3rd Week of August- Hudson's 1st Birthday

 Here are some highlights from the 3rd week of August.

Hudson catching a ride on Nyles' back, a pretty wild flower in bloom in the backyard, and the 2nd deep freezer we bought in order to have more room for sweet corn.  One freezer if full of the beef we got earlier this year, and the 2nd one has the sweet corn and everything else.

On Monday, August 16th, the boys started school.  Nyles started 3rd grade at Altara Elementary.  He's in the dual immersion program again, and his teachers are Mr. Lowe (for English) and Ms. Vinuesa (for Spanish, and is actually from Spain).

Carter is in Pre-K at New Castle again.  His teacher is Ms. Julie.

Cute Baby Hudson.

Nyles and Carter ready for their 1st day of school!

Nyles holding up the sign for his Spanish teacher on the 1st day of school.  Masks are not required this year, but since the Delta variant of Covid is spreading right now and very contagious, so we're asking the boys to wear a mask.  Thankfully they are pros from last year!

Hudson is like a tornado when he sleeps, just like our other 2 boys were at this age.  

He cracks me up w/ the positions we find him in.

We got some good rain this past week.  It was great!  The boat was pretty full from the rain water.

Piper checking out the rain from our bedroom, and seeing it come down.

Steve ran to Costco, but Hudson and Carter fell asleep, so he waited in the parking lot until Nyles was out of school since his school is pretty close to Costco.  There was a huge puddle from the rain next to the parking lot.  Steve also measured the rain that accumulated in the boat.

On Friday, August 20th, I took the day off work, and we celebrated baby Hudson's 1st birthday.  

I made him a "smash" cake along w/ cupcakes for everyone else.

Baby Hudson turned 1! He is such a character and brings a smile to your face. He has the funniest faces, his scowl in particular, which cracks me up. He loves his brothers and is on the go now. He is super strong and has a strong grip, such as your hair or face so beware. He has another bottom tooth so 3 on the bottom and 4 up top. He figured out how to sit back up after being on his belly, and is starting to pull himself up, yikes! He loves to hold things with his feet as well. He is trying new foods all the time and mostly likes them. He especially likes grapes, strawberries, noodles, cheese, go-gurt and bananas. We are so thankful to have him in our family and are excited for this next year with him!

Hudson attacking his birthday cake.

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Carter thought the shark balloon was pretty cool!

Hudson opening his gifts w/ a little help from his brothers.  Thanks everyone for coming and for the thoughtful gifts.  We really appreciate it!

Diane also gave Nyles his birthday present, which was his very own pocket knife, some candy and a couple dollars, all of which he loved.  Thanks Diane!

Hudson is enjoying his new toys and books.  He thought the puzzle piece was a binky; silly kid.  

He also has enjoyed playing on the music xylophone w/ his brothers.

Hudson playing music on the xylophone.

Hudson has learned to sit up, yikes!  He loves to play w/ his stuffed animals.  

And more funny sleeping positions.

Ezra stayed over after Hudson's party.  The boys had fun playing outside and playing w/ Legos.

We have our Rose of Sharon still in bloom and our tropical flower, which I love!

Cute baby Hudson enjoying his new toys: reading his book, using his feet of course, using his feet w/ his xylophone, and playing w/ his magnetic bees.

Nyles and Carter trying on Steve's shoes.  Just a little big :)

Steve took the boat out w/ Nyles and Rob to try to find duck hunting places next month for the youth hunt (he's taking someone else).  The water is super low but they were able to find a couple spots.

Sunday we watched Dave and Joann give a talk in their church via Zoom, then I took Nyles and Carter to 2nd hour (Primary) while Steve stayed home w/ Hudson who was taking a nap.  When we got home, we got our stuff together, then drove up to Midway for Chandler's homecoming talk.  We stayed for lunch and visited a little, then went home.  Later that evening we went for a family walk.  A storm was rolling in so it was cooler outside, which was wonderful.  There also weren't many people out, so we had the walkway to ourselves.

Great quotes.

2nd Week of August - Nyles' birthday

 We had a fun, eventful 2nd week of August.  Here are some highlights:

The boys helped pick the pears off our pear tree.

Lots of pears!  The boys hair has definitely lightened up over the Summer.  

Their hair color actually look the same.

Carter lost his 1st tooth, though technically it was pulled out by the Dentist.  He hit his 2 front teeth on our bench last October while running around the kitchen w/ his socks on.  We had them looked at by the Dentist right after it happened, and he said we'll keep them in there as long as we can.  When he looked at the x-ray this time though, all the roots were gone and he was worried about infection if we left it in.  So we decided to get it pulled.  Though Carter wasn't too happy about getting it pulled, he was happy to hear the Tooth Fairy would be coming that night.

Cute Carter w/ his missing tooth.

Carter fell asleep on the way home from the store w/ a Lego set they bought.  Cute baby Hudson asleep in his crib.  He sleeps in the funniest positions.  Nyles giving baby Hudson a ride and Hudson playing w/ Steve's sunglasses.

Nyles letting baby Hudson try his slushy I made.  He kept wanting more, imagine that :)

Thursday, August 12th we went up to Bear Lake again, this time for Nyles' 9th Birthday!  All year Nyles has been asking to go up to Bear Lake for his birthday.  So, we put it on the calendar and went for it.  We woke up that morning at 7am, and were out the door before 8am.  Rob took time off work as well and came with us.  Rob sat in the front and I got in the back by baby and Carter and Nyles got in the far back of the Honda.  

Things started out pretty good until Carter said he needed to go to the bathroom.  So we stopped at a gas station and he went.  A little while later he said his stomach was hurting.  He also said he was a little cold from the A/C on him, so I gave him Steve's shirt that was close by to wrap up in.  A little while later he didn't look too good and he starting throwing up.  Luckily he caught it in Steve's shirt.  I then leaned over and found a throw up bag, gave it to him, where he then threw up some more.  Steve then pulled over as soon as we could get to an exit.  We then cleaned him up and took the throw up bag to the trash.  Steve left his shirt outside on the trailer.  

I grabbed a Ziploc bag as a backup as we started going again.  He seemed to be doing ok, then all of a sudden he had that "look" again, so I grabbed the bag and gave it to him.  Thankfully he was able to get it all in the bag, then I was able to close it when he was done.  We made it the rest of the way after only having to stop 2 more times at the boat checks.  We got to Bear Lake at 11am.  Dave and Joann also came.  We went through Evanston, WY, but they went through Logan in order to pick up Carrie and Lynsie first and put their kayaks in Dave's truck.  They made it just before 1pm.  

After setting up, we had lunch and started playing in the sand and water.  The weather was perfect!  The smoke had cleared out, there were hardly any clouds in the sky, it was warm and here wasn't much wind.  It was absolutely wonderful.  We had a great time.  And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home.  Hopefully next year we can stay overnight and have even more time to spend up at Bear Lake.

Cute Hudson playing w/ a squirt gun and trying out the sand, including eating it ;)  Nyles and Carter couldn't wait and had to get in the water right after changing in their swimsuits.   They then tried out the kayaks.  It was crazy to see that the water receded even further since we were there 2 weeks earlier.

Lynsie and Nyles on their kayaks.  We brought a rope this time so we could hook up the kids' kayaks in case they got tired (aka Carter).  Lynsie thought it sounded fun, so she got pulled by Steve as well.  The kids then had fun playing on the kayak, rolling around and putting sand on each other.

Lynsie getting pulled by Steve, Nyles playing on his kayak, Joann holding baby Hudson (he's learned to make such funny faces at everyone), and Steve taking Hudson out on the kayak while Carter swims next to him. Another thing we love about Bear Lake is you can go out for a long time and not get too deep.  The kids had so much fun just splashing around.  The water was great!

Aunt Diane couldn't make it, so she sent up some sand buckets and candy for Nyles.  Thanks Aunt Diane!  I also made indoor s'mores as his birthday dessert, and we sang Happy Birthday to him.  Hudson had fun playing in the sand and w/ the toys as well.

More fun playing, and kayaking.  We got Dave out on the kayak for a little while until his back started to hurt unfortunately.  Baby Hudson even took a little nap thankfully.

Hudson eating some Pirates Booty.  The kids swimming in the lake.  Dave and Joann enjoying the nice weather and view.  Carrie put her phone in her kayak and so Dave and I helped her get it out.

Steve w/ Hudson and Carter.  Playing on the kayaks.  Rob giving it a try w/ Lynsie on the back.  

The water is so clear and beautiful, there isn't even algae on the buoys at Bear Lake!

Family picture.  The kids playing in the sand a little more while we clean up and packed everything up.  Silly Hudson w/ his silly faces.

Dave and Joann gave Nyles his birthday present, a Boogie Board (doodle pad).  He played w/ it most of the way home.  We gave Carter some Benadryl before heading out to help w/ his carsickness, and it definitely helped.  We picked up an ice cream shake again before going home, then he was out pretty much the rest of the way.  Thanks everyone for coming up.  It meant a lot to Nyles and us as well.

I took Friday off as well, so that morning we had Nyles open his birthday presents.  At Nyles' request, we had crepes for breakfast.  He got a new Lego set, and immediately went to put it together.  Thanks everyone for the birthday cards and wishes; much appreciated!

That afternoon we had some of the neighborhood boys come over to celebrate his birthday as well.

They played water games w/ water balloons, water guns and water buckets.

Nyles then opened his presents, we sang him Happy Birthday, and had cake and ice cream.  

I let the boys take their water guns home, along w/ a jar of bubble gum.

That night we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner (at Nyles' request also).  He and Steve shared a slab of ribs.  They then had him saddle up and give him a "yeehaw" happy birthday shout out.  Nyles was a little embarrassed, but he mostly enjoyed it, and got some ice cream out of it.  We have more beautiful wild flowers in bloom in the back yard, which I love.

On Sunday we took dinner over to LuDean since Diane was out of town, along w/ Dave and Joann.  Diane had decorated the place though before going, so Nyles was pretty excited.  She also had some cupcakes, so we sang him Happy Birthday again.  She even had a fun game for us to play.  Thanks so much Diane for all your thoughtfulness!

The boys w/ some big suckers.  Hudson was fussing until he got one, then he enjoyed it the whole way home.  He kept saying "num, num."

Great quotes.

1st Week of August

 Steve and the boys had a really busy 1st week of August.  Here are some highlight.

Cute baby Hudson got himself trapped under the laundry basket.  Silly boy.

Monday morning Steve drove up to the cabin w/ the boys to do some work around the cabin.  Dave, Joann, Stacie, London Claire and Conor went up the night before.  Steve cut down trees and the boys helped gather the wood/debris and put it in the dump.  London Claire helped entertain Hudson inside.  The boys ended up staying overnight Monday night w/ Dave and Joann.  

Steve carved Nyles and Carter's names in some of the wood from the trees he cut down.  

Dave ordered a big load of more gravel to put around the cabin.

The kids thought it was fun to watch the truck.  The lawn is now more open after Steve cut down trees.

Carter and Nyles helping to wash the dishes at the cabin.  Later Nyles sharpening his knife.

Carter washing the dishes.

Steve went back up on Tuesday and brought the boys home to sleep.  He then went back up on Wednesday, so 3 days in a row.  The boys were definitely tired when they got back.  They got a lot of work done though and made good progress on items that needed to be completed.

Our peaches and pears getting bigger, growing on the trees.

Cute baby Hudson next to Piper.

Cute baby Hudson loves to splash while in the bathtub.

Friday afternoon, after I got work, Steve and the boys went up to Idaho to pick corn.  They took Rob w/ them, and I stayed home w/ Baby Hudson and Piper.  Saturday morning Steve, Rob and Nyles went out to shoot pigeons.  It was Nyles' first time shooting a gun other than a bb gun.  He thought it was a lot of fun and wants to do it more.  After they got back they went out and picked corn, next to the house.

Nyles and Carter picking corn.  It was pretty tall for them, so that made it a little tricky.  

They still had a fun time picking the corn though.

Steve was in charge of cooking the corn, and Rob and my mom cut the corn and bagged it.  It took them about 5 hours but they did it.  All together they did almost 100 quart bags of corn.  Good work!

Carter playing w/ trains downstairs, and Nyles practice shooting again.

Many of the corn cobs they went through.  Hudson helping me w/ laundry back at home :)

Sunday Hudson and I went to church.  Gotta love his silly faces.

Sunday afternoon Steve and the boys made it home.  We picked a couple of our watermelons we grew this year.  They are very sweet, which Nyles loves!  That evening we went up to Centerville to Stacie/Phill's for our monthly family dinner.  

Hudson playing on Aunt Diane's phone, and playing the piano w/ London Claire and Stacie.

Singing Happy Birthday to Nyles and Hudson for August and Conor and LuDean (not in the picture) for July.  Hudson playing w/ Aunt Diane.  Cameron trying to give Conor a ride a little truck.

I'm so thankful that families are eternal.