Happiness Is.......

The first day of 3rd grade!!!
Kody is at a new school this year and is loving it. He has a great teacher & is making so many new friends!
A new puppy!
Her name is Kinley and we just love her. She is so sweet and lovable!


Swinging on a tire swing!
The boys have been wanting one ever since we bought our house and found a tire out back. They found the best tree for it and were so excited when daddy finally got some rope to hang it up. Oh the hours of fun that they will have!!!



Transforming a box into a Police Station! What could be better!!!
Jacob was having a hard time with Kody going back to school, so we found a box and made a Police Station.
And a Police Station wouldn't be complete without a Police Car!!!
And police jammies to go along with it!
Swimming at the lake with friends!
Jacob with 2 of his best buds! They wouldn't stand still long enough for me to get all 3 of them looking at me. Fun times!
Complete & total exhaustion at the end of the day!
The other night I went to check on Jacob and this is how I found him, sitting on the floor leaning on his bed. The kid can sleep in the craziest positions! I seriously think I have more pictures of him asleep than I do awake because he is actually still.

Kody's Baptism

Kody's happy baptism day! I can't believe that he is 8 already, but it was so exciting to share this special day with him. I am so proud of him for following our Savior's example and choosing to be baptized. You are a special amazing little man Kody Bryce!
Kody & Daddy! Kody was so excited that Garrett was going to baptize him. It was super special and I will never forget Kody looking up at his dad after he came out of the water and the smile that was on his face. It was one of those moments that just melt my heart. Garrett couldn't believe that he was actually baptizing his son. Where has the time gone?
The Baptism boy with mom & dad!
Kody with his dad, Papa Maggard & Papa Nelson. Absolutely love this picture!!!
The whole family with Meema & Papa. It was so special & wonderful to have them here to share this day with Kody.
Kody watching the font being filled.

Kody & his cousin Darla were baptized the same day. Here they are with their primary teacher(left) and the bishop.
Love this picture of both Papa's signing the certificates.
I made Kody a baptism towel with CTR & found a poem that goes along with it. He loved it & was so excited to have a baptism towel.
Special baptism presents from Meema & Papa.
Kody's strawberry baptism cake! We were talking about baptisms and I was telling Kody that was the first time my mom made me the strawberry cake(it is a frequently made cake in our house & an all time favorite). We asked him what kind he wanted and he said just like yours mom! What a sweet boy I have!!!

July Happenings

So much happened in July I don't know where to start. The best part was that Meema & Papa came to visit. It was so much fun having them here and getting to share a bit of our life here in Arkansas with them. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was just fun being with them and making lots of memories. We celebrated my birthday & Kody's 8th birthday. Kody was baptized(will do a separate post for it). And just had a ton of fun being together. There is nothing better than Family time!!! Just to warn you there are a ton of pictures so just keep on scrolling!
Happy 4th of July!!! We did our own little firework show a couple nights before the 4th cause Garrett had to work. It was fun doing sparklers with Meema!

One of the best things about celebrating my birthday was having my mom here to make me my favorite strawberry cake. Yummy!!! Thanks mom! I went out to lunch with my mom, had a date with my husband and spent time with my family. It was perfect!
Meema & Papa brought a wonderful surprise, a Thomas the Train toy box for Jacob and Uncle Derick sent the boys his He-Man action figures to share. The boys were so excited! They found the He-Man movie at the library a few months ago and fell in love so this was a way fun surprise.
Hunting frogs in the swimming pool with Papa. We have frogs all over our property and we didn't cover the pool, it got nasty, and the frogs loved it. What did we get, frogs to catch and a million tadpoles. The boys thought it was pretty neat.
Kody loved catching the frogs on his hand & letting them jump back off into the water. I love this picture of him!
Happy 8th Birthday Kody!!! Can't believe it has been 8 years. Seems like just yesterday I was bringing you home from the hospital.
Birthday biscuits & gravy!Kody wanted a Star Wars party so I made him a light saber cake(kind of, I tried) and we made light sabers out of pool noodles. We had a super fun party. We had sword fights, played in the sprinklers, on the slip n' slide, had water gun & water balloon fights, and just had a blast. What was even more special was to have Meema & Papa here to share in the celebration.

The Birthday Boy
Kody is running from Papa during the water balloon fight. Kody got Papa with a balloon & Papa retaliated with a pitcher of water. Fun times!!!
All tuckered out & snuggling with Meema.
There's nothing better than snuggling with Meema & reading a book!
I found a pattern online to make these turtles, so we had a crafty afternoon and Meema helped us make them. They are super cute! They tend to be used more as balls than they do stuffed turtles though.
We love the science museum so it was a must to bring Meema & Papa to show them all the cool stuff they have. It was a fun day!

Doing a sound experiment with Papa!
Jacob and Meema playing music!
The biggest block tower the boys have ever seen. They tried to make one as big, but didn't quite get that high!
Building a huge tower! It's getting a little wobbly!
Sleeping in Meema & Papa's room. Poor Meema & Papa couldn't sleep in the same bed. We put two twin beds together for their bed & Jacob was adamant that they couldn't be together and that he was going to sleep between Meema & Papa. Then Kody had to sleep in the same room too. So this is how Meema & Papa had to sleep while visiting. I'm sure they are loving not having to share their bed with my boys!
Kody & Papa reading. Kody is a bookworm just like his Papa!
Pioneer Day Celebration & Luau at the church. Kody getting to take a ride in a handcart.
Jacob riding in the handcart. So serious!

Our New House

So I have been a huge procrastinator with posting to my blog. Story of my life! Life has been super busy, we moved, my parents came to visit, I got sick and it is summer time so I think all of that makes for a pretty good excuse. So here is a bucket load of pictures of what we have been busy doing.
Her it is our home sweet home!!! 1750 sq. feet on 2 acres at the end of a dirt road nestled up against a mountain, surrounded by farms! It has a chicken coop (yes, we will have chickens next year), small barn (maybe goats?!) and it is just beautiful. We love it!!! Definitely worth the wait!
Our first meal at our house, Chick Fila!!! We signed the papers, got the keys, grabbed some food & headed to our new house for a picnic. The boys are beyond excited to have our house finally!

The first few nights at our house we all slept in our huge "Great Room" because the beds weren't put together yet. It was a fun family slumber party.
We promised the boys a dog when we got a house, so here she is. Her name is Angel, she is a 3 yr. old Jack Russell that we got from Garrett's niece. She is a sweet heart and the boys adore her!

Cleaning up the yard and finding the biggest worms we have ever seen. Along with some other not so fun little critters!
Can't really see it that good but Kody (actually mommy) found the brightest blue caterpillar. It was so neat and the boys had fun watching it in the bug catcher, it now has a new home in our bushes out front, Kody is watching for it to make a chrysalis.
Daddy scooping up the giant worms for Jacob to take to our compost pile. They were big ones!
Oh what do you do on a hot summer day in Arkansas? Swim, swim, swim. Our boys are little water bugs!

And if your not swimming in the swimming pool then you are running through the sprinklers!!! Got to love warm weather and the worderfulness of water!
We had this tree that was dead and about to fall over and it was super close to the house. Garrett doesn't have a chain saw yet, so he decided to cut it down the old fashioned way, with anything he could hack away at the tree with! It was a little scary cause all I could see was it landing on Garrett or falling on the house. Garrett assured me that it would fall right where he wanted it cause he had tied rope for tension and all that good stuff. Well he was right it landed (well the top half that broke off) right where he said it would. There was a hole for a critters home in the tree and the boys couldn't wait to explore it! It had been abandoned for a while much to their disappointment.
Pure exhaustion! Jacob fell asleep during family prayers. He loves having so much room to run & play & explore that this is a frequent sight. Once he stops he falls asleep.
My least favorite part about Arkansas. I hate snakes! This has been the one and only one that we have seen in our yard. Garrett assured me that it was a good one that will eat the bad ones, so that is the only reason it got to slither away still alive.