14 months

Well he is definitely not a baby anymore. Everyone always says that each stage gets more fun and I totally believe it now. He is so much fun to watch and hang out with everyday. His little personality is starting to show through and I LOVE it! He is generally a pretty happy easy going boy. 

-he is walking EVERYWHERE! he has been walking for a little over a month unassisted but just in the last couples of weeks he has really started exploring. he actually likes to run around too. i chase him around the house and he giggles and runs away. so cute!

-still loves listening to David play the guitar, he is nice enough to let Grant strum it and boy oh boy does he get excited about that.

-likes to be read to

-he is starting to learn to fold his arms for prayers. oh my goodness talk about sweet.

-loves to watch 'nacho libre' 

-he always carries things in his hands-straws, bowls, cars, phones, and walks around talking into them like they are phones. i hope that's not too girly-just social right? he paces around while 'talking' just like his mama. 

-likes to hide and play 'peek-a-boo'

-he is really trying to talk but still doesn't say much, well anything that is understandable besides 'mama' and 'dada'

-loves to people watch and is always so curious with what is going on

We sure do love you billy Grant! 

little lovelies-garmin forerunner 305

David and I agree that this is hands down one of our best purchases. I can't believe I went so long without one! Since we didn't live close to any marked trails I used to drive around and calculate how long my runs were. Yes it was a major pain in the neck and extremely heartbreaking when I would discover that I didn't run as far as I thought! After a few years of driving around all of WI David broke down and surprised me with this beauty for Christmas one year! Makes my book of "IOU" look pretty bad huh?

Sure it takes up my whole arm and in the summer I have a nice farmers tan but what the heck! Last night for FHE we went geocaching and we both said how we wished we would have brought the Garmin because it would have been more accurate. I would highly recommend this gadget, it seriously is life changing-I swear I don't work for them!

hooray for vacations!

At the beginning of the month Grant and I hopped in the car with my parents and drove off to St. George! My nephew was getting baptized and it worked out for us to be able to come. It was so wonderful to spend time with ALL my family (minus David and my sisters husband) and to have such a great reason to meet up. I love laughing, talking and just being with my family. Grant had a lot of fun getting spoiled and mooching off everyone for food. Seriously he'd hear someone open a bag of chips or cookies and immediately drop whatever he was doing and walk as fast as he could over there and climb up on whoever! It was pretty funny at first but started to get a little out of control! This trip was definitely a new adventure for him-cookies, popcorn, ice-cream, chips, hamburgers etc. He had a big belly the whole time!

We spent a few days in St. George and then a few more days over in Vegas. We were able to meet up with David's sister and I was happy that she could play with Grant for a few hours. It was pretty hot the whole time so we mainly stayed inside or by the pool. Grant liked being in the water but couldn't quite figure out what he wanted-he didn't want to be held but he didn't want to be alone either-that doesn't really work out but whatever.

David had to fly out to MN so he wasn't able to join us. We sure missed him.....can't you tell??? Just kidding, we really did.

We went bowling (oh how I love the bumpers), swimming, walked around a few hotels, went to the arcade(Grant walked around for a minute barefoot on that carpet...can you guess what color his feet were?) Thanks for the great trip mom & dad!

It's here!!!!!

Summer is officially here! How are you going to celebrate? We'll we (Grant and I) started the day off by wearing our surf/floral shirts and sunglasses as we went to the store. We enjoyed our fresh strawberries while listening to The Beach Boys, Jack Johnson and Eric Clapton (yes Clapton isn't really summer-ish but he's great and you never need a reason to listen to him right?) We inhaled our fruit smoothies in record time and if that kid ever decides to get up we will head to the park and play in the grass. I can't wait for David to get home tonight and for us to just spend time outside as a family. It's been beautiful here the last few days and although I love when Grant takes naps I sure hate being cooped up inside all day! Ah I can't get enough of summer! I LOVE IT!!!!

I feel sad that I didn't do/say much for Father's day. I am HORRIBLE at expressing my feelings of appreciation and even more HORRIBLE at giving gifts! I'll keep this short, if you really want to read all my mushiness about father's you'll have to pry open one of my journals, I'll just say that I am one lucky girl. I love that I have so many worthy examples in my life who will be a great influence on Grant. I'm thankful for David and the kind things he does for Grant and I. I am grateful for my own dad and father in-law, they are both so gentle and loving and make me want to try harder to be a better person. The greatest perk about David's new job is the distance from our home town. I love being close to our families and having the chance to have Grant be around these great men---oh and the grandma's are pretty cool too I suppose;)

little lovelies-journals

I never really kept a good journal growing up...well I guess if you count the orange binder that had "N.B. is a hung." written all over it. Give me a break, I was like 4 and didn't know how to spell "hunk" maybe I should have just written "N.B. has a really nice rat tail, almost as nice as NKOTB." I digress.....

In high school my good friend Kellie gave me this adorable journal with all sorts of uplifting things on the cover. For the first time I was actually excited to write in it! Maybe it's because I'm pretty neutral with my home decor (I can't get too crazy girly ya know!) but I do love me some fun journals/notebooks. I could spend hours at Target looking through all the cute stuff, that's where I can be as girly as I want! Anyway that specific high school journal is rather funny, the first  page says "Tonight David Luke gave a fireside about his mission. It was really good." The rest of the journal covers my acceptance into BYU-I, roomies, dates, jobs etc. and ends with "David Luke and I are getting married."

I didn't write very much while I was at BYU and I regret that. So many wonderful things happened during that time in my life and I wish I had taken the time to express the hard work and blessings that I was experiencing. I did however become a master at creating lists and bringing my day planner with me EVERYWHERE! I still have all my old day planners and I love reading through them and seeing the different classes/callings/outings I had going on in my life. I was so busy during those 4 years (who isn't?) and I often wish I had that type of energy and determination again, I keep my journals/planners by my bed and often turn to them for motivation.

After graduation I started writing more diligently. Sure it's not the easiest (or most exciting) thing but I am grateful that I have those big, small, and mundane life events on paper. There have been numerous nights that David and I have read through stories of dates, pregnancies, callings and laughed or cried--or my favorite feeling- laughing and crying at the same time! 

About a year ago in YW we made these "journal jars", basically 52 questions that can help you start journaling. "What is your favorite holiday and why?", "Describe a time when you were proud of yourself or family member." etc. Sure it is cheesy but I love it! It is our Sunday night tradition and a great way for us to start our own family history!

Estes Park

For memorial day weekend we decided to check out Estes Park. We loved it. Loved it! We packed a little picnic and enjoyed the nice weather. It was a lot of fun to be outside together as a family and experience something different. Grant thoroughly enjoyed the picnic-he just sat there on the blanket and looked around while eating his fruit and sandwich. What a cheap date! 

The Shining was filmed in Estes Park and we were able to drive by the hotel and also see Jack Nicholson who was there for a book signing....or was he????

Estes Park is a really pretty place-there are a lot of hiking trails that we will hopefully be able to try out this summer.

On Monday we went to a memorial day parade, I always get so emotional during parades. I love seeing all the kids dressed in red, white and blue. I love hearing the sirens go off and seeing all the old men and women waving at everyone. Grant was drawing quite a crowd himself. He always kicks up his feet while in the stroller, I don't think he even noticed everyone commenting on it. Hey a little boy needs to air out every once in a while right? After the parade we had a BBQ with friends and spent the day enjoying the warm weather. Too bad David can't have every Monday off! 

little lovelies-trampolines

Hooray it's June!!! This is by far my favorite month-bbq's, swimming pools, clear blue skies, and TRAMPOLINES! Yes I know I'm in need of more mature hobbies but in my book you're never too old to have a little fun right? I loved having something to do everyday. Sure I could have/should have cleaned, pulled weeds...got a job but those would just get in the way of having a "bum war" on the trampoline or perfecting my "Pocahontas" dive from the deck to the tramp. I was always disappointed when my cheerleading jumps didn't look as polished and high on land as they did when I practicing in the air. I loved sleeping under the stars and being able to wake up and jump with all the blankets and sleeping bags flapping all around. The other day I was telling David how bad I want a house...not just for space, a place of our own, etc. but so that we can actually have a trampoline!