Elder Norman (and Keaton is 11 months old!)

On Wednesday, July 27th, we said an emotional goodbye to Curtis before dropping him off (quite literally) at the MTC.

It was hard to watch Curtis say goodbye to Keaton. Keaton really loves Curtis a lot (and vice versa). It's really crazy to think that Keaton will almost be 3 years old when Curtis comes home!

Over the past year, while Curtis was living in Orem and going to UVU, Justin and I were able to spend a lot of time with him, which was so great, but I think it also made it harder (especially for me) to say goodbye cause I felt so much closer to Curtis than ever before.

To be able to spend some extra time with Curtis before he left for his mission, Justin and I decided to come home on Friday, July 22nd and spend the whole weekend (Sunday, July 24th was Curtis's farewell- and Curtis gave quite an amazing talk on being steadfast and unmoveable) and up until Wednesday with Justin's family. And while we were there it was fun to watch how much Keaton loves the dogs. Especially Roxy. (Although I am not sure the feeling is mutual. :) )

A LITTLE SIDE NOTE: On July 24th, Keaton turned 11 months old. Is that just crazy or what?! So, here's a little update... Keaton now weighs 17 lbs 3 oz and it 27 inches long. :) Keaton is now pretty much an expert on sitting up (except for when it comes to reaching for things that are just out of his grasp... but, we are working on that). Keaton can hold his own bottle now but, only does when he isn't being lazy. :) Keaton said "ma ma" for the very 1st time a little over a week ago and now says it all the time. :) I love, love, love it!!! It makes me smile every time that sweet word comes out of his mouth. Also, his very 1st tooth just popped through! (He hasn't been too fussy about it... maybe a little, but not horrible.) Keaton FINALLY can/will roll over from his back to his tummy!!! This is an exciting/fun thing for us since Keaton has always HATED his stomach. (He still isn't too sure he wants to be on his tummy for too long, but it's a start right?!) Keaton thinks it is funny when we try to help him to crawl- he just giggles uncontrollably. Keaton is now drinking from a faster flow nipple in his bottle... I've tried switching him to the faster flow nipple several times, but it has just always drowned him, but now it's nice because instead of it taking him 30 minutes to drink his bottle it only takes him about 10 now. Since about the end of June Keaton has been sleeping in our room in the play pen. (It is just too hot for him to sleep in his room and we have a window unit in our room that we can turn on at night to keep it cool... cross your fingers for me that Keaton won't have a hard time adjusting back to his crib once the summer is over!) Keaton is still our happy, loving, fun baby. He loves to play with his toys, be tickled, scared, and teased (he giggles all the time now over the silliest things and he has the cutest laugh ever!), look at books (especially touch and feel board books), stand on our laps, jump like a crazy man in the jumparoo (seriously, this jumparoo has been life changing for Keaton), scream in the bathtub (how knows why, but that is what he likes to do), eat his soft cookies, and talk, talk, talk his little baby gibberish. We love our little chubby cheeked Keaton so much and just can't believe in one short month he will be 1 year old!

Although our goodbyes were a little tearful, we are all very excited for the adventure that is in store for Curtis. We all know he will be a fabulous missionary and we also know that our family will be blessed for his service.

After a yummy breakfast at IHOP we headed to the temple to take a couple of pictures and say our final goodbyes.

Elder Norman- the people of Columbia, South Carolina are waiting for you- even if they don't know it yet- so that they may learn the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I read this quote recently and it really touched me and completely explains why a young boy of 19 would go on a mission- "A missionary leaves his family for two years so that other families can be theirs for eternity."

Close To My Heart

Hey everyone, check out this blog Close To My Heart

and then go here to check out the Mormon Women Project which "is particularly interested in highlighting the righteous choices women make in all circumstances and locations. It celebrates women who have made deliberate choices — with the help of the Spirit and personal revelation — to overcome personal trials, magnify motherhood, contribute to communities outside their homes, or be converted to the Gospel."


It's pretty amazing.

...birthdays, boating, and boys...

This summer/the month of July is just going by in a flash! We went boating this past Saturday, July 16th, MIRYKA'S 16TH BIRTHDAY!!! (Her golden birthday, how fun!) at Jordanelle after staying the night in a really fun and nice hotel in Park City with Justin's family. (On Friday afternoon/night we all went and visited Justin's Grandma and Grandpa Davis at their mission at the LDS Family Tree Center and then afterword went to dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant.) It was a very fun weekend/trip.

Keaton didn't so much love the life jacket we made him wear (maybe because it was pink? just kidding) but he did like going for a little ride on the tube.

On Sunday, July 17th, we went to Curtis's friend, Rhett's mission farewell. Here is a fun picture of Keaton and Curtis all dressed up for church. Keaton even has his "future missionary" tag on. :)

The boys- I really like this picture. Man, we are really going to miss Curtis when he leaves on his mission. Only 8 days left...

sooo sweet...

I want to steal them both. :)

words to live by...

"If I am not for others, what am I? 

If not now, when?" 

-Rabbi Hillel

busy, busy, busy

That's the word that describes the month of June (and most likely July) for us. We have been sooo busy. So, since I just caught up with what we've been up to the last couple of weeks, please, scroll down and see about all the fun we've been having this summer!

Keaton's 1st camping trip- Fish Lake -

Cousins. (Trying to get a good picture was ridiculous... like always, ha.)

Fish Lake this year was an absolute blast! Justin and I borrowed Grandpa Norman's truck, trailer, and rhino (Justin's grandparents were so nice about letting us borrow all the stuff we needed and they even got everything all ready to go for us!) so, we packed up all the crap that we would need for a few days and headed up to Fish Lake to spend the 4th of July weekend with my family- June 30 to July 4th. (Macy rode up with us- so glad you could come with us Mace face! We had a such a great time laughing, playing games, and just having you in our trailer... even though it did stink a bit... sorry again about that! We did end up figuring out the problem and the smell went away they day after you left... - and Maddie and Brooklyn rode home with us.)

And guess what, Keaton was just such a good boy! (Surprise, surprise! Ha, ha.) He slept great in the trailer and loved going on rides in the rhino and to sit by the fire every night with everyone. He especially, I think, loved being around all the kids. All the cousins were so good to Keaton and loved playing with him, holding him, and making him smile- :) they were especially good at that. (Actually, Keaton had a bit of a hard time drinking his bottles for some reason while we were camping... I am not sure why, but he only would take about half the amount that he usually does, but what he didn't drink he probably made up for in the amount of baby food he ate. Keaton is a little piggy lately when it comes to baby food! Keaton also got a bad bum rash while we were gone... :( and still has it. Sad. Poor thing gets bad bum rashes sooo easy! But, other than that, Keaton was his normal, happy self.)

My very most favorite part of being at Fish Lake this year was spending time with all the kids each night as they came over to our trailer to play games with us. We played Spot It, Skip-Bo, Ticket to Ride, Go Fish (with Easton and some of the other younger kids), and my (and everyone else's, I think) personal favorite- Solitaire Frenzy! Having game nights like that was so great and so, so much fun! Lots of laughs for sure.

Doesn't that HUGE marshmallow just make you sick to even think about eating!!! The kids loved making smores with these giant camping marshmallows, but I preferred the smaller version.

The kids also liked roasting breadsticks around nice big roasting sticks.

Brookie cookie was such a big help when it came to taking care of and making Keaton happy. :)

Okay, and this, now this is the very best camping treat I have EVER had. It's a smore, yes, but if you look closely you will see that instead of plain old chocolate there is a delicious peanut butter cup! And I must say it is simply divine! Everyone needs to try it out next time they are roasting smores around the campfire. I guarantee you'll love it!

water baby!

June 30th- Keaton loves the water! (I can't wait to take him swimming at a swimming pool!) This is his new favorite part about bath time. And man, does he get angry when ya turn the water off!

In preparation.

Last Wednesday, June 29th, Justin and I (not to mention the tons of family members that were there too to support these great boys) joined Curtis, PJ, and Rhett at the Salt Lake Temple as they went inside for the 1st time in preparation for their missions.

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a beautiful session. (A big thanks to Jessica and Josh for babysitting! Keaton had a great time. :) )

baby Landon :)

Oh my, isn't he just so precious???

Caught during a little grin. :)

My sister, Kayte, had her 1st baby- a little boy- named Landon on June 23rd, weighing in at 8 lbs 11 oz- big boy!- (After over 36 hours of labor and a c-section, might I add!) But, our whole family is so very happy to have him join our family! Such a sweet baby- already so cute and chunky! (Our family is placing bets on how long it will take for Landon to pass up Keaton in weight- my guess is by the time he is 4 months old!)