Semper Fi

My little Brother has always said the he wanted to be in the military like my Dad (my Dad was in the Army reserves while he finished Nursing school) so it was not much of a surprise when he joined the Marines last Summer. He finished OTC last Summer and then finished his degree at ASU in May. Because he was in a different track than most officers (ok, can you tell I couldn't really figure out what was going on) he was commissioned by himself a few weeks ago in a building downtown. It was really fun to go and watch this, it made me so proud to be an American and so proud of my Brother for his choice to serve our country. Sometimes I still think of him as the awkward teenage boy that he was in high school so it surprises me when I see him do this and realize how grown up and mature he is. We are going to miss him when he leaves for training school in March.

We had to wait in the hallway until they were ready for us, so Aaron was showing Olivia and Meghan the proper way to salute-I'm not sure they caught on-but they sure look cute!!

Here is Aaron taking the pledge to defend our constitution.

They had my Mom pin on one bar and Aaron's wife Chelsea pin on the other.

Aaron with my Mom and his wife.

The whole crew. The officer that was in charge said that it was the biggest crowd he had ever seen for a commissioning. We are so proud of our Marine!!!

Trip-Part 3

The next week we left Utah to head on up to Wyoming. This house used to belong to my Grandparents before they passed away. It carries so many memories for me because I used to come her every summer for family vacation. It has not changed at all, all of the furniture is the same so it is kind of like being in a time warp.

Daddy and Owen relaxing on the couch.

I love this picture-Alex was trying to wrestle with Owen and Owen just kept staring at him like-what are you doing??

My Sister and her kids came up for 5 days with us. This is Warren with smore all over his face.

This is why we love to come to Wyoming in the summer, it is still cool enough in the evenings to put on long sleeves and have a weenie roast. The kids loved cooking their own hot dogs and of course they loved the smores!!

Alex and Owen enjoying the fire.

Trip-Part 2

The next day we got up and finished the drive to Utah. We love going to Utah because my favorite Sister lives there with her family and Alex's parents also live there so we get to visit with both of them.

We went to a park by Grandma and Grandpas house for their ward breakfast on the 4th.

That night we went to my sisters house for a BBQ and fireworks. Abby loved the sparklers.

The best part was the homemade strawberry ice cream with strawberries from the Bodilys Garden. We had such a good time in Utah with friends and family-Thanks for letting us come and stay!!

Trip Part 1-Vegas

I was worried about driving all the way to Utah with Owen being so little so we decided to break it up and stay a night in Las Vegas. We got a great deal on a room and stayed at the Excalibur. The girls loved staying in a castle. During the day we walked around to all the shops inside the hotel and I took the girls swimming in the pool while Alex and Owen took naps.

Here is Owen practising to be a Viking.

That evening we took the kids down the strip-we didn't get far because it was hot and the girls were so tired. We did stop and watch the Bellagio Fountain-the girls loved it.

We also stopped at the M&M factory store. I think that we will do this every time. It was a nice and cheap break from the long drive.

Growing

My little boy in growing!! We went to the doctor yesterday and he is now a whopping 18 lbs and 28 in. long. This puts him in the 80th percentile for weight and head circ. and 105 percentile for height. I thought because he is so big that he would be slow to move, but he can get everywhere now. He can roll, spin and scoot as well as get up on his hands and knees and rock. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. He is such a good baby and we all just adore him. Lately in the evenings-we turn off the tv and just sit around and laugh at him. He has the best giggle and belly laugh. He has such a sweet little spirit and the other day Olivia told me that Heavenly Father must have sent us Owen because He knew how much she would love him. I don't think that I could have put it better myself. We love Owen!!!

Giveaway

I saw this giveaway and totally want to win.

"Giveaway at Apron Girls sponsored by great cookware and beautiful desks!"

Wish me luck!!