Temple Night

Last Thursday we had the opportunity to go to the temple with my sister, Hannah, and her sweet fiancé, Tyler. It's always a neat experience to go with someone whi is going for the first time. I like it for two, well three, reasons.

1. I like watching them and seeing their reactions. Lets be honest, it's a little weird and confusing the first time. It's definitely a lot to take in and I just like watching them, knowing it's the first time they're experiencing it. 

2. It brings me back to the time 3 1/2 years ago that I got my endowments out. Like I already said, it's definitely a lot to take in, but it's one of the best experiences out there and there's not a time that I have felt the spirit stronger.
And 3. I guess Clark and I don't go often enough because I am still super intimidated and confused about a lot of it. But remembering me when I first took out my endowments and looking at me now, I guess I have come quite a ways. 

I am so so proud of Hannah and Tyler for choosing the temple, and I can't wait to watch them be sealed together in a couple days. ❤

^^ Sibling love. 

^^ with my eternal sweetheart

A wedding, and cupcakes

Last weekend Clark's cousin, Ashlyn, got married. They were sweet enough to ask me to make their wedding (cup)cakes.

It was my first time making that many cupcakes and it was fun! I definitely learned a lot. Like don't plan on slipping them into their wrappers at the last minute, because they won't fit :/ also, use better frosting because it didn't hold up in the heat. The poor cake on top fell apart before they could even cut it. 

We were invited to their sealing in the Draper Temple. It was beautiful. They are such a beautiful couple, and the sealer did such a great job. I love sealings and I love weddings. At first it makes me a little jealous because it is such an exciting time for the couple and I miss it and want it :) but then it always makes me remember and think back to the day me and Clark were sealed. it was such a great day. The best day of my life! 

I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of the happy couple. I didn't take many pictures of anything that day :( But they were gorgeous, and they're wedding was gorgeous. Happy wedding you two!

I hope you have a wonderful life together! 

^^ a few pictures of the cupcakes! Clark and my dad worked hard and made the stand. I love it! 

^^ the only other pictures I took of the day :/ it was such a long, hot day. But Owen did great. 

4th of July

This holiday was a fun one. We started the day out by going to my family's for breakfast. We do that a lot on holidays, don't we? Us Menlove's love breakfast :) Clark and I went on a little bike ride around springlake with a bike my dad just bought in KSL. It had been a loooong time since I'd been on a bike, it was nice!  

Then we headed up Payson Canyon to Maple Lake. We brought the canoes and the boys did some fishing. Clark was excited to try out his new fishing gear from Father's Day. Owen had so much fun! And got so dirty! That boy needs to walk so his little hands and knees can stay a little cleaner. 

We finished off our 4th of July with a BBQ of ribs, potato salad, fruit, and homemade ice cream at my Grandma's. then it was off to bed for Owen pants and a movie for us. No fireworks this year. We thought about waking Owen up and driving to Provo to watch the stadium of fire fireworks but decided not to, I think he would have loved them. We'll just have to wait for the onion days fireworks in a couple months. 

I feel like the topic of freedom has a different meaning now that I have my little Owen, as with most topics I think. Your thought process really changes when you become responsible for someone besides yourself. Especially when you love that someone more than anything. I feel so blessed to live in the time that we do. To have the freedom to do what we want. To raise our children how we want. To be able to go the church that we want and show what we believe. I feel eternally grateful to anyone and everyone who helped make that possible. I hope everyone had as good a holiday as we did! 

^^ he loves grandpa. And I love how they're doing the same thing with their hands in this one. 

^^like I said, Owen got sooo dirty crawling around. 

^^ dad and Bren 

^^ starting him young. 

^^ I wish I was as pretty as my sisters. 

^^ lookin so happy to be there ;)

^^ the only way we could get him to be happy on the canoe was bribing him with treats. 

Time for an update

The other day I was talking with my friend, Jeni, who just had a baby and I realized there are a lot of things that I have already forgotten. Like when we put Owen in his own room, or when he rolled over for the first time (yikes!) 

It made me really sad because I want to remember all those little details! So here is what Owen is up to these days, so when I forget I can look at this and remember :)

Owen at 15 months:

-still not walking... But he loves to stand up. He only stands up for a few seconds at a time because he thinks it is soo funny when he falls down. 

-I feel like he is saying new words every day! It is crazy to me how he catches on to things we say. I think his first official word was kitty. It was, and still is, more of just a spitting sound but you can tell he knows its for kitty.  He says "nana" (banana) "momma" "dada" "eyes" "side" (outside) "uh-oh" "uh-uh"(no) 

He knows the sounds for dog ("wu-wu-wu") duck, chicken, and my favorite ghost and witch. We are working on cow and goat but he gets a little confused. And he loves to make car and motorcycle noises. 

-he sleeps from around 8-7:30 every night and naps from around 12-3. He is so good to be put in his crib and go to sleep on his own. He hardly ever falls asleep in the car, no matter how tired he is. 

-he likes playing with his toy cars but mostly he just loves playing outside. We have a bin of water in our backyard that he LOVES to splash in. 

-he's a really picky eater. Pretty much all he eats is almost any kind of fruit, toast, pancakes, and hotdogs. We try to sneak in vegetables but he is a smarty. He loves the little pouches of baby food so we try to get the ones with lots of veggies. 

-he knows how to blow kisses, but he doesn't do it very often. He likes to point at my eyes. He loves to wave at everyone he sees. 

-he has turned into such a daddy's boy. He cries and cries every time daddy leaves the house :( 

He is just so much fun, this is definitely my favorite age so far! He is so happy and playful and curious about everything. 

Dear Owen,

Hi sweetheart. As I write this on my phone I am holding you in my arms because the past week you have been so sick! You have always been a healthy boy, even with all the ear infections you get and with teething you have never acted too sick so when you woke up on Sunday night burning up I was WORRIED. 

Since then you have been sad and want to be held all of the time. Although I absolutely LOVE that you want to be snuggled and held while you nap and while we watch cartoons, I know you are feeling miserable and that makes me sad. But I am soaking up every second of holding you like you are a newborn again. Some days, we barely leave the couch and I remember days like that after you were born. I watched a lot of Grey's Anatomy while you ate and slept. Now I watch a lot of Pretty Little Liars and Everybody Loves Raymond and we watch Arthur when you're awake. I haven't done a whole lot of housework either, I'm sure you'll get used to that as you get older ;) although today I got you to sit in the hiking backpack so I could vacuum. 

It makes me feel so helpless to see you in pain and not know what to do to make you feel better. You've taken lots of baths, because when you start crying inconsolably that's the only thing I know of that comforts you. 

The doctor says it's another ear infection and some molars coming in. You are such a tough boy to put up with all that! He gave us an antibiotic to give you so now we're just waiting for it to start working to make you feel better. 

I love you, honey, and hope you get feeling better real soon. Because I miss my happy, playful, outdoorsy boy!  

Love,

Your momma 

^^you and your two binkys :)

^^ the only thing you'll eat is teddy grahams. 

^^this picture makes me so sad, but it's so cute :)

^^this morning you woke up with this sad rash, it should go away in a couple days. 

A good day for a hike, plus bath time

This morning we went for a hike up Payson Canyon to The Grotto. I hadn't been there forever! I'm pretty sure not since Clark and I have been married. It's a beautiful hike, and very short and easy. Owen love loved it. He pointed at everything and said "ohhh" and "wow". He's a cutie. Of course, when we got to the waterfall I took the opportunity to take lots if pics :)

And here are a few pictures I took a few minutes ago during Owen's bath time. I just can't get enough of him!

^^ a little tickle sesh before bath time. 

^^ check out that pot belly! 

^^ I love his sweet looks. They make my heart melt. 

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.