We have a lawn...maybe too much lawn

It has been three weeks since we laid down grass in the backyard. I first mowed last week and just mulched - it wasn't too bad. Then yesterday I did the front and back together, bagging the whole thing and it took me FOREVER. I even got a sunburn on my face because I was outside for so long. Seriously, if we had some money lying around I'd tell Craig we have to get a riding mower. He hasn't even mowed the whole yard yet so he doesn't truly understand what a pain in the butt it is. We still have a long way to go too for it to be completely finished. We left room in the very back for fruit trees, a shed, and a garden. Then we have to lay that bedding fabric to prevent weeds and cover it with mulch in all the beds down the sides of the yard and along the house. Then once that is done, we have to fill the beds with plants and flowers. Does anyone have some money that we could have to do all this? Yeah, that is what I thought. It is going to be costly so it will take us awhile for it to get done. But aside from my complaining though, it is so nice to have a backyard and have somewhere for the kids to play...FINALLY!!

Before shots:

After shots:

Funny Faces

I was playing around with the kids when I started to make funny faces at them. It got them laughing and then they made funny faces back at me so I ran to get my camera to capture the moment and this is what I got.

Vampire Teeth

Okay...doesn't Brandon have daggers for teeth or what?

Phoenix Trip

We spent this last week in Phoenix to visit my family. My sister was having one of her children baptized and her baby blessed so the whole family came down for the event. At the time I was planning the trip, Craig was to be in Fresno that same week for work. I really wanted to go and be with family but couldn't see myself doing the 12+ drive with just me and both kids. My dad wanted to see his grandchildren so he decided to get a one-way ticket to SLC and drove down with me on Tuesday. My dad is the best!! In the meantime, Craig's Fresno trip got postponed for a week so he was able to make arrangements to go to Phoenix. It worked out perfect since he would now be able to drive home with us on Sunday so I wouldn't have to do it myself. He spent three days between Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tuscan but I didn't get to see him since he was working. I picked him up on Saturday at the car rental place and then headed back to my sister's where everyone was. At one time there were16 adults and 10 kids in my sister's 1500 sq. ft. home because she had lunch for everyone after the blessing/baptism. It was crazy but we had some great food because we baked like mad the day before. We stayed at my dad's house but spend all day at my sister's who had a backyard with a pool and trampoline. It was so blasted hot that the kids could only go outside and play at certain times but it was nice to hang out inside and visit with my sister while the kids all played together. We both thought that our daughters would have a ball together since they are only 4 months apart but they fought the whole time. We got so tired of breaking up the tug-o-wars between barbies, horses, and princess stuff. Brandon did pretty good but kept going back and forth between outside and inside and never shut the door behind him so it got annoying. Luckily the kids napped at her house pretty well so we had a least a 2 hour break in the afternoon to bake and eat in peace while her older kids watched movies. I was tired the whole time though since Brandon didn't sleep well at night and was up one night throwing up so I got about 3 hours that night. No one else got sick so my sister thinks it was heatstroke. He did spend a lot of time outside that day and didn't get too many fluids in him. I was much more careful watching him over the next day so it wouldn't happen again. Overall it was a nice trip to visit family but it was also nice getting home and sleeping in my own bed. Ahhh...Home Sweet Home!!

Briana and cousin Morgan the first hour together...

here is how they were together the rest of the time Outside time playing with the hose and lovin' it

If only the kids were looking this would be a good family picture

Me and my parents
Grandma with all her grandchildren

4th of July

Last year some neighbors invited us to a parade that the city of Kaysville does every year. We had a blast and the kids enjoyed it too. So this year we went with the same neighbors from last year to see the parade again. Wendy headed out yesterday to set down chairs for us so we'd have a good spot to view the parade. The coolest thing about the parade is that every fire truck, police car, school sponsored float, etc. throws out candy to the crowd. Some floats even threw out necklaces, bouncy balls, and stuffed animals. Briana got a cute spotted doggie that she hasn't let go of since the parade. She gets so attached to her animals - so funny!! The kids loved picking up candy off the street and when they got a handful, they would bring it to me to put in our candy bag that I brought. The weather wasn't too bad with some clouds and a breeze to help out and the next thing we knew the hour long parade was over. We really enjoy going to the parade and feeling connected to our community that I'm sure this will become a 4th of July tradition in our family.

PJ

On Monday we received some bad news that our cat of 12 years has feline lymphoma. It is a type of cancer that can appear almost anywhere and affect a wide number of organs. The doctor told me that he had jaundice so we know that his liver is affected which is why he stopped eating. He also had a tumor in his stomach that I didn’t even know about until the vet had me feel it. He has lost so much weight lately but we didn't expect this outcome when I took him to the vet. The hardest part to take from what the vet said is that the longer we put off the inevitable (putting him down), he will just starve to death. That was tough to hear. It was also difficult to make the appointment for the next day to put him down. It had to happen in the next two days because our schedule is just crazy right now and I didn't want to think about PJ suffering any longer than he had to. This week we are getting our backyard in and having people from church over Thursday afternoon to help lay sod that is getting delivered that day. Then we have the holiday weekend and after that, we are heading to Phoenix for the week. PJ has been for the most part Craig's cat but I will miss him more than I thought. I cried the whole way home after leaving the vet on Monday. Then yesterday, Craig and I were there in the vet’s office to say our final goodbye and stay with him to the end. I was a mess!! Craig actually took it better than I expected and I took it worst than I expected. He was such a good cat for Craig and me. He has always been there when I needed companionship and was such a comfort to have during the many years we dealt with infertility. Even though he was never a "lap cat", it was nice knowing that someone else was with me whenever Craig was out of town. He tolerated the continuous pestering from the kids so well and had adjusted quickly with each move from Texas to Indiana and to Utah. We are so grateful for the time we had with PJ being a part of our family for 12 years and he will be greatly missed.