Bear Lake & The 4th of July

We always go up to Bear Lake over the 4th of July. We were able to spend a week up there and as always had a blast! There were people coming and going all week and we drove down on the 3rd to bless Ella in our Ward and drove back up. I absolutely LOVE Bear Lake!! I have so many fond memories of Bear Lake and I am so excited that my gals are able to start to get their own memories of fun times at the Cabin- they love it and keep asking when we are going back. Paula's family was up there with us and are so good to help with my kids. Paula spent a lot of time holding Ella for me and it was nice to be able to have some one-on-one with Brooklyn and Gracie. I feel like since Ella was born they get put off a lot. When Sean was up we were able to go go-carting, get a shaved ice, and go swimming. My little family is so blessed to have so many people that love us and are willing to help us- I couldn't have done it without all the help I got!

We enjoyed swimming, mini-golf, and the beach at Ideal Beach. My cousin's Lori and Camille are always at Ideal Beach the same week and we have fun spending time with them and their kids. My gals LOVE their kids. Brooklyn is especially taken with Elisha- and she is such a good sport to tote Brooklyn along with her.

We spent the majority of the day outside playing- my mom bought the fun squirters and the kids had a blast playing with them. I wish I would've gotten a picture when she lined them up and told them the rules of playing in the water- I don't think the teacher in her will ever be gone. If they didn't obey the rules they had to come in the cabin for a time-out. The kids (for the most part) took the rules very seriously and there was plenty of tattling when someone wasn't obeying the rules.



The kiddos didn't have an adequate pool so when my uncle Ric went down for the Cruise-In, he bought a pool and brought back up. They had a BLAST in it!



My mom also bought some water balloons for the kiddos. Gracie didn't want anything to do with them and Brooklyn and Garrett loved them and loved filling them up by themselves.







Ella was a champ on her first outing to the cabin and loved being held by anyone who would hold her.

One day we heard a commotion outside and looked to see almost every rule being broken- Ric, Brooklyn, and Garrett were having a great water fight.

Nat and I braved it and took the 4 kiddos to the beach. They loved digging in the sand.

We were even able to get a pretty descent picture of all 5 of the kids.

My 4th of July cuties!

We did some fireworks before the firework show on the lake and the kids had so much fun! Garrett and Brooklyn loved the sparklers- Gracie, ever the cautious one, like them but not too close. Notice the picture of my dad holding the sparkler and her trying to get as far away as possible!

Ella's Blessing

Dear Ella-

On Sunday July 3rd, you were blessed at our church by daddy. You were given the name Ella Sue. Daddy gave you a very special blessing. You looked so beautiful in your white dress and were an angel all day! You had lots of people there to support you. All of your aunts and uncles were there except uncle David was home in North Carolina. Ella you are a very special little girl! Your have the sweetest little spirit and bring so much joy and happiness into our home. Your older sisters love you so much and you are quite fond of them already. You light up when you see them or hear their voices. Mommy and daddy love you so much. You have a very special name. Ella was the name of my great grandma Petersen. I have so many great memories of her. She lived in the cutest little house in Newton- I loved to explore that house with aunt Nat and uncle Brett. I loved to go and visit her. Every so often after my piano lessons, I would go visit her. She would always request that I go into the parlor and play a song on her beautiful upright piano. She was a tiny lady with a lot of spunk- she lived to be 102. Sue is the name of my mom, your grandma and it is also my middle name. I have always loved having Sue as my middle name and I hope you do to! You had quite the crowd standing in your circle as you were blessed- so you will know who was there- daddy, Bishop Todd Brown, grandpa Pops, grandma Maynard, great grandpa Harris, uncle Brian, uncle Derk, uncle Brett, uncle Karl, uncle Keith, uncle Brent, Ric, Matt, my uncle Ron, my uncle Kevin, my cousin Grayson, and daddy's friend David. After the blessing, we had a dinner at the bowery in Wellsville. It was a VERY hot day- 104 degrees. We were staying up at Bear Lake and drove down for your blessing and then drove back up after the dinner. Ella, I love you so much!

Love- Mommy

Ella- 6 Week Photos

I can't believe that 2 weeks have come and gone since I got Ella's 6 week pictures taken. We have a good friend, Dani, that took the pictures for us. Ella was being a little stinker, but Dani was so patient. Thanks Dani we love them! (here are a few of my favs)

Next up- the 4th at Bear Lake, The Relay, and the gals swim lessons.

Catching Up and Life with 3!!

*In the true spirit of the title of this post- I have been catching up on my blog and there are 7 new posts below this one.*

The past 6 1/2 weeks of my life have been chaotic! Good but chaotic! I feel like I can't keep on top of anything. I heard two different things about having 3 kids. First- some people said that 3 was the one that about put them under because you only have 2 hands. Second- that 3 isn't that big of a deal really not harder than 2. So far in our home the adjustment to having 3 has been easier for me than it was going from 1 to 2. I think it was harder when we had Gracie because it was hard to see how the whole thing was affecting Brooklyn. With Ella, Brooklyn and Gracie have each other. There have for sure been some behavior problems and issues but not too bad. I am tired. I don't remember being this tired with Brooklyn and Gracie- I guess I was able to rest a little more. Plus Sean did remind me that I am older too. :) It is also hard for me feeling like I am constantly putting Brooklyn and Gracie off. Somedays I feel like all I say to them is "just a minute" "in a minute- I need to feed Ella" "not right now" you get the point. But with the hard things there are the precious things- like seeing the way Brooklyn and Gracie love Ella, seeing the joy that a new baby brings to anyone around, the night feedings when it is just her and I, the smell of a new baby, the spirit that surrounds Ella, the way when I am burping her she will lift her head off my shoulder and look right into my eyes, Sean and Ella cuddling on the couch, seeing the first smile, and the way that you don't think your heart has anymore room to love and it grows and you love this new little person with your whole being. So so sum it up, life with 3 is chaotic but GREAT and I feel so blessed to be the mother of these 3 beautiful girls!!!

I love that Ella is flipping the bird in this picture! (haha)

This picture was to show how her hair sticks straight up on that side. It is so funny!

Grandma Maynard

A couple weeks ago, we got a call from Sean's mom telling us that his grandma had had a stroke. She passed away a few days later. Yesterday was her funeral. It was a really nice day and a funeral. Sean talked and did a fabulous job- she would have been very proud of him. Grandma Maynard was living at Legacy House (assisted living) when I had Ella- Sean's mom wheeled grandma over to come and see her. She loved Ella and anyone else in the room had a hard time holding her because grandma wanted to the whole time. :) As she was holding her she would give the cutest giggle and say, "she is just so cute!" I hope that I never forget that cute little giggle and how taken she was with Ella. She also loved Brooklyn and Gracie and loved them to sing to her when we would visit. She is will deeply missed and is loved a lot!

I love these 2 pictures- the last 2 that I took of her with my girls

This picture was taken on her birthday this year at Legacy House



Maggie, Emma, Celina, Brooklyn, Grandma, Gracie, Ali, Jonah



I also love this picture of Sean and the gals with grandma last Halloween



Aaron, Audrey, Ali, Gracie, Maggie, Celina, Emma, Lexi, Ryan, Jonah, Lauren, Brooklyn, Ella, and Becca

Sean's sister Evelyn moved to North Carolina 2 years ago and hasn't been home since. We have had so much fun spending time with her and her kids. They are missed a lot!! After the funeral we attempted to get a picture with all of them. Good luck to us trying to get 14 kids holding still and looking at a camera- smiling!

This picture is classic- not one of them is looking at the camera

Books N Buddies

My sister-in-law Shawna told us about a fun activity at the USU Firestation called Books N Buddies. The firemen are there and teach about bike safety, fire safety, and water safety. Each kid got a book, got to see inside a firetruck, and had some different activities to do as well. It was a lot of fun and the gals enjoyed it and playing with their cousins.

Gracie on the left and her cousin Aaron on the right. The kids loved this activity- they had to wear a life jacket and get pulled on tubes behind a 4-wheeler. As they were going they got sprayed with water from a firefighter.



Brooklyn insisted on taking Abby- Abby not so much a fan. Cousin Audrey on the right. The guy pulling them took them a little too far and they went off the curb and almost went face first onto the blacktop- luckily Brooklyn held on tight to Abby so no injuries occurred.



Gracie, Brooklyn, and Garrett being taught some fire safety information- I love how serious they are all taking it.

Ali and Gracie enjoyed playing inside the firestation.

The girls were sitting up there when the alarm went off and the firemen were being called out. They got in their gear fast and I quickly grabbed the girls.





Sean's sister Evelyn is visiting from North Carolina and they joined us there. Audrey holding Emma, Ali, Brooklyn, Ryan, Gracie, Aaron, and Lauren

Cooling off with a frosty at Wendy's