Very Belated Summer Update

I'm sorry for the lack of posts this summer, we've been without a camera and I feel like without seeing the pictures it's hard for me to remember all of the details of the summer, but I'll do my best with the pictures we do have (most are from my phone).

 First came girls camp...which was my last girls camp.  I just got released and put in as the Primary Chorister! Boy was camp an expensive one this year!  On the way up to our camp I got lost (hey, they didn't give out maps, I've never been to Mantua before!) and got pulled over by Robocop and received my very first speeding ticket.  This was not just any speeding ticket, it was a $290 speeding ticket.  Awesome.  On the last night of camp I also dropped and broke our camera.  Double awesome.  But as for actual girls camp, it was so wonderful.  Our previous Bishop unexpectedly passed away a few days before girls camp and we knew that girls camp wouldn't be the same in light of our tragedy, and we were right, it wasn't the same.  It was better.  The Lord blessed us and lifted us and we united in ways that we wouldn't have otherwise and it was a really tender thing to witness the girls really come together and be there for eachother.  We have a really close-knit ward and it was hard for us to lose a man we all loved so dearly, but we are grateful for the knowledge we have of eternal families.  Being in YW was a lot of fun and I miss my girls and the leaders so much, but I'm grateful for the time we had together!  In the picture, the front row is me, next to the YW pres and the other laurel advisor.  LOVE those ladies!

 Next came DISNEYLAND!!  Yes, my poor broken camera had mercy on me for 30 seconds and worked the morning we were going to Disneyland so I could get a picture of my kids (and Luke) before experiencing Disney for the very first time.  It was amazing and magical and everything you dream it will be.  The kids absolutely loved it and Brock still hasn't stopped talking about the "Casey Jr. Train" which was obviously his favorite ride.  I was surprised at the number of rides that we were able to go on as a family, we spent the whole first day just doing family rides and there were many that we missed.  I hadn't been back since I was about 12 and Luke was like 2 the last time he went, so it was fun to see Luke and the kids experience it for the first time.  I wish I could have captured the look on Brock's face when he saw Mickey.  Ah such fun, such great memories!

 Sophie getting ready for a long day at the Happiest Place on Earth.  She was an angel and just went along for the ride (literally).  She even stayed up til 11pm (worst mom ever) on the last night to watch "World of Color" which is a water, lights and music show that is so incredible it blows your mind.  Disney doesn't do anything half-way...not even 3/4 the way.  Everything is so over the top there it's amazing.  Disneyland was enjoyed with my side of the family...thanks Mimi and Papa for the fun memories!!

On the way home from Disneyland we met up with Luke's side of the family in St. George.  Sadly no pics but we loved being in St. George.  We did what we do best...relax!  We went to the pool, met Grandpa Lee (Luke's Italian grandpa) at the Pasta factory for some deliciousness, did a little shopping at the outlets, relaxed, went to the pool some more...yeah it was great.  Most of all it was fun to spend time with Luke's family.  We love hanging out with those guys!  Thanks Geese and Lis, we love you!!

 Ok so I just had to include this to show you all how nice of a sister I am...so my brother Guy's girlfriend had some sweet connection to some premier tickets to see HP7 (Harry Potter for those of you who are like me) a day before it actually came to theaters and my little sister "Bebe" invited me to go with her.  You have to know, I am not a Harry Potter fan...not that I don't like it, I just have never caught the fire like the rest of the planet.  I think I saw the first 4 movies with my family but that was as far as I got.  So I agreed to go with her...in full costume.  Yes, full costume.  I dressed as Luna Lovegood.  So on the drive down, Bebe updated me on the last 3 movies and I warned her not to be offended when I didn't cry with her during the opening credits.  And yes, she did cry during the opening credits...and throughout most of the movie.  And also literally jumped out of her seat with excitement at one point.  Yes indeed.  So a few things,  1.  I LOVED the movie, yes I did.  2.  I seriously contemplated reading the books, maybe I still will someday.  3.  I learned that my sister and I have a lot of similarities but also many differences...all of which make me love her more.  Thanks Beebs, Guy and Kels for the super fun movie night!

 Here's a lovely phone picture of another wedding cake I did this summer.  I'm loving this cake thing!

Sophie is now standing and starting to cruise a little bit.  She loves walking holding onto my hands and holds on for dear life...she. will. not. let. go.  I will have to post a movie of her walking because she has a very dainty walk.  Toes pointed, feet stepping right in front of the other like a true lady.  That's my Peach!  She also started wearing pigtails this summer which are totally cute but make her look like a big girl. :(

5 of the 8 grandkids on my side of the family hanging out this summer.  Brock is on the far left, then Jesse, Porter, Chelsea and Eliza.  Porter and Brock play so cute every time they are together, we wish we could always have the Black family around!  My sister Brook recently announced that she is expecting their 4th child early next year.  Hooray!!

Let's hope that Santa will surprise us with an early Christmas present (like before Sophie's 1st birthday) and bring us a new camera soon so I can post some current pictures of my crazy kids.  Love to all!!

Giveaway Entry :)

I'm a follower of many blogs, although I find it hard to find time to actually read them.  I'm always so bummed when I see "my" blogs giving away things and I don't win...but then I remember that I didn't enter to win it in the first place.  Oopsie.  So here I am, placing a link on my blog hoping that it wins me a swimmin suit!  Or bathing suit if you please...because we all know there's more bathin than swimmin goin on where I'm concerned.  I promise a REAL blog update is coming soon, our camera has been broken all summer...details to follow.  Now for the swimsuit winning link with fingers crossed: 

Hapari Swimwear

Wedding Cake

I had the pleasure of doing a wedding cake for a cute couple who got married this week in the Bountiful Temple!  When she brought me her color swatches for the cake I was surprised at how bright of colors she had chosen, but they are such a bright and fun couple so it totally fit them.  This cake was a lot of fun and I am also doing her twin sister's wedding cake too...in two weeks!  Can you believe it, twin sisters getting married two weeks apart!  Watch out Michael and Jenny!  Luke of course helped me deliver the cake and he has a new appreciation for his dad that delivered wedding cakes for his mom for 25 years...it's a heavy and stressful job!  I'm very grateful for his help and support.  I get to start learning the "Mrs. Flinders" cakes (from Mrs. Flinders herself) in the next couple of weeks, so wish me luck!!

Summer Lovin Fun

One of my favorite things to do with the kids during the day is to go out and draw with chalk on the driveway and blow bubbles.  We do it several times a week, sometimes several times a day.  Last week our next door neighbor, Darlene, saw us out playing and grabbed her camera (she's a photographer) and came out to take a few pictures of the kids playing.  Wasn't that nice of her?  I love these pictures because she captured our normal everyday life, which I usually forget to take pictures of.  So it will be fun to look back and see something that wasn't a holiday, birthday or special occasion...just two kids and their mom out on a summer day.

You can all breathe now...

I know there are so many people who read my blog and are anxious for me to update it.  I'm sure you've all just been checking your computers daily for the moment when I will post something magical for you all to see.  Well wait no longer...the day is here! 

Ok really, I know my mom and mother-in-law are the only ones who really look at my blog, so for you two lovely women...here are some pictures of your beautiful son and grandchildren.  Enjoy. :)

 Yes, Master Luke graduated with his MBA (technically he walked across the stage and was hooded with a harry potter hood thing and will actually receive his diploma in two weeks when he finishes his last two classes!!!!)  Are we proud of him or are we proud of him?  I don't think I've ever met someone with the kind of dedication that Luke has had in completing his education...and yes, it is complete.  He is done forever!

 I know this picture isn't very good quality, but I feel like this picture sums up the life of Brock and Sophie so perfectly.  Brock is always such an animated little thing and Sophie is just enamored with him.  It is such a fun thing to see my children interact and play with eachother.  I absolutely love it!

 My sweet kids.  Sophie is usually such a smiley girl but for some reason the day that I wanted to take pictures of my kids in their Easter outfits she was feeling oh so meloncholy [read with a Megamind accent].  Still cute though wouldn't ya say?

 For Memorial Day weekend we decided to do our very first "stay-cation" and we took Brock up to the Heber Valley Creeper for a "Day Out with Thomas".  On this very special weekend, Thomas the tank engine himself actually pulls the Heber Creeper and we got to ride inside it!  I wish I could have captured the look on his face when he first saw Thomas...it was a look that you would imagine if a child saw Santa Claus; just complete awe and utter bliss at the same time like, "Thomas is real!!!"  Let's just say he was one happy boy!

This was Luke and Brock on the train together.  Mimi and Papa sat across the isle from us and Papa was able to capture some priceless pictures of Brock on his very first Thomas ride.  It's obvious to see where Brock got his adorable looks from! {raising eyebrows up and down}

"Look at my huuuusband ya'll!" -Flo, from Disney's "Cars" (I have way too many Disney movies memorized)

And last, but not least...our Beautiful Sophie.  Our little Peach.  She might possibly be the sweetest little girl on the planet.  She's got a little of her mom's crazy in her too, but what an angel we have living in our family.  We love our Sophie B.

Big Boy Underpants

Two weeks ago on a dreary Monday morning, we were stuck inside once again due to the non-spring weather and I was searching for something  I could do with the kids to pass the time.  Then I got a genius idea.  Why not potty train Brock today! 

 

 WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY????!!!!!!! 

Potty training is not all my mom cracked it up to be.  I'm pretty sure I don't have the same amount of drive and determination as my mom because she potty trained all of her children, save one (which would be 6 children) at the age of 18 months - in ONE day.  One day people.
 I have to say the first 3-5 days were the hardest.  The first day or two I was taking him to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes and the days following that I started being able to stretch it out to every 20-25 minutes.  I think by day 3 I was ready to quit.  It's not that he was having accidents or not doing well, cause he was accident free and loving it, but it was more the fact that it was consuming my entire life and I didn't have time to eat, think, or take myself to the bathroom.  Poor Sophie was probably feeling very neglected that first week too. 
Did she complain?

 Of course not.
But I of course did.  So here is the progress report:  After two weeks of potty training he is now going potty every 45-60 mins (and occasionally slightly longer) he wears a pull-up while he sleeps, although his naptime pull-up is starting to be dry when he wakes up.  He will go #2 in the toilet if I can magically sense that he needs to go and I wait with him on the toilet for about 30 minutes.  There has been an instance or two when he has told me that he needed to go potty (haaaaallelujah!!) and luckily he didn't have any accidents during church on Sunday because I was really worried about that.
So really, he has been doing a great job, I think I just didn't understand before we started on this little journey of potty training that in the beginning, it requires more discipline of the potty trainer (me) than the potty trainee.  And also that it would be nice if all toilets had a built in peepee teepee to stop the "over-spray" if you will.  I can not tell you how many outfit changes we've had to do because of that one.  Over all, I am happy with his progress and I'm glad to have him out of diapers just in time for Sophie's new solid-food diapers to start getting heinous.  I love my kiddos!

Update

What would an update be without a few pictures of Sophie? She turns 5 months old tomorrow and it is making me hyperventilate a little.  She is such a happy baby and such a good girl.  What can we say, we're crazy about her! 

 We finished our basement at the beginning of October right before Sophie was born but I don't think I ever posted pictures so here it is.  It has been a huge lifesaver to have a space to hangout with the kids and as a family.  I also teach my little singing classes down there and it's perfect.  Thanks to all who helped us finish it!

 Brock is now my little puzzle boy.  One morning he was playing really quietly in his room and I went in and saw him putting together this puzzle all by himself.  Ever since then he's been obsessed with doing puzzles.  Now he can finish this whole puzzle by himself- and fast!  When he wakes up from his nap he always says, "C'mon Momma, build a puzzle!"  I love puzzles too so it's fun for us to do together. :)

 Luke and Brock going out sledding in the back yard.  Luke doesn't get home from work until after it's already dark outside so it's freezing outside but somehow boys don't get cold when they're out playing.  Spring is coming and I'm excited for it to stay lighter a little later so they can keep playing outside together without freezing!

 "Granty Pants" as Brock calls him, or now, "Elder Pants" entered the MTC last week.  You would think after sending two other brothers on missions it would get a little easier but it was rough!  They don't let you go inside the MTC anymore, it's just a curbside drop-off now.  We went to Brick Oven with everyone and then stopped off at the temple for pictures and saying goodbye.  Let's just say there was no shortage of tears.

This picture could make me bawl.  Brock absolutely adores Grant and Granty has been such a good friend to Brocko.  It was hard trying to explain to Brock that he wouldn't see Granty for 2 years so he needed to say goodbye.  Of course he didn't understand.  I just hope he doesn't forget about his good buddy.  Granty will be an incredible missionary, we are certain of that, and we will miss him so much.  I'm so grateful to the men in Brock's life for being a good example to him and serving full time missions.  I can't even imagine what it will be like sending Brock on a mission.  Luckily I don't have to worry about that for a few more years.  Love you Granty, we miss you already!

Christmas a month late!

Here's a few pictures of Christmas.  I think I must have lost my camera on Christmas day and not found it until a week later because we have no pictures of the Black's while they were here!  Bummer!!

It was so fun to have them here in Utah...Brock and Porter had so much fun and were instant buds.  It was great to have my older sister around, I miss her so much!!  We had a great Christmas and a great week after with family and attending Grant's endowment.  So cool.  We love our families!!

 Jace, Izzy, Gabe, Brocko, Kinks in their matching Christmas jams :)

 I might have already posted this?  This is them in their matching Christmas church clothes on Sophie's blessing day!

 Brocko reading his new stories on Christmas morning.  He was so excited.

 Brock and Soph on Christmas morning.  I love that Brock couldn't even take his eyes off of his toys for two seconds to take a picture.  At least he's saying cheese though.

 Sweet Soph in her beauty jammies :)

This was the day after Christmas.  She is such a smiley girl it's so fun!

In case you forget...

here's a beautiful reminder

Happy New Year!!