Back to the Real World

We made it home from our fabulous vacation to San Diego. Life is crazy and who knows when I'll get a minute to sit and write out all of the details, but I wanted to post a couple of my very favorite pictures. Until then, enjoy my cute kids!

Seriously, how cute are toddler feet?! Put them on a beach and they're that much cuter!

Chic on a Shoestring

I've mentioned before what a great gift-giver Nate is. Well, for Christmas this past year, he gave me one of the most creative and thoughtful gifts ever! He gave me a shopping trip with a personal shopper! He convinced a couple of my friends' (Amy Barrick and Cassie Nakken) husbands to do it also, and so this past weekend, we headed up to Salt Lake to have an all-out shopping spree! For anyone that watches Good Things Utah (the Utah version of 'The View'), you might recognize Alicia Richmond. She does a weekly fashion segment and talks about current trends and gives fashion advice. We each had three hours to shop with her, so she combined them, so we had nine hours of shopping with an "expert." We hit a fun jean warehouse and then Fashion Place and South Town Malls. It was nice to be able to try something on and have her give us the thumbs up or thumbs down. She always told us why something did or didn't work for us and was constantly running from the dressing rooms to get different sizes or styles. We stopped to get lunch between stores one of the days, and by the time we were done eating, Alicia had filled the dressing rooms for us with things to try on. We had a great time and were happy with the purchases that we made. My good husband tagged along up to Salt Lake so that Max wouldn't be too far away. He took Quincy and Max to the zoo the first day and then to the Gateway splash pad the second day. He even chauffeured us to Park City after the first day of shopping with Alicia, to shop some more at the outlets. He's such a good sport and was so generous with this gift. He was so giddy about giving it to me and was so good to make all of the arrangements. Thank you Nate for a great present. It's going to be a hard one to beat!

*We're leaving for San Diego on Monday for the Leavitt Group conference. My parents are coming along to help me with the kids while Nate's in meetings. I'm so grateful for their willingness to help! Sandy beaches here we come!

Father's Day

Father's Day is almost over, but I wanted to tell Nate how very grateful I am for being the kind of father he is. The kids absolutely adore him and think he walks on water (see the post from his birthday to see how wonderful they think he is!). He's so patient with them and is always so willing to come home after a crazy day at work and let them climb all over him or play catch with them. He's a wonderful teacher to them and is so unselfish (he's a lot more willing to share his Costa Vida with Quincy than I am!). Thank you Nate for giving me four beautiful children. They love you and so do I.

Also, happy Father's Day to my dad. I'm so grateful to live close by and to be able to see him regularly and develop our relationship even more. He's such a good example for me and my family. I had pretty high expectations on what kind of husband I wanted because of the kind of man my dad is. I hope you've had a wonderful day, Dad. I love you!

Hey now, you're an all-star...

A huge shout-out to my Treyson for making the 9-10 year-old all-star baseball team!!! He got the call today and he's on cloud nine. When he was writing down his New Year's resolutions, one of his goals was to make the all-star team as a first year player. He worked hard throughout the season, and apparently made a good impression on the league coaches. I'm so proud of him for setting the goal and working to accomplish it. Way to go, Trey!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Here we are, not even half-way through June, and Treyson had his last little league game yesterday. Even though I feel like we have lived at the ball fields, I'm totally sad that it's over. I love being there in the sun (actually, cold and wind) and cheering the team on. Treyson had a tremendous coach who has so much patience! Trey's team ended up finishing fourth overall (out of eight teams) and made great improvements over the season. Trey either pitched, caught, or played shortstop and did great. I'm proud of him for his positive attitude. This is a boy who plays year-round ball, and in my opinion, is a very good player. He got drafted onto the team with the very worst record the previous year, so going into it, he knew that it might be a rough season. He stayed very optimistic and was very good at encouraging his teammates and helping them feel good about themselves and their abilities. Yes, he personally had a good season, but I'm more proud of him for the attitude that he had. He set a great example for me. Thanks Treyson for a fun season of baseball.

BTW, Trey's travelling team played in a tournament in Kanab over the weekend and ended up winning their age division! They outscored their opponents 50-7 over four games. Treyson caught 19 of the 20 innings and was totally exhausted by the time we left. This was their first tournament championship, so they were all pretty pumped.

New Camera

Nate and the kids gave me a new SLR camera for Mother's Day. I've had fun taking pictures and I'm slowly figuring out how to work the thing. Here are a few pics of each of the kids:

HB to Nate the Great!

In honor of Nate's 33rd birthday, the kids and I have come up with 33 things we love about him. Here goes...

1. He's a great coach.

2. He's patient.

3. He makes good runny eggs.

4. He helps us be better at things.

5. He plays catch with the kids.

6. He doesn't mind shopping and doesn't complain when I go get some retail therapy.

7. He's a good example.

8. He's a peacemaker.

9. He's a hard-worker.

10. He's nice.

11. He likes chocolate.

12. He has a testimony.

13. He's very smart.

14. He takes the kids to C.H.S and S.U.U games.

15. He doesn't lose his temper on bad calls.

16. He spoils us.

17. He takes us on fun vacations.

18. He's a good driver.

19. He changes Max's diapers.

20. He doesn't mind going to Wal-Mart late at night to get things for me.

21. He reads bedtime stories.

22. He takes the boys to the barber shop.

23. He makes beds in the mornings.

24. He cleans the bathrooms (major blessing for me!).

25. He likes to play sports.

26. He wrestles with the kids.

27. He enjoys date nights.

28. He's very generous.

29. He's a good problem solver.

30. He can beat up your dad (from Tanner).

31. He's a devoted Ohio State Buckeye and Boston Red Sox fan.

32. He's a good gift-giver.

33. He's the best dad and husband around.

Happy birthday, Nate. We love you and hope you have the best year ever!

Seriously...

Snow in June? Come on! We want summer!