zac & karli: September {first half}

Because I'm SO behind on journaling and blogging, these monthly catch up posts will contain some detailed journaling {on things I can remember clearly}, some small captions, and some random pictures that require no words.

{1st-3rd} Sundee babysat Saturday for a couple hours while we ran to Boise to visit Matt & Jen and baby Landon. He wasn't having a good weekend and Zac wanted to help another of their friends give a blessing if needed. I got a bit nauseous when we visited-it's so hard seeing a little like that-and knowing M&J are so stressed and worried. I feel for my friends and their NICU perfect babies. They were in good spirits despite the stress, and we said goodbye & went to pick up their teenagers, Hannah & Cameron who were going to spend the weekend with us. They are great kids & are GREAT with our kids. The boys were stoked to have them to play with and have a sleepover. We hung at my folks, bbq'd, and enjoyed their company. Sunday they went to church with us, helped in the nursery, and we spent more time just chillin with people we love. They didn't need to be entertained, weren't addicted to their phones, and played with the boys so much. We LOVE this sweet family.

Monday Grayson had a playdate with Doll at Grami's {they had major fun getting muddy in the ditch}, while Taylor & I took the kids home and got groceries in Nampa.

PS: while transporting our BBQ grill in the back of my pickup-going under 40 mph, mind you-it flew out of the back & completely fell apart on our street. Cam & Hannah were like, "This kind of stuff never happens in the city!" (; They helped me clean it up and I felt sick, but learned to tie that stuff down in the future. Bummer!!

That night we had a BBQ at T&T's {sans our grill, obviously} which is always fun. The boys love any excuse to have a "party."

{4th} Happy birthday to Taylor! Cannot express how grateful we are that this girl was born. She is the kind of sister every girl wants. She is loyal, in tune, service oriented, and driven. She loves our kids like they're her own, and inspires me to do more when I just want to lay down & take a nap! (; We love you Taylor!!

Sometimes we just have to throw a mean fit.

{5th} The boys & I + T&T met Zac at his newest location for a Cricket store-Ontario. It's set to open very soon, and needed some cleaning work, so we were the peeps for the job. The boys love being helpful! And Beckham loves eating.

{6th} Uncle Bob is famous for spoiling my boys with tootsie rolls {and anyone else's kids}. Can you tell Grayson was excited?

Had a girl's night out with Kim. We ate sushi & had good conversation. She is a sweetheart and it was fun to get to know each other better. Amber was our common denominator and I definitely missed her more afterward, but that's a daily occurrence when your BFF moves 1500 miles away!

{7th}

The boys threw me a surprise-pretend birthday party! We had jello cake, play dough cupcakes & ice cream cones, and straw candles. Grayson takes partying VERY seriously, and it was too adorable not to play along with him.

We play a mean game of Disney headbandz.

It's usually a 5/7 days of the week occurrence that we wake with this little in between us. He falls off his toddler bed around 3 AM and just gets in our bed. We are too sleepy to take him back.

{9th} Church was only 2 hours because the air conditioners don't work and it was so HOT!

I'm pretty smitten with these guys.

T&T came over for a few minutes so Taylor could snap a few family pictures for us-it'd been a long time since we'd had a wall hanging worthy picture taken & she was up for the job. I literally threw our outfits together, got us dressed in 5 minutes, and she snapped 10 photos. It was the fastest shoot ever, and I LOVED most the shots. Thanks Taylor!

Today {10th} Grayson started preschool {for the second year}. He was not excited {read: nervous} and kept telling me he didn't want to go. I had a prayer in my head & heart all morning that he would like it, be respectful, and just enjoy himself. I was positive and upbeat all morning about it and tried to not focus on it too much. Got him ready, snapped some pics-he is a pretty willing picture taker-and took him to Miss Gwen's. I know he is not a huge fan of change, so a new teacher/place/classmates is pretty daunting to him. We walked in, got a picture of him & Miss Gwen, and he put his stuff in his cubby. Then he laid on the floor and said he was tired because he stays up at night! Haha! We were cracking up & Gwen told him he could chill there for a bit. He gave me a kiss & hug and I left. Bex and I said a prayer for him on our way home asking Heavenly Father to be extra aware of him and also for Grayson to be respectful and kind.

We came home, Bex napped, I got an hour long conversation with Amber in & some other relaxation, and then T&T brought him home for me. He walked in and I knew it'd been okay. He looked happy. He gave me a big hug & told me he had a lot of fun! phew!

I had a special after first day pinto bar waiting for him and he told me about school as he ate it. So glad he had a great day & that he loved it. Cannot believe he's pre-k this year! He's growing up too too fast!

We like taking walks to Sharon's to see the animals and to Gwen & Jeremy's to be spoiled by their kiddos. Grayson usually starts out stuffed in the back of the stroller and then ends up walking or pushing for me. It can't be comfortable, so it always makes me laugh!

Louis got here! {info on that in a separate post}

{11th} I had a massage today. So relaxing! We had a business meeting with M&J today, too. Look at how sweet Landon is! He is such a little miracle and the fact that he has pulled through the stuff he's been dealing with is nothing short of miraculous.

{13th} Grayson talked me into decorating for Fall + Halloween today. I thought, "why not?" He is such a fun helper for holiday's and gets more excited than any of us, I think. The candy won't last long, of course, but it's a cute thought.

We took a walk to take Miss Gwen some goodies for her birthday. Grayson is loving preschool and I'm so thankful for teachers that love my kid!

Sometimes we have popcorn for breakfast.

We build LOTS of forts around here.

{14th} Had a skype date with Amber today. I had organized a "Mail in baby shower" for her previosuly and it was BRUTAL keeping it a secret from her! We had a secret group on Facebook, people were sending me gifts to put in the package, I was preparing games + little things for her, Todd, and the girls, and it was on my mind daily. I loved doing it because it made me feel closer to her and I'm always happier when I'm in the pursuit or throes of a fun project! She was totally surprised and I just told her she'd be receiving a package and couldn't open it til we skyped. So fun to watch her open the gifts, love everything, and hear her reactions. So sad I couldn't be there in person to throw her a shower for her first BOY, but this was a good second place experience. She is darling! Beckham slept the whole two hour conversation and Grayson kept himself busy with the dart gun and a roll of tape in my bedroom. He was hilarious!