one thing's for sure, we know we like strawberries

The strawberry patch.

Camden definitely put more strawberries in his mouth than he did in the bucket.

And possibly more down his shirt and on his face than he did in his mouth.

But, that's exactly what you should do, right?

obsessions

Currently, I'm living for...

The Olympics.
It's all I can think about. Ryan and I have honestly been counting down since Beijing. I am on the lookout to be wearing anything red, white, and blue, to properly show my American pride. We walk around the house, randomly starting cheers of "USA! USA!". We came up with a fantasy olympic draft. Every spare moment is spent glued to the tv. I get teary eyed when they play our national anthem. I feel so proud of all the athletes, especially the ones from the country I love. Hearing the stories about the Olympians makes me feel so personally involved. I love it. I highly doubt we will get anything done over the next few weeks, but I don't even care!

Les miserables.
I have heard the popular music for years, but had never actually seen the play, so when I had the opportunity to go, I was ecstatic! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I either had chills, or had tears rolling down my cheeks for the entire 3 hour production. I also discovered my new favorite quote...
"to love another person, is to see the face of God." yup. Obsessed.

Holding my ever-growing baby.
He's growing so fast. I can't handle it. So I'm sort of in denial, but mostly just trying to take advantage of every moment this baby boy will sleep in my arms.

Summer.
Sunny days filled with splash parks and sprinklers. Warm evenings with family and friends. And the best part? I get to spend (almost) the entire day with Ryan.

storytime, smoothies, and magic

Every evening, there was some sort of fun activity for the kids to ease them into dreamland, ranging from storytime and smoothies, to magic and color-changing beads.

Camden was just in heaven-- well, pretty much the entire trip, just because he got to see all of his "friends" all day, everyday.

Stacy and Steve just so happened to be in Oceanside vacationing at the same time with Stacy's family, so we met up for some ice-cream sundaes at Baskin Robins.

**P.S. Shame on California for telling me all of the calories I am about to consume! I don't want to know that kind of stuff...what? Do they want to deter me from eating my luscious Reese's sundae? ha! nice try.

in California

 A beautiful week in California? I'll take it! Anytime.

Road trippin' to Oceanside with the Judd family for a week of fun.

This little guy's first long roadtrip, and he was a Rockstar! Seriously, not quite sure how we got so lucky with this little angel of a child, but no complaints from me :)

Stopping at a Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the U.S. soccer game

The view from our Condo-- Hello, Oceanside!

canyon campfire

FHE up the canyon--

bundled, cuddly little baby. so happy to be s'more roasting. rock climbing and adventure taking were a must. beautiful sunset on the ride home. and awesome aunts that provide endless sugar for this little boy. (this is also the dinner that made me love arugula on hamburgers!)

summertime bliss

Enjoying my lazy mornings with this wakeup crew

Burgers, Mini-golf tourney, bets, and ice-cream with friends

Sunday afternoons hanging out in the backyard on the trampoline

 Hanging out with these little buddies all day long...and their daddy!

(the wonderful perk of having a teacher as a husband)

 Long conversations with this little bug

On the flip side...something not so sweet about summer, the DMV--

but I think it would be sucky at anytime.

Long Live Summer! I hope you never end...

lately

sweet baby holding my hair while he sleeps.

Memorial day brunch with Papa Judd

cooling off in the fountains with Daddy

playing with baby Turner...melts me everytime

wedding snapshots

The Logan temple, grandma Nelson, waiting for the bride and groom, and the happy couple.

John's wedding weekend was great. They looked so happy and in love!

I loved getting together with all of my siblings, epecially Ronda (and Doug & Devan)...Maui is just too far!

country fair

Waterford's face painting, train riding, moustache wearing, yee-hawing, bbq-eating country fair was awesome. 

(Camden especially had a blast running around roaring at people...)

mother's day

mother's day went a little something like this...

sleeping in. breakfast in bed. a perfect card from two sweet little boys. hugs and kisses all around. new workout clothes. phone calls to grandmas who live far away. dinner laughs. a book for the moment. the best letter/essay I've ever had written for or about me.

this year mother's day left me with so much appreciation.  appreciation for my husband, who put all the effort into making mother's day special for me. for my boys, who keep me on my toes. for my mom, who is and always will be "supermom". for my mother-in-law, who is always supportive.

for me, motherhood is incredible. it has made me the happiest I've ever been, but already brought pressure and frustration I didn't even know I could experience. I've always wanted to be a mom, and a young mom at that. Some say that being a mother took them by surprise, and they didn't realize how much they would love it, but I knew. I just hope I can be the mom they deserve. I hope they can come to me for anything, count on me for everything, and be happy they got stuck with me :) Camden is seriously my very favorite person to hang out with--he is witty, sweet, and silly. and Turner, his little smile melts me everytime. I love these boys so much, and am so grateful I have been given the opportunity to have them call me "mommy".

lately...

zoo time with our best buds.

delicious ice cream stops.

playtime with this charmer.

evening drives with our cool dude shades on.

first laugh. of course it was at his daddy :)

Kyla's Day

Happy Birthday, Kyla!

As your birthday came closer, I began to prepare, arranging to send your parents flowers, thinking of what you'd be doing as an (almost) 5 year old.

But I couldn't quite decide how to best celebrate your day...how to remember you.

then the perfect answer came-- Ryan and I were invited to a sealing.  Close family friends of ours had finalized an adoption, and those 4 children were being sealed to them.

I couldn't think of a better way to be closer to you.

Being in the temple was a wonderful reminder of how lucky we are to know we will see you again, someday.

We love you, dear girl!