That's What We Do!

It's time for another blog catch up because, lately, that's what we do.

Fun Visits

We enjoyed a fun visit from Craig's parents July 10th through the 12th. I have no pictures unfortunately, but we enjoyed it all the same. We went up to Ikea and Michael helped my Dad get my Grandpa Andreason's old Dodge running, which my parents are VERY grateful for! Thanks for the visit, and for everything else, guys! :)

Stewart Falls

Craig's parents left on Tuesday and we decided to enjoy a sunset stroll up to Stewart Falls because that's what we do.

OK it's not really a stroll. It's a hike. Not a hard hike unless you take three kids, one that can't walk, and a 7 year old nephew with you. And we didn't really mean for it to be so close to sunset. The whole thing was very much like a marathon.

We hiked in as fast as we could.



Ate our picnic dinner as fast as we could.



And hiked out as fast as we could.

Notice we have no pictures of this because we were all completely exhausted and had no patience left for pictures. Oh, and it was getting dark. We were very happy for the full moon. OK "happy" may not be the best word to describe how we were hiking out. I still don't know where I drew the strength to keep my legs moving-- cut me some slack I had 20 lbs of baby riding with me. But it was a blessing that we had the moonlight to get us through that last 1/4 mile or so.

Stewart Falls is quite different from how we remembered it. The extra water we received this year causes the mist from the falls to have quite the reach. The area where we used to picnic down below is now full of mud and snow-- yes there's still snow. There were also no trees this year. They have all been plowed over. I'm guessing from the run off. It was really crazy. It almost looks like a bomb went off there.




Despite the fact that we yelled a lot, and were rather cranky on the hike out, it still must have been a fun family outing. My nephew asked if we could go again.

New Family Members

In other news we added two new members to our family. No I'm not pregnant with twins. We just got two cute little kittens because that's what we do.



Our neighbors were "Selling them for free" as my nephew phrased it. Big H LOVES cats, and it was always our thought that we would get one if we came across one for free.



Well my nephew wanted a cat too so we said he could have one as well. There's a girl and a boy. We named them Buzz and Jesse. They live in the shed and have endured endless torturous and affectionate play times-- and that's just from the neighbor kids and my nephew ;).



OK the twins aren't much better, but for 2 year old's they really handle the cats well.

Owning animals is a paver on the road to happiness, so I don't mind inviting the cuddly creatures to come live with us.

30th Anniversary

We threw my parents a "30th Anniversary Party" because that's what we do. We did a Hawaiian type theme because we'd love to send them to Hawaii but can't afford too.



We all enjoyed yummy food and swimming in the pool.





The baby wore himself out. He's my only one that will fall asleep like this. The twins have to be in the car in a room to fall asleep.



My grandma's. Both widows. When we started planning this party, back in June, my mom said my Grandpa Guthrie would like it because it would help get my grandma out of the house. It was only days later that he passed away. It's so crazy to think he couldn't even make it to this party. I'm sure he was there in spirit. I'm sure both grandpa's were.



Our family friends Mac and Mickey joined us. Mac is the one responsible for introducing my parents. We always enjoy their company. And we enjoyed everyone who joined us at the party



I was really happy to see all those who came to support my parents in celebrating their special day. I'm sad Craig couldn't make it. He helped to give it. Sorry you couldn't get work off sweetie. Anyway. . .here's to 30 more wonderful years!

Splash Park

We took a trip to the local splash park again. This time my cousins Alisha and Ashlie, and Ashlie's daughter, came with us. Why did we do it? Because that's what we do. Well, that, and Ashlie had the idea to come see the kittens and then go to the splash park :).



This time Baby M joined in on the fun!




Today. . .

We have swollen eyes, or eye, because that's what we do. Big H's eyes flared up the first time he held the cats. We were worried he might be allergic, but he hasn't shown any signs since. Then today I noticed just one eye was red, weepy and puffy. It got better with some Benedryl and Motrin, but I still feel bad for the poor guy. Hopefully it clears up.



This has been another Stratton Blog Catch Up. Thanks for joining us!

Father's Day and Some Summer Events

Thanks to a friend of mine we discovered there is a splash park not far from our house. Before we were driving up to Highland and Salt Lake to enjoy splash parks. Of course, each splash park is enjoyable in it's own way. I think the Highland one is my favorite, but this one is a plus for convenience.






We finally convinced Baby M he could crawl. It took a lot of effort on both our parts. He did a lot of crying and screaming, and we tried to have a lot of patience. He really isn't a fan of crawling. I think he'd much rather walk. He can pull almost pull himself up, so I'm sure walking isn't far away,



June 17

We attended a close friend's wedding. She's actually younger sister to my best friend when I was growing up. We've kind of drifted a part, but her family is still really important to me so I was very excited for her little sister. Isn't this the coolest cake?



June 19

We celebrated Father's Day by having a nice breakfast, or I guess more of a brunch. I made Craig some yummy crepes and invited my parents over. Later that night we had a nice steak dinner with the rest of the fam. With no Grandpa's to see it was kind of a lonely Father's Day.



Craig got a fancy flag to put on the house. The twins enjoyed marching it around the house, and they were rather disappointed when Dad put it away.



And the boys got some scrubs just like dad. I wrote Future Murse on them. That's a term used for Male Nurses.



June 20

Friends and family gathered together to mourn the loss of Grandpa Guthrie. Not the happiest of occasions, but still it was nice to get together with friends and family. This is Baby M giving my Aunt Maxinne some hugs. He kept leaning into her. It was so cute!






My grandpa's grave is close to another friend's grave. She was a girl I worked with before I moved to St. George. She died not long after I had the twins. Such a special spirit.



I was sad to see her father passed away last Christmas.



June 27

We got together to celebrate the birth of one of the most important men in our lives. Craig's birthday was Monday and we had fun swimming in the pool and eating some goodies.



Craig's cake this year was a homemade pumpkin pie and some Princess Cakes from Ikea. The princess cakes were good, but I wasn't a fan of the pumpkin pie I made.



Baby M however loved it all.



Random

Here's Craig pretending to blow out his pretend candles. I didn't bother with them because usually the wind makes them pointless. However, they probably would have worked this year. Figures!



I got bit by the art bug not too long ago. Decided to sit down and make something fun. I don't know if I like it, but it at least I enjoyed making it.



I also painted these as invites for my parents anniversary party. They turned out pretty cute!