Adam at 15 months

I need to freeze a moment in time so I can remember what my baby boy is like.

Adam just turned 15 months and he fools most people into thinking he is a 2 year old.

He runs as fast as Eden. In fact, I have to do more than walk to catch him. He even thinks he is so big as to walk down the stairs like a grown up. If only his legs agreed they were long enough.

He has discovered how to throw and kick balls and will do whatever he can to keep up with Eden.

Adam is a HUGE tease.

And yet he is as obedient and polite as any 15 month old can be. He throws things away without me asking and understands most everything. He communicates well through sign language, saying "please," "all done," "thank you," and "good night." He has a floppy wave which is just adorable and is very friendly.

Adam has a grin that will melt your heart and a huge underbite that makes me think of Grandpa (Joe) everytime I see it.

He's got great rhythm and starts to groove whenever he hears a beat.

He doesn't say much yet besides "uh!" in different intonations- it's amazing what you can understand with one non-word. But he does say Mom, Dad, and Hi. Which also translates into Grandma, Matthew, and Phone. Phones... he loves phones. Every kid does- Adam just happens to put his hand up to his ear and say 'hi' for phone and you can bet on finding him stealing the phone from grandma and grandpa's room because it's within reach. He may or may not have dropped it in the toilet and bathtub at one time.

We have nearly 8 teeth, but it doesn't matter the number- he eats almost anything he wants these days. If I gave him a choice, it would almost always be something chocolatey or sweet, surprise, surprise... and somehow even if I don't let him have what he wants he finds it anyway. Don't all grandkids know where the secret candy stash is? Or it's as easy as just asking grandma.

That's my buddy Adam. He's a great kid and we love him!

The small things that make life wonderful

July 6th is a day in the book to remember. Happy wedding day to Mitch and Collette! It was a beautiful event and lovely day.  

A is for Adam! And Aggies... which I may be trying to engrain in him already.

Maddy and the kids and I took a day trip to Logan to walk the campus and visit the town. Wow have things changed! I'm only a little jealous that the new gym and updated facilities weren't there 10 years ago. 

Cheese!

This is what you get when Eden has the phone and pulls a selfie. Photo bomb by mom and dad!

We were lucky enough to spend a couple days in Park City on the Mountain playing in the pool and going down the slide and coaster. Go Eden!

This is a big deal.

The basement got remodeled and the entire house regained a new spirit, smell, look, and life overnight. We did a great job painting, if I say so myself and Lindsey has the touch of a decorator.

Balloons! Hot ones!

We are so lucky that Sandy threw a hot air balloon festival. It was worth waking the kids up for and fun to see them blow up the balloons and take off. 

(Adam gets awesome bed head. 

This is his, "why did mom wake me up so early face.") 

Snapshots of my kids growing up: bigger car seats, new kicks, and a good looking haircut by yours truly.

This is all we see of Adam these days: a blur. He forgot how to walk and only runs, jumps, and climbs wherever he goes.

Look at my smart girl!

Eden is practicing her letters and has started to write words.

Happy Labor Day!

This is post golfing at the driving range. Thanks to the Hodge's for letting us swim with them at the neighbor's.  Eden was pretty excited she could touch the bottom :)

Smile for mom! 

Eden is just the sweetest and that's my Adam- smiling so big his cheeks turn into balls and his eyes are squinty. He is my Jack baby and has moments where he looks just like Grandpa (Joseph) Jack.

Life is full of happy moments, but we undeniably have fought through the thick of despair this past year too. Though life can seem so hopeless and grim at times, I believe that we will look back and see miracles and remember these little things that brought so much joy. Family is everything.

I'm happy to say that Austin started a job two weeks ago is arising as a conqueror of major depression- no small feat. 

Having the knowledge of God's plan and having faith in my Savior, Jesus Christ has been the saving string of light and comfort. We are still just coming out of our tunnel of darkness, but I can testify because of Jesus Christ everything will be more than okay; it will be better than we can imagine. 

Maui: Gardenhire vacation 2018

ALOHA!

Welcome to Maui. Gardenhire trip June 2018.

From Salt Lake to Seattle and 6 hours later we land in Hawaii and are welcomed with lais.

Hello vacation.

Day one we woke up at 1:30 to take a bus tour in the dark up to the top of Haleakala, Maui's 10,000 foot volcano to watch the sun rise. It was a once in a life time experience. We were in heaven- or so it felt like it. At the top of the crater, we stood above the clouds. In fact, at that high, it was so cold that we had to wear 3 layers to stay comfortable.

After the sun rose and standing at the edge of this mountain it was as close as I could imagine to standing at the edge of the creation. The beginning of time may have looked much like this.

They took us to the top and then we got to ride to the bottom. All. The. Way. Down.

Weeeeeeee!

We rode through at least 6 climate zones. As we were explained on our tour, Maui has 12 out of the 14 climate zones. Pretty neat, eh?

Pool time!

Barry and Alecia took the family out to a really nice, really $$ fish-house Tuesday night. Our waiter was spunky and unforgettable as was Austin's breath after we ate. He made history that night- he tried 4 different types of fish that night. 4!

Though we didn't get pictures, we had surfing lessons on Thursday. What a blast! And everyone did really well. We all got up and Austin even caught a wave on his own.

Friday was ziplining day. Though we zipped down 8 lines and an entire mountain, I almost think the ATV ride up the train was just as impressive. Those things are amazing! We sped up a 50% rocky incline without feeling a thing. Say what?

Look at that view!

There was one line where they let a few of us go upside down. No other line was remotely scary, but that was a rush. I felt like I could see better without the wind in my eyes. Some lines we were going so fast that we got upto 60 mph with the longest being 3/4 mile long. I guess I stayed upside down a bit too long because I didn't have enough speed going in to the end. Instead of hitting the brake hard, I rolled backwards over the highest line at 640 feet high and just hang until they could rescue me. Oops.

You can't go to Hawaii without snorkeling. Saturday was spent riding a boat to a little island to do just that. The boat ride was a little rough on a few of our tummies, but once we made it to the island, it was awesome. Even Eden wanted to jump in the Ocean and swim. Swim she did and loved every minute.

This looks eerily like St. Kitts. Being in Maui made me realize that everything is relative. Some things are uniform across all islands: rotten, imported, and expensive food; desert looking landscape; hot heat; poverty. What makes the difference is having money, staying in the right place, and for us, being a tourist. Still, it's beautiful and we had a great time.

Our last big adventure was around the other side of the island where we hiked down to a blow hole. What an indescribably beautiful view and cool thing- Eden did great hiking down and had a blast looking for crabs and getting splashed with the water. The blow hole sprayed upwards of maybe 30 feet and quite resembled a geyser.

Crabs!

I think we saw a rainbow at least once every day, often doubles. 

Now I know why there are rainbows on the Hawaii license plate and that song makes a lot more sense. We found the place "somewhere over the rainbow."