My kind of camping

At the beginning of the Summer we took a "camping trip" including everything great and fun about camping and excluding the tent and the sleeping. We went home as the sun went down to crawl into our cozy beds. 

The boys were completely in their element, and being in nature with these three boys is when I feel the very most peace. Something about the calmness, the beautiful world and watching the people I love the most, makes me feel Heavenly Fathers love with such a different perspective. 

We talked about fire, took "hikes" roasted marshmallows, threw rocks in the river, found neat sticks, told stories, played hide and seek, jumped over a little creek, and got really dirty. What more could a boy ask for. 

All boy

There are a few things worth document that I totally missed over the summer. One of them being when the VanLeeuwen boys came to town from Omaha. We always love having them around. I never tire of watching so many little toe heads run around in a cluster of energy. 

After about 14 popsicles each and playing hard outside, they piled into the bath leaving a black ring around the tub. 

 Here they are displaying their ages of 5,4,3,2 &1 

change of pace.

I'm looking through a few photos from the summer and loving this one. It was such a happy summer, and sometimes I wish it didn't have to end, but at this very moment I am welcoming fall with open arms. Owen is downstairs playing trains and cars quietly with cousin Andrew, Lewis is napping and the skies are grey and gloomy. The very first few days of fall are cozy and crisp and right now I am thrilled at the thought of some down time in doors with my family.

Tonight I kissed the Owie boy for the last time as a four year old and had a mini melt down. My first baby turns five tomorrow. I went to check on him like every other night. There he was warm and soft. He was on the top bunk making him seem older than ever. Tonight he had a soccer orientation and got a new jersey for his first season. His team is blue and his number is 10. He was thrilled about both. He had somehow snuck that blue number 10 jersey into bed and put it over his Jammie shirt after he had been tucked in. I am tired from balloons and streamers and wrapping and shopping and planning. But mostly I am so unbelievably, overwhelmingly, indescribably, incredibly grateful for that five year old boy in the blue jersey on the top bunk who is now in happy dream land. He blesses my life daily. So I tied a blue balloon to his bed, gave him lots more kisses and finished my mini melt down.

celebrate goodtimes

So much of parenthood is ever-changing. I wish I could always let that perspective suppress my emotions and worry. I guess it's innate as a mother. It comes with the territory. I think this particular type of stress was poured into my soul the moment my first baby was brought into the world. It's like no other feeling I've ever felt. To be concerned about a child, his happiness, his anxiety level, his behavior, his health, his kindness, his comfort, his sociability, his cognitive development, his love toward others, his sleeping habits, his respect for his elders, his security, and his self esteem (just to name a few) can be so overwhelming and exhausting. I am coming out of quite a trying time, doing my very best as an amateur to handle properly 2 year old issues, 4 year old issues, and the combination of the two worlds colliding. I felt as if their separate needs contradicted the other's. Both boys needed extra attention in different ways and would act out (in their own way) if they weren't the one receiving it at that very moment. 

I'm relieved to report that like almost every hardship that comes with parenthood. It was a phase. It was relatively short and it is over for the time being. Lewis can communicate better, Owen is feeling old and validated. The two of them actually play and usually enjoy one another's company and I am grateful. My mom always says "you have to know the bad to know the good". I know the bad. I would talk to other moms about their little kids being "best friends" and it kind of broke my heart, making me feel like I was doing something wrong. Honestly for a while these boys wanted nothing to do with each other. Because I want to celebrate the happy times, and document that "this too shall pass" is almost always applicable. I am here to say that there is nothing that makes me happier than my kids showing love toward each other.  The worlds happiest sound is two brothers bursting into laughter at the same time. My kids playing together brings me more joy than i could have imagined.

On another happy note:

Thy got bunk beds. The transition has been smoother than I expected and they love being in the same room together.  

Saying goodbye

Layton and Lauren moved to Virginia a few weeks ago. Layton worked so extremely hard to get into Law school. I love watching my siblings grow up and do hard things and succeed. I am so proud of him and all that he is. 

We had dinner at the park with Lauren's family to say goodbye (which was so hard) they are already being missed like crazy.

While the heaviness of adulthood, and the stress of school, and moving and life kind of sunk in for me as I said goodbye to my little brother, the kids had a complete care-free time running and rolling down the big hill.

St. George

Treavor started school. He is back in his busy mode and handles it like a champ. We had an amazing summer having him around so much, and I think we were all ready to get going again. Before He's super busy we decided to take a trip to St. George. It was kind of our last hurrah for the summer and was so nice to spend some quality time together. 

A few highlights:

The pizza factory for dinner. The boys could eat those breadsticks all night long. 

 The gorgeous St. George temple after church on Sunday

Lewie slept in a big boy bed for the first time.

We went on a scavenger hunt around town looking for lots of things, two of them being a slug bug and "neat bus"

A bath in the big tub

Other than the extreme heat that was a little too much for this pregnant mama, the trip was perfection. We swam, found lizards, went to the new movie planes (life changing for the boys) hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Peters, and got a lot of relaxing in. 

And of course the boys crashed on the way home.