FUNNEST SUMMER EVER!

I think all of us are guilty of getting too comfortable and complacent in our present situation at times. We start getting used to our personal routines, responsibilities, jobs, and whatever else we are consumed with in life. A problem that can occur is that we stop pushing ourselves to do more and we can forget about those things that we love doing.

I think mothers, especially, can get caught in this trap. They have so many responsibilities and spend so much time doing things for others that they can forget about themselves. This can be admirable at times, but mothers (fathers, students, teachers, etc.) must not forget the things they need in their life to make them happy.

To be honest, Ethan and I reached a point where we forgot how to get out and have fun together. Like REALLY HAVE FUN :-) Trust me, we have gone on lots of dates and have had a good time but it was usually in a 20mile radius. You know how it is with a child- you aren't able to go out alone without finding a babysitter and sometimes they're hard to come by. It's like we kind of accepted the fact that we were stuck at home and couldn't get out.

FALSE!

This summer has proven that to be a false statement. We most definitely are NOT stuck at home with a child and we most definitely CAN do a lot of things with/without Wyatt! We have done so many fun and adventurous things this summer and it has made us SO HAPPY! We found ourselves doing activities we did when we were dating and it was a blast. Similarly, the two of us have been able to do things by ourselves with some of our personal friends and that has made a huge difference as well.

I think I have smiled and laughed more this summer than the past two combined! (School was probably a huge factor in this too. This is the first summer the two of us haven't had to worry about school). Either way, this summer has been the FUNNEST SUMMER EVER!

Here's some of the things we/I/Ethan did:

BRIDGE JUMPING

I did a lot of things with my girlfriends this summer & it helped me release a lot of my cooped up energy! One of the things we did was go bridge jumping and it was sweet. I haven't gone bridge jumping for a few years now so it was a thrill!

Random Games & Girl Time:

This is at Smith Park- I have made many visits to Smith Park for free lunches, basketball games on the asphalt, visiting with friends, and doing random stick poles this summer haha. Ethan let me have a lot of girl time and I am so thankful for it. I was able to do some pretty spontaneous things and it has recharged my energy and need to HAVE FUN! All these fun times have done so much for me. After all, I'm still only 23 yrs. old.
(A HUGE THANKS TO ALL MY SINGLE LADIES)

White Water Rafting:

Although Ethan was outnumbered by women on this trip, we had a BLAST! Even despite the fact that I almost died in the water. (A slight exaggeration, but I really did get thrown out of the raft and went under the water about 3 times before I was pulled back into the raft.) This was probably the most thrilling thing we did this summer; thanks to Chalyse and her Dad :)

Rexburg Rapids:

We have spent a lot of time in the water this year and Wyatt is really starting to like it. Our Dad treated the whole family to a day at Rexburg Rapids and it was a lot of fun. Ethan LOVED taking Wyatt around the park and on the tube. They really are becoming such good friends and I thoroughly enjoy watching them spend time together.

SPLASH PARK:

I go to Porter Park AT LEAST once a day but usually two times a day. I love it because Wyatt loves it. He can just run free and play on the playground, draw on the sidewalk with chalk, or play in the water when he gets hot. This is "Wyatt's time" during the day. He loves the water.

DANCE FESTIVAL PARADE:

We've gone to a lot of activities put on by the town. One of which is the farmer's market, and we go there every Friday together. At this parade, however, it rained HARD and it was cut short, but we still had a great time.

MIDNIGHT FUN:

We rode Segways for the first time together! Ohhhhhh man this was fun! Ethan and his friend even went through the Taco Bell drive through with these things. So funny. We've definitely become more closely related to night owls this summer.

5 YEAR REUNION:

I got to plan my High School reunion with some of my long lost friends. This was a treat. The actual reunion turned out to be a success after a lot of hard work, and it was so fun to see my classmates again and talk about what they are accomplishing in life.
(Kaylie Walker, Ashley Siddoway, Me, Kim Dangerfield)

PETTING/PLAYING w/ ANIMALS:

This particular picture was taken at our county fair. Wyatt freaked out when he saw all the animals :) He got to pet a cow, rabbit, horse, sheep, duck, and a chicken. Wyatt and I have also spent a lot of time at the Nature Park feeding the ducks our moldy bread Ha-ha. Wyatt even rode a horse for the first time this year. Way to go lil' buckaroo!

CAMPING:

We've made it a tradition to go camping at least once every summer as a family. We look forward to this every year and this time did not disappoint.

ROCK CLIMBING:

This was Ethan's adventure this summer. He has never been rock climbing before, let alone repelling off a cliff. He went with the guys. He said at the top of the cliff when he was getting ready to repel downward, his leg was shaking uncontrollably. He was so scared but when he came home and told me all about it, he said that everyone called him a pro. Way to go babe.

TUCKERED OUT:

This is just a representation of how much playing we've done this summer. Both Ethan and I have joined Wyatt for his daily nap because we, too, needed a nap.

Trips to the Temple:

This summer we've gone to the temple a lot and Ethan has also brought his camera to take INCREDIBLE pictures of the temple. I love the temple.

OREGON TRIP:

We just randomly decided to pack up our bags and head to Oregon for a week with our friends, Tyler & Jamie! We are so glad we went because we had a ball. We went hiking & tubing, ate delicious food, watched a few movies in their amazing theater room, and Ethan even got to fly a helicopter! WOWZERS.

WATER PARKS & REUNIONS:
Luckily, we were able to make it to all of our family reunions this time. Of course, we ended up playing a lot of games (minute to win it, human checkers, fishing, scavenger hunts, fireworks etc.) and of course, ate a lot of delicious food. This picture is of us at Siera Pool down in Utah and Tanner, Mom, Dad, and I had a one length race to the other side. Tanner beat us all . . . even the champion swimmer, Jill. (We know you were going easy on us Mom)

"FSHHHHH!"
We named our fish, Voldemort.
I die every time I say, "Ethan, it's time to feed you-know-who." HA!
I bought this fish because Wyatt's two favorite movies right now are "Nemo" and "Shark Tales." Plus, all of his bath toys are underwater creatures, so he's kind of into the whole aqua family these days. I was so gitty and excited to surprise Wyatt with his little Beta fish. I got the same thrill I used to get when I went doorbell ditching. You know, when you ring the doorbell and leap off the porch to run behind the bushes. . . and then you wait for the family to open their door. Well, the waiting behind the bush was the same feeling I had as a watched Wyatt walk into the kitchen only to find a REAL FISH swimming around!

He totally freaked out with joy! It made me so happy :) He could not stop looking at it. This was the best $4.00 I've spent in a long time.

FLOWERS & THE OUTDOORS:
I am seriously so sorry for all these yellow balled flowers that Wyatt has plucked from my parents front yard. He just can't help it (ha-ha) they look like bright yellow balls and they are right at his reach! This is actually something we're working on with him because every flower or weed that he sees and likes, he has to go pluck it. Weeds=fine, but flowers=not ok. I've sure enjoyed these moments when he runs up to give me a pretty flower though :)

CHALK:
Ok, Wyatt has this thing for drawing on himself when he picks up chalk. He also loves to draw on other people's faces, so be ye warned! (Thanks to you-know-who...no, not Voldemort our fish, but the other you-know-who, you know who you are HA) Chalk really is the coolest thing though. I wish I would have invented it so I could have millions to spend right now.

Truth is, I've really enjoyed drawing on the sidewalks with chalk too. My favorite thing to do lately is to draw a huge, silly looking face on the walking path at Porter Park and then sit back on the tables or grass 30 ft. away and watch people's reactions while listening to their comments. I laugh so hard. One little kid said, "Woah! Look at that guy. He's cool!" Then his friend said, "Dude watch out! You're stepping on his face." Hahaha One of my favorites is when I drew a bicycle on the path and underneath it I spelled, "SLOW DOWN" in BOLD print. Every biker that rode over it ended up reading it and literally SLOWED DOWN! Hahaha so funny! Now you know what I do to entertain myself. Maybe next time I'll write "Scream if you're happy" and see how many people really do it. (Hee-Hee)

BBG KING:
Hello stud muffin.
Look at that cutesie dutesie apron Eth is wearing. Every time he wears it, someone makes a comment without fail. We have been hosts of many BBQ's this summer because we enjoy throwing get togethers. We've enjoyed having family & friends over to our humble abode to eat some good food. I love how food brings people together.

WATERFALL:
This was our latest venture into the mountains last weekend. Now when the weekends come around, instead of instinctively going to red box and staying at home... we do things like this :)

I know this is a long post but trust me, I could've put a lot more pictures on here. This summer has been marked as one of the funnest summers I've had in my life so far and it is one that's going to be hard to forget. I love making memories :)