our labor day weekend.

we started off our last weekend of summer with tinfoil dinners because i just couldn't help myself! we ate them at my in-laws' and ate peach crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

saturday afternoon, brooklyn did her 2nd peach and cream stand. she was so excited about it this year! we lengthened the hours and sold some of my peach, peach coconut, and strawberry jam.

later that day, brooklyn mastered riding her bike! she's been practicing all summer and was so thrilled to finally get it down! we all cheered her on and she rode proudly down the street.

the first byu football game left my husband happy for the rest of the long weekend! thank goodness.

sunday evening we headed back over to my in laws' to get the trailer set up for james and the two older girls to have a sleepover in that night. we watched a show all together and then adi and i headed home to sleep in our own beds.

monday we did lagoon-a-beach and lagoon.

we all went to bed exhausted and dreaming of next summer!

our labor day weekend!

summer came to an end in a great way this weekend! with dutch oven potatoes and chicken, loads of fruit, corn on the cob, and peach crisp to top it off (my favorite recipe here), i'd say we did alright in the food department. ok, more than alright! that was our one and only time to eat my dad's dutch oven cooking this summer. once is not enough!

friday night we checked off another bucket list item when james camped out in my in laws backyard with the older girls. adalyn and i opted for a bed inside. the girls loved it and even slept until almost eight the next morning. the giggled and grinned once they were awake when they realized they were in the tent!

saturday afternoon brought the long awaited peaches 'n cream stand brooklyn has been begging to do all summer. she actually begged to do a lemonade stand but those were out in abundance! so we waited and held off, then after making peach jam and giving a bunch of our peaches away and realizing we still had tons, i decided peaches 'n cream was the way to go!

she was so excited when saturday finally came! she stayed out there selling for four hours and didn't want to stop but i made her. i was exhausted! we had great support from our ward families (both past and present) and family and brooklyn was thrilled with her payout! this girl likes to work hard and i hope it stays that way!

that night, james watched the byu game with his family and i pooped out at halftime to take the girls home to bed. i had a sad little husband the next morning but he's already looking forward to the next game.

(this was taken right before the first byu game of the season)

sunday after church we drove up to my parents' where we had our dutch oven feast! the kids loved playing together, and making messes. i always love getting to spend time with my siblings and their spouses and my parents. that night we planned to do an outdoor movie in the yard so that we could check it off our summer bucket list. it was great in the beginning. my mom popped popcorn and had goodie bags for all the kids, but then... spiders attacked. i'm not even kidding! big ones. so halfway through the movie we all ran for the house. it was quite an experience but made such good memories!

(the only dang picture i took in coalville)

we all went to bed late and my dad took adalyn the next morning so that we could sleep in! my mom spoiled us with a sourdough pancake breakfast + plus leftover potaotes from dinner! it was seriously so good! whit came over with her kids and did my hair, bless her! the kids all played the day away, inside and outside, doing horse races, hide and seek, doing grandma's hair, and then taking long naps. i made a salsa i've been wanting to try for a long time and it didn't disappoint. the recipe for that is here. we ate that, and leftover dutch oven + peach crisp with ice cream and then headed back down the mountain to bountiful.

the girls were asleep so james and i stopped to grab dinner and then woke them up at pace's to check off another bucket list item. we all shared a yummy shake and then went over to my in laws so james could help his dad with a few small projects. the girls got to have treats and sparkly blue nails from nana. 

we bathed them up and did our bedtime routine and said goodbye to summer. james has convinced me that we can continue to check off our last couple of things even though i'm always set on summer being over after labor day. so hopefully we'll do that this weekend and extend our summer activities out juuuuuust a little longer...

those neighbors...

way back when, over labor day weekend, we had some of our favorite people over for a bbq. they're those neighbors that you grow to love, going weeks without even seeing each other, but picking right back up where you left off... and then you move away to a different city and only see them like two or three times a year, but it's still the same. we love the gasus and really miss them when we go long periods of time without seeing them.

we're sporting six kids between us now, and when we met, there were 2.7. that's a lot of change. they have three boys which works nicely for arranged marriages. darcie is my soul sista and there's never a dull moment when she's around. lee is the strong silent type but has a great sense of humor and puts up with james and me very well!

we ate and took a walk around the block. it was fun to just be with them. darcie made a delicious cake that i can't remember the name of and boy did it hit the spot and end the night on a high note. we're hoping to see them on halloween and hopefully not too long after that. we're so grateful to have lucked out to have them as our NEXT DOOR neighbors and now they won't get rid of us for life.

we love you guys!

labor day weekend.

labor day weekend started on thursday. kind of. after i picked brooklyn up from preschool, james met us at home and we all went to costco to grab a pizza (and churro) for the utah game. fall was in the air! holy cow. as soon as football season starts, it just can't help but feel like fall. it made everyone very happy that day.

on friday, we met up with the jeremy ruesch clan at seven peaks for one last hoorah. it was windy and a tiny bit cold but it was nice to be able to go all together one last time. brooklyn was so sad on the way home finding out we wouldn't be going back until next summer. sad day.

the next morning, james was up early to go get a workout in with his brother. afterwards, he took the girls out and i got to go work out AND get ready before they got home. this picture isn't the best/coolest but i ran my little guts out that morning and hit a personal best. remember, i am not a runner.

after keni's nap, we all finished getting ready and headed over to our friends' house to watch the long awaited byu football game. 

this day is definitely more exciting to james than christmas. 

so while he watched the game with all the guys, i chatted with my friends, ate, and chased my girls around. although it was chaos, it really was a fun little get together. and with the hail mary win, it was a win/win for all of us.

after the game, we headed up to coalville to spend the night for judson's blessing. which i have NO pictures of! i'm so sad! he's the cutest sweetest chunk of a baby and i can't get enough of him. it was such a special day. afterwards, back at my parents' house the little ones got to play in the sand boxes, which keni could do all day, and the adults played kan-jam and visited.

we also found out that keni loves loves fresh from the garden peas. she ate more than i could keep track of and would still be eating them if they weren't all gone. 

we headed home that night so that james could play flag football in the morning and the girls and i went shopping, complete with fountains, and donuts.

for lunch, we grabbed steak n shake and headed to a park for a little picnic. it was a beautiful day and a perfect day to be outside. a tad too chilly for swimming however.

we ran errands, which included keni being obsessed with this hat, and james and i almost buying it because we couldn't stop laughing. it was hilarious!

dinner was supposed to be up the canyon for one last cookout but we ended up at a little park nearby. it was just fine. especially because there was a playground. we roasted hot dogs and had s'mores. the perfect ending to a basically perfect summer i'd say.

we really have lucked out being able to do so many fun things this summer. especially as a family, and especially with jeremy and chelsea since they moved to bountiful and literally live a block away from us. it's been fun to be able to just fly by the seat of our pants and get the girls together, or walk down to festivities on main street, all that good stuff. summer will sorely be missed, but i have a feeling the next few months will be full of fun as well.

g o o d b y e  summer !

labor day 2.0.1.4.

our labor day weekend was a good one. it started friday after brooklyn's dentist appointment with celebratory drinks and cookies for a cavity free visit! we also celebrated by stopping at the splash pad. brooklyn was happy about it and vows to not cry when we brush her teeth anymore. we'll see.

james and brooklyn hung out in kaysville for the night (to watch the byu game and all) and i (kendall in tow) went to taggart's to meet my friends for dinner. we had a great time chatting and it definitely filled my social tank that has been needing some filling lately.

we ended the night all back together at home, ready for a fun weekend, and went to bed.

saturday morning was slow, i got a quick workout in, and then it was chaos getting ready to head to coalville via salt lake. i cut james' hair, packed for the girls and myself, and then we all hit the road. we made a few stops in salt lake and then finally arrived in coalville early that evening.

my dad grilled up some burgers, my mom made a killer potato salad, and we celebrated chandler's birthday. 

^^^cutler & kendall/ 10 weeks apart^^^

sunday morning, james whipped up some crepes, mickey mouse shaped for brooklyn, and then we all went to church. afterwards, it was crock pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions. delicious!

grandma bought the girls each their own little pack of crumb donuts. they love their donuts, and didn't mind sharing a stool to eat them on.

we all watched the utah state/tennessee game with heavy hearts and went to bed at a decent hour. the next morning, the women headed to the high school track to get a good work out in. my dad and james held down the fort back at home with the kids. we had a great time together and it made me really wish i had my mom and sisters to work out with like that every day.

haley got both my girls bathed and ready for the day while i showered and got ready myself. she always does brooklyn's hair so cute. and she LOVES to have braids!

once we were all ready for the day, we tackled making salsa for the first time. everyone chipped in with the produce and we all worked together to chop it all up and make into some yummy salsa. we took turns cutting up the onions (they made us cry) and garlic (because it's garlic) and tomatoes (there were a million of them) and my mom did all the technical sealing stuff at the end. we were happy with the final product.

as soon as the salsa was done, we packed up and headed for home, stopping for burgers on the way. we ended our long weekend with episodes of arrow on netflix. you haven't watched it?! do it now. kendall surprised us and slept for seven hours straight, and brooklyn woke up with bad dreams around three. we'll take what we can get.

/it's not too early for halloween get-up is it? cause look how cute./

it's already wednesday!

 h a p p y  h u m p  d a y