The Happiest Place on Earth...

 Jake and I have been planning our first family trip for about a year now...and the first week in September is when we got to leave Utah and head for the Happiest Place on Earth. 

Here's all of the boys before we headed out for a week in Cali. My sister came and stayed at our house to watch Chewy....but it was hard leaving him for the first time. 

 Jake's mom and his niece were able to come with us as well....having three kiddos was an interesting challenge at times...I wonder how it will be when we have three of our own?

 The plane ride there, Brax was with me....

 And Jake had Carter....

 The boys got wings for being such great little flyers. The absolutely did amazing. No fussing, or freaking out of any kind.

 For our first day in Disneyland we managed to pack in a ton of things.

 We went swimming almost every night to relax and have some fun before bed.

More pics to come.

Usual Day in our Lives...

I have been concerned about Carter's eye sight for quite some time now. I had to first get his allergies under control then proceed to the eye doctor if needed. 

He failed his eye exam at his pediatrician, so off to the eye doctor we went. 

My sister came with me so she could sit with Brax while I helped with Carter...and I have to day..if she hadn't been there, I probably would have cracked. 

Here's the two goofballs messing with my phone in the lobby....

 Here's cute Carter getting his eyes checked...

 He did so well...until they brought out the eye drops...this kid absolutely went nuts! I've never had him freak out that badly anywhere before. After about 6 nurses and doctors came in to see if I was killing him....my sister and I ended up tag-teaming this crazy child and she straddled his legs and held his hands while I had his head between my legs and put the eye drops in. 

The minute they were in...Carter said, "Oh that wasn't so bad." I could have died. 

Here's the picture after the appointment was over. It was so nice to walk out of there.

 These two boys have seriously become little besties. They play together so well and really think about each other all of the time. Braxton saved his preschool snack to give Carter one day, and Carter saved his candy he won at school to give to Brax. So precious.

 Brax has become his own person lately and it's been awesome to watch it all happen. We bring Jake a "slushly" and treat just about 3 times a week. He loves it just about as much as Jake does.

 These next two pics show how much fun having boys is.....Brax got on Jake's flipflops....

 and Carter put on mine...both boys still had their socks on as well.

Loving life!

Rachel and Trenton....

I have the most amazing friends ever. There are about 5 people in this whole world that I would do absolutely anything for.....Rachel Pezely is one of them. 

This girl has known me since I was a dumb 17 year old starting college at the U. And honestly, with working together for two years, running the school newspaper for a year and remaining friends through all of our trials....she is one of my bestest friends ever.

 The wedding was absolutely gorgeous! I helped make this candy sign for them with my super talented sister and mother in law.

 We had some time to kill in between the ceremony and reception...and since Jake had to work late and only made it to the reception, the boys and I had a perfect opportunity to take some pictures. I love that they both wanted to blow kisses in this one.

 It was so pretty at night as well, the lights were just breathtaking.

 I just love these kids!

August Catch Up...

 I have been thoroughly enjoying the time I get to spend with little Brax lately. This kid and I have never been able to really have alone time before. We went to the splash pad (right by Carter's school) every early out to have a picnic lunch and wait for our big brother to get out of school.

 There is one word that perfectly defines how I feel about Jake. Grateful. This man is truly an amazing step dad, loving and caring husband and works so hard to take care of his whole family and friends. I am honestly so glad that I get to call him mine. The boys and I have so much in our lives now, and it's all due to this wonderful guy we have who loves us.

 On one of our splash pad days, walking back to the car...this is what we found! He's huge! Of course the boys wanted to bring him home and make him our own....so I introduce Patrick. (Like Patrick Willis from the 49rs, all Carter's idea)

I am 16 weeks here....my belly is definitely poking out a lot sooner with this little dude than it did with the boys.

 Ahh..the first day of school. These two little men have seriously grown up into the greatest boys ever. I love to watch them grow, learn and change...it has been so much fun being able to stay home and really participate in their daily lives lately. (I missed out on so much working, so I'm cherishing every moment)

 This is the boys last year...my oh my...how they have grown!

 This is Carter's first year at Riverdale elementary...and I have to admit, I'm absolutely in love with the school. I love his teacher (she was actually Jake's first grade teacher as well) and I love the events that the school puts on. I have been thoroughly impressed (which is a very welcomed change since last year)

 Then it was off to drop off Brax at his school. We have since changed preschools that he goes to because the one I really wanted to get him into had an opening come up about 3 weeks into the school year. But this was his first day at Bravo.

 I have been taking the boys to daycare in the morning and leaving them until after work around 5:30 everyday for almost 4 solid years now....I will fully admit that staying home and actually being a part of their lives is amazing. I get to pick up Brax after his school and hang out with him one on one, while we wait for Carter's school to get out.

 On the first day of school, my sister and I took Brax out to Wendy's (without Carter) and he loved the special attention.

Such a goof! Love him so much it hurts.

Beach Day....

A day at the beach spent with our very best friends......what could be better? Ashley and I seriously have the most amazing kids, and I'm really glad that we're best friends. All five kiddos played at the beach for hours one August day.....we loved it!

Girls' Trip...

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures of our girls' trip to St. George. Jane, Shauna and I packed up for the weekend, and headed to sunny St. George. It was so much fun to get away just the girls. 

We had plans of shopping, yard sales and fun food.....but my body decided to have issues that lead us to the hospital for 6 hours instead. 

Everything ended up just fine, but it was super scary at the time. This is a quick pic we took after lunch.