In the Spotlight...

Our boys were featured in the Primary Spotlight section

of our ward's January Newsletter.

The write ups are so darling, I just had to share...

Our Primary Secretary is amazing!

(Thanks, Susan!)

Their interviews were a crack-up!

No shortage of personality in our house!

{Hee hee!}

But I do get a kick out of hearing their perspective on things

and I love to hear their budding testimonies...

So... Here's for posterity!

~

Ten year old Kaden Staker likes "The Hunger Games" series

because "the idea is so cool!"

He also likes the writing with it's twists and turns at every chapter.

Kaden would like to either be a computer animator or a football player.

He loves steak...

Closely followed by spaghetti, orange chicken, quesadillas and french toast.

"I Love to See the Temple" is his favorite Primary song.

The humble and brave missionary Ammon is his hero.

He admires the way Ammon "served King Lamoni

and taught him that Heavenly Father was real."

He also thinks that it is "pretty cool that he cut off all the bad guys arms."

As for a mission, Kaden has narrowed his choices to either New York or Nevada...

New York because "there are lots of non-Mormons there to teach

and lots of cool things to see."

Nevada because "Las Vegas is there... and it needs help!"

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Ribs, Fajitas, steak, chicken nuggets, pizza, spaghetti, tacos & hot dogs

are all Trevan Staker's favorite foods.

As a future Fire Fighter he'll need all that protein to help repair his worn out muscles.

He wants to be a Fire Fighter so he can "save people and drive a big truck with lights...

and go really fast!"

Trevan likes to read "The Lemonade Wars" by Jacqueline Davies.

He also likes to read "I Love You Stinky Face" because it is his family's favorite.

Before he heads off to firefighter training, Trevan would like to serve a mission to New York.

He thinks New york is "awesome and there are so many people he could teach!"

Trevan's first scripture hero is Jesus-- "because he sacrificed His life for all of us."

He also admires Alma "for the way he changed his life after he saw the angel"

and "because he was an awesome missionary after that!"

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"I Love You, Stinky Face" is also Daynen Staker's favorite book.

It's a good day when you get ot read your favorite book

and have "Macky Cheese" and "Chicky Nuggies" for lunch.

When Daynen grows up, he wants to be like his oldest brother, Kaden

and have big muscles like his daddy.

Daynen can't limit his favorite Primary Song to just one.

Currently, he has 3 favorites:

"I am a Child of God", "I Love to See the Temple"

and of course that old Primary hit

"You've Got a Friend in Me."

Daynen says he'd like to serve a mission in Disneyland with his green back pack

and quickly added, "Don't forget my green backpack, Mom!"

One day, Daynen's mom asked him to name his favorite scripture hero.

The conversation went something like this:

Mom: Daynen, who is your favorite scripture hero?

Dayne: Buzz Lipe-year! And Woody!

Mom: No, sweetie... Those are toys. Who is your hero from real life?

Dayne: Ummmm.... Justin Beiber!

Mom (and brothers, all laughing hysterically): No! Your scripture hero, Silly!

Dayne: Ummmmm... Spiderman!

Mom: No! He's not in real life or n the scriptures!

Dayne: Spiderman is too in real life! And he should be in the scriptures!

(Guess we'll keep working on that! Ha!)

~

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"Kwinko, Kwinko Yiddo Staw" is wee Bronson's favorite Primary song.

Bronson's barely 2, but he already knows he wants to be a dad when he grows up.

He thinks chocolate milk, chips and ice cream are yummy in his tummy.

His favorite books are "I Love You, Stinky Face"

and "Good Boy, Fergus."

He says he likes it "cuz I knows all da words."

Bronson's scripture hero is his friend Jesus.

When asked where he wants to go on his mission,

he replied, "To infiniddy and beyond" Just like Buzz "Lipe"-year!

~

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Way to go, Boys!

We are so proud of you!

Sparkling afternoon...

A very fine mist of snow has been gently falling since the wee hours this morning

and has continued silently into this afternoon.

It's so fine that you'd hardly even notice it

if it weren't for your windshield needing an occasional swipe.

~

~

It helped when the sun started to peek through a few hours ago,

because now it sparkles as it cascades down from Heaven.

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And everything previously gray and dingy

has suddenly been covered with a fresh, sparkly clean coat.

~

~

You gotta hand this one to Mother Nature...

The effect is quite stunning, I must say.

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(The pictures don't do it justice at all.)

~

Well, a little bit ago,

as we backed out of the garage on our way out for a couple errands,

Dayne looked out the window and gasped, "Oh, my!"

I chuckled because it sounded so funny and so old-fashioned...

not one of his normal expressions...

"What?", I asked.

"The sky is glittering!", he said.

"Ha!", I laughed out loud.

It really did look exactly like glitter!

~

I looked back at him,

awestruck,

watching intently out the window as we pulled down the street

~

~

and smiled to myself,

so thankful for this little boy...

his enthusiasm,

his happy, pleasant, optismistic nature

and his utter and absolute zest for life and all things in it.

~

Just then he whispered,

"And it is so bea-U-tee-full, Mom!"

~

Yes, Daynen... It is beautiful.

LIFE is beautiful!

And I am so blessed to see it through your eyes!

How $17.99 may just save our sanity...

So they say, "Drastic times call for drastic measures."

Well, this drastic measure may have just saved our sanity...

Certainly, a good night's sleep...

(And quite possibly also our marriage!)

~

So I did it today!

Took our drastic measure...

I've been thinking about it for a week, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it.

But today I finally broke down and bought it.

A nice, plush 42"round... Puppy Pillow.

Why, you ask?

Are we getting a puppy for our puppy-crazed boys?

Oh, no!

(We're not THAT desperate!

They are still just begging for now...)

~

Oh, no.

You see...

The puppy bed is for my son.

My baby.

The boy we all love...

It is for Bronson.

My sweet 2 year old who has decided he is done taking naps.

The very same child who I am convinced sleeps less than any other toddler on the planet.

Now, to be clear, this Puppy Bed is not meant as any sort of statement, for heaven's sake.

It actually represents a very diplomatic compromise.

One that has been months in the making.

Bronson, you see, has been battling with us for quite some time

over what he apparently feels are unacceptable sleeping accommodations.

Namely his C-R-I-B...

Yes, that's right.

It is definitely a four letter word.

And we have outlawed it in our home

to prevent the inevitable melt downs that even its' mere mention induces...

And so, as the kind, loving, accommodating parents that we are,

we naturally offered him the alternative of double-bunking

in his brother Daynen's full-size bed.

This worked for several nights

and these two little peas in a pod were as snug as bugs in a rug...

Until Bronson rolled off in the middle of the night.

He wasn't hurt, thank goodness...

In fact he landed on pillows

that had been carefully placed on the floor

in case of just such an occurrence.

But it bruised his pride

and his confidence just enough

that another alternate site had to be located.

~

This time to big brother Kaden's side he went.

...Until he wore out his welcome.

~

And so the real battle began.

A turf war.

Waged on a king-sized mattress between two sheets, beneath our comforter.

It's not a new battle.

It's as ageless as the family itself.

Mommy and Daddy separated by the toddler,

who insists on sleeping horizontally in the middle.

If you have kids, you know...

No matter how many times you try to turn the little tike upright,

he always makes an "H" of us by morning.

And while Matt gets the warm, steamy breathing, half an inch from his face,

I always get the feet.

And usually to my head.

Or face.

Or both.

All.

Night.

Long.

Now, let me stop here to say how very grateful I am for this arrangement.

It is certainly preferable to many, many other alternatives.

And believe me...

I am NOT complaining...

It's just that, well... it is a bit... tiring...

after many, many,

many...

months.

Let me also invite anyone out there who thinks they have a better idea,

or one that we haven't already tried...

consistently for several weeks...

to come right on over and sleep-train our toddler...

I assure you.

We are very aware that it has become a battle of will.

That we, quite obviously are losing.

I also assure you,

it is decisive, selective and adamantly expressed.

And there IS no other acceptable alternative location.

Trust us.

~

A couple of times we have joked that we should just change bedrooms.

Or go sleep in our spare bedroom after he falls asleep.

Ha!

But no.

~

Instead, we have decided to embrace the opportunity.

Knowing it will eventually run it's course.

And that someday we will miss those wiggly little feet.

And that atrocious morning breath.

And the little boy they belong to.

~

And so we have conceded...

To something we would never have allowed from his brothers.

And been a crowded party of 3 for quite some time.

~

Recently, we have taken to making a little bed of pillows on the floor at the foot of our bed.

We even brought in a Bean-Bag from our Theatre...

But then he'd end up all sticky and sweaty (it's "pleather")

and all slumped over...

It didn't look comfy, at all.

~

But it did give me the idea.

"A giant pillow", I thought.

That could be stored under the end of our bed.

Out of sight, beneath the bedskirt, by day.

And loved, by all, at night.

Just an extension of our bed, really.

An annex.

But safely at floor's level.

And with room enough to spare for all of us...

I smile, yawn and stretch just thinking about it!

.

.

Surely, I am not the first to think of this,

but still, I felt proud of this brilliant solution.

~

And further more, I would make one, the crafty side of me decided.

But alas, the busy-mom-at-Christmas side of me has not quite gotten to it yet.

~

And then...

Then, I saw the Puppy Pillows at Costco.

For the very low price 0f $17.99.

I could not buy the fabric, let alone the stuffing for that!

But it was a DOG BED!

And this was my SON!

I just could not quite wrap my mind around that...

Until,

Today.

And it has been pure Puppy-Pillow LOVE all afternoon!

In fact, I only narrowly escaped Costco , without a matching set!

(Dayne wanted one for himself and I nearly had to buy two!)

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It might also be the new favorite movie spot!

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~

And aaaah!

I can feel a good night's rest coming on, already!

"Hoo-hoo" has an opinion?

I LOVE that my boys are strong willed.

I LOVE that they are driven, assertive and know what they want.

I LOVE that they stand up for what they believe in, without backing down, I really do.

I even LOVE their over-stated, sometimes quite surprisingly, very strong opinions...

Especially the ones that make me chuckle...

~

Well, we've been meaning to see this movie for a while and just hadn't made it yet.

You know, other priorities first.

But somehow it finally snuck up to the top of our list.

.

.

So we took the boys out to the Buck-Flick...

We thought they would all LOVE it...

Ha!

Well, the big boys sat glued, as expected...

And Bronson, wild monkey,

took advantage of the nearly empty theatre

and ran up...

and down...

and back...

and forth...

and through...

the aisles...

just his little blonde head silently bobbing up and down,

glowing above the seat tops in front of us.

{Sigh}

Honestly...

Who ARE his parents to allow that sort of behavior?

So anyway, he and I missed half of it...

~

But it was our D who was the surprise!

...He is such a movie buff!

He'll watch anything!

And he has LOVED every other 3D movie that he's seen,

which is why this came as such a shock!

Halfway through,

upon my return from yet another run to the Lobby

with my crazy little maniac,

I found D slumped and scowling in his booster,

glaring at the big screen over the tops of his 3D glasses.

"D, what's wrong?", I whispered.

He gruffly and not-so-quietly whispered back,

"I want to go home!"

"What?", I asked, genuinely surprised.

"I hate this movie!", again, not-so-quiet.

"Why? What's the matter?", trying to soothe him.

Then this, increasingly louder and with pure and unmistakable spite,

"I HATE owls!"

Snickers from the handful of other theatre-goers within a few rows' vicinity*...

Well, there you have it...

Hooooo knew?

~

*My apologies to anyone who was there, trying to quietly enjoy their night out...

But hey!

Glad we could help entertain you for the evening!

A Tower of Cups and a Wheat Field...

So we blend a lot of smoothies here at our house...
Several per day, usually.
We put them in clear plastic cups so they are easy to take when we are on the go.
Which is often.
But in an effort to be conservative

(and since they melt in the dishwasher),
we wash and rinse the cups out,
then place them in the windowsill to dry
so that we can reuse them.
There are usually one... or two... in the corner of our windowsill.
But since we've had houseguests this week, we've made quite a few extra smoothies.
Even more than normal.
So we've had this little pyramid going...
.
.
Well, this morning, after breakfast,
I lifted Daynen up to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.
He looked at them and said, "Cool! Are doze Jesus cups?"
I wasn't sure I understood what he meant...
My mind was puzzling over whether he meant,

Mmm... like really big sacrament cups, er what?
So I said, "What kind of cups?"
He repeated, "Jesus cups! Let's do the trick!"
Still confused, I said, "What trick? Show me."
He reached for the center cup on the bottom row and pulled it out,
explaining, "Like when Jesus dies and dey awe come tumb-wing down
and da choo-wuch cah-w-ashes."
(Toddlerese to English Translation: ... and they all come tumbling down and the church crashes.")
.
OH!

Ha!
Right!
I couldn't help but smile as I caught on and realized what he was saying.
I guess he really WAS listening at Family Home Evening last week
when we had our lesson about The Great Apostasy...
We labeled some of those same plastic cups and then stacked them,
creating a tower to represent the Church as it was when Jesus Christ was here upon the earth.
Then we pulled out the bottom cup (representing Christ as the foundation of the Church)
and talked about how it all fell apart after his death and the martyrdom of the apostles.
We showed the boys how many of the same principles and ordinances of the gospel remained,
but explained that some were lost, distorted, misinterpreted or even forgotten.

We told them how these scattered pieces were used to build other doctrines

throughout the ages, but remained incomplete until The Restoration.
The big boys seemed to understand the object lesson,
but of course the little ones were way more interested in just building and crashing towers.
The rest went right past them.

Or so I thought...
So imagine my surprise when my sweet, barely-3 year old replays the message to me.
All on his own!
Almost a whole week later!
It was one of those far-too-few-and-far-between "Parent Pay-offs".

You know...
When you realize something you thought went right over their heads,
actually stuck.
Even just a little!
...Guess we'll keep at it!
.
It also reminded me of a particularly touching talk from last fall's General Conference...
Reaffirmed to me the total and absolute truth of it.
Like many other moms, I sometimes struggle with feeling like I just try SOOO hard...
And for what?
The job often feels overwhelming and fruitless.
Trying to get everyone to cooperate and do the right thing
seems like a lot of hard work
and often even ends up feeling counter-productive.

Sometimes I feel like I. Just. CAN'T. Do. It.

.
So Elder Bednar's talk pierced me to the core
and warmed my very soul with a rekindled commitment for consistency.
Despite the sometimes discouraging individual instances.

.
I remember sitting in my car in the Costco parking lot.

Too paralyzed to get out and go inside

as I listened to his words stream in over the radio.

I could not move.
Feeling so filled that my emotions were spilling over.
Streaming silently down my cheeks.
I heard... really HEARD... his words.
Spoken as if straight to me.
It felt as if the teardrops spotting the bosom of my t-shirt
were imbedding them indellibly upon my heart.
.
So as a reminder to myself,
and to share with anyone reading, who may also benefit,
here is the part that I just loved:
"As our sons were growing up, our family did what you have done and what you now do.
We had regular family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening.
Now, I am sure what I am about to describe has never occurred in your home, but it did in ours.
.
Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered
if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile.
Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts
such as “He’s touching me!”
“Make him stop looking at me!”
“Mom, he’s breathing my air!”
Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking.
And with active, rambunctious boys,
family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification.

.

{Uh... ya think? This sounds oddly familiar...}

.
At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated
because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster
did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.
.
Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember
about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening,
I believe I know how they would answer.
They likely would not identify a particular prayer
or a specific instance of scripture study
or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson
as the defining moment in their spiritual development.
What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent.
.
Sister Bednar and I thought helping our sons understand the content
of a particular lesson or a specific scripture was the ultimate outcome.
But such a result does not occur each time we study or pray or learn together.
The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson—
a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time.
.
In my office is a beautiful painting of a wheat field.
The painting is a vast collection of individual brushstrokes—
none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive.
In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass
of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint.
However, as you gradually move away from the canvas,
all of the individual brushstrokes combine together
and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field.
Many ordinary, individual brushstrokes work together
to create a captivating and beautiful painting.
.

.
Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study,
and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls.
No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable.
But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other
and produce an impressive masterpiece,
so our consistency in doing seemingly small things
can lead to significant spiritual results.
“Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing,
for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.
And out of small things proceedeth that which is great”
.
Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes."
.
That message and that image of the wheat field has stayed with me.
So, here, in this simple stack of plastic cups drying in my kitchen windowsill,
I realized...
Again.
I am painting.
Still painting.
Ever painting.
One. Stroke. At. A. Time.
Painting the portrait of my own ever-growing, testimony
and imprinting it upon the hearts of my children.

Helping them to paint their own.

As artists of their own souls.
One prayer.
One scripture study.
One Family Home Evening.
One heart-to-heart chat.
One teaching moment.
One plastic cup tower. At. A. Time...

.

And THAT...

Well, THAT, I CAN do.

For today.

Potty Success!

What a big boy Dayne has been lately!

He even stepped it up another notch today...

He peed on the potty!

He was soooo proud of himself!

Can you tell?

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Look at that huge grin!

And those awesome Lightning McQueen underoos...

Well, if they aren't the dang cutest thing ever!

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He was adamant about doing everything all by himself...

Flushing bye-bye...

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Washing "wif soap"...

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On his tippy-tippy toes...

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And racing down to the Game Room Candy Store to pick out a sweet treat!

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A Dum-dum, of course! His fave!

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Hmmm...

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Maybe this big boy stuff isn't so hard after all!

"Normal" is as normal does... right?

As we try to settle back in to our life,
everything feels so similar, almost comfortable...
but somehow surprisingly different...
I guess we are still trying to find a new "normal"...
.
But this is about as 'normal' as it gets around here!
STRAPPED tightly into their highchairs,
side-by-side,
giggling at my silly lunch-making antics...
like Peanut Butter & Jelly Peek-a-Boo.
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These two little stinkers are like two peas in a pod!
B follows his big bro around all day, just starstruck.
Mimicking every motion and gesture. Repeating the inflection of every phrase.
Eager to be on to the newest mischevious adventure.
D eats it up.
Loves to be the center of attention. Loves to be adored.
Such a pair.
Oh, what would I do without the TWO of them!

Little Bruiser...

So these pics don't REALLY do it justice,

but Little D got his first-ever "Shiner" ...

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Yeah...

He somehow rolled over the pillow barricade

and out of his new Big-Boy-Bed at about 4 am the night before last...

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Thankfully, his roommate, Big Bro T, was a Hero and came running full-speed down the hall

to tell a still-sleeping Mom & Dad that D was "stuck".

And indeed he WAS really quite STUCK!

It took even ME a few long seconds to unwedge him from the little crevice he had rolled into

(which, FYI, we are now packing with pillows at bedtime to prevent a recurrence!).

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Well, as you can see here, THANKFULLY, there seems to be no permanent damage.

(Just the black-eye, which is already looking so much better!)

He woke up happy and smiling as ever

and hasn't hesitated for even a second about getting back into his new bed.

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...Phew! (Because the crib will soon be re-occupied!)

Cutie Patooties...

Just had to show off a few faves from my current

Top-Secret Project...

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Hint, Hint...

Make sure to e-mail your current address if you want one of Baby B's

"Ooh-so-darling-already-and-he's-not-even-born-yet" Birth Announcements!

Squaw Peak...

So we followed this...

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And ended up here... At the top of the World!

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(Well, okay... the top of Provo/Utah Valley at least!)

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Kade & Trev have never seen the entire cityscape before and were in awe...

Trevan asked if it was bigger than New York City...

(Uuhhhh... not quite, Buddy!)

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But pretty, still the same!
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I'm not much of a Landscape Photographer,

but I had fun taking a few shots of the beautiful view...

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The clouds were so cool!

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The boys and I were actually the "Designated Drivers/Shuttle"

for Matt's Priest's Quorum, who biked one of the trails tonight for their YM Activity.

..
What a bunch of tough guys...

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Matt and Len, their "Fearless Leaders"...

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And check out this HOTTIE! Woot-woo!

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My Man has become quite the Night Rider, lately!

He usually goes biking up the Canyon several evenings a week (2-4)

and loves scoping out new trails to try with his buddies.

(They actually ride with helmet lamps late at night! So fun for them!)

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And of course, as we shuttled back up to get the other cars,

I couldn't resist taking a few more photos of the gorgeous night-time view...

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A rare sight for me, that he enjoys all the time...

I'm going to have to get him to let me tag along more often!

Supersonic loves my children...

It is safe to assume I will be taking a trip to the Carwash tomorrow...

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and this is after just ONE Chip!

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Who knew you could make this much of a mess with one Chocolate Chip Cookie!

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And who thought digging the cherries out of the cooler was a good idea?

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Cherries!?

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Oh the joys of a Road Trip with kids!

For the record, I have forbidden my boys to even look at food while in the car until they are at least 12...

Relaxing Day at the Pool?

...Yep!

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One of the things we adore about our Little D is how happy and uber-easy-going he is...

Seriously, he is soooo chill!

We can go anywhere and do anything and he is just thrilled to be along for the ride!

(Really, how many kids do you know that fall asleep IN the pool?)

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And I love that he is still clutching the little goggle strap that Matt tied on for him to play with!

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What a sweetie!