Yosemite

Michael:

is enjoying his plastics rotation and we like having him home at a better time a few times a week. We went to Yosemite all together on Saturday. We are just a couple hours from there but we hadn't taken a trip yet. We packed up our boys and our bikes and had a great day exploring the valley. Next time we go we will do more hiking, but this was a good first trip to just explore on our bikes and do a short walk on the lower Yosemite falls trail.

Maddie:

had a slow week. Fresno temperatures and post-summer plans have left me in kind of a funk but I'm figuring it out. We spent time at the library this week a couple times and that was fun. Also the Walmart near me started offering grocery pick up, and that has most definitely changed my life. Every time I remember we need something, I add it on the app, then after my list adds up I can just go to their pick up zone and they bring out the groceries. That felt like a straight up ad, but really I just cannot describe how happy it makes me to not grocery shop right now. We will still have our fun Trader Joe's and Costco trips, but adding these Walmart pickups in between is going to make me really happy. 

Westin:

is a fun little buddy but we're trying to figure out how to parent his temper. He sure is smart and I'm having fun doing some more structured play and learning activities with him. It's so fun to see your kids learn things. He's obsessed with trucks and trains and airplanes still. His little blue truck is constantly in his hand, and he has about 6 toys that MUST be in his crib for all nights and nap times. He still refuses to vacate the crib for the toddler bed. He's been sleeping 8pm to 6ish and still takes a 3-hour nap each day.

Bennett:

slept through the night multiple times this week! And sometimes he woke up once around 4 or 5, then went back to bed. I'm so happy he's sleeping so well. He is still in our closet, and the darkness seems to really help him, so I sometimes worry when he moves into the boys room if he'll have a hard time without pitch black. He eats more than Westin eats, and loves everything I've ever given him. He wasn't too sure about oatmeal the first time, but after I added some applesauce he was sold. He still seems like the most tender little soul, and such a chill little person. I love my boys so much. 

I'm kind of obsessed with these photobombs. 

Bennett is such an angel in the Ergo. He has never once cried in the Ergo and is fine taking a nap like that. It's so sweet.

Now that he's got a scoot going (still not a crawl) he's always up in Kitty's business. She's losing patience.

I just think it's so funny when he just leaves the room we're all in. Up until now he has just always been where we put him, so it's so cute to just see him use his own opinion about things.

Bennett is not a fan of the vacuum, so this is how we roll during that chore. Westin runs from room to room to room the whole time and gets super hyper.

Back to Routine

Michael:

Had another good week on his plastics rotation. He has weekends off during this rotation and just a couple late nights a week, the schedule has been a good change. We went in a mini date running errands Friday night and I loved being alone with him out of the house. That is a rare occurrence around here! But we've made a goal to do a date out of the house every other weekend, and dates at home the other weekends. We have just not been good at date nights in residency and I'm excited to prioritize that more.

Maddie:

Spent the week with my mom and that felt so lucky. She was so nice to come home with me after my Utah trip and help me out for a week. I got so much done while she was here; so many appointments that would just be such a pain or impossible with kids. I'm feeling all caught up on life after a doctor visit, dentist visit, haircut, car serviced, car cleaned, temple trip, etc. I was kind of gloomy her last two days here because I was sad she was leaving... haha I need to work on saving that for after visits. Two of my good friends moved this week and I am going to need to figure out some new routines without them. There are so many friends I miss in this life! But that's a blessing. I also got a new phone and didn't have a back up of my old one since I sold my computer recently and hadn't backed my phone up to Michael's computer. So dumb. Thanks to Google Photos it's ok, but I'm super sad to have lost the notes in my old phone -- cute things Westin says, the things Michael says in his sleep sometimes. I mean, those were quality notes. You live you learn.

Westin:

Learned the phrase "but why?" this week. I knew that was coming soon. He picks up on the things we say way more now. I can't talk about anything I don't want him to hear, and I only talk about him positively to Michael when he's listening. I used to tell all the good and bad about our day to Michael in front of him but now I can tell he soaks everything up and I only want to talk about his positive behavior in front of him. His wheels are just turning faster and differently these days and that comes with new fun things and new challenges. He's sleeping until 7:00 again and that feels heavenly.

Bennett:

Has a soft spot for his Grandma Miner so he was so happy this week. Man, he's such a bundle of joy. I'm so grateful for my two cute boys. They are everything to me. We watched Collateral Beauty this weekend, which is not the greatest movie ever made, but I was just weepy through the whole thing because oh my goodness I love my boys. He's still not crawling, following in his brother's (lack of) footsteps in that area. He's waking up once at night and sleeping until 6:45 or 7:00 usually and that feels like such a major improvement. He loves food, his thighs are the chunkiest I've ever seen, his hugs when you get him from a nap are heart-melting, he has started to almost almost tease Westin, Kitty makes him super excited, he's an angel in church, easiest nap taker, doesn't cry when he's tired, poops in every diaper, squeaks with happiness randomly all day, likes car rides, loves people, and brings me such intense happiness.

Not many pictures since I'm coming out of my last week without a (real) phone, but I'll make up for it soon I'm sure.

Pismo Trip

Michael:

Spent his last few days living the bachelor life. He went on a six-mile hike last weekend and sent us some pictures of a really pretty lake. He got caught in some hail on the way back but had a good time discovering a new place. We were so happy to see him again Thursday! He took me on a date Friday to a fun dinner with live music and then to see Dunkirk. That show was heavy but so good to see.

Maddie:

Had a fun few days in Cedar City. I took Westin to the Green Show multiple times before leaving and I loved watching him watch it. We made the drive back Thursday morning at 4am again, but this time with my mom! It was so nice of her to come with us and be here this week. We all went to Pismo together Saturday and it was a perfect day trip. It really exceeded my expectations. We saw whales, dolphins, seals, otters, a beautiful beach, so many pelicans, ate delicious clam chowder bread bowls, and spent the day outside in perfect coastal weather. I really, really loved our day there.

Westin:

Was over the moon to see his dad. He didn't sleep at all on our drive home from Cedar City, but we made such good time that it wasn't even bad. We made it to Fresno by 1:30, and then all four of us took a nap :) He also loved our weekend day trip to Pismo and I think his favorite part was having dad in the backseat with him for the 2.5 hour drive there and back.

Bennett:

is a dreamy baby and I'm so grateful for how well he travels. He never complained once in Pismo during all his carseat and stroller time. He just loves being with the people that love him. And I think he thinks everyone loves him. :) Now that we're back home he is back to only waking up once at night, which I'm grateful for. He still doesn't crawl, but he seems close to getting it.

Michael's solo adventure in the truck with no AC. Brave man.

Beautiful spots to find around here!

Pismo Beach

Loved having my mom in Pismo with us! 

This boy has such big love for his daddy.

You guys, these chairs. I could have slept here for hours (if you watched my kids for me).

Seriously, we need to own one of these someday.

Bennett loved the chair SO much. Look at that face and position -- he was cracking us up.

I left him sitting with some toys and came back to this at my parents house... he never complained so finding him like this was a funny surprise.

Zoolander band-aid face. That band-aid lasted about an hour. Westin would go two minutes before crying about it again so finally it just had to go. I thought kids wanted band-aids?

Loves his grandpa.

Utah Time

Between traveling and a few unfortunate events, I am behind over here. But here's a quick catch up.

Michael:

Strapped his kayak to our Corolla for the first time, and took us on an adventure to Shaver Lake at the end of July. His little sister Rachel was visiting us that weekend, so it was fun to have her join us. Next time we see her she will have a sweet newborn! We're so excited for her. Michael also got us back into the dog-sitting business, which we're all excited about. We had two dogs come for that same weekend, so Westin kept calling them "Rachel's puppies". They were the best dogs we've ever watched and we didn't want them to go home. Now Michael is living the bachelor life while the boys and I are visiting family.

Maddie:

lost my phone. So dumb, guys. It was a huge bummer and I keep going through the same cycle of emotions about it. Thanks to KonMari, I am 99% positive that phone is no where in my house, and I've searched my car multiple times. I went swimming with two kids and a phone, came home with just the kids. When you look at it that way, I have nothing to complain about. But I think I dropped it at the pool and someone snagged it. So, I'm using a super old Droid from 5 years ago, and all the pictures of our time lately are either poor quality or bummed from a family member's phone. The only bonus is that it's the phone I used when Michael and I got engaged, and there are still texts on it, so we got to take a mushy trip down memory lane. Still figuring out the fix to the situation, phones and plans are so annoying to me. I left at 4 a.m. last Monday to drive to Utah with my boys and it was far and away our smoothest trip yet. I was so grateful. We came out for a family reunion with my mom's family, and I'm really glad we made the drive for it. I love seeing those people.

Westin:

misses his daddy, but cousin time is always fun. He was so great on our drive out. He loved having dogs at our house, loved seeing Rachel, loves being around cousins, hates not having daddy with us. He keeps talking about how "Daddy's alone, that's sad" and it really is. We miss him. He just started using the regular potty this week instead of a little one, and I have no idea what made him make the change but I'm thrilled about it. Every time I laugh hard lately he asks me why I'm sad, and I think it's because he's seen my cry hard lately and the two maybe sound a little similar. So now he's really confused. Friends that move and phones that disappear have had me in a rough state lately, and he senses the fragile moments around here. But I recently found a really fun curriculum for an at-home preschool/playschool and I'm excited to start it with him. It's going to be great for us both. We went on a date to Cars 3 while we're in Cedar City and he really loved it. I loved watching him love it.

Bennett:

is fussier than I've ever known him to be lately (teething?) and I am not good at being patient with that because I'm used to such an easygoing baby. But I need to cut him some slack, just because he's given me 95% happiness in his life doesn't mean I should expect that from him always. He slept terribly in our tent at our reunion -- he never fell back asleep after a 3:30 wake up one night, then tried to play the same game the next night but my mom was able to get him back to sleep. He has a soft spot for her. He has also started hitting his head into people as a way of showing affection and it's strange and sometimes painful, but also cute when it's more of a nuzzle instead of violent. He loves food and I think he'll be done nursing sooner than Westin was. I'm very much ok with that. I've been nursing and/or pregnant for so long and I'm starting to feel claustrophobic about it. But I'm trying to not wish it away and soak up these last couple months before he's done.

We made such good time on our road trip that we ended up meeting my dad for lunch in St. George while he was doing some work there, then I took my boys to Nielsen's Frozen Custard and to the temple grounds. Westin always comments about Moroni playing the "trombone" when he sees temples and I love it.

Sweet baby. Sitting between my boys while my parents drove us to our family reunion was not the most relaxing of drives... but this view was a perk.

Westin loves FaceTiming daddy while we're apart, and he noticed me taking a picture of him. So he said, "Say cheese, daddy!" and this is what we got.

I've taken Westin to the Green Show at the Shakespeare Festival multiple times this trip and I really love sharing that with him. I used to come to this show so much during the summers growing up.

And, those tarts. are a big reason why. He's a fan.

Lexi the Golden Doodle. We loved her so much. But Kitty did not. Oh, she did not.

Selfies with Bennett while Michael, Westin, and Rachel were tipping over in the kayak. I didn't witness it, but Rachel had to hang onto the kayak for the whole ride back since it was hard to get back in, and Westin keeps talking about the whole ordeal.

Usually we throw the kayak in the back of our truck, so this was a fun change and not as hard as we expected.

Tyson, the cockapoo. He was a good dog too, and Westin definitely liked him more than the big dog.

"Let's hide together, daddy!" Even states away, they have fun.