Dynamic Duo

Luke is in the process of acquiring a new skill: sitting up (with the help of his Bumbo!) He is happy as a clam up on the counter, in the middle of the action. Tiana and he have had a few adorable exchanges over dinner while waiting for daddy to come home. She'll say something funny or make a silly face and he laughs - yes, laughs- at her. It is priceless. They're quite a pair!

Caramel FHE

Last Monday night we deviated from the normal Family Home Evening and invited the Greenwoods over to make caramel apples. It was an experience, to say the least. After a few minutes of six kids under 5 years old in the house, Eric and Bud determined that this should be a once-a-year experience. Katie and I rolled our eyes. Do they realize that this chaos is what we live for??

Primary Program...the best Sunday of the year

Tiana did a fabulous job on her Primary Program part on Sunday. And I'm not just saying that! This video doesn't even begin to do her justice (cute as it is!) Through the rest of the meeting block, people came up to Eric and I in a steady stream to compliment Tiana's performance. She even outdid most of the kids in Senior Primary with the length of her talk, her memorization and mostly her poise. One gentleman's comment was, "If only we could all speak like that!" It was absolutely adorable. She truly stole the show. Needless to say, Eric and I were beaming!

Family Camp

Chad, Carole, and Emily flew out from South Carolina for the weekend and we had such a great time playing with them. From camping to the zoo to dinner and Dad & Em's birthday party, the fun never stopped. One of the highlights of the weekend was camping in the mountains...there's nothing like cool mountain air to help me relax and reflect on how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family...as the long weekend came to an end, I realized with some dismay that I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. In pondering this misfortune, however, I realized that in neglecting to have my camera at my fingertips every second, I actually enjoyed LIVING each moment. I came to the conclusion that sometimes memories are better kept in our minds, where they are pure and un-edited. Celebrating dad's 60th birthday was exciting...the movie Ryan and Braden made of his life was awesome. I'm so proud of my heritage!Luke was perfectly content all evening...he couldn't have been bundled in more layers, and with everyone clamoring to hold him, his first real camping experience was a success (okay, so he didn't actually CAMP overnight - thank goodness we live so close to the canyon - but he did love the evening campfire and early morning camp breakfast in the mountains!)
Tiana wore herself out exploring the woods with Emily and then learning the art of roasting (burning?) marshmallows and munching on cheetos simultaneously. She was too tired to complain when, as the campfire surrendered itself to the chill of the night, Eric changed her into her thermal jammies and tucked her into a thick sleeping bag. She slept like a bear till 6 a.m., when, much to Eric's chagrin, she had to go potty. I say he ought to count himself lucky that she didn't have to go in the middle of the cold night...
The ultimate life....marshmallows, a cupful of cheetos, and a warm fire. Emily and Tiana were absolutely adorable despite the cold.
Tiana was excited to show grandpa Reed the endless possibilities that a headlamp can provide...Happy Birthday Dad!
Derek brought his family up to join us for the camp breakfast the next morning. While the adults relaxed and then broke camp, these 3 musketeers had the time of their lives playing in grandma and grandpa's tent.

The Perfect Daddy

Home from a work party where she got her face painted
and had more fun than any preschooler
should be allowed to have on a school night,
Princess Tiana posed with her two princes.

Luke often falls asleep
while Eric catches the nightly news.

Eric taking a break from his nightly surf of political blogs (it's an election year, after all!) to feed Luke with an ever-vigilant Tiana making sure the feeding goes well. When the kids are awake, he's spending time with them in one way or another, and I'm so grateful for his dedication and interest in their lives. What could make a mom happier? Life is just so GOOD!

School Days

Preschool is back in full swing, and Lucas doesn't know what hit him! He and mom are both adjusting to a stricter schedule and less attention-on-demand while Tiana delights in a new crowd of kids in the house...she loves school and her friends and is learning to love actually doing her schoolwork...!

Is Everybody Happy?

This is what I get to look at practically all day long, every day. Luke is the happiest baby; smiles and laughs at everyone or at nothing at all. We are continually amazed that we have the privilege of being his parents. Eric insists that, objectively speaking(!) he is the CUTEST baby alive. Also adorable is the way Tiana fusses over him and talks to him...

Campout

Last weekend was the ward campout - yes, it takes an organized activity these days to get us to camp - and Tiana had a ball. Eric wasn't as pleased with the crowded, loud conditions, and Luke and I wish we could have stayed overnight. Luke was an angel all day and late into the evening as I ran around with him in a frontpack trying to stay organized (can I say that being ward activities committee chairman is sometimes a singlehanded-experience? Not really but sometimes it feels that way.) Our little Junebug couldn't get in enough exploring while Luke found a friend in sleeping Stephen Ceraso. Precious!

Capsized!

So we took Tiana canoeing down the Provo river with Luke's birthmom Mandy and her brother Matt when they came out mid-August. We also dragged dad and our friend Bud with his kids Jake and Madi. It was an awesome afternoon; we're all just having a grand ol' time on the river, and all of a sudden, with no apparent cause, Bud's canoe (which had all 3 kids aboard happily squirting each other with water guns) tipped. All the way over. We are all still bewildered as to why on earth they capsized. Nevertheless, thankfully Bud and his brother Ben had their wits about them and scooped the kids into their arms before they were all completely submerged and lost in the current. Eric quickly maneuvered his canoe with Matt and Mandy aboard to the riverbank and swam out to help bring the kids in. I, on the other hand, had a slight panic attack and capsized dad and my canoe (much to dad's dismay - sorry!) in the process of trying (hopelessly) to "save" my brave daughter. We were almost to the takeout, thank goodness, and cookies, cheetos and hotdogs miraculously cured our 3 musketeers of their shivers and wailing. At the end of the day, Tiana's comment was that she prefers canoeing on lakes, where you never capsize, and can we please go to a lake instead of a cold river next time???

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

Actually, all we rode were the carnival rides at the county fair. Tiana wanted more, but Eric was done after the first one. Weak stomach? We met Justin and Megan and Molly there and had a grand ol' time! Hot scones and some rodeo watching were the perfect end to the evening.