The Wedding of All Weddings

Jeff and Jenna were married on June 25 2011. We were all so excited and to say that Jeff and Jenna are PERFECT for each other is a gross understatement. I'm pretty sure they were made for each other. The wedding was AMAZING. It was so beautiful. Months and months of preparation went into it and you could tell when the day finally came. They were married on the top of a hill on my family's ranch. They flattened the top of the hill, planted grass and flowers and trees, built an arbor, added stairs...what didn't they do? It was so beautiful and the only way to get the full affect was to be there. The pictures just don't do it justice.

Chad and I after I gave the toast at the reception.

Trev man looking studly. It was hot outside and the poor boy had to wear pants.

My mom and Dad on their way up to the top of the hill. Golf carts were used to load the guests to the top and back down. All in all there were 5 large golf carts and a mini van.

The bride and groom. So beautiful.

Jeff and I before the wedding

All the girls who were in the wedding wore cowgirl boots. How cute is that?

Cami walking down the aisle sprinkling her flowers.

Riley taking her turn.

All the kids with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenna after the wedding.

This is a view of the chairs on the top of the hill the day after the wedding.

These little flower arrangements were tied to the side of each inside aisle chair. Jenna and Jeff made most if not all of their decorations. I didn't get a picture of all of them at the reception dinner but they were all very pretty.

The wedding arbor that they stood underneath while getting married.

My kiddos

Me Jeff and Jenna

My brothers and I and Jenna

The pictures just don't do it justice. The wedding was perfect and beautiful. We love Jenna and we are so excited to have her join our family.

The Fourth of July...(was a long time ago!!)

This year, our 4th of July festivities were very lax. We had dinner with my family on the Saturday before. We also set off some fireworks of our own that Andrew had purchased in another state. Thanks Andrew. The kids loved it. Then on the 4th, I got up and ran in the West Point 5k run. I got a personal best time of 24:35. Atleast I think that was my time, it's been a while since it all happened. After the run, I met Chad to watch the parade with the fam. The parade was in true West Point form this year. It was, small, to say the least but the kids had fun. Next we went to the park and looked around at all of the fun booths there was there. After a while, it was evident that we would have to head home because Trevor and Paityn were so tired. So we went home and we stayed at home the rest of the day. It was a great fourth. I love living by the park.We're close enough to see all that is going on and even go over and hang out for a bit, but we don't have to pack for an all day trip and we don't have to camp out at the park. We had a BBQ with all the trimmings, jumped on the trampoline, got ready for bed and then settled down for the fireworks show. West Point did not disappoint this year. The fireworks were fantastic. After that we put all the kiddos to bed and hit the hay ourselves. All in all it was a great fourth of July.

Roasting marshmallows over the stove with Penny at the family BBQ. It actually worked really well this way. No smoke to deal with but you still end up with a fabulously gooey smore.

Jenny joined in as well

YUMMY!!

Kaelynn and Riley doing some roasting themselves.

Riley lighting off her firework from Uncle Andrew. This may or may not have been an illegal one.

Cute Cami

Paityn was having a blast watching all of the fireworks.

Over time we got the whole neighborhood to come over and participate in our fireworks.

Trev LOVED the sparklers

All the kiddos watching the fireworks show that Chad was putting on.

Allison and I after our 5k run. Jenny ran with us as well but she headed home right after the race.

Paityn waiting for the parade, enjoying a treat.

This is Trev's "thumb's up" sign. He really liked the snakes and lizards.

This was a massive lizard that was on display. It was huge and his tail had been cut off in an accident with a door.

Waiting for the city fireworks to go off.

King Family Fun Continued...

While Tyler and Kelly were here and before Kiley left, we all went to Lagoon for some family fun. We all had a great time. The kids had fun with their cousins, the parents had fun on some of the rides and the kids had fun riding the scary rides. Riley hurt her neck on the colossus so she was uncomfortable after that. Poor girl! At the end of the evening, Hilary threw out the idea of going on the sky coaster. We had initially wanted to go sky diving while Tyler and Kelly were there...turns out that for some of the people who said yes to sky diving it was just all talk. Us braver people, or should I say WOMEN, put our money where our mouths were and bought the tickets to do the sky coaster. It was the funnest and scariest thing I have ever done. I went with Hilary and Kelly and Kiley went together. We went first. We got all of our gear on and were ready to go. Nerves started to go too. We got hooked up to the thing that hoists you all the way to the top. As we got higher and higher, both Hilary and I got a little more tense and we kept saying "ok, we've got to be almost there right?" WRONG!! We went so high up. Once we got up there, the guy over the speaker started his count down and Hilary and I both started to panic. We were wondering, out loud, what we had gotten ourselves into. When the guy said Go, Hilary reached back and pulled the cord. We nose dived straight down to the ground and at the last minute we scooped up and swung out over the park. It was INCREDIBLE. I loved it, minus the initial scary death defying fall. I would definitely do it again. All in all it was a fun filled trip to Lagoon.The weather was perfect, the kids were healthy and happy. Who could ask for more?

Purchased my ticket. You can see a bit of fear in my eyes.

The four bravest

All hooked up and ready to go

All the kiddos were pretty nervous for their Mommy's. It was pretty sweet.

Flying over the crowd on the first pass

All done and happy to be safe on the ground

The best ride EVERKelly and I showing our nervous sweat marks. Although most, if not all, of Kelly's was from her harness being soaking wet. Who knows why it was wet. Mine however was not wet. What's my problem?

My kiddos on the carousel

Ami and I on the lady bug bop...her favorite ride

Pait and I waiting for the train

Cute Cam Jam

Riley and her cousin Lia

Trev was cute and went on the rides with Pait. What a good big brother

"Nuggle Time" is My Time

For the last couple of months, Trev and I have started and kept up a new nightly routine. We clean up his room and clear the mess from the day and make a path to his bed.Get his pajamas on. Brush his teeth. Go potty and then, it's snuggle time. Or as Trev likes to say, nuggle time. I love this part of my day. I feel so needed when he says, "mom,come nuggle me for a lil bit!" I love that. I love climbing up into his bed, pulling the covers over his little body, resting my head on his doggy pillow pet or his puppy he's named Buddy or his froggy he's named Beans, pulling him close to me so I can smell his little clean from the bath tub little boy scent and feel his short stubble from his hair against my face.I tickle his back for a bit until his eyes get heavy, then I start tickling his face. I love watching his eyelids start to droop and his face smoosh up as it falls farther into his pillow. When his breathing starts getting louder and a slight snore can be heard, I know my nuggle time is almost up for the night and it makes me a little sad. I want it to be like this forever. I want him to ask for nuggle time every night for the rest of my life.I reluctantly pull his covers up over him like he likes it, kiss his cheek, give him a little squeeze and whisper "I love you" into his ear. Then I slowly crawl off of his bed, thanking my Heavenly Father for that nuggle time I just had with my son. Now if I can only find a way to make him stay little forever. I'd be one lucky mama.