Family Time

For the whole 3 days we were in Utah, we ran around visiting family. It was crazy, but wonderful. Everyone got to meet Susie, and Emmett had so much fun with his cousins.

The first time that all 5 new baby girls have been together. (Susie never cries, so of course she cries for this picture)

With Grandpa

The whole family

With my Grandma

With my Grandpa

With his birthday buddy - two years apart to the day. They were laughing so hard!

Picking up apples - I had to teach him not to eat them straight off the ground!

Fun in the backyard

Pretending to be a dog.

This night, E had us all dying laughing. Here he was pretending he had a microphone. He knew he was the star of the show!

E's first football game!

With his cousin Jacob, who had some great plays in the game!

Miss Susie, always smiling!

Goodbye Grandpa Johnson

We found out last week that Cam's grandpa passed away. We decided that night to pack up and drive out to Utah for the funeral. He was a great man, and we were so glad to be able to be there with the rest of the family to remember him. He welcomed me into the family with open arms, and was always kind. He always had a joke or story to share, and he was one of the most positive people I know. At his death, he and Grandma had 56 grandchildren and 111 great-grandchildren. They worked hard to remember names and details about everyone! I enjoy hearing Cam's stories of times he spent with Grandpa. The funeral was a lovely collection of stories of Grandpa. He served in the army in WWII, so there was a very touching 21 gun salute and presentation of the flag at the graveside service. He will truly be missed.

This picture is one of my favorites of Emmett following Grandpa in his wheelchair. I hope that we can teach both Emmett and Susannah to follow Grandpa's example as someone who loved his family, loved the Savior, loved his country, and served others unconditionally.

My little singer

I love when Emmett sings with me. Or to himself. I like to think he's musically inclined (the other day I had the radio on in the car, and he said "it's a piano!" and he was right! There was mostly piano in the song!). I hope he'll continue to love music.

My favorite is when he makes up songs. Even better is when he sings to his sister. I'm not sure if this link will work, but here's a video Gigi took of the boys, mostly Emmett, singing to Susie.

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And here they are tonight. We laid Susie down in his bed and he just held her and sang to her. It doesn't get any better than this!

Singing to Susie before bed

Outer Banks Part Two

The next day, we hit the beach and Kitty Hawk.

Emmett was one happy (and sandy) boy playing in the sand:

Susie chilled out in the shade:

Cam and Emmett tried to fly the kite:

Then we went to hang out at the pool for a bit:

On our way out of town, we went by Kitty Hawk.

Outer Banks Part One

Gigi went on a vacation for a few days, so we had to find some backup sitters. We didn't have anyone for Monday, so we decided to both take the day off and go camping for the weekend. Wouldn't you know that Cam talked me into camping at the Outer Banks. I was able to talk him into a KOA (barely!). We ended up having a fantastic time!

The first night there, we got there late, set up the tent, and then took a little night stroll to the "big water," which is apparently very scary to Emmett.

Emmett had his own "tent" in the tent, and a McQueen sleeping bag. He thought it was pretty awesome!

My two cuties:

Emmett loved the playground at the KOA.

He also loved the big bounce pad:

Susie loved being outside so much:

We went to see the Hatteras lighthouse, which Emmett called "Mommy's Castle"

We also took a ferry to Okracoke Island, and Emmett and Cam both thought that was pretty cool!

We had a Mater sighting!

Labor Day

We had a great Labor Day - we got together with friends at the park and grilled some yummy food. The kids loved playing, and we had a great time hanging out!

Just so you know, the charcoal was NOT in the grill yet. He's "cleaning" it!

I love little moments like this!

Eating with the big kids

Waiting for the food! We all look thrilled to be there! Haha

MJ checking out Susie

Corn Hole boards are perfect for pretending to take a nap!

They're also good for climbing on!

The boys!

The girls!

Bye! See ya! (I actually got a smile!)

Potty Training

E has done very well with potty training, but it's been quite an adventure. He LOVES his sticker chart and picking out prizes. He gets so proud to pick out a sticker!

Coloring his Cars coloring roll.

Practicing pulling pants back up... both legs don't fit so well in one hole!

Stickers!

Counting stickers on the chart... he loved his pinwheel prize