Changes...

It has happened...I've run out of photo space on this blog...and because we can not afford even an extra $2.50 a month for extra storage space, I've started a new family blog, http://ssmccuen.blogspot.com/

 

I have a hard time with change, even little changes...like changing my blog address.

As I've set up this new blog I've had pangs of sadness at leaving our old blog. I know it's just an address, but still, I started that blog right after Stephen and I got married and there are so many fond memories recorded there. I am super sappy, I know. I remember when I finished my first journal, I cried. Mostly because I had come to view that journal almost as a friend, kind of like Ginny in Harry Potter...

Anyway, with a pang of sadness, I close this chapter and open a new one.

Happy 4th of July!

I love 4th of July. When I was younger it usually meant a visit to Grandma Hepworth in Salt Lake City, playing with cousins, eating yummy food, and doing and watching fireworks. Or it found us in some obscure place in the middle of America, on the side of the road lighting off fireworks. You see, my dad never likes to be home on his birthday, which was yesterday, July 3rd, he would rather be driving somewhere with his family. So the 4th of July either found us at my grandparents house or on our way across the country. It worked out well because the state of California doesn't allow you to set off your own fireworks and my brothers are pyros so setting off fireworks is pretty much their favorite things to do.

So anyway, we never really had a "normal" 4th of July. You know the parade, huge family BBQ and night time fireworks display. 

But since Stephen and I got married, we pretty much have stayed around home, with the exception of last year when we went to Idaho. This year was no different. This morning we went to the Provo Freedom Festival where there are tons of different fun things to do, eat and, look at. We walked around, looking at the different booths with items for sale, a free kids craft area, an entertainment area, and different foods for sale. I'm actually excited to go again next year because Will will have so much more fun with the kids craft area. It was so hot so we didn't stay too long but it was so fun and we'll definitely be going back next year.

 Family Picture, Will was so distracted that we couldn't get him to look at the camera.

 Our yummy Gyro and "Texas Punch". The punch was nice and cold on a really hot day.

Will really liked the "Texas Punch" too.

By the end of the afternoon Will looked like this.

On the way back to the car we stopped at this cool printing museum that has a working Gutenberg printing press. Stephen and I thought it was cool, Will, however, was done with a capitol D.

 

 We all came home after the Freedom Festival and crashed. And after a nap we had a BBQ with our friend, Liesl, whose husband was working all day, and her son, Oliver. We had burgers, hotdogs, some yummy rolls that Liesl made, and fruit. 

We also played in the kiddy pool and laughed a lot.

Will had a great time playing in the water and not wearing any clothes.

 Oliver also had a great time playing in the water.

 Will loved drinking from his own cup, he's only allowed to do it by himself when we're outside and he's not wearing any clothes.

Because we had two tired boys we didn't stay up for any fireworks, maybe next year. 

My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. 

I'm not really sure how old he is but I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember either.

I remember when he turned 45, I tried to put 45 candles on his peach cobbler and I set the peach cobbler on fire.

My dad doesn't really like cake, he likes peach cobbler instead. I don't blame him, my grandma's peach cobbler is really yummy.

My dad looks a little scary when you first meet him, but as soon as he smiles he's not scary anymore.

I am the only one of his 6 children to have his blue eyes.

My dad really wants to teach his daughters to be tough and self reliant. 

I remember when I was 12, he took my sister and I backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas. I'm sure we complained a lot about backpacking and about catching our own dinner, but he didn't seem to mind. That is still one of my favorite memories of my dad.

My dad and I have very similar temperaments and as a teenager, I was surprised more then once when he knew exactly how I was feeling. 

I call my dad sir. I'm not sure why but as far back as I remember, I've called him that.

 My dad calls me, little girl. I hope he does forever.

My mother is the social flower of the relationship. My dad doesn't talk much but when he does, you best take care to listen because he usually has something insightful or extremely interesting to say.

 My dad knows a lot about a lot of things. I don't think I've ever asked him a question about something that he hasn't read about or done.

My dad loves to read. He reads all kinds of things. From gardening books to religious books, he reads them all, but his favorite are fantasy/science fiction. I got my love of reading from him.

My dad loves his family way more than anything else. He works hard at a job he doesn't really like so he can take care of his family. 

Last month when I was really sick and couldn't be alone, he drove 12 hours here and 12 hours back just to bring my sister so Stephen could go to school and Will and I wouldn't be alone.

He has also driven all through the night when my sister and I were in labor, just to get my mom here so she could be here for the delivery of our babies.

He loves his grandchildren. I wish we lived closer so we could see them more, hopefully one day.

Will looks almost like a carbon copy of my dad when he was young. I hope Will grows up to be as good of a man as my dad is.

I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such an amazing dad. I only hope that I can be as amazing of a parent to my children.

I love you, Sir!

Happy Birthday!

"Apples"

Will has been obsessed with apples lately. We have a Dr. Seuss book called Ten Apples Up On Top and I think we read it at least 4 times a day. Since then Will has decided that all round fruit are apples. Every morning his first words to me are "apple, mommy, apple!" Which means "mommy I want some yummy fruit for breakfast." Since apples are out of season we've been eating a lot of peach "apples," nectarine "apples," and even some apricot "apples.'' I do have to say, however, I'm so glad he actually likes fruit.

Will enjoying some peach "apples." Yes, that is peach all down his front, he gets really mad if I try to cut up the peaches and make them "un-appley".

 

4 Years and Counting...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to the most amazing man I could have asked for. I can't believe that four years ago today we were here...

 With our family and friends...

And now we are here...

with one of these...

It has been an incredible 4 years, I can't wait to see what the next 4 years brings.

I love you forever, Stevie!

Happy Father's Day!

I am so lucky to have so many amazing men in my life. I have the best father a girl could ask for. He inspires me to be a better person and a better parent. I have incredible brothers, none of who are fathers yet but they are astounding brothers and fabulous uncles. I have an amazing father-in-law and brother-in-law who taught Stephen all he needed to know to be a daddy.

And then there is my most favorite guy in the world, Stephen. He really is the perfect man. He goes to school, works, cooks, cleans,  and helps take care of Will. He has had to be the mom and dad more times than I care to admit but he never complains. I could not ask for a better companion or a better father for Will.

One of my favorite things is listening by the door when Stephen puts Will to bed. Because he's busy with school, Stephen's rarely home when Will goes to bed, but when he is, he loves to put him to bed. I love hearing their giggling and conversation. I love listening to Stephen tell Will a bed-time story and tucking him in. I love listen to Will's little voice say, "Nigh-nigh, Daddy." And Stephen's reply of, "Good night, buddy, I love you so much."

I love how Will mirrors everything that Stephen does. Even when Stephen's at school or work. I also love that Stephen is aware of that but he doesn't need to change any behaviors because he's an amazing man already. 

Happy Father's Day!!

Silly, Silly, Silly

Just in the last few weeks Will has become ridiculously silly. He walks around the house with things on his head, he makes jokes, he rides trash cans... the thing is, he's actually funny. He  not only makes me laugh but anyone else that's around us does too.  Maybe he'll be a comedian some day, who knows?

Who needs a hat when you have a Sephora bag.

Of course you sit on your raceway toy while wearing a box on your head.

In my defense, this trash can has never actually been used for trash, only for soaking  stained clothes. Will found it on the patio and decided it needed to be ridden.

 Who knew trash cans could buck you off.

 I love this new aspect of Will's personality. He really is my buddy and my comedian. I love him so so much!

Life as of Late

Our life as of late has been full of silliness, sun, friends and water.

 Last month my brother, Ammon, and his wife, Monica, came for a visit and Will had his very first ice cream cone. He LOVED it.

He got appropriately messy...

And was rather disappointed when the cone was empty...

 The end result...

He decided he didn't want to finish the cone after the ice cream was gone so he decided to share his nasty cone with a random stranger. That's my boy, so nice to share with others!

We have also been having a blast with the pool and splash pad out in the quad with our friends.

No matter how cold the water is, Will stays in it until I turn it off. He loves it so much!

Even with a pool and a splash pad, Will still wanted to play in a puddle, silly boy!

Will and his friend, Payton, playing in the puddle.

Will loves his hat. He wears it all the time, even in the house.

Our friend, Oliver. He is SO cute!

Our friend Indee...

And her handsome little brother, Krew. They're moving away and we're going to miss them so so much!

 

Krew and Indee with their Grandma.

Our friends Naomi and Lucy, Will loves to play with them.

A few weeks ago Stephen and I caught the stomach flu and had to entertain Will while not moving too much. We were watching Sound of Music and Will was totally jamming to the songs...it was awesome. I actually have video of it, I'll have to post it later :) 

 We spend our days outside with our friends and watching, reading and talking about trains, Will's new obsession :)

Growing, Growing, Growing...Hopefully

 For Mother's Day, Stephen and Will gave me some Topsy Turvys, you know those things you grow tomatoes upside-down in? I've wanted some for ages and they finally got me some. This past Saturday we went to a nursery to hunt down some plant sprouts and hopefully we came home with some super hearty plants.

Now I am a horrible gardener, I have killed everything I previously tried to grow. I'm not sure where this black thumb tendency came from, my dad is an exceptional gardener. He can grow anything, I think that gene may have skipped me :). It is something I want to change, however. We've had our plants for almost a week and none of them are dead!

The boys got me two Topsy Turvys that also grow herbs, each planter has two tomato plants growing out the bottom and a few on the lowest "portals." 

We are also growing thyme, basil, peppermint, and rosemary in the Topsy Turvy planters. I'm hoping to get some strawberry plants for some of the empty "ports".

In two other hanging planters, we decided to grow dill and cilantro.

  I hear cilantro grows like crazy and I'm excited to see how far it has already grown since we planted them on Saturday. You see that little gnome friend? His name is Jack, he keeps water in his head in case I forget to water my cilantro plant. 

 I have only used dried dill thus far but I hear fresh dill is SO much better so I thought I try to grow some. They seem to be growing quickly too. This little gnome friend is named Jill, she also protects my plants against neglect.

I want to take pictures every week so that I can see the differences

So here it is, week one of my plants' lives. Here's to hoping that they are all alive next week!

Alice

 Today was the funeral of a friend of mine in our ward in Wymount.  Alice was a wife, a mother, and an amazing woman. She passed away last week due to complications from childbirth. She gave birth to her third child, her first girl, on two Wednesdays ago and by the next Tuesday, she had passed away. It hit our little community hard, especially us mothers. You see one of the perks of living with the cinder-block is an amazing quad in the middle of all our apartments with a grassy area and a playground.  Everyday of good weather brings all the mothers out of their too small apartments, into the quad to watch their children play. Our little community of mothers sits outside watching our kids play and we chat, complain, swap cooking and cleaning tips and laugh. Many of these days saw Alice out with her two boys, Charlie and Edward. She often brought a book with her but would end up not reading much because the rest of us would bug her too much. I loved to watch her play with her boys and the joy I would see on her face as they brought things to show her and to ask her questions. She was also an amazing pianist. I loved to listen to her play. She studied in Europe and was revered as one of the best pianist in the world, and she was only 33.

Her death has hit me rather hard, partially because she was friend, so full of life, and so young, but also because of those she left behind. I cannot fathom being a single parent and the grief her husband and children are feeling. I was so amazed at her husband’s composure when he spoke about his sweet wife at her funeral. I knew he was so sad but I think he wanted to be strong for their boys.

Her death has also reminded me how grateful I am for the Savior and eternal families. You see, in our church, we believe that when husbands and wives are sealed together, they are together forever, not just for this earthly life. I know that Alice and Kirt, her husband, will be together again and their family will be reunited in the spirit world. I also know that the Savior not only suffered for our sins in Gethsemane but also all our pain and suffering as well. I may not truly understand what sadness Kirt is feeling but I know that the Savior does. I also know that no matter how frustrated or sad or depressed or sick I am, the Savior knows how I feel and I truly take comfort in that.

I hope I can make the impact in peoples’ lives the way Alice did. I know that Alice’s spirit will continue to make an impact on people as well. I know that she has made an impact in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today has been an amazing, low-key day. My boys made me breakfast, blackberry-blueberry bread pudding with blackberry-blueberry syrup and turkey bacon. It was so tasty, definitely a keeper!

 Then came the best part, I got to take a nap! Stephen took Will outside and I slept and slept and then slept some more! It was GLORIOUS!

We ended that day by going to my uncle Glen's for dinner with my older brother, Ammon, who is in town on work for the weekend. It was great to spend time with family and I didn't have to cook or do any dishes :). Tomorrow night, Stephen is going to make steak and potatoes for my Mother's Day dinner, that way Mother's Day will last longer.

I am so grateful for for my boys!

I am also so grateful for my mommy who taught me how to be a mom and made me the person that I am. I love you so so much Mommy!

Will's Room Makeover

3 weeks ago I had hernia surgery. The doctor told me that I couldn't lift anything more then 20 pounds for two weeks to a month after the surgery and since Will is currently 30 lbs we thought it would be a good time to change him from a crib to a toddler bed. We also took down the changing table and moved all my craft supplies to our storage closet so Will would have a closet of his own.

 I made these curtains out of a shower curtain. All I did was cut the shower curtain down the middle and sew the seams. Funnily enough, it's hanging on a shower curtain rod with shower curtain hooks. Because of our cinder-block walls, I have to get creative.

 View from the door. Doesn't his teeny weeny toddler bed look so cute!

 We put Will's book shelf in his closet and put his rocking chair next to the closet because we love to sit and read stories.

 Will got a work bench with some fun "tools" for Christmas. It used to live in our living room and I am glad to say it now resides in Will's room along with all his other toys.

Will first night in his "big boy bed"! He's such a crazy sleeper!