Lake Powell!!

Like they say, a picture says a thousand words! :) Does that look like one happy baby or what?! Gabe looked a little hot on the boat so I soaked his hair and let the wind have it's way with it...and he loved it! :)

Eric and Gabe both got to experience Lake Powell for the first time! Yahooooo! We had such a blast! Mindy and Griff invited us to join Griff's family on one of their many trips to Lake Powell every summer...what a great family Griff has! We had SO much fun playing, playing and playing some more! There was so much to do...hanging out on the house boat, flying off the slide, playing games, boating, swimming, the Launch Pod, the water weenie, tubing, the air-chair, knee board, skiing, and of course, most importantly...wakeboarding! :) And no, we didn't actually have the time or energy to participate in every one of those things ourselves in our 3 short days there- but believe me, we did most of it and every one of my screaming muscles can attest to that!

Go Eric!! He had so much fun showing us some leg while he ripped up the wake! :) What a jokester! The water weenie was Eric's favorite but I never got a picture of that, dangit!

Gabe was such a good sport. He didn't look too comfortable in his life vest but he didn't complain about it - what a sweet baby!

It was Mindy and Griff's baby's first time at Lake Powell too! You are so cute pregnant, Mindy!!

I brought this floating crab for Gabe thinking he would love it and never want to get out...well that's not exactly how he felt about it! As you can see he hung on to me for dear life screaming like I was going to push him out into the lake as fish bait! Needless to say, that poor crab got about 1 minute of lake time!

And here is Gabe sleeping with his fat little tummy hanging out if his jammies! Since it was still hot when he went to bed, I would unzip his jammies then zip them up later when it cooled off. Gabe slept on top the house boat with everyone and for the most part did great. It took some adjustment to be able to fall asleep with all the talking and noise going on but our little man is a trooper!

Spring flowers

I just love plants - especially flowers. Unfortunately they haven't loved me! I haven't had much luck with plants in the past. Sometimes they would last for several good weeks and then either suddenly die for no apparent reason or else slowly start ailing...leaves starting to droop then drop until the poor thing is a lanky bunch of naked stems. Other times they stay nice and green and healthy but don't grow an inch all season! It has been so frustrating and not a little sad! Well, all that has changed this year and I am thrilled!! (I'm not counting my sad little vegetable garden that is hanging on to life by a thread right now) Anyway, my flowers are thriving and I couldn't be more proud of myself! :) I had SO much fun going to the nursery and picking them out - I couldn't narrow down all the choices so I bought at least one of all my favorites. Fellow shoppers were laughing with me about how, even in the checkout line, I kept grabbing more! There are just so many pretty flowers! I love all the different shapes, colors and textures...hence the craziness of my flower pots! I love it that way, though. Planting day was a blast as well. I remember telling Eric how happy it made me feel! Sounds silly but it's just exactly the feeling I had all day as I was digging around moving dirt and mixing together all those pretty plants I had brought home. My parents both have bright green thumbs and just seem to have a knack for mixing all different kinds of shrubs, flowers, trees, and ground cover to create the prettiest gardens. Now I believe there is hope for me to someday be like them when I grow up!! So here are some pictures of my flowers...all you big time gardeners, don't laugh! I'm aware that they aren't that special but for me they are perfect! :)

This last picture was a few weeks ago when the snapdragons were blooming. I wanted to wait for the red flowers to bloom before taking pictures but I just couldn't wait! (I hate to jinx myself but I never know how long they are going to look like this!) So of course now the petunias and tiny red flowers (my favorites) are blooming but no snapdragons. Oh well, I figured this way you could see both!

Congrats Caitlynn!

Eric's little sister Caitlynn graduated from high school last week - yeah! (I know, I'm so behind with blogging. So many fun things have been going on-I've been taking lots of cute pictures with no time to post!) Unfortunately Gabe and I weren't able to attend the actual ceremony, hence no cool pic of her in her robe, but here are some cute pictures from our celebration lunch
afterward.


Caitlynn is heading to ITALY in one week for one awesome graduation vacation!! (Crystal is going along as well...lucky girls!) That's a grad trip that is certain not to disappoint. :) Have a blast, we love you Caitlynn!!

Ready or not, here I come!

Gabe has finally figured out what legs are for...he doesn't crawl but he does scoot around on his bum! At first it was mostly using arm strength and looked SO awkward but now he uses his legs to pull...still awkward, though much more effective! I must say that it is so fun for me to watch him get around on his own now. He has always been pretty content to stay in the same place and play with whatever toys were within reach! (My goodness, he has gotten pretty darn flexible - an invaluable skill for those that stay put!) Now he is scooting around like crazy, all business - it is so cute! It's slow going and not too smooth but he sure looks determined when he's going to investigate some new and fascinating object... like the doorstop for instance! It's ironic because I never crawled as a baby either and actually did the exact same bottom-scoot. My parents still talk about how funny it was that I did this funny crab crawl - Mom said I had a big callous along my calf from using it to pull myself along. Well, Gabe has only been scooting for a week and he already has a little rash/callous forming...poor kid! Like mother, like son, I guess. Since it is hard to describe how cute Gabe looks cruising around, I just had to put on this video clip so you could see it for yourself...

Birthday Bash

It was Mel and Connor's birthday party this past weekend...what a blast! My parents hosted the festivities and we celebrated with a Caribbean Islands theme garden party. It was so fun and the food was delicious! It felt great to be outside hanging out together. Our family is getting so big and FUN! All the boys were having a grand old time playing ball while the women talked and played with the babies. It was so relaxing and invigorating to me. I just love times like that. Here are some cute pictures I took. The little kids LOVED Gabe's b-day car...someone was driving it around constantly all evening!

This book is amazing!! I read it for book club in about 4 days...I could NOT put it down. I had heard from my sister, Melanie, that it was good but I had no idea how good! I was surprised at how much I loved it since it is so different from most of my favorite books. It is written as a journal which at first I didn't think I would like. However, Sarah (the main character) has a way of writing that brings her experiences to life and has a way of making you feel what she went through. I was crying by page 15! It's amazing how easily you get wrapped up in her life...her hopes, fears, dreams, and triumphs. It also made me realize how incredibly blessed I am and how much I take for granted. As I read I was feeling guilty about the small things in my life that make it so easy... like disposable diapers, indoor plumbing, and electricity. But the big things were what really stopped me in my tracks and humbled me when I realized how blessed I was. Things like knowing the purpose of life and that I will see loved ones again, having the gift of medical knowledge and expertise available now, and having the incredible opportunity to receive an education! Things I know I absolutely take for granted on a daily basis. This book was definitely an eye opener for me - it had the same effect as looking into a mirror that reflected my own life for me to see and helped me understand that regardless of what we have been given in this life, what really matters is what we do with it. I want to have the same indomitable spirit that she exhibited in her life... the same sense of humor and resiliency, strength and compassion. I know that her life was fictional but I also know that she represents so many women throughout history with similiar stories. I am so inspired! :) Bottom line...read the book!!