Party in Utah

For 4th of July weekend we headed up to Utah to celebrate with our Anderson family.

We learned from our last road trip with Beau to split up the trip as much as possible. So, we stopped in St. George and stayed with our good friends, Jaren & Callie. Jaren's parents were sweet enough to open their home to us for the night, and we finally got to meet sweet baby Aisley! It was so fun.

We made it up to Provo just in time for all the 4th of July festivities.We absolutely loved seeing almost all of Nick's family and getting to introduce Beau to so many new family members and friends! We had the best time. 

Beau just loves talking to his Papa Jim.

Hi Maddie!

Too bad the poor boy isn't loved.

Howdy partner! 

{{cousins}}

Beau even got to see his pretty Aunt Hayley too!

The Andersons. :) Just missing Chris, Meg, and little James Frederick.

 The best part about being at Nick's grandparent's home for the 4th is that the BYU stadium is literally in their backyard. So we just laid some blankets on the grass on got a free show of the Stadium of Fire fireworks! 

We really enjoyed our quality time with the Andersons. I know they miss living in North Carolina but I'm sure glad that they decided to move to Utah....it would just be too hard if we couldn't see them as much a we do!

Beau & Great Grandma Vilda. We just love her so much.

Video games with Uncle Luke. At first it was pretty neat, but then he shot a guy and things got scary. 

Aunt Gretchen! We are so glad she finally came out to Utah!

Aunt Kirsten made it home from Austria just in time for our visit! We missed her and are so glad that she made it home safe. :)

Bobo loves his Grangie. 

Utah is the best, because when visit we get to see both sides of the family!

 And even good friends!

It had been 2 years since we had seen our dear friends, Brent & Lauren Herman. We hadn't even met each other's babies! Our visit was short and sweet but I can't even begin to describe our joy when we saw them. What would we do without Brent, Lauren and Tate in our lives?

We spent our last day in Utah up at my Grandparent's home in Salt Lake. We didn't know it but our little get together turned into a huge extended family party. We LOVED it!

Beau with his Great Aunt Shelley and some pretty 2nd cousins.

Showing off his dimples. :)

Taking a little rest from all the excitement on Grandma & Grandpa's bed. So peaceful.

Great Grandpa Rex

Grandma and Grandpa Pinegar

We feel so blessed that Beau has been able to meet all but one set of his Great Grandparents. They are all so dear to us and we hope that Beau will be able to share some memories of them.

.July.

In July, Beau turned 3 months old!

16 lbs. 25 in.

and yummy as can be.

He just gets more and more fun every month. We love seeing his personality come out.

Around three months he discovered how neat it is to stand up with Dad. From that point on sitting down was overrated.

He also discovered his hands. My favorite thing was when I would catch him staring at his fingers.

Still cracks me up.

We worked hard on rolling over and tummy time. He thought it was so fun.

July was a month of "firsts".

First time in the Bumbo! Or, as we like to call it, Bumbeau. Hilarious.

He's a fan.

First time wearing shoes!

He didn't know what to think about them.

First UNLV outfit.

Such a stud.

First time in the pool.

He liked it, so we spent a lot more time in that nice, refreshing pool.

We got to see my nephew Nixon's FIRST piano recital!

He did such a great job!

My mom has been giving him piano lessons and believe me when I say, it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen. 

As you can see, after our Utah trip, we kept it pretty low key this month. Just enjoyed being home before it came time to go back up to Spokane.

P.S. Just in case I haven't become a big enough obsessed, picture posting mom....

love.of.my.life

♥

The End.

In August, our super fun "Vegas Summer" came to an end.

We were sad to leave all of our family but excited to get back to our cute apartment and all our Law School friends.

The goodbyes were hard...especially for those saying bye to Beau. So, we left them with a little something to remember him by.

Because, was is cuter than a chubby naked baby?

nothing.

We just had to stop in Utah on our way up to Washington, of course.

First stop: Phillip & Katie Smith's home. 

Phillip is like Nick's 3rd brother. Best friends. They are the sweetest family and we can't even begin to tell you how happy we are that Phillip got into BYU and they will be living out west for the next few years! We love how much we have been able to see them lately.

Beautiful Gracie is such a good helper! Never mind that Beau is basically her size. Big boy.

Beau & Tyson taking after their Daddies and becoming best friends already.

Next stop: More friends!

We got to see the Hermans again!

We have the best time with them. Playing games, eating good food and laughing ourselves sick. So much fun.

Beau & Tate.

I was too busy having fun and forgot to take pictures of the adults. Whoops.

After that we got to see my brother, Joel and his family! 

We missed them so much while they were in MN this summer. I'm so glad that we were able to squeeze in a little visit.

Stone was so good at sharing.

His toys^ and even an outfit for Beau to wear to church...

Baby pictures only. Whoops, again.

Last but not least we spent a few days in Ogden with Nick's family and let this baby boy be doted on just a little bit more.

We gave our final hugs and kisses then set off for our 10 hour drive!

Beau was not thrilled about being in his car seat for that long but we survived. 

Nick had the brilliant idea of leaving at 6pm and driving all through the night. I was nervous but the plan was genius... Beau slept for almost the entire drive.

We had the best summer. A huge thank you to my parents for letting us live with them for those 3 months. We made some wonderful memories and they will always be cherished.

Beau's blessing.

May 12th marked Beau's 1 month birthday and my very first Mother's Day!

What better way to celebrate than to gather tons of friends and family and have Nick give Beau his baby blessing?

Such an absolutely special day.

I can't even begin to describe the pride, joy, and swelling in my heart that I felt when I saw my handsome husband take my perfect son up to the stand and watch them be surrounded by so many wonderful men in my life. They were all there for my baby. I was so touched. Beau has so many wonderful men to look up to as he grows up.

Nick gave Beau such a beautiful blessing and then brought him right back into his crying Mama's arms.

Just a few of the wonderful friends and family that came to celebrate Beau

Grandma & Grandpa Nelson

Grandma & Grandpa Anderson

{My first Mother's Day}

{1 month old}

My everything.

 That day will always hold a special place in my heart.