Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA

Tired boys! You can see Alex is tired, but he just would not close his eyes. Too much to see!

Lilli was so fascinated with this peacock. Actually, we ALL were fascinated by it. It was beautiful.

Alex and Aunt Mona

Obviously you can see, the boys DID NOT want to be held.

Aidan with Aunt Mona

Alex with Grandpa

While we were in Seattle, we went to the zoo there. The boys shoes kept falling off so it was hard to just let them run around, but they still had fun.....I think. They were also pretty tired, and it was quite a struggle to get them to sleep. Aidan slept, but I don't think Alex did the whole day. If there's something going on, he just can't miss it. Sometimes it's annoying. The whole family was there except for one of Ben's sisters and her husband, and his brother and his family. I wish we all could have been together. Anyway, Lilli had a blast and it was so much fun just spending the day together as a family.

Visit with the Davis'

Aidan, Jaden, and Alex enjoying their ice cream.

Gina, Paula (my sisters-in law) and me with the kids.

Me, Gina, Vicki (my MIL), and of course Aidan, my nephew Jaden, and Alex.

My SIL Brittney made this adorable Barbie cake for Lilli's b-day.

The last two weeks have been so much fun! The kids and I were able to go up to my in-laws and visit. We drove up with Gram and Gramp in their huge motor home. It was nice to have the room, but the kids wanted to walk around and the road was bumpy. But, like I said, it was nice to have the room. Anyway, the next day my MIL took Lilli to a little place called Monkey Doo's where they did her hair like a princess, put make-up on her, and painted her fingernails. She looked adorable! And had a blast. Sunday, Father's Day was also Lilli's birthday so we had a celebration for her. My SIL Brittney made her a Barbie cake and Lilli loved it. When she first saw it she was so excited. She definitely got spoiled! The next week, we went to an open gym where the kids got to play with toys and jump around. We went with my SIL Gina and her son Jaden. He's about 4 months older than the boys and a total tank! He's so cute and has such a fun personality. The kids all got along really well......for the most part. There were a few fights, but what can you expect from a 4 year old, 18 month olds, and a 22 month old. Anyway, we got a surprise visit from my other SIL Paula. Well, it was supposed to be a surprise but it was spoiled. It was so fun to see her. We went swimming in a wade pool at one of the parks there in town. Grammy (my MIL) bought the kids ice cream and the boys had a hay day with them (as you can see in the pictures). We also went to Seattle and spent time at the zoo, the aquarium, and went on what's called a duck ride. I'll post pics and more about it. We had such a great time there and wish we lived closer to family. It's so hard saying goodbye to everybody, but we're grateful for the time we get to spend together. I love Ben's family and all the support and love they give to us. They're so wonderful and we all enjoyed our stay with them.

Lilli's 4th Bday celebration (Cokeville)

My sis, Kenzie, Lilli and my bro, Brady

Lilli in her birthday princess crown

Grandma Norene, and Aidan

Alex and my bro, Kennan

We decided to celebrate Lilli's birthday here at my parents' house Wednesday because we're going to be gone on her actual birthday. We'll be visiting Ben's family in Washington and will definitely be celebrating up there too. We just had family and she opened a few presents and then we had cake and ice cream. Lilli is so not a picky little girl. She's happy with whatever she gets and is happy with whatever kind of cake she gets. It's really nice! She's very easy to please. I still can't believe she'll be 4! She's such a sweet girl and is very friendly. She's so not shy. I know I say that a lot but she isn't. I had one lady come up and say, "She's a very lively girl in Primary!" Uhhhhhhhh.......what does that even mean?!?!?! Anyway, we sure do love her and glad she's part of our family. She's a great big sister and very helpful!

Sprinklers and Lilli's great idea

Lilli had this great idea of riding on a skate board while using ski poles to push her along......good idea huh?! I thought it was pretty creative. Of course, once she got on the skate board, she was a bit scared. She never did do it.

We FINALLY had a warm day and I let the kids run through the sprinklers. Of course, right as we turned them on, it got cloudy and kind of cold. The kids were all purple and had goosebumps. I thought for sure Aidan would get hypothermia! That night we had a pretty crazy thunder/lightning storm and today it was just above freezing. Crazy!!! We're hoping summer comes......and soon!!!

Utah Valley 5K

I ran my first "real" 5k. It was the Utah Valley 5K in Provo. Nobody ran it with me and I was a little nervous. I had a really bad headache the night before and then woke up the day of the race with a sour stomach. But I got over it. It was just nerves, I think. I did meet some very friendly ladies and that helped calm my nerves. When the race started, I just ran and ran and ran. The adrenaline was just a pumping and it felt good. I'm still not sure what my time was, but I'm hoping it's better than my training times. It was fun and I can't wait to do it again.

I'm running a half marathon at the end of October in Greenville, SC. I'm so excited! Nervous but excited!

Wrestling Leopards and 4-wheeling

My mom and Lilli on the lawn mower. Lilli was driving.

My bro, Brady and Aidan

My boys are really starting to wrestle. It's funny! Alex is the bigger of the two but Aidan is the meaner one. Is meaner even a word?? Probably not. Anyway, it's just fun to watch them wrestle because a lot of times they both are laughing to hard and can hardly get away from each other. The boys are also starting to wrestle with Lilli. Sometimes she loves it and they don't or they love it and she doesn't.

Aidan's been wanting to dress in a leopard costume my mom got a while ago. He'll sit and growl at everyone and loves to scare people.

The kids love love love to be outside. They particularly love to ride on the 4-wheelers. Sometimes when I'm the only one outside with them, I'll take all three kids on with me. Of course I drive slow, but they love it. Alex will yell, "Whoa!" and my little Aidan and Lilli just sit there, just happy to be there. Lilli and I will go out behind our house, up to the mountains. It's so beautiful and serene up there. That's our favorite thing to do together (when it's warm).

Still in Wyoming

Lilli sharing her drink of water with Alex.

They went outside without any coats or shoes. They just wanted to be outside!

Lilli, the bat and Alex the lion.

My sweet little Aidan.

The boys helping Papa fix the lawn mower.

Alex helping me fold the clothes?

Looking at one of the many bunny rabbits running around my parents' house

We're still here in Wyoming and we're having a blast! I miss my home, but I'm not complaining. I love being around family and letting the kids have their Nana and Papa and aunts and uncles giving them all sorts of loves. And it's nice to have help. The weather is pretty warm today, but hasn't really been warm (as you'll be able to tell in the pics). We've had to bundle the kids up if they want to go outside, which they do all the time. They love to play out in the sand pile and ride the 4-wheelers. Any chance they can get, they want to be outside. Aidan is a madman when it comes to walking. He runs most of the time. Alex is getting braver. He's finally starting to walk. We're all so excited for him! It's kind of funny, whenever he walks, we're all cheering for him. He loves the attention! Lilli has been a really good, helpful, big sister. She shares really well with her brothers. The other day I took a picture of her sharing her water with Alex, they were drinking out of a straw. It was really cute and made my heart melt. They're all getting so big. I can't believe my babies aren't babies anymore. They're big kids now!

Ben is doing good where he's at. He left a couple of weeks ago and now we're starting the countdown! Yea! The time seems to be going so slow, but it helps being here with family. But he's doing good. The time difference is hard but we get to chat on Skype about twice a day. I'm sure that'll stop once he actually starts working. I really miss him. It's made me appreciate the man he is and all that he really did for our family. I feel like I really took him for granted. He's doing great though! Misses us like crazy, just like we miss him!

I've joined the running bandwagon. I've signed up for a half marathon Oct 30th. It's marked in red and circled! I'm scared and nervous but excited to get back in shape. At times I feel really discouraged (like right now) when I read other people's times and success, because I feel so inadequate. I feel like I'll never be in shape. But I have to remember that I'm only in my second week of really training and I'm only just starting to get into shape. When I think like that, I feel better. And at least I'm doing something. I'm getting off my butt and doing it instead just wanting to. Plus, Ben gives me lots of encouragement and is very supportive. That helps a lot!

But we're alive and well. Just thought I'd post some pictures (and write a novel).