He wants a cake!

Dear Russell,
You are so adorable. I love watching you play. You are determined to learn how to jump right now. You practice over and over and over. I love how proud of yourself you get when you feel you've made progress.

You are ridiculously smart for a 15 month old! The other day you got your ball stuck between a bush and a garbage can. You couldn't reach it so you looked around, grabbed a piece of PVC pipe, and began trying to push it closer to yourself. Most kids your age would've just sat down and cried until someone came to help them.

The other day we were shopping and you saw a cake mix that you just had to have. You started pointing and saying "dat, dat, dat!"

I pushed the cart over to the side and you reached over and grabbed a box of confetti cake mix. You wanted me to make this so bad and I just kept forgetting. One morning you woke me up and as I was opening my eyes you were shoving the box in my face. Today I decided you'd waited long enough. As soon as I woke up we started making the cake. It was so fun. You loved every step of it. I think you enjoyed making it more than you liked eating it, but in your defense you had just had breakfast and you were pretty full! I should've made the cake in the evening because its going to be hard to beat that moment today, it was so fun.

I love you buddy! I love how we can do things together like making cake.
XOXO
Mommy

summer

Dear Bubbas,
Where did the summer go?!! It went so fast. I got a new job and have spent most of my computer time in  August planning for my job and getting ready for home schooling a preschooler and two first graders. I wish I would've taken a few more time outs to write about our summer but here are the highlights....

1. We went to the beach with the Allen gang. It was super fun. We stayed in the same house as we did the last time we went and you were all thrilled because you love all the stairs in that house. You got to go clamming for the first time and had so much fun doing it!

2. We went to the beach with Gramma Darrlyn and Papa Steve. It was so relaxing. We spent so much time just relaxing on the beach and at the house. We stayed in a new house that had an incredible view of the ocean from the living room. We found lots of seashells on this trip. Connor found most of them because he was having so much fun looking for them. We also went to the aquarium in Seaside and had a blast feeding the seals.

3. We went to Silverwood with the Taylors. That was a blast! You kids loved every second of it!

4. We went camping with the Taylors. So many things on this trip that I want to remember. The way you guys roasted hot dogs and Kaylee kept grabbing them to see if they were hot regardless of how she kept hurting her hand, the swap meet, corn dogs and wagons, the way Leanne and I laughed until our sides hurt on more than one occasion, and my favorite moment... this conversation between Hunter and Clayton-
 It was just Hunter and Clayton sitting around the campfire while all the other kids were picking berries. It was starting to get dark.

Hunter to Clayton- "It's getting dark. I'm getting worried that a monster will jump out of the woods at me."
Clayton- "No. Monsters aren't real. Bears are though."

I love you kids! I had such a great summer with you! Thank you for all the fun days, tiring days, whiny days, kid filled days. I will miss these one day.
XOXO
Mommy