He will be missed.

My Grandpa passed away last week and his funeral was today. I am really, really sad that I couldn't be there. He was a very simple man. He served in the war (this is where some of his best stories come from), he built homes for a living and my Grandma used to take pictures of all the homes he helped build and display them in the house. He was 91 when he passed and lived a pretty healthy life. He was strong and fit, sometimes he could hike and climb better than us kids! He loved to sit outside and do puzzles. He was a humble, sweet, hard working, devoted husband.

He was such a good example and I feel honored to be his granddaughter. I can't wait to share stories of this great man with my kids. I know it will inspire them, as it does me, to be a better person and to live up to this family name. We love you Grandpa!!!

Here are some pictures from last summer, almost exactly a year ago, when we went to celebrate his 90th birthday. FYI, it was a good 90+ degrees outside and he's still wearing long sleeves, I don't think I have ever seen him wear short sleeves, that's a southern Utah man for ya!

And he met Mark and Elizabeth for the 1st time. He was so engaging and cute with them, he loved holding and talking to them. This is a memory I will always treasure.

Annie's Blessing Part 2

I am so grateful it was a nice day out and we could bless Annie under the same big tree we blessed the twins in the backyard of Mark's parents house. It's so beautiful out there in the country and Annie behaved so well! Mark said she even smiled at the end of her blessing, she really is such a great baby!! The rest of the pictures are of just our little family of 5.

Have I mentioned how in love we are with Annie? Seriously, she is so smiley, sleeps and eats great...I just want to squeeze her, kiss her cheeks and look into those blue eyes all day long!

I'm not sure why we didn't have Mark take any pictures with Mark and Elizabeth, but I did and it was fun! Elizabeth looked beautiful!!

The most handsome dude around!

These two were so, so, so tired...can you tell?!

One of my favorite pictures of the day! The sun was setting just perfectly for us!

Here we are...our little family of 5!!

Thanks to my amazing sisters in law (??) Karrie and Angela for taking all the pictures!!!

18 monthers!!!

Mark and Elizabeth turned 18 months old today!!!! I can't believe they are half way to being 2...they are getting old quickly and I'm refusing to really think about it! These two are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!! We are officially, and I mean officially into the not so fun parts of being a toddler..tantrums, biting, pinching, separation anxiety...you name it and they are probably doing it!

They are also learning so quickly, copying words and actions that they see and it's so fun to see them learn! We are really having fun with these two and we still feel like the luckiest, most blessed parents in the world! We love these two so much!!!

We took their photos after they got out of the bath tonight and it was a little tricky getting both of them to sit still, look at the camera and smile. Now that I write that out, it is actually a lot to ask a toddler, I guess I should be happy with what we got!

Elizabeth did better than Mark, he was ready for bed but we still captured a few cute shots:

So, so, so handsome!!

Elizabeth has a few different smiles, let me explain them to you. This one is her shy one:

This is her middle of a laugh one:

And this is her smile for the camera and say I'm sweet!

Getting them together on the rocking chair was even harder!

I tried to do popcorn popping but Mark wasn't into it like Elizabeth was:

'a popcorn ball that would smell so sweet'....

'it wasn't really so....hey wait why did we stop mid song mom?'

We moved on to head, shoulders, knees and toes:

These songs were all in an effort to get Mark to take his hands out of his mouth and nose...it didn't really work but we had fun anyway:

And a goodnight hug and kiss to melt our hearts!

Happy 18 month birthday! We'll be going to the Dr. this Friday and will report back with the stats!

Annie's Blessing Part 1

On Saturday August 6th we blessed our little Annie in the backyard at Mark's parents house. We had all of Mark's family there and then my parents and brothers came. We feel like we have the most amazing family, especially our parents. Our mothers have helped in so many different ways over the past several months and we love them so much!! Thanks to all our family members for traveling so far to come and celebrate our Annie and spend time with us, we love all of you!

Here is what we did while waiting for everyone to arrive. The twins were SUPER overtired and my brothers took advantage of that and teased them a little. It's surprising I still talk to them after being raised with these brats! Elizabeth wanted nothing to do with them:

Mark took action, that's my boy!!!

Throwing him in the air will almost always make him happy....

For a few seconds anyway!

Here is my mom playing Ring a round the Rosie with the twins:

And Micah playing with the neighbors cute puppy:

It's amazing how quickly all the kids got along...this is a bunch of our nieces and nephews from both sides getting a ride from Monica:

And now for the best part, pictures of Annie! Here she is with Grandpa T:

And Grandma T:

And all of those who came from my side of the family:

Annie with Grandma and Grandpa B:

Annie and Grandma B:

Annie and Grandpa B:

And ALL of Mark's family!!! It's our 1st family picture in 3 years!

Here are some family pictures. Justin and his beautiful family:

Becky, Jared and the most adorable Sarah I know!

Katie, Reuben and their cuties!