Dirt on my shirt

I've got dirt on my shirt, grass in my hair, a rip in my pants... but I really don't care!

We headed up Echo Canyon the other weekend and had a great time with friends and family.

The craziest thing that happened? Jack and Hayden said they wanted to play outside while we were cleaning up. So they went outside.. and little did we know, they decided they wanted to go on a walk like they did earlier in the day! After a few minutes we noticed we couldn't hear them outside anymore and we went looking for them. They were way down the dirt road where a couple of guys had found them!! AHHH. Good thing they were nice people! Man! Jack and Hayden were pretty shook up about the whole thing. So yeah, things can happen really fast when it comes to little people :P We're just glad they were okay. Darn little stinkers! :)

Love & Pride

This fourth we celebrated in Utah. We were originally planning on heading to Wyoming again.. but I am really glad we stuck around. The Saturday before the fourth we had a big barbecue with lots of friends and family. All of the kids enjoyed putting on skits for us, and we enjoyed good food :) . After all that fun, we made our way up the hill in North Salt Lake to enjoy the fireworks. On our way home, we ended up getting lost... we ended up wandering through Salt Lake for maybe an hour before we figured out where we were! It was about 11pm at this time. Blake had crashed in the stroller, and Jack came to me and said, "Carry me Mommy. My legs hurt, I can't walk anymore!" haha, poor little guy. Luckily Mike threw him up on his shoulders and we kept on walking. Good thing Keri and I had three big gringos to protect us ;)

On the actual 4th we headed down and watched the parade in Layton. We had such a great time!! We walked around the festivities afterwards, had great unique food, Jack got to ride a fun little train, and we got to slide down a big inflatable slide! I totally wanted to ride the mechanical bull, but the line was too long :P Maybe next year!! ;)

That night we headed over to Liberty Park where we got to enjoy a Wailer's concert!! It was AWESOME! And for those of you who don't know who they are.. they are the band that use to play with Bob Marley. So yes, it was an amazing Reggae concert.

Right when one of the last songs ended the fireworks went right over our heads.. then they came back and sang two more songs. It was an awesome night, surrounded with people I love. What else could I have asked for? I hope you all had a great 4th! And remember what it means to be proud of our country.

Jack has gotten to the point where he wants to help with everything. He is so willing to help with whatever is needed, and is always wanting to give hugs to make things better. He is talking non stop, and is always asking what time it is, and what things are. He is such a smart little buckaroo. He loves building things, and loves to make Blake happy.. and pick on him all at the same time :) Jack has really gotten into doing handstands and summer-saults lately!

Blake loves to climb on everything. He still gives the best slobbery kisses, and LOVES to have his shoes on all the time. He still sleeps with his binky, and loves to drink out of big cups. He is growing so fast and loves to be a part of the excitement. Blake also loves picking on his big brother, and he tries to do the summer-saults to.. but he just rolls from side to side. Still pretty good if you ask me!! :)

~ I just wanted to add some pictures of other people I love, and things they've been up to lately. Dave & Gretel are still in Saudi Arabia, but plan on traveling back to Mexico in the next week or so. They will be there for a few weeks before heading back again to teach school.

Uncle Spence and Rita are having fun with their cabin building adventures, and Josh and Keri got to go visit them. They also got to visit Jullian and Iliana and their two beautiful twin babies! What lucky ducks!

Somewhere there is someone who dreams of your smile, and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile. So, when you are lonely remember it's true ~ somebody somewhere is thinking of you.

Pushing

Everyone always tells you, don't give up.. you can achieve whatever it is you put your mind to. And you know what? They're right. You can.. with enough drive and determination, you can get whatever it is you want.

But sometimes, in this thing we call life, it's good to take a step back and realize what it is you are actually working towards. Is it really worth the battle of the fight? Is it really worth the sacrifice of pushing yourself this hard? Sometimes it is best to understand that it's ok to stop. I wouldn't call it 'giving up' per se.. but in a sense it's kind of like walking away from a fight, or realizing maybe that direction isn't the correct one for you.

Most of the time, the directions we are pointed in are something that we want very badly - which makes it that much harder to stop and walk away. But what do you think? Will that make us better people to push til the end.. or is it true we still need to do everything with 100%... and if it isn't working.. just turn around?

Bundles :)

Blake turned 18 months a couple of weeks ago. It's crazy how fast he is growing! His stats are:

33 1/2 inches ~ 80% in length

25.9 lbs ~ 45% in weight

and his head is in the 80%

His Pediatrician said that even though he is only in the 80% for height.. he will most likely will keep growing and be a tall fella when he is older.

Blake is such a funny kid. He is so entertaining! And as much of a spit fire he is, he is incredibly calming when he is sitting in your lap. Even when he was a baby he had the amazing ability to make everything better when he is close.

He can say a few words, and is constantly running everywhere. His favorite food is, by far, mangos.

* For those of you who haven't heard, I miscarried last week. Even though I wasn't very far along, it was an incredibly hard experience for me. I cried, a lot. And the pain in my stomach didn't help much either. But I wanted to say thanks to those who gave me comfort and let me cry on their shoulders. I am feeling much better, but it's crazy how when someone mentions it at all, I automatically tear up. I want to send my love to all of those who have lost a little one. No matter how far along you were, it is still not easy.

On a happier note... Sage's (Sylvia's) little baby girl, Rhian Michaela Livingston was born aboard Infinity, anchored in Vanua Levu, Figi near Lambasa~ May 31st at 8 am. She's 21 inches long, 3.2 kilos and their beautiful sunshine :)