Girly Giggles

They were so giggly :)

Beautiful eyes. Beautiful hair.

They came up with this little pose all on their own

So cute!

Annabelle and Liv had a great time at their sleepover! They laughed, told each other stories, tested their theory about whether toys could move went you weren't looking (Conclusion: they definitely move when you're not looking)! :) They talked and giggled well into the 10:00 hour, but they were still great little girls! And hey, what's one late night every once in a while when you get to make treasured memories with your cousin?!



Cooking Camp and a visitor

Getting dropped off for cooking camp!

So excited and looking like such a big girl!

Look who came to pick her up! Olivia came to play and stay the night with Annabelle!

So cute

They blend in well with all the beauty of Thanksgiving Point

These moments can't be beat. This melted my heart.

All I can say is I hope they are close to each other and love each other their whole lives.

We signed up Annabelle for a day camp at Thanksgiving Point. It was a cooking camp and she had loads of fun. The kids got to decorate their own aprons, tour the kitchen of the fancy restaurant, meet the head chef, then make some snacks of their own. They sent her home with a paper bag full of recipe cards and fun treats. Annabelle doesn't attend preschool, so we love taking advantage of preschool summer camps! It was so fun to choose the subjects she is most interested in, and give her some special experiences.
She was so excited to see Liv when she got done! The girls hugged and laughed, then chit-chatted their way over to the movie theatre where we met Josh for Ice Age.
I love that quote floating around Facebook and Pinterest right now relating to our cousins being our first best friends. In the case of Annabelle and all of her cousins, I truly hope with all my heart that they stay best friends forever, that they will always be there for each other no matter what.



A Moonlit Hike (aka a death wish)

Yes we were this tired

They were more in shape than us...I mean me :)

This was at about 7am...I think

Almost down!

Michelle and I. Much more happy on the way down :)

The guys. Tired of pictures

A pretty river at the bottom

Ok...this was an awesome idea and had lots of potential :) I was totally excited and really thought I could tackle it no big deal. Who cares if I haven't hiked in a couple of years, right? Who cares if I haven't worked out hard in a couple of years (other than my intense neighborhood walks, of course), right? Like Josh said: "Robs you've got this in the bag. Quit worrying about it. It's not that tough. There are a lot of flat parts! Muscle memory." Uh-huh

We met our good friends Michelle and Kyle at about 10:20 for a movie (this would be our first mistake). We planned on getting to the trailhead (of Mt. Timpanogos) around midnight or 12:30--why not hit a movie beforehand instead of sleep? Makes perfect sense to me. At any rate, we finished the movie then drove up to the trailhead and made it at about 1:00am. We wanted to try and make it to the top to see the sunrise. We started out with the masses of people old and young (ok, mostly young...ok mostly really young and attending a nearby campus). But we felt good! And I admit, I was having a really good time. It was a full moon; my legs felt good; I was keeping a pretty good pace (I thought), and we were talking and laughing. About 3 1/2 or 4 hours into it I started to get SUPER tired (this would be at about 3 or 4am, if I remember correctly). Almost all of the sudden my energy went KAPUT! We'd stop to rest for a few seconds, but within a minute my legs would be spent. I think up to that point I'd hiked on adrenaline, but when that wore off and I had to rely on muscle strength, I couldn't find any :) Lucky Michelle had just finished up Insanity not too long before this hike and she did awesome! Kyle and Josh were doing ok too, but both will admit to you they could've sat down and fallen asleep in fewer than 30 seconds! :) We hiked a long ways, probably a good 6 hours up, and still hadn't made it to the top (with no chance of getting there by sunrise). We stopped to assess the situation (and if you're me, throw up) and decided to head back down so we wouldn't get back too late in the morning/afternoon. I don't think any of us were disappointed or upset about it :) We headed back down and started to feel pretty good by the time we got down to the bottom! Josh and I headed to breakfast, then went to pick up our kids (ok we went to pick them up, then took a nap at my parents' house while my parents kept watching them) Haha. I think my mom and dad looked at us and knew it probably wasn't safe to turn the kids over just yet :)

All in all, it was still a fun time with the Stoddards, and a huge wake-up call for me. It is really true that if you don't use it, you lose it! :) It'll be a great goal for the next year or so to do the hike again (only never again overnight) and make it to the top! Of course there will need to be some training involved, but I'm pretty certain that not being sleep deprived will help out :)



Pint-sized Wedding Party

So sweet and pure

She knows how cute she looks :)

The half smile ;)

Glowing

Awwww the father of the bride

Pretty angelic

The fun!

Cutting their cakes

Cheers!

All dressed up

Cute

I love catching Annabelle mid-laugh :)

The work begins!

Annabelle was most picky about her hairstyle and her groom! She went through several magazines, looking at every page, until she found the right one!

Giggling at what the others chose :)

Love it

Belly laughs all around

I love this picture!

Annabelle loved her GIANT, light-up engagement ring!

What a fun party for the girls! Annabelle was in heaven. She loved dressing up, laughing with her cousins, cutting out all the pictures and making so many fun choices! Brittany came up with this fun idea to give the girls a little wedding party. She bought them their own "wedding cakes," as well as the rings and necklaces. They each had a folder full of empty paper, plenty of magazines to look through, as well as a stack of temple pictures to choose from. Annabelle's book cracks me up each time I look at it! She chose the Rexburg temple to get merried in, and I must say her groom is quite handsome. She was searching and searching and searching for the right guy--she had a VERY specific look in her mind (tall, dark hair, handsome) Haha :) She was also dead-set on a saphire (blue) ring, and long beachy waves for her hair. Every hairstyle she liked was very natural, flowy, and down, in addition to a few messy side braids :) I LOVED watching her. I loved seeing her find her own style, and gravitate towards certain things (like the Big City honeymoon) :). Hopefully we can find some use for these pictures and the book at her real wedding/reception someday ;)



Theatre Camp

Her little scenery box

The story she wrote for her play

Annabelle attended a fun little Theatre camp with Mrs. Alisha! She had a blast, and Stockton cried each time we dropped her off (of course) :) Annabelle's little fill-in-the-blank play story was really cute and she was so proud of it!

"There lived a Princess Silverlake who loved to draw and paint.
Once upon a time in a place high in a tower...
One day while coloring they met a prince. Hi, he said. They decided to play together. What should we do first? Dance or color? They decided to play puzzles first. They were having so much fun until my sister called them home. They were sad to have to leave each other so soon but promised to meet in the tower tomorrow for more fun!"
Annabelle Bos



Stockton is 2!

How old are you Stockton? The answer is now 2, not 1 :)

So refreshing after a good swim!

Little girls table! They were so adorable, and having the best time chit-chatting and laughing away!

Had to include this cute shot of little miss Daisy. Haha

Nikki and Pete

More fun and laughter

Blue-eyed Rusty

The Tolman kids

The Simpson girls

Beautiful Annabelle

Giggle giggle sip sip

The most exciting part of the party!

Stocky's adorable cake

He LOVES Buzz!

Those are tired eyes :) But how handsome is he?

Eric and Pete

The loot. Thanks everyone!

Mom and dad...love Stockton SO much!
Dear Stockton Shane
Happy Birthday big boy! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. I still think of you as my baby (and you are) but you are growing up way too quick! Some fun and interesting things about you are:
Your favorite color is yellow, and every other color on the rainbow is a close 2nd! :)
Your favorite toys are your zoo animals and zoo, your little matchbox cars and race track, your Lightning Mcqueen car, and your Toy Story action figures.
You LOVE almost all fruit, especially peaches, pears, and bananas.
You can count to 12, know all your ABC's, shapes, and colors.
Your favorite movies are Toy Story, Ice Age, and Madagascar.
Your favorite thing to eat for lunch is hot dogs and jelly sandwiches.
Your favorite thing to do is play with your sister, watch movies with your sister, and pretend (much to her delight) that you are "Woof-woof" :)
Your favorite snacks are fruit, fruit snacks, string cheese, yogurt, and chips.
Your favorite animal is the WHOLE ZOO! Not kidding.
Your favorite song is the theme from Ice Age: "We Are We Are..."
Your favorite book is your animal board book and Toy Story board books.
Your best friend is Annabelle. You also love to play with Annabelle's friends, Rusty, Bro-Bro, and Melody.
Your favorite cereals are Kix and Fruit Loops.
Your favorite thing to do outside is RUN FREE and explore :) You also enjoy walks in the stroller with mom, riding your Strider, and playing on the playground.
Your favorite drink is any kind of juice. You don't like water or milk at all.
At night, you like to sleep with your binky and blanky.
Your favorite thing for breakfast is blueberry waffles and scrambled eggs.
Your favorite person in the whole world is Daddy
The person who loves you the most is Mommy ;)
You miss Annabelle like crazy whenever we have to drop her off at dance or preschool camps.
You LOVE to make us laugh with your kung-fu moves :Hi-ya!
Your favorite shoes are your Mater snow boots.
You are really tough at church, no matter how hard mommy tries or how many times you are taken out.
You have a love/hate relationship with nursery: You love the toys, snacks, and kids, but you miss your mommy and daddy a lot!
You love to be rocked and sang to: "I am a Child of God" "I Know Heavenly Father Loves me" the special animal song mommy made up just for you, and "Frosty the Snowman." Daddy also loves to sing "I'm a Policman Dressed in Blue" to you. :)
You are very handsome and have a darling little raspy voice (probably from screaming so much)! :)
You make friends easily and will talk to anyone!
I love it when you say: "ok" and "I wu you too mommy"
You love your Papas, Grandma, Mimi, and Rocky
You are an early riser--always the 1st to wake up no matter what time you go to bed.
You don't like bedtime: "No I NOT go to bed!"
You love the bath!
You really want a dog!
I love you Stocky! You make me smile each and every day and have such a sweet little way of letting me know you love me. I would do anything for you, and I miss you whenever I'm not with you. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't come home to smiles and hugs from my kids. I am so blessed to be your mother, and I hope I can make your Heavenly Father happy with me as I raise you to be the kind of boy and man He would be proud of. It is a humbling calling, one that brings me my greatest joys, my biggest tears, and my longest prayers. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I LOVE you forever!
Love, MOM