Happy Birthday Caleb!!!

Don't laugh! Caleb wanted a camoflage cake and this was my first attempt. It looks pretty gross but it actually tasted pretty good and Caleb loved it. I should have taken another picture after I moved the soldiers around and spread them out, it looked better then but oh well. Caleb had a great time with his friends and like I said really liked his cake.

I love Caleb so much. He is such a sweet spirit and a great big brother. I often hear him comforting AJ and Levi and even this morning after Levi hit him with some unknown object, I was out of the room, I heard him start to get mad, then stop and calm himself and when Levi started to hit him again, it's a game for him lately, he told him calmly and gently, "no, that hurts brother." Last week AJ got in trouble and they were in their rooms for bed alone and AJ was crying and I heard Caleb singing "I Am A Child Of God" to him and telling him the story of Daniel in the lion's den, his favorite bedtime story and to calm down that I would be in the room soon, I was putting Levi to bed in his bed. I thought it was so neat that without me there, he kept up our bedtime routine. It amazes me how Caleb can sometimes completely exasperate me and drive me to the brink and sometimes he is the best thing in the world. Every night he gives me a carefully orchestrated series of kisses, it's always the same pattern ( a little OCD?) and always close to 15 kisses before he goes to sleep. It's sort of like our secret handshake. He is tender and sensitive and tough as nails all in one. I love him so much and thank the Lord for sharing this little spirit with me every day. Happy Birthday Caleb!

CONGRATULATIONS KARLA AND GREG

Ryan's sweet sister was married on Saturday August first in Alpine Arizona to a wonderful man named Greg. She looked like a princess and he was her dashing prince. We are all so happy for them and wish them the best in their new adventure!!! We have decided that Alpine is heaven on Earth.

THE LAVA TUBES

On our way home from UT we stopped in Flagstaff for a night. I LOVE camping, it's so relaxing and free for the kids to be able to play and make noise and run all over and just be boys. That being said, a night in a hotel was welcome after sleeping with spiders for 3 nights. The next day we went to the Lava Tubes. This was as far as AJ would go even with flashlights. It didn't help that it was downright COLD in there and we were not prepared for that.AJ had plenty of fun climbing on the rocks outside of the cave in the daylight.

Caleb loved it.

Jake loved it too.

OnE CrAzY BuSy JuLy!!!

So I was incredibly excited about our Maher family reunion and then shortly before that we found out that my sweet Sister In Law Karla was engaged and getting married August First!!! That is another post! We camped in Hatch, UT. So beautiful. The weather was beautiful, just when it would start to get hot, the clouds rolled in and the breeze kicked up and cooled us all off. We hung out and ate ice cream at Henri's in Panguitch, I highly recommend it! We went to Bryce, see my stud husband at one of the lookouts. Getting all the kids looking in the same direction at the same time is impossible but thank you to Karla for trying! I love just hanging out and camping with friends and family. Pioneer Day in Utah is nothing to miss and so of course there were fireworks which the kids loved, most of them at least.We roasted marshmellows, had dutch oven cobbler and laughed ALOT!!!We hiked to a cave and waterfall where the kids and parents alike had fun in the water. It was amazingly clear and beautiful.
Mostly we just spent time together and had a good time. I'm so glad we went. We are already talking about where to go next year. HMMM!

FAITH

I think I have strong faith but sometimes it's challenged. This was one of those weeks. It's not that this was a particularly difficult week or even the roughest I've had this month, just that when you feel like you are doing the right thing, sometimes it still doesn't go the way you expect it to and well... you know. So Ryan bought a truck 2 weeks ago tomorrow. It was a big deal for us since it's a lot of money for us, maybe not for others but for us it was. He looked at it on Friday and we prayed all weekend whether it was THE right truck. We both felt like it was. He bought it on Monday. On Tuesday it broke down. The readers digest version is we've now spent even more money we weren't counting on to fix the truck we thought was the right truck. Ryan has been very upset and even I, the optimistic one, have been having a difficult time. Until Thursday night. I decided to get over myself and realized that just because it seemed confusing doesn't mean we were wrong and I needed to be more faithful and less worried. On Friday morning things started happening and looking up to dip again on Saturday evening but up again today. It's amazing how the Lord knows what we need and when we have faith, everything works out somehow, usually because of other people in our lives and promptings followed. Again today, my faith is at full strength and I am humbled one more time.

BUTTHEAD

My wonderful husband has a dysfunctional way of showing affection, for example, if he isn't pestering me I know he is mad at me. He rarely calls me by name, even when I'm in trouble he calls me HONEY instead of honey. So anyway, a couple of weeks ago he jumped all over Caleb for something, I can't remember what but I'm sure he deserved it. Anyway afterwards he sat down with him and talked it out and made up so to speak and then rustled his hair and called him Butthead. I explained to Caleb after Ryan left for work that his dad has a weird way of showing affection and that when he calls him names like butthead and goober and stuff he is really saying "I love you" and that he does it to me too. Ever since then, I have 3 little boys running around the house calling me and everyone else butthead. It's AJ's new favorite word, that and slimo. So... now what do I do?

Swim Relay Finals

Jake and Caleb had their relay finals last night. I was so disappointed that I couldn't go but my awesome friend Kaci took them since her sweet Bristyn was also swimming, even though it was for a different team, traders! just kidding! It killed me to not go, the only meet I've missed but I knew Levi wouldn't be able to sit through it or AJ and we didn't have way there since Ryan's truck is in the shop and he had to work. Anyway... as you can see.. the boys did awesome!!!! Caleb got second place for backstroke in his first relay and first place for his freestyle relay!!! He cracks me up in this picture. He was trying to look cool. I think he looks like the Fonz. Jake got third place in his freestyle relay and seventh in his second relay for breaststroke. That surprised me because his breaststroke is really good, one of his best. He cracks me up, he was so excited. I was excited to hear all about it when they got home, they were excited to stay up late and tell me about it. GOOD JOB GUYS!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU FOR DOING YOUR BEST!!!!