Summer Days Drifting Away

July has been fun!  I feel like the reason that I haven't been blogging as much is because I am taking so many pictures everyday with my phone and posting them on instagram.  But I'm gonna try to be better because I love looking back through what we have done and I would forget if I didn't take the time to do this. 

We attempted to go to the Spring Creek 4th of July Celebration.  This was while we were waiting in line for hot dogs--then we saw the Bishop pour lighter fluid all over the charcoal and decided that we would just go to Chick-Fil-A--Winning!  Our neighborhood is so fun but there are so many people!  We didn't last long!

On the 4th of July Marc put a picture similar to this on his facebook page and said, "Playing with trucks by Dawns Early Light. Thankful for our Country and all of the freedoms that we enjoy!"  I love that man!  And I love that he is such an amazing dad who loves to play with his boys!

Later that night we went to Marc's sister Heidi's house for the South Family BBQ.  Luke had his first taste of hot dog and he loved it.  Here he is with a mouthful!

Griff got his groove on...

And I made everyone wear Red, White and Blue-- of course! I love Independence Day!

I mentioned before that Griffin is scared of fireworks.  Heidi's whole neighborhood does fireworks in the street and Griffin wouldn't step foot outside.  I finally got him to sit on the couch with me and look out the window, but he WOULD NOT go out there!

I love having a camera at my fingertips at all times! Here are the snapshots for the month!

Lately the boys have both taken a liking to these swim goggles

And Luke likes to wear them around his neck while destroying a box of Kleenex

The boys love to destroy my decor.  They love to rip all of the pillows off the couch so they can jump off and have a soft place to land!

Luke is enjoying more of the decor... table tray, or baby boat?  You decide.

Oh remember Ruka?  She is still cute, especially after she goes to the groomer!

A bus with a bus inside!  Transportation at its finest!

I won't tell you what I made Luke due to earn these beads, Haha!  

And Oh Oh those Summer Nights!

Timpanogos Half Marathon

I had the pleasure of roping my dear friend, McKell, into running a half marathon with me this summer.  It was her first and it was my first since having babies.  It was so fun to train together!  If I had not had a partner to wake up to run with each morning, I could not have done it!

My friends Shelley and Ricks also ran the race and I got in a few training runs with them as well.

McKell and I with a lovely backdrop of Honey Buckets, before the race started

Shelley, Ricks, Me and McKell before the race began.

The race started at Tibble Fork up American Fork Canyon and ran down to American Fork High School.  It was a beautiful and amazing route.  The last 3 miles were feeling really extra long so we kept each other entertained by taking turns naming cities A-Z, then celebrities, then family members.  Anything to keep our minds off of how hot and tired we were!

And finally we made it!

Check out these super sweet medals!

I kept telling McKell how sad I was that this was it.  We trained for so long and I told her that I was gonna miss seeing her every morning!

So grateful for the support of my family.  It meant so much to have them there.  My dad was even there on his bike, but he couldn't make it back past the finish line.  And Steph was there too, just taking the picture.

My sweet sister, Missy, brought me this awesome gift basket to rest and recoop after the race.

So that's just what I did!  It was awesome!

McKell, I can't thank you enough!  I had a blast and can't wait for the next one??? Come on, you know you want to...

Roughing it Smoothly

We headed down to Mona for the Miller Family Campout at the Marble Ranch.  Jokingly we asked our neighbors, the Harmer's, what it would cost to rent their motorhome for the night and they willingly handed over the keys.

Aye, Captian!

Here is the Brute

Here we are claiming our spot next to The Boss Lady!

Here Griff is enjoying the darling comfort of Aunt Steph's most prized possession.

Practicing his winking!

The beautiful view from the ranch

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning to participate in the Mona 5k.  The description this year was, "same course as last year."  So I had to dig deep into my memory to stay on track.  Luckily I made it to Nyla's house and turned right to find the finish line!

Here is our sweaty crew after the race

The first night in Mona we stayed up late watching the movie "RV" projected on the side of the snowmobile trailer.  It was so fun to watch outside with everyone and Griffin had a great time moving from person to person saying, "You wanna snuggle me?"  Then he would curl up on their lap or lay down next to them.  This was Griffin's first time sleeping in a tent (well since he was a baby) and he just stayed up talking until 2AM!  Marc really wanted him to stay in the tent rather than the motorhome.  So Marc and Griff were in the tent and Luke and I were in the motorhome and everyone that didn't have earplugs got to listen to Griffin gab ALL NIGHT LONG!  

So, after such a sleepless night, this dude couldn't keep his eyes open when we got in the car to go on our hike the next day.

Here's the group before we started the short little trek up to the grotto up Payson Canyon.  

My cute mom

Our little family

Steph, Jill, Mom, Missy and Me

On the way back to the car Griff didn't wanna ride in the pack anymore so he hiked with dad.

This guy was happy for the free ride

Here we are enjoying lunch in a little meadow before we got back in the cars

We stopped at the Red Barn in Santaquin for some ice cream before heading home

Who me?

Sadly I don't have anymore pictures of the days events!  We went back to Missy's house and got all the food ready for dinner.  Sat around and gabbed in the backyard, ate dinner, shot clay pigeons and headed out to the best fireworks (besides Blanding) in Utah!  

Griffin is terrified of fireworks and so the anticipation of knowing what was coming had him all worked up.  Marc went to sit with him in the car to calm him down and the first firework went off and Griff buried his head into his dad's shirt and fell asleep!  They were some loud fireworks too!  I don't know how he slept through them?
That night Griffin and Marc slept in the motorhome and Luke and I slept in Missy's house.  It felt like we were separated all weekend and that's usually how it goes.  He takes one boy and I take the other!  Luckily Griffin did much better the 2nd night.  Then we got up early Sunday morning and headed home so that we could make it to Marc's nephew's missionary farewell!

So I will end with a picture of the darling cookies that my mom created for our special family campout.  She had been saving a Martha Stewart magazine for 2 years waiting to try these puppies out.  She did a fabulous job!

Luke's First Birthday

The last year has just flown by!  It was packed with fun and milestones and lots of sleepless nights!  Haha! 

Peek-a-Boo!

Of course we had to celebrate this special occasion for our little Nuker

I love a good theme!  I went with nautical because my neighbors love to sail and I knew that I could get lots of great decorations from them, hey I was trying to be thrifty!  I thought I would try designing my own announcements and decor so I took this opportunity to figure out how!  It was a fun learning experience!

Food!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Chips Ahoy), Sea Salt Caramel Pretzels, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Shrimp Dip and Sea Shell Pasta Salad

On the day of the party things got a little crazy.  Marc was working hard outside to get the yard ready.  We were planning to have the party in the back yard.  He had been mowing the lawn and cleaning up the deck and it was super hot that day.  Then I sent him to my parents to pick up tables and chairs.  He came home and the heat had really gotten to him and he got a migraine.

I still had so much to do and I kind of started to have a breakdown.  I got both the boys down for naps and went into turbo mode.  As I was walking through Walmart talking to my sister telling her that everything was going to be fine I started to bawl.  She jumped right in her car and came to my rescue.  Also, while I was at Walmart, my dear neighbor and friend, Mark B. came in my house and saw what a wreck it was and sent his amazing wife, Torrey (also obviously a dear friend) over to help me out!  Mark B. had already volunteered to make his amazing chocolate chip cookies for me weeks in advance.  While Torrey made all of the chocolate covered strawberries, Steph and her boys helped me put up the decorations, set up the food and get things organized.  Torrey also helped clean up and decorate after she finished the strawberries.  We were supposed to be in the backyard, but while trying to set up the shade tents the wind really picked up and a storm rolled in so we decided to set everything up inside.  So all of Marc's hard work in the heat was for nuthin'!  Those darn migraines!  But honestly, the party would not have happened without Steph and Torrey.  I would have just locked my door and sat in the corner and rocked!  Steph also stayed afterward and did dishes and helped clean up!  I could not have asked for more and I'll never be able to repay you sweet ladies!
And thank you Heath for taking all the photos!

Candy Buffet Favor Table

Gummy Sharks, Tootsie Buoys, Salt Water Taffy, Swedish Fish and Lifesavers

We were surrounded by our wonderful families to spoil our little guy!

Papa Mick

Cousin Carson

Uncle Brent, Aunt Ashlee & Baby

Marc came downstairs for a little bit and sat there in his migraine haze.  

Jake, Kirsten, Caice, Marc, Jeff and Savannah

Addie and Griffin

Mom and the Birthday Boy

The Smash Cake

Smashed!

Quick bath in the sink

Aaaah, much better!

Lots of fun gifts!

This guy is such a joy!  I don't even remember what life was like before he was here.  Luke and Griffin are already best buddies/ ultimate fighters!  We love our little Lukie, Luker, Lukachino!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!