I figured that since July is officially over in 65 minutes, I should probably blog about the 4th of July. I didn’t take many photos that day, but we had a wonderful day. Parades, picnics, fireworks, barbecues, etc. The pictures I do have were taken at the parade as we sat watching the floats go by. My sister-in-law had brought two little Yorkie puppies to try and sell and Kyler was in heaven. He just sat there on the blanket and held those puppies like they were his own. As soon as they’d squirm away, he’d gather them back up and set them in his lap. It about melted my heart and almost made me give in to getting a dog. But not quite.

Don’t these puppies look just thrilled?

Okay, let’s go back to JULY 3rd, shall we? Yeah, that’s how far behind on blogging I am. July 3rd was Kyler’s birthday. That morning we got up early and took the boys to the Golden Spike National Historic site, where the Union and Central Pacific railroad companies joined back in 1869. I was skeptical of going (since it was a good hour and a half away, and my boys in no way understand the historical significance), but once we got there it was fun. The boys were able to get up close to the steam-engine trains, see them in action, and hear their very LOUD whistles!

Photos from the morning:

We were literally out in the middle of nowhere.

Photos of the birthday boy:

And how cute is the birthday boy’s big brother? Sporting his classic smile…

My three boys:

A couple train details:

I thought the train conductor was so cool-looking:

After we got home we had lunch and then all four of us crashed for the afternoon. It was so nice to get a nap! Then we geared up for a birthday barbecue with lots of family, followed by cupcakes.

Kyler’s cute cousin, Grace, who will soon be 2-years-old as well!

Finally, we topped off the night with a round of fireworks in the cul-de-sac. Kyler LOVED the fireworks–especially the sparklers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!

For these four beautiful girls. This shoot was so FUN!

More soon!

I don’t do well with change. If we’re going to change up something big in our lives, I have to be notified of it well before hand, set a date of when the change will occur, and then mentally prepare myself for that change.

That being said, about 4 nights ago I asked Matt to go in and install light-blocking curtains in the boys’ bedrooms. When I went to check on his progress, he had taken Kyler’s crib apart and was moving it into Ryan’s room! Ahhh! We had talked about moving them into the same room eventually, but I hadn’t set a date! I hadn’t mentally prepared! Matt, of course, doesn’t get me.

So I quickly mentally prepared myself for everything that was going to be involved (especially the swapping of stuff between the rooms) and within an hour it was a done deal.

Flash forward to tonight. I’m sitting at my desk editing photos and listening to little snickers coming from the back bedroom. I go in to see this:

The talking and giggling together is pretty cute (not late at night, though) and I love that they’re going to be able to grow closer by sharing  room. I also love that we have a totally empty bedroom to fill with organized (ha!ha!) toys.

I’ll discuss later everything wrong with this picture: the fact that Kyler’s still in a crib, that he still has a binky, that the decor is extremely boring, etc. But for right now, GO TO SLEEP LITTLE BOYS!

I definitely don’t consider myself a landscape photographer, but I got a few keepers from Yellowstone that I wanted to share. The first one is my favorite.

I’d like to share some of my vacation photos with you, and I’ll start with a series I like to call, “Keeping Kyler Quiet”.

1. LICORICE

2. POP ROCKS

3. FRUIT SNACKS

4. Ummm…not sure what this is. Sorry for the gross-ness.

5. HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

6. OREO COOKIES

And that was just the half of it. And despite our attempts to stuff his face, there was plenty of unrest:

Yes, that is his head stuck between the bars of the condo balcony.  Go ahead and leave me nasty comments for picking up the camera and taking pictures. But in my defense, I could see that someone else already had it under control, and my camera was already around my neck. So I snapped a photo and ran up to help. He got plenty of cuddles from me after he was free.

P.S. Thanks Jen and Gene (and little Katie-bug)  for rescuing my baby!

We’re back from our little trip. I doubt many people even knew we were gone! We headed up to Yellowstone for a night and then to Bear Lake for a few more nights. We camped in a tent with two little boys. It was a little rough at first, but we had such a great time.

I’ve got PILES of laundry to do, grocery shopping and tons of cleaning, but I’ll be back soon to update with tons of photos!

We’re staying super busy this summer. It’s hot. I’m working on a fun new project that I’ll share soon.

Oh…and look who’s TWO now:

We spent the morning at the train museum, watching and hearing huge steam engines. Then we enjoyed a fun barbecue with perfect weather and fireworks at dark.

I must get to bed, but thought I’d just check in with an update to let you know we’re still alive and kicking. Be back soon with more photos from our birthday/holiday weekend!

P.S. Yes, Kyler will be getting a haircut soon.