Firsts

First time riding his bike with no training wheels.

Andrew wanted to ride his bike without training wheels so bad. He kept begging me to take them off but I couldn't help him learn right then so I told him he'd have to wait until his dad got home. That wasn't good enough for him so he went and borrowed the neighbors bike that was bigger and had no training wheels and taught himself. I walked outside to check on him and he was coming down the sidewalk all by himself saying "Watch Mom!" He wanted to prove that he was ready right then to take them off. So when Gilbert got home from work we took the training wheels off and off he went. He was a pro from the get go. Spring of 2013.

Spring 2013

  First garden....
We got a plot in our neighborhood garden and thought we'd give it a go. We loved having a garden and here's what we learned after our first year:
1. We love carrots!
2. Carrots last forever.
3. Watering everyday is much harder than you would think.
4. We don't water enough to keep lettuce sweet.
5. Broccoli grows crazy.
6. Ruby loves sugar snap peas.
7. We could never have enough strawberries. We always fought over who got the prized few we had grow.
8. You never know what you're going to get growing in a neighborhood garden. ie: green beans/ a turnip. Thanks to our great neighbors the Bohnes. #funsurprise!
9. We could never grow enough tomatoes.
10. Cucumbers need more space. But they were very sweet.
11. We love having a garden!

Before

After

Better Late Than Never :)

A quick recap....... I haven't blogged in way too long and I have decided it's my favorite way to journal. It helps me remember the details of life better than anything else so I am going to do a quick catch up and then blog our life as is happens. The ups and the downs, and mostly the memories I never want to forget.......

Ruby LOVES eating snow. If she is ever out in the snow this is what she's doing always! I learned no matter how hard I try I can't stop her from eating it so I tried to teach her how to pick which snow is better to eat. (Winter of 2013 at Papa's house)

 We got to visit family is St. George a few times last year. This is one of the times and we went with Grandpa Rowley to his farm. He let Andrew drive the tractor (which you can't see him) and gave us a fun ride in the bucket of the tractor all around the farm. It was a fun ride and Andrew was a great driver.

 Gilbert went Tiger Muskee fishing a handful of times last year. This is one of his best that he caught. He even took us along a couple times.

 I have always dreamed of becoming a runner..... One of those that love/ enjoy running. I decided I need to get good at it first and then maybe I will love it. I have always hated running. I wish that wasn't true but there's nothing about it that I like. So last year I really wanted to get in shape before getting pregnant again so Gilbert would go on his daily runs and then on his third or fourth lap (his cool down) I would run with him. He would give me good pointers and help me with the mental game of running. My overall goal was to become mentally strong and since running is always something I have struggled with I thought it was a good place to start. Gilbert helped me A LOT! He is very encouraging and patient. I wanted something to work toward to we both signed up for a 5k. Gilbert took second place (even with a handful of high school runners and a couple college runners). After Gilbert finished he came back and finished it with me. My goal was to run the whole thing but in the end my knee gave out on me and I could barely walk. Gilbert talked me through finishing. Thanks Babe! Someday I am going to run a whole 5k. I know that's a small mile marker for most but for me it will be a great accomplishment. My friend Katie Watson also went running with me a lot and did the 5k with me. She is in much better shape so at the end I told her to finish strong when my knee gave out. She was a great running companion too.

 Papa Oldham's house...

 Andrew's first experience of soccer. 2013....

 Ruby enjoyed the flowers as much as the game.

 This is where we live... 2011- 20? This is actually the house across the street from us. This sis our view. We have loved living in The Springs and  mostly the awesome neighbors and friends we have made here.

 Camping at Newton. This is one of the times Gilbert took us fishing with him and we camped overnight. The kids loved it! Fishing, climbing trees, roasting marshmallows, campfires, looking at the stars, throwing rocks, getting soaked, and enjoying being together.

 Papa Oldham's house and all the fun we have there.....