LOUNGING POOL SIDE...

to beat the heat this summer we got a little blow up pool! it lives in a parking spot down in the parking lot. it's our little oasis! we had to convince jonathan it was fun! he was hard to convince at first but he's starting to get it!
check it out!

BEFORE JONATHAN WAS ONE...

...he was less than one. he was 10 and 11 months old in fact. and that was kind of a fun time!
he really liked to:
- crawl
- stand
- walk along walls
- eat and drink
- play until we all dropped!
- bite my toes...seriously. he would grab my toe, look me dead in the eye and slowly raise it to his mouth. then bite it! weirdo...he knows i'm ticklish!
- got his first TWO teeth! right on the bottom. he got the left one first but they pretty much came in together! he doesn't let anyone see. shh...they're a secret

those 2 months are really best shown in pictures!

 {poop face}

FAMILY REUNION...

back in may, we down to hurricane for a family reunion with my side of the family! we all squeezed into one house and had a blast for 3 days!

after i got off work on thursday, i gassed up the car and we all (elyse, topher, jonathan, and i) all piled in the car and drove down to hurricane. we were the first ones there and got to spend some time with my parents before all the aunts and uncles came to town!

jonathan met a lot of family he has never seen before that weekend! tons of people from my dad's side of the famliy joined us for the fun and festivities! we all had a great time laughing and reminiscing!

every night we set up a tarp and fired up the projector to watch movies or play mario kart on the big screen! we are huge mario kart fans! it's the only time my competitive side comes out!

we also got to make a sweet video featuring mr. potato head, stinky shoes and lots of bad acting. it was so horrible and wonderful at the same time! 

i enjoyed every minute of it. family is the best!

we were sad when monday came along and we had to leave and go back to rexburg. we will always be grateful for the wonderful memories we share with family!

 {"auntie lyse" is his best friend}

 {this was actually one of their favorite games}

BABY LYDIA...

in april we got to go to utah to celebrate the great occasion of witnessing our baby niece be blessed. brad and valerie blessed baby lydia and it we all had a great weekend!
everyone in topher's family went to provo, ut for the occasion. we got to meet baby lydia and kyah for the first time and we got to see jenny for the first time since she got back form her mission in arizona! we were only missing tommy, but he is needed more in colombia serving the lord!
the whole weekend was designated family time, which is always the best time! we played with babies, ate pizza, swam in the pool and went for walks! it was wonderful!
we got to end the weekend witnessing brad bless his baby girl. it was such a special moment and made me think back to jonathan's blessing and reminded me how grateful i am for the gospel and eternal families!
'cause who wouldn't want to be with these people forever?!

 {first time in the pool! don't let him fool you, he didn't like it}

{it's impossible to get a good picture of 4 babies}

WALKS AND PARKS...

the last time i wrote it was winter. now it is glorious summer, my second favorite time of year! my first favorite is spring, right when it starts to warm up and the snow melts!
it was this time in may that i had so much overtime scheduled they sent me home at 10:15 on a beautiful thursday. we went for a great long walk and got our first sunburns of the season! it's my opinion that the first sunburn of the year is the sweet sweet victory of making it through another winter! even jonathan got his first baby sunburn on his little baby nose!
we walked to a pretty place called nature park and played on the jungle gym with jonathan and took in the pretty scenery and great weather!
when topher and i were dating we went on walks all the time! anything to get away from roommates! i love carrying on our little hobby with little jobo (jonathan's nickname). there's nothing better than holding my husbands hand and playing with my baby boy!

 
     

{i have no idea why there aren't any pictures of topher but i promise he was there}

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE...

a few notes about me:
1. i am great at journal writing.
2. i am not great at blogging.

and knowing i have a lot to catch up on has prevented me from writing
please hold while i post some updates from the past few months...