Summer so far...

Got some big posts coming up so I thought I would hurry and get theses two done. Two posts in 2 days...unheard of for me. Don't even think many people are reading this anymore, but I will post away cause this is our little story and I can't give it up. So read through this post, and then keep scrolling for a look at our Father's Day.

Off to a good, happy little start to summer. Why must it go so fast. Already a full month into it. Makes me kinda sad. The boys had been begging Thiago to sleep out on the tramp. Days have been nice but the nights in early June were still a little chilly. Tried to tell them to wait a few more weeks and then they could. They didn't listen. So at first all 4 boys headed out there to sleep. The minute Drake layed his head down, he was done. He wanted to come back in the house with me. Which was just fine. I was more than glad to have his little company. The others lasted til about 3 am then sure enough they all hauled back inside the house. Too cold. Guess I was right.

Went and got some gool ol' Burger Bar one Saturday night. Burgers, fries, onion rings, lime rickies and fry sauce. Perfectly summer. Headed back to our house with the Phongsavaths and ate outside, then we pulled out the fire pit to roast marshmallows and eat S'mores.

Have I menioned Linc has zero patience for roasting marshmallows. Ends in tears everytime. Kinda drives me nuts.

Went up to my grandpas house again one Sunday. Love this little red house. And the tiny babe giving me a kiss right in front of it!

Lance's ninth birthday fell on the ninth of June. 12 days before my Carson's. Hard to believe these first borns of ours are nine years old. Breaks my heart yet watching them grow is pretty dang amazing. Turning into some very fine little young men. Couldn't be prouder of these two. I really do think birth order in families has a huge impact on kids personalities. These two are the perfect older brothers. So responsible, so reliable, so kind, wonderful examples....and truly they are our right arms half the time. I know I couldn't survive without all the help Carson gives me and I know Jen feels the same way about Lance. Just good boys.

Couple weeks ago Thiago and I went to the Lionel Richie concert at USANA. Thiago's dad is the king of winning crap off the radio. I can't even tell you how much stuff he has won. He won these tickets but he and Thiago's mom were going to be gone to Brazil, so they gave them to us. I had a handful of Lionel Richie songs that I love. "Stuck on you". All time favorite. Been on my playlist as long as I can remember. So as dorky as it sounds I was so dang excited for this concert. And it did not dissapoint. I can't remember the last time we had that much fun. It was such a blast. Came home and downloaded seriously all his music, and its all I have been listening to. My boys even love it. Keep asking if we can listen to Lionel. Haha.

This little sweetie pie started his first year of T-ball Rookies. Oh does he love it. I love that he grows up watching his big brother and then when his turn finally rolls around. Oh man. He just thinks he is really something. He was so excited to start. Two of the first practices got cancelled cause of a crazy windstorm, and then pouring rain. He cried and he cried and he yelled. He was so dang pissed. Luckily the weather has been great the past few weeks and no more have been cancelled. He is having such a blast. And I seriously love watching him. He is our athlete. No doubt about it. The kid has skill when it comes to sports. And he is fierce and feisty out there. And so freaking competitive. We are gonna have some fun with this boy.

Cars had his little scout day camp. Left the house about 6:00 am and didn't get home til almost 4. He was dead tired but said it was so much fun.

Day before Carson's birthday we met up with all my sisters and little cousins and went swimming at Roy Aquatic. Had to show you this cute little cover up I found at Target. Anyone else out there think Target has really brought there A game this season. I seriously have found so many cute things there lately. For me and my kids. Some seriously fun stuff!

We had such a fun day. Wasn't good with my camera at the actual pool. Get so nervous being that close to water and all. But we had a great time. Love that Linc and Cars have done so well in their swimming lessons. Makes my life alot easier and like I can actually enjoy myself cause I trust them more in the water. Drake is a full time job. Thinks he is such a big kid and can keep up with his brothers. Someone remind him he is a very tiny baby and needs to stop acting so grownup. Doesn't he know how bad his mama hates that. Sheesh!

Last but not least.....whose got World Cup fever. We do big time. That is Brazilian blood flowing through my babies veins. It is killing my honey to not be in his home country right now watching those games in real life. Pretty much this has been the best month of his life. The game he loves. The country he calls home as the host. He has so much hope in Brasil. Me too. It would be so neat for them to win. My boys have these little Brazilian jersies they wear everytime Brasil plays. Routing for our team.

Thats it for now!

Fathers Day

Fathers Day. Always hits awfully close to Carson's birthday. I hate to say it, but we have a tendency to overlook it just a tad. I always try and make it special for him, but usually I am distracted by birthday party planning and poor Theo kinda gets the shaft.

I spent my Saturday at work, searching all my favorite recipe blogs for something yummy to make him for breakfast that morning. Narrowed it down to two recipes. First was this sausage/egg breakfast casserole. The second was a sweeter dish, a baked french toast recipe. I was kinda leaning towards the french toast but when I got home I showed Thiago both recipes and he wanted the casserole. So the casserole it was! And oh was it good!!! It called for chopped green chilis, which me and him love! Gave it the best lil kick. My kids don't appreciate them all too much so I left their half with no chilis. We all gobbled it up that morning.

Thiago had told me the night before that all he wanted for Fathers Day was a day off from church. Isn't he terrible. I was teaching that day, so I had to go and then they called and asked Thiago to step in with the young men. So he decided he needed to go as well. So no day off for him, thankfully. I can't handle all three boys by myself in sacrament. Anybody else feel like they just ran a marathon once church lets out. Quite exhausting keeping those boys of mine well behaved the whole three hours.

I'm pretty sure I am the most blessed mama and wife ever. These four! Love em so much.

Got home and told my honey to take a little rest. My poor guy. He is the hardest worker. Wakes up at 5, Mon-Fri to go hit the treadmill. Leaves for work by 6:30. Gets home about 4:30, changes and then heads to soccer 3 nights a week and doesn't get home til 8:00. His schedule exhausts me, and honestly sometimes we just flat out miss him. We get so lonely by the time the weekend comes around. Just so grateful for him though. He works so hard and does so well, all so that I can stay at home and raise our little boys. So grateful for that blessing.

He napped while I made a strawberry shortcake bar recipe to take up to my Grandpas, and the boys worked on a little card for him.

He woke up and I got the boys changed and then we gave him his little gift. Just filled a big bag full of his favorite little treats. Lindt chocolates, and Dove bars, and KitKats and bottled coke. And then we gave him a gift card for a new hat. He lost his favorite one awhile back and has been wanting a new one. I don't dare pick that out on my own though, he is particular when it comes to who he will wear on his head.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. This man was born to play this role. One of my greatest comforts in this life is knowing that he is the father of my little boys. He's a mans man. He's big and strong and sturdy and a little tough. But nothing gets to him the way fatherhood does. I have seen him cry only a handful of times and it all has had to do with our kids. He wears his emotions on his sleeve when it comes to them. Loves deep, with all that he is. His eyes shine and come alive when he looks at them, when he speaks to them. How comforting to know that there is another human being who loves them the way I do. He feels every emotion. I couldn't do this journey with anyone but him. He has shown me what fatherhood is meant to be, what it is supposed to look like. He is and always will be the greatest man I have ever know. We are so blessed to have him.

My greatest hope for these little boys is that they follow in their fathers footsteps. That they look to him and his example throughout every phase of their life. There is no greater being to follow.

He's defintely worth celebrating. Our rock. That holds us all together. The strength and security behind our little family. Feel as if nothing can ever touch us as long as we have him. Which is incredibly naive, but he makes us feel that way. He's our Superman. And we love him so much.

Well this is a ridiculous picture. I look horrid. The wind was blowing, and I am making a stupid face. But its me and my dad....and Ash. So I went ahead and posted it. We headed up to Tremonton to have dinner at my Grandpa's.

Gave him this little car washing kit, which may sound weird. But if you know my dad and his crazy insane anal attitude towards his truck. I kid you not the man cleans it weekly, sometimes twice a week and spends a good 5-6 hours. Its insanity. Seriously.

This fathers day in terms of my dad, was one of the best yet. I know I have mentioned that our relationship hasn't always been perfect. Lots of room to grow and feelings that still need to be sorted out. But I tell ya, I am in the best place I have ever been with him. The effort he is making to get closer to us has seriously blown me away. Funny, how life works. And love. Certain people. No matter what. No matter what roads they travel down, that love never goes away. It gets stronger. You worry and you pray that someday they will figure out what this life is all about. You don't hate them for certain mistakes. You don't hold that over their heads. Even when others say, forget it, why still try. But your heart doesn't know what else to do. Cause you love them and you never give up on them. And then one day they wake up, and they realize what matters most is right in front of them. And you open your arms and heart all the more, cause it was always there and its what you've dreamed of. And you almost love them even more, cause you know all that they have gone through to get to that point. How much pain they have suffered and how hard they are trying to change. And it just makes it all that much sweeter and mean that much more. ANyways, love him so much. Grateful every day that he is my dad. No doubt in my mind heavenly father gave us each other for a reason.

Good day filled with family and lots of appreciation for these special men in our lives.

Sweet grandpa...first Fathers day with out grandma. All the firsts are the hardest. Pray every day that he is hanging in there.

Grateful for this day and for the oppurtunity we have to honor the men in our lives. The fathers, the uncles, the grandpas, the great grandpas. It is a heavy load they carry on their big broad shoulders. So many little lives are so dependent on them. Yet they carry it with such strength and dignity. They light up our lives. Bring a twinkle to our eye. They love and they love big. They sustain us. They carry us through. Fatherhood. Can't help but think of these earthly fathers and the way they must resemble our heavenly father. What a calling. What a privledge. How lucky we are to be loved by them.

Memorial Day!

Sunday before Memorial Day we met up with my Grandpa Williams and my Williams family to drive up to Rupert, Idaho to visit my Grandma's parents graves. Nana and Papa. It is a long old drive, but she would have wanted us too. Would have made her so happy. It was a really pleasant afternoon. Nice drive. My kids were happy and did minimal complaining. My dad drove with us, since we have plenty of room. Rupert is a tiny, pleasant little town. Visited at the cemetary for awhile. Then drove through town, my dad pointing out all the "old spots". Drove by Nana and Papa's old house. Which I remember, clear as day. I remember sitting in her front room, after Nana had died. My mom and aunts and grandma were going through her things. She had collected these tiny little glass salt and pepper shakers. All shaped as different things. Animals, mostly. But there was also food shaped ones. Hot dogs, rootbeer floats, a birthday cake. Me and my sisters and Randy Jo would sit and play for hours with those. Acting them out. Funny little memories.

Anywho, after that we stopped at Wendys and had a late lunch. Then drove back to Grandpa's.

Sat on Grandpas patio, in the old swing that used to hang on Nana's porch. Sipped a pepsi. And missed Grandma. It was a weird day. First time being at their house since the funeral. Felt so weird...and empty. Missed her so badly.

Then drove to Tremonton cemetary for the most important visit that weekend. My grandma's grave. Couldn't stop my tears. Happened to be exactly one month since her passing. A little to fresh, a little to raw still. We should have been at her house, with her in her chair and her dark eyes sparkling. Not at the cemetary. Never has a Memorial Day meant more to me. I have grown up visiting the graves. My mom made sure we always made it to my great grandparents that had passed on. Most of which I had never met. But this is my first taste of it being someone I truly knew and loved. Just brought a whole new meaning to the day.

My uncles and dad got her headstone ordered. They took their time, looking and planning for the perfect one. Its going to be beautiful. Can't wait to see it.

My sweet grandpa. I don't think he is doing well. He is really quiet and reserved. When I ask how he is, his answer is always the same "just terrible". My heart just aches for him. He tries to stay busy, bustling around his yard and house. Tinkering with this and that. But he tells me he always wanders into the house after a few hours. Used to her being there. They would chat, eat lunch and dinner together. Go for a drive. And now its just emptiness. He says nights are the worst. He can't sleep and lays there all night long. Poor little guy. Hope it gets easier for him.

Next day we got up early....went out to breakfast with family.

Ham and cheese omelette, hashbrowns and giant scone. Perfect start to a good day!

After that me and my mom and Ash and Jen had a few hours to kill before we met some of my moms family at the Willard Cemetary. So we ran into Target. About 2 hours later and a couple hundred dollars. Store sucks ya in. We then went to our next stop.

Cemetaries are so peaceful...

Drake bug fell asleep on the drive. Parked him in the shade of a huge tree, rolled the windows down and he had a good long snooze.

Grandpa Cherry surrounded by little ones, learning how to Rainbow Loom!

Nice, peaceful afternoon.

Got back to Ashley's house and the kids played while me and my mom and Ash threw a little BBQ together.

We seriously ran to the grocery and grabbed this stuff at the last minute. Turned out pretty good!

Ended our night with a big family bike ride. Threw the babies in their trailors and off we went. Went down on the trail and stopped at Steed Pond. Ended up at the park and let the kids play on the playground for awhile.

Such an enjoyable, happy day! Little bit of everything!