happy fourth!

i love the fourth of july!

good food, good weather, good company and fireworks. 

this year was especially fun because it was sam's first fourth and everyone knows holidays are just way more fun when you have a baby. 

we had planned on going to a parade in the morning, but the night before we did a neighborhood fireworks show and sam was up way past his bedtime. 

so when he slept in the next morning we decided to let him sleep and hit up mickey d's for breakfast when we woke up. 

it was actually kind of fun to ditch the parade and go to breakfast with our little family. 

we went to lunch with ben's parents in the afternoon and then walked around the green belt in idaho falls for a bit. 

that evening we headed out to menan, idaho. we went to their firework show last year and i was seriously blown away. 

i think it is one of idaho's best kept secrets (or maybe it's not a secret?). 

but this tiny little town in idaho puts on the BEST fourth of july celebration. 

we walked around the booth's for a while and, of course, got some kettle corn (my favorite!), a funnel cake, and dinner. 

we then scouted out a good spot on the field and hung out with the kiddos until the fireworks started. 

of course sam passed out right in the middle of the fireworks (that kid can sleep through anything) but he actually loved the first half. 

i thought be might lose it because usually he hates loud noises but he proved me wrong. i'm pretty sure i watched him watching the fireworks instead of watching the fireworks myself. 

we had a great day together celebrating america!

fathers day 2013

happy (belated) father's day to all the wonderful dad's out there!

to my own dad, who has been the greatest possible dad a girl could ask for. who has spent countless nights up late working on homework with be, gone out of his way to make it to every sporting/cheer/dance event, and traveled countless times to come visit me up at school. he has taught me so much and is the most selfless person i know. i love him more than anything and especially now love watching how much he adores my son. 

and to my husband, i couldn't have picked a better person to be sam's hero. seeing how sam's face lights up every day when ben walks through the door speaks for itself. ben is so hands on with sam and there isn't a thing he wouldn't do for our boy. as soon as he gets home from work, before he even has a chance to take his tie off, he gets down to sams level and plays with him for at least a half an hour. he is the first one to jump out of bed at night when sam starts crying. and he will willingly carry around sam and my girly diaper bag for hours while out shopping when sam isn't feeling his stroller. 

i can't count the number of times i have walked in on ben reading the scriptures to sam to get him calm and ready for bed. it is the sweetest thing and i love watching the relationship between these two grow. i know that it is only a matter of time before sam wants nothing to do with mom and will favor his dad and want to be just like him. and i will happily stand on the sidelines. 

we love you, ben. and we wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. sam and i are pretty dang lucky to have you. 

we spent the evening at ben's parents house for dessert and played around outside till it got dark. i love summer nights!

{impossible to get a picture of these three all looking at the camera}

memorial day 2013

i love memorial day weekend! actually, to be honest, i love any three day weekend that lets me have my husband all to myself for an extra day. 

so i guess i just love three day weekends. 

but i do love celebrating those who are courageously fighting to keep our country safe!

this memorial day we celebrated by going out to breakfast with ben's family. 

sam had his first taste of pancakes and wasn't impressed. (what?)

after breakfast we planned on heading out to the zoo with all the cousins but it was suppppper (hello, idaho.) windy so we went bowling instead. i'll be honest i am not into bowling but it was actually really fun watching all the kids bowl and spending time with ben's family. after bowling, ben and i headed into idaho falls with sam to hit up a few sales and then that evening we had a bbq at bens parents house. 

all in all it was a great day. 

but any day spent with this little family of mine is a good day in my book. 

                     

easter sunday

this easter sunday we were so excited to be able to be in fresno to spend it with my family. 

it was also sam's first easter which made it that much more fun!

we went to my parents ward which was so fun because i was able to see so many people who i grew up with (and show sam off, obviously.)

my good friend, sara, was there visiting her family as well so i was able to see her and her sweet baby boy, cash.

elder lawrence was presiding over our ward and our third hour was combined so we were able to listen to him and his wife speak about their experiences in russia. 

after church we came home and relaxed outside for a bit while my brother grilled tri-tip (DELISH) and my mom cooked dinner. 

we then opened easter baskets! my parents put together the cutest little basket for sam with some dr. seuss books and toys and ben and i brought out a basket for him with a few toys and a new outfit. 

my mom (i mean the easter bunny?) also got ben some new clothes and me some new candles and body lotions. 

this easter was so perfect and i am so grateful that we were able to spend it in fresno with my family. 

i love the opportunity to be able to focus on our saviors atoning sacrifice and the knowledge we have that we will one day be able to live with him again. 

{don't worry, the peeps were not actually for sam}

meeting santa

last saturday we went to our ward christmas party. i don't know why i didn't get any pictures of all of us but ally and dan were in town so they were able to come with us. 

i was so excited to have sam sit on santa's lap for the first time but sam was so uninterested. 

he wouldn't even look at santa. it was hilarious. 

this kid is so not impressed by much.

disclaimer: the coordinating outfits were not planned. 

a very merry christmas

i am fairly certain i am breaking every rule in blog land by blogging about christmas in...march. 

but this is happening. it is still snowing outside so i feel justified in my decision.

for christmas we went down to fresno to spend christmas with my family.

it was so great to be home for a while...and to watch ben experience some of our family traditions for the first time. 

he's never done pj's on christmas eve. am i the only one that thinks that weird?

needless to say, it was a blast!