April's photo bomb

This thang needs an update, in a serious way. Life is moving so fast these days, I really want to be better at recording it.

The classic family Easter photo & Mr. Grumpy Pants.

The cutest bum, ever.

Lego books, boogers, and blank stares.

None of us can get enough of this girl. And she can't seem to get enough to eat.

Waisting away, I tell ya.

That really scary moment when your 6 year old walks in

and you know exactly what he'll look like at 16.

 

 

 I think I'm starting to figure out this girl.

Give her what she wants and the whole wide world is happy.

This boy, he needs his mother and his brain functions like his father.

It's that simple. Oh, and he inherited those eyebrows (or lack of) from me.

For spring break we planned a stay-cation. One day we played in Park City and stopped to relax in the views of the backside of Timp. Park City was great, but nothing can compare to letting your kids go wild in nature and observing them create and explore. It's my favorite thing in the world.

I'm so glad they have each other.

How have I not posted about our two weeks in WA/OR...two months ago?

These two are a crack-up together.

We love cousins.

Thanksgiving in Winters Paradise

We were able to sneak away for almost a week to sunny Arizona for Thanksgiving and it was so nice, thanks be to my parents. [sigh] Although it hasn't really been all that cold here yet, the eighty-degree-sunshiny days did our bodies good (I think a few of us even came home with sun tan lines!).

I could kick myself for not taking more pictures but my mind was a tad preoccupied with fact that Milo was really feeling awful (fevers and asthmatic breathing) and that we were sort of crashing my Dad and Sue's party in a beautiful little home they found to stay at in Foutain Hills. P.S. If I were to move to that valley, that's where I'd want to live!

We started Thanksgiving day off with a run around the beautiful little lake/fountain/park that is central to the town and watched the cute parade.

Loved the Jazzercisers of course!

  Can't beat the marching band!

This beautiful park centers around a 562 foot high fountain that is lit up at night.

Part of the delicious spread over at my uncles house in Queen Creek. 



  Eli, no doubt, listening to another one of Milo's big ideas.

 

Flora wishing the pool was heated.

 

 Grandma Sue soaking up the sun, as usual.

Our dinner group (more like Linner?) was a small crowd that grew as the night went on. It is always so delightful to catch up with cousins that we so rarely now that we are all adults with our own busy lives. Some great chats, Rook games, and of course eating. 

At least someone enjoyed herself some relaxing baths on her vacation.

 

My parents were good sports and took us on a hike around Saguaro Lake. When I say hike, I mean our kids allowed us to walk partially around the perimeter of the lake until they decided they didn't want to walk anymore or until exploring in the cacti wasn't as fun as they'd hoped. Milo was a good sport and even though he could hardly breathe from his bronchitis, he tried to keep up without complaining.

 

 My squishy face Jujyfruit and her generous daddy.

Eli made a point to give the boys something to remember him by with a few classic home-made  Bluth-style slingshots. But it was obvious which two really got the most enjoyment out of them.

My dad and Sue never cease to spoil us with the opportunity of fun adventures and good memories together.

Even though I don't consider myself an Arizonian, whenever I return I am reminded of the scents and scene's that fill in the holes of my memory up until the age of eight (which is crazy to think that is Milo's age!). After walking around the neighborhood, every plant (that is so foreign to the Utah climate!) held a particular space in my memory as a young child. It's funny to think that I was probably really curious about plants and nature even at that young age.

 

I made indian weapons with these.

I plucked out each individual blossom on these and counted the yellows verses the red.

I used to pull these out and suck out the nectar on the inside. P.S. Find the bee.

If you can get past they nasty stickers, these are nice and gooy on the inside.

These felt like paper to me and I always checked to make sure they were real.

More weapons with these attached to popsicle sticks.

 

The beautiful neighborhood we stayed in at Fountain Hills.

 

This kid is always creating something. It makes my heart squeeze.

A generous birthday bbq by my dad and Sue for Eli on the back porch with a gorgeous, peaceful, warm, wild view of AZ's amazing sunset was the perfect ending to our week in Winter's Paradise. (just don't ask me to visit in July, ok?)

Eli is really really awesome with my kids and they adore him to pieces. It was so nice to be with him, as it always is.

This is the only picture I have of the 4-generation Bluth Reunion in Queen Creek (stolen off Facebook). My Grandpa will turn ninety years old in less than two weeks and he has two more siblings living out of the eight children in his immediate family. I'm sure this isn't even a third of us (most of these people are Arizona residents) but I am so proud to come from a family with such an amazing heritage that makes a priority to strengthen family bonds. The day was short and sweet but I  experienced a few really meaningful moments. One of them being when my sweet Grandpa sat next to his sister, Flossie, for the first time in probably a long while (years?) and with tears in his eyes embraced her with a long squeeze. The relationships I have with my own siblings are among my lifes greatest blessings.

Not pictured: A really great half-day reunion with my long-time friend, Melissa. I was a tad younger than her but we grew up skipping barefoot (ok more like mad-dashing in the AZ heat) to each others' houses when I was in pre-school/early elementary school. She is the very definition of a friend. Not only do we have a lot of history together, but she is really funny/witty, sings like an angel (and plays multiple instruments), has a super cute family, listens to all my ramblings (and still has uplifting things to say) and maybe most importantly is really fun to be around. It sure would be nice if we could get together more often. I always feel spoiled with the time she makes to be with me.


Also not pictured: A few hours with Rod's Uncle Mark and his wife Aunt Nancy and their two kids Blake and Lexi. His grandmother also came over to visit for a bit and we had a nice chat. Maybe I'm 72 inside, but I really do enjoy the time family makes to connect with each other and share a little taste of their lives with us. It is enriching and strengthens my belief in families. I left feeling so grateful they had made time for our visit and for their amazing examples.

Another one down, only 18 left...

Say it isn't so. I finally forced myself to look at the calendar last week thinking two or so weeks would be plenty of time to find a pair of shoes or two and some simple school supplies. The fact that school starts tomorrow is still blowing my mind. Back-to-school time is exciting for a lot of reasons, but I cling to the summers knowing that I really only have a handful left of these laid-back months in my mothering career. Plus, if summer is almost over that means my baby is almost half a year old. Now that is impossible! I let the boys in on the news and after the intial excitement wore off, Milo slunk on to the couch and said, "We hardly did anything fun this summer." Trying not to take it personally, I encouraged him to remember just a few of the things we did these past two months that we've never done before and the smile finally crept back on his face. But, I don't want him or any of the rest of us to forget some really great memories we had. So let's get this in writing and start with a brief recap of June:

We still haven't gotten around to replacing our oven that quit working in early march. I figure these kind of dinners would be perfectly ok with me...forever.

We've enjoyed several of Provo's rooftop concerts. Some with, some without the rascals. This time we brought homemade kettle corn. After about 3 minutes of listening to the music they pretty much ruined it for any dating couple that was within 20 feet range of us. But I think any concert outside at night is romantic--obnoxious kids or not.

How many popsicles can a small child consume in the summer? Math isn't my bag, but I'm going to assume it's in the hundreds.

Taking advantage of the $10 Pass of All Passes we snagged in April, Rod dragged us out to a Motocross race. Besides the permeating scent of alcohol, young tweens with pornographic images on their T-shirts, and not one seat or place to stand without getting a gust of dust blown in your face, I'd say it was pretty fun. But really, we are never going back...much to Elliot's dismay (he rides motorcycles in his dreams).

Mom's Summer Camp officially fell off the wagon by the close of June, but I do believe this was one of our Take-a-trip Tuesdays to Highland Glen Park. No fish were caught, but some new friends were made, thanks to Milo the oh-so-socialite.

The down times were like a breath of fresh air. What is better than finding your once-thought-outdated encylopedia set open to the page on North Pole...to see if Santa could hide from even World Books. Who needs the internet anyway!?

There is always something cool going on at the Browns. This is where most of our wildest dreams and craziest ideas come to life. Case in point:

Oh and also? Lots of people to entertain my children and adore my baby.

Speaking of babies, two really really great people are getting an early Christmas present this year. The likelihood of this baby of theirs being illegally adorable is obviously 100%.

Did I say illegally adorable? This also pertains to Bean trying very very hard to resist his urge to squeeze Juni in half because of his adoration for her.

Oh geez. And Missy and Jason are in a league of there own in coolness.

A s'more roast in the backyard always does a body good.

Add a boy's obsession over anything electronic to the comfiest bed alive and you get this scene.

So what is heaven going to be like? A summer's day in bed with a book and a million of these.

Babies do this to him. Every. Time.

Fair warning to any Pass-of-All-Passes holders: DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT go to Seven Peaks on during the first week that school is out. But, if you do, you might meet your cousins there (along with every other person you have met or remotely remember during your lifetime)!

I would not have survived two minutes without B's help. She is the queen. This trip alone burned me out of SP for the month of June.

And then there's Trafalga. My hell involves spending inordinate amounts of time at both of these public places. But, the kids love it and that is THE ONLY reason I suck it up and go. We started up a tradition of weekly date nights with the kids, alone with either mom or dad. And you know what? It's the best tradition ever. We've made it all summer, but I wonder if we can work it in during the school year... time will tell.

Rod and I finally made it to the Lehi Round-Up Rodeo after 8 summers here. It started off with a bang when the BYU team won the chuck-wagon race against the U, even after it lost the back set of wheels! But it went downhill from there when the clown started telling his stupid jokes and never stopped. Been there, done that, once was enough.

Rod's cousin had her wedding in a beautiful backyard on the Provo foothills. We saw lots of extended family and had a great time.

Tom, always workin' the ladies.

Milo always talks about his great-grandmother in Arizona. It's been a while since we've gotten to see her. She is such an inspiring person.

Good-lookin' trio, no? I've never met a Boynton I didn't like.