some catching up

A lot has happened since last month... here we go.
We moved out of Provo and up to Riverton.  My parents have kindly let us stay here for a few weeks.  We have really enjoyed our time here- buzzword, outside movies, family reunions, yellowstone and built in babysitter (not sure how we'll care for benson alone...).  And suddenly this friday we begin the trek to Maryland! Let the pictures begin:

girls lunch- benson was invited and made himself at home.

hadley is soooo sweet. 

we love bridal veil falls! Its is beautiful up there.

on a walk to bridal veil falls.

there were soooo many fish

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for his 6 months birthday we let him taste a cookie.  he LOVED it.

more of that cookie :)

the last week in provo

It is extremely hard to believe that we move tomorrow.  It is the beginning of an chapter that many people tell us will be the best years of our lives.  I hope they are right!  Provo has been good to us.  Our ward has been wonderful- we got to know many many great people, our neighbors have been awesome, and, even though  we are itching to leave this puny, holeintheground apartment, we can't help but get sentimental.  My mom said that there is just something special about the first place you live together.  She is right.  We love this place- even though the bed is four feet off the ground (try getting on it 9 months pregnant.), the kitchen faucet water temperatures are backwards, the extremely hot nights (did I mention it is in the basement? underground shouldn't be 80 degrees at night), the door that slams and wakes up babies, the oven that cooks everything in half the time, the kitchen table that serves as my nightstand and the window ledge that is Riley's.  We'll miss it.... but maybe not that much.   

One (of the many) thing both Riley and I will legitimately and overwhelmingly miss is this:

Not just the Y, and campus, but THE MOUNTAINS. We love them and we will cry when we get to Kansas and there are none.  Would you believe me if I said I took the above picture with my phone which is ancient? Impressive.

I can't write about the other things (mom, dad, kate, kelli, jake, hadley, jenell, kalen) because. well. then there will be tears.  So I'll post some random pictures of our cute baby.

Guess who doesn't get swaddled anymore? This was a random nap- fell asleep while playing so I removed the toys and laid a blanket on him. 

Hadley thinks she is too cool for Benson in the back seat.  She doesn't know what she's missing...

Just because everyone should adore how chunky he is. 

Our last date in provo- to the temple brick oven. all you can eat pizza.  

He must have been real tired. (huh kelli?)

the last few weeks

We leave in a month from tomorrow.  Riley and I made a list of things we must do before we leave Utah.  The list includes eating at our favorite restaurants and going to bridal veil falls.  It is a short list.

Anyway, when we aren't packing, cleaning, or sitting silently in our apartment while benson sleeps... we do fun things. Like playing on the ground, practice crawling, run races, and sell things.  Benson dislikes our current living situation almost as much as me.  In fact, he prefers anywhere else more than our apartment.  As do I. We generally spend a lot of time on walks, swinging, and swimming.  Anything that will keep us outside.

 To give me something to feel good about, I signed up to run the American Fork 5k.  It was very fun to prepare for. Benson is the best running buddy.  As you can see, he enjoys it more than me (i think)

 Kate and Nicole did it to! It was quite fun doing it all together.

 Post race, trying to locate Garrett.

 Benson got to eat a go-gurt. He loved it. He loves alllllllll food. In fact, I can't eat anything without him getting dramatically upset.  he starts to hyperventilate.

These pictures are from the garage sale at the Wilson's.  This weekend was a big one- they were set apart by Elder Bednar and sold a lot of stuff.  They leave on Saturday. We will miss them! 

That's pretty much it, I think.  We are excited for the rest of our summer spent here, and exploring our new home!! 

cabin + hike + cousins

We went up to the cabin with some cousins this past weekend! It was fun.  Except for Paul and Karalyn's side trip on the worst rode ever, resulting in them not coming. SAD.

We hung out around the fire on friday night.  On saturday morning Riley and Benson went fishing:

cutest thing, right?

and i joined in a bit later...

Then we went on a crazy hike.  We went further than we planned, and almost make it to the upper lake.  I think (hope) everyone enjoyed themselves!

Thanks to Merrill and LouJean for letting us use the cabin! 

Highlights include:

-Seeing a moose

-Talking about the woman moose

-Burning the chicken

-Alli's (not me) snickerdoodle bar things! 

-Benson and Jack playing

-Nicole and Derek bonking heads (I only heard about this one)

-hiking... and not being very prepared

-Listening to Garrett

what does benson do?

He plays outside. A lot. 

Goes to the zoo with Aunt Kate

and dad.

looks at elephants! 

eagles, 

and giraffes.

He sizes up with bears

and large primates :)

he eats grapes!

and holds on to his giraffe while he sleeps (thanks gma!).

Needless to say, his life is very exciting. 

life via my phone camera

sleepy sleep 

this didn't download right and I'm too lazy to fix it. But he loves running with me.

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he's too cool for pictures. 

waiting at the doctor's office... 

he sits up like a champ

A lady in the BWI airport insisted on taking a picture of benson sleeping so we could always remember how sweet he is...

For the life of me I can't rotate this picture. So turn your head upside down and admire that darling niece. And my giant son.