Whew! Six weeks of fun.

What we've been up to in the past six weeks......

Snuggling Max. This kid gets more love than I ever imagined (and it's definitely TOO much love sometimes...poor kid). :)

The kids are loving our garden. They loved picking all of the snap peas and eating them right there. And Emma loves to go out every day and see what's ripe. Gardens are great. Too bad we can't have them year-round.

The Fourth of July was spent with my family this year. It was so fun to spend this day together! I'm so glad they were out here for it.
We did patriotic crafts,

jumped on the tramp,

colored with Aunt Ali (the best colorer in the universe),

watched the neighbors' fireworks, followed by going over to watch the city's fireworks show. It was great!

Even Max enjoyed his first Fourth of July, chillin' with his papa.


Ben turned ___ (I'll let you guess how old he is...). Happy birthday! We went to Tucano's with my parents (minus kids) and enjoyed lunch and a raucous happy birthday song. Isn't Ben awesome with that tambourine???

We had a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. We ate dinner at a park and then had the entire Lehi pool to ourselves from 9-11pm that night. It was late and the kids were tired, but we had a blast. Luke especially loved squirting my mom in the face with these little fountains.

We took a trip to Cascade Springs one afternoon. So pretty up there.

Heritage Park in Cedar Hills is always a fun place to visit in the summertime.

New cowgirl hats! Aren't they stinkin' cute???

We blessed Max! We were able to bless him just before a family reunion so many extended family were able to attend and participate in the blessing. It was great! Doesn't he look so handsome in his little white tux???

I got to meet my new nephew, Michael, five months old. He's so cute!

My grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a bang. We had a beautiful dinner catered by Magleby's, formal family portraits, and a dance DJed by none other than my sweet bro, Cameron. It was so much fun! This is my papa with Luke.

Getting down at the dance!


We've been swimming quite a bit, especially for having a new baby. We swam at the Lehi aquatics center, the pool at my parents' timeshare in Park City, and we tried out the Lindon Aquatics center (which we loved!!!).

A trip to Bridal Veil Falls with our best buddies.

We checked out the new and improved walkway south of BYU campus. There is a beautiful little creek running alongside it and five gorgeous waterfalls. It ends at the Botany Pond where turtles, fish, and ducks abound.


We then ate lunch at Brick Oven. Yummy root beer floats!!!

I know there weren't too many pictures of Max in this post. He deserves his own post, which hopefully I'll be able to get up in the next few days. He's getting so big already!

Mighty Max

Max is 8 days old today! He is so cute. I love it when he's awake and alert and craning his neck around to see everything around him. The kids still love him to pieces and aside from a few more tantrums/meltdowns, they have adjusted pretty well. They literally surround him with love--constantly--and they live for the times when Max is awake and able to look at them. It is adorable.
I know it's hard to really see what Max looks like from the hospital pictures, so I thought I'd post some more of him.
And, by the way, isn't Ben's post about Max's birth just beautiful??? I love how he writes.

Here's a few more cute pictures from the hospital.

We're getting ready to take Max home in this picture. He had to stay an extra day to complete a 48-hour round of antibiotics. (I tested positive for Group B strep and they were only able to get one dose of antibiotics in me before Max was delivered.) It was very hard for me and the kids to go home without the baby. It just didn't feel right. My heart aches for the other mothers I saw in the Level II nursery who have to leave their babies there for several days/weeks. I can't imagine.




And here are some from a few days ago, when Max was 6 days old. I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have a blue-eyed baby this time!!!







Isn't he just perfect???

Baby Max is Here!

Max was born on June 20, 2011 at 9:59 pm. We arrived at the hospital at around 8pm. The labor and delivery were so fast (but not painless) that Ben decided to hurry home and roust the kids so they could bask in the new baby glow with Mom and Dad. (The hospital is only 5 minutes away.) This turned out to be easier said than done. Emma refused to move and Rachel's voice sounded like the girl on the Exorcist. Eventually they all got up and were ecstatic that they were awake when the "whole world" was asleep.

When the kids saw baby Max for the first time, Rachel hopped around the hospital room and clapped her hands for joy. Emma smothered him with kisses and hugs and refused to respect his personal space as she does with Luke. (We fear for the sanity of future boyfriends but I digress.) Even Luke, the supposedly displaced child, could not get enough of baby Max. Max was serene and blinked his eyes approvingly through all of the chaos and euphoria. He seemed to recognize and delight in the sounds of his brother and sisters from when he was in the womb. It was a sweet moment for all.

The Cantaloupe Incident

Someone in our household got a hold of a sharp knife and proceeded to deface a cantaloupe. The culprit is known but shall remain nameless.

Wildflowers and Deer Bones

Dad took Emma and Rachel on a couple of nature hikes in and around Battle Creek Canyon in the mountains above Pleasant Grove. They both loved collecting things along the trail. Wildflowers and deer bones were their favorites. Hmmm... "Wildflowers and Deer Bones." That sounds like the name of my next rock band. It's a better name than Mouse Rat anyway (obscure Parks and Recreation reference).

Waiting for Baby

Go Rachel!

Rachel's preschool program was last night and it was adorable. Rachel's class is crazy--loud, wild kids (mostly boys) were all messing around and being naughty before the show and sweet Rachel is just sitting there in the midst of the chaos, waiting quietly for the show to start. It was so funny.
Rachel did such a wonderful job! She sang all the words and did all the actions and it was just plain cute. We were so proud of her.

Air guitar!



With Miss Melva

Oh, Rachel--we love you so much! You are a sweetheart!