What we have been up to...

So the summer is pretty much gone and I haven't blogged about anything! I have just done about 5 posts with lots of pictures to keep everyone updated on what has been going on with us. You can start from the bottom to go in chronological order.
As for the most recent happenings, Preston is really keeping life interesting for us. This is what I walked into after going to get Preston up from his nap. Yes, he is naked, and no, his room normally doesn't look like that. He has learned to climb out of his crib recently and now has this new fascination with pulling every toy, shoe, article of clothing, and trash out and put it in a big pile in the middle of his room. This day he wanted to try on some different outfits but got too tired in the process. We have decided to keep his toys in the hallway when he goes to bed so he won't be tempted to climb out. He doesn't seem to share the same ideas as us and for the last 2 nights has been waking up in the middle of the night and opening his door and playing with his toys out in the hall. Thus I have ordered a crib tent off of ebay that I am hoping will save my life! Preston is so hard to discipline because he just simply doesn't care. Punishment doesn't bother him so it's hard to know what to do. If I punish him he will get right back out and do the same thing again and not even think twice. Anyone else have a kid like this? Any ideas for me??

This was my pantry yesterday. A DISASTER. I was so tired of it and decided today was the day to organize it and throw out all the junk. I took this picture after I had already taken the cereal down but didn't want to put it back up for pictures sake, but you get the idea.

This chicken helper won the award for oldest thing in the pantry. 9 years old!! I think my mom gave it to me from her food storage in her house in Orem. Not sure how it got moved to my house, but there it is. Yikes.

Speaking of Preston being into everything, he walked into the kitchen during this whole process with these bright red hands. Carter had given him a box of Jello and a packet of Pectin. He had a party in the living room and left a nice stain on the carpet.

This should go well with the Nyquil bottle he spilled when I was cleaning out my medicine cabinet a few months ago. Time for new carpet? I think so!

The finished pantry!! It feels so nice to have it organized! I can also cross one more thing off of my new years resolutions list. Wahoo!

This Ice cream maker didn't make the cut of staying in the bottom of the pantry. It went in the garbage. It was old and rusted and we NEVER used it. I remember registering for it for our wedding and that was the only thing I really wanted to get. I look back and laugh at how ridiculous that is!! We honestly used it maybe twice. Oh to be a newlywed again...time just keeps flying by.

Denver Anniversary Trip

August 10, 2009 made it 8 years James and I have been married! Man how time flies when you are having fun! A few weeks before the anniversary date, he surprised me and told me he had booked tickets to Denver for a fun weekend away. I know most of you wouldn't be too excited to go to Denver, but I love it! I have family and friends who live there and I just think the city is so fun and diverse. Lots of great people watching!

We stayed at the Hyatt in downtown, it was really nice. This was our view of the city from our window.
We got in late Friday night after it took over an hour to rent our car. Grrr. So we basically just walked around and I was starving and wanted pizza. There were no Italian places very close so we finally settled on Pizza hut/ Taco bell. It was disgusting and I really regret eating it. But, the crazy people in there were awesome! The next day we met up with my BFF Kate and her husband Chris. The boys went golfing and kate was in charge of a baby shower so I just tagged along with her even though I didn't know the girl. I knew most of the other people there so it wasn't too awkward. That night James and I went to a yummy Italian restaurant in downtown called Venice. It was delish. I was WAY underdressed but they took my money, so oh well!

James' halibut

My pamesan chicken...we also got some yummy nutella crepes for dessert. YUM!

Here is me waiting for our car in the lobby of our hotel. Pretty nice huh?

My cousin April lives in Denver so on Sunday we went to go see her right after she got out of the hospital after having her twin boys Lincoln and Ian. I love just chatting and spending time with April, she is one of my favorite people!

For lunch we met Kate and Chris at this yummy burger place downtown called the Cherry Cricket. If you ever get a chance, go there-it was super yummy. It is kind of a hole in the wall but the burger was so good. Onions rings, fried macaroni and cheese...yeah I wasn't on the diet plan for the weekend!! haha

After lunch we went to Washington Park a really cool park in Denver. Chris grew up in Denver so he knows all the fun places to go and still has a lot to show us. I can't wait! It was sad to say goodbye but the weekend flew by! I am laughing because it was supposed to be our anniversary trip and I have not one picture of James and I together! Oh well, we do love each other I promise!! Thanks for the great trip babe, can't wait for the next 8 years.

Uncle Dan's viewing and funeral

Since I didn't get any pictures of the family at the reunion two weeks before I figured I would get some shots of them at the family dinner we had at Brick Oven after Uncle Dan's viewing. Reynolds said he wanted to go there because it was his dad's favorite place. Funerals are so hard and sad, but it is such a wonderful feeling to have all of your family around you to lift each other. I have the best family in the whole world.


Melanie, Shauna, Ashley, Aunt Vickie, Uncle Scott, Uncle Doug, me, Shannon, Tim, and Reynolds

Sarah and Cody

Greg, Mike, Cathy, Aunt Carol, Uncle Andy, Jason, Andrea, Bethany, mom, and Dad

Mom, Dad, John, Mitchell, and Jacque

April's Baby shower/Stephenson Family Reunion

In July we had a reunion with my mom's side of the family. We do it every 3 to 4 years and it is always a blast! I love my cousins and extended family, they are all so much fun. Since I knew everyone would be together, I figured we should have a baby shower for my cousin April who was having twin boys in a few months. So last minute, we emailed everyone and got it all together. I'm glad we did it because about 2 weeks after this shower she ended up going into labor super early and had the babies at 28 weeks. They are still in the hospital but are doing really well and should be home in about 6 weeks or so. April is doing great!

Me and April-we have been partners in crime since birth! (she is about 5 months younger than me)
Melanie, Shannon, and Jackson--I love how he is looking at his mom and smiling, so cute!

Bethany and Mom

Me, Bethany, and cousin in law Jen

Mom and Me

Melanie and Bethany had just finished their first triathlon that morning and rushed down to be at the shower! What troopers! Their numbers were still on their arms and wouldn't wash off. Great job girls!

I'm bummed I didn't get more pictures of the reunion but I was having too much fun chatting and chasing my kids around. We went to Windsor park in Orem and had the annual Stephenson family Olympics. We are all SUPER competitive and are known to cheat from time to time, it's the best!! It was my cousin Josh's 19th birthday that day and he was a good sport to come and hang with us for awhile.

My mom made a birthday cake for him. Love you Josh!!

Carter's activities

Carter is loving Primary. He feels so grown up and has made lots of friends in his class. The primary did a bike parade around the neighborhood. He got to decorate his bike at the church and then all the primary kids rode around to show their parents. Afterwards they had water games in the common area behind our old house . So much fun!

One of the girls in his primary class, McKenzie, Carter likes to call his "girlfriend". He always wants to sit by her and likes to show off whenever she is around. It's pretty hilarious. She invited him to her birthday party and he was so excited!

I was showing Carter this picture and he said he wished that Luke wasn't in the picture with them! Getting possessive already?! I thought you would think that was funny Jenn. :) McKenzie and her fam just recently moved away to Arizona, we will miss them!

They played the cutest smile game where they passed the smile around. They also did a sponge relay and water balloon launch contest. So much fun!

All the kiddies

Carter, Marisa, Brookelyn, Preston, McKenzie, Alita, and Luke

A Tribute to Uncle Dan

This past week has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. Last Saturday, my Uncle Dan passed away. He went into the hospital Wed. night with severe stomach pains and they sent him home saying it was the stomach flu. He returned again the next morning and found out that he had two huge blood clots on both sides of his abdomen area. We all nervously waited through 3 different surgeries from Thurs.-Sat. going back and forth from home to the hospital. His organs all started to shut down due to lack of blood and they eventually took him off of life support Saturday night. Uncle Dan was only 55. It all seems so unreal still as I type this.

Uncle Dan was one of the funnest people I know. He always had a joke to lighten the mood of a tense situation, and had such a positive attitude. He loved his family more than anything, and especially his great wife my aunt Mary. They were the cutest couple and you could just tell how in love they were. My dad and other uncles would get annoyed because he made them look bad with all the amazing things he would do for her! He would clean the house (he said to me once he enjoyed it), frost her hair, he loved to shop, watch chick flicks, and after a hard days work he would come home and take the kids and let her relax.He was also an awesome Grandpa. He would call and ask to babysit his grandsons just because he missed them. He really was the greatest!

One of my favorite memories of Uncle Dan was when they came to visit me when I lived in England. He went on his mission to Birmingham in the 70s and hadn't been back since, so it was fun to see him so excited to be back and see everything. We went to the North Sea one day and the water was freezing but both of us wanted to dip our feet in just to say we had. I have the cutest picture of us together with our jeans rolled up just laughing with our feet in the air. I would have posted it, but I don't have a scanner (I know I really need to get one!) He loved James and his family so much too and always had them over for dinner when they came to visit us out here.

Every Black Friday all the girls would go shopping at 5am to get the deals and he LOVED to come with us even though he was the only guy. He would be our guy to wait in line while we would grab our last minute purchases. He was one in a milllion.

We would always grab breakfast at Ihop in the middle of our shopping day and figure out where we wanted to go next.

Every Christmas Eve their family comes over to have dinner with us and then we go caroling at the hospital together. He would always be the one to go and ask the nurses which rooms were okay to sing to and seemed to make friends wherever he went. These are just a few of the many memories of Uncle Dan, I could go on and on. I guess one of the things that this whole experience has taught me is to not take family or friends for granted. Tell them you love them OFTEN. I feel so blessed that Uncle Dan was a part of my life. I will miss him so much but know I will see him again. Families are forever.