Yellowstone 2013

I wasn't sure if we'd make it up to Yellowstone this year. With one week left until school started EE called, reservations were make and we jumped in the car and made it happen! We decided to end the "Summer of SUCK" on a high note. Both she and I are are DONE with this summer. ☺

We only saw a few animals this year....some elk, one bison, squirrels, and a couple of muskrats. We didn't hike a TON this time because my feet are getting tired from hauling this pregnant belly and this 20 pound baby girl around. We did stop at some new places this year which was really fun. We drove some new loops and saw some cool new places. 

 Of course we stopped at Old Faithful. Miss Anna was the pre-show entertainment. Everyone was watching her walk all over the place. Some Asian people were even taking pictures of her. I loved how Anna could care less about Old Faithful erupting. Everyone stopped and whipped their cameras out...Ooooing and Ahhing the entire time. And Anna kept  all of her focus on rocks and dirt. So cute.

 The boys would say their favorite part of the trip was staying at a hotel with a water slide. Oh yes, and they had the whole place to themselves. They swam for 3 hours straight!

 My favorite part of the trip was stopping at Big Springs on the way home. We found the most beautiful hike in the world. Seriously. It was so peaceful and serene. EE and I LOVED it. It was gorgeous.

 I think Anna liked it too!

It was a great last trip to welcome Fall. I know I will miss being with the boys all day long but I know they are ready to head back to school. Even though it has been a hard summer for me, we've still been able to make some special memories. Grateful for the chance we had to head up to one of my favorite places on earth. Grateful for my EE.

The "not so fun" Fun Center

Parker had his first football game this week and it was over at Tautphaus Park. The entire time we were there the boys kept looking over at the "fun center" and asking when we could go. I decided to take them the following day and surprise them.

Unfortunately they decided to fight with each other the entire way over there, the entire time they were there, AND the entire way home.

They were grounded the rest of the day.

Sometimes I ask myself why I try.

At least the pictures can tell a different story. ☺It LOOKS like they had a fabulous time. 

Summer winding down

Seems like a lot of people are sending their kiddos back to school this week. We still have 2 more weeks to go! I've got to admit that I am so ready for school to start its not even funny. I've tried SO hard to still be a fun mom and tried to stay busy for the sake of my kids. I'm just flat out tired. It scares me to think I am THIS tired with a baby and being pregnant. I worry about what it will be like when I have 2 babies! I am looking forward to my girl only days with Anna....for a couple of months anyway until baby brother joins us. I'm tired of the fighting, the battle over the computer and playstation, and the constant stream of neighborhood kids that LIVE at my house all summer. (And EAT me out of house and home!) Don't get me wrong.....love the neighborhood kids.....just wearing at me a bit.

Here are some of the fun things that we've been up to.

We had a backyard camp out since we never actually went camping this summer. Dallin needed to set up a tent for scouts anyway. We had the neighbor kids over and we had a great time playing charades and setting up obstacle courses. And we roasted hot dogs and smores too. We told ghost stories and sang camp songs too. The boys loved that night.

We've done lots of playing in the water. We went up to Rexburg one afternoon to play at the splash pad and then went over to Ammon pool for family night this week.

We also had an adult only night at the Chukars game since Nate got the box seats again from work.

13 more days of summer. We can do it.

My beautiful girl

I finally got Anna's one year old pictures back. I am blown away that this little beauty is mine. She is walking everywhere these days. Her little arms are high above her head as she keeps her balance as she takes her careful steps. It's adorable. I love being this girl's mom. 

A baby girl...one of the most beautiful miracles in life, one of the greatest joys we can ever know, and one of the reasons why there is a little extra sunshine, laughter and happiness in your world today. 

The house: the cliff notes version

-Spend 8 months building a house and watching each and every step. Pick colors, floors, cabinets.....etc.
-Builder says it will be ready to go on June 1
-House isn't done until mid July
-Nate starts new job in July
-New job throws off our loan. Have to re-start loan process.
-Builder gets impatient and threatens to sell our house
-We offer to pay the interest on the home in order for us to finish our loan processing
-Builder agrees and then turns around and sells the house anyway (in ONE day). Person offers $25,000 more then what we were going to pay.
-Nate puts lien on house and sues the builder. (Thank HEAVEN above I am married to an attorney) We want our earnest money back and the money we have put into upgrades.
-Our loan comes through
-Builder agrees to pay us SOME but not ALL of our earnest money and all of our money in upgrades.


We decide to walk away from our house.


SO.....what does this mean for us now? WHO the heck KNOWS?


This has been the summer of ups and downs for this girl. I was so attached to my house and I have had to learn to let go. After all, it is just a house. I've been so emotionally drained and even physically drained throughout this whole ordeal. Being pregnant has not helped this situation one bit. I was so excited. I could envision it all in my mind. Holidays there, preparing a nursery for our new little guy, decorating my house, evenings out on the deck watching the sun set......all of that was taken away. And there was NOTHING I could do to prevent it from happening.

Once again, Nate and I find ourselves in a position where the CHOICE has been out of our hands. We seem to encounter this over and over again in our lives. We have taken a lot of solace in knowing that we are being led somewhere else. For whatever reason things just didn't pan out. This entire experience has been so difficult and should NEVER have been this complicated.

Alas, it was. So here we go. Trying to figure out what our next step is supposed to be.