Hanging out with this little dude...

Monday morning as soon as Brad and Claire left for school H was begging me to play with a friend. He had been so sick that he hadn't seen anyone for a a week. We walked up to Carter's still in his pajamas. 

I started making zucchini bread and of course these two needed to help me. Holy cow it was hard to keep the mess contained. 

Matt came over a bit later and the boys needed to help him too. 

All jobs are much easier with 2 toddlers...right??

I have really enjoyed having alone time during the day with H. He is talking like crazy and says the funniest things. I walked into his bedroom yesterday and he was talking to his dinosaurs. The big mommy was telling the babies to go to sleep. 

Then like any good mommy she had to offer her babies army guys for dinner. 

Love you H man! 

Youth duck hunt opening morning

Brad has been so excited about this hunt. He was out of bed at o'dark thirty without a fuss. He has been with Randy and Nate a few times but this was his first time hunting. The white boys were there too which made it even more fun. 

Sunrise couldn't come fast enough.

His first hunt was a success. Randy said the boys shot 160 shells all together and brought home 13 ducks...makes me laugh...that is a lot of shots. 

I love that pure happy grin. 

He was so excited to come home and show H and the girls. He also shot a pigeon...I wasn't sure what to think about that. Boys...I don't get it. Brad helped Randy breast out the ducks and with a TON of convincing they talked me into cooking it. 

My dad used to bring home duck and I hated eating it!!! Gross. It was hard for me to stomach the thought of eating duck. Steven cooked his last year and he promised me that if I treated it like a steak and not chicken then I would like it. I did a ton of online recipe searches and decided to go for it. I'm not going to lie...that first bite about killed me. Thank goodness I was pleasantly surprised. It really does taste like steak when cooked just right. Plus I had a pile of A-1. (Sorry dad...I love you but I hate the way you cook duck) I wouldn't go out and buy duck but I think I can tolerate it once a year when duck season rolls around. 

Hacked

My kids have learned how to take selfies with my phone. I am in trouble. 

I missed out on a good ride...

Last Monday right after I got off a night shift I was feeling kinda crummy. I went to the dentist that morning still not feeling very good. Near the end of my appointment I got really sick to my stomach. I raced home as fast as I could just in time. I was SOOOO sick. The kind of stomach flu where you crawl to the bathroom and then crawl back into bed. I had a fever, my body ached, and even my skin hurt. For 2 days I was miserable. H was sick too with a high fever so we just laid in bed together.  

That night we had planned on going on a buggy ride for FHE. There was no way I could go so Randy took the kids by himself. They went to Willard Peak. They could see the Great Salt Lake. Randy said the view was breathtaking and that these pics don't do it justice. 

Jason took his kids too so they got to hang out with Maddie, Zade and Tiger. 

Once I was feeling a tad better I had tons of peaches to bottle. I couldn't let them wait another day or they would have been way too ripe. I was sick but plowed through it as best as I could. I would bottle for 10-15 minutes then have to go lay down. It took me all day just to get a few bottles done. 

Luckily my mom had the week off so she agreed to come and help me do my canning. She stayed from Wednesday night to Saturday night. 

The first day she was there we rocked it. We bottled peaches and tomatoes, made sourdough start and bread, and made super yummy garden veggie soup. We also drank a case of Diet Dr. Pepper. The next few days she helped me make and bottle tomatillo salsa, and make a ton of freezer jam. I am so lucky to have such an amazing mom!!!

On Friday we wanted to go to Paige's softball game. She was playing at USU. Then we wanted to go to dinner with Alison and Dillon. Unfortunately H was still really sick. He was on day five of high fever and I couldn't get him to drink or eat. Friday morning he woke up really lethargic and he just laid there limp. I was quite worried about him. I took him to Dr. Brown and he sent us to Logan Regional Hospital for a work up. He was so sad and so sick. I felt so bad. 

He just laid there so sad and sick. Once he got a fluid bolus he perked up and got better. 

After a few hours and another fluid bolus he was happy and finally eating and drinking. It was cute to watch him eat the crackers. He ate a ton. He hadn't eaten all week so he had to make up for it. 

We got home late so we decided to get some Firehouse takeout and red a red-box movie. We were pooped. 

Guy Time and Girl Time

Claire and I had to go to Salt Lake to go to a baby shower and a bridal shower. The boys decided to stay home and have some guy time. 

On Friday night they went with Nate on the last night of his deer archery hunt. Brad was so excited to be one of the guys. 

On Saturday night Randy got tickets to an Aggie football game. I was pretty jealous since he got suite tickets this time. Randy said brad was so excited about all the food in the suite. He said he ate a ton. 

Even Big Blue came and hung out with them for a bit in the suite. 

Meanwhile Claire and I (and H...Claire said it was okay that he came with us to a girl party since he was so little. ) went to Brooke's bridal shower at Aunt Kristi's house. 

It was so fancy. Claire was so excited to see some of her 2nd cousins. 

Claire mauled Paigey as usual. Claire and H were fighting over who got to sit by her. 

It was decorated so beautiful. It almost looked like a wedding. 

Allison had Cafe Rio cater dinner so the food was amazing. 

Everything Aunt Kristi touches, thinks about, or even breaths on turns out amazing. She has such a gift for parties. She makes things so magical. 

I am so happy for Brooke. She is a beautiful amazing woman. She has such a kind spirit and always has nice and positive vibes. I am so thrilled she found Danny. 

On to the gifts. 

Brooke, Ashley, Leslie, Paige, Sydney, Alison

Allison and Bryant have 5 beautiful girls. I love them all!!!

H hanging out with a bunch of silly girls. 

After the party was over Kristi turned on some dance music and the girls got out the dress up boxes and jammed out and did a fashion show for all the mommies. They were rocking the outfits. I have the fondest memories of dressing up in Kristi's clothes. 

Later that night Kristi pulled out Grandma's jewelry. Some of it still smelled like her. It was really emotional for me. I miss grandma so much. She also showed us grandma and grandpa's wedding rings. I had never seen them before. They never wore them. Her rings were so tiny and beautiful. 

Roofing with the Fischers

 

Randy's parents had to redo the roof. We all went down last Saturday to help. Brad was so excited he was old enough to help out. He worked so hard right alongside all the big boys. 

 

That night Randy and I went to the REAL soccer game. Randy got club tickets from work. 

 

This guy stood there the whole game. He had that grumpy face the entire game. I even sent a picture of him to Steven. 

 

It was really fun. I had never been to Rio Tinto stadium before. Soccer fans are crazy.

Richmond City Party

This year for the Richmond party the kids got to do the rock wall.

 

H was obsessed with the big slide. He went down it about 50 times. 

 

Claire did the rock wall several times. 

 

On the way home the kids got a Randy ride on the golf cart. It was better than the rides at the park. 

We love this place we live in and never want to leave.