Wordless Wednesday

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Fantastic Mr. Four

Wordless Wednesday

Mama, Mommy, M-O-M

A friend posted this on facebook and it was a simple, but true, reminder of how truly blessed I am to be living my dream of being a mom.

I've carried a child within my body. ♥ Slept with them on my chest. ♥ I've kissed little toes & wiped away tears. ♥ I've been vomited on, peed on & spent sleepless nights cradling my child, but I wouldn't have it any other way. ♥ My body isn't magazine perfect, but when I look in the mirror I see a MOM,… and there is no greater honor, love or blessing!!!♥

Fantastic Mr. 4

Dylan is the perfect middle child. He's such a fun younger and older brother to have around. Whenever he's gone, Ruby asks for, "DD." As soon as Kaleb hits the door after school, the two are inseparable. We all think we're his best friend!

Since he is #2, I sometimes feel like he gets lost in the middle, and that I haven't done as much for his as I did for Kaleb at the same age.

We always do something special as a family with him on his birthday, but I felt like it was time to step it up a notch.

We invited his little buds and their families to join us for a swim party.

It was 104 on party day, but the water was perfect. We went to our fav. local pool that has a large zero entry area with water splashing features, and a slide.

He wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, big cheetos, HUG fruit drinks, and had fun picking out his goodie bags full of little boy stuff.

I think he loved every minute of it, and he was just so stinkin' cute!

For D's actual birthday, Ben took the day off and thoroughly spoiled him. They drove G to school, then went out to breakfast, Toys R Us, McD's & then the movies. They went to Kung Fu Panda 2 and had the entire theater to themselves. I can only imagine the goofiness! They had so much fun, D fell asleep within minutes on the drive home.

That night we had his favorite dinner: grilled chicken on the bone, corn on the cob, and chips.

We had more double chocolate cupcakes dipped in mini m&m's, opened his gifts, and then the boys played his new Wii game, Mario Party 8. Dylan was so happy all day, really pleasant to be around, and happy to share his new toys with K & Ruby. It was sweet to see and did my heart good, he's grown up so much this year. He also was convinced he wasn't 4 until he blew his candles out. We talked about his birth and looked through baby pictures. So cute!

Here's a few of my favorite Dylanisms.

D: Are you thinking what I'm thinking? (with the cutest twinkle in his eyes)

I'm normally thinking I need a hug (he gives the BEST squeezes at random times), he's normally thinking we need to play wii together.

D: Is it time for Ruby's nap? I love Ruby's nap time! (This is our one on one time)

D: Actually.... (he throws this word into conversations regularly)

Me: What's your favorite part of the day?

D: The whole day!

Me: You're my sweet, sweet boy!

D: You're my sweet, sweet Mama!

Me: I love you to the moon & back.

D: I love you to heaven & back.

This kid melts my heart. Happy Birthday, Dylan Michael Murdock!

Familypalooza...part 2

Vacation smiles.

Home, Sweet, Home!

Silliness!

Slip n Slide Sista

We had only been gone for a long weekend basically, but I was so OVER eating out, hotel rooms, etc. I just wanted to get home. So we decided to push it and do the entire drive from 'Burg to 'Berg in one day. The kids were rockstars, Ben was his usual awesome self, and I actually enjoyed the long, boring drive across Idaho thanks to The Help. If you haven't read this book and you love historical fiction, it's a must! We stopped every 3-4 hours at rest areas and played: tag, soccer, helicopter, yoga and got all our wiggles outs. The kids played with their DS, Leapster, or watched DVD's for the most part. We made it home by 10 pm and surprised my folks.

The next few days we just tried to recover. We picnicked at Jacquith Park (ah...the memories of this park flood back) and met Grandma-Grandma and the cousins there. We also started a Harry Potter movie marathon for Giorgia. She was really excited to see the last Harry Potter while she was here, so each night we would watch one after we put the kids to bed. Well, Jonny & Giorgia watched them while Ben & I typically fell asleep half way through. Man, we're getting old! Our last night there, Jonny was nice enough to take Giorgia to the opening night, midnight showing. I tried to get them to dress up as Harry & Hermione, but they wouldn't go for it!

We had quite the list of must-do's while we were in Oregon, but didn't get to do them all since our trip was cut short by 2 + weeks. We did get to enjoy a day at the Oregon Zoo and had nice, cool weather and lots of animals to see. We did the Dinosaur Tour as well, and had lots of fun with the cousins & Grandma. Grandpa had to work for half the time we were there, since our dates changed.

Zoobies!

Girls Club & Ben spent a few hours at Saturday's Market in downtown Portland. It was fun to be there, since we hadn't been in YEARS, and see all the cool crafts and hippies again. :) Mom & I had the yummiest lemonade. Ben ALMOST paid a bum a $1 to "Kick a Punk in the Junk" but decided against it. Gotta love Portland! We took the kids to CARS 2 with Grandpa, Uncle Ted & cousins, and Papa brought M&M's for all the kiddies. So cute!

Ben & I snuck out for a few dates while we were there. One night just the two of us went downtown and tried out the Brazilian Grill. Everyone had been telling me how great the Brazilian Steakhouses were, but I honestly wasn't impressed. We spent the rest of the night dreaming of places to live close to home and talking about the future. Another night we went out with Ted & Val to play miniature golf. It was fun, but we got EATEN by mosquitoes...esp. Ben. Afterward we went to Shari's for dessert since Val had never been.

Here's one for a frame.... all smiling & NOT blinking! Plus, Ruby is wearing one of the dresses my mom made for me. Vintage flower power...love it!

We were only home for one Sunday, but the wards both Ben & I grew up in overlap. It was fun to see all our old teachers and friends. We took our kids to primary with their cousins, and I ran into my cousin whom I hadn't seen or spoken to in many years, Jenny. It was nice to see her and catch up. I listened to her daughter, Peyton, give the scripture and then she pointed out Tim's kids. The Sunbeam class ended up having 4 second cousins in it: Dylan, Joey, Peyton & Myrhanda.

That afternoon my cousin Jeff and his wife, Chelsea and girls came for dinner and a visit. We had BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, salads, and Mom's superb strawberry shortcake outside in the backyard. So fun! We also made friends with a GINORMOUS dog that was running the neighborhood. The thing was a horse, I swear, but made for a fun adventure. It was a nice Sunday, but I was sad that we didn't get to visit at my Grandma's like we used to do when I was growing up.

We always get to celebrate Jody's birthday while we're on our beat the heat hiatus. This year he and Terra invited the whole fam to spend the day at Foster Lake together. We had a fun time playing games like Mr. Alligator & bubbles, swimming, skipping rocks and eating, of course. Terra & Jo made hamburgers & dogs on the grill, all the sides, and yummy brownies for dessert. We also saw Tommy & Greta for a bit. While we were waiting for them to show up that night, Dad & I went to Walmart to pick up a few things. It was fun to have a little alone time with Pops, UNTIL someone at Walmart told my dad he had such a nice wife. Meaning me. AS IF!!! I'm sure it made his whole summer. ;)

One of the best parts of our trip was seeing how much fun the cousins were having together. Here's Ruby & Katie, this picture cracks me up. They are 4 1/2 months apart. Dylan & Joey, Kaleb & Haylee got along so well this time and it was so cute to watch! They spent the night over at their house twice and had a blast! Aunt Val & Uncle Ted sure know how to throw a cousin party. Haylee was also really sweet with Ruby and said something like, she really is a precious jewel to me. :)

We spent another day at Jacquith for basketball & tennis w/ K & the uncles. We also went to McCormick & Schmucks (as Dad & I call it) for dinner with all the adults. All my bros except Tommy were there. Ruby & Joey got sick w/ the sitters, so that was a bummer and we had to rush home. The next day was a sick day for me. I may never eat French Onion Soup again. It was so nice to be sick while on vacation at home with my family there to step in. I was actually allowed a sick day. I snuck into my old downstairs room and slept for a few hours and didn't worry about the kids. I knew Ben & my mom had it covered. That afternoon Boys Club, Papa & Giorgia went fishing. I'm not sure if they caught anything, but cookies. I guess D had one in his hands at all times! Love that boy. :) Ruby, Mom and I watched Emma & ate fudgcicles that mama bought just for me. Val was so sweet and brought me yummy homemade soup that I ate for dinner while everyone else had Mom's homemade chicken nuggets. I may have to work the sick day routine in every time I'm home. ;)

Our trip home wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Oregon Coast. We hit Dad's fav for lunch, Dory Cove in Lincoln City. Then we drove onto Whelin Island since Ben had never been there. The kids played hard! Kites, sandcastles, all sorts of fun. It was cute watching K & Haylee work together to fly a kite.

Ruby played soccer with Papa. She's got skills & has her Papa wrapped around her little finger! Grandma-Grandma came, too. I feel so blessed to have her in my life & my children's, too. Mom had to be home for Enrichment that night since she was in charge of it, so our little family decided to stay a little longer and went to Pacific City. It was stunning.The sun finally burst through the clouds that afternoon and it was just so nice. We buried the boys and played some more, then had DQ for dinner. By that I mean icecream for dinner. Full vacation mode at that point. The kids had their first dilly bars and loved them.

There were so many people we didn't get to see, Aunt C for about a minute, and Stef not at all. :( There were lots of things on our list we didn't get to do as well. Dreams of hiking in the forest still dance in my head. But we did the best with what we had and made lots of good memories. Good thing there's always next summer!