He's My Brother

Sam came to visit us for the week, and we had a great time with him here! I love that we are somewhat close to BYU-Idaho so that we can see him when he has a break between semesters.

The primary objective during his visit was to help him shop for a car. He and I went out one evening and looked at cars at several dealerships. By the end of the evening, we had learned from previous experiences and we would introduce ourselves more specifically: " . . . and I'm Jennifer, his older SISTER!" I guess most people shop for cars with either their parents or their spouse, so it is understandable that we got mistaken for a married couple several times!

We did find a nice student car for Sam. I like to think that I impressed him with my negotiating skills and helped him get a great deal! We found the car during a weekday when we had all the kids with us. It took forever to negotiate and then finalize everything. Luckily, we survived since the dealership had a little room with a TV and an endless supply of movies!

While Sam was here we did a few other fun things. We introduced him to the joy of Seven Peaks. I loved that we all went together in the morning. When Elizabeth and Joshua tired out, I took them home for naptime/quiet time, while Sam stayed at the park with Nathan and Benjamin for a few more hours.



I tried to cook some great dinners while Sam was here, but we had to go out to eat, too! We chose Red Robin, one of our favorites!

Two!

Elizabeth turned 2 this week! I think I had as much fun planning her gifts as she did opening them! After 3 boys, it is so fun to buy the girlie things!



It was so cute to see how much she loved all of her presents. She got a bracelet, hair flower, and tutu from Mom and Dad. (She found the lei around the house before we started the birthday celebration.)



Grandma and Grandpa Partridge got her an adorable backpack, which she loved so much that she got upset when we made her take it off for cake!



And the big present -- a kitchen set just for her! So far, even the boys have loved playing with it!



Our sweet girl is growing up so fast! She already knows that she is 2, and has started asserting herself and throwing tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants! But most of the time she is still so sweet and caring. She loves to get hugs and kisses from everyone at naptime and bedtime. She is finally getting some hair, and we can put a pony tail or clip in it. However, she doesn't usually let me do anything to her hair, and when she does it doesn't stay in for long! She likes to talk about the potty and sit on it, but there is nothing exciting to report yet.

We love you, Elizabeth! Thanks for being a sweet, happy, vibrant part of our family!

Kitchen Aid

Elizabeth loves to be in the kitchen with me lately. When she sees me starting to work on a meal, she will say, "counter, counter" -- meaning that she wants to sit on the counter and help me.

On Sunday she saw Uncle Sam and I making enchiladas for dinner, and she of course wanted to "help". She really got into it!

putting the sour cream on

every good cook tastes their work, right?!

the enchilada Elizabeth worked on never made it to the oven!

Seven Peaks

This year we got passes to Seven Peaks, the local water park, for the first time. We have not gone a huge number of times, but we have gotten good use out of them. I like having the passes because then I don't feel like we have to go for an entire day and make a big production out of it. The water park is only about 5 minutes from our house, so we jump in the car some mornings and go for a couple of hours and come home in time for lunch.



Nathan and Benjamin are old enough and good enough swimmers that I let them go off on their own to do the slides -- they just have to check back in once in a while. Joshua and Elizabeth and I stay together. We usually spend our time in the wave pool, the "mushroom pool" (kiddie area with small water slides and a pool), and the lazy river.

Joshua likes to spend time alone on his towel or in the tube we are not using that is on our towels, while the rest of us are in the wave pool close by.

Hair Fun

Elizabeth doesn't really like having her hair done. Most days it gets combed, but that is it. But she does have fun getting into her hair drawer in the bathroom and playing with the headbands and hats! She got some out yesterday, and I just had to take a few pictures:

B is for . . .

On Wednesday I had the honor of throwing Betsy a baby shower for her new little boy, Beckham. There were two main things I focused on:

1. The Baby Quilt: As soon as I found out they were getting a little boy in their family, I knew I was going to make a baby quilt! I was inspired by a quilt I'd seen online here, and decided to adapt it to boy colors.

I bought the fabric the day Beckham was born (July 1). Luckily, baby quilts come together fairly quickly! I finished it on the 12th -- the night before the shower. It took me forever to pick out the fabrics, but I am happy with how it all came together!



2. The Food: Betsy's friend, Kylie, and I worked together to host the shower. She brought cookies, drinks, and the most delicious peanut butter chocolate rice krispy treats! If you've read any of the blog in the last year, you know that I am totally inspired by the recipes from Our Best Bites. I knew I wanted to use their whipped frosting to make some fun cupcakes. I also found a recipe for fruit salsa and homemade cinnamon chips. The leftovers may or may not have been my entire lunch the next day!



We had a good turnout, and Betsy was able to get a lot of adorable outfits for Beckham! I hope she could feel how much love we all have for her, and how happy we are for her new little boy!



Izzy was able to be here for the shower, and she had a lot of fun:


My boys loved the "after-party" . . . they used all of the tissue paper and bows to play dress-up. Ryan, it was not my idea -- I promise!

State Tournament Baseball

Nathan was on a good baseball team this year. The Twins had a great coach, and some great pitchers and catchers that really helped their team do well in the city league.

Here are some pictures from their last regular-season game that I forgot to post in June:

trying not to get hit by the pitch!

running towards home plate

sliding into home

Because they were in the top of their league, the Twins were able to go to the state baseball tournament. So this week Nathan had 3 different games. The first two were back-to-back, and we got creamed at both! It was very clear that other cities take baseball a lot more seriously than Provo does! I was proud of Nathan and his whole team, though, for keeping a positive attitude the whole time.

warming up

The Twins did better on the third game . . . it was very close until the second-to-last inning when our pitcher struggled and walked a lot of players. So, we lost again, but everyone still kept a great attitude!

up to bat

#11, on first base

Nathan says he wants to be a pitcher next year. (This year he played out field a lot, and 2nd base sometimes.) I love that the coach talked to them after the tournament yesterday and told them that if they want to be a key player, they need to practice a lot in the next 9 months before next season starts. Nathan's friend and teammate, JJ, lives on our street, so I think they will get out there and practice a lot. I'm glad that he has found something he loves, and I hope he will work hard at it!

Grill Master

We have been using our grill a lot the last week or so. Thankfully, the July weather has been relatively mild, so that we can be in the backyard in the evening without frying completely!

Most of the evenings that the grill has been on, Nathan has been the grill master. Last night we did pork skewers, which was new to him and a little tricky.

He really did enjoy it -- he just doesn't like smiling for pictures!

Several nights ago I had him start hamburgers and hot dogs before Ryan got home. It was so fun to watch him go through all the steps exactly as his dad does it! He even was so cute about asking his brothers if they wanted hamburgers or hot dogs! I need to remember to utilize him more . . . he was happy and out of trouble, and the food was delicious :)

Baby Beckham

Our neighbors, the Denney's, welcomed a little miracle into their home just over a week ago. Beckham Michael was born!

We had the chance to watch him for about 15 minutes one day, and we spent the whole time taking turns holding him. Nathan was excited for a turn, and of course Elizabeth wanted a turn as well!


At the time, he was just 5 days old! What a sweet baby!

Basement Bathroom -- check!

I love having our basement finished! One of the things I am most excited about is that it is a blank slate to decorate :)

I wanted to get the bathroom done first for several reasons:
1. It is the smallest room, so it will be relatively inexpensive and fast to do!
2. My head will be happier when I can mark at least 1 room as being totally done!
3. I knew that we'd have Amy's family and my brother Sam visiting this month. So the bathroom needed a shower curtain before they came . . . it might as well get matching towels at the same time!

Last week I had a lot of fun taking my birthday money and shopping for the bathroom. I am usually a frugal shopper, to the point that I buy 1 thing at a time until a space is eventually done. I loved feeling like I was going on a shopping spree and getting it all at the same time! (I was still frugal in getting good deals and using coupons!)


Thanks to my family who gave me the birthday money -- I love it!!

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid!

For the last 9 or so years, Ryan's family has come up from Arizona to join us for the 4th of July. I can't remember what we did the couple of years before the tradition started! This year was strange because they didn't come up for the holiday. (We just had a vacation together, so it's totally understandable that they couldn't get away again so soon!)

Luckily for us, Amy's family came up for the week after the 4th so that Bradley and Bryson could do soccer camp at BYU. And Scott and Cheryl came up for a few days that week, too, since he had the time off of work.

Hyrum's birthday was on the 5th, so we all got together at Chuck E Cheese's to celebrate. It was a fun evening together!

Birthday Boy Hyrum

Skeeball has always been my favorite game. I enjoyed seeing the kids getting into it!

Nathan with Uncle Scott behind him

Joshua

Elizabeth & Benjamin

This was Elizabeth's first time in a booster seat. I was happy that she didn't try climbing out.

I tried to get Elizabeth to go on all of the "rides", like the dragon Hyrum was riding or the jeep or the rocket. This blue car was the only one she would try. And it ended up being where she spent most of the evening -- she LOVED it!

Elizabeth also enjoyed this "swing". She was all smiles!


Later in the week, Amy's family checked out of their hotel and spent their last night at our house. They were our first house guests to stay in the basement! We were glad to have the space for them, and that they were good sports about sleeping in sleeping bags and on air mattresses! The kids all had a lot of fun together!