oliver meets bridger

We were so excited to hear that Andrea and Bridger would be coming to town last week for a family wedding. We know it was a busy weekend for them, but lucky for us we got a few hours with them. After all, we're already planning on these 2 being best friends and college roommates, so we've got to start the friendship young. Isn't it cool that they were born just 6 days apart? And you got to love their funny expressions in some of these. Cute funny boys.  

a backyard fancy schmancy 6-course dinner

The same day we got back from our anniversary getaway, our friends were hosting a 6-course dinner for Melanie's 30th birthday. I'm glad we were able to sneak in a family trip to Krispy Kreme in between before we left our kids again. 

But this dinner party. It was so much fun! Yes, I totally judged a party by the decor, but what can I say? It was fun to see how well they thought out all the details from a cute banner, to fresh flowers, to gourmet food. I love planning parties, but it's just as much fun to go to one! We got all snazzied up (in practically the only dress I still fit in) and enjoyed the evening eating super delicious and fancy food and meeting new people. We even got to do some dancing on the lawn before heading off to get our babysitter home. I forgot to get a picture of Brandon and I, but that means we'll have to do another fancy dinner party again soon. Well, maybe after the baby so I can feel fancier. :) 

the saturday we turned our house into a spudnut factory

We had our 8th annual spudnut party early this year for 2 reasons. 1. Because with a baby coming, Hollie's wedding, and other things in October, it was going to be too crazy. 2. September 12th was "Paul Day." Paul Moore is a friend in our ward who has terminal kidney cancer. He has only been give a few month left to live. Paul Day was an effort to sacrifice something and donate that money to Paul and his family. We prayed to know how to help Paul's family and we decided to host our party early and accept donations for the spudnuts. 

We spent our Friday night cleaning up the yard and mowing the grass. We spent all day Saturday preparing: setting up tiki torches, patio lights, chairs, making 3 batches of dough, rolling out 333 spudnuts (Brandon did this!), and frying them all up. Having Paul and his family in mind made all the work and effort so worthwhile. 

We are grateful for those who helped us: our neighbors who fed our kids dinner while we were frying the donuts, my dad who helped fry, my cousin who offered to glaze, and others. It was a team effort. There is no way we can do this alone anymore! 

Our prayers were answered! The party was a huge success. We had over 175+ people come--another reason we were super glad we did it early so we can have it in the backyard. Through the generosity those who came, we raised $900 for the Moores. Taking it over to them was a neat experience. Our heart goes out to them! Perhaps we will always have to pick a family to help through a party because we just felt so happy and good after it. 

Here's a few photos and a behind the scenes video. 

we ♥ the fourth

Decked out in red, white, and blue, we partied hard on the 4th! Really though, the festivities started on Thursday with a neighbor BBQ and water kickball. It's times like these I feel so grateful for awesome neighbors that we can do things like this with. 

 

^I made the flag jello cake. Yum! 

Evelyn had no fear when it came to the sparklers. Blake on the other hand wanted nothing to do with them.

^cute baby Hallie

The actual 4th of July started off with a bang with with our ward breakfast and bike parade. Then off to the Kaysville water parade which was long and crazy. Good thing we had the best seats in the town. The Nelsons met up with us which was  treat! Then, a lunch BBQ with the family, long naps, and fireworks to end the night. God bless the USA. 

^Us prego ladies should have done this much sooner to cool off. 

I secretly loved that the committee wanted to use my balloon arch from last year when we were in charge. It just makes this bike parade so much more legit. :)

pittsburgh girls weekend via the iphone

I just got back from a very fun weekend in Pittsburgh visiting Andrea Nelson. We've been friends since elementary. She's practically a sister to me. Although we have our differences, we are so similar and can relate to each other in a lot of aspects of our life. Her boys were at Fathers and Sons, so it gave me the perfect chance to sneak away to spend some time with her. A huge thanks to Brandon and family who helped with Blake and Evelyn. It was hard leaving them and traveling solo (haven't done it since before kids), but once I got there I felt right at home. Andrea was the perfect hostess--with chocolates and a note on my bed and basket of goodies with everything I would possibly need for a comfortable stay.

I loved having some time just with her and then it was fun to spend time with her family and see their neck of the woods again. I came home very sleep deprived and had a bad cold, but it was worth it!

We didn't quite take 30 photos like we had hoped, but here's what we captured with our phones.

very grainy photo after dinner and thrifting, part 1

we really wanted to buy this sweater. look at the detail! $14 was way too much!

we are both 30 this year. yikes!? 

we almost bought these dresses to wear on a river dinner cruise. next time. 

hit the jackpot at Salvation Army! 3 dresses, 10 shirts and 1 skirt later...

we took advantage of the expectant mother parking. we are due within a week of each other!! 

lots of late night talking. don't remember the last time i stayed up until 4 am! still paying for it. 

pre-church photo. i'm in love with this backyard tree. actually, their entire backyard. 

fun outing to downtown pittsburgh with braddock and landon

windy river cruise! pittsburgh is a cool city! 

Can't wait to see you in Utah!