I've been so bad at blogging, like most busy moms, but I need to catch up from March or I never will! We've done quite a few things since Rusty's birthday (the last post), so here's a semi-quick, very detailed update. (It's mostly for me, so feel free to just look at the pictures... they kind of speak for themselves.) :)
April:
April was a crazy busy month! SO much happened, but it was a really fun month.
Russ turned 27 on the 15th and we were lucky enough to have his parents in town to celebrate it with us. His sister, Brittany, also ran her first official marathon in Salt Lake that day, so we went up to see her and cheer her on. His other sister, Reilly, also raced that day and ran the half marathon, so Russ ran about 3 miles with them during the middle of race to encourage them and keep them going. What a good brother! :) He sure loves his sisters and they really love him, especially since he's the only brother they have. They would all do anything for each other. Anyway, Russ had a great day and we loved having both of our families there to celebrate it with us.
Easter! I didn't go "all out" this year like I usually do for Easter, but we still had fun. I got Russ his favorite candy, Rusty got M&Ms, his favorite, as well as some swimming gear and a towel, and I got my favorite candy and a new pair of high heels. My feet shrunk a whole size after I had Rusty, so I've had to replace pretty much all of my shoes. Awesome, huh?? :) SHOPPING!! ha ha!
The day after Easter Rusty and I flew to WA to stay with my Dad and his wife, Judith, for a whole week and we had a blast! My brother, Mitchell, who's been in the Navy for a little over a year was able to visit us in UT for a week before that and then he also went to WA with us, so it was great to see him, as well! My Dad's birthday happened to be while we were up there, so were so excited to celebrate that with him!! He turned 50, but he's the coolest, youngest Dad in the world! As tradition goes, he made his own cake, a homemade German Chocolate Cake with homemade coconut frosting (YUM!!)... we devoured it in 2 days. :) Here's my handsome Dad with his masterpiece:
One of the things I just had to do while we were up there was to go on a ferry ride from Bremerton to Seattle. It's just one of the many experiences you have to have when you visit. I went on several as child and it was always one of my favorite things to do. My Dad brought along two bags of white bread to feed to the seagulls... I knew seagulls were crazy birds, but I have NEVER seen anything like them feeding off of the ferry! It was incredible! We were probably 100 yards from the ferry dock when my Dad threw one of the pieces of bread in the air and I will never forget the frenzy it created! HUNDREDS of birds swarmed the deck in a matter of seconds and for over half the ride we were bombarded by hungry seagulls. People at first were looking at us like we were crazy, but then parents brought their kids out to see it, people were taking pictures, and everyone was having a good time. Rusty wasn't too keen about the situation at first, but towards the end he was having a blast trying to touch the birds. :)
My Dad adores Rusty and they were so cute together... Since Rusty is the first grandkid on my side, he's naturally doted over to the extreme. My Dad built a greenhouse in his backyard and has a workbench, of sorts, in there which he separated into 4 sections (with paint). He painted Rusty's hands and had him decorate the first quarter of the workbench with his hand prints. He'll have him decorate the next section next year, and the two following years after that. It'll be SO cute when it's complete!
I also got to see my [favorite] cousin, Kelli, and her cute family, as well as my best friend from high school, Jasmine, and her husband, Benn, who was also a really good friend of mine and my family's. They came over on the Sunday before we left for my Dad's [family] famous Skones. Yummy! Skones is a secret family recipe that gets handed down to kids as they become adults... a "rites of passage" in my family, really. :) I finally felt like I was ready for the recipe, so now that I have it, I officially feel like an adult. ha ha!
We sure missed Russ while we were gone, and he sure missed us! When we got to baggage claim and Rusty saw Russ, he squirmed out of my arms and ran to Russ and gave him this big bear hug and didn't let go the whole time we waited for our luggage. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! Then when we got home, we walked in to find a mini basketball hoop and ball for Rusty, two movie tickets for our date night, and a big "Welcome Home Mom & Rusty!" poster. Oh, and a CLEAN house! I am the luckiest wife in the world, and Rusty is the luckiest kid. :)
May:
The second weekend in May we decided we need a mini-vacation away from here. Russ has been working so hard this year to not only provide for us, but to get done with school. He's scheduled to graduate in December, so he's been working full-time AND going to school full-time. Oh, and he started his own rock chip repair business with a friend, so he's always been working all day on Saturdays. AND THEN, on top of that, he has to be to church by 7:30/8 am on Sundays for meetings, then church from 11-2, then he usually stays after for about an hour to help our bishop out with interviews and meetings. Needless to say, we desperately needed to get away for a few days. We originally wanted to go to Moab, since we've never been there, but it was supposed to be a rainy, ugly weekend, so we headed to where it's almost always warm in UT... St. George! We LOVE it down there and want to move there someday. We found a condo for really cheap, and it was perfect for the few days we were there. I highly recommend getting a condo if you plan on doing the mini-vacation thing... we had a bedroom, a full kitchen, and access to pools. It was perfect! Anyway, we had a lot of fun just relaxing and hanging out as a family, swimming every day, going to Fiesta Fun and riding the go-karts and boats, visiting the temple, and then we went to Sand Hollow Reservoir on our drive back. Wore the kid out and he slept almost all the way home. It was a perfect trip!
June:
So far June has been great, too. Utah finally decided it was time to be summer, so we've been spending a lot of time at our pool, as well as Seven Peaks, the local water park. Rusty and I have awesome tans and his hair continues to get lighter and lighter... he's going to have white hair by the end of the summer!
For Father's Day I wanted to surprise Russ with pictures of Rusty. I had the same girl that took our family pictures take his pictures and they turned out SO GREAT! The first half hour was a little frustrating, but the remainder of the time we were taking pictures, he couldn't have cooperated any better than he did! I'm glad I waited to do the sports shots at the end when he was happy and cooperative... I wanted those ones to turn out the best because I knew Russ and his dad would love those the best, and I was right. :)
We absolutely love all of these photos... not only are the great photos, but she was really able to capture his sweet, funny little personality. I love referring people to her, so if you want great, high quality pictures, give her a try! You won't be disappointed! To check out her blog, click here. She also has a Facebook page, so check her out!
I hope I'll be better at blogging this summer so I don't have to continue writing/making one huge blog post like this one. Happy summer, everyone!
