Awfully far from home, ain't ya, Bambi?

Imagine my surprise when I looked out our back window
and found THIS face staring back at me!
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Silly, I KNOW, but I grabbed for my camera and yelled for the boys to come see... Quick!

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It's not evra dayee that us city kidz see wahld critterz a-wanderin' though our yard
a-munchin' on our them-thar bushes-a-owrz!
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We live a good several miles from the eastside foothills where they usually frequent, after all.
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So we had a few magical minutes watching them, watching us!
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And pardon my non-deer-saavy- lingo, but there were 2 young bucks
hanging out up on our back rock-wall... (Look close!)
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Note the big 5-pointed horns/antlers on the far right, in the shade... he was the "look-out", I think.
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I jokingly told Kaden to go get his new cross-bow and we'd eat this guy for dinner...
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You should have seen his face... I thought he was going to cry!
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(Yeah... we're a bunch of softies... NOT a drop of Hunter-blood amongst us!)
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This little fawn wandered and galloped all over the place! Soooo cute!
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Trevan wanted to go out and pet it!
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And didn't understand why it ran away when he climbed into the window to get a closer look... City Slickers! I guess they have a few things to learn! :)

Happy, Happy Birthday, Cheryl Dear...

One of my favorite people in all the world had her Birthday last week...

We neighbor girls finally found a night when we could take her out to celebrate for a belated Birthday Dinner.

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PF Changs... always a treat!

And despite our onery waiter (seriously, sooooo rude!), we managed to have a fun Girl's Night out!

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So Happy, Birthday Cheryl!

You know I love you to pieces... you are truly one one of the most sincere and genuine people I know. Such a wonderful friend to everyone.

I am blessed to have your friendship and influence in my life. I can always count on you!

...Not to mention, you $ave me thousands in therapy!

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AND you love treats as much as me!

(Yeah... it's all about that Great Wall of Chocolate! Mmmm!)

Ummm... ooops!

Anyone having a bad day?.

Yeah, I guess it could be worse... THIS could be your house and car!

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I drove by this mess on my way out and about this morning... glad it's not anyone I know!

Still, sooo SAD!

Sweltering...

I am currently grateful for 2 things...

(Everything else I am pretty sure I could live without!)

1- The modern miracle of air-conditioning...

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And 2- The wonderful man who is going to show up sometime tomorrow to fix ours!

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(Seriously, it's the end of July, people... It's 100 degrees outside!

And do I need to remind you that I am 7 months pregnant?

NOT a good time to come home from vacation and find the AC out!)

Supersonic loves my children...

It is safe to assume I will be taking a trip to the Carwash tomorrow...

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and this is after just ONE Chip!

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Who knew you could make this much of a mess with one Chocolate Chip Cookie!

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And who thought digging the cherries out of the cooler was a good idea?

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Cherries!?

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Oh the joys of a Road Trip with kids!

For the record, I have forbidden my boys to even look at food while in the car until they are at least 12...

Relaxing Day at the Pool?

...Yep!

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One of the things we adore about our Little D is how happy and uber-easy-going he is...

Seriously, he is soooo chill!

We can go anywhere and do anything and he is just thrilled to be along for the ride!

(Really, how many kids do you know that fall asleep IN the pool?)

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And I love that he is still clutching the little goggle strap that Matt tied on for him to play with!

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What a sweetie!

Having a Ball...

Well, it was $1.00 well-spent!

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Dayne had a "ball" playing with this Beach Ball at the pool!

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He about wore me out chasing him around!

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(Just don't mind the sicko shots of me in my swimsuit... Sorry, but I was there, after all!)

Happy Pioneer Day!

So we spent Pioneer Day in St. George

(Where, apparently, they don't believe in doing fireworks... what?

We looked! There were NONE going on, anywhere!)

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with sick kids...

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(Well, okay, let's be accurate... A sick kid...

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and another who wanted to be sick to make sure he got his fair share of attention!)

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who laid on the couch all day watching movies...

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So... What to do... Hmmm...

For lack of a better idea, we had French Toast in the shape of Utah for Breakfast!

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No one tell my boys how truly LAME this was... They LOVED it!

And Kaden actually ate for the first time in days!:)

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So, Happy Birthday, Utah! (Well, sort of, I guess!)

At any rate, how grateful we are for the Pioneers...

I, for one, could NOT have done it!

Big Sunday for our Handsome Little Men...

Kaden had his Baptism Interview this morning with our beloved Bishop...

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(Quick sidenote: We just adore the Durrant family... They have been our "across-the-street-neighbors"

since just after Kade was born until we moved into this house, so now they are just around the corner.

Matt & I have often joked that we want to be "Devin & Julie" when we grow up.

I have also been able to teach all 3 of their oldest daughters in YW, and even though they are all grown up now, we still keep in touch and I just love them to pieces!

They are a wonderful family that we hope to emulate and we are grateful to have such an incredible, loving Bishop, who we also consider a good friend!)

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Kaden's visit with Bishop Durrant went well...

He looked so handsome and grown up! He was so excited to wear his new suit and take his new scriptures along. He wasn't nervous at all until a few minutes into the conversation when a question stumped him for a second, but he recovered well and went on to say some wonderful and insightful things that I can't wait to record in the special Baptism Book I am working on for him.

He never ceases to amaze me! What a great kid!

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Trevan gave a talk in Primary about Missionary Work...

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(He wanted to wear a suit, like Kaden, so I quickly rounded up one that Kaden has outgrown and wah-lah... It was a perfect fit! He looked just like a Missionary! We even found a "Future Missionary Tag" for him at the store the other day to complete his "ensemble". )

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He did such a great job giving his talk!

What a pro! He had been practicing all week, so he said all of the words clearly as Daddy whispered them in his ear, and was so proud of himself when he was done.

Mmmmm... Mmmm... Mmmm.... I just love that huge handsome grin!

Awwww... Now if that's not "Brotherly Love"...

...There's just "no-buddy" like a brother!

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(Especially when you need a pillow on the long drive home, after a fun evening at the Park!)

Picnic at the Park...

Our big boys were too busy playing "Guardians of the Trees"

(and I never found the energy to climb up and join them to take photos...

I know... Fat, lazy prego-slug that I am!),

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but Daddy & D had a good time feeding the very spoiled, un-intimidated ducks & geese

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at the Sugarhouse Park Pond...

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(er.. is it Swamp?!)

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We haven't been there for years,

(Matt & I think the last time we went there was for fireworks

one of the years clear back when we were dating!),

but if you can bear the murky water and digusting sidewalk-o-landmines,

(...Seriously, shouldn't that be a violation of some City Health Code?),

it's worth the trip!

Dentist Visits this morning...

I was nervous because we were trying out a new Dentist/Office today.
Strangely, Trevan and I both LOVE the Dentist...
Kaden, on the other hand, is another story (another post for another day!),
and this was Dayne's first visit... so who could know?
(He ended up being in and out of the chair before I even thought to get the camera out... Dang it!
And he was NOT getting back in... Too many other cool things to explore! Sigh... oh, well... next time!)
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It actually went pretty well...

The boys both loved wearing their cool glasses... they felt like Superstars!

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So a couple of Cleanings...
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a few Flossings...

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a bunch of X-rays...

a little more Polishing...

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and a several Flouride Treatments later...

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we all left with squeaky-clean pearly whites!
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And I love this shot...

Kaden actually even kicked back and relaxed a little...

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(Which is a miracle, believe me!)

Trevan's perfect Paper-Airplane Fleet...

As we were picking up this morning,

I came across a bunch of paper airplanes, all in varying sizes,

scattered across the Craft Room floor.

I told Trevan to throw them away.

He assured me they were not "trash" , but his "fleet" of folded airplanes.

I told him to go put them away, then, in his own room somewhere.

Shortly thereafter, I came across this sight, and just had to chuckle...

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(For the record, I did not touch or move anything before I took these photos.)

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Oh, he is soooo my son!

From the time he was tiny, he has had to have things neat and tidy

and loves to arrange things by size or sort them by color.

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He often asks me, "Is this perfect, Mom?"

after making his bed, finishing a project or combing his hair.

(Of course, I always answer with an enthusiastic, "Yes!"

And amazingly, it usually is! He is just barely 5, remember!)

It makes me smile every time to see his big grin, just bursting with pride and accomplishment.

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Ironic that I am posting this right after the prior expose below, regarding my own "OCD"...

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Therapy...

Ahhh...

Sigh... What is it about a neatly stacked cabinet full of perfectly sorted,

color-coded* dishes for my kids that brings such joy to my little soul?

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It's just such a beautiful sight, I had to take a photo...

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I don't expect many of you to understand this, but I just LOVE to be organized...

to the extreme!

Silly, I am sure (and I am the first to admit that it's probably right on the verge of unhealthy),

but I can't deny how very, very GOOD it feels!

(Insert a happy smile of satisfaction...)

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*Some of you already know, and maybe I am sharing too much with the rest of you...

but when I say "color-coded", I mean that in a literal sense...

Each of my children is actually assigned a specific color (before birth),

and everything that belongs to that boy is always that color.

(I have lucked out so far that Kaden's favorite color is blue and Trevan loves red...

Everything for Daynen is green, and of course, he is still too little to know for sure,

but I am hoping that he will just be so used to it that it will grow on him!

And in case you are wondering, after much deliberation, Bronson will be orange.)

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Sound crazy? Maybe...

But I ALWAYS know who remembered to put their dishes in the Dishwasher

or who's Art Supplies are still out in the Craft Room, and I love how easy it makes the little things in our life.

There is no fighting over who's is who's or who gets which one.

And for the record, they love this system, too.

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So there... I said it... Now you know.

Happy 5th Birthday, Trevan!

The other day a friend called and asked for Birthday Gift ideas for Trevan,

so I asked him for suggestions that I could pass along.

He thought for a minute and then excitedly exclaimed,

"I know the perfect gift! An extra candle... so I can be 6!"

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Needless to say, he was a little disappointed when I explained that it doesn't work that way...

He is just so excited to be growing up! He loves being the biggest and tallest of his friends and is always comparing himself to Kaden, or his teenage "big-boy" friend Greg.

He can't wait to start "real" school and has been planning and counting down the days to his birthday since just after his last one.

Whenever I threaten to stack books on top of his head to make him stop growing

or tease him that I am going to put him in the freezer to keep him this age forever,

he just looks at me like I'm a crazy person, rolls his eyes and says,

"Don't worry Mom... I'll still love you even when I'm as big as a Dad."

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Oh, Trev... how is it possible that you are 5 already?

It just doesn't seem like it can be real!

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...And yet somehow it seems like you have been a part of our family much longer

and that you are much more grown up than just 5 years could allow...

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Before you were born, I wondered how I could ever love another little boy as much as our Kaden, but the second I met you in this life, I knew my heart had expanded...

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You are such an easy boy to love! How can anyone not just adore you?

Sometimes you just seem too good to be true!

You have always been my sweetheart, our tender Little Man.

Always eager to please and ready to give lots of love to whoever needs a lift.

Daddy and I can't help but smile when we see you or hear your contagious little giggle!

You are such a joy to be around because of your happy, pleasant nature.

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The name "Trevan" means "Gracious" and "Fair".

I can always count on you to be helpful and obedient, even though there might be something else you'd rather be doing. I love it that you are always the first to volunteer!

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It breaks my heart to ever see you sad or disappointed, because you are such a content and grateful person and never want to hurt anyone else or make them feel bad.

We love to hear you pray, because you are so reflective and rarely ask for anything, just saying thanks for all you have.

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We love that you are so thoughtful and intuitive about the feelings of others.

I see you serving and doing kind things for others every day, even without being asked.

You are selfless by nature and always willing to sacrifice for others, especially those you love.

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You are a great friend and a wonderful, devoted brother.

Even as a tiny baby, you were so star-struck by your Big Brother Kaden.

You still light up whenever he enters the room and can't wait for him to return when he is away. We love that you admire him so much and want to be just like him,

to keep up with him and do all the things he can do.

You are truly his very best and most loyal friend!

You are so sweet and patient with Little Dayne

and I think you might be the most excited one in our family for our new Baby Bronson!

You are probably right when you say you are his favorite...

He loves your daily kisses and snuggles to my tummy

and your constant asking, "How much longer until he gets to come out?"

I am sure he can't wait to meet you, too!

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As you grow, we are continually amazed at how capable you are.

You are just like your Daddy... new things come easily and naturally for you.

We love to watch you excel and your confidence increase.

Just look at the absolute joy on your face..!

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You are logical and practical and we love to see your little mind at work!

You are such a problem-solver, always the first to overcome an obstacle with an immediate solution, and even if it sounds or seems implausible to us, you never give up!

We hope that your optimistic, independent spirit will motivate you to do great things and inspire others thoughout your life.

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We are so proud of you, Trev... You are such a great kid!

We know that your respect for authority, your enthusiasm for learning, your unending determination will insure that you are a success at whatever you decide to do!

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We are so blessed to have your peaceful influence in our home and family

and can't imagine it without you!

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Love~

Mommy

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Dear Trevan~

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Happy 5th Birthday, Trev! I cant believe it you're turning 5! You're growing so fast. (you'll love your birthday present) okay lets get back to wishing you a happy birthday. I'm so excited for tomorrow! (its gonna be fun I can tell) you'll get a lot of birthday presents from every body !
I'm saying weird stuff cuz I cant really think that fast. I love that you're so thoughtfuol to us, you're brothers. Okay I love that you're so excitede to see me when ever I get home; and I love how almost every night you rub my back when you sleep over in my room. I love you trevan I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.
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love~
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kaden
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Daddy loves you, too!

He will type a letter here later! :)