About a week and a half ago we went down to Arizona to visit my family and attend my high school reunion. The boys had a lot of fun. Ryan went on a motorcycle ride with Grandpa. We played lots of games with Katrisa. Wes had a “modified” nerf gun collection that the boys enjoyed, and Grandma made us lots of yummy food. We brought Chloe down with us, and she had fun playing with Wes's cat Zed. While she was out in the backyard one time, one of the chickens got out and she scared the chicken, which then hopped over the fence. It took us about 45 minutes to catch the silly thing and get it back into its coop.

The boys got Burger King crowns on the way down.

Playing Monopoly Jr.

Flying the helicopter

My reunion was kind of lame. It was fun to see people, especially Candice and Meg. We went the the BBQ on Saturday morning (which was really hot!) and the dinner/dance that evening. After dinner it seemed like everyone just wanted to hit the bar, so Candice, Meg, and I, along with our significant others left early to go to Village Inn and get some pie.

We spent this week recovering from the trip and spending some time outside. Yesterday the boys and I did a bike ride (I pushed Tyler in the stroller) to help raise money for a friend with a rare liver disease. We only lasted a mile, but the boys had fun and took really good naps that afternoon!

Ryan has been busy drawing pictures:

Our Famleeey: I am the hairy one, Derek and Ryan are jumping on trampolines and Tyler is under Clayton

Ryan drew me three types of a flowers: a daisy, a velvet rose, and a sunflower

Dad's dinosaur

Ryan is counting by 5's, except he skipped 90. Close enough...

Derek gets naked whenever he gets the chance. I was feeding Tyler inside the house while the boys were playing outside in the pool. Derek said he wanted to come in so I told him to take off his swim trunks just inside the door so he didn't drip all over the house. The next thing I know, he's back outside running around in the buff. We'll have to break him of that habit one of these days.

Tyler is starting to hold his head up a little higher during tummy time. Savannah gave me the idea to put a pillow underneath him and it has made a huge difference. He's cooing a lot these days and loves to be tickled.

My mom came out to visit this past week. The boys had a really good time with her and it was nice having an extra set of hands. One the boy's favorite things to do with her was making crafts. She ordered a couple of kits and together they got to make paper bag monsters, and cardboard tube sea creatures. Grandma also spent a lot of time reading to the boys. This was the first time that that she got to meet Tyler, and she was really good and making him smile and coo. It was really nice visit.

Clayton also celebrated his 32nd birthday this week. My mom left on his birthday, so we did most of the celebrating a day early. I made cannoli and a raspberry zinger cake. The morning of his birthday, I made biscuits and gravy, We got him a water filter that he can take hiking. That night we ended up in town because Tyler had a strong reaction to his shots earlier that day. While we were out we decided to stop at Firehouse Subs for dinner. We didn't get to crazy, but I hope it was a good birthday for Clayton.

Clayton had Friday off of work so we took the boys and Chloe up to an off leash dog park in Evergreen. It's a really pretty spot up in the mountains. There are trails that meander through the trees like an easy hike/nature walk. This is our second time going to this location and we really enjoyed it! We came a little unprepared, though. On our way, we realized that we forgot Chloe's leash so we stopped at Walmart to pick one up. Then when we got to the Elk Meadow, we found that we'd also forgot the carrier for Tyler so we had to hike with him in our arms. It's a good thing he's not to heavy yet! There were only a few tears and one scraped knee, but overall a successful and enjoyable family outing.

Yesterday was the Fourth of July. We kicked things off with our ward pancake breakfast. The boys and I went to the parade in Byers, while Clayton helped some friends load of their moving van. Those same friends came over for lunch, where we barbecued some brats and had homemade Butterfinger ice cream. After they left, we spent the rest of the day hanging out as a family. At dusk we lit off some fireworks and watched some lit off by others. The boys were a little tired this morning since they were up so late, but it was worth it!

Ryan is getting so smart! During singing time today, I was teaching the song "Come Follow Me." He helped me read some of the words. It was a proud Mommy moment! He also left me a note on the door this week that said something like, "Mom, I left all of this mess for you to clean up." He has a book of puzzles, and all of the pieces ended up on the floor. I didn't appreciate the mess, but the note made me smile.

Derek's favorite food lately has been 'cheesy dibbles.' The term comes from a movie he likes to watch. He refuses to call them 'cheetos' and insists that they are 'cheesy dibbles.' Another one of my favorite things Derek has been doing lately is calling chocolate milk 'hot chocolate milk.' I'll ask him if he wants it warmed up, and he tells me he wants "cold hot chocolate milk." It's really cute!

Tyler turned 2 months old on Wednesday and had his doctor's appointment. He weighs 11lbs 4 oz, he's 22.5 inches long, and he's in the 40% for head circumference. We were pretty surprised since our kids typically have much smaller heads. He is starting to smile a lot more and is just starting to coo and make a squeaky kind of laugh. He has just recently discovered his hands and hits himself constantly in the face as he tries to look at them.