Dear Great-Grandpa & Grandma Hurst,

Thank you for my birthday card!

Love,

   Owen

Owen's Had A Birthday, Shout HOORAY!

Doesn't Owen look THRILLED to be celebrating his 1st birthday?

I think he was just upset that his cake was so ugly and that the frog cupcakes that looked super cute in the magazine turned out looking more like aliens.

Anyway-as is our family tradition, Owen had his very own cake to destroy and devour. But when we put it in front of him he had no idea what to do with it.

Here he is deep in concentration, trying to decide if he likes the cake:

Jeff had to help get him started but once he got going, Owen was a little more sure of himself. He did a pretty good job of covering his entire body in cake & frosting from head to toe. 

Mission complete.

Happy Birthday Little Monster!

Owen Is...

Owen is one FLEXIBLE FETUS:

Owen is one CHUNKY-CHEEKED BAMBINO:

Owen is one RELAXED DUDE:

Owen is one GREAT BLESSING:

Owen is one MUSCLE MAN:

Owen is one LOVER OF THE OUTDOORS:

Owen is one ADORABLE PUMPKIN:

Owen is one HAPPY BOY:

Owen is one BUNDLED UP BUG:

Owen is one HUNGRY LITTLE MAN:

Owen is one BIG BRONCO FAN:

Owen is one HANDSOME DEVIL:

Owen is one SILLY BOY:

Owen is one GOOD-LOOKIN' GUY:

Owen is one FUNNY-FACE MAKER:

Owen is one MEAN PIRATE:

Owen is one FAST ARMY-CRAWLER:

Owen is one HAPPY CAMPER:

Owen is one CRAZY MONKEY:

Owen is one WHO LOVES SWINGS:

Owen is one CHOCOLATE CONNOISSEUR:

Owen is one LITTLE FISH:

Owen is one EXCELLENT

FIT-THROWER:

Owen is one COOL DUDE!

OWEN

IS

ONE!

Happy Birthday!

Getting Ready

I'm not sure what they are getting ready for, but I'm hoping it's just to

 fight crime.

Flower Picking, White Water Rafting, Ditch Fishing, & Root Beer Drinking

This weekend Jeff & I got to go to Girls' Camp on Friday-thanks to my sister Shelly & my mom for taking the boys! It was a beautiful drive up to the mountains & Jeff picked me a pretty boquet of wildflowers:

On Saturday morning my dad took us rafting. It was Ethan's 2nd time & Kamden's 1st...they got splashed a lot by the "big waves" so they were cold for most of the ride. They aren't planning their next trip down the river quite yet.

Ethan has been asking to go fishing so that evening we loaded back up in the car and went in search of a good fishing hole. We drove pretty far to a spot that I thought would be secluded but when we got there we couldn't even find a spot to park because there were so many people already there. We kept driving and Ethan was loosing hope but we found a spot where he could fish to his heart's content. Thankfully he only wanted to fish for a few minutes because the only spot we were able to find was off of a bridge that went over a big ditch. Needless to say, there weren't any fish caught on this adventure.

We did, however, see a herd of albino cows:

My parents dropped by on their way to Cruise Night before we put our 3 little monsters to bed.

I am happy to say that we survived our 1st Sunday with Jeff in the Bishopbric! Even though Ethan woke up this morning with horrifying tales about his bad dream. It involved a crazed porcupine chasing him & Kamden. Unfortunatley the porcupine caught up to them & tied them up. That was the end of the dream.
My parents are stopping by this evening with some homemade rootbeer to end another great weekend.

 This weekend was Jeff's 10 year High School Reunion so on Thursday we headed out of town. Along the way we discovered there was a rhinoceros in the backseat: 

Owen isn't a very good traveler, even though he looks sweet & innocent in the picture....

And Ethan decided he was an angry rhino...sometimes he acts like one but I still love him.

For the past 2 years Ethan has been talking about swimming in Grandma Hurst's ditch. He has been waiting that long to be able to go swimming there again and that is what we did every day we were there.

Jeff's brother Tyler got a motorcycle recently and everyone took a turn going for a ride. Jeff's mom rode with her brother Shawn:

When it was my turn I ended up burning my leg on the muffler:

We also spent an afternoon at the pool with cousins:

Colton:

Owen just wanted to splash around in the water:

and play football in the grass:

and enjoy chocolate cookies on a hot summer day:

Kamden LOVES the water. He is 3/4 fish.

Owen takes after Kamden and loves nothing more than to be in the water. This kid can sure scream and squirm when he doesn't want to be taken out of the tub or the pool.

We also got to watch a parade-the 3rd parade we have been to in less than a month. If anyone needs any candy, stop by...we have a bucket full.

Grandpa Earl & Kamden Earl:

Waiting & watching for daddy to come by

on his class float...

Owen enjoying some pretzels before the parade...

~Saltwater Taffy~

Jeff's cousin McKay driving the tractor:

Jeff's other cousin Cody taking some great pictures:

{And I really was kidding about not claiming you as my cousin, Cody}

There was so much candy at this parade, even Great Grandma Hurst helped the kids gather it all up!

The boys got to go for a ride on Thomas the Train:

While I was there I got to take engagement pictures for Jeff's brother Brad & his fiance Cassey.

 Here's a sneak peek:

We came home Saturday so that we could be at church.

Today Jeff was called as the 2nd counselor to our new Bishop.

 We had family from both sides here to support us and I know those who couldn't be here were thinking of us...hopefully praying for me since I will now be sitting through Sacrament Meeting with the boys by myself...

Over the weekend Owen's 2 top teeth have started showing and he also decided it was time to switch it up and not just army crawl and roll everywhere, but also to crawl on his hands and knees: 

{His expression is exactly how I feel about it-he can't possibly be old enough to be crawling & now he's going to be into EVERYTHING!}

Another busy weekend has flown by and now we are on to the next one!