Gavin is walking!

And learning how to go down the stairs!

Utah at it's finest!

We had a family reunion with all my siblings. It takes effort to get us all together now. Here we are in age order: Dan, me, David, Adam, and Rebecca.


Here is just a handful of the cousins playing around.


Brennen and Gavin hit it off great! It was so fun to watch them play.


The kids all got a few rides on this. Who am I to let my daughter ride on that with just a swim suit on? At least she has a helmet on!



I took the kids out to the Three Peaks area to play on the rocks. They had so much fun! I had Gavin in a backpack and by the end he was getting bored. He started pulling my hair and found out I would give him a reaction. He was giving me these full belly laughs. I could only handle it for a few minutes before I had to take him off my back.

First week

We have only been gone a week and I've got so much to show-- this is really for Tyler who has had to miss this. Our hearts are empty without him!

We survived the plane trip.

Mostly because of this....


It was a treat having Grandma Sherman visiting from Arizona.

Tyler's mom's yard sale find... 120 Ponies! Makenzie has been in heaven.

One of the many uncles that Jordan gets to bug. This is Dan, my little bro.


Grandpa Sherman took the kids on their first fishing trip. Luckily everyone caught a fish in the first half hour, because they were done with it and ready to explore the area.


I turned my head and caught Jordan watering the bushes! I couldn't help but capture it on camera. He even said "cheese" for me!

This was Gavin's outdoor playpen. Gavin in the dirt by a lake did not work for me.


Makenzie and her cousin, Lexi, playing in the creek at the park. One of the many memories I had as a child!


Sorry for another bathroom shot with Jordan. I couldn't resist. He couldn't stop playing on the i-phone. He must have learned that from his Dad!

I had a morning playdate with just a few of my hometown friends. We will be friends for life!

To Makenzie's delight, my friend has horses!

House Jumping

I guess the good thing about living in so many homes is being able to know what you like and dislike about each home. When it is finally time to build our dream home, we will know exactly what we want. We got into our new rental home last week. I definitely like the floor plan a lot more than our other home. We've unpacked the basics and tied up any loose strings.

I am now here in Utah with the kids for 2 months. We left Tyler to study hard for one more week before he takes his board exam next Saturday. After that he has to do 3 months of active duty hospital rotations with the Army. He will be going to Hawaii, Washington, and Texas. One of these areas is what we will be calling home for the next 4 years after graduation in May. Tyler will be interviewing while he is there for their OB/GYN programs. Yes, Tyler has decided to become an OB/GYN!!! We will know in December where we are going.

So does that tell you what kind of wife I am-- allowing my husband to join the Army AND become an OB/GYN? When does life ever turn out the way you want? Life is good because they have been guided decisions. I know we will continue to find joy and fulfillment from these choices.

I'm so grateful to come home to see family and friends and all that is familiar. I have missed my hometown. My parents still live in the house that I grew up in since I was born. Last night I went on a jog in the neighborhood. It brings back many memories. I remember riding my bike the same three blocks I was running now and thinking it was so hard to make it up the small incline it made. We loved riding all the way back down to the house without pedaling to see how much speed we can gain and to see how far we could go before we stopped. I remember we rode our bikes up and down our street and would pretend all the mailboxes were gas stations or fast food restaurants with drive throughs. I remember the countless nights we played night games in our yard and basketball games in our driveway. I remember walking to elementary school just one block away for 6 years and always playing down there after school hours. It's fun to take my own kids down there now.

As I was running back home last night, I got to watch the sun set behind the 3-peak mountains. I love the sunsets and never get to see them where I am at now. It's breathtaking! I came home and enjoyed a forgotten Banana Creamie! Coming home has been a comfort food for my soul.

Summer time, Summer time, Sum Sum Summer time!

We had the week to show Mandy and Lexi some of the fun things to do here in Michigan. We went to a children's museum, but I forgot my camera :(

We went to Greenfield Village, where it is set back in the 1800's and early 1900's. We got to ride a carousel, a train, and horse-drawn buggy.


We went on a tour of one of the Ford factories and got to see the assembly line of Ford 150s being built.


We went and saw Toy Story 3.

We went to the Metro Beach, which is off of St. Clair Lake.


The Before

The After



Overall, we stayed busy and enjoyed each other's company. The girls played and played. They laughed at each others non-sense jokes. They stayed up way too late, but what are summers for? The got to help clean up their messes.


Now it is time to pack the house and move. I have been dreading this. I don't want to move, but circumstances have made us find another rental while we are here in Michigan. It's been so inconvenient, but this too shall pass!

The kids.....

Here are pictures of their favorite things to do right now!

Makenzie: Catching bugs and picking flowers


Jordan: Playing the computer (no surprise there!) Don't you love the scab below his nose. He face-planted it on the side walk the other day.


Gavin: Climbing up the stairs. He gravitates to them all the time!

"Are we there yet?"

I heard this phrase way too many times this last weekend. We ventured over to South Dakota for a quick surprise birthday party and family reunion for Tyler's Grandpa. It consisted of A LOT of driving for one weekend. But it was well worth it to see family and also to snatch two of them to bring back home with us for the next week.



We stopped at a park for lunch one day in a small town. It's great having the maps app on Tyler's phone when it comes to searching for things like this.



The trip consisted of paying over $10 in tolls one way through the Chicago area. We detoured away from that on the way home.

With Jordan newly potty-trained, he got to experience peeing on the side of the freeway in the grass. He loved it and requested to pee in the grass the rest of the trip.

We've had a giggle-fest once Makenzie's cousin, Lexi, joined us. While on the trip, the two watched "An American Tail." There is a song in the movie that sings, "There are no cats in America." The whole way home they would replace the word "cats" with some odd word and laugh about what was sung!

Here is Makenzie with her cousins, Cameron and Lexi.



We had to get creative with this boy who really needed a nap in a hotel room full of people. We removed him from all distractions and put him in between the curtains.






Here are some pictures that Tyler's brother, Scott, took of the trip.