newest home additions

Can you believe someone gave us this incredible play yard? It's true! Our generous neighbor, Rick, is "buddies" with Isaac--the two are often found hobnobbing around Rick's yard, picking raspberries, inspecting plums, or chatting. Rick's own daughter had outgrown this and so he offered it to us for free--to his little buddy--if we could just find help to haul it over the fence (I knew there was a good use for the four elders in our ward! j/k). The boys LOVE it! Isaac has dubbed it his "tree house." Another generous family, the Quigleys, gave us these two beautiful little couches for our living room. I love them! The one opens as a chest--it's like the cedar chest I never had (though not made of cedar :). We finally had a last reason to banish the TV to the basement, where it will permanently reside (hopefully).

dirty little faces

Licking off beaters. . . a favorite pasttime for our little boys

One time Lincoln was being awfully quiet. . . Upon investigation I discovered he had climbed up on a kitchen table chair and was meticulously licking up the remains of my Asian-sesame dressing with the utmost relish!

link's little horsie ride

At certain moments, having kids makes me long to be a kid again.

david and wendy's visit

So it's been about two years since I've seen my brother David and his family, and we were lucky to have them stop by to visit us on their way out to Utah this summer. They drove from Pennsylvania to Utah and back with six kids in tow! They have such a beautiful family. All six of their kids are kind, well-behaved, sweet, and fun! The boys played so well with mine and enjoyed a sleepover in the basement while the girls and I made necklaces. We love you, David, Wendy, Macy, Mead, Cole, Clay, Ella, and Lily!

more fun in utah

We're obviously having WAY too much fun in Utah this summer! We enjoyed our Hansen Family reunion in Midway and extended the visit a few days to visit family. Never can have too much time with cousins!

like daddy like link

So Isaac's not the only one who wants to follow in Daddy's footsteps (see two blogs down).

bear lake highlights

Our annual trip to Bear Lake with Jed's family was yet-again successful (yet can't quite top the year of our first kiss . . . :). memories to take from this year: -A lot of kayaking -Sailing on the hobie cat (but grateful we weren't with Madison--who got his expedition lost!) -Jed and Spence biking around the lake -Jed's mom Kristen and I biking around the next day, just to show them up -Grandma's helicopter and grenade impersonations -A miracle in Wyoming where an angel's hands were on mine on the wheel -Blue blue blue pristine lake and sky. To us, BL seems like one of the few places left on earth that remains untouched. May it always be.

like daddy like ike

Moab trip

I guess it's about time I get off my duff and get updating my blog! There is just so much to report of our busy summer. I'll start by posting a few pics of our trip to Moab, Utah, in the beginning of July. We were there a whole week while Jed did some research for his dissertation. There is SO much to do there! Jed at Corona Arch Isaac at Bowtie Arch Ed and Link at Corona Arch Isaac at Morning Glory Bridge (Negro Bill Canyon)

Our fam at my new favorite arch--Sand Dune Arch Jed relaxin' at Sand Dune Arch We stayed with our friend Lola DeLong The boys with Ed's girls Elisa and Marta

bun nut

For some reason--don't ask me why--Isaac recently started calling Lincoln "Bun Nut." At first I didn't really like it, but Isaac says it with such love toward his little brother. Now it's pretty endearing, and I've even caught myself calling him that!

political compass

Okay, so Jed and I discovered a fascinating website called http://www.politicalcompass.org/ where you can take a test to identify your political beliefs--and it isn't just the traditional left/right. Then you can compare your results with popular world leaders. Take it and let me in on your results!

june fun

I wanted to highlight some fun events from June. We attended a fantastically fun birthday party for Hailey and Ashley Jensen (Hailey pictured) at Monkey Bizness, an indoor bouncy gym. (Isn't her princess cake awesome?) With our Mom's group we went to Denver's Museum of Nature and Science where they had the coolest stuffed (taxidermy?) animals (what do you call those, anyway?). Ike with wolverines (for you, Grandma Smith! :) Isaac and Makadie with two big moose! Isaac had been searching all over for the coyote, and at last we found one! Little llamas for the kids to ride.