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 helping momma pick peaches.

playing in the front yard.

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g dancing, this picture is so her.

e playing with toys.

e's first birthday

well hello there Birthday Boy!

you turned once over a month ago.

I can't believe how fast you are growing up
and how quickly the days fly by.

I wanted you to have a good birthday and tried my best to make it special for you.



 we had breakfast at mcd's, then went to the dollar store and got tons of balloons for you and sister to play with. we jammed to the record player and had a nice dinner with grandma snell and aunt sue with chocolate pudding and presents.

i sure do love you little one.

 chowing down on a hashbrown with the mama.

a squeal of delight at the toddler tunes play center.

an afternoon balloon party.

 I even found an ice cream cone balloon.

he later had an ice cream party with family and friends so this balloon was very fitting.

 having fun with the balloons.

 sister is sad.

 she doesn't think brother should play with pink balloons when they are her favorite.

 oh the pink balloons were such a hit

 we danced around to mary poppins and jungle book throughout the day.

having so much fun with his wind up toys.

 he loves his new touch and feel book, "Tails."

 the birthday boy had chocolate pudding with sprinkles.

 making a wish.

 his first taste...

 ...and he loves it!

Happy Birthday to my sweetest boy!

love them

in the light of recent events all I want to do is turn off my phone and put the rest of the world on pause while I thank God that I have the two of you.

every birth is a miracle.

ever since I had grace I truly have known this to be true, but losing a baby through miscarriage has been earth shattering to me just how lucky I am to have you both and how painful it is to lose one no matter how far along you are into a pregnancy.

I love you both g and e.

you are my world and that is the way I want it.

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pictures taken from a fhe visit to taco amigo in orem, followed by a hospital visit for me.

this was last Tuesday, not Monday when fhe usually takes place.

so brave

 my little lady loves to play dress up more than anything else in the world, except for riding horses, but that's really for a different post.

 she picked out this merida costume at costco, it beat out all of the other princesses even ariel and rapunzul. she has recently really gotten into the movie brave.

 I have to say the red curly hair is my favorite on her.

It is so cute.

It is so her.

love this little LADY of MINE. can't wait to see what she puts on next.

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she picked out a new pair of shoes at target.

he loves his red spoon and their little chairs.

Ode to a best friend

Early Monday morning my favorite dog ever border collie Jasper passed away next to husband in our home. It was just a month shy of the five year anniversary of us being brought together with him in Oregon. I am so glad we were the car behind that truck that day as he proved to be my constant fluffy companion. He was there for me through everything including all of my recent illnesses the past two years. He would sense when I was sick and lick me to death and place his fluffy puppy paw on mine and stare at me with those brown eyes of his.
He was so gentle with the babies and Mr. E especially adored him and thought he was hilarious.
I will miss everything about my fluff.
It breaks my heart to think about it too much.
I remembered this morning one of the very first posts
 I had ever written on my family blog was about him.
I decided to share it.
(Izzy was our first dog, incase you are confused when you read the story below.)


Jasper, the gentleman

On Labor day of last year we were driving behind a diesel truck with his tailgate down and there was this cute fluff ball running around the bed of the truck. I was so upset that someone would actually drive on such a busy road with their dog in the bed like that; when the guy floored the gas and this puppy flew into our car. All three of us were in the car and in shock. Bryan immediately pulled over to chase after the dog while Izzy and I watched nervously. The guy in the diesel truck never turned around and he had no tags and hadn't been micro-chipped. We debated on giving him to a shelter. (Which if you know us we could never do. We attach way too fast.) And so we tried him out. Now we are so happy to have our little Jasper. He is so different then Izzy. Easy going, lazy and he prances as if he were an English Gentleman. I told him he's the Jude Law of dogs, with the cheating aside. Jasper could never treat Izzy that way he loves her too much. And we love Jasper.

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riding her scooter and waving "hi."

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she is so at home on ethel the horse or any horse for that matter.

he loves the water. hot days and sprinklers for this boy.

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she loves to run down the piano slide with doll in hand screaming "wahoo!!!"

he started feeding himself with his little spoon.