Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for my TALENTS!
I don't want to sound boastful, but I feel like I should be thankful for the talents that God has blessed me with. 
I have developed a talent in just the last few years since I had Kelson.  I took up sewing as a hobby.  Even though, I am not that great at it, I am thankful I can sew the basics.  I have been able to make some pretty fun things.  Yesterday I made seat belt pillows (yes, this is a pinterest find).  Kelson thought it was a pretty fun thing.
I also am so grateful that I can cook/bake some foods... I love making grandma's cookies!  Eating a delicious chocolate chip cookie can make any day great!
I also am grateful that I have enough talent to keep my garden alive!  I love eating the fresh peas from the garden and lately we have been picking zucchini and squash nearly everyday!
So... even though, there are days (all the time) that I feel inadequate or like a failure- I am grateful for the handful of talents that I do have.  I know that comparing myself to others is NOT what I should be doing.  I should be grateful for the talents that God gave me, and use them to the best that I can.

What are you thankful for today??

Thankful Thursday and...

what we've been up to!

I am thankful for SUNSHINE & SUMMERTIME
Both of my boys LOVE to be outside!  When they are happy my days go much smoother! We have been having so much fun this summer.  I'm thankful that we are able to enjoy the sun and the wonderful world of outside.
Today we went to Gardner ranch and enjoyed the sun!  We went swimming for Brett's birthday!  We had such a fun time.  Happy Birthday Brett!  Thanks for inviting us to go swim!

I am also thankful for RAIN
We have needed the rain so badly... I'm so grateful that we finally got some.  My boys also LOVE to play in the mud... We have also enjoyed playing in the mud!

 

KELSON'S BIG DAY

Kelson turned three yesterday!  I can't believe that I have a three year old.  Time goes by so fast.  He is a sassy, independent, mischievous, talkative, loving little boy and I LOVE him to pieces.  He loves to be outside, watch movies, play with Caleb, and go with dad (anywhere). 
I told him he gets to pick what we eat for breakfast since it was his birthday and he said "hot dogs" haha Well, how about french toast?  He loves hamburgers and hot dogs and he loves playing with trucks and tractors so... for his birthday I decided to do a construction party and bbq.

The invitation to his party

After church it looked like rain, so we decided to move the party inside.
I ended up putting lots of work into the party, but it was worth it cause Kelson loved everything (especially his cake). 

Dessert and drink table

Cake and cupcakes

Cake pop party favors and decorations

While we were getting ready for the party he kept trying to still the backhoe off from the cake.  I would say "You can have the backhoe after we cut the cake"  So, he said "I need a knife to cut my cake!"  haha It was pretty funny.  There were a few gifts out before everyone got there Andrea would ask "who is this from?" and he would say "It's for me!"  He was excited to open his gifts too.
Shortly after everyone got there, we ate dinner and then we brought the cake out to sing to Kelson.  After singing we cut and served the cake.  Before we lit the candles but the cake was out by Kelson, he kept saying "I need the fire!"  He is such a cutie pie!

Getting ready to blow out the candles

Diagonally striped cake (supposed to look like caution tape)

After we ate some yummy cake and ice cream we let Kelson open his presents.  He was taking SO long to open them, but he was enjoying every minute of it.  He got so spoiled.

 We got him a cap-gun for his birthday, since he asked for a gun.  He was so funny the first time it popped!  Almost like it scared him, but he thought it was so cool!  He has already used almost all the extra caps we got him!
Hope your birthday was great Kelson!  LOVE YOU!

Birthday FUN for EVERYONE

Our family has so many birthdays in a months time.  We started the birthday celebration 4 weeks ago with Caleb's birthday.  Since his birthday we celebrated my birthday, Christy's birthday, Miste's birthday, and Kelson's birthday was yesterday.
We did a small but fun birthday party for Christy a couple days after her birthday.  We celebrated her big 50!  She is an amazing person and deserved even more than we gave.  Thanks for being such an awesome mom and grandma!

Baylee made this super cute cake

Kelson blowing out grandma's candle

Miste got spoiled for her birthday!  On Thursday before her birthday me, Jamie, and Miste all went to St. George and Christy told her to pick out a movie and buy so we could watch it for her birthday. Well, we decided to watch it the night before her birthday.  Then, on her birthday she got to go to town and go to a movie at the theatre and also shopping to pick out her gifts.  She had to pay part, but she got a gun!  She got a 25-06 and we gave her a gun pink and camo gun case to go with it.  After her fun trip to town we ate her favorite meal and it was delicious!

Miste blowing out her candles.
This cake was coconut filled... it was like a mound cake- YUMMO

OUR MINI FAMILY VACATION

I have been wanting to plan a trip to the zoo for the boys all summer.  So, when Trevor finally had a weekend off we made a quick trip to Salt Lake.  We left at 9:30 on Friday morning.  We made a few stops for snacks and lunch.  When we got up there we checked into our hotel and relaxed there for a little bit.  The boys loved stretching out their legs.  After we were a little rested we headed downtown to gateway.  We went to the Clark Planetarium and looked at a bunch of fun science stuff.  The boys were still kinda young for it but it was still fun.  We even got to take a short walk on "the moon" and on "mars."

After we left the Planetarium we just walked around Gateway. We tried to convince Kelson to play at the splash pad, but he didn't want to get wet.   We met up with Bradley and Julie and their kids for dinner.  We went to a place called  Salt City Burgers... SO GOOD! Outside of the restaurant there was a pretty big grass area, so we let Kelson and Tate run around for a while while we kept visiting.   We then went back to the motel to get some good sleep for a big day of walking on Saturday.
Saturday morning we got up and got all ready and went to the zoo.  We got there around 10:00 and it was already getting pretty warm but it wasn't too terribly busy yet.  We had such a fun time at the zoo.  Kelson loved seeing the elephants, the giraffes, and the bears.  Caleb liked it, but was kinda little to enjoy completely.

After we left the zoo, we went across the street to the This is the place monument.  We didn't stay there long because it was super hot outside and the kids were really hungry.  So, we went to the park and had a picnic.  Caleb LOVED the park.  He kept chasing the seagulls that would come try to eat our food and Kelson was loving throwing pine cones in the water.  I think they just liked running around in the shade.  We did a little shopping and stopped to say "bye" to Bradley before we headed home.  It was a fun little trip.

On the way home, I asked Kelson what he wanted for his birthday and he said... "I want a gun!"  Haha I guess he is a true Gardner boy!

Fun with friends

It is always fun when Julie comes to town and we get to spend some time together, and the boys can play.  She came last week and we got to have some fun in her mom's new yard...

Kelson and Josh playing on the airplane toy

Caleb playing on the splash pad

Kelson was so funny though. He wouldn't even go near the water and he didn't play much with the other kids, mostly played by himself.  Caleb was so hesitant to get in the water, but once he did he liked it.
Thanks for inviting us over to play :)

How will I ever choose...

We got the boys pictures taken about two weeks ago and I LOVE them!! Kelson was being such a cheese ball once he warmed up to the photographer.  Thanks Joie Madison (check out more of her amazing work HERE) for taking these pictures!  I just don't know how I will ever choose which pictures to print!  Here are a few of my favorites...