June

When we weren't busy with family visitors and reunions...  

Brigham enjoyed playing with his stickers.

Lexi enjoyed smiling and wiggling.

Brigham enjoyed Mr. Potato Head.

Lexi enjoyed more smiling.

Brigham tried working out with Jillian Michaels.  I think the workout got to be a bit too much for him.  He decided he would rather just sit on me while I try to do stomach crunches.  He thinks it is hilarious.

Brigham and Aaron worked on some home improvement.  Aaron installed some new cabinets and a countertop to make me a desk in the kitchen.  I love it!

Brigham got tubes in his ears.  He has had so many ear infections the last 18 months that our doctor recommended we get tubes put in.  It was a minor surgery that only takes about 10 minutes.  We spent about two hours at the hospital including pre and post op.  He was a little bit weirded out by the hospital nightgown, and I had to hide his sippy cup before the surgery because he kept wanting a drink but I couldn't let him have anything.  He was a champ when they took him away.

He did pretty well afterwards.  He cried a little as he was waking up and coming out of the anesthesia, but mostly he just wanted to cuddle and finally have something to drink. Before the surgery he failed the hearing tests in both ears, but the day after her passed in both ears!  We are so happy that he will be hearing better and hopefully avoiding ear infections every time he gets a little cold.

Return to Clear Creek

Yep, we returned to Clear Creek for another summer family reunion.  We just can't get enough of this place.  Almost 20 years ago we took a photo like this of us running/jumping at the front gate for the brochure we were creating.  We always made fun of it because it sort of looked like the people were running to get away from the ranch.  We wanted to recreate the moment with a new generation of jumpers (and a few old ones too).

I love coming back to this place.  It brings back so many good memories from my summers as a wrangler.  It was fun to have my family of four back in the place where Aaron and I met and fell in love nine summers ago.  It was a little crazy to think that two years ago when we had our reunion here, we had no kids.

As I expected and hoped, Brigham loved the ranch.  It made me a little bit sad that he won't be able to spend a lot of time there like we were able to growing up.  It is the perfect place for a little boy to wander, explore and get dirty.

My cute cousins put on a carnival for the kids with clowns, cotton candy, a tightrope, and the train.

 There was lots of wrestling on the grass.

And there was lots of fun with sticks.

We were so busy and had such a good time, I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked to.  Julia and I had a good time planning and hosting the newest edition of the Bodell Bash.  There were many highlights (Bodell brothers singing beach boys, Bodell sisters singing the supremes, uncle Ed doing the Elephant March) but I think my favorite may have been the "High as a Kite" Minute to Win It game.  Picture adults (and one three year old) with kites tied to headbands around their heads, running around in circles to keep them up in the air while "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins is playing.  I guess you had to be there to appreciate it.  It was pretty great.

We enjoyed yummy food, lots of visiting, smores, a talent show, dancing gorillas, movies under the stars, and funny late night games in the stables.

This was our third (and most successful in my opinion) attempt at getting a photo with the five Hicks grandkids.

 So glad we could introduce a new generation of Bodell kids to one of our favorite places.

Best Buddies

 We were so excited to have Julia and her boys visit for 10 wonderful summer days.  We had such a great time playing together and watching our kids play together.  We usually plan way too much for when we get together.  This time was no exception, but we did scale back our expectations for getting projects done and enjoyed a lot of fun time outside with the kiddos.  I am so glad we did.

These two boys loved the splash pad.  Brigham was fearless when it came to the shooting water and was completely soaked within minutes.

We took a trip to BYU's Bean Museum.  Brigham walked around roaring at all the bears, lions, and tigers.  He was so excited to see life size animals like the ones in his books.  This is him waving his "trunk" in the air.

He was pretty excited to see the hippo.

We had a picnic in the park and watched the boys run around with the grandparents.

Brigham loved being pushed in the swing.

We made two trips to Seven Peaks to get some good use out of our Pass of all Passes.  Brigham was not so fearless when it came to this water.  He spent much of his time in the water clinging to me and looking afraid.  I'm not sure which was his favorite part, the free sucker or playing on the tube on the grass.

One of my favorite parts of the visit was watching Jacob and Brigham really enjoy playing together.  We have seen bursts of it in the past, but our days spent together often ended with Brigham crying because he didn't understand how to share or play with other kids.  This visit was so much different.  They wanted to do everything together from eating breakfast together in the morning at grandma's new little table to reading bedtime stories and saying night time prayers together.  They would spend most of their waking hours together playing and wrestling with lots of laughs and very few tears.

Of course, we had to attempt a few photos with all 5 grandkids.  This was the first attempt.

And the second. 

I love these kids.

May Days

This girl started smiling a lot, and we love it.

Brigham discovered the book "Counting Kisses".  It starts with 10 kisses on teeny tiny toes, so he started kissing his own toes.

Brigham had some great hair after naptime.

Aaron turned 32.

 We went to the aquarium and saw the "po" (Brigham language for penguins).

I think he was just as fascinated with the penguin cutouts on the wall as he was with the real thing.

After he drinks his morning cup of milk, Brigham typically heads straight for his animals.  He dumps them on the floor, and then sets them up in various locations in the living room and kitchen.  We usually clean them up during his nap, and soon after he wakes up he pulls them out again and reassembles the zoo for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

This little girls keeps smiling and kicking her legs.

We enjoyed morning trips to the park.  Brigham likes to go down the "wee" by himself and pick up the bark and throw it around.  He learned how to say "George" and likes to look at his Curious George books, wear his George shirt, and watch George on TV.

We went on a lot of walks and had some good times with cousin Aidyn.  

Sometimes when I have three babies in the house, it is easier to set up a diaper changing station and take care of all three at once.

Brigham is such a sweet big brother.  He has started playing peek-a-boo with Lexi and brings her baby toys to play with.  He gets concerned if she is crying or if we are leaving the room without her.  He enjoys laying by her and putting his face right up next to her.  He also enjoys trying to tickle her. She saves some of her best smiles for him.

School's out and we are excited for more time with Aaron, swimming, playing with cousins, a family reunion, and a trip to California.

Memorial Day

This year we started what I hope will become a family tradition of spending Memorial Day with family visiting and remembering loved ones that have passed on.  It was a neat experience to visit cemeteries and see all the flowers, pinwheels, and flags that had been placed on graves.  There were so many people there visiting and honoring family members, and it felt nice to be a part of it.  We started the morning at my cousin David's grave.  We shared memories and stories and placed pinwheels around his headstone.  We sure do miss him a lot.  He was very devoted to family, and I know he would have loved to have been with us on a day like this.

Next we headed to another cemetery where my grandma is buried as well as my great grandparents.

Then we headed to Bodell Construction to eat my grandpa's favorite food (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and to go on train rides.  My grandpa built this awesome train the year that Aaron and I met and worked at the ranch together.

David has kept it up and made some great improvements to it over the last few years.  David and Grandpa both loved working on it and driving it around, probably because they get to see kids with looks like this on their face.

It was Brigham's first train ride.  He LOVED it!  He was walking around the parking lot with his arm in the air saying "choo-choo" and he had a huge grin on his face during his rides.  I think it inspired a new love of trains.