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!

summer continues...

our weekend started on friday with some yard work and some delicious chocolate chip cookies from my friend who just decided i needed some. yes. she's awesome. i tried really hard not to eat them all right then and there because we had big plans to hit up summerfest here in bountiful and eat at the cupbop food truck. korean bbq people. i was excited!

we met up with jeremy & chels a few blocks from park where everything was and pushed strollers and walked over. i was starved! i couldn't wait to eat. so while chels and i waited for food, the boys took the girls over to watch some dancers on the stage. during our thirty minute wait... we were informed by cops that the winds were going to start gusting at 70 mph and that a huge storm was rolling in. and boy did it. within three minutes, it was raining HARD, thundering, lightening, hail, and WIND was pounding us. chels and i were next in line. i wasn't about to move. we lucked out and got our food for half off and pot stickers fo free! we ran the two blocks back to the car where our soaking husbands and girls were waiting for us. we were completely drenched. totally worth it!

saturday was a little less eventful. james went and played flag football and the girls helped me clean the house. we were hosting a bbq later that night. as soon as james got home and showered, i put keni down for a nap and went out to pick up last minute bbq-ing things. when i got home, james informed me that, "the big byu 50 box is on the B!" if you don't know what that is, look it up. so we literally jumped in the car and flew up the mountain. sadly, we had already been beat. but james was stoked to score a few free byu t shirts. one for brooklyn too. he was happy.

that night our good friends/past neighbors, the gasu's, and jeremy and chels all came over for the bbq. we ate, talked, laughed, the kids played, the adults played kanjam, and we ended the night with ice cream and fireworks. shh. it was so fun to spend the evening all together and i'm sad we didn't do it sooner! brooklyn misses living next door to shane and so when we see each other she is devastated when he has to leave. 

sunday, i taught my sunday school class, keni made it all through sacrament meeting without having to be taken out (WAHOO!), and then i ended up just taking her home with twenty minutes left of church because she was fighting a nap so hard. she's also been weening the last few weeks so that makes it even harder. we relaxed the rest of the evening, took a drive up mueller park, and just enjoyed the heck out of just being together as just our little family. 

we kept the weekend rolling into monday with tinfoil dinners and banana boats for fhe. it was awesome! try banana boats if you haven't! they're so good! 

chels and i also showed up wearing the same shirt. great minds right?

we hit up seven peaks today as our usual tuesday outing and the weather was perfect. it made me sad thinking that we'll only get to go a few more times before summer is over. my girls love it. i love it. good memories have been there, and it'll always hold a special place in my summer loving heart. 

also, drink of the summer... big al from swig. so good and refreshing!

end of summer.

this weekend was good to us and went by way too quickly. we started it off friday afternoon with a family trip to the ogden temple open house. it's beautiful and james and i can't wait to go back and do a session there. we're so happy for it to be open again.

we ate italian for lunch, farr's ice cream for dessert and then headed home for a family nap. when we woke up, our power went out for about an hour or so. i lit some candles, and yes, i promised myself i'd save this candle until september, but i couldn't help myself. this, mixed with pouring rain, sure made it feel like fall around here. i secretly loved it!

also, this is how brooklyn chose to entertain herself during the outage.

saturday evening we hosted a little end of summer bbq with friends, and even though we ended up eating inside, it sure was fun. we had lots of food and some delicious cookies to top it all off (thanks again jess). 

fun aunt chelsea.

sunday was good. church was good. this little munchkin was good for all three hours. and those legs!

we ended the weekend with s'mores in the backyard with our favorite neighbors. with summer basically over, i couldn't help it but want s'mores one more time. it felt like a formal farewell to summer. although, we'll see how this week goes. 

^^^the 'parade' even came through during our s'mores party.^^^

we love these guys. we've loved summer. and we are more than excited for fall!

h a p p y  m o n d a y 

i get to meet my favorite nephew today! i. can't. wait.

another week in the summer.

our summer continued to be fun this past week with lots of playing outside and family outings. one of my favorites was coming home from jogging one night to three squealing little kids running through sprinklers in their underwear. does it get better than that in the summer? they were having a blast. i'll say it again, we have great neighbors and we love them. 

we had a tad bit of rain a for few days and brooklyn gets bored really easily if she's not doing something physically active or creative. like bored to the point that she either acts out or is super ornery. so, she got her little creative brain going and made this adorable princess out of straws, sugar the horse's tiara, and a necklace. i couldn't help but laugh out loud when i saw this. how cute!

kendall gained five pounds this week i swear! she is just plumping right up and i can't help but write that in every post. it's constantly on my mind and i love it!

thursday afternoon, my parents made it safely home from their road trip on their 'hog'. i seriously worried about them every second they were gone. they came home soaking wet (from a horrible rain and hail storm they ran into right before they got home) and happy. they had a blast! later that evening haley and i braved the heat and went on a little jog. i saw a snake and couldn't keep up with her, but it was a good time. she heads up to logan this week to become an aggie! i'm so jealous and excited for her. lots of fun adventures are right around the corner!

/kendall kate/

 ^^^she gives me this look fifty times a day. i love it.^^^

/brooklyn jayde/

we spent friday afternoon in slc for my cousin's wedding and dinner. it was a beautiful day with lots of family and seriously good food.

we bribed brooklyn with a swig sugar cookie to be good during all the wedding festivities and it worked. kendall shocked us and stayed asleep while we were in the sealing and i literally kissed her cheeks off afterwards because i was just so proud of her. :)

saturday morning, james went and balled it up and then i went on a quick jog. i came home and whipped up some omelets and orange juice and then we spent the rest of the afternoon doing yard work and getting the house clean. kind of my favorite kind of saturday.

that evening was our ward bbq. it's always fun and it's nice to be able to talk to people in the ward that i don't get a chance to see on sundays. we have such good people in our ward. 

^^^darcie and brooklyn wheel barrow racing. she stepped in because i was nursing and james was eating. thanks again darcie!^^^

sunday was church, naps, and then dinner at jeremy and chelsea's with friends. a great way to end the weekend. we have a lot to look forward to this week. lots of summer to squeeze in, doctor appointments, and another friend get together at the end of the week. bring it on!

h a p p y  m o n d a y