199-204/365

Ahhhhhh Beautiful Lake Powell.
This trip was so much fun! For the first time in the life of the Sohm Family Lake Powell Trips, we enjoyed the sand and the sun on a houseboat.

It was sooooooooooo much better than camping in a tent.  We're moving up in the world :)


Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful trip and always sacrificing your time and money to do special things together as a family.

Here's our boat... The SeaClusion

our youngest houseboat guest. 

Meilei is just 9 weeks old.

Gosh I have a hot husband!

I love this picture.

 Brighton surfing.

 Avery surfing

and best of all..... Kaden did it all by himself!!! Way to go buddy!!!!

 Stupid carp. They never learn.

And this is the reason my parents bought the houseboat.... and continues to do all these fun things for all of us. 

2 little monkeys jumping on the bed.......

yes... the baby is cute, but look at that water!!!

The me that was once skinny would have left my baby all alone to go get a ski run in.

I need to get skinny again.

(not to leave my baby alone in the water... but to have the confidence to ski again. I miss it)

Kaden was the best lizard hunter.  Isn't he cute? 

I miss my iguana.

Our house boat even had a pool.  We're living the high life.

(smile)

Two of the best moments on the boat.  I love that my dad is surfing with a broken foot! 

His face is HILARIOUS!!!

 Thayne and Nicole decided it would be a fun trick to see if they could surf at the same time.  It actually worked! Nicole, you are awesome! Way to stay balanced squatting for so long.

198/365

Wedding Cakes Done. Bridal Show Done. Church Done.  House Cleaned and Laundry Done.

Lets get the car packed and get to bed.

Tomorrow is Powell!!!!!!

197/365

Bridal Show seemed to be a bit of a flop this time. Only 8 brides scheduled consultations. I bet at least half won't even show up.

grrrrrrr.

But the kids were happy. We stayed true to our Saturday tradition and had pancakes for dinner and a movie party.
Life is good.

196/365

Wedding over with. Now on to the bridal show... then lets get to Powell!!!

This grooms cake was a fun one to make

195/365

Poor little guy. Getting teeth is the pits.
He was chilling on the floor when all of a sudden I heard a loud scream and came by to see this sad little face.

(yes, that's blood)

194/365

Ahhhhh!! Too much to do.  I've never packed this early for a trip before.  I'm 5 days pre-trip and I'm almost all packed.
2 cakes. a bridal show and trying to get my family ready for lake powell all in one week.
I gotta stay organized or I'm never going to make it.

193/365

Today was Connors 9 month check up.  How did he get to be 9 months old???
  19 pounds.  38%  Length.. 27"  9%   Head Size.... small.... 7%
Short and chubby and cute as can be!
He's growing up too fast.

We had a little photo shoot while waiting for the doctor.

189/365

Tonight Brian and I ditched our kids and went to see Toad the Wet Sprocket.
We are officially old.  This band hasn't made a new album in 15 years, and we still love them.

So I dare say we are stuck in the 90's?   Probably.

I love this picture of us. Brian was getting so irritated with me because it took me about 20 tries with my phone to try and get a shot of us.  He finally gave up and did it himself.

188/365

Dear Brighton,

I am completely, totally, 100% in love with you.

Those eyes? Those dimples? That smile?  What else can I say? You melt my heart.

3 1/2 is such a perfect age.

Here are some of the reasons I love this stage:

-They have their favorite "comfort" toy... Brightons is his "guankey"
-He can't be just holding his blanket, he has to have specific corners. One in his thumb sucking hand, the other in the hand that goes to his face.
-They pretty much potty train themselves
-They say cute things like, "Mommy, are you happy?"
-They are not shy and talk to everyone
-Once again.. that smile. those dimples. those eyes.
-They love you more than life itself
-They turn into social butterflies and are hilarious with their little friends
-Pretty much everything that comes out of their mouths is hilariou8
-Every early, early morning, I have a cute little guy jump in my bed, cuddle up to me with his "guankey" and fall back asleep.

187/365

The kids always know that if they go to the store with dad, they will end up with a treat.
Today was Brights turn.

If dad gives them the treat.... dad gets to clean up the mess.

181-185/365

Merry Christmas to Us!!!

This past Christmas, my parents gave us a trip to Bear Lake in a super cool cabin for our family gift. 

This was the best trip!

7 bedroom, 7 bathroom cabin with a hot tub and plenty of room for the kids to play. 

I had a bit of cabin envy. I can't lie. 

One day.... Brian and I WILL have our own cabin.

But until then, here's a picture of the cabin we stayed in.  It was so nice.

I love this picture. The kids loved to read books with grandma

The hot tub was a trip favorite. I think they liked this better than the beach.

Could they be any cuter? Boston's face cracks me up.

I love my little biker dude. Does he ever stop smiling?  

Not Really.

Fearless Avery.  You can't keep her away from the water... or the boat.

Jake and Bright on the tube before they fell off.  Good thing I got this picture. 

There weren't any more chances after they nose dived into the water.

The girls were giving grandpa a spa treatment.  

We took a little sunday trip to Logan to see the temple.  

I have the cutest family.

Here's a pic of all of the Sohm Clan

This might just be my favorite picture of all time.  Could Bright get any cuter?   Geez!!

All these guys are truly best friends. It's awesome.

180/365

Today was Kaden's last day of 1st grade.
Where did the time go?? I can't believe another school year is over.

This year he had Mrs. Witt-Roper. He got to be in a portable. He got braver eating a variety of choices of school lunch. He loved having 2 recesses each day, and he figured out that being off track was way more fun than going to school.

He's growing up.

179/365

Happy Birthday Grandma Becky!!!
Callee and I took my mom out to lunch today. It was so much fun to be together.
I've got such a wonderful mother. I love her so much.
I found a quote once that said something like this. I just love it. It describes how I feel about my mom.
DAUGHTER...
Is a girl who grows up to be your friend. (or something like that)

178/365

Gotta love my little dishwashing helper.
He plays in the bath, while I clean the pots.
Pretty good trade.

177/365

Brian had Brighton in a leg hold today and Bright said, "Dad don't! You are going to break me!"

175/365

Dear Connor,

Why oh why are you growing up so fast?

Your smile melts my heart.

174/365

Potty Trained?  Check.

YEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWW!!!

173/365

The kids decided to make their own slide today.  

I love their creativity.

Kaden was giving Avery sword lessons.

Of course the course wouldn't be complete without the Zelda Costume.

172/365

Today was a GREAT day!!

Almost 4 months ago, we had a pretty sad boy when we went to Karate graduation and he didn't get his orange belt.  Tonight was a different story.  But a story worth more than any color of belt.

When Kaden didn't get his orange belt, he was sad. I was sad. But it taught him (and me) a valuable lesson.  The lesson is that things don't come easy in life. Not for a 7 year old boy. Not for a mom.  As a parent, you hurt when your kids hurts, but you need to encourage them to grow and stand taller when their confidence is shattered. 

When we went to karate tonight, Kaden was quiet and reserved.  He always bites his cheeks when he's nervous.  He didn't do much during the karate activities prior to the awards ceremony. I could tell he was worried that he hadn't gotten it.  The difference with this graduation vs the one a few weeks ago, was that he had worked his tail off to know all the moves.  He knew it wouldn't come easy. He knew he had to work hard to earn his belt.  When he was presented with his new belt, a smile of great pride and happiness filled his face. He ran over to Brian and I and gave us a hug... right infront of the whole group.  He KNEW he deserved this. He worked hard for it and this time, it was worth so much more!!

I guess the lesson I learned is that sometimes when our kids struggle, as much as it hurts us, they will become stronger. They will appreciate things more. They will find themselves in a way they hadn't before.  Even as small as a 7 year old boy, I KNOW Kaden learned alot from not earning his karate belt when he first wanted to, but I also know the reward for earning it the second time around meant so much more to him than anything else he has ever done.

Way to go buddy. We are so proud of you!

171/365

Slave Labor. Ya gotta love it when kids beg to wash your car.

170/365

Kids got a hold of my camera again.
I don't know why I find these kind of pictures worth blogging about, but something about thinking of my little kids doing their own photo shoot just makes me smile.

So in 20-30 years when we are looking back at this book, we can laugh at how "old fashioned" our tv looked back in 2011. Thanks kids for the history post. :) Oh... and if you are wondering, the show you are watching is Gnomeo and Juliet.

169/365

And yet another cake.

I'm glad this weekend is over.

Time to relax.

168/365

June Brides equates to June Wedding Cakes

167/365

Seriously??? Could this girl have more perfect lips?

166/365

Hello Cowabunga Bay!!!

All winter long whenever we pass Cowabunga Bay Brighton would say, 

Oh no! Cowabung Bay is broken! Daddy needs to fix it. It needs new batteries.

Well... dad must have fixed it.  

The kids LOVE this place.

165/365

Too Much Playing.... Not Any Naps

Bright has enjoyed his social life a little too much this summer. He won't stop for anything! Obviously from this picture, he won't even stop to lay down and fall asleep.  

This is how I found him today.

Then a few minutes later.

Then a few minutes after that.  

He never woke up though this process. This little guy was sooo tired. 

164/365

Brighton came in to tell me he needed food for a picnic. 

He got a basket, opened the fridge and grabbed some cheese and carrots, went to the pantry and got some pretzels and juice boxes, then went to the bridge where Avery was waiting.

If lunch wasn't cute enough, he passed out the food, then looked at Avery and said, "We need to say prayer!" He then proceeded to pray.

It's nice to capture on camera the few moments in time when these two are getting along.

163/365

It's Sunday. It's been a crazy long week. I'm tired and ready to relax.
 I'm not even going to post a picture today.