kimmie and josh come to texas

We had a fabulous time when Jimmie and Josh came to visit. This was the first time they met Colby, so it was a pretty big deal. There was a lot of mutual love going on, and Brooke instantly warmed up to them as well.  Brooke kept tabs on where they were at, at all times :)

Outings included a day at Hawaiian Falls, and a trip to the Fort Worth stockyards.  Brooke FINALLY was able to ride a pony, so her day was made.

I really wish I lived closer to my siblings because I miss having time with them, but it makes me appreciate the visits that much more.  I need to do a better job at talking to Kimberly on the phone because we have always been close, but it's hard now that we have such busy lives.  But it's definitely something that I feel is important.

may with the littles

I am so bad at narrowing these pictures down, but I like all the little memories from the month.  I used to keep a Line-A-Day journal for Brooke, but with two kids, that has gone out the window.  So, this is my record of our daily life :) This picture is by far my favorite!  I was trying to take a selfie with the kids when Colby lunged across me to grab at the cookie Brooke was eating.  What can I say, when Colby wants something, he goes for it!!

I walked into my closet one day to find my shoes arranged like this, haha.  Brooke cracks me up sometimes, but I like to see how her mind thinks and find these little reminders of her throughout the house.

We took a Sunday afternoon walk because the weather was PERFECT!  We had a ton of rain in May, which meant cooler temperatures.  Brooke is still in her church dress because she never wants to change after church.  Unlike Kevin and I, who immediately put on lounge clothes, haha.

After attending Kinley's dance recital, Brooke wanted to dress up as a dancer.  With her tutu and pony mask from Kinley's pony birthday party.

Then she needed a top knot to complete the dancer look.

Then she quickly changed her mind, haha.  She REALLY needed a braid, so I obliged.

Then we headed to the park to meet our friends Whit, Elias, and Miss Rachel.

More squishy moments with Colby boy.  We had been out running errands and I nursed Colby in the car.  He was sound asleep, so I just held him there so he could catch a short nap before I had to get him back in the car seat.  Brooke was watching Strawberry Shortcake in the back.  I never thought I would want a car with a DVD player, but it has been so handy.  When Brooke was a baby, I always planned my outings around her nap and feeding schedule.  Which meant that I had very short windows of time in order to get my errands done.  With Colby, I just do what I need to do, and feed him while we are out.  This is when the DVD player comes in handy.  Colby is fed, Brooke is happy (and quiet), and I don't have to be on a strict schedule.

While buying Daddy some flip-flops, Brooke also determined that her Daddy needed this swimsuit.  Not quite his style, but I like that she was thinking about her Daddy.

Brooke continues to love our outings to the pet store.  She especially loves the cats. I make sure I send all these pictures to Kevin because he is not a cat fan, but is sure that we need a dog. (Not happening, BTW.)

Colby had his first strawberry, and he was hooked.  It was like the scene from "What About Bob?" when Bob is loudly enjoying his corn on the cob.  Colby had plenty to say about that delicious strawberry.

We were making candy grams at mutual one night, and Colby kept grabbing at the bags of candy.  I finally let him have one to see what he would do, and he proceeded to shake the bag as the candy dumped all over him.  It was pretty comical.

One day, as we were leaving the house, we were having the hardest time finding Brooke's shoes.  I always keep them right by the back door, so I was frustrated that NONE of her shoes were there.  We looked all over the place, and finally had to head upstairs to get some church flats to wear for the day. That afternoon, while we were playing, I found her shoes, haha.  I guess i didn't think to look in her kitchen! I wish I knew what was going on in her mind when she placed them there, but who knows.

This was from the Sunday I was sustained as YW President.  I had about 7 minutes to get Colby to sleep before I needed to head into YW, and I succeeded :)  But then he woke up when I passed him off to Daddy :(

Play-doh is one of our favorites activities while Colby naps.  It is pretty quiet, and keeps Brooke entertained for a good 30 minutes or more. She received the set from Nay Nay and Papa for Christmas, and she is getting pretty creative with all the "foods" she can create with it.

Brooke entertaining Colby while I get ready for the day...

Entertaining herself with a block staircase and princess tower...

Sibling love :)

To say that Colby loves ice cream is a huge understatement.  I was letting Brooke eat an ice cream cone in the tub, and Colby made sure that we were aware that he wanted a taste.  He then grabbed it away from me and wanted to suck it on his own.  Funny boy.

Despite the fact that Colby is getting so big, Brooke still asks to hold him.  It was such a tender moment as he just stared at his big sister.  I have a feeling that they will be best little buddies.

We had a pizza picnic one day...

And Colby was able to hold himself up (briefly) at the water table.

We had gone on a little walk, and Brooke noticed some dirt coming out of one of the irrigation pipes from our planter box.  She sprawled out and dug the dirt out with her finger.  I was just glad no bugs came out!

This was sitting on the counter one day, and Brooke asked for a bite.  I told her that it was a fig bar, and after spitting out the bite, she said, "I don't like fig bars, only candy bars".  She is her father's daughter, haha.

One afternoon, I was trying to plant some new flowers.  What should have taken 20 minutes, ended up taking 2 hours because Colby was super needy.  We stopped several times while I attempted to get Colby down for a nap, and I eventually just turned on the hose and made it "rain" for Brooke, which entertained Colby.

In the end, Colby napped, and Brooke and I finished our project.  I was pretty happy to have new plants, and a new welcome mat.

It was a patience testing kind of day, but I sure love these kiddos.  Even when it is difficult to complete the simplest tasks :/

After bath one night, I went into Colby's room to put something away and I set him in his crib.  He still doesn't sleep in there, but I'm thinking that sometime soon we need to make the transition.

Brooke is such a little mommy these days.  She is all about feeding her babies, swaddling them, putting them in the carseat carrier, and giving them check-ups. It's fun to see those natural instincts manifest themselves.

Remember how I love sleeping pictures of my baby?  This was after a car-nursing session.

One day, while grocery shopping, I gave Colby a box of pasta to shake.  He was a little fussy, and the pasta box was just what he needed.  That was, until I noticed that pasta was spilling out because he chewed a hole in the bottom of the box.  Oops!  Apparently I need to pay better attention to my child.

And we'll finish the month off with these tiny muscles.  I seriously adore this boy and could kiss and love on him all day.  May was good to us...now on to June.

kinley's dance recital

Kinley invited us to attend her Spring Dance Recital, and Brooke was super excited to attend.  We went to her Christmas recital, but it was pretty low-key, and we were almost late because I had a 6 week old baby Colby. I snapped a few pictures on the way in.  (Of course, Brooke had to bring her fancy purse that Grandma bought her.)

We enjoyed watching the recital, and Brooke was especially interested in the older girls who did "upside down tricks", as Brooke called them.  My favorite moment was after the recital, when Brooke just wanted to give Kinley hugs and tell her that she did a good job.  Kindly received some flowers, and as Brooke saw a bunch of other little dancers receive flowers, she said, "Where are my flowers?"  Although I am not one to think that all kids need to have everything the other kids have, my heart kind of broke.  I explained that the flowers were a way to say good job on the recital, but I later told Kevin that he should bring his little girl some flowers one day!

sundays

I was called as the Young Women's President in May, which was an interesting experience.  Kevin had a PPI with the Bishop back in March, in which the Bishop told him that he may need to be released from his calling because of a "big" calling he had in store for me.  I figured this meant a member of some presidency, which was kind of terrifying.  I was feeling like I was barely staying on top of my duties as wife, mother, and homemaker.  My current calling as YW Secretary was perfect for me.  I attended everything, but was really only in charge of Personal Progress, secretary duties, YW In Excellence, and occasionally teaching.  It wasn't a big deal for me to have Colby with me.

So I knew something was coming...but I didn't actually get the calling for a few months.  When Bishop finally asked to come meet with Kevin and I, I was immediately super worried.  I didn't want to say no to a calling, but I was feeling overwhelmed.  He showed up about 10pm on a Wednesday night, and when he actually extended the calling, I had NO feelings of anxiety or worry.  I knew that was the Spirit letting me know that it would all be fine.  That I would have the ability to fulfill all of my responsibilities.  One of my main concerns was the fact that Colby wouldn't take a bottle.  I knew that I was going to be gone for more meetings, etc, which would require Kevin to take care of my little dude.

The first Sunday that I had to attend ward council before church, I had tried to prep everything before I left the house.  Not that Kevin couldn't do these things, but he just never had because HE was always the one at the early meetings.  I packed the diaper bag, got Colby dressed, down for his nap, and laid out Brooke's clothes.  My meetings went fine, and when Kevin arrived at church, he called me from the parking lot. He wanted to drop the kids off at the door because he couldn't find a parking spot.  I met him in the parking lot, and as soon as I opened the door I started cracking up.  Brooke was wearing the dress I had picked out, but she also had on a hot pink belt, tons of jewelry, and her hair was in the braids from the day before.  She was holding a huge adult-size pink water bottle, and her cup holder was filled with strands of string cheese.  I just laughed and laughed at the sight.  Brooke asked what was so funny, and Kevin responded, "Mom is just being mean."  Hahaha.  I should have taken a picture.

As we were waiting in the hall for the third hour to start, Kevin made a comment about how "If he was going to be in charge of Colby during the third hour, he was bringing the wagon to church for chunky boy."   Silly Daddy :)

I love this little boy so much!

A few weeks later, I was getting dressed for church when I passed the picture on the left (which is in a frame in our room).  I realized that Brooke and I were wearing the exact same outfits, so a picture was definitely in order.  I love doing comparison pictures because it amazes me how much kids change in such a short amount of time.  The two pictures were taken just over a year apart.

Sundays are a whole lot crazier now, but I am enjoying my calling and Kevin has been a great support and help not only with the kids, but also with my calling.

ward beach bash

We attended our second annual "Ward Beach Bash" at Joe Pool Lake on May 14th.  Kevin offered to have his Dad's boat at the lake, so Jerry and Bev came down with the boat for the day.  When I arrived, the little Murray girls ran to the car to "help" me with Colby.  Colby is kind of a big deal around the little ladies, haha.  

While Kevin was off giving people tube rides, I was hanging out at the beach area with Brooke, Colby, and Grandma.  It had been an overcast morning, but Brooke had a blast digging and playing in the sand with Charli.

Again, Colby was just happy to be outside.  He is pretty easy to please.  When Brooke decided that she wanted to go for a ride on Papa's boat, a few of her little friends wanted to join us.  I headed over to the pick-up spot with 3 kids (Colby stayed with Grandma), but as we made the trek over, we were joined by several more kids. By the time Kevin picked us up, it was me and about 9 kids, haha.

It was fun to be on the boat with a bunch of happy and excited little people.  Smiles all around :)