For the last month or so we have been planning a trip to St George to spend a long weekend with Bake's family. It was the first time was have all been together for almost two years. The grandkid total alone had almost doubled since then. Crazy. Our last day together we had some olympic games for all the kids. They loved it, and I hopped on the chance to get a picture of everyone there. I have plenty more events to blog about this weekend, but for now you can see all my peeps. It was seriously the best weekend ever. So blessed to have all these people in my life.
life is crazy. time is passing me by and i don't feel like i have a minute, a second even, to actually be in it. to enjoy it. to breathe in everything around me and count my blessings. i have a lot of them.
i forced myself to sit at my computer today and hull through images this morning. i opened up this folder from our thanksgiving trip up north and broke down into tears. these pictures are in no way perfect, but it is my family. them being them. i love my family. more then words could ever express. on a daily basis i am constantly fighting an inner battle of self doubt as to whether or not i am giving them enough. am i doing all i can to protect them, to love them, to provide for them, to encourage them, and to teach them. am i doing all i can so as to not screw them up. kids are like a parents best recipe. a little of this, a lot of that, and when you realize something isn't working you substitute it for something else.
baker recently was out golfing and when i checked in via text message he wrote back to tell me that he was playing awful and wasn't having fun. without blinking i replied "just do your best and make the most of it." i quickly realized i wasn't living my own advice. i spend a lot of time and energy battling my own self doubts. the bottom line.
i am doing my best.
some days my best is worse then the day before. on a good day, better. but for me right now, in this moment, i am doing my best. that is all i could ever ask from my kids. to give it their all and do their best. so for them i can do the same.
we blessed dane the first weekend in august. it was great to have family and friends be there for the special occasion. we snapped a few pictures of him with some of the guests, i just wish i would have gotten everyone. bummer. thanks again to everyone who traveled to be here. dane is grateful!
for whatever reason the pictures below aren't getting to full size. click on it to see them bigger.
as a side note, i can't believe how different he already is. he is getting so big, so fast! ugh!
the glenn family was nice enough to come out when we blessed dane back in august. emmy l-o-v-e-d having her cousins here. i wish we got to see them all more often. on both sides of the family. emmy and lilly cuddled up on my bed to watch shows (as you can see lola did less cuddling and more exploring), and then enjoyed a nice mini sausage and pancake blanket (wondering what that is? sausage wrapped in pancake..normally served on a stick like a corndog. they are delicious, especially dipped in syrup). and of course they both had to have a dora sippy cup. because one can't have one and not the other. of course.
grace made her big debut! she is very punctual and came right on her due date. i haven't talked to cam yet but i hear she is doing great! she was 8lbs 11oz and 20" long. just barely beat dane. she is healthy and beautiful and straight poly like her dad. i can't wait to meet her.
i feel extremely lucky and incredibly blessed to be married to this man. he is constantly helping me be a better person, continually encouraging me in all my dreams, and supporting me every step of the way. but most importantly, he is the best dad to our two kids. i love watching emmy light up every day he walks in the door, and witnessing those little smiles that dane gives him in their quiet moments together. thank you baker for being everything and more to me and our babies. i love you.
this is a little video emmy made baker for fathers day. as a warning, it may be a bit long for those of you who aren't family!
we spent the evenings at my dads house playing pong, bocce ball, and oohing and ahhing over the three grandkids that were there. dinner was delish. it just felt good to be with family.
why my dad had to bbq on fathers day we are still trying to figure out.
dad and his mom. she is one of the most beautiful people on the planet. hands down.
these are two of the three new additions to the family. kyler is 6 weeks older then dane. we missed little baby charlie right between them. unfortunately she is still stuck in utah. please come visit. please.
seriously, do you think that i could ever get a picture with emmy smiling? probably not. she is not into haming it up. you think maybe the camera is in her face too much?
i love these cousins. sooo much fun. oh wait.. is that emmy attempting a smile? it's a miracle. probably cause grandma was the one with the camera.
this was our attempt at a family picture. ha. yeah right.
baker and i never get pictures together. almost never. so as terrible as it is of me, this picture makes me happy.
i.love.him. my sweet dane is beginning to love life a bit more. heavenly.
