Around My Parent's House

We had a lot of fun just hanging around my parent's house.  Here's Tyler after he met Carter for the first time.

Carter had some sagging issues that day.  He's our little gangster.  :)

Preston absolutely LOVED all the attention!  My dad read him books every chance he got.

Preston saw Grandpa's hats high up in his closet and really wanted to wear it.

I'm so glad my mom likes to give the boys baths.  Less work for me...

and it means I can just sit and take pictures.  Carter loves his bath time.

Of course there was a lot of lego playing going on too.  With both my dad and Uncle Bryant.

My parent's spoiled the boys to death, if you couldn't tell.

Carter loves his Grandpa.

He started grabbing the edge of the blanket a lot while we were there.

I'm glad he's such a content baby, it made the trip a lot easier for me.

One afternoon Bryant turned a PBS cartoon on for Preston.  We found him watching it while sitting in the box full of books and toys.  He did not want to get out either.  What a goof!

Preston also learned how to be a master chef by helping my dad with the grilling one day.

He was always interested in whatever his Grandpa was doing.

Just hanging out around the house with my family was one of my favorite things about our vacation.  Preston actually got upset every time we left their house which is funny because when we're home all he over wants to do is go "bye bye."  :)

Family Filled Sunday

The day after the fourth my 18 brother Kyle was ordained an Elder.  In our church this can happen after a boy turns 18.  I wasn't able to be there when my other brothers were.  A lot of our family was able to come, and it was really special to be able to take part in.

I attempted a makeshift tripod for this picture,and as you can see I barely made it in time, and look kind of funny.  Oh well, at least everyone there was in the picture. :)

My mom made us all a yummy lunch as always.

We also got a few pictures of family while we were there.  I LOVE this picture!  Need I say more?

We also did some four generation pictures.  Here's Tyler and Mara's family with my parent's and grandparents...

and me and my boys with my dad and his parents.  I had to swap a few heads for this one. :)

It was a nice relaxing day.  We always have fun when the whole family gets together!

Fourth of July - The Fireworks

We actually did our fireworks at home the day after the fourth but it still counts right.  Of course I had to get a picture of the Star Spangled Banner.

Preston was very excited for the fireworks.

It's not hard to guess what his favorite thing was.

Snap-its!

He thought is was the funnest thing in the world.  After he got over the fact that they were a little scary.

My brother Kyle is a bit of a pyro.  He made these homemade firecracker bottle rocket things.  They weren't the best idea.  One of them hit Tyler and Mara's car, luckily it didn't get damaged.

Kyle and Bryant lighting off the fountains.

See what I mean about the maniac in him?  He was really excited about this one.  It was one of the coolest ones that are actually legal there.

I've never actually found fountains to be that exciting myself.  But it was fun to watch him have fun lighting them off.

I did break down and try a sparkler or two though.

My dad and old Elliot hung out on the porch...

WIth all the women and babies. :)

The day before we did actually watch real fireworks down in Provo and got to meet up with Gabe's brother Mike and his lovely wife Ashley, they were excited to meet Carter.  If you recall they were married back in April.  They actually live in Arizona but were up visiting her family for the holiday.  Oh, and I think they switched their neon lights right before this picture.

They thought he was an angel baby. ;)

By this point Preston was REALLY tired, hence the binky that's too small.  He didn't like the fireworks people were lighting off around us at all.  He kept saying "noooo, aaall done!"  So my parents got him a neon light to keep him busy.

Carter absolutely loved watching the fireworks.  He was mesmorized.

When they started Preston came and sat with me for a while and decided that he liked the ones "high in the sky."

I even got a chance to take a few pictures.  I wasn't really prepared and we were kind of far away from the stadium, but it's always fun to remember what we saw.

These kind are my favorite!

The night ended with a beautiful, slightly cloudy moonlit sky.

It would have been perfect if only Gabe had been there with us.

Fourth Of July - The Afternoon

After the parade we went on over to a brand new grocery store that my Uncle manages to eat lunch.  Their little deli department actually has amazing meals for really cheap!  Here's the only picture I had of the store, kind of.  Sorry your eyes are closed Mom.

Of course Preston's favorite part was "driving the car."  I think he's convinced he was actually making it move.

Here's the clan sitting at the table for lunch.  My brother Tyler, his wife Mara and their baby Ashton.  Then of course my Grandma and my mom.

My Aunt Tami came down to eat too, and of course Bryant wouldn't look at the camera.

The only picture we could snap of Preston and I.  If you can't tell I'm holding his arms down.  He was trying to get away from the camera... typical.

Bryant's at least looking up i this one, and you can see my dad in the background in his patriotic hat.

I just had to add this picture because it's classic of my Grandma and it makes me laugh.  Here she is with her two beautiful daughters.

After lunch we went over to Tyler and Mara's new place to hang out before the fireworks.  My dad lounged on the couch when he wasn't up putting their crib together, he was working hard.

My mom wanted a picture of Ashton with his cute outfit.  He wasn't too happy about being woken up though. :)

Preston had a good time being mischevious on the stairs when he should have been napping.

And of course Carter napped. :)

We also got to eat yummy sandwiches and watermelon, the perfect meal for a hot July day.