Boating

We've done some boating lately -- we go to a lake about 1 hour 40 minutes away.  It's a bit of a drive but the lake is big and it's not crowded at all -- which is a BIG plus! We just stay on the boat all day -- which is great and easy and perfect.  Here is Isaac and Beau chilling in the shade (under the steering wheel) during lunch.  

 

I only have a few pictures of people doing things -- but here is my mom surfing!!! Look at her -- she's awesome!

And here is Taylor surfing -- he's so good -- he doesn't have to use the rope (note to self: do not go before him or after him -- he will make you look bad!) :)  We love going boating!

And during this particular "swim break" Isaac decided he wanted to "surf" with daddy! This is as close as he has gotten...baby steps... :) 

While we were unloading stuff, Isaac drove his tractor around -- and Taylor even put Beau in the back! Look at those cuties!!! Mmmm, love them!!!!!!

Family Vacation in Island Park, Idaho

At the end of July, we went to one of our favorite places on earth -- my grandparents cabin in Island Park, Idaho.  I had the pleasure of driving out with my parents, aka sitting in the back seat of the truck sandwiched between two car seats.  Wahoo! :) Actually, the boys did great, so it wasn't a big deal.  I was able to be there for about 12 days, and Taylor joined us for the last 5 days.  We did a lot of boating, eating, playing games, sleeping... you know--vacation! The cabin is right on the lake so it's wonderful! 

I love this picture of my Papa -- or Papa "G" (for Papa Great) -- and Beau

 

Isaac did a lot of four-wheeling
 

 Nana "G" with Aiden, Ava, Ash and Isaac playing card games

After church we went to a part of the river where you can feed big fish -- it was pretty cool and a nice guy shared some cheese with Isaac to feed them (Seagulls ate the bread before the fish) 

On our way home, we stopped at my grandparents house in Blackfoot (2 hours away) -- another favorite place of ours.  Taylor and Isaac fed one of their horses -- Isaac was totally excited and then saw the teeth and decided to be a spectator.  

Isaac running down the lane to the house 

Got some pictures of the boys in my grandparents beautiful yard.  Beau is 7 months old in these pictures 

 Not so sure about the grass...

Beau LOVES Isaac, and Isaac LOVES Beau -- everyone laughs at me when I say they will be like this the whole time they grow up together :) 

Isaac ALWAYS wants to give Beau kisses 

The best we could get of the two of them smiling (again, Beau was not so sure about the grass - ha!) 

It was a great trip!! We love going to Idaho! It brought back so many memories of when we used to live there! (And it was fun to see some old co-workers!)

I'm WHAT???

Well friends, it's true -- I am doing something that I NEVER thought I would do.... RUNNING! My wonderful friend, Leslie, got me into it. Something about getting out of the house at night without kids and running just does something good for the body! So, we did the 4th of July "Fun Run" for the 3rd year in a row, and this time, I actually ran. Of course I didn't run the whole thing (4.2 miles) because, come on, I just started. But I did run a full mile without walking -- that was my first milestone! I averaged a 12:23 minute mile .... and now I am down to 10 to 10.5 minute miles.
It is fun to think about the first night Leslie and I went running to my last run. The first time was "let's just run to the next street" and now it is running for 20 minutes straight. CRAZY. Soo crazy that we signed up to a 5k all-girls mud run in September!

Hot Off The Camera: Beau @ 6 Months

Whoa--two posts in one day! Hot off the camera are pictures of Beau at six months. For any that noticed, yes, I did NOT take pictures at 5 months. Oops. Well, it wasn't like I forgot, but it was right around the time we were getting ready for Hawaii and it was not a priority to me. It's rather a big pain to take these pictures, and I'm contemplating just taking them whenever he has his doctor appointments, but then I feel bad that Isaac has them every month.... but I'm sure I'll get over that feeling. :)

So, can you believe it, Beau is SIX MONTHS already. He weighs 16 lbs 3 oz (25%) and is 27 inches long (70%) and I don't remember his head measurement, but it is in the 25th percentile.

He does pretty well sitting up -- not well enough to put him down and walk away -- but well enough that he can sit up. He rolls like a rolling King. We can put him on the floor and he can roll to other side of the room. It's great now--a few weeks ago when he would roll to his stomach right away in his crib and fall asleep and then wake up screaming because he couldn't get back to his back -- was not a very fun period.

He's so chill, he eats solids twice a day and is a good sleeper. He is pretty content with Isaac climbing on him, never fusses, I'm sure that will change. He still nurses 5 times a day and sleeps for about 12 hours at night. His naps during the day total about 5-6 hours.

He seems to love the pool. He always is squirming to get in, so I assume that means he likes it. I love this next picture -- Isaac is trying to kiss Beau and Beau has his hand on Isaac's mouth trying to push him away.

I can't wait to watch their love and relationship develop! And yes, this is a classic Beau face: big eyes, open mouth. Like I said, he is pretty chill.

Up next: I believe we should be seeing teeth pretty soon....

Random Happenings

A week or so ago, we went miniature golfing as a family. We made family goals for the summer, and that was one of them. Isaac has had his own "set of golf clubs" for a year or longer and loves playing it, but for some reason, when we got there it's like he forgot how to hold the club and hit the ball! Ha! But we still enjoyed our evening out as a family followed by pizza!

Taylor did try to teach him, but he must have been too excited to really focus.

Last week, a friend and I took Isaac and his friend (her son) to a "spray ground" -- for a 90 degree day, it was perfect!!

My mom's birthday was last month, and part of serving in the single's ward and having the combination of a birthday that falls on FHE night means lots of fun (for us) and embarrassment (for her!) I called my dad during the day and asked for "permission" to make her birthday a big deal, and so we got a big cake, decorations and signs and of course--stuff for her:

Isaac started swim lessons again. He has already gone under water (he is scared of that!) more times than he did last year, so thats improvement!

We have a Velodrome here in the Springs, if you don't know what that is, don't worry--neither did I. It is a track for bikes to race on (to put it very simply). One of our good friends was racing, so a few of us went to watch. Here is Isaac with some of his friends watching.

And lastly, my dad has been telling Isaac for a long time about how they are going to go fishing together. And alas, yesterday, they went and got Isaac a fishing pole and went fishing.

He LOVED it! ... didn't catch anything, but he still loved it!

A week in Hawaii

Well...it's time. No more putting off this post. We spent a week in Maui, Hawaii at the beginning of June and L.O.V.E.D it!!!! It was Taylor's first time to Hawaii, and I don't think it disappointed!! We stayed at the Grand Wailea and it was awesome! I don't care to upload every single picture, so here are some highlights. A view from our hotel:
Isaac was our navigator to the hotel from the airport:
Monday: The boys went ziplining--they said it was awesome. It was 2.5 miles of pure ziplining.

While they were ziplining, Beau took his first dip in the water. This was the kids "sandy beach" part of the pool. It was perfect for Isaac!

That night we took family pictures. This was us playing in the ocean when we were all done. Once of the best memories for me!

Tuesday: Taylor and I took the boys to a part of the island called Kula. There is an LDS church there which was the first branch established back in 1851 in Hawaii. It was awesome!

Our family inside the church.

When we got back to our hotel, we spent the afternoon swimming.

Wednesday: Day at the pool. Isaac LOVED going to the pool. This day Taylor, Tyson and myself did a "Introductory to Scuba Diving Lesson" -- scariest thing ever!! It just enhanced my desire to NEVER scuba dive!!!!!!!

Thursday: Girls day at the SPA!! LOVED it!

That night: ice cream!

Friday: Another day at the pool. The pool had cabana's that you could rent--we got a small one on Monday and the larger ones on Wednesday and Friday--they were perfect with kids! That night we went to Ruth Chris's Steak House to celebrate Taylor's birthday.

Saturday: Our last day :( This day, I conquered another fear (Fear #1 was scuba diving on Wednesday). Taylor and I were able to go just the two of us (thanks again mom and dad for watching the boys!) and we decided it would be fun to rent scooters and drive around Maui. It was AWESOME and I am soo glad we did it, but I have NEVER driven a scooter or anything two-wheeled in my life. (4-wheelers are way different than scooters!) Needless to say, the first 30 minutes or so I was sooo scared that I was going to tip or something... but the things we saw were so breathtaking!! Nothing like driving along the ocean coast in Hawaii!

It was a GREAT trip! We loved every minute. In the words of Isaac, "We miss Hawaii!" Thanks again Mom and Dad for a wonderful trip!!!!

May: Trip to Utah

As I thought about all the things I need to blog about, I decided I am going to be better at updating. I am going to be better at recording the funny things Isaac says and the milestones Beau is hitting...and then I started this post and uploading the pictures...and by the third attempt and having to upload one at a time...I thought, "I don't know if I am going to get better at this..." :) Ok, no really, I do WANT to be better, just don't know how well I will execute that goal.... :)




Well, let's go back to the month of May. May was an eventful month, hence the lack of time to blog. Sara McConkie got married -- this was a highlight of our month -- for those of you who don't know, Sara and I grew up together, danced together, went on some double dates together, and then when we graduated high school we decided to be college roommates together. She met a boy named Matt and they dated -- and it's so fun knowing I was a part of their love story (in terms of talking to Sara lots about it) ... well, Sara and Taylor (my hubby) are cousins. Sara introduced me to Taylor and obviously Taylor and I are married, so NOW Sara and I are cousins!! It's so fun...and who whould have thought that six years ago when Sara and Matt started dating, that the four of us would all be related?! SO, again, Sara's wedding was an exciting highlight for us. The month started off by attending her bridal shower here in Colorado. Here is 5 of the 6 freshman roommates:

Then in the middle of May we drove out to Utah. We caravaned out with Sara's brother, David and his family. Beau did alright in the car...he didn't understand why he couldn't get out of his carseat when he was awake...but he did well, we can't complain. We arrived Thursday night and the wedding was on Friday. We were able to attend their sealing and the luncheon following. I am PATHETIC to say that I didn't take one picture. After the luncheon we went up to Salt Lake for the reception. Sara asked me to be a bridesmaid, and that was fun to be apart of their special day! Again... no pictures, pathetic, I know!

--I want to remember how my sister in law, Heather, had Isaac stay at their house Friday night after the reception. We were staying in SLC and she lives in Spanish Fork. Isaac had had an accident in his pants (too busy playing to stop!), was in his church clothes and I was totally unprepared for a night stay with cousins -- far away from us. Of course Heather thought I was crazy for worrying -- not like I was worried about who he was with -- that was the part that got me through it! -- but it was so on the whim and I was so unprepared it made for a worrisome me. But Isaac had a BLAST with his cousins and I love family for this reason! -- The ability to do things like this.

Saturday, while in Utah, Taylor signed up to do the Salt Lake Century -- a 100 mile bike ride. Taylor just got into cycling last summer and got a fancy bike for Christmas. I thought he was crazy for riding for 100 miles just to sit in a car the next day, but he did fabulous on the ride and the car ride wasn't a big deal. He did SOOOO well!!

Our good friend, Jordan Johnson, also drove out from CO for the ride! I think that was a huge motivator for Taylor--to do the ride with someone! We have three other couples that live by us in the Springs where all the hubbies like to ride and we are all in the same stage of life, so it's so much fun -- for the wives and the hubbies -- and the kids!
We drove home Sunday and we timed it perfect. Beau slept all morning during our drive. He was awake for our lunch stop and then slept all afternoon until we got home!

The following Saturday was Sara and Matt's Colorado reception. We were so excited to attend that as well. Look at this gorgeous, tan couple! (Finally, I got pictures!!) And now, we can have fun saying we are all 4 cousins

Since Sara and Matt were in town for the reception, we were able to spend Sunday afternoon/dinner with them before they headed to Oklahoma. It was great spending some one on one time with them and their family who were still in town from the reception! Sure love them!