Salt Lake Trip

This last weekend, we decided to get away, visit with family and have a relaxing trip.  And that is just what we did.  There was a lot of hotel swimming, a nice morning run ending with a trip to Starbucks, and a little shopping for my favorite type of clothing...workout clothes. :)  Since we've been back, Patrick has asked to go swimming everyday.  We left on Thursday and came back on Sunday and part of me wishes the trip had been longer.  It was nice not cooking, or going down to the pool whenever we desired and seeing such excitement on my boy's faces as they ran up and down the hotel halls.  I guess I was enjoying myself so much, I didn't even think to pull out my camera or phone to take pictures.  These are the only two I got:

 Patrick has always had a love/hate relationship with water and whenever we go I'm never quite sure which side is going to come out.  Luckily on this trip he loved it, and loved it so much that he wanted to take off swimming without us.  We bought that life vest so that it was a little easier on all of us.  He's quite the little fish now and it reinforced in my mind that he's ready to take swimming lessons.  Anyone know of a great place to go in Rexburg?

I got an ipod touch for Christmas and I use it for everything, including taking pictures while we go on lovely runs. I seriously want to move to Thanksgiving Point in Utah.  I don't know why, but it just hit a spot in me that was good for my soul.  I am extremely grateful for the life I have but I am definitely someone who likes to explore the world and if anything, this little vacation made me even more antsy to go on a big trip somewhere.  I'm thinking the Caribbean should be in the near future. ;)

Life from my phone

I have cute kids.  And I'm sure glad my phone has a camera on it because otherwise I would not be very good at documenting my cute kids.  I know I'm bragging and that I'm biased but even though life is not perfect with them, we all just really love each other. Here are just a few pictures of our life over the past couple weeks. 

We were doing gardening one day and Patrick wanted to wear grandma's hat.  And he reeaally loves his Uncle Derek. :)  True story: Derek was with Jon and I at the pet store and the sales lady thought Derek was Patrick's dad because they looked and acted a lot alike.  She couldn't believe that Derek was the uncle.  However, he is definitely a Blackburn with his fair skin, blue eyes and fiery personality. ;)

Really, Patrick just likes to wear hats.  So when daddy takes out his motorcycle helmet, Patrick is more than ready to put it on.

My hand in there is just me trying to get Patrick to back up so I could get a picture.  Getting a 2 yr. old to hold still is hard.

Oh, and this is lovely.  I'm so glad we potty trained this child so that he can go outside...in the driveway...for all the neighbors to enjoy.

You should have heard how proud he was that he went potty in the driveway and made shapes on Uncle Derek's car.  The memory still makes me smile.

This past week we have been doing a lot of cuddling.  I thought summer would get rid of the sickness but both boys have been throwing up for the last few days.  Luckily Aiden seems to be past the worst of it but Patrick has been having a rough time.  Some days, like today, we just stay in our pajamas, clean up puke/various bodily fluids around the house, watch cartoons, and read lots of stories.  I can't say it enough, but I am so relieved/blessed/lucky to have boys that are sweet and good natured when they're sick.  I know Patrick's feeling better when he starts acting like a pill again. ;)

And a picture of Aiden just because he's so dang cute.    

He really, really loves to laugh. :)

Memorial Day and other various events

I never know how to feel on Memorial Day.  It used to be a free day from school where we would do fun activities so I always looked forward to it.  Now it's a somber day but also a nice day to remember loved ones.  It's really not about the parties or barbecues or camp-outs.  Jon and I have it easy on Memorial Day because both of our families are buried at the same cemetery.  And, they are right across the street from each so when you pull up and see the Cliffords on the right side, the Halls are just on the left side.  It's always nice to see family and Patrick was extremely excited to be able to hang out with his cousins.  We were able to work it out so both of our families were there around the same time.  I don't think Memorial Day will ever be easy but I do enjoy having an excuse to go see my dad's headstone.

I swear my dad is with my children a lot and the funniest thing happened when we walked up to my dad's headstone.  Aiden has never met my dad but a little while ago he started saying ahhhhboo! to me and it was never anything I did with him.  That was something my dad did all the time with Patrick.  As soon as we walked up to the headstone Aiden got a smile on his face and started saying ahhhhboo! to the headstone.  Multiple experiences have helped me realize that even though my kids don't physically have Grandpa Clifford here, they still feel his influence in their lives.

 I would have loved to see my dad play with these two.   Someday.


I've already posted all of these pictures on social media but since this is the place it really counts I thought I should add them before I forget.

 This mater truck is the greatest.  Aiden is definitely a baby that wants to be outside(all day, every day if he could) and as soon as I open the door he heads straight to Mater.  He ran out so fast I didn't even have time to put on his shoes yet.  Outside with a bottle riding on mater=Aiden's happy place.

Patrick is still my little chef.  Remember the phase where he was obsessed with pots and pans?  It's ok if you don't. ;)  A pot was actually Patrick's comfort object when we were trying to get him to love nursery and once he had his pot, he didn't care if mom and dad were around.  Anyway, I thought the phase was gone but lately every time we cook or bake, Patrick has been there asking if he can help.  He's helped us make cookies at grandma's house and one morning I decided to let him help make the pancakes.  Since Aiden wants to do everything Patrick does, he joined in as well.  I think making pancakes was a highlight in Patrick's month and ever since then he's wanted to break out the spices and stir things up in a pan.

 Patrick woke up from nap time in the middle of me typing this post and once he saw the pictures of himself cooking, he wanted to start making something.  So as I'm typing this, he's mixing fruit snacks and fruit candies in a pan with a spoon.  I would be fine with it if he became a chef and taught me how to cook. ;)
Confession:  I thought I had patience until I had kids and now I feel like I have none.  Even though I post pictures of Patrick cooking and dumping spices on here, it's not an easy thing for me. I have to have a pep talk with myself and tell myself to relax and let Patrick experiment.  After the pancake making party, the kitchen was a mess and had I not mentally prepared myself beforehand, I would have been an angry wreck the whole time.  Just keepin' it real. ;)