Memorial weekend

I love that Clark has a real job that gives him holidays off. And I love that I no longer work in a business where holidays are the busiest days and I hardly ever got them off. Now we get to soak up the fun together as a family :) 

We started the weekend off with going up to Maple Lake with my family. We canoed and fished. Owen loved being outside but H.A.T.E.D his life vest on the canoe. He better get used to it because he'll be wearing it a lot at Lake Powell in a couple months. After that we went to my family's and made Kung Pao Chicken, one of my favorite dinners my dad makes. Mmm :)

^^ we kept Owen up a little too late and he started getting delirious lol. 

On Monday we started the day with my dads delicious breakfast and then headed up to Mona Res to take the boat out for the first time of the season. It was still pretty cold but some of us, not me included, were brave enough to still try tubing. 

^^ the boat ride just about put him to sleep. 

Then we went to Aunt Lori's for a BBQ and pool party. It was the first time taking Owen swimming since last summer and he loved it! He kept trying to get me to set him down in the water. I'm excited to take him swimming again, somewhere with a kiddie pool. 

Moab

We were so excited that we were able to go with my family on their spring break camping trip to Moab back in April! Clark took off a couple days off work so we could drive up with Hannah and Tyler and stay a few days. 

Owen had the time of his life. He LOVED going on the hikes on daddy's back and being able to be outside every single second. Although he stressed his momma out by eating hardly anything and refusing to nap I'd say we all had a great time and Owen's first real camping trip was a success.

Sorry it's a little bit of a picture overload..

^^ I can't even begin to describe just how much Owen loved being outside all the time! 

^^ he didn't, however, love the baby goats at Uncle Daren's quite so much. 

 Also, note his crazy hair. It was so dirty by this point! 

^^ that's mine and Owen's favorite person in the world back there <3

^^ Having fun riding on Daddy's back.

^^ we made it all the way to the end :)

^^ I LOVE my little family. 

^^ that's us under the arch. 

^^ my two good lookin' boys. 

^^ taking a bread during the hike. 

^^ stopping on the hike to snap a pic. 

^^ camping and being nakey= Owen's heaven. 

^^ I can't wait for these two love birds wedding! 

^^ Owen struck that pose just for the picture. 

^^ it sure was windy up there! 

^^ he loves his Grandpa, and I love their facial expressions. 

^^ sand dune arch was Owen's fave. He had so much fun crawling around in the sand. 

<3

Favorites of the Week

What a good week it's been! Here are a few of the things that made it so great:

-my cute boys (they are at the top of almost every list I make)
-Owen has *finally* started giving kisses!
-breakfast for dinner
-making strawberry jam with my mom
-babysitting the cute neighbor boys
-playing with friends
-getting our first Citrus Lane box. I don't think we'll get anymore though.
-a walk around the lake with grandma and grandpa
-the sun!! We spent a good chunk of everyday outside this week and nothing makes Owen happier.
-finding a puppy outside to play with
-going to Aunt Rissy's Hershey track meet and watching her qualify for the semi finals
-making cute Mother's Day gifts with my Activity Days girls
-buying grow boxes to start our first garden
-having a unexpected visit from my dear friend, Karen, after Clark and Owen went to bed and staying up till 1:30 talking and laughing like I haven't laughed in ages
-finally getting a start on making our tiny backyard cute for the summer.
-seeing a giant turtle at the garden shop
-looking forward to a BBQ at Grandma's tomorrow

I love my life :)

^^ he LOOOOVES the swing. Always has :)

^^ eating limes ha ha

^^ Owen didn't know how he felt about our furry friend

^^ matching boys!

^^ Dane, Owen, and Oakley have so much fun together

^^ what a hunk :)

^^ bad picture, but this is Owen giving me kisses *swoon*. It makes my heart melt everytime.

^^ he is so cute in the mornings when he is still sleepy :)

Owen's First Birthday

My sweet little Owen turned one years old last month. It's still hard to believe! He instantly became a part of the family and such a huge part of our lives that it's hard to imagine there was a time before him. But in my mind he should still be a tiny little 4 week old.

It has been the best (and hardest) year of my life. Owen has taught me so much about life, love, happiness, parenthood, family, the gospel, our Savior's love, and so much more. He has brought Clark and I closer as we learned together how to care for another human being. I cannot express how much I love this little guy and how grateful I feel everyday that I get to call him mine.

His Birthday turned out so great. He woke up happier than he ever has, we could hear him talking in his crib instead of his usual whimpers. I tried to fill his day with everything he loves. After changing his diaper I let him crawl around nakey (HUGE risk) then we watched his favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba, and then I made him a pancake and cut up some bananas for breakfast. The rest of the day we played hard and he napped hard. Later in the evening we went to my family's house where we had his party. He loved it, I've never seen him happier :) he got spoiled by family and friends and enjoyed sitting in his highchair with his cake, although he didn't seem too interested in eating it, silly boy.

^^ Most of that mess was us trying to get him to get into it.

^^ We were excited when we forgot to pack his jammies so he got to wear one of the super cute new outfits from his aunties.

^^ Owen's best friend, Oakley

^^He loves his cute wagon from Grandma and Grandpa

Owen Wade,

Your Dad and I thought we were happy until we met you, then we learned what true happiness was. You make me laugh daily. Your smile is contagious. I love how you love books. When you crawl up with a book in your hand and hand it up to me there's no way I could tell you no. And I love how excited you get with each new page. You are so smart. I see you learning new things everyday and it makes my heart so happy. But I don't mind that you still refuse to hold your bottle. I love cuddling you while you eat and I hold onto everything your willing to give me that makes you stay my baby. Like how you don't even try to walk, because I know once you do you will really be a toddler. You are growing into such a sweet, loving, fun little boy and I am so proud of you! I'll eat you up, I love you so ;)
Love-
Mom