elder and sister todd are AFRICA bound!!

after waiting for 6 long weeks, my parent's mission call finally arrived on august 14th! we had hoped it would come while my whole family was all together for our reunion, but thanks to the wonder of technology, everyone was able to watch them open it (although it almost didn't happen because trying to arrange a time that night that everyone could be available was nearly impossible)!

 bless my mom and dad for their patience. this sat on their kitchen table for about 5 hours before they actually opened it. I could hardly stand it!

thank goodness for facetime (and multiple apple products!)

elder and sister todd with their mission call to the south africa durban mission!! 

i can't get the video to load, but i'm so grateful i have the moment captured (logan and emma love to watch it over and over again)! it was so exciting watching them open their call and there were gasps and screams when we heard where they were going...and a little disappointment when we heard how long they have to wait to go - december 29th (they put october 1st as their availability, so it is a much longer wait than they were hoping for). i'm so grateful for the wonderful example they are. the day their call came my mom said that she and my dad could hardly believe that the time had finally come for them to serve a mission. it is something they have planned on doing their whole marriage. it has been so interesting to see all that they have to do to prepare. last week they each got 6 shots in one appointment (and that isn't even all their immunizations). plus they had to get an fbi investigation and fingerprints and confirmation from their doctors that they aren't criminals in preparation for getting their visa! ha! we're so excited for the adventure and blessings that await them!

connor walks!

for about 3 weeks this guy was on the verge of walking and i thought everyday was going to be the day. finally about 2.5 weeks after his birthday he decided to go for it (i think it was august 14 when he finally took the plunge)!

i think it is so fun to watch the transition from crawler, to taking a few steps but still mainly crawling, to walking a little more than crawling, to full on walker! connor is totally bowlegged and pigeon-toed, which makes him a cute and fun little guy to watch walk. people love watching him walk and always make comments to me about how cute he is! he's trying to run a little more (to keep up with those big kids), but his legs can't always keep up! i still carry him from place to place when we're out in public and he is becoming less and less content with that and is constantly trying to squirm out of my arms. he is a kid on the go! he is also becoming more and more like a little boy and less and less like a baby. it's hurting my heart a bit, even if he is just getting more and more fun. 

slice of life: summer edition

it's hard to believe we have come to the end of summer. it has been a great one and here are a bunch of pictures of what we've been up to (you've been warned...there are a lot)! 

we made a summer bucket list (still more to check off of it)

the bathroom was the place to play on this day

photography by logan

logan requested i take a picture of him while he was sleeping!

our kids have always loved the water, but we signed them up for swimming lessons for the first time this summer and it was a hit. they both learned a lot and improved quite a bit. logan especially excelled. he was a little sponge and really soaked everything up (ha!). we discovered that he has quite the talent for swimming. after each session he would skip a couple of levels and can swim on his own now! i took a ton of videos, but i can't get them to upload. 

i also have to record that emma loved her first teacher keegan (in the picture above) and totally had a little crush on him. she had different teachers for the 2 later sessions and everyday when we got to the pool she would run to wherever keegan was and say hi. and it wasn't unusual for her to say, "i miss teegan" (she still can't say her c/k sound). 

dave and his dad were able to go to a rockies vs cardinals game. they had some pretty awesome seats!

connor's first free cookie at king soopers! this is quite the milestone :) he was a happy messy boy!

summer days out back. these kids are totally content with a hose! poor connor was barricade inside, wishing he could be out with the big kids.

it was one of those days where i had a long list of things to do and it seemed like the perfect time to check a few things off the list while the older kids were happily playing outside. but then i thought of the memories i would be missing out on, and no amount of accomplishment seemed more important than that. so i threw on my swimming suit and connor and i joined the fun outside.

caught in the act!

in a bind. oh the challenges that come with being mobile

logan and emma worked hard to earn a new toy. logan chose this lego set (it's debatable who was enjoying this moment the most ;) and emma chose a tea set. logan was sweet enough to join in the party (dave was too, but i guess he didn't make the picture)

all last summer the kids begged to go to pirate's cove, so we knew we had to make it happen this summer. dave played hooky from work, connor spent the day with nana and papa and we enjoyed the day in the water...especially the lazy river. logan and emma can't wait to be big enough to go on the big slides!

good morning sweet boy

i walked in on this scene one day. i love their sweet relationship.

my friend amy's in-laws live in the denver area and i was able to go visit her while her family was in town. it made me itch for another one of our reunions. 

logan's sitting on a big package of toilet paper...of course!

i watched my friend mindy's 2 youngest kids one day while she was out of town. i decided we should go check out the new discovery zone at the museum. it was quite the adventure with 5 kids, 4 and under! luckily my mom was along for the adventure, making it not quite as chaotic! logan was frustrated he kept sliding off the dinosaur in this picture!

getting a stamp. a highlight of going to the museum. 

cute kid riding with a whole new view (more here)

this is one way to start your day. the kids were making "soup" (frosted flakes) for minnie mouse for her birthday and it looks like things got a little crazy.

this kid became a pro at eating these pouches on his own. and loved drinking real milk (and i loved buying milk instead of formula. much cheaper!).

after a month apart, logan and kara were reunited. these 2 love each other. #firstcrush

emma was a fan of ribs! eating fast enough her hands were blurry in the picture! and i adore her big, beautiful eyes!

mashed potatoes anyone?!

we are fully immersed in legos. all the time. everywhere.

practicing his walking

celebrating ihop's 55th anniversary with 55 cent short stacks. we love cheap dinner.

the force is strong with these 2!

the constant challenge: getting #1 to put his legos up so #3 doesn't eat them.  

enjoying some backyard water fun with good friends

logan and emma each bore their testimony for the first time in sacrament meeting (and then again in august). no fear for either of them. emma said she loved going to church at jesus's house because it makes her happy (and hearing that made me happy). logan said he loved reading the scriptures. 

on july 11th we took advantage of a lot of free food! 

first up were slurpees

then cow appreciation day with cousins

and a stop to play in the creek at the park

and rounding out the day with free popcorn at ace hardware 

one of his favorite spots, pulling dishes out of the dishwasher and drumming with the utensils.

i had to convince logan to let me help him put together this lego truck (usually his dad helps him). i think he was surprised i could actually do it!

the cutest sight to find waiting at the front door

grateful for such wonderful, fun friends. so much fun that we couldn't stop talking and i got to bed at 3am. but it was totally worth being tired the next day.

raspberries (and flowers) from nana and papa's garden

this sweet little face was watching out the window when I got back from a morning run (although it turned out to be a little less sweet when i got inside and found out she was in her room for being whiny).

cute girls (who look like they could be sisters)

painting cousins

mentos geyser

i remember being in college and thinking that when i became a stay at home mom that i would like to teach group fitness classes. it has been in the back of my mind for years and one of those "someday i'll do it" kind of goals. i am so happy i finally did it! i officially started teaching piyo for 24 hour fitness and i love it! definitely intimidating and nerve wracking, but i feel like i am getting the hang of it a little more. 

the best double date with our best friends, cole and mindy at dart warz. seriously, so much fun!!

i took this picture the night before connor's first birthday. i remember thinking at the time i took it (around 10:30 pm), that about this time a year ago, i starting having contractions! it has proven to be the fastest year yet and we are so happy to have this guy in our family.

i went with my friends laura and mindy on a hike to st. mary's glacier (the white in the background is the glacier). laura and i took a little detour, which added some extra adventure. it was a fun day! 

sweetness from my sweet guy. he knows i love the little things.

i'm thinking it was time to take out the recycling!

logan and emma love to go in and get connor up from his nap. which usually involves them joining him in the crib. they also like to just hang out in there!

this is our life these days. lots and lots of legos. and i think the big guy is just as thrilled about it as the little guy.

i love how he's looking up at her. it seems like more often than not he's bracing himself against her love!

7 years has flown by. i'm so grateful we've got eternity to go. it just keeps getting better and better! 

fhe treat! i had the salted caramel oreo and all i can say is, yum!

the beauty of self feeding. t'm not sure how much made it in his mouth. kids eat free at ikea.

this is what it looks like when you fall down the back steps onto the cement patio. it made me want to cry (and made me feel like a horrible mom) just looking at it. it's amazing how resilient babies are. he barely cried and his face has healed so quickly. although he has added some new bumps and bruises since then. the beauty of being a new walker.

the kids tucked their friends, along with their lovies, into the little bed at nana and papa's house.

my mom helped logan teach the flannel board story of baby moses. he was so excited and did a great job. and it was just really sweet. 

we introduced our kids to the movie "hook" and it was magical...for all of us! there's been a lot of "bangarang!" being yelled around our house these days.

emma capturing our newest walker!

and her napping dad

after having a loose tooth for about a month, it finally came out (with a little help from dad while we were eating at freddy's). and then 4 days later, a second tooth fell out (this time logan pulled it out during nap time)! and we can already see a tooth coming through. isn't he too young for this?! it was exciting to have a visit (or 2) from the tooth fairy!

soaking up the last bits of summer

and it's good we did because we have been hunkered down at home for 3 days now (following that nice day above) with sick kids. emma got a little cough, but nothing serious. but connor and logan have been slammed. they both cough like they've been smoking 2 packs a day for years. and logan lost his voice! i can't think of the last time my kids have been this sick.

so long summer!