supermom is a myth

I am exhausted. Nothing in this world can prepare you for a toddler boy. I hardly sit down from 7am - 7pm while Jared is gone at school (and let's be honest, it's not like I get to sit down after he gets home either).
All you people wondering when the next baby is coming... I don't know. Truthfully there are days where I don't think I have it in me. And we all know I'm not meant to be one of those women with 5 children running around and 1 on their hip. No no no no... If that's what floats your boat, I fully support it - but I fear I would have a nervous breakdown.

Running around doing what everyone BESIDES yourself wants is hard. When do we get to relax? Where is that moment on the movies when the husband walks in and says "honey you must be so tired, why don't you go take a load off?" When can we do something as simple as showering or going to the bathroom in peace? And WHEN did a grueling run (while pushing a 40 pound jogger with said toddler in tow) become considered our break?

*Note to any men reading (of which there is none- besides you grandpa) : just because we don't leave to school or "work" in the morning doesn't mean we work any less hard. It's mentally and emotionally exhausting in a way you'll probably never experience. We do nothing, yet everything at the same time.

I love being a mom more than anything in the world. I don't mean to give the wrong impression. When i see that infectious smile of pure joy light up Emmett's face, every single second is worth it. But somedays it's hard.

And to anyone out there that says otherwise... I'm calling your bluff.

the first getaway

Sometimes I feel like life is a crazy rat race and I try and try to get everything done in the day, but somehow only ever manage to accomplish like 60% of what I'd like to do, and so the cycle continues on and on...

One of the things on my neverending list is getting caught up to date on the blog, so I can quit doing boring catch-up posts, and actually write something worth reading.

Well I haven't quite made it to the latter yet, but here's one step closer to catching up!

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Jared and I went on our first overnight trip at the end of June. We spent the night up in a nice resort in Midway as an early celebration for our Anniversary. Here's a shot of the view on the drive up.

Can't you just smell the mountain air looking at it??

Our room had a box of chocolate dipped strawberries waiting for us, which I was pretty excited about.

Unbeknownst to us, this cute little vacation town shuts down at 8pm. Like really shuts down. So Jared and I had to go on a wild goose chase looking for something to eat. The only thing we could find open was a Domino's pizza carry-out. So we took our pizza back to our room and laughed about the grand, romantic meal we were having on our special anniversary getaway.

Aside from that little hiccup - it felt so amazing to just sit back in the jacuzzi and/or sauna and have nothing on my mind. And especially amazing because it was the coolest hot tub I've ever been in.

(yes thats a tree coming out of the waterfall)

I also spent some time basking in the sun on a lawnchair (one of my favorite things *which I literally had not done since before Emmett was born!! There is no lounging on his watch!) However, Idaho boys apparently don't know how to appreciate a good lay in the sun... I guess you can't blame them - what opportunity do they have to practice it? So my basking was short-lived. Yet still glorious.

After the dinner adventure, we figured we had a little room to splurge on the resorts gourmet breakfasts (which were delicious but disappointingly small. Your buck doesn't go far here).

 

We finished the day out by biking the hills of Midway (a real rush on the way down, but boy did uphill suck!), racing down the Alpine Slides, and shopping at the Park City Outlets.

We came to the consensus that little, even local, getaways are a necessity in any relationship. It was just a nice recharge - and honestly was one of the only times we had nothing to worry about besides enjoying each others company. So here's to (hopefully) many more anniversary trips to come!

preparations, preparations

We hosted a bridal shower for Kaity back in June (that was a hit of course). Is it horrible I don't even know the lady's name that offered her home to us? (Note: The rest of the family does).  In any case, she was very kind and we appreciate her generosity!  

 

I just love being the Master of Ceremonies :)

And so does Kris!

Here's all us party planners with the bride to be

 

 She got a lot of great gifts, but for the sake of space I'll limit pictures to two.

And those cute nesting bowls are from me (and Kris), so of course that picture had to be posted

Following the fun tradition Jared's sister started with me, I made a secret interview video of Rusty and played it for Kaity at the shower.

 I even used the same exact questions! I plan to do the same thing for both my other sisters. It's so fun watching what different guys do with the exact same set of questions. Gives you a more complete picture of their personality.

After the partying, it was time for more work.

The dreaded invitation stuffing.

Fortunately, I am master of operations

 and quickly assembled myself a team of minions

There was no slacking on my watch

        The Sealing Station

I assigned Kirsten to sealing station, and she wasn't happy about it. What can I say? I run a tight ship.

The Stuffing Station

Kaity was assigned general stuffing

And Ken was Special Circumstances (aka Ceremony invites)

                           Comic Relief Station

 Rusty did what Rusty's best at... Keeping the mood light!

Just kidding, Rusty was also part of the stuffing station

3 hours and 500 invites later, wedding preparations were officially behind us!!

Though all the festivities made me nostalgic for my own wedding, I have to say I was glad it wasn't me in the hot seat! So much to do, so much planning and stress.

Oh Newlyweds... so much fun, yet so much ahead of them :)

noche de chicas

What is a wedding without a wild bachelorette party? Okay maybe not that wild. But it's still a rite of passage - no wedding can go on without one!

Kirsten and I teamed up to throw Kaity a fun girls night, and I made a delectable spread of goodies. After all, girls night isn't complete without sinful treats!

As official bachelorette, Kaity got to drink out of this beautiful specimen all night 

It even looks like her!

I forced her to play the traditional newlywed quiz/chubby bunnies game

and unfortunately she didn't fare so well...

...then a game of pictionary

(Ashleys special rendition of a Candy Necklace)

And Thennnnnn a lot of these :)



Mission: Girls Night - accomplished!

summer lovin

Summer was as great as ever this year. Actually especially great with our own yard to play in. We spent a lot of hours at our favorite place, Seven Peaks.

In July, I got the camera lens I've been pining over for a year and was (still am!) so excited! These are the very first shots I snapped with it.

We spent the 4th up in Kaysville with friends. We ate delicious food, swam to our hearts content, then went to the fireworks show.

July 7th, Caysen and my sister's boyfriend, Rusty, were baptized together. It was such an amazing day. I hope we always remember the spirit we felt there.

Then came more playing in the sun, more hiking, more biking, and more barbequing

We just can't get enough sun around here!