stories about you from your childhood/teen years….and to hear you defend yourself. ‘WHO NEEDS HEADLIGHTS IN THE CITY? THERE ALREADY LIGHTS EVERYWHERE!?!’
18. That you fix my computer weekly. Or a computer problem. How do you have that much knowledge in your head?

19. The way that you haven’t yet caught a fish, while fishing with the boys, but that you continue to keep going, and you talk in such a way, that the boys don’t even care if they’ve caught a fish. What four year old and six year old keep going fishing when they haven’t caught a fish!!! You’re magic.

20. The little kiss you give me after the Amen of family prayers, and before you head out the door to work.
21. How you eat so much cereal, is just baffling to me. You eat it, like I drink water. It’s amazing.
22. I never tire of watching you EVOLVE as a father. I thought it was amazing to see you as a father of a newborn, over 6 years ago…but it is even more amazing to see you as a GREAT father to a six year old, a four year old, and an nine month old. Your parenting skills just keep up with them, in a way that is just fascinating to me.

23. That you can kick my trash at board games. Time and Time and Time again. Especially Scrabble, where did you weird knowledge of weird words come from?
24. When I have an emergency, you DASH home quickly, without asking questions, or even saying good bye on the telephone. Because you know and understand,
25. Mistakes that I make or the boys make, are just not a big deal. You never seem to get frustrated by the slow learning curve of me and life.
26. Your longing to be become and be the best that you can.

27. I love that if I want to get your heart rate going, and get you excited, I just hint at the idea of someday moving to Idaho. (Which every once in a while I do) And you always finish our conversation, with ‘don’t kid me with that unless you’re serious’.
28. That you just smile at me, when I come up with my crazy, craft ideas.
29. That one of your favorite ice cream combos is Vanilla Ice Cream with Ovaltine.
30. The way you love and worry, and think so much (and so often) about your siblings, parents, children, and other loved ones.

31. ‘Bound for another harvest home.’ You know what I am going to say about that.
32. That I am still learning new things about you, even after being married to each other for so many years!
33. That you wanted to raise chickens, so our children can have the experience, and give them a little taste of country life.
(Wow, I’m already at 33 things!! It comes so easily, there is so much to love about a man like you.

Happy Birthday Sweets.

Hope today is full of nothing but great things for you…