Saying Goodbye

Not too long ago my parents signed papers to sell my childhood home. Though I knew this would happen someday, I could never fully prepare for the flood of emotions that would come with the news. I knew I wanted to go home and say goodbye. Apparently, I'm the sentimental one of all my siblings because no one else cared about being there. Ha! I was also the only one who cried about it. Haha! I really just love all the memories I have there. Also, over the last few years it's been fun taking my own children there. 

The kids and I made a last minute trip so I could be there one more time. Our first morning there was a chilly one, but we bundled up and went on a walk. I loved soaking up the fresh country air, and thinking of memories all along the walk. 

 We did a lot of packing the first few days we were there. Addyson had fun climbing in the empty cupboards. I just love the smile on her face! I can't get enough of it! 

One of the first emotional things that happened was the loading of the dining room table. First of all, I've never seen the table as small as it is in the picture (below). We've always had the leaves in it, so having them taken out was weird. This table has so many memories. I'm glad my parents were able to keep it. There are marks all over this table. Thanksgiving dinner was always set on this table. Scratches are on it from playing the game Spoons. When the lights would go out we would set up lanterns on it and play card games. We would have our sports teams over for ice cream and bread sticks (weird combination, I know) and sit around the table having a blast. There's a big burn mark in the middle of it from when my Mom caught it on fire. Haha! There are just so many memories in this ONE table. It was really sad for me to see it leaving the house. 

There are just too many memories to talk about. Each room has its own set of memories. I'm glad I can look back at my memories and have most of them all be happy ones. I rarely think of memories that are not happy. Not all memories are of the house either, the farm has many as well. Being raised on a farm was wonderful! There was so much to explore and so much to do. I think about all the life lessons I learned here. I learned to work hard, to play hard, to serve others, to make messes, to clean, to enjoy family, and to love. I really think I had the perfect childhood. 

 We also got to go visit Grammie, Papa John and Uncle Jake. We always have so much fun seeing all of our family while we visit. We love making memories! 

Rhett had so much fun riding with Taylar on the quad at Uncle Eugene's house. This will continue to be a favorite activity we do when we go to WA to visit. 

Rhett just loves his cousins! When he had to get off the quad and wait for his next turn, Dru jumped up to chat with him. I love seeing my kids spend time with cousins!    

We made sure to get a picture with all the cousins that were able to come. 

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Just wanted to show that not all pictures go smoothly. Both kids decided to cry when I wanted to take a picture of us in front of the house. Haha!

But fortunately, a while later, we did get a good one of everyone being happy (or at least not crying)! :)

We were glad we got to go to lunch with Great Grandma. As you can see, the kids loved being able to hang out with her for a bit. 

After getting back to UT, the kids ran into Daddy's arms. They missed him so much and were so happy to see him! It was very evident that Addyson missed her Daddy! She snuggled him in the airport, while we waited for our luggage, for quite some time! She was so happy to be in her Daddy's arms! <3 

Fall Fun!

It's finally starting to feel like Fall around here. The weather has gotten chilly, and we now need jackets when we go outside. Before it got chilly though we managed to get to the park a few more times. Addyson figured out how to go up the stairs to the slide. She did it over and over and over again. Several times I got to see these kissy lips through the little windows. Is she not the cutest?? ;)

Rhett and Addyson had fun playing in the tunnels at the park. 

I love seeing these two play together. Here's a cute video of Rhett pushing Addyson on the swing.  This is only funny when Rhett is pushing her. ;)

Fall is such a fun time with children. We have loved going to a couple pumpkin patches. They have some pretty fun ones around here where they have little hay mazes and corn piles for the kids to play in. We've been on a hay ride and gotten to see baby farm animals. It's really been a lot of fun!

 A big hay stack Rhett had fun climbing up.

 The corn pile was so much fun! Addyson had fun sneaking pieces of corn in her mouth, and Rhett loved to get his legs buried and jumping off the hay into the corn. Playing in this with my children reminded me of when I was little on the farm and we'd go out with friends and play in the corn that was for the cows. We had fun jumping in it and burying each other up to our necks. Such fun memories. :)

We got to see cows on our hay ride. The kids loved seeing the cows! Addyson kept mooing at them, and Rhett kept pointing out all the cow poop in the grass. Haha! 

I tried doing a fun painting project with the kids. These never go as I think they will, and this one was no different. Haha! It takes Addyson about 2 minutes to be done painting and then she's ready to try tasting the paint. Rhett on the other hand loves to paint the paper a little and then start on his arms. Haha! His arms are usually covered in paint by the time he says he's done. 

On another note, our TV stopped working, so when the Seahawks are playing this is our setup. Can't wait for Black Friday to get here so we can finally get a TV again. We have managed to survive the last few weeks like this so we should be able to last a few more. Haha! 

Jumping back in!

For the last few weeks I've been thinking about getting back into blogging. I'd like to spend less time on Facebook and more time recording memories we make as a family. It's been over two years since I've last updated this, and obviously so much has happened during that time. We have two beautiful children who fill our lives with so much joy!

They are at such fun ages right now. There are definitely trying times at these ages, too. Haha! However, we have tons of fun playing and making memories. Today a memory was made that I don't want to forget, and that's possibly what pushed me over the edge and made me finally start the blog again. 

Addyson is at the age where she loves to put her hands in her hair after eating. Since the kids eat lunch and then nap, I quickly "washed" her hair with a wet rag before putting her down for a nap. When she got up from her nap she had quite the do...

...nice and greasy from the mac n cheese she put in it. I decided it was shower/bath time. Since I too hadn't showered for the day I thought it would be fun to just make it a family event. So Rhett, Addyson and I jumped in the shower and all got our hair washed, then plugged the tub and had a fun time splashing and throwing water on each other. To help Mommy stay entertained, I had my Spotify music play list on. One of my new favorites songs I've added to my playlist is "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo1VInw-SKc

I first heard this song when it was put to a video of a little girl named Kycie. She had type 1 diabetes, but her parents were unaware she had it and she was misdiagnosed with strep throat. She ended up in the hospital with brain damage, fighting for her life. I followed Kycie's story from beginning to end and shed tears when I read of her passing at just 5 years old. As a mom, these types of stories become all too real as I imagine how hard that would be if it happened to my own children. Ever since Kycie passed away I have a hard time listening to the "Fight Song" without wanting to cry. 

Well, today while taking a bath with my two babies that song came on. So many different thoughts came to my mind. October is awareness month for many different things such breast cancer, rett syndrome, diabetes, down syndrome, infertility and child loss, and so much more. I instantly became grateful that I had my babies with me, that I can hold them tight each day, and that they are healthy and happy. My family is my whole world. And I am grateful for experiences, like the one I had today, that remind me of that. 

Seriously, my whole world!  

Big boy!

Our little boy is getting so big! This was taken the first time he pulled himself up on his own. He now does it so easily! He's also starting to crawl. I can't believe how fast he is growing! We love watching him learn new things!! 

6 months!!

Rhett turned 6 months old today! I can't believe it's already been 6 months since he entered this world. He is doing so much these days. As you can see in the picture, Rhett is sitting up all on his own. He'll still tumble over every now and again, but for the most part he does really well!! He loves books! He can kind of look through them. It's pretty cute to watch! He's rolled over a few times, but not too consistently. We practice saying Mama & Dada and get "baba" out of him. He LOVES to watch us eat! It fascinates him. He's getting a little better at his own eating. We're going to start trying some different foods soon. Basically, we love all the new things Rhett is doing. It's so fun watching him grow! We sure love him so much!!

Travis and I recently finished watching the West Wing on Netflix. Their were 156 episodes. We started it shortly after Rhett was born. It's fun having a show we watch together. We're considering re-watching The Office next. 

We had a great 4th of July! We floated down a river here near Rexburg. I was pretty nervous about taking Rhett, but he did so good!! He enjoyed having his legs dipped in the water! Grandma got him this 4th of July outfit. He sure rocks it! We also had a BBQ with our friends Nick and Andrea. Rhett goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 so we didn't get to see any fireworks, but it was a great day!! 

The Park

Rhett and I love walking to the park! Luckily we have a park that is just a couple blocks away from where we live. We've started walking to the park and sitting in the grass on a blanket. Rhett loves to people watch, so it keeps him busy and happy. :) it's been so warm lately that I bring a wet rag with us to keep him cool. He loves it!! 

Shower time!

Rhett loves baths, but Recently he's been showering with daddy some of the time. It's really convenient if daddy showers at night to just toss Rhett in with him. Rhett loves the experience of having the water hit him. He enjoys touching the water as it comes out of the shower head. Daddy lets him peak over the edge at me, and I can usually get a pretty big smile from him when he does. He's pretty cute when he doesn't smile too because he has a look of "what's going on?". Here are a couple of pictures of both expressions. :) We just can't get over how cute our little boy is!! ;)